Category:

Fantasy

The Winter of the Witch: A Fitting Conclusion to a Beautiful Series (A Spoiler-Free Review)

written by Byron

Magic is forgetting the world was ever other than as you willed it.

A couple of years ago, The Bear and the Nightingale by Katharine Arden was featured by Amazon as a “Best Book of the Month” or “Best Debut” or some such thing. It was advertised as a kind of literary Russian fairy tale, set in the actual historical medieval Russia. I love fairy tales. I like Russia; I took a few semesters of Russian language in college (don’t remember a thing). It sounded neat, so I gave it a shot.

I’m so glad that I did. I adored that book. It was billed as the first part of a trilogy (The Winternight Trilogy), so I waited not-so-patiently for my next fix of goodness. The sequel, The Girl in the Tower, came out last year, and I loved it too.

The third and final book of the trilogy, The Winter of the Witch, was recently released. I bought it quickly and finished it in a weekend. It’s wonderful.

March 2, 2019 0 comment

Byron Fantasy Reviews

Sabriel: It’s different. In a good way. (A review)

written by Byron

You may call me Mogget. As to what I am, I was once many things, but now I am only several.

In 2016, George RR Martin’s blog linked to this speculative cage match fight between a couple of characters from his Song of Ice and Fire series (Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth) vs. a couple of characters from Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series (Sabriel and Mogget).

“Who in the world is Sabriel?” I thought, stupidly. Apparently, she is a character in a major fantasy series that I somehow had never heard of before. Intrigued, I bought the first book in the series, Sabriel, and then promptly let it sit unread in my iBooks app for two years.

I finally got around to reading it last year. I really should have done that sooner. Sabriel is one of the most surprising, interesting, unusual fantasy books I’ve ever read.

January 20, 2019 0 comment

2018 Ardis Discussion Questions Fantasy Young Adult

Book Club Discussion Questions: Six of Crows

written by Ardis

In 2018, Leigh Bardugo released her novel Six of Crows. It’s the first story in a new series, taking place in her previously-established universe known as the Grishaverse. Six of Crows has been very well-received, and I know first-hand that there’s a lot for a discerning book club to discuss in this book. Whether your book club is preparing to discuss it, or you’ve read it on your own and are looking for more, I hope the questions below will help guide you.

Note: If you haven’t read Six of Crows, you can read my review of it here.

Please let me know if you use these questions, find them helpful, or think I missed something. And of course I would love to see your answers to any (or all) of these questions in the comments. Happy discussing!

Of course, MAJOR SPOILER WARNINGS below:

January 15, 2019 0 comment

2018 Ardis Books Fantasy Short Story Collection

The Book of Magic is a Wonderful Short Story Collection

written by Ardis

The collection The Book of Magic, edited by Gardner Dozois, is a very nicely-curated collection of short stories all having to do with (you guessed it) Magic.

Of the 17 of short stories included in this collection, I gave five of them four or five stars, three of them three or fewer stars, and DNFed the remaining five. Clearly, much of this collection simply wasn’t for me. However, I cannot deny that most (if not all) of the included works are superb examples of their genre.

January 10, 2019 1 comment

2018 Ardis Fantasy Young Adult

Six of Crows is an Energetic and Entertaining Adventure

written by Ardis

Inej would find her own way in. The rules of fair play along the gangs were from Per Haskell’s time. Besides, she was the Wraith – the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.

Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows is a new story in her well-established fantasy universe known as the Grishaverse. Having not read any of her previous works in this universe, I was surprised and pleased to find that this book did an excellent job of introducing the unique magic system her universe hinges on (and is named for) without dipping into any textbook or encyclopedia-style descriptions. Readers new to Bardugo need not fear – Six of Crows is an excellent place to begin.

As a typical heist story, Six of Crows hits every mark. It has the large cast of rich characters each with their job to do and each with their private motivations – which Bardugo links together artfully and entertainingly as the story unfolds. It has the high stakes, the bad guys, the complicated plots and machinations. It has the breath-baitingly, nerve-wrackingly difficult tasks. And it has plenty of well-timed comedic and touching moments to wrap it all into one lovely narrative.

January 8, 2019 1 comment

Byron Fantasy Reviews

The Poppy War: A Book Review

written by Byron

Great danger is always associated with great power. The difference between the great and the mediocre is that the great are willing to take the risk.

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang is an epic fantasy that “draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, and its aesthetic from Song Dynasty China”, a mashup of Postclassical China and World War II. I think I liked it, but I don’t think I’ll continue with the series.

November 18, 2018 0 comment

Byron Fantasy Reviews

Bloody Rose: Solid Sequel!

written by Byron

“What is this, beef? I can’t eat this! Have you got a salad or something?”

“No, I haven’t got a fucking salad,” said Roderick.

The minotaur stared flatly between the bars of his cage. “Be a lot cooler if you did.”

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames is the highly anticipated sequel to Kings of the Wyld, the breakout fantasy novel of 2017.

Kings of the Wyld was one of the most-fun books I’ve ever read, custom-designed as it was to tickle my nostalgia-bone and my deep abiding love for callback humor and wit. I described it in my review as “a mix of This is Spinal Tap!, Blues Brothers, The First Law Trilogy, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons with your best friends from high school that you haven’t seen in a long time.”

Bloody Rose doesn’t quiiiiiiiite match up to its predecessor, but it’s a strong book that’s sure to please fans of the first one.

October 28, 2018 0 comment

Byron Fantasy Reviews

The Magicians is not Harry Potter. It’s still pretty ok though.

written by Byron

Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your real life. Stop waiting. This is it: there’s nothing else.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is about a guy that gets accepted into a university for the training in the usage of real magic. It has been referred to by some people as a “grown up Harry Potter.”

I am not one of those people. This book ain’t like Harry Potter. Nevertheless, it’s still a solid-enough read, with plenty of interesting ideas for fantasy fans to mull over.

September 22, 2018 0 comment

2017 Ardis Books Fantasy Reviews Young Adult

Darkness Deepens with One Dark Throne

written by Ardis

One Dark Throne is the sequel to the 2016 YA fantasy Three Dark Crowns. Since this review is of a sequel, it ~~may~~ will contain spoilers for any previous books in the series.

“’Once, I was a mouse,’ she says and strips off her glove. She reaches into the cage to stroke the rodent’s tiny bald haunches.

‘But I am not anymore.’”

There was a time in my life where I was only reading series, finishing one book and opening the next as though there was a chapter break instead of an ending and a beginning. I don’t do it often anymore, but Blake’s Three Dark Crowns series offered the perfect opportunity for a return to that extra level of indulgent immersion.

I was pretty open about my concerns with Three Dark Crowns in my review, and went into its sequel with mixed expectations. Right away, my primary frustration focused on how little the characters question the things, people, and events around them. This continues throughout the book, as do many of my concerns regarding Blake’s worldbuilding and the general “unreliable narrator” issue Blake’s shaky presentation of the rules creates. (Read more about that in my previous review.)

September 7, 2018 0 comment

2016 Ardis Books Fantasy Reviews Young Adult

Fantasy Doesn’t Get Much Darker Than Three Dark Crowns

written by Ardis

“Three dark queens

Are born in a glen,

Sweet little triplets

Will never be friends

Three dark sisters

All fair to be seen,

Two to devour

And one to be Queen”

If there’s one thing I don’t often review it’s solidly 3-star reads, but that’s exactly what Three Dark Crowns is. It’s a fine read, and I enjoyed it and its sequel, but the best thing that can really be said about it is just that admission – that yes, I enjoyed it well enough.

Three Dark Crowns tells the story of three teenaged sisters, triplets, each a magical queen of the (also magical) island of Fennbirn. Upon their sixteenth birthday(s), the balance of rule on the island shifts and their lives become a wild west “this island isn’t big enough for the three of us” battle royale. The girls are obligated by the rules to kill or be killed, until one sister remains standing – the sole queen of Fennbirn.

My issues with the rules of this fictional universe are too long to list, and I must admit that as a reader I had the option of accepting the rules of this universe as-is and taking it on faith that they’re reasonable. Ultimately, I did do this with the sequel and had a much more enjoyable experience thereby. Where this caused me trouble with this first book is a little complicated. As I was reading, it felt almost like a frustrating unreliable narrator issue – as though I was reading some Jeff Vandermeer surrealist piece instead of a YA fantasy by award-winning YA author Kendare Blake.

August 30, 2018 1 comment

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