Archives by Tag 'Fantasy'
Review: ‘Wildwood Dancing’ by Juliet Marillier
For the past few years, the Old English Thorn and I have spent New Year staying with some lovely friends of ours in Edinburgh. We play lots of games, eat lots of food, drink lots of dubious concoctions and generally have a marvellous time. Even so, there are always times when you just want to [...]
Review: ‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaiman
When I came to select a book to read after finishing Anderby Wold, I don’t think I could have picked something much more different than Neil Gaiman’s had I been trying deliberately to do so. The former is provincial, understated, realistic and oh so English, while the latter is sweeping, outrageous, mythological and (despite its [...]
Review: ‘Song of Sorcery’ by Elizabeth Scarborough
One of the many benefits of having such a large pool of books from which to choose my reading is that it’s easy to find something that fits my mood or requirements. A while ago I needed to pick a book to read before bed and so it needed to be light in every sense [...]
‘Tam Lin’ by Pamela Dean
O I forbid you, maidens a’, That wear gowd on your hair, To come or gae by Carterhaugh, For young Tam Lin is there. Fairy tales and folk stories were a huge part of my childhood and have continued to be so as I’ve become older. I had them read to me by my parents; [...]
‘Elfland’ by Freda Warrington
It’s an indication of quite how behind I am with my reviews that I’m only now writing and posting my thoughts on Freda Warrington’s . This was February’s pick for the Women of Fantasy Book Club hosted by Jawas Read, Too and I finished it back on 14th February. It was a rather appropriate [...]
‘The Final Reckoning’ by Robin Jarvis
I’ve recently mentioned how much I enjoy Robin Jarvis’ writing now that I’m reading his Deptford Mice Trilogy as an adult, and The Crystal Prison ended on such a cliffhanger that I had to go on and read the final book in the trilogy, ominously entitled , soon afterwards. In The Final Reckoning the mice find themselves [...]
‘Willow’ by Wayland Drew
Do you enjoy watching film adaptations of books you’ve read, or do you regard them with some suspicion and decide that you’d rather not, thank you very much? Every time a book that I enjoy is turned into a film, I have to debate with myself whether I want to go to see it or [...]
‘The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms’ by N. K. Jemisin
There are numerous different reasons I’ve never joined a book club before: I’ve never found one that I could attend a train journey; the ones that I could get to are run by bookshops and so focus on new releases that they can sell rather than books that a particular group of people might find interesting; and I [...]
Review: ‘The High Lord’ by Trudi Canavan
Title: Author: Trudi Canavan Published: Orbit, 2007, pp. 674. Originally published 2003. Genre: Fantasy Blurb: In the city of Imardin, where those who wield magic wield power, a young street-girl, adopted by the Magicians’ Guild, finds herself at the centre of a terrible plot that may destroy the entire world… Sonea has learned much at [...]
Review: ‘Stardust’ by Neil Gaiman
Title: Author: Neil Gaiman Published: Headline Review, 2005, pp. 214. Originally published 1999. Genre: Fantasy Blurb: In the sleepy English countryside at the dawn of the Victorian era, life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall. Young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester, but Victoria is [...]