I was hesitant about these books, to be honest. There’s so much urban fantasy out there and new ideas seem difficult to come up with, or doing the old ideas with a new twist. I’m glad that I read both books, however. Marcella Burnard has managed to take tattoos, demons, magic, and evil angels, and …
Tag: Fantasy
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/22/nightmare-ink-and-bound-by-ink-by-marcella-burnard/
Dec 22 2014
The Hienama, Student of Kyme, and The Moonshawl, a trilogy by Storm Constantine
Anyone who is familiar with Storm Constantine‘s Wraeththu Chronicles will enjoy these books. The first two are much shorter than the last, which was just released, but together they make a whole picture from three points of view, and tell a story that is more than just a story. These books delve deep not only …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/22/the-hienama-student-of-kyme-and-the-moonshawl-a-trilogy-by-storm-constantine/
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Dec 15 2014
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
One of the nice things about not being in a book’s target audience is being able to stand back a bit more and see what the author is up to, what’s happening structurally within a book or series, to generally chew on it a bit more. The House of Hades reaches its main intended audience …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/15/the-house-of-hades-by-rick-riordan/
Dec 03 2014
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
What to say that Laura hasn’t already? This story is a week in the life of a minor character, minor in Rothfuss’ other works, that is, and I think that it’s a good example of a writer doing something interesting because he doesn’t feel constrained to follow that larger story. It isn’t trying to be …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/03/the-slow-regard-of-silent-things-by-patrick-rothfuss-2/
Nov 27 2014
King Rat by China Miéville
Having read Perdido Street Station first, I’m fascinated to see how some of the themes are present here in nascent form. PSS is by far the superior book, but King Rat is a worthwhile entry to the urban fantasy oeuvre: grimy and bold and honest, if mean. It’s also a great take on the Pied …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/27/king-rat-by-china-mieville/
Nov 25 2014
Shards of a Broken Crown by Raymond Feist
The final book in Feist’s Serpentwar Saga, unless there are more that I have overlooked. Like all of Feist’s novels, the story is incredibly tacky yet somehow enjoyable to read. There is a confusing jumble of place names and character names and story arcs, as well as a lot of implied back story that somehow …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/25/shards-of-a-broken-crown-by-raymond-feistthe-final-book-in-feists-serpentwar-saga-unless-there-are-more-that-i-have-overlooked-like-all-of-feists-novels-the-story-is-incredibly-tacky-yet-someh/
Nov 12 2014
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
There are a lot of angry reviews in various places, saying this book is boring, saying that the author should be working on the main trilogy and not messing around with odd novellas, saying it isn’t worth the time, nothing happens, etc. They could not be more completely wrong. This is not a book about …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/12/the-slow-regard-of-silent-things-by-patrick-rothfuss/
Nov 11 2014
The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
“If you grew up reading Harry Potter, read Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy.” That’s certainly how I would sell people on the books. They’re more adult than Potter, but they have structural similarities: Magic works in our world, but it is a secret known only to a few. There are schools that teach the adept how …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/11/the-magicians-land-by-lev-grossman/
Nov 07 2014
Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal
Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal is the third of her Glamourist Histories series, following Shades of Milk & Honey, and Glamour in Glass. The series crosses Regency romances with alternate (but not terribly alternate) history and a dash of domestic magic that may yet admit of industrial applications.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/07/without-a-summer-by-mary-robinette-kowal/
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The Shire