I was initially resistant towards reading this book. If it was bad, I would feel a certain kind of “malu,” the nearly indescribable shade of embarrassment Malaysians feel when one of their own commits a faux pas, akin but not quite the same as the East Asian concept of losing “face.” And if it was …
Tag: Fantasy
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/08/18/spirits-abroad-by-zen-cho/
Aug 11 2015
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Deeply moral and achingly romantic, this is a book about a woman inadvertently reaching into the past to try to fix problems in her marriage to a man she desperately loves. Rainbow Rowell is a terrific writer of dialog and characters, and though Landline felt a bit shallow in places (by which I don’t mean …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/08/11/landline-by-rainbow-rowell/
Jul 24 2015
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
While this book didn’t have the same “Wtf, did that actually just happen?!” plot twists that are a Sanderson hallmark (I mean, I knew what would happen to Lessie and who Mr Suit had to be pretty quickly,) this was definitely a solidly entertaining, if not downright excellent projection of progress in Scandria (is that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/07/24/the-alloy-of-law-mistborn-4-by-brandon-sanderson/
Jul 24 2015
The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Time of Contempt picks up the story of Geralt of Rivia an unspecified, but not terribly long, time after the events of Blood of Elves. Sapkowski opens the novel by following a royal messenger through several errands, and he uses that device to deliver to readers a quick burst of exposition about the state …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/07/24/the-time-of-contempt-by-andrzej-sapkowski/
Jul 07 2015
Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
The Bursar shrugged. “This pot,” he said, peering closely, “is actually quite an old Ming vase.” He waited expectantly. “Why’s it called Ming?” said the Archchancellor, on cue. The Bursar tapped the pot. It went ming. (p. 145) It’s a throwaway joke, of course, but it’s a perfect one. Not only can readers hear the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/07/07/moving-pictures-by-terry-pratchett/
Jul 04 2015
The Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson
Ugh, Brandon Sanderson, why are you so good at writing?!?! Stayed up the other night just to finish this, and cried my way through the ending. Not as badly as I cried through 40 entire pages near the end of Way of Kings (which was also partly due, I feel, to the Mistborn trilogy being …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/07/04/the-mistborn-trilogy-boxed-set-by-brandon-sanderson/
Jul 02 2015
Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip
How do you pronounce the first word of the title? I asked a couple of friends who had read Od Magic before me, and their first response was a pause, and then, “Hm.” Online Scrabble has since taught me that “od” is an actual English word, somewhat archaic, meaning “a hypothetical power once thought to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/07/02/od-magic-by-patricia-a-mckillip/
Jul 01 2015
Yendi by Steven Brust
Yendi is the second book published in Steven Brust’s long-running Vlad Taltos series. It takes place after the prologue of the first book, Jhereg, and a fair amount of time before that one’s main story begins. As I noted previously, “Vlad’s world is a high-magic setting, with death often no more than an inconvenience (though …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/07/01/yendi-by-steven-brust/
Jun 07 2015
Nebula Award winners 2015
The Science Fiction Writers of America announced the winners of this year’s Nebula Awards. Novel Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer [Laura reviewed Annihilation as part of its trilogy, and didn’t like it as much as the SFWA did.] Novella Yesterday’s Kin, Nancy Kress Novelette “A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i,” Alaya Dawn Johnson (F&SF 7-8/14) Short …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/06/07/nebula-award-winners-2015/
Jun 02 2015
Eric by Terry Pratchett
Eric plays on the Faust legend, and it read to me as a slighter work than the Discworld novels that immediately preceded it in publication. Wikipedia tells me that Eric was originally published in a larger format, fully illustrated by Josh Kirby, who did most of the covers of the UK editions of the Discworld …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/06/02/eric-by-terry-pratchett/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
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Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire