Tag: Fantasy

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 …

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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/

Carniepunk: Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open Lonely Sea by Seanan McGuire

This was a short story by Seanan McGuire that was part of the Carniepunk anthology released last year (2013). It is, like all of Seanan McGuire’s/Mira Grant’s books, an absolutely delectable piece of writing. I realize that I’m verging on the edge of hyperbole, but truly I have yet to read anything by Seanan McGuire …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/22/carniepunk-daughter-of-the-midway-the-mermaid-and-the-open-lonely-sea-by-seanan-mcguire/

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/15/the-house-of-hades-by-rick-riordan/

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/03/the-slow-regard-of-silent-things-by-patrick-rothfuss-2/

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/27/king-rat-by-china-mieville/

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 …

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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/

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/12/the-slow-regard-of-silent-things-by-patrick-rothfuss/

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/11/the-magicians-land-by-lev-grossman/

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.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/07/without-a-summer-by-mary-robinette-kowal/

The Last Wish by Andrezej Sapkowski

One of my commonest complaints about fantasy novels is that the setting is warmed-over England. There is so much fantasy that uses vaguely-English feudalism as its model, that it’s possible for someone to grow up reading almost nothing but, and then to embark on a career of writing in the same genre without necessarily realizing …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/06/the-last-wish-by-andrezej-sapkowski/