Fantasy
The Poison Throne (Moorehawke Trilogy) by Celine Kiernan
In The Poison Throne what had been a benevolent kingdom has become characterised by repression and torture (which the book graphically describes). The magical aspects of the kingdom, its talking cats and ghosts, have been suppressed, while Alberon, the heir to the throne, has vanished. Wynter, along with Alberon's half brother Razi and his friend Christopher are increasingly at risk as they attempt to deal with this situation. Full review...
Beyond the Wall of Time (Broken Man) by Russell Kirkpatrick
A couple of aspects have summed up Russell Kirkpatrick's Broken Man trilogy for me so far. There has been a fascinating story with some wonderful character building that has made it highly enjoyable. There have also been some of the most detailed maps I have ever seen in a fantasy series, offering more variation than I've seen in maps before and actually adding detail to some parts of the story, not merely acting as a guide. I was expecting more of the same from the final part, Beyond the Wall of Time and very much looking forward to it. Full review...
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Teenage boy meets mysterious new stranger in a small town. They fall in love, he finds out she's harbouring a dark secret, the pair of them try to find out if their relationship can work while she tries to keep him safe from her world. This kind of book appears to be released every few weeks since Twilight became so successful – but rarely in the past few years has it been done as well as it has in Beautiful Creatures. Full review...
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Sometimes with authors you just don't know what you've been missing. Other times you do. Jasper Fforde has long been on my catch-up list. Snippets of Thursday Next and reviews and interviews were enough to convince me I had to get to know this work.
My chance finally came with the first in a completely new series: Shades of Grey. Full review...
Full Circle (Castings Trilogy) by Pamela Freeman
Pamela Freeman's Castings trilogy is written in an unusual way for a fantasy novel. It tells the story from the characters' points of view, in a style more common to the chick-lit novels of Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees. This interrupted the flow of the story quite noticeably in Blood Ties, the first of the trilogy, but didn't seem quite so much of a distraction in the second part, Deep Water. Unfortunately, this time around it works against the story. Full review...
Furnaces of Forge by Alan Skinner
In this sequel, it's almost as you were, except here the mysterious powers of the blue flame are not being used by some outlander arsonist, but have been usurped by two inept young scientists from the Myrmidots, to fuel their industry. We can predict this will prove a bad thing, but the breadth of the journey to capture the flame, and the efforts of all our returning characters to put things right might still be a surprise. Full review...
The Stone Crown by Malcolm Walker
Neither Emlyn nor Maxine feel completely at home in Yeaveburgh - yet they both have roots there. Emlyn's come back to the town in which he was born because his mother and sister, archaeologists, are working on a dig nearby. His father is in a care home, having suffered a nervous breakdown. Maxine returned to the town to live with her grandmother after her mother died of a heroin overdose. Emlyn is quiet and shy, a bit geeky, and lonely. Maxine is lonely too, but she'd never admit it. She's too spiky and defensive. They both feel like outsiders, and yet they both have a nagging sense that they are where they were meant to be. Full review...
The Wings of Wrath (The Magister Trilogy) by Celia Friedman
The first part of Celia Friedman's Magister trilogy was a wonderfully dark piece of fantasy. It contained some beasts you wouldn't be surprised to come across in a horror novel and stretched the idea of magic being a draining power to an interesting place psychologically. The second part, Wings of Wrath is more of a straight fantasy novel, lacking some of the horror elements that made the first part such a draw for me, but it's still a very good read. Full review...
Sins of the Angel by Wayne J Harris
Dr Gideon Matthews, a shouty hellfire and damnation preacher, has just delivered a sermon all about the evils of women being allowed into the church hierarchy and, on his way home afterwards, he is murdered. The following day however he wakes up in hospital or, actually, an angel called Gabriel finds himself inside Dr Matthews' body, able to recall Dr Matthews' memories and thoughts and feelings but acting now as himself. Gabriel goes a little bit wild, finding himself overwhelmed by the new feelings and desires he experiences in this body, sinning left, right and centre and causing scandal at his every move. He is also wondering for what purpose he has been brought into this body and finds that he is dreaming about a demon, someone who is persuading an unknown monk to commit murders in God's name and who seems to be getting closer and closer to Dr Matthews in order to kill him too... Full review...
Nightlight: A Parody of Twilight by The Harvard Lampoon
Most people will have heard of the worldwide phenomenon that is Twilight. The books by Stephenie Meyer and the film have made a legend of the romance between vampire Edward Mullen (Robert Pattinson plays the movie role) and teenage schoolgirl Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). Full review...
Traitors' Gate (Crossroads) by Kate Elliott
Kate Elliott's Crossroads series has so far come in large, slightly off-putting chunks. They've been decent reads, by and large, with a huge cast of wonderfully drawn characters, but the sheer size and slow pace of the action has meant I didn't enjoy them as much as I may otherwise have done. Traitors' Gate, the third in the sequence is different in only one aspect; the character development is still there, the huge page count is still there, but the pacing is a lot better. Full review...
The Drowning City by Amanda Downum
In a nutshell, you're reading this because you're wondering whether The Drowning City is good, bad or mediocre. You've probably glanced at the rating and guessed the latter. I'm afraid it's not quite that simple. This is a debut that provokes decidedly mixed feelings. I started off convinced that I was going to love this book. The cover art is effortlessly cool, the premise intriguing, the characters laden with potential for greatness and the backdrop is certainly evocative. Full review...
Wake by Lisa McMann
Janie is seventeen and studying hard for college. She's also working lots of hours at a local nursing home to earn money for college as it's unlikely her alcoholic mother is going to provide much in the way of resources. College is Janie's only chance at a life better than the one she's lived so far and so you can't blame her for being so single-minded in the pursuit of her goal. Only one thing stands in her way... Full review...
Fallen by Lauren Kate
A 17 year old girl at a new school meets a mysterious and impossibly good-looking boy, who she's immediately drawn to. He seems determined to either ignore her or be outright rude to her, until he saves her life, and the two of them end up drawn together. This isn't Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, but it certainly has striking similarities. Full review...
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
Cassie lives on an Arctic research station in Alaska. She loves the ice and the wilderness of her remote home and she'd definitely prefer to spend her time on tracking polar bears and fending off frostbite rather than on mixing with her peers and enjoying college and home comforts back in Fairbanks. However, things aren't all rosy. Cassie's mother died when she was just a baby and she can't help feeling a huge hole in her heart. Her scientist father is remote and unloving and her grandmother left the station after an argument with him when Cassie was still very young. Full review...
The Battle of the Sun by Jeanette Winterson
London 1601. Elizabeth I is getting on in years. Her capital city is a busy, bustling place. Boats fill the river and people fill the streets. Jack is happy because it's his birthday and his present is his heart's desire: an excitable black puppy named Max, who's a licking and a running and a leaping and a jumping and a tummy in the air and a tail wagging and a barking, racing, braking, spinning energy dog of delight. Full review...
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Possessed of great beauty, the kind that drives men mad, Fire is used to people trying to kill her. She isn't used to them doing it by accident. When a poacher in the woods outside her home accidentally shoots her, Fire is hard pressed to keep the temperamental Lord Archer from killing him. But as sure as Fire is the man did not mean to cause her harm, she is made unsure by the strange fog that exists in the man's mind. Full review...
Legend by David Gemmell
Dros Delnoch, a massive fortress with six walls of defence, is in danger of falling to the Nadir. With its fall, the Drenai empire is soon to follow. The Nadir haven't lost yet and as a result, morale among the defenders is low and desertions are rampant. The men long for a hero, but the legendary Druss has hidden himself away in the mountains and become a myth. Full review...
A Princess of Landover (Magic Kingdom of Landover) by Terry Brooks
Mistaya has a lot to deal with in this book. But then so do her parents, Ben (human) and Willow (half Dryad), as for much of the time they do not know where she is: your basic parental nightmare if you have a fifteen year old daughter whether you are the ruler of a magical kingdom or not. Full review...
Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
It's back to the werewolves in this latest volume in Armstrong's immensely popular Women of the Otherworld series, and I must say I'm relieved because the werewolves are my favourites. Time's moved on a little since we were with them last. Elena and Clay are now utterly settled in their wolfish marriage and their twins are three years old. Elena has just found out that Jeremy is looking to retire and also to make her the new pack Alpha. Ambitious and competitive, she's the ideal pack member for the job - but how will it affect her relationship with Clay, the pack enforcer? To add to this worry, a contact from the past has churned up some unwanted memories. Full review...
The Naming of the Beasts (Felix Castor) by Mike Carey
Felix Castor is a talented exorcist living in London, with zombies, ghosts and succubi for friends, and the odd human. His best friend, Rafi, has been taken over by a demon called Asmodeus, for which Felix feels slightly responsible. As such, he needs to get Rafi back to normal - the problem is that Asmodeus has other ideas - basically to kill everyone who has anything to do with Rafi. Felix himself is probably on the list, but before he worries about himself, he needs to do something about his closest friends - namely Pen, his landlady, Juliet, a succubus (a demonic female spirit) and Sue, Juliet's lover. At the same time, there are horrible things going on in a central London gym, and Castor must do something about it before people start to die. Can he solve all his problems without losing any of his loved ones? Full review...
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
When Hegel and Manfried are ticked off, you know about it. Returning to a town for vengeance - someone didn't like their scrumping there as children - they leave several dead, and several more corpses behind when a posse is sent off to seek its own justice. They're journeying south, graverobbing their way through mediaeval Europe, and they don't care how many people they have to kill, betray, get vengeance on, or blaspheme, or what they have to eat or drink, until their task is done. Full review...
The Alchemaster's Apprentice by Walter Moers
Meet Echo the Crat. He is a rare example of his species, which is a cat that can speak every language known. His life among the miserable, permanently ill citizens of Malaisea is not great, which is why, when the strange scientist from the castle that looms over everyone and everything offers him a month of entertaining gluttony before he kills Echo, as opposed to three days' starving penury on the streets, the offer is accepted. Full review...
Hunting Ground (Alpha and Omega) by Patricia Briggs
Life with a werewolf is a question of balances. You have to swing your new-found status as the motherly, calming, but powerful Omega wolf, with his Alpha-male studly status. You have to equate his inner Brother Wolf being practically a different entity to his human side, and know when and how to relate to both. And you have to remember that you might be playfighting in the snow one minute, and the next told by your father-in-law to go to Seattle, and act as figurehead for a revolution in werewolf life - and stand in the face of a very wicked and powerful European werewolf, vampires, and more. Full review...
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
When Elspeth Noblin dies of Leukemia, she leaves behind a strange bequest that will have dramatic and tragic consequences. She leaves her London flat and all the trappings of her life to the 'mirror' twins of her own twin sister who currently live outside Chicago. This is news to the twins who didn't even know that they had an aunt. The only condition of her legacy is that the twins, Julia and Valentina, have to live in the flat, which is adjacent to Highgate Cemetery, for a year before they can sell it. It is clear from the outset that Elspeth has secrets about her relationship with her twin sister Edie, which she is keen to keep hidden from the twins, but when it turns out that Elspeth hasn't quite left the apartment after her death, things get a whole lot messier for everyone. Full review...
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
This book is almost four hundred pages long, but I read it so quickly that it might as well have only had one hundred pages! Lia Milthorpe and her twin sister Alice have never really been allies, always slightly at odds with one another. When their father dies and they become orphans, the twins discover that they are enemies in truth, on opposing sides of a prophecy that could destroy the world. With the help of her new friends Sonia and Luisa, Lia must find the Keys before Alice does and prevent demons from taking over the world. Full review...
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
It is not easy to move in with a werewolf. He is two hundred years old or more, and you've been a werewolf for three years. He comes with generations of baggage, a father who is the capo di capi of werewolves in North America, and a job as his assassin and general fiery dogsbody. You are only just beginning to get to grips with your new status, and his temperament, and how they are expected to mix before you're confirmed as a couple. So when it comes to him clearing up a mess with regards to a lethal, rogue werewolf nearby - making humans take too much notice - the timing could have been better. Full review...
Before the Gods (Chronicles of Fate and Choice) by K S Turner
Before The Gods is presented as an enigma, wrapped in a puzzle and shrouded in mystery. The front is adorned by a beguiling image created by the author. A glance at the back cover serves only to tantalise rather than reveal what might be in store.
This is where it all began. Everything. Love, hate, good, evil, us and them. This is before they were gods. Full review...
Child of a Dead God by Barb and J C Hendee
Margiere, half-human, half-vampire, is being drawn south by dreams of an icebound castle. Her quest to discover a mysterious ancient artefact borders on obsession – a dangerous one that threatens the lives of her travelling companions. But little sage, Wynn, will follow her, seeking knowledge for her guild on the long forgotten history of their world, as will Chap and Elven warrior Sgäille, who swore an oath of guardianship to Margiere and Leesil. Full review...
The Dwarves by Markus Heitz
The charismatic dwarf, Tungdil, abandoned at birth, and brought up in the land of long-uns (humans), was raised and apprenticed to a magus. He finds that his peaceful life is about to change dramatically. Plucked from obscurity and anonymity, he is sent on a quest to find his fellow dwarves, delivering messages en route: naturally, adventure will follow him, and perhaps he is even the long lost heir to the dwarves' throne - time will tell! Full review...
You Suck by Christopher Moore
You know that old adage about books and covers? Well this is a case in point. The title isn't great, but the cover design for the paperback imprint is, like, duh!, the pits. It is so uncool…so unrep-resent-ative of the book. This is not a cocktail thing. Not even a "Bloody Mary" thing.
Well, except for the tiny bit that is, but you'll discover that in due course. Full review...
Witches Incorporated (Rogue Agent) by K E Mills
Witches Incorporated is the second book in K.E. Mills' rogue agent series, which are about the exploits of wizard Gerald Dunwoody and his friends. In this book, Gerald has a new job as a secret agent for the Ottosland government. He's on a deadly mission to hunt down a saboteur, determined to make amends for his past. Meanwhile, his friends have set up an agency (Witches Incorporated) and are themselves heading for danger when they accidentally cross paths with Gerald's saboteur. Full review...
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
To Simon, an orphaned servant at the Hayholt, home of an aged king, it seems that his life will forever be dull and mundane. The King's youthful glory days were long ago and Simon, who dreams of adventure, sees his peaceful but quiet life as a tragedy. When the old King dies his son Elias is crowned, but begins to act strangely. Strange weather strikes the realm, terrifying beasts are attacking from the North, and the King, far from helping his people from these problems, is adding his own heavy taxes. Simon is caught up on a journey that is as full of danger and intrigue as he ever dreamed of, but finds it less than he hoped for. An ancient enemy is stirring, the High King Elias is aiding this enemy and it seems the only hope for the kingdom lies in the knowledge of the mysterious League of the Scroll and the finding of three ancient swords of power. Full review...
The Edge of the World by Kevin J Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson is perhaps better known for his Science Fiction books, such as continuations to the Dune Saga and numerous X-Files and Star Trek books. Having only ever read his X-Files books, I was unsure how I would like a fantasy book by someone who was so ingrained in my mind as a Science Fiction author. I needn't have worried, his first foray into the fantasy genre is a good start. Full review...
In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan
It's September 1666 and although the mortals' Civil War is over the war amongst the fae is still raging in London. There's now a greater threat to the Onyx Court and it could destroy everything when a spark starts a fire which for three days spreads through the city devouring everything in its path. Can the mortals and the fae unite to find a way to defeat a foe which neither can better on their own? Full review...
Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera) by Jim Butcher
The 'Furies' of the title refer to elemental spirits of earth, air, fire, water and metal which bond with humans and grant them magical abilities. Welcome to Alera, where all the citizens have magical powers. All except fifteen year old farm boy Tavi, a native of the Calderon valley who for some reason has been unable to create any bonds with an elemental. Full review...
May Contain Traces of Magic by Tom Holt
It's a hard life being a salesman. Chris Popham spends all his time driving between customers trying to sell them things they don't really want to buy – products of JWW retail, magical goods. Portable parking spaces, bank holidays on a CD, the Book of all Human Knowledge, and the firm's most popular product, DW6, only don't ask what it's for, because no one knows. Full review...
The Mendini Canticle (Dr Sigmundus Trilogy) by Brian Keaney
In this fantasy world, the nasty king is dead, but that does not mean things are going well for the resistance fighters we are interested in - for what they immediately see is their guiding light replace him, and appear to be even worse. Meanwhile, in the country next door, another young hero is wondering how his best friend has disappeared. He encounters a passing mystical, elder man with token white hair, who explains it is down to magic - but they see the rest of the friend's family being taken by the military. Full review...
Who is Charlie Keeper? by Marcus Alexander
Twelve-year-old Charlie Keeper lives in a slightly peculiar house with slightly peculiar noises and slightly peculiar visitors. Her life isn't so great; her parents disappeared years before and she lives with her senile grandmother and under the auspices of the wicked family lawyer, Mr Crow. She really does need to get away. And get away she does. Fleeing one of Mr Crow's particular nastinesses, Charlie falls through a gap between worlds and finds herself in Bellania, home of myth and legend, and place of magic. Full review...
The Awakening (Darkest Powers 2) by Kelley Armstrong
We left poor Chloe Saunders just as she'd been taken captive by the rather sinister Edison Group. She'd only just escaped their clutches, too. And that was after she'd only just discovered that she's not a disturbed teenager, but an immensely powerful necromancer, capable of summoning ghosts and raising the dead. She's in good company; fellow captives Rae (half-demon) and Tori (witch) also have supernatural powers. Still free are Derek (werewolf) and Simon (sorcerer). Full review...
Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn
Fantasy and science fiction are genres that mesh well together. Some authors have written successfully across both genres, but not usually in the same story. Jaine Fenn has managed to combine both in one book and it's an interesting read. Full review...
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Liga's upbringing has not been a happy one. Her mother died young. Her father has sexually abused her and forced herbal concoctions on her in order to abort the resulting pregancies - except the last one. After his death, she was gang-raped by village boys and fell pregnant again. In her degradation and despair, she resolves to throw herself and her baby off a cliff. But the moon-babby takes pity upon her and spirits her away to an alternate reality in which people are kind and everything is safe. Here, she brings up her daughters - the pacific Branza and the fiery Urdda - in peace and harmony. It is, after all, her heart's desire. Full review...
Turn Coat (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
Some time ago, I read the ninth book from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. White Night was a decent enough book, but did conform to a couple of the more obvious clichés and this took the edge off it for me. But with the eleventh in the series, Butcher seems to have been improving as he goes along and I found Turn Coat to be far more enjoyable. Full review...
Winter Wood (The Various) by Steve Augarde
We are all one. I am the fly upon my own cheek, and in another life I watch myself through his eye.
Pegs, an amazing flying horse that speaks in colours, gives Winter Wood's schoolgirl heroine, Midge, his parting words in this splendid fantasy adventure which can be enjoyed by confident readers, teens and adults alike. Full review...
The Rivers of Zadaa (Pendragon) by D J MacHale
Don't get me wrong - I never mean to disparage a book when I convert its mood, plot or impression into a two or three word comparison with something else. So if I say there is a lot here that boils down to Eloi vs Morlock, it's to point out I'm quite sure our author has knowledge of The Time Machine, in book or on film, and wanted to do something a little similar. And the key word is 'little' - there's a lot that's Machale's own here in the balance between his two races. One is above ground, one a lot paler for being subterranean, and the battleground between the two - played out on and under the desert capital city on Zadaa, in a heated time of drought, is perfect for the big bad, Saint Dane, to get his claws into. Full review...
Blackwater (Pendragon) by D J MacHale
One of the most telling pages in this book was the one with the author's CV on, which declares his prior career in film and TV. It's one of the hallmarks of the best genre TV series that each episode can immerse you in a universe unique to that week's programme, while never losing sight of the grand, major story arc. And to that rule I can begin to add the best of teen fantasy fiction, such as this. Full review...