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Book Reviews - Fantasy
Feb. 19th, 2004 02:10 pmSome of my friends (hi!) have asked me to post the book reviews I've been giving them, so they don't get lost in the depths of board archives. So, here goes. These are books that I enjoyed reading. Maybe I'll list a couple of books from my to-read list, too. I'm not planning to do deep critical analysis. Otherwise, please feel free to comment!
To start with, a trio of fantasy books:
Sunshine by Robin McKinley. McKinley is best known for her children’s fantasy, Beauty and The Hero and the Crown, among others. This is her first adult novel, a post-apocalyptic vampire novel starring a baker named Sunshine. Who would have thought that cinnamon rolls and vampires could go together so well?
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Also a first of sorts – Gaiman is best known for the Sandman series of graphic novels, so this is his first regular novel (I admit, a couple years old, but I just got around to it.) It’s an examination of the American spirit, framed around the premise that when people came to America, they brought their old gods with them. Now they’ve stopped believing in them, but the gods are still here, trying to make a living. Shadow, our hero, is released from jail early when his wife is killed in a car crash. On the wrong plane, in the wrong seat, he meets a man called Wednesday who extends his condolences and offers him a job.
In the Forests of Serre by Patricia McKillip. McKillip is a master of fantasy, the only author I know whose magic feels so, well, magical, not just a new set of rules. Prince Ronan has lost his wife and baby and doesn’t care when the Mother of All Witches, who lives in a house of bone somewhere in the forest, puts a curse on him. The Princess Sidonie agreed to marry the broken-hearted prince only to keep his father from invading her country. But it is even worse when she discovers that Ronan is missing, last seen chasing the Firebird through the enchanted forest.
To start with, a trio of fantasy books:
Sunshine by Robin McKinley. McKinley is best known for her children’s fantasy, Beauty and The Hero and the Crown, among others. This is her first adult novel, a post-apocalyptic vampire novel starring a baker named Sunshine. Who would have thought that cinnamon rolls and vampires could go together so well?
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Also a first of sorts – Gaiman is best known for the Sandman series of graphic novels, so this is his first regular novel (I admit, a couple years old, but I just got around to it.) It’s an examination of the American spirit, framed around the premise that when people came to America, they brought their old gods with them. Now they’ve stopped believing in them, but the gods are still here, trying to make a living. Shadow, our hero, is released from jail early when his wife is killed in a car crash. On the wrong plane, in the wrong seat, he meets a man called Wednesday who extends his condolences and offers him a job.
In the Forests of Serre by Patricia McKillip. McKillip is a master of fantasy, the only author I know whose magic feels so, well, magical, not just a new set of rules. Prince Ronan has lost his wife and baby and doesn’t care when the Mother of All Witches, who lives in a house of bone somewhere in the forest, puts a curse on him. The Princess Sidonie agreed to marry the broken-hearted prince only to keep his father from invading her country. But it is even worse when she discovers that Ronan is missing, last seen chasing the Firebird through the enchanted forest.
