Tag: fantasy
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Book review: Fire in the Blood by W.R. Gingell
Fire in the Blood by W.R. Gingell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is the second of a trilogy (the first book being “Twelve Days a Faery.” Both books are standalone in the sense of despite the fact that there is an overarching narrative arc for the trilogy, the stories stand on their…
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Book review: Twelve Days of Faery by W.R. Gingell
Twelve Days of Faery by W.R. Gingell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an original take on a traditional fairy tale plot where unfortunate accidents happen to a prince’s girlfriends/fiancees, and the king has offered a reward to whomever breaks the curse. I enjoyed the first person narrative of the king, who is…
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Book review: Blackfoot by W.R. Gingell
Blackfoot by W.R. Gingell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the second book of the Two Monarchies Sequence. (“Masque,” which I reviewed earlier, was the first book written but is the last book in the series.) “Blackfoot” starts essentially right where “Spindle” left off, although the actual story starts several years later. The…
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Book review: Spindle by W.R. Gingell
Spindle by W.R. Gingell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is a re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale but to say that is like saying that Shake Shack is just another burger joint. This re-telling of Sleeping Beauty is original, intricate and complex. The magic (or, more accurately, the magics) are complicated…
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Book review: Masque by W.R. Gingell
Masque by W.R. Gingell My rating: 4 of 5 stars To say that this book is the retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale does the author an injustice. So, yes, “Masque” is a retelling of the traditional fairy tale, but it is one of the most fun and original retellings I’ve ever…
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Book review: Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb My rating: 4 of 5 stars I inadvertently entered this series in the middle of the narrative arc (this is the first of this particular series but not the first in the narrative, if that makes any sense). I plan to go back and start at the beginning, which is…
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Book review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss My rating: 5 of 5 stars I rarely give a book 5 stars, but the rating is well-deserved for this one. Recommended by Lin-Manuel Miranda via my daughter (who’s not much of a fantasy reader but who also loved it), this is the first volume of a…
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Book review: A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an unusual cross-genre book–part fantasy and part romance. There is deeper character development and more sparkling dialogue than you find in most fantasy novels. The author also takes care in developing her world, although much of it is by inference…
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Book review: Blythe by John Kramer
Blythe by John Kramer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have no idea how to classify this book–it’s as if the author of The Hunger Games trilogy went drinking with Friedrich Hayek (“The Road to Serfdom”) and C.S. Lewis, and they all decided to write a novel together (while drinking). 🙂 The book is…
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Book review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller My rating: 4 of 5 stars When I first realized a few pages into this book that Achilles was going to be the hero of this particular novel, I did a mental eye-roll (I may have even done a physical eye roll). Achilles has never struck me as…