Posts tagged with fantasy
Snow & Rose, by Emily Winfield Martin
Emily Winfield Martin is best known as a visual artist, but her recent novel Snow & Rose proves she's a competent writer, as well. Inspired by the little-known “Snow White and Rose Red” fairytale, Martin has reworked it into a full-length children's book that is greatly enhanced by her delicate, richly colored illustrations...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Snow & Rose, by Emily Winfield Martin
This week's Book Giveaway is Snow & Rose, a fairytale retelling written (reasonably well) and illustrated (extremely well) by painter Emily Winfield Martin. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 11/09/19...
Like Tolkien, hopefully it's better on film
According to Deadline, A24 and producer Jennifer Fox have teamed up to turn Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea fantasy books into a television show. Before her death in 2018, Le Guin had given Ms. Fox permission to turn her books into a series of films, but...
Another Fine Myth, by Robert Asprin
I hunted down a copy of Robert Asprin's Another Fine Myth after reading an absolutely glowing review of it on NPR. When I hear about a book described as a “joyous dad-joke fantasy”, I'm interested. Sadly, I found NPR's description to be a bit hyperbolic; Asprin's novel is more like a mildly amusing novelization of a D&D game.
Weekly Book Giveaway: Another Fine Myth, by Robert Asprin
Our latest Book Giveaway is Another Fine Myth, a 1978 fantasy/comedy written by Robert Lynn Asprin. (This isn't the cover art featured on our particular edition, but don't worry: they're both equally ugly.) A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 10/25/19...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Grand Dark, by Richard Kadrey
This week's Book Giveaway is The Grand Dark, a recent standalone fantasy from Sandman Slim author Richard Kadrey. The official premise sounds a little clichéd, but I have faith in Kadrey to transform it into something memorable. A full review will follow shortly...
Stop trying to make Henry Cavill happen.
Hmm. They're doing their best to emphasize the "based on a book series" angle, rather than the "muuuuch better known as a video game" approach to promote The Witcher, but this doesn't look like Netflix's answer to the high-minded fantasy of Game of Thrones...
That Ain't Witchcraft, by Seanan McGuire
That Ain't Witchcraft is the eighth novel in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series, and the author deserves all the fun-book awards: she keeps trotting out installment after installment, each just as lively, imaginative, and entertaining as the others. I've read more impressive standalone fantasies, but I can't remember another series delivering so consistently and fast...
Weekly Book Giveaway: That Ain't Witchcraft, by Seanan McGuire
This week's Book Giveaway is That Ain't Witchcraft, the eighth installment in Seanan McGuire's ridiculously entertaining InCryptid series. A full review will follow shortly; this giveaway will run through 7/26/19...
Storm Cursed, by Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs is one of the most reliable fantasy writers on my mental list of books to take on a plane. She's less pretentious than Seanan McGuire, way less gross than Laurell K. Hamilton, and better at romance than Charlaine Harris...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Storm Cursed, by Patricia Briggs
Our latest Book Giveaway is Storm Cursed, the 11th book in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series. (Why are the titles in this series so generic-fantasy-lite? I've already read the book, and I still couldn't tell you what "storm cursed" refers to.) A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/31/19...
The Casket of Time, by Andri Snaer Magnason
More books are published in Iceland per capita than anywhere else in the world. A disproportionate number seem to be indistinguishable gloomy thrillers, but a few stand out. Admittedly, Andri Snaer Magnason's The Casket of Time is both thrilling and frequently gloomy, but in an impressively idiosyncratic way...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Casket of Time, by Andri Snaer Magnason
Our latest Book Giveaway is The Casket of Time, written by Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason and translated by Björg Árnadóttir and Andrew Cauthery. A full review will follow shortly, but the cover art offers an excellent sense of the contents: 70% prettily imaginative, 30% creepy. This giveaway will run through 5/15/19...
The Mystery Knight, by George R. R. Martin
With all the hype and thinkpieces and merchandising tie-ins, I sometimes wonder if I should be watching Game of Thrones, even though I have thoroughly disliked the bits of the books that I've read and I can't stomach depictions of sexual violence. Still, the fan reaction to the show is so enthusiastic and thoughtful that I almost caved—but then I was sent a copy of The Mystery Knight, and it was a helpful reminder of why I've bowed out...
Beauty, by Robin McKinley
After last week's review of Leife Shallcross's The Beast's Heart, I decided to re-read Robin McKinley's thematically similar 1978 novel Beauty to see how it held up to my fond childhood memories. Like The Beast's Heart, Beauty does its best to transform the Beauty and the Beast fairytale into something romantic, rather than creepy...
The Beast's Heart, by Leife Shallcross
There are some classic stories that just don't lend themselves to PC updates, and “Beauty and the Beast” is one of them. In her book The Beast's Heart, author Leife Shallcross does her best to minimize the fairytale's inherent problems, but there are too many to fully overcome...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Beast's Heart, by Leife Shallcross
Our latest Book Giveaway is Leife Shallcross's The Beast's Heart, the first of two Beauty and the Beast-themed reviews we're planning on over the next couple weeks. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/10/19...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
Our latest Book Giveaway is Binti: The Complete Trilogy, a flawed but impressively imaginative fantasy/sci-fi by Nnedi Okorafor. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/10/19...
Slayer, by Kiersten White
In my recent review of the BOOM Comics Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, I wondered if the Buffy-centric storytelling well had finally run dry. Bestselling author Kiersten White's new spinoff novel Slayer proves that there is still some life in this 'verse...
Sign me up
And in our third and final bit of page-to-screen news this week, here's the only one of the bunch I'm genuinely excited to see: The Changeover, a deeply creepy-looking adaptation of an award-winning YA fantasy novel...
Sleepless: Vol. 1, by Sarah Vaughn
A few months ago, I asked my local comic shop owner for his honest opinion of the new Books of Magic reboot. (I loved the original series as a kid, but I've been burned before by the various attempts at re-starting it, and my comics budget is not limitless.) He hesitated—clearly, a sale's a sale—but...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Sleepless, by Sarah Vaughn
Our current Book Giveaway pick is the first volume (of a two-book series) of Sarah Vaughn's new graphic novel Sleepless, which combines high fantasy, romance, and A+++ artwork. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/10/19...
Smooth Criminals: Issues 1 & 2, by Kurt Lustgarten and Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith
I had hopes for Smooth Criminals, the second comic from the creators of Misfit City. Unfortunately, there is an art to pacing a comic series that creators Kurt Lustgarten and Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith still haven't mastered, and...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Smooth Criminals: Issues 1 & 2, by Kurt Lustgarten and Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith
Our current Book Giveaway is the first two issues of Smooth Criminals, the second comic by Misfit City creators Kurt Lustgarten and Kerstin "Kiwi" Smith. A full review will follow shortly, but here's a spoiler: they still have some kinks to work out. This giveaway will run through 3/09/19...
The Dark Days Deceit, by Alison Goodman
Maybe this is a sign that I'm thinking too much about baked goods right now, but Alison Goodman's The Dark Days Deceit reminded me very much of one of those professionally decorated sugar cookies—technically impressive, but not that much fun to consume...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Dark Days Deceit, by Alison Goodman
This week's Book Giveaway is The Dark Days Deceit, the final book in Alison Goodman's ambitious Lady Helen trilogy. Thus far, this has been a series I've admired more than I've loved, but I never count Goodman out—I get distracted by her elaborate plotting and world-building, but her stories can deliver an unexpected emotional punch. A full review will follow shortly...
Archenemies, by Marissa Meyer
Archenemies, the second book in Marissa Meyer's Renegades series, picks up immediately after the events of the first. Heroine Nova Artino is still working as a double agent, torn between her loyalty to the villains who raised her and the morally-questionable “superheroes” who control her city...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Archenemies, by Marissa Meyer
This week's Book Giveaway is Archenemies, the sequel to Marissa Meyer's Renegades. We had some realllly big problems with Renegades, but the sequel, at least at first glance, seems to be looking up. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 11/23/18...
The Highest House: Issue #1, by Mike Carey
I recently asked the owner of my local comic book store if I should buy the new Books of Magic reboot. He hesitated, but then (very diplomatically, I thought) said that while he was pleased the Vertigo reboots were driving traffic into the store, he thought he could recommend some more interesting fantasy titles. I trust his taste, so...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Highest House: Issue #1, by Mike Carey
It's been quite some time since we've featured a comic book, so this week's Book Giveaway is the first issue of Mike Carey's latest title, The Highest House. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 11/23/18...