Joel Adamson

I read this book with my kids, who are Star Wars fans. I loved The Force Awakens, but just to add my own perspective, I think the proliferation of Star Wars material is a bit overwhelming and unnecessary to enjoying the movies. In addition, most Star Wars bonus material I have read is not that well done. I wanted to read this book mainly for my kids' enjoyment, but I was excited to hear that Delilah S. Dawson was doing an entire novel. Delilah is inspiring as a writer and blogger, and gives wonderful advice on how to build a strong career. So I picked up Phasma and was blown away by the amazing prose in the opening pages. The author takes an entirely boring scenario and makes it crackle with tension. I had to read the rest.If you like anything Star Wars, you'll love this book. If you like science fiction and fantasy, and good writing, the best parts of this book will be the current-time conflict between Cardinal and Phasma, two rival stormtroopers in the First Order. Phasma's backstory is an interesting quest with a very well-developed culture, and a mystery that will be satisfying for fantasy readers. I think the best writing and the biggest tension happens toward the end of the book, and it's well worth getting through some slow “endless desert” passages. The last hundred pages of this book are filled with suspense, and I really had a good time reading it.Phasma is already a bestseller, so if this is the first book you've read by the author, I highly urge you to pick up her original material, which is much much better. For example she has a Weird Western series under her pen name Lila Bowen that I highly recommend, the latest chapter of which is [b:Malice of Crows 34019231 Malice of Crows (The Shadow, #3) Lila Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485478044s/34019231.jpg 55016762].

This is a guilt-based review: I really enjoyed this book and it was hard to put down, so I feel bad rating it as low as three stars. Three stars does not mean I didn't like it, it just means it has a few problems that kept me from liking it as much as I wanted to.

Arlen is a boy who grows up in a post-scientific world plagued by magical beasts with a hunger for human flesh. The only defense against these demons is a system of magical runes that create wards to hold the demons back. Arlen's family and villagers are overly dependent on these wards and the men refuse to fight. Arlen abandons his family after a series of tragic disappointments and gradually learns the art of warding and how to fight demons. His art progresses to the point where he learns some of the forgotten ways of fighting demons. Two other storylines trace the lives of Leesha, a young woman from a similar village who learns medicine at the expense of her private life, and Rojer, who grows up to be a storyteller who also yearns to fight demons.

This is a fast read that had me hooked right away which kept enough momentum to carry through to the end. I highly recommend it, but it has a few problems that left me scratching my head. The main thing that keeps this book from four stars is the pacing: the events seem to hurry from one thing to another in short paragraphs without much description. There is the requisite exposition in the beginning, and the book is easy to follow, which makes for a fast read. It's never hard to follow, but the characters make huge leaps in their situations that would have been really interesting to follow in a more constricted dramatic space (i.e. a shorter period of time with higher stakes and more intensity).

It reminds me a bit of a comic book or role-playing game. As many other commenters have noted, Arlen figures out how to ward his body, and it just works. He becomes The Warded Man and ceases to be Arlen. A story that he totally owns at the beginning becomes just the story of how he's going to kill a lot of demons. Leesha and Rojer dominate the story at this point, which is interesting, but then the stakes are not entirely clear. The title and cover are kind of a spoiler.

There are a few hints of where this story might go, but I had a hard time seeing where the real conflict is. Humans good, demons bad, yes, but is that enough? I'm not sure. The characters also have to fight against the constrictions of the culture they live in, especially Arlen, who is constantly fighting against what people think can be done against demons. He also gets into a conflict with the Krasians over the ownership of a magical weapon, and that is something he has to rise above. It's good enough that I might read the sequel, as at the end there is a hint of the cosmic significance of the demons, but overall the main problem is still just humans versus demons. How are they going to possibly kill all the demons? I suppose it reflects the basic problem that the humans don't know enough about the demons to eradicate them that I as a reader didn't know enough about demons to think this is ever going to be possible. This makes the story seem very self-contained: it makes for good action, but it has very little spiritual impact.

A good read. Not for people who can't stand to see women wearing aprons.

Why ask me? This book is a classic that goes beyond all internet reviews. School librarians and teachers will forever be recommending this book, and with good reason. If you're going to read it as an adult, don't expect too much, but kids will remember it forever. I just read it to my children and we went to see the movie. It's a cerebral, magical, wonder-filled book that is great for children from 8-12. I highly recommend it for reading aloud or reading solo. The kids loved it. It's imaginative and adventurous, with plenty of laughs and cries. The thing I liked most about it was reading a children's book that quotes Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, and Cervantes in their original languages. That's the kind of book I want to read to my kids.

If it's so great, then why only three stars? Honestly it's a little hard to read. This book was notoriously rejected over sixty times by publishers who thought it was too hard for kids to read, and I might agree with them. I read it aloud, and I often had to stop and re-read awkward sentences. Also there's the structure of the story itself: the movie is getting a lot of heat for this but trust me, the problems are there in the book. The story is just not that strong, but honestly the story doesn't seem to be the point. The point seems to be the relationships between the family members, the cool worlds they visit and Meg's arc, which is good despite the weaknesses of the plot as a whole. Meg still grows up quite a bit over the course of the story and solves the final problem, but I'm too much of a bitter adult to really get it.

On the other hand, the kids loved it, so why not read it to them?

This is a great book. Every science fiction and fantasy writer should have a copy. I just keep going back to it, and every time I learn something new. The newer edition with supplemental chapters, [b:Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction: How to Create Out-Of-This-World Novels and Short Stories 17295445 Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction How to Create Out-Of-This-World Novels and Short Stories Orson Scott Card https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375674709s/17295445.jpg 23929343], doesn't really add much to this classic.

This is a great book to read if you are a fan of rock biographies, The Sex Pistols, or Steve Jones himself. I also found it an excellent exposition of British life in the sixties and seventies. Unlike most history books, it actually gives you a feel for what life was like for working class people at the time, and the role of music in their culture.

However, this is best viewed as a commentary on the Sex Pistols story you already know. It is light on dates and locations although it's not the kind of poetic memoir that's become fashionable lately. So if you already know the Sex Pistols story and want Steve's take on it, this is an excellent book.

[b:With Blood Upon the Sand 30212517 With Blood Upon the Sand (The Song of the Shattered Sands #2) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486012514s/30212517.jpg 46117528] is the second novel in the Song of The Shattered Sands series. Two novellas have been published, [b:Of Sand and Malice Made 28169745 Of Sand and Malice Made (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #0.5) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455322351s/28169745.jpg 48184296] and [b:In the Village Where Brightwine Flows: A Shattered Sands Novella 36052836 In the Village Where Brightwine Flows A Shattered Sands Novella (The Song of the Shattered Sands #2.1) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502906319s/36052836.jpg 57629704], along with the first novel in the series [b:Twelve Kings in Sharakhai 24611565 Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #1) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1434513419s/24611565.jpg 25652373]. The third novel of a projected four, [b:A Veil of Spears 26821724 A Veil of Spears (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #3) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501430186s/26821724.jpg 46850494] is due out next month. This is a deeply-characterized series that focuses on Ceda, a very capable young woman wrapped up in an intense drama. The city of Sharakhai in the heart of the Shangazi desert is filled with magic and haunted by its own past. The influences on this world are primarily near-Eastern or Central Asian, and it makes for an interesting mix of magical elements. There is not just one “magic system” there are many groups vying for control of Sharakhai, and many gods and goddesses who are embroiled in a conflict that goes back hundreds of years. Ceda is caught up in this conflict by her heritage and the circumstances she grew up in, desperate to make sense of her own life, and to save the heritage of the Shangazi's Thirteenth Tribe. This book is rich with psychological, interpersonal, spiritual, and political conflict, and deals with mature literary topics in an entertaining and action-packed plot.This book starts with Ceda training in an elite group of guards, the Blade Maidens, who she joined in the first book. Ceda has not given up her grand plan to assassinate the Kings of Sharakhai, whose magic is starting to dwindle. She discovers some secret allies inside and outside the palace of the kings, and a new recruit, Yndris, becomes a rival she must work with if she is going to conceal her grander scheme. The book spends a lot of time with secondary characters, such as Emre, Ceda's scholar friend Davud, Ramahd Amansir, and the villain Hamzakiir, so what Ceda is dealing with goes way beyond her own mission. There is a whole world at stake. These are great books. I'm really not a devourer of current books, especially not series, but this one has good writing, an interesting setting, and above all characters that are believable and complex through-and-through. The city itself is a great character and Beaulieu never disappoints when he paints a picture of the city of Sharakhai. It's a setting, like Hogwarts, Randland, Middle Earth, or Pern, that will live on, and probably plague the author if he tries to leave it behind. Although Ceda is a fighter by trade, she is a complex and interesting character who isn't afraid to face up to her own flaws. There are no Mary Sue problems here: Ceda is only as capable as she trains to be, and although she's not as neurotic as some protagonists, she does hold herself back with her psychological wounds. A few scenes in With Blood Upon The Sand really emphasize this and the whole plot is shaped by Ceda's problems. The setting and the rich characterization leads me to say this is a whole other class of fantasy writing: it is not simply action, and it is not character-oriented to the detriment of plot in the slightest. This book series is in a class by itself, and I hope the trend toward character-rich fantasy only continues. I really enjoyed this book for the strength of the setting and the characters, but as far as plot goes it's definitely a middle book, not as tight as Twelve Kings in Sharakhai. I highly recommend it, and I'm very excited for [b:A Veil of Spears 26821724 A Veil of Spears (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #3) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501430186s/26821724.jpg 46850494] later this year. I will not wait for someone to buy it for me this time. There is nothing that completely kills this book, but I would give it 3.5 stars since especially compared to the first book, which has the advantage of being a first book, the plot is less straightforward, and more interested in demonstrating complexity than resolving anything. There are a few scenes that I thought just didn't make sense or weren't worth having there. There really were too many sex scenes (of all the things to get tired of!) and I didn't think they added much other than a little titillation. Some things that I thought were out-of-character for Ceda in Book 1 were revealed to be more important in this book. I did like how much we got of the secondary characters, although not much was resolved for them either. I always wanted to get back to Ceda and see how her relationships were going to develop. Although the lack of “resolution” is prominent, there is a lot of revelation. We learn a lot more about how the kings do their thing, and by the end a lot has changed. I highly recommend this book with the caveat that it's a middle book and I thought it could have been shorter. It didn't quite hold me the way Twelve Kings did, but Ceda definitely has her hooks in me. I want to see what happens with her next. I don't think you can beat the worldbuilding that M. Beaulieu has done with Sharakhai. Coupled with his grasp of character, I really don't think there's much better out there these days. If there is, I haven't read it.

I am a bit disappointed by this book. I really like Pam Sargent: she edited the Women of Wonder Anthologies, and the introduction to the Classic Years anthology was full of interesting information and analysis. One of her more recent short stories really got me. I found this book at a sci-fi convention and was really excited about it.

The world is interesting: in the future, after some obligatory big die-up, the world is ruled in a global empire by Muslims who dominate and manage every level of society through an intense bureaucracy. There are very interesting social conventions and gender roles. The main character Iris is considered odd for flouting these conventions and wanting to learn.

Iris's journey through life, her victories, and her mistakes are worth reading about. However, I can't recommend this book if you're looking for a good plot. There is something like a plot that abandons the characters in favor of getting them embroiled in politics. I wanted to see Iris succeed and she just kinda well... doesn't. The book doesn't really set up what that success would mean, other than settling on Venus, so I guess the ending was sort of surprising. However, there were other problems. Much of the last half of the book relies on a betrayal that is not set up at all. I just didn't get it, and kept thinking I would by the end, but didn't. I might need to reread the book to get it, but that's not a good reason to reread. YMMV.

I just finished this book and was glad I read it, but it's more entertaining than enlightening. Blogger Mark Manson introduces a way of thinking (or not-thinking) that you might call “stoicism with cursing.” The basic gist is that concepts are arbitrary, and the standards we use to judge ourselves are often foolish and impossible to justify. Furthermore the book serves as a commentary on current cultural norms, which focus on feelings instead of healthy pain and hard work.

Manson's prose is fun to read and his choice of anecdotes is clever and edifying. I would have preferred a different title that I would be able to explain to my kids, but I guess that wouldn't sell as many books. Manson works best when he is telling other people's stories and using them to illustrate his points. As someone older than the author I had a hard time taking him seriously when his greatest qualification is “blogger.” As with many books in this field, I skimmed the last two chapters, as Manson made his point early in the book, supported it well on the middle, then ran out of steam at the end. It got repetitive. But it was fun to read and I recommend it.

Short review: this is a fun, funny, and well-written book that is just as good or better than the previous books in the series. It's a great book to read with your kids, or just by yourself.Magnus Chase, Alex Fierro, Samirah al-Abbas, Hearth, Blitz, and a cast of einherji race against the launch of Naglfar, the ship of the dead, to once again stop the inevitable tide of Ragnarok. Along the way they pick up the pieces of what they did in the previous book [b:The Hammer of Thor 27904311 The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463950690s/27904311.jpg 46919813], and discover more about their mysterious parents, their demigod powers, and even find a little romance. This book is a focused thrill ride with more action and less comedy than its predecessor, although it still retains the picaresque quality of other books in the series. Though the heroes are successful, the series ends unresolved and leaves plenty of room for more adventures with these characters. I have mixed feelings about Rick Riordan's body of work, but in the end Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is an excellent series that is a lot of fun to read. While reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and several of the Heroes of Olympus titles, I grew weary of Riordan's repetitive devices, tone, and overtly educational and preachiness. In Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Riordan still uses the same devices he did in [b:The Lightning Thief 28187 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400602609s/28187.jpg 3346751] to break with the main character's point of view and include information the character wouldn't otherwise know. Magnus Chase, for example, repeatedly dreams or hallucinates events that are happening elsewhere in the world, that tell him about his antagonist (Loki, in this most recent book and the previous book in the series, [b:The Hammer of Thor 27904311 The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463950690s/27904311.jpg 46919813]). All the characters in The Heroes of Olympus also did this, repeatedly dreaming of what the other main characters were doing despite those characters' explicitly-titled point-of-view chapters. In this book, it makes a lot more sense, given the first-person storytelling, and I wouldn't mind it if Percy Jackson didn't do the exact same thing, and Riordan couldn't have easily used other devices to let us know what Loki was up to. These passages could almost be left out of the book. The next thing is that Riordan seems incapable, despite his great skill, of writing anything other than snarky teenagers. This would be worse if real teenagers weren't this way, but Magnus sometimes seems a little too clever for his own good, which clashes with some of his other qualities. He's never really out of character, but he sometimes seems a little too dashing and smart-mouthed for someone who, at his core, has been through so much hardship. I don't mind that all the adults are jerks, because when you're a teenager, that's what the world is like, and what preteen or adolescent would want to read a book where the teenagers get solid wisdom and don't have to solve their own problems?The other repetitive element in Riordan's books is how the characters come in contact with the gods. The whole point of these books is that mythology is not really mythological, but is about real characters who are still active today, not in some distant past. All these books have a picaresque quality where teenagers come in contact with certain mythological figures and it always follows the same overtly educational pattern: “Oh, wait a minute, you're [so-and-so, the god of such-and-such, who in this one myth did these particular things].” This gets a little old.The last thing I don't like is that particularly the Magnus Chase books, and to some extent the Heroes of Olympus books, bear the marks of an author who feels like he needs to educate and instill social values on his (impressionable) readers. This is a trick: lure the preteen reader in with a cool story about gods and monsters and swords and snarky teenagers (maybe even some kissing?) and insert the narrative you think will make the world a better place. It's trendy. I fully expected there to be a police shooting in this book, and I was genuinely surprised when there wasn't. Again, I wouldn't mind if this weren't repetitive, one-sided, and self-righteous, as if the author knows better than his readers or their parents. It's very Hollywood, even if Riordan does it with fully mythological backing. Alex Fierro, for example, is gender-fluid because of how he/she came to be in the world, for very good reasons within the plot, and the characterization and Alex's qualities make a lot of sense, with backup from Norse mythology and Scandinavian history. That doesn't make it any less trendy, or make the portrayal any more well-rounded.After all, however, Riordan manages not to let any of that overshadow a very good story and a fun read. This is a laugh-out-loud book, way better than its predecessors in the series and in his others. Even if Riordan is still doing many things the same way, his books just keep getting better and better. The material in these books is more mature than in the Percy Jackson books, given that the characters are older. The story is also just more interesting, with a more intricate plot, and more interesting characters. I highly recommend this book for reading with your kids. As much as I decry Riordan's explicitly educational approach, if you want your kids to learn about Norse Mythology or classic literature, this is a great way to get them into it. It's not a substitute, but definitely as much fun and closer to the source material than Marvel movies or anything else you'd let your kids watch. Also, despite the somewhat mature material and YA writing style, Riordan is easy to read and kids as young as nine find it approachable for reading on their own. My son begged me to keep reading every night after I finished two chapters. I think yours will too.

[b:A Veil of Spears 26821724 A Veil of Spears (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #3) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501430186s/26821724.jpg 46850494] is the third full-length novel in the Song of Shattered Sands series by author Bradley P. Beaulieu, which began with [b:Twelve Kings in Sharakhai 24611565 Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #1) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1434513419s/24611565.jpg 25652373]. The author has created a setting for the ages, akin to Hogwart's, Randland, and Middle Earth, but I would argue Sharakhai is even better because at the heart of this series is a central character who is deeper and more complex than Harry, Rand al'Thor, or Frodo. There is a supporting cast of nobles, “gutter wrens,” Blade Maidens, revolutionaries, monsters, and various mentors, but Ceda and her quest to understand her origins remains the central driving force behind this series. If this book disappoints in any way, it's that there is not enough time with Ceda.After the Night of Endless Swords at the end of [b:With Blood Upon the Sand 30212517 With Blood Upon the Sand (The Song of the Shattered Sands #2) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486012514s/30212517.jpg 46117528], Ceda finds herself in the desert bound to an asir named Kerim, who helped her kill the King Mesut, and in possession of a bracelet containing the souls of other asirim. The chapters alternate across the main POV characters from there, each one picking up where the last book left off, and it's clear that very little time has passed. The action pretty much picks up from there. The subplots of the erekh and blood magic become more prominent, as does the conflict between the gods and goddesses. The pace is solid throughout, with plenty of twists and turns. The rapid alternation of point-of-view makes this book much closer in style to some other works in recent fantasy, like [b:The Dragon's Legacy 29429675 The Dragon's Legacy (The Dragon's Legacy #1) Deborah A. Wolf https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462383064s/29429675.jpg 49693671], but Beaulieu pulls it off with quite a bit more grace than George R.R. Martin and others. POV-hopping is unavoidable as the story becomes more complex, but my biggest complaint is that I'm mostly interested in Ceda and her story, and sometimes it was hard for me to see what the others had to do with her. This was easily remedied by reading the book at long stretches of 100 pages or more (luckily, I was traveling). This book also included quite a bit more recap than the second book. Despite the recap of the earlier novels, there was little recap of material that is apparently in some of the novellas (which I haven't read). I didn't quite pick up on that at first, but if you're willing to charge ahead, the backstory is not that important. With so much focus on the supporting characters, this book doesn't include the flashbacks that the first two did. I noticed the difference, but there was really so much action in this book, that it doesn't detract from the story.Nevertheless, this story builds from the pick-up-the-pieces approach of early chapters and piles on more twists and turns that I never expected. I was really held in suspense. Again and again the characters get into situations that look impossible to get out of. I was really impressed with how the author gave out enough information without wearing down the suspense at all. There are so many unanswered questions at the end of this book, and only a few answered, that this series should continue to build suspense until the final chapter of the last book. What's really great is the growth of the main character: she appears to be a very simple person at the beginning of [b:Twelve Kings in Sharakhai 24611565 Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #1) Bradley P. Beaulieu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1434513419s/24611565.jpg 25652373], who is a street rat, totally separate from the world of the kings. Over these three books, however, she has built into a person who is at the center of the great, centuries-old conflict over the Shangazi desert, and it's all believable. She is strong but she has a heart, she is intelligent without being overbearing, and she is brave without being perfect. She's not someone I would want to spend time with, but she is someone I love to read about.

Disclosure: I consider Laurie Forest a colleague. We both write epic fantasy and live in a small state with an active writing community. I have not received any material support from her, encouragement, or endorsement to write this review. I paid full price for my signed copy.

Elloren Gardner lives in a diverse magical world, but for many reasons, her uncle has sheltered her on his farm since she was a small child. She is the granddaughter of The Black Witch, a legendary sorceress who is regarded as a patriot and freedom fighter for her people, who all achieve some level of magical ability. Elloren's curse is that despite her striking resemblance to her grandmother, her only magical ability is to find peace, comfort, and psychological communion with bits of wood. She's a great violinist, but can't even light a candle, and wouldn't be allowed a wand.

A fight over Elloren's future arises when her aunt, a prominent politician, and her uncle disagree over an arranged marriage for Elloren. She travels out of her small town and right away is confronted by her own prejudices, the prejudices of other races in her world (including werewolves, elves, and a variety of other human-like races with varying magical abilities and variants thereof), and the expectations of those who want a piece of her future. And of course, there's just being an eighteen year-old girl: she has crushes, gets bullied, bullies others, and has to change in order to survive.

This book is about a crucial time that happens in everyone's lives, when one finds out the world is not the way you were brought up to believe. This happens several ways for Elloren, but the truth of it comes across in well-crafted prose that is never cliche or trite. As an example, in the first fifty pages, Forest introduces a magical creature that comes from a well-known (human) legend, however she does it in a way that is most psychologically relevant for the character. Elloren sees a selkie, and there is some exposition, but it's done in a way that shows Elloren's carefully-sheltered world crumbling around her.

This book is typical of recent YA fantasy and science fiction: it's written in first-person present-tense and expresses a character arc that is common in the genre (almost genre-defining), but the impact of it is unique and challenging. Elloren doesn't know how diverse and challenging her world is until it is literally shoved in her face (or her face is shoved in it, I should say). She has to confront her own prejudices or she will die of ignorance.

I was looking forward to the release of The Black Witch for over a year just to support the author, but I wasn't sure I would buy it, as it's not in a genre I usually read, and I'm not usually swayed by reviews. However, I bought it after seeing how much its publisher is behind it, and hearing about good reviews from reputable trade publications. Even after I met the author and we chatted about the national book business and the local scene, I took it home entirely expecting to be disappointed with a mushy, inarticulate, eighth-grade piece of work that I could give to the library after forty pages.

I was completely wrong. I couldn't put this book down, and I kept it with me at all times. A hardcover with a dust-jacket. This book has more psychological depth, literary quality, and is better plotted than any of the Harry Potter series except maybe Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (and that's a big maybe until I re-read that one). I have never gotten very far with a YA fantasy, as many as I have tried: there's always something cheesy or overtly cliche. This book, for all its stock elements (dragons, werewolves, wands, magic school), stays close to the character and her experience. You will know why everything is significant in this book, and won't be expected to know just because the author is mentioning genre furniture. Laurie Forest is a good writer; she didn't get lucky, she worked hard to craft a very good book. She successfully challenged my prejudices about YA fantasy!

To the people who read this book and badly rated it based on its content: it's a story. A story must challenge the character to grow or else it's not a story. This story is about prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Everyone in the story (even the dragons, even the main character) is prejudiced and narrow-minded. That's the point. Of course there's disturbing content. It's supposed to disturb you. There seems to be a complete lack of understanding about what fiction is: the characters say horrible things in the context of their own fictional world, and we get the privilege of learning from them (or just enjoying their story). Serious questions, not rhetorical: Is Selma a “racist movie” since it depicts race-motivated violence that actually happened? How about Schindler's List? Beyond just enjoyment and good storytelling, how would we learn anything from our history and our bad behavior if we didn't tell stories about it? Now for the rhetorical questions: when someone says something racist or homophobic is a character supposed to step in and say “Hey cut that out, the reader doesn't want that in her world!” No, you the reader are supposed to react and say “Wow, that's horrible, I don't want that in my world so I'm going to work against it and be a better person.”

To the people who haven't read the book and are rating it low: you're not activists. You're trying to hurt someone's career at a vulnerable juncture because you think you're doing the right thing. You should read the book and see how harmful your narrow viewpoint is.

Hard to put down but also a bit hard to follow. Done with Melanie Rawn's inimitable style and unforgettable characters, with a bit too much POV-switching to really keep a hold of it. This book encompasses a huge conflict over the scale of a whole continent, and every chapter visits a huge number of locations. This one's a bit harder to keep track of than the previous three or Ruins of Ambrai. I'm also really not sure what happened at the end.

Tough to get through. I wanted to love this book, but just didn't find the conflict compelling. The final 75 pages were really thrilling, but for the first 600 pages I didn't really look forward to picking it up. This is despite the characters being well-rendered and somewhat interesting. The romantic elements were good, but overwhelmed by the lack of clearly-defined bad guys. Too bad, since I ordinarily love reading this author, and will read plenty more.

Argh. I read the first 60 or so pages and we have at least four POVs, two of which are really interesting but the narrative keeps switching away, and I can't tell what they have to do with each other. It's clear that something is happening, but it's not clear what it is or how it's affecting anyone except for killing a few people.

I was really looking forward to this book but the scattershot approach, which reminds me of A Game of Thrones, just doesn't do it for me. Other authors, like David Gemmell, Kathleen and Michael Gear, and Stephen King do it without creating so much confusion.

Morgan Llywelyn is an excellent writer: Druids and Red Branch are essential works in Celtic revival historical fiction, with characters and stories that rival the best in fantasy. Her prose is superb, doesn't get in the way, and despite her obvious fascination with the material, she never lets it get in the way of expressing what the characters feel or want. In other words, I highly recommend those books.

I do not recommend Horse Goddess, which has only some of the charm and none of the deft storytelling and prose work of the titles mentioned. Llywelyn has taken a euhemerist approach to the mythology of early Celts, giving the deities of the Hallstatt culture human personalities, making them into characters. I thought this was a fantastic idea, even though I'm not really familiar with the subject from that angle. In this story Epona, who will become a Celtic goddess of the horse, runs away from home to live among the Scythians of the steppes and brings horse husbandry back to her people.

That's potentially a great, epic story, but just about every choice Llywelyn made with this one reads like an author who hasn't hit her stride yet. Published in 1982, likely written in the mid to late seventies, the handling of POV makes this feel like something from the 1950s. That's not a fault in itself, but the result is a lot of confusion and lack of emotional depth. Structurally, the story doesn't actually get going until more than halfway through, and the resulting epic journey is shallow and not all that epic. The plot in the steppe settlement is okay, but the choices the author made left me screwing up my face, and this book lost a star in the end because a lot of things that should have happened didn't. Often the opposite did.

All I'm saying is that if you're a fan of Morgan Llywelyn, you can skip this one. This is a book from a different era of historical fantasy, written just to showcase that Celts are magic and to mention lots of cool stuff about Hallstatt culture. That stuff is indeed cool, but this book doesn't really wield it as good storytelling material. Pre-internet, the only chance to hear about these things was at your Renaissance Faire or SCA meeting, or in a book by MZB or Morgan Llywelyn. If I'm glad that we don't live in that world anymore (and I'm not, necessarily) it's because of books like this.

The Irish historical fantasy buddy cop team of Blackthorn and Grim heads north to solve a bizarre mystery afflicting Bann, a little-known chiefdom plagued by a wailing monster trapped in a tower.

I seriously thought I had this book all figured out. I'll even admit I was getting bored, but then WHAM! The plot twists twist away. Marillier's other books aren't so plot heavy, and these ones don't seem like they are, but that is just her misdirecting the reader. This is a mystery, and a damn good one.

I really liked this book: the beginning is intense, the fantasy material is as original as its reputation would lead you to believe. The thing keeping me from really loving this book is that most of it is travel, and the scenes bleed into each other without much clear setup. That's just a stylistic thing that you can expect from a lot of seventies fantasy. If you would like to see what a great writer Donaldson is without this aspect, I highly recommend The Mirror of Her Dreams, which has a more modern feel. I am interested in reading more Covenant books, and despite the trudging, I do recommend reading this one.