Kristen

I waffled between a 2 1/2 (it's okay) and a 3 (liked it with reservations) with this one but ended up settling on 2 1/2 after much thought and some rereading. The beginning was tedious, but later parts of the book were better and even fun, though I was never excited about reading it. There's potential, but I thought the execution could have been much better.

Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/07/mini-review-of-darkwalker-by-e-l-tettensor/

This collection contains four short stories, three set between Black Dog and Pure Magic and one set before both books. There is also an essay on genetics in general and one on how genetics impact the world.

The stories were enjoyable, but the only one that really stuck with me was the prequel. However, I did appreciate the collection more after I'd read all the stories and was able to reflect on all of them, particularly how they did work together to characterize Grayson.

Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/08/review-of-black-dog-short-stories-by-rachel-neumeier/

The first book in this trilogy, Radiant, was an impressive debut novel and a very unique book. Like the first book, Defiant had too much narrative at times, but I enjoyed it just as much as the previous book. While I found the first book more memorable, I found this one more compulsively readable so it evened out in the end. I especially loved that Defiant delved more into the fascinating world the author has created.

Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/09/review-of-defiant-by-karina-sumner-smith/

Despite being a momentous book in the series, I was disappointed in the last book, but this one had more of the great dialogue, narrative, and mythology that I love about this series. However, I do think the characters are starting to seem static, and I do wish that potential obstacles for the characters were not so easily removed. 7.5/10

Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/10/review-of-magic-shifts-by-ilona-andrews/

This isn't a great epic fantasy, so don't read them if that is what you are looking for. The books can be a lot of fun if you like playing D&D, though.

This set includes both the best and worst of the Drizzt books. The best of them is Servant of the Shard which is about Jarlaxle and Artemis Entreri and ends up being the starting point for the Sellswords trilogy. The worst book was Spine of the World, which was about Wulfgar.

3 1/2 stars

J.M. McDermott's debut Last Dragon is one of the books published under the new Wizards of the Coast Discoveries imprint. Discoveries includes novels by new authors in all types of speculative fiction instead of just epic fantasy with settings outside of the Forgotten Realms universe. The goal is to publish more mature fiction that appeals to adult readers instead of the simplistic but fun stories that often end up getting adolescents hooked on reading fantasy. Far more original and artistic than the typical Wizards of the Coast book, Last Dragon succeeds at meeting this standard, though it is not flawless.

Complete Review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/05/review-of-last-dragon.html

A Companion to Wolves is a stand alone collaboration by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. Sarah Monette's “The Doctrine of Labyrinth” series is currently my favorite book discovery of this year, and Elizabeth Bear's dark mythological tale of faerie, Blood and Iron, was also excellent so I was very much looking forward to this book. Although I did not enjoy it quite as much as either of these separate works, this tale steeped in Norse mythology still had me riveted and turning the pages.

Complete Review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/07/review-of-companion-to-wolves.html

The society was well-developed and intriguing without containing pages and pages of backstory and history. Many fantasy authors have written about the all-powerful corrupt ruler, and reading about the problems caused by a ruler who took goodness to a tyrannical extreme was an interesting change of pace. King Macrotus may have had good intentions, but restricting his people for their own good did not endear him to anyone.

Full review:

http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2009/01/review-of-healthy-dead.html