A few more books that I've read!

Okie, I really haven't been able to read much due to pharmacy school, but I'm gonna go ahead and record what I've read here. I've of course read the next Tiffany Aching book by Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight, wonderful as always. Other books I've read include more of A Song of Ice and Fire, more of the Wheel of Time, and also J.R.R. Tolkien's rendition of the Norse Edda, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. I've also started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, as well as Shadows Over Baker Street, an Lovecraftian/Sherlock Holmes anthology, but I've been too lazy to finish.


Here is a completely fictional novel I managed to finish while working at the army hospital.


By the Mountain Bound by Elizabeth Bear takes place in a re-imagined world straight from Norse mythology, in which Nordic gods and creatures are reincarnated as angels and Valkryries living amongst humans. The switching perspectives between Fenrir, a valkyrie, and an angel tell a dramatic story as a strange woman is rescued from drowning, and consequently unleashes an internal struggle that ends in tragedy. There are also undertones of romance, male-male and male-female, tasteful, well-written, though I found it a bit humorous at times. The characters themselves are rather realistic, perhaps a little idealized at times , but endearing overall. I may even read the rest of the series, Norse mythology I enjoy but it's always so DRAMATIC and well, cold. /Texan

Various intelligent young heroines

Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson
This imaginative novel explores the life of sweet Doucette, who lives in the shadow of her cruel and glamorous older sisters, wishing that she too could practice sorcery in the care of their aunt. The heroine then finds her own swan skin and soon discovers that her desire to become a sorceress would conflict with love. How she resolves this and becomes a stronger and wiser young woman is both harrowing and uplifting. A sweet story that does not flinch from the cruelty of the real world, but shows how one girl learned from this sad fact.

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
A sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, although I thought Castle in the Air was a sequel, too. Like those charming novels, this book is too clever by half, full of wacky hijinx, magical mayhem, and foolish yet still cerebrally enhanced characters. Howl had me cracking up so bad, even though he was a bit character, what a devil! Anyways, good times, just like Castle in the Air and what not.

Cassandra's Sister by Victoria Bennett

Cassandra's Sister by Victoria Bennett is a sweet and witty fictional account of Jane Austen's life as a young woman. Written in a style reminiscent of one of my favorite authors, but I found the prose light-hearted and manageable for the modern teen.

For those of you who are familiar with Austen's work, you would not be surprised at the description of dancing and fashion and eligible young gentlemen. Austen is as dramatic and intelligent and charming as any of her characters, so it tugs at your heart strings to see how she (probably) became a famously single female writer. I really like how the author subtly and cleverly postulates where Jane Austen might have gotten real life inspiration for her novels. A short and satisfying read, so intelligently and wistfully admiring of this author that I admire.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is a gorgeous dreamlike fantasy for teens, remarkably realistic and lovingly researched. The cover is a beautiful, almost Baroque style painting with figures that almost match the characters describe. (You can't imagine how annoyed I am when the covers don't match the inside of a book!) The words are magical, spirited, sensitive.

This novel combines elements of fairytales, such as the Frog Prince and the 12 Dancing Princesses, with Russian mythology about vampires, faeries and of course, Baba Yaga. The story is told by the sensible one of the dancing daughters, as she tries to protect her sisters from the troubles that assail them during a long winter. These dangers include not only their domineering cousin, but also dark visitors from Fairyland, the vampire folk.

Overall, an enjoyable, intense and satisfying read, but for one disturbing fact that often shows up in historical fantasy novels. I won't mention it here for fear of spoiling a reader; not that it's terribly disgusting, but it's kinda predictable, perhaps? But my love for the story and characters overcomes this plot point, so I'm cool with it.

the Book of Flying by Keith Miller

The Book of Flying by Keith Miller is a gorgeous and poetic fantasy novel in the fashion of Alice in Wonderland. It's a short read, but so full of passionate emotion and bizarre imagery. Very rarely do I come across a book that compels me to re-read it as soon as I finish the last sentence, and this is one of them. The book is a bit... adult in some areas, since it describes a young poet's coming of age throughout his encounters with strange characters, many of them nubile young women. Like Victorian novels, you are left with a sense of "what was the purpose of all that?" after reading it, but for this book, I think it works to the advantage, and makes the ending more heartfelt and tragic. I am glad I randomly picked this off the library shelf.

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card: a beautiful, funny and exciting modern version of Sleeping Beauty. Lots of Russian history and culture, two brave young lovers, some diabolical villains and juicy details make this a wonderful and satisfying read. I could not ask for a better fairytale retelling. If I don't think too much about the time travel paradoxes, I would say this is one of my favorite books to read for fun. Highly recommended!

Dream Thief by Shana Abe

Dream Thief by Shana Abe is a romantic fantasy novel about a gorgeous plucky heroine who also can turn into smoke and a dragon, sorta like a dragon-vampire, on a quest to save her race but also the human man she loves. Dilemma! The prose is concise and gently funny, the plot is decent, the characters a little too Mary-Sue but not intolerably so. I laughed out loud at the actual sex parts, but then again, I always do. There is reference to places in Europe that existed in the 18th/19th century, but the fantasy elements overpower the historical part, so it feels a bit unsettling. Not a terrible book, but hard for me to get through. I imagine the first book, Smoke Thief, would be slightly more interesting to read.

Poison Study and Magic Study by Maria Snyder

Poison Study and Magic Study by Maria Snyder is a thrilling and gutsy treatment of fantastic themes. An orphaned girl accused of murder is forced to become a poison taster and an assassin for the government. When she discovers she also has magic powers, she has to use every ounce of her intelligence and athleticism to save the people who make up her family, old and new. Chocolate plays an important role, hah hah.

Notable features are creative cultures and methodology of magic, with strong characters and a well-placed plot. I can't pinpoint what I don't like about this series, except that everything works out too neatly. It isn't bad by any means, but lacks that extra pizazz that marks the best of the best.

the CrowThistle Chronicles by Cecilia Dart-Thornton

CrowThistle Chronicles: The Iron Tree by Cecilia Dart-Thornton: Includes the Well of Tears and Weatherwitch. While I admire her style of lush description, they occassionally go over-the-top and it is all I can do to not skip those paragraphs. I do like how she balances her books, with so much description and yet so much action going on, very skillfully paced. These books seem determined to outdo her first trilogy in sadness, despair and doom, but unlike Bitterbynde's vaguely European medieval setting, I find this book more unique and less dependent on familiar mythology. Critics compare her to Tolkien, and like Tolkien she occasionally inserts in lines that make me burst out laughing because they feek so out of place with her lyric style. Again, these books are very dreamy and romantic, with lots of folklore, unique legends and songs to add depth to an already dazzling imaginary world.

I think if you're willing to slog through 10,000 different ways to describe rose-fingered sunsets and verdant grasslands you might enjoy the actual story and characters.

The Bitterbynde Trilogy by Cecilia Dart-Thornton

The Bitterbynde Trilogy by Cecilia Dart-Thornton is a beautifully written epic romantic fantasy novel by a talented author. The majority of her writing draw from numerous fairy tales and folk stories. The scope of the fantastic creatures she describes blows my mind, and I used to read encyclopedias of myths and fairy stories for fun. She tends to go Dickinsonian with description, like spending over a page just to describe a person's appearance, but it's elegantly and uniquely written, so I skip it only half the time, hah hah. When the action does happen, it's just breathtaking, full of danger and suspense and tragic romance. The characters are well-developed and complex. The hero/heroine strong, sensible, likeable, but ultimately doomed. And that may very well be the only thing I didn't like about this series. The main story takes place in a very compressed amount of time, with some flashback and some epilogue, so the abrupt ending seems pointless and anti-climactic, even the "happy" alternate ending. But I suppose that makes it all the more artsy and mysterious. My favorite fairytale reference was the Pied Piper of Hamelin, that was... wild, to say the least.

The Goose Girl and the Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is a charming retelling of Grimm's fairytales in novel form. This one deals with a grisly and rather arbitrary tale elegantly and sincerely. I like the little political twist thrown into the plot, which often end up as unnecessary moral lessons in other retellings I've come across. As a young adult novel, there's not much else to say about it, other than it's good.

The Princess Academy, also by Shannon Hale, is an original novel about girls from a village who are sent to be trained as potential brides for the prince. One small girl is able to rescue her town from bandits with her strength and kindness. Very simple and sweet. There may be a sequel, but I have yet to check it out.

There is a series of fairy-tale retellings in short novel format for teen girls, all romantic in nature and under the title "Once Upon a Time...". I've read a couple, both were very nice and neat, let me google the author's names... Okay here we go.

Sunlight and Shadow, by Cameron Dokey, is a retelling of Mozart's opera, the Magic Flute. A lot more forgiving than the original story, very otherworldly but entertainingly confusing and of course, romantic enough for any teenage girl. Or guy... I guess.

Scarlet Moon, by Debbie Viguie, is a very interesting retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. You wouldn't think that there was any romance in such a straightforward fairytale, but there is now! Kinda predictable, but still enjoyable and manages to totally negate the original moral of the story.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey is a romantic fantasy trilogy/series with a touch of history. The trilogy is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. Her style of writing is very lush and detailed, with a particular emphasis on politics and culture, which I always like. While the majority of the plot is based on an alternate Renaissance-era Europe, there are occasional forays into the supernatural and spiritual. There is a lot of hanky panky going on, sometimes it is sweet and sometimes it is outright silly, but it's there, so you know.

The first book is a great opener, the middle book, Kushiel's Chosen, lags a little bit in my opinion, but the third book, Kushiel's Avatar, is quite exotic and adventurous and handily wraps up most conflicts. Carey raises the bar for female-fronted adult fantasy novels, and for a romantic series, this is gold, though that isn't saying too much.

The series continues from a male perspective in the Imriel trilogy, dealing with even more politics. I read some of it and did not feel like it held a candle to the original trilogy, it was a bit callous and you know, masculine. But seeing as this series revolves around sadism and masochism, I guess that's to be expected, hah hah.

(briefly) Arthurian series by various authors

A brief review of various Arthurian series I read throughout highschool and college... To be added to when I remember those pesky other series.

the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead, including Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon and Grail: I thought Taliesin was amazing, a legendary treatment of the bard combining the legends of Arthur and Atlantis, but by Pendragon, I was writhing in pain and thinking "Why am I reading such trash?" Couldn't finish it, no matter what critics might say.

the Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart, including Crystal Cave, Hollow Hills, Last Enchantment: a promising start, with a gritty and powerful retelling of Merlin's life as a youngster. Like most Arthurian trilogies, ended in tragedy, and I mean tragedy. The Wicked Day, a fourth book about Mordred's life, was actually rather interesting, but still unpleasant to finish.

Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw, also Kingdom of Summer, In Winter's Shadow: this one is a slightly more youth-friendly treatment of Arthurian legend, including views from Gwalchmai, his servant Rhys and Queen Gwynnhyfar. No mention of Merlin or Lancelot, this is a more historical and somewhat mystical retelling that ends tragically.

the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay, including The Summer Tree, Wandering Fire, The Darkest Road: not exactly Arthurian, but drawing heavily on that legend. This is a daring and brilliantly composed fantasy series of the war between good and evil and the heavy price some heroic individuals must pay. It really affected me when I read it in high school, though that may just be me in high school. Very sad.

the Once and Future King by T.H. White: A very good series overall, but also swimming in tragedy by the end. I would definitely not recommend the last 3 parts for children, even though Sword in the Stone made for a funny movie.

the Samaria Series by Sharon Shinn

The Samaria series, including Archangel, Jovah's Angel, the Alleluia Files, Angelica and Angel-Seeker, by Sharon Shinn is a lovely combination of science fiction and romance and guess what? More Bible stuff! (I must seem like a total Christian freak, hah hah.)

I was browsing the fantasy/science fiction section in the bookstore when I came upon Archangel and was immediately captivated by the romantic prose and what I term "fantastic science": science that is so totally preposterous, it might as well be magic. The trilogy initially seemed to fall under the "trilogy trap," when the last books do not quite hold up the high standards of the first book, a common affliction nowadays, but the fifth book stepped up in quality and has met with my approval. Because you know, I am such a literary critic.

The focus of this series is romance between angel and human on a distant planet colonized and then left alone for millenia, but there are a lot of politics, history, philosophy and fake science going on as well. The theme of music's importance to God is also very beautifully explored. The books progress chronologically, so that Archangel takes place in an ancient biblical era, while Jovah's Angel takes place when technology has advanced quite a bit and so on. The last two books jump around and explore other aspects of the world set up in the first three. The books are perfectly readable without an encyclopedic knowledge of biblical names and places and angels, but the more you know, the more you'll get.

I thoroughly and unashamedly enjoyed this series. My favorite books are Archangel and Angel-Seeker, but they were all rather good. I rarely read science fiction because it is usually so depressing, but this series is refreshingly pleasant.