Category: Fantasy

captain?

Posted on by Greig

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

J.K. Rowling

harry potter and the half-blood princeAfter the sheer bulk of the Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix this entry in the Harry Potter series is a bit of a physical relief. However this is the volume where things to start getting really dark and deaths start to occur ever more frequently.
I’ve read this book twice before – once when it came out and again just before the release of the final book.
Reading it again knowing the events of the final book improved it in ways I didn’t expect. Especially with regard to the cliffhanger near the end. Also it’s only with this read that I really started to get Harry and Ginny as a couple that makes sense.
One important thing to note is that this is infinitely better than the film version; which is an incoherent mess and by far the worst of the celluloid series.

Rating: A-

veil?

Posted on by Greig

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

J.K. Rowling

order of the phoenixI’ve read this, the fifth Harry Potter book, a couple of times before. I read it when first came out in 2003 and then again in 2007.
I started a re-read of the whole series a couple of years ago but I struggled to get past the first few chapters of The Goblet of Fire. I recently discovered that you could borrow the audio book from Edinburgh’s online library service and thanks to Stephen Fry’s narration I finally finished it.
The only problem with the audio book was the sheer length of time it took to listen to, so when it came to Order of the Phoenix I just picked up the physical book.
The distinguishing feature of this particular volume is just how much of the plot relies on main characters being stupid and stubborn. I have to say it’s always a delight to get to hate on Umbridge again. Her selfish, mundane form of low grade evil is so reminiscent of people I’ve known over the years.
If you’ve not read the Harry Potter books before now this review isn’t going to prompt you to start but I do recommend the series as a fine read.

Rating: B+

enochian?

Posted on by Greig

The Apocalypse Codex

Charles Stross

the-apocalypse-codexThe latest Laundry book finds Bob Howard on the middle management fast track and in a whole heap of trouble in the United States.
The mashup of Lovecraftian horror and spy thriller still works to excellent effect.
The introduction of a Modesty Blaise style super spy/magician and her ex-soldier colleague gives the series a bit of fresh impetus.
I recommend the whole series wholeheartedly – Stross has a tendency to over egg the darkness that he keeps in check with the Laundry books.

Rating: A-

antigone?

Posted on by Greig

Chimes at Midnight

Seanan McGuire

chimes at midnightThe latest Toby Daye book is as enjoyable as ever.
Tremendous upheaval comes to the Kingdom of the Mists in this book but it feels more like the theme of this one is about Toby accepting that she belongs in Faerie with the family she’s made up along the way.
It’s simultaneously very exciting and very annoying that hints about what appears to be the series endgame crop up in the last couple of chapters and the bonus short story.
I think, though, that some really awful things are going to start happening soon to our favourite changeling knight.
A total must read for Toby fans and the series as a whole is more than recommended for those who don’t actively hate urban fantasy.

Rating: B+

wren?

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Mockingbird

Chuck Wendig

MockingbirdThe sequel to Blackbirds takes a while to build up steam but once it hits the meat of the story it easily meets the standards of the first book.
Miriam Black is a very interesting character and it’s good to see Wendig making her more complex and nuanced with every book.
I think you really need to have read the first book to get the most from this one (though I think it would work as a standalone to some extent). I would recommend it just as much as Blackbirds.

Rating: B+

shovel?

Posted on by Greig

Blackbirds

Chuck Wendig

blackbirdsMiriam Black can see your death. A single touch of her skin on yours and she will see how and when you’ll meet your maker.
Unable to change the events that she forsees, she has become profoundly cynical – a drifter using her gift to be present when others die and scavenging their money and personal effects before moving on down the line.
The events of this book find her gifts getting her in trouble with genuinely evil people and putting her sanity and safety at risk.
This is a really enjoyable book with a lead character that you quickly become invested in despite her obvious flaws. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
I’ve classified it as fantasy but apart from Miriam’s real psychic ability this could be just an excellent example of a hard boiled thriller.
Recommended if you like thrillers or urban fantasy.

Rating: B+

spine?

Posted on by Greig

Kill The Dead

Richard Kadrey

kill the deadStark returns to fight off a zombie invasion of Los Angeles. He does this while also acting as Lucifer’s bodyguard and mingling with the Hollywood elite.
It’s a fun enough book and the central character remains enjoyably cynical but it’s just not as good as the first book.
Recommended if you enjoyed the first book.

Rating: B+

transient?

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The Song of the Quarkbeast

Jasper Fforde

Song of the QuarkbeastThe second of Fforde’s YA fantasy sequence sees our heroine plunged into a battle for the future of magic.
It’s a fun little romp – if a little disjointed feeling compared to the first book.
I’m looking forward to book three – which looks like it’s going to be very interesting.
Certainly recommended if you’re looking for an amusing YA fantasy.

Rating: B+

spike?

Posted on by Greig

Rosemary & Rue

Seanan McGuire

rosemary and rueI don’t normally re-read books so quickly but I was looking for something to divert me at lunchtimes now that I no longer eat at my desk. This, the first Toby Daye book, just happened to be on my phone.
It’s a very enjoyable urban fantasy novel that sets up the series with a deft hand. There’s a lot of seeds planted in this first book that go on to pay off with interest in later volumes and it was fun to catch that this time around.
If you have any tolerance for urban fantasy please check out this series – it starts well and gets better.

Rating: B+

hellion?

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Sandman Slim

Richard Kadrey

sandman slimStark escapes from Hell intent on the murder of the circle of magicians responsible for the death of his girlfriend and his exile to the demon’s arenas.
This is an enormously entertaining mix of urban fantasy and noir thriller. The protagonist is a likeable asshole that the author manages to avoid turning into a walking set of cliches.
There’s nothing truly original about this novel but it’s a lot of fun and lays enough groundwork for future sequels for you to care about the world he’s built.
If you want a well constructed piece of urban fantasy with an ass-kicking lead character then this is definitely a book for you.

Rating: B+