urban fantasy – Page 2

elf-shot?

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Greig

A Red-Rose Chain

Seanan McGuire

The latest instalment of the Toby Daye story finds her in Portland on a diplomatic mission to avert war between Faerie kingdoms. Obviously this being Toby nothing quite goes to plan.
I seriously really enjoyed this book. I love the whole series so much. I’ve been rating them a bit harshly ever since I started because I’m certain that McGuire is capable of pushing her writing to another level but the consistent B+ rating doesn’t really reflect how much I enjoy these books. Or indeed how excited I am to read what happens next.

Rating: A-

zauber?

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Greig

A Hero At The End Of The World

Erin Claiborne

Ewan Mao was the one prophesised to save the world. Instead his best friend Oliver Abrams defeated the magical tyrant ruling their alternative version of contemporary London. Life hasn’t quite gone his way ever since.
Five years later and Ewan is suddenly at the centre of a plot to end the world and his estranged friend is also caught up in events.
This book was originally Kickstarted as part of the start up of Big Bang Press who specialize in publishing original fiction by highly regarded fanfic authors. I bought it as part of a Humble Bundle.
I really quite enjoyed this slice of romantic and humourous urban fantasy and I particularly enjoyed the copious amounts of snarky banter between the characters. It kind of reminded me of Tom Holt or a less out-there Robert Rankin.

Rating: B+

apples?

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Greig

Indexing

Seanan McGuire

Indexing is kind of a mash up between The X-Files and Fables.
The story follows one team of government agents as they battle to prevent fairy tales from causing chaos in death when those narrative archetypes begin to impact on everyday life.
It’s quite a lot of fun and I particularly liked the characters of Henry and Sloane. Henry’s the lead agent and a perpetually ticked off almost-Snow-White and Sloane is a violent, misanthropic, permanently teenage Wicked Sister.
It feels a bit less polished and less fully realised than a lot of McGuire’s stuff I’ve read but it’s very enjoyable and worth a read if you like her brand of urban fantasy.

Rating: B

yowie?

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Greig

Pocket Apocalypse

Seanan McGuire

The fourth Incryptid book and the second to have Alex Price as the lead character finds him in Australia fighting a lycanthropy outbreak.
These books are generally the frothiest of McGuire’s output but I found this particular volume to be slight by even those standards. That’s not to say that it’s anything less than entertaining it’s just all a bit too straightforward to feel inspired.
Maybe I just miss Verity. I’m definitely looking forward to her return as the lead character in the next book.

Rating: B

crack?

Posted on February 16, 2015February 16, 2015 by Greig

The Madness Underneath

Maureen Johnson

The second book in the Shades of London series is just as charming and as much fun as The Name of the Star.
Following on shortly after the events of the first book we find Rory coming to terms with the trauma of those events and the consequences of her new abilities.
It’s all really hard to talk about without spoiling, but I’ll tell you one thing – this book has a doozy of an ending.