Archive | Fantasy RSS feed for this section

British Christmas Reads: The Eight Reindeers of the Apocalypse and The Christmas Swap

25 Dec

We have a lot of holidays going on right now and I hope which ever one(s) you celebrate are filled with happiness and joy. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Blessed Yule! Happy Kwanzaa!

Often because of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol I often picture the archetypal Christmas as one set in the UK. Here are two very different holiday related reads set there that I enjoyed this year in case you are looking for something festive. Hope you join us in the New Year for more reviews from our library staff. Happy New Year to all!

The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse
by Tom Holt
We read The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse for our December Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion. Though Santa is an important character in the story he takes more a guest staring than leading man role; this is a good pick for those looking for something timely, but a little less saccharine than a lot of holiday entertainment. The novel is part of Tom Holt’s J.W. Wells & Co. Series, the first of which The Portable Door was recently adapted as a movie. The firm (and the series) is named for the character from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta The Sorcerer. Imagine the British version of the TV show the Office merged with Terry Pratchett’s Disc World and you get the concept for this funny fantasy satire series which has office harassment taking the form of coworkers transforming into tea cups and interns literally left to save the world while their clueless bosses make a hilarious mess of things attempting to climb further up the corporate ladder. Check this one out to mix some ha ha ha’s with your ho ho ho’s!

The Christmas Swap
by Talia Samuels
The Christmas Swap is also set in the UK and written by another British author, Talia Samuels. This is more of a warm, fuzzy, feel good holiday read. Margot Murray is still healing from a recent breakup from her girlfriend when a work friend, unlucky in love Ben, offers her the perfect holiday getaway at his family manor house, all she has to do is pretend to be his girlfriend. However, when they arrive at the manor, Ben’s sister is immediately suspicious thinking Margot is a gold-digger and sets out to prove her hidden motivations. The twist is that of course Margot feels instantly attracted to Ellie. This is former chef Samuels’ first romance, but it was a treat so I hope we will see more from her in the future. The audio book is added fun since the two characters, Margot and Ellie, each get there own narrators: Kim Bretton and Emma Fenney and both give vibrant performances and interestingly juxtapose what each of the characters is outwardly saying, but internally keeping secret. Kim Bretton is an Audie Award nominee, a Broadway World Award winner, and was voted Best Actress in Nashville by the Nashville Scene. Emma Fenney trained as an actor at Drama Studio London, following a degree in Drama & Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths College, University of London. If you love a posh British accent then these two will delight.

You can learn about some staff favorite holiday classics in this past post. Looking for some quirky holiday music-checkout this past post!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Tags: , ,

Super Speculative Fiction: The Twice-Sold Soul and Red Side Story

13 Nov

The Twice-Sold Soul
by Katie Hallahan
McKenna Ellerbeck is on the run since an epic magical battle occurred a decade ago. Currently she is hiding out in France when she attacked by hellhounds. Luckily she is saved by her ex, the shapeshifting Archdemon of Desire, Remi. Unluckily for McKenna, Remi has decided to call in a favor and demands McKenna come back to her hometown and stay at the hotel owned by another ex’s family, a hotel which just so happens to be hosting McKenna’s 10 year high school reunion. This is Hallahan’s first novel, but she has been involved in the creation of narrative fantasy games which is reflected in the fast pace and well-crafting of the story. Hallahan has created charming, diverse characters and an interesting world filled with magic. This feels like the reunion special of Buffy or Vampire Diaries, the what comes after high school. I think this novel will especially appeal to those who enjoy New Adult Fiction. If you are sad about the recent end of Lana Harper’s Witches of Thistle Grove series, than this will be one to check out. I loved all the twists and turns the plot took and the fact that the motivations and true identity of many of the characters is often not what it first appears. I hope we see more from Hallahan in the future and am looking forward to the sequel. If you are heading home for Thanksgiving this would be a great read on a long plane ride.


Red Side Story
by Jasper FForde
Red Side Story is the long awaited sequel to Fforde’s novel Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron. Fforde’s novels are always highly original and quirky whether it is imagining a world where you can enter books like in his Thursday Next Series or a world filled with anthropomorphic rabbits like in The Constant Rabbit. Shades of Grey takes place in a dystopian future where humans can only see certain colors; which colors they see gives them different levels of status with the greys on the bottom having the lowest status. Marriages are encouraged to create children with better color vision and discouraged to avoid those on the opposite ends of the color wheel. Color shown to people also has effect on everything from ovulation to the dreaded mildew which is deadly. This novel picks up from the last story and I would definitely recommend reading the previous novel first both due to spoilers and for a better understanding of the world. This novel focuses primarily on Eddie Russet (a red), Jane (born a Grey), and Violet (a purple). Jane and Violet were childhood friends, but Violet now looks down on Jane as being lesser. She has tricked Eddie into marriage in order that her child be able to see the redder spectrum of the color purple which she is weak on seeing more the blue end of the color. Eddie though is in love with Jane. Several adventures play out over the course of the novel that have them exploring the world. The ending felt a bit abrupt to me, but gave sufficient closure whether this is last of the series or if there is another long wait before the next edition.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →