When I was a young kid there was an amazing used bookstore in town. The bookstore smelled of used books, books were stacked waist high in spots, and the shelves were so close together, and so tall that to see the top shelf, you had to press your back against the next shelf and crane your head way back. Books were a dollar a piece, and if you brought books to trade you could get store credit, so you didn’t have to pay anything at […]
So, Apparently, This Lady is Relatively Attractive…
The Banished of Muirwood, The Ciphers of Muirwood, The Void of Muirwood (The Covenant of Muirwood Trilogy) By Jeff Wheeler This is a great little fantasy series. Having read the Acknowledgements, the author did something kind of fun- he took a broad outline of actual historical events and turned them into a fantasy novel. It works, I loved the plot, it felt real and plausible and most of the people were very three dimensional. Finding out it was based on reality kind of helped show […]
More Gorgeous Prose
I have decided to take the plunge and read the whole Raven Cycle series since I haven’t done a good submersion into a series in a while. Stiefvater’s beautiful prose does not disappoint in volume 2, The Dream Thieves. I am absolutely in love with this woman’s craft. Her brilliant syntax and poetic descriptions are at times so perfect and poignant, it hurts. It literally makes me think about her book whenever I’m not reading it. I blew through this volume in about 2 days because I […]
Is a Western fantasy set in a Middle Eastern environment an Eastern?
Amani Al-Hiza is poor orphan, raised by uncaring relatives in a small desert town where most inhabitants work in the local mine. She knows that if she doesn’t collect enough money to get out soon, she’ll end up as third wife to her unpleasant uncle, a fate she would rather die than accept. One night, she disguises herself as a boy and enters a shooting competition at the local watering hole, trying to win enough money to finally leave. She’s an excellent shot, and sure […]