Summer is crawling to an end, and the cooler weather brings the promise of blanket-smothered tea-fuelled book binges. Of course, I did get some reading done while the kids were on school vacation. How about you, read anything good over summer? Let me know in the comments!
Recent Reads: Magic, swords, and trickery.
V.E. Schwab’s A Conjuring of Light, last in her Shades of Magic trilogy, has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, and I finally got around to picking it up. I love Schwab’s crisp yet pretty prose, and the cast of characters in this series is fabulous.
This last book finds Lila, Kell, Rhy, and Alucard facing the possible end of Red London, and indeed their entire world. From the battle on the streets of the city, to a frantic adventure at sea, there was so much I loved about this novel, and it was a perfect end to the series that first brought Schwab’s work to my attention.
Another novel by a favorite author that had been waiting patiently on my bookshelf was Shadowcaster, second in Cinda Williams Chima’s new Shattered Realms series. Her first books in this world – the Seven Realms series – are among my absolute favorite fantasy stories. This new series is set a generation later, and although it takes the tale in new directions, it certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Shadowcaster introduces new characters we didn’t meet in the first book, Flamecaster, and, likewise, some of the characters we met in the first book are absent here. I love Chima’s writing, and thoroughly enjoyed the book, but I confess I’m looking forward to having all the characters come together in – hopefully – the third book in the series.
Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows has been on my to-read list for a while, and when my daughter picked it as her summer reading for school, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on it. I had read Shadow and Bone, the first in her Grisha trilogy, a while back, and really enjoyed it (I’m not sure why I never finished the series; perhaps it’s time to revisit it). Likewise, Six of Crows is a great novel and deserves every bit of the great press it’s had.
Six of Crows is set in the same world as the Grisha books, just in a different part of it. It has all the sorts of elements I love: a skilled band of thieves, a tricky heist, magic, mayhem, and great characters. It’s YA, but will definitely appeal to adult readers, especially fans of Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series. I already have the sequel (and last book in the duology), Crooked Kingdom, lined up and ready to go.
Now Reading: Virtual excitement.
I’m currently around a third through Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The book had been on my radar for a while, and when I saw the movie trailer the other day I thought I’d pick it up from my local library. It’s a little slow at times, because there’s a LOT of worldbuilding information thrown at the reader’s head, but the premise and story is so interesting that I’m finding I really don’t mind. Things are just beginning to heat up, and I’m looking forward to see where it’s all heading.
To Read: Phoenix, and Tiger, and Fairies, oh my!
I picked up a three-part serial by fantasy author Thaddeus White called Wandering Phoenix and Roaming Tiger – Episode 1, called Phoenix Rising, is up on Amazon for free as a taster, if you’re interested. The series is pitched as ‘Ancient China meets Robin Hood’, and since I’m already familiar with White’s work and his skills in writing adventure tales, I just know I’m going to enjoy this one!
I also have Jo Zebedee’s new fantasy novel Waters and the Wild on my list, a deliciously dark story set in the Glens of Antrim, in Northern Ireland. I read a very early draft of this one, and I can’t wait to see what the polished, finished story looks like.
Juliana Spink Mills 