Book #91 of 2026: Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings (The Belgariad #2) More interesting and distinctive than the first volume in this series, but not to the degree I feel obligated to bump my rating up at all. I’m starting to understand why people say the authors’ later standalone novel The Redemption of Althalus …
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Book #90 of 2026: Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #4) This penultimate volume is easily the strongest of its series since the debut, largely for dispensing with the tired structure of yet another ancient prophecy sending our returning tween hero on yet another quest. (Granted, those elements both …
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Book #89 of 2026: Vigil by George Saunders This one is a bit of a head-scratcher for me. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, which suggests that I should probably go ahead and read the author’s earlier novel Lincoln in the Bardo, as I’ve seen several reviews of this title comparing it disfavorably to that. But …
Book #86 of 2026: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (Princess Irene and Curdie #1) Surprisingly readable for a fantasy novel first published in 1872, with a warm tone reminiscent of genre successors like J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, or Diana Wynne Jones. The plot is kind of a mess by …
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Book #80 of 2026: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (The Belgariad #1) I suppose I’m interested enough to read more of this 80s fantasy saga, but it all feels pretty generic so far, and this initial volume doesn’t build to much of a climax. The teenage hero is your typical orphan farmboy with a …
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Book #79 of 2026: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #3) I’m definitely not in the target audience for this middle-grade fantasy series, but I liked the first volume (and of course author Suzanne Collins’s unrelated Hunger Games novels) enough that I feel compelled to finish the pentalogy …
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Book #77 of 2026: The Astral Library by Kate Quinn I struggled a lot with this heroine early on, finding her woe-is-me, not-like-other-girls attitude incredibly childish and off-putting. She’s also the sort of character who bemoans her supposedly plain looks while ignoring how the romantic interest is practically throwing himself at her feet in worship. …
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Book #68 of 2026: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #2) Overall a decent middle-grade adventure sequel, although not really as entertaining or imaginative as its predecessor. The first volume established the existence of the ‘Underland’ beneath New York City, and ended with the revelation of a further prophecy …
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Book #67 of 2026: The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao In the abstract, this magical realist novel seems like it should have been right up my alley. Its premise of a wondrous train built on daydreams that whisks away people feeling hopeless in life isn’t so radically different from stories I’ve enjoyed like The …
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Book #66 of 2026: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford I really like the first half of this historical fantasy novel, in which an enterprising young British woman stumbles into some occult secrets in the early days of World War II. Despite the plot shenanigans, it’s a very character-driven piece, and our heroine is an interesting figure …
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