Book #180 of 2019: City of Dragons by Robin Hobb (The Rain Wild Chronicles #3) Fantasy author Robin Hobb can effortlessly spin out a tale, but this quartet remains one of the weakest elements within her larger Realm of the Elderlings saga. Although this third volume is at least more action-packed than those before (and …
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Book #177 of 2019: The Sorcerer’s House by Gene Wolfe There’s some neat slipstream weirdness to this fantasy novel, and its epistolary format hints at interesting nuances of narrator reliability, but I just couldn’t get past the obnoxious treatment of all the female characters. Every woman in this story is either a perky flibbertigibbet, a …
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Book #171 of 2019: Redwall by Brian Jacques (Redwall #1) This is a fine if straightforward adventure story, and definitely one that grows on me as it goes along. The brave woodland creatures in its cast represent a fun change from most children’s fantasy literature, and the bucolic setting lends the tale a certain timeless …
Book #169 of 2019: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) This middle-grade fantasy debut is a fun ride with an engaging young character voice at its center. The plot can be a bit episodic, and the worldbuilding doesn’t go much deeper than bringing traditional Greek myths into the modern …
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Book #168 of 2019: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (Simon Snow #1) In Rainbow Rowell’s 2013 novel Fangirl, her protagonist writes an extensive fanfiction called “Carry On, Simon” about Simon Snow, a popular Harry Potter-esque fantasy series that did not, at that time, actually exist. Rowell later released this follow-up, which is decidedly not that …
Book #156 of 2019: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials #2) I really like how this sequel deepens the worldbuilding of the original His Dark Materials book, expanding the action from the alternate reality of that story into a universe more like our own and one other besides. And the character moments …
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Book #151 of 2019: Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb (The Rain Wild Chronicles #2) In my review of the first book in this Realm of the Elderlings quartet, I complained, “Not much happens, and then it just continues not happening right through the end.” Yet compared to this sequel, that original novel was action-packed. At …
Book #143 of 2019: Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson (Pennyroyal Academy #1) This middle-grade fantasy novel keeps its heroine a cipher for far too long, and when readers finally learn her peculiar backstory, it doesn’t really track with what we’ve seen or elucidate her driving goals. (Why does she want to be a warrior …
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Book #141 of 2019: Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix A lightweight Regency romp with a sprinkling of fantasy elements. I’d like to see more of how the magic works — especially coming from Sabriel author Garth Nix — but that fuzziness doesn’t get in the way of the quick-paced story Nix is telling. His tale …
Book #138 of 2019: Jade City by Fonda Lee (The Green Bone Saga #1) Let me start with the good and say that I love the setting of this book. It doesn’t offer the most fleshed-out worldbuilding, but it’s the rare fantasy story told in a place that’s not our own yet has comparable levels …
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