Book #169 of 2021: The Predator by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #5) The fifth Animorphs novel gets a lot of its impact and forward momentum from a twist reveal near the end, of the sort I’m reluctant to spoil in a review despite the passage of decades. Suffice to say, we learn further details about …
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Book #164 of 2021: The Briar King by Greg Keyes (The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone #1) This early 2000s fantasy series is a real hidden gem, one that I’ve always been surprised isn’t more popular. I wouldn’t call it a ripoff of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, but that …
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Book #163 of 2021: The Message by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #4) Cassie’s first Animorphs novel is an absolute delight. Plotwise, it pushes the narrative further than any volume since the premiere, adding in one final teammate to join the group of morphing teens. (I’ll avoid spoilers beyond that here, but this new ally will …
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Book #157 of 2021: The Encounter by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #3) There isn’t much additional worldbuilding in this third novel, and I’m not a huge fan of the action being driven by a one-off ‘Animorphs notice something weird and investigate’ event rather than anything with larger plot implications. Nevertheless, this is an interesting and …
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Book #153 of 2021: White Gold Wielder by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant #3) A satisfying conclusion to this second trilogy in the Land, that mystic realm that can be understood as either a real place to which denizens of our world are magically summoned or an internal dreamscape in which …
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Book #151 of 2021: The Visitor by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #2) This first Animorphs sequel continues the thrilling fun of the debut, while simultaneously deepening the darker themes of the series. Turning into an animal and back is now described in a way that emphasizes the unnatural body horror of the experience, and the …
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Book #145 of 2021: The Invasion by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #1) At the start of this long-overdue series reread, I am struck by how well the first Animorphs book holds up decades on, both from the perspective of a now-older reader and as a cultural artifact removed from its original pre-9/11 context. (The last …
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Book #127 of 2021: The One Tree by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant #2) A thoroughly excellent nautical fantasy, fleshing out the wider landscape of this setting, adding fascinating new wrinkles to the series lore, and finally introducing readers to beings like the sandgorgons and Elohim who had been briefly mentioned …
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Book #111 of 2021: The Wounded Land by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant #1) In the first Thomas Covenant trilogy, the titular antihero resisted the appeal of the fantasy realm that summoned him from our reality, but gradually came to decide that its ideals were worth fighting for even if he …
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[Review originally written 4/1/16, updated 4/10/21] Book #100 of 2021: Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson This novella is honestly not one of Brandon Sanderson’s strongest examples of self-contained storytelling. But that’s fine, because it’s not aiming to be. It’s instead a behind-the-scenes sort of deal, showing one particular character’s actions during the second and …
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