Book #1 of 2023: Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea #4) The second book in a row to be marketed as the final volume of Earthsea would ultimately, of course, prove not to be that at all. Author Ursula K. Le Guin just kept discovering new things to say about the fantasy setting and …
Tag Archives: reread
Book Review: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
Book #189 of 2022: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea #3) The Earthsea Cycle was originally presented as a trilogy, published from 1968 to 1972, and in that context, I think this concluding novel is a bit of a disappointment. It’s heavy on mysticism but light on plot or detailed worldbuilding, and …
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Book Review: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
Book #182 of 2022: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (Wax and Wayne #3 / Mistborn #6) [Note: I am Facebook friends with this author. Review originally written in 2016.] The fight scenes in this novel are top-notch, and it’s great to see new applications of the basic magic principles Sanderson introduced in the …
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Book Review: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
Book #178 of 2022: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea #2) Earthsea is a very loose children’s fantasy series, somewhat akin to The Chronicles of Narnia: although certain characters recur across volumes, each book has a fairly distinct structure and tone, and there isn’t much of an overarching plot. This second …
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Book Review: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
Book #171 of 2022: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson (Wax and Wayne #2 / Mistborn #5) [Disclaimer: I am Facebook friends with this author.] As I mentioned in my review of that previous title, this era of the Mistborn series grew out of a writing exercise that author Brandon Sanderson liked enough to expand …
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Book Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Book #168 of 2022: Dracula by Bram Stoker First published in 1897, this gothic horror novel remains an influential classic. Its characters like Van Helsing and the bloodsucking Count himself are now household names, and so many of our cultural ideas about vampires that subsequent stories have either reiterated or consciously pushed back against can …
Book Review: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Book #167 of 2022: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea #1) Author Ursula K. Le Guin’s first Earthsea novel — following two short stories in the setting she’d already published elsewhere — recounts the early life of its titular character, whom we are repeatedly told will someday be the most powerful …
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Book Review: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
Book #159 of 2022: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (Wax and Wayne #1 / Mistborn #4) [Disclaimer: I am Facebook friends with this author.] Brandon Sanderson’s original Mistborn trilogy from 2006 to 2008 fits squarely in the genre of high fantasy, presenting a sword-and-sorcery world in which gifted individuals can push and pull …
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Book Review: The Beginning by K. A. Applegate
Book #148 of 2022: The Beginning by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #54) Well… Here we are. Sixteen months later, I have finally finished my full reread of the complete Animorphs saga, and am ready to review its final volume. Spoilers ahead, obviously. Thematically as a series, Animorphs has always been focused on the deep trauma …
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Book Review: A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith
Book #145 of 2022: A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith This 1984 bestseller about a fictional family’s frontier history is required reading in many Florida schools, which is where I first encountered and absolutely loathed the title. But it has plenty of accolades and its fair share of adherents, and so I’ve always wanted …
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