Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts

Friday, May 02, 2008

Seduced by Moonlight



by Laurell Hamilton 2004
ISBN 0-345-44356-X

This one surprised me and I nearly gave up. Trying to get my head around the Seelie and the Unseelie, sidhe, mortals, fays and hybrids, Kings, Queens, Princes and goblins and starting part way through a series was not a good idea. However I persevered and enjoyed some of the lyrical descriptions of wings, eyes and other body parts.
From a review by Alisa McCune it appears that this is not the best of the series so perhaps I should follow up on the earlier ones. However two of my requested books arrived at the library yesterday and will keep me busy added to term starting again on Monday.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Knight of the Demon Queen

(Click here if you are looking for my blog post about blogging for teachers.)

by Barbara Hambly (2000)
ISBN 0-345-42189-2

This book is a sequel to Dragonsbane and Dragonshadow, but I did not find it as compelling to read. This may have been my state of health at the time, or may have been a function of reduced lyrical beauty and increased desperation and despair. Other reviewers have made similar comments. However I still care enough about John and Jenny, their children and their world to want to carry on.

In this book, John goes on a quest for the Demon Queen which involves him visiting different Hells, all of which have their snares. One of the aspects of the book that I did find intriguing was the hell he visited that was reminiscent of the worst of our civilized world - advertisements and drugs everywhere, no sunshine or trees.

"Day came. The rain ceased for a time, but the gray blank overhead smelled of more. Te crowds increased, unbelievably." "The noise was dizzying, the sides of the buildings plastered and patches with garish lights and flashing panels of color. Panels of pictures, too, that moved as if living: tiny as a thumbnail or towering a dozen stories up the side of a building whose uppermost floors were wreathed in low-hanging cloud. These pictures spoke, and music - if it was music - rivered from them, but because the speech was artificially produced he could not understand wast was being said."

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Dragonshadow


by Barbara Hambly (1999)
ISBN 0-345-42187-6

Sequel to Dragonsbane, this book adds demons to the fantasy mix. I love the concept of dragons being rainbow coloured when young and growing into their particular colouring as they develop the music that describes them and is their name. The drama and battle with evil continues with the addition of fabulous machinery invented and constructed by one of the main characters. The story does not end yet - I have requested the next volume, The Knight of the Demon Queen.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Dragonsbane



Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
1985
ISBN0345349393

I started reading the third book in this series, and realised that I needed to go back to the beginning to make sense of it. I am glad that I made the effort to request Dragonsbane and now look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Themes include magic, power and the secret desires of mages, dragons, gnomes and humans. And it is a great story, with vivid descriptions. There are very strong female characters.
If you want to know more about this book read this comprehensive review or get the book yourself.

Note that I am not posting so often now as I am back at work again!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

The Raw Shark Texts (Part Two)

The Raw Shark Texts Part 2

This story continued to intrigue and challenge right until the end.
Described on the spine of my copy by Mark Haddon as "The bastard lovechild of The Matrix, Jaws and The Da Vinci Code"! Also has overtones of "The Old Man and the Sea", and a book I read just before I started blogging on my reading which was a thriller involving deepsea fishing and technological tracking of fish.
Thoroughly recommended.

An aside to explain what I am doing here. About 25 years ago I started at A in the Fendalton Public Library. I am currently reading H from the South Library (still in Christchurch). My online library account reports on authors I have read but is not yet smart enough for me to be able to find information on books I read previously. I particularly enjoy making links between themes, styles and content matter, and I was looking for a topic to blog on. So here I am.