Category Archives: fantasy

Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella

Posted on by

“If you build it, he will come” is probably the most famous line from W.P. Kinsella’s baseball fairy tale Shoeless Joe. But Kinsella does a wonderful thing in that he plays that line as a great bit of misdirection about the real subject of the book. While the movie is probably more well known, the book is a better story. The book is in a genre of its own, American fantasy. Covering such American topics as, baseball, small town farms, traveling carnivals, JD Salinger and the American Dream, Shoeless Joe is a magical journey through an America that doesn’t exist anymore and probably never did, but is missed by all.

Continue reading →

The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers

Posted on by

I hate for people to think that I love the steam punk genre. There are a few of the books that I’ve enjoyed (and at least one that’s still on my reading list), but it’s not like I go searching for them. And then there are some that are recommended to me. In this case, it was The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers. The front cover depicts a steam punk girl with a sword and gun and two guys in jetpacks, but it is really misleading. This is more of an urban fantasy style book than a steam punk book. And as urban fantasy goes, it’s not that good. So, where are The Horns of Ruin?

Continue reading →

A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin

Posted on by

For years, people have been telling me that I should be reading A Game of Thrones. I’ve mentioned before that I”m not as big a fantasy fan as I used to be, so I just wrote it off as another twenty part fantasy series that I wouldn’t be interested in. But with the HBO show just around the corner, I started thinking that I should read it before the series starts in April. And then, when my boss suggested a cross country trip for a meeting, I knew I’d have the time to read it. And all I have to say is that if there were more fantasy like this, I’d be reading more fantasy. So, let’s find out what the book is about, because winter is coming.

Continue reading →

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Posted on by

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor is a typical fantasy novel. It has all the required elements (child who has powers, master who refuses to train them and then relents, a prophecy and a journey). But she has turned it on it’s side. The book is a fantasy story told as an future African folktale. It’s a fantasy book for people who might not like fantasy books (and I do believe I’ve mentioned that I’m not a big fantasy fan previously). And Okorafor has done a wonderful job. So who fears death?

Continue reading →

The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman

Posted on by

Felix Gilman’s The Half-Made World is a mixture of steam-punk, fantasy and a western. And it pulls it off brilliantly. Gilman who had previously published two fantasy novels (Thunderer and it’s sequel Gears of the City) has stepped into a hybrid book that many different types of readers will enjoy. Even though I’m not much of a fantasy fan (as I’ve mentioned a few times previously), but I might check out Gilman’s other two books to see if they are as much fun as this one. So what is The Half-Made World?

Continue reading →

A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony

Posted on by

A Spell for Chameleon is the first of the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony. Nowadays Xanth is a bit of a joke (actually 20 years ago Xanth was a joke), but the first 3 novels were very well done. Anthony was a very good writer until he started writing and publishing 2-3 books a year and overdoing his series (Xanth has 34 books with a couple more scheduled). But his early books were worth reading. So what makes the first Xanth book special?

Continue reading →

The God Engines by John Scalzi

Posted on by

The God Engines is a short novel (novella possibly) John Scalzi that is different in tone and style than his earlier books. Where all his previous novels have been firmly in the science fiction camp, this one treads the line between science fiction and fantasy. But it is still (at its heart) a science fiction novel. So, how does it compare to Scalzi’s previous novels?

Continue reading →

Game of Thrones preview this Sunday night

Posted on by

HBO will preview upcoming shows this Sunday night.

Sunday night at 8:40 Eastern Time, those who tune in to the “Countdown to the True Blood Season Finale” will be treated to previews of upcoming HBO original programming. The list of shows includes (among others) Boardwalk Empire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bored to Death and Game of Thrones.

I’m curious about Game of Thrones and interested in most of the other shows.So I’ll be DVR’ing this to see what will be coming up.

Ron Moore does Harry Potter (ish) show

Posted on by

From Deadline Hollywood:

Ronald D. Moore is back at NBC Universal with a new drama project for NBC that has landed one of the biggest commitments so far this pitch season. The project from Sony TV where the Battlestar Galactica developer inked a two-year overall deal in May, is described as an adult Harry Potter set in a world ruled not by science but by magic. I hear the drama got pilot and series penalties totaling close to $2 million.

 To me this sounds like a riff off of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. But I’m curious how it turns out and does this mean that Caprica is going to be canceled.?

H/T to IO9.com