Good Reads & Views

Joust by Mercedes Lackey
Fiction

What it’s about:  In the kingdom of Tia, young Vetch is an Altan serf, lower in rank than a slave, living a miserable existence. One day a Jouster in need of a boy to care for his dragon takes him from his owner. Vetch is torn between gratitude to Jouster Ari for a much better life and loyalty to Alta, which is at war with Tia. When the opportunity arises to steal a dragon egg, Vetch learns just how deep love for a dragon can be.

Reviewers say:  ”Lackey gives us a wonderfully visualized society, similar in terrain, climate, religion, and the differing circumstances of slave, serf, and free person to ancient Egypt. Moreover, she fills the book with well-limned characterizations and convincing, detailed dragon lore to make up a whole in which Vetch's coming-of-age becomes an integral part” (Booklist); “Lackey combines meticulously detailed dragon lore with emotionally intense, realistic human characters” (Publisher’s Weekly).

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Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Fiction

Introducing: Tough and appealing, Mercy Thompson is a mechanic and a shapeshifter (she shifts between coyote and human forms) who deals with broken-down VW vans and supernatural beings with equal aplomb. Mercy is headstrong and self-reliant, but her narration can be personal and surprisingly revealing.

What it’s about: A newly changed werewolf—in the form of a half-starved teenage boy—turns up at Mercy’s shop and begs for help. Mercy has no choice but to ask her neighbor and antagonist, head of the local werewolf pack, for help, but this leads to unexpected consequences.

Why you might like it: Highly entertaining and fast-paced, it’s easy to gobble up this urban fantasy series. Engaging and interesting characters, suspenseful storytelling, and excellent world-building keep the reader involved, especially since each book introduces new lore or mythology.

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Fiction 

If you like: Stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, found families, and quirky fantasies, read this now!

What it’s about: Offbeat and heartwarming, this tale is set in a highly bureaucratic dystopian society where magical beings exist under the strict scrutiny of the bureaucracy. Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth whose life is changed forever when he is given a classified assignment to observe an island orphanage housing dangerous magical children. When he opens the top-secret case file and learns the secret of the first of these children, Linus faints with fear. But under the guidance of Arthur, their caretaker, these little monsters have the potential to become their best selves; as Linus learns, a case file can’t tell the whole story. A whimsical and surprisingly delightful story about celebrating differences.

You might also like: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, and Warlight by Michael Ondaatje.

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The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
Fiction

What it’s about: In a fantasy world where humans have retreated to Spires far above the deadly surface, Merchant Captain Grimm flies his merchant ship Predator for Spire Albion until he is tapped to lead a team of agents on a secret mission.

Why you might like it: The cast of characters is large yet  nonetheless fully realized. Humor is mixed equally with suspense. The main characters are fundamentally good people caught up in an epic battle. It is the first in a series, and a lot of the world is yet to be explored by the characters.

You might also like: The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis another steampunk world with airships.

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Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Fiction

What it’s about: S.T., a domesticated crow, realizes something is wrong with his owner Big Jim when Big Jim’s eyeball falls out and then the guy tries to eat him. S.T., along with his good buddy Dennis, a sweet but dim-witted bloodhound, abandon the only life they’ve ever known to discover that the malady affecting Big Jim has struck all the humans of Seattle--they've become the raging undead, seeking only flesh and the bright glow of digital objects. S.T. and Dennis are in the fight of their lives as they struggle to survive and find purpose among the ruins of humanity. Fortunately, S.T. has acquired plenty of smarts from watching documentaries on the Discovery Channel.

Why you might like it: This quirky fantasy blends dark humor and horror, and features a sassy, plucky hero resulting in an exuberant read that’s full of heart.

Want a taste? Despite the snark, there are some surprisingly poignant and moving passages, like this: “Trust it turned out, was a very beautiful and fragile thing with a taste like wild raspberries and experienced only by the very brave.” And this: “Watching the sunrise.... what an act of beauty, of unwavering faith, something to look forward to each and every day.”

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Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Fiction

What it’s about: Gifted with an extraordinary sense of smell, lone wolf Tracker is hired to join a motley band of magically gifted mercenaries in a far-ranging search for a mysterious kidnapped boy. The book opens with the story of Tracker’s youth, when he learns to use his gift and begins his complex relationship with the shape-shifting Leopard. This is a hallucinatory, nightmarish trek across a richly-detailed landscape peopled with witches, magical children, mermaids, vampires, and trolls, and it also is funny, violent, heartbreaking, and romantic. The first of a trilogy.

Is it for you? If you miss Game of Thrones, and are looking for a sweeping, brutal, yet lush and compelling Afrofantasy that blends genres and tells stories within stories within stories, this book is for you. It’s about the power of storytelling, political pawns, chosen families, and love and hate in all forms.

Reviewers say: “Reading Black Leopard, Red Wolf was like being slowly eaten by a bear, one inviting me to feel every pressure of tooth and claw tearing into me…. But I can't deny that having finished it, I went back to the beginning to find things I now better understood, felt better able to withstand — as if in hollowing me out the book had made space for itself, had given me something in exchange for everything it put me through.” Amal El-Mohtar for NPR

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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Fiction

What it’s about: Frustrated with her kind but incompetent father’s unsuccessful running of the family’s moneylending business, young Miryem takes over, starts collecting outstanding debts, and puts the business back on sound footing. When she is overheard boasting of her ability to turn silver into gold, she draws the attention of the Staryk, creatures who haunt the woods, ruled by a king of winter who loves gold.

Reviewers say: “A medieval fable of obscure moral import blossoms into a thoughtful, emotionally complex, absorbing drama that stands confidently on its own merits” (Kirkus). “This masterly, immersive high fantasy tale is grounded in real-world challenges and opportunities for growth” (Library Journal). “This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them” (NYT Book Review).

You might also like: Novik's Uprooted, an award winning fantasy that Publishers Weekly called "a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible." 

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The Bees by Laline Paull
Fiction

This surprising and imaginative dystopian fantasy will have you thinking of bees and the intricate social rituals of a hive in a whole new way. Sanitation worker Flora 717, born to the lowest social order of the hive, is excessively large, and unlike her sister sanitation workers, Flora 717 can speak. She is a variation and not a deformity, and so is permitted to live and even become part of the priestess Sister Sage's private experiment. This gives her permission to move among the different social strata, where she witnesses much of the beauty and mystery of the behavior rituals of bees. She works in the nursery, becomes a forager, and fights off enemies. When Flora breaks one on the hive's sacred laws, and lays an egg of her own, her secret pits her against the hive. Much of the information about life in the hive and social structure is accurate, but Paull does take some liberties with science. Even so, after reading this, I feel even more compelled to avoid using pesticides.

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
Fiction

Borogravia is at war and Polly decides to go find her missing soldier brother. She cuts her hair, dresses like a male (including an appropriately placed pair of socks), practices manly noises, and off she goes to the recruiting station. She is welcomed into the army, along with a vampire, an igor, a troll, and a werewolf, among others. Hilarity ensues in this tale of Pratchett’s  Discworld series that can easily be enjoyed without having to read any previous books in the series. Recently adapted for the stage at Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre, earning a four-star review from the Chicago Tribune.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Fiction

Armageddon is scheduled for next Saturday, but there’s a hitch. Heavenly representative angel Aziraphale and his hellish counterpart demon Crowley are not too eager for the final battle; they have become quite accustomed to living on earth and have actually developed a friendly rapport. However, the four motorcyclists of the apocalypse - war, death, famine and pollution (pestilence having been retired with the invention of penicillin) – are raring to go. And there is another small problem - seems a ditzy Satanic nurse messed up the baby Anti-Christ switcheroo eleven years ago and his whereabouts are now unknown. Can't start armageddon without him...British zaniness, and an acquired taste for some, but Library Journal calls it “irreverently funny and unexpectedly wise.”