Science Fiction Fantasy Books

After months of "patiently" waiting for this title to come out in paperback, my almost 10 year old was thrilled to see its delivery from the UPS man. He LOVED this book, as he has the previous books and thinks they should all be made into movies and/or tv shows. He reads every night before bed, but usually only for about 20 minutes before falling fast asleep. With this book, he was up 2 hours after "lights-out" not wanting to put it down. Now he begins the wait for the next installment to be available in paperback.

I absolutely love this series. I have read them all but book 6, and can't wait for it to be released. I can see this series becoming very popular.

The 5th book is wonderful, but the end bit, which has to do with the Scarlet Hand, is extremely confusing. Furthermore, the 6th book (yes, its out!)has a plot that doesnt really match up with the 5th. Still, its an extremely compelling read, I suggest that you buy it!

I am sure that I am not the target market for this series, as I will turn 56 in less than a week. In spite of that I have to say that I love this series of books. The sisters and their extended family keep me entertained, crying and rolling on the floor with laughter.
I recently discovered these books when reading a newspaper article about the frenzy around the release of the sixth book.

I was a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and since there probably will never be another one am glad to find a replacement that is just as good and sometimes better.

I can't wait for the 7th installment, to find out what myths and fairy tale stories will have new light shed on them.

The adventures never seem to end for fairy-tale detectives Sabrina and Daphne Grimm. This time they are investigating a series of thefts of magical items like Baba Yaga's Wand of Merlin, Morgan le Fay's Wonder Clock, and water from the Fountain of Youth. Usually Granny Relda and Mr. Canis help them solve mysteries, but Sabrina and Daphne are pretty much on their own this time. Granny Relda is busy trying to raise money to pay her property tax and Mr. Canis is finding it harder and harder to stop turning into the Big Bad Wolf. Will Sabrina and Daphne be able to find the thief before they run out of time?

"Magic and Other Misdemeanors" is another great entry in Michael Buckley's delightful "The Sisters Grimm" fairy-tale detective series. Sabrina and Daphne continue to grow as characters in each book, especially Sabrina, 12 years old by the end of the book and not nearly as angry as she was in the earlier books. Buckley does a great job of incorporating fairy tale and other legendary characters such as Cinderella, Goldilocks, some of the seven dwarfs, the Queen of Hearts, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and many more. It's always fun to see how he tweaks the various characters - for example, Puss `N Boots is an exterminator, Cinderella hosts a radio talk show called The Dr. Cindy Show, and the witch from Hansel and Gretel is a (not very good) dentist. There's a wonderful sense of humor throughout the book (the magic mirror's computer still being on dial-up and Granny Relda's "recipes" are just two examples of that humor). There are some scary moments, but nothing too frightening. The reason for the theft of the magical items has been done before, but Buckley somehow makes it seem fresh.

"Magic and Other Misdemeanors" is aimed at ages 9 - 12, but readers young and old will enjoy it.

I've been back into comics in a big way as I fight kicking and screaming my way into middle agedom. I picked this one up in a binge of comics including Alias, Supreme Power, Marvels, Kingdom Come, Batman Arkham Asalyum, and the Ultimates.

Next to Batman Arkham, this is my least favorite. It was too short and too small for the cost. It can be read in under half an hour which is a poor dollar per hour piece of entertainment.

The story is very good, very much a story of Serenity and does well bridging the gap between the shows and the movies. However it is simply too small and limited to be remembered. I liked the story but I am not happy with the purchase. I plan to give my copy to SF friends of mine just to try to squeeze more use out of the $10.

I got hold of this 3-issue TPB after reading the recent mini-series "Better Days" (also from Dark Horse). I was surprised reading the reviews of this collection that fans were disappointed.


"Those Left Behind" is far superior to "Better Days." As other reviewers commented, reading this one is like watching the show. You also see things that they may not have been able to pull off on the show (Zero-G, space graveyard). I also liked elements here that I've wondered about: what about rival merc teams? How close was Kaylee getting Simon where she wanted him? How do Book and Inara end up off the ship?

Ultimately, this was a satisfying read. Unbelievably better than "Better Days" (which should be avoided). Also, the covers and variant covers by various top-of-the-field artists as well as the interior art all of is just purty.

The letter from Nathan Fillion in the beginning of the graphic novel is my favorite part. Wouldn't we all want to be superheroes (even the jaded kind) for awhile? The artwork and story line were a nice bridge between the television show and the film. Nice job!

This chronicles the time between the series "Firefly" and the film "Serenity." The art, story, dialogue, and feel is all the same as the big and small screen renditions. It doesn't shatter any prior ideas or anything, but it was definitely worth the read.

firefly is one of the best shows of this decade. fox sucks for cancelling it. bring on more movies and bring back the show!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a rare example of a production design book that doesn't disappoint. It has a "how to" focus that is actually useful as well. Now the reader will know some important details about how Doug Chiang achieves his unique artistic style. For those of us who run to the store to buy various "Art of" books about futuristic production design, this one is a treat.

In this book Doug Chiang leads you through a number of his drawings from marker sketch to final render. One of the great things about this method is it offers a rare look into the step-by-step changes that occur during the development of a conceptual render. This is a excellent guide for up and coming concept designers and an good source of inspiration for established artists. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a look into how great Sci-Fi illustration is developed.

Doug Chiang's book, Mechanika, is a book I'll be recommending to both my College and private classes. In it, Mr. Chiang shows not only his eloquent mastery of logic-in-technique when creating a great variety of Sci-Fi imagery, but as well he shows us the basic step-by-step sequence to accomplishing the task. It's so well done! There is no doubt Doug Chiang possesses great expertise in creating visually stunning Science Fiction Art, and his credentials prove it, and now we the fortunate can see behind the scenes, you might say, into how Doug Chiang brings his visions to life. A must-have for any and everyone's library. I proudly have it in mine. I'm sure many of my student's, and students-to-be, will have it in theirs.

This is a great book! Doug is a master and shares all of his secrets on how to design cool robots and ships like he does. 5 stars.

For those of you who've seen the author's art in print or person, the stars are no surprise. If you haven't seen his work, this book not only showcases his talents and skills as a designer/renderer in finished pieces, it gives direct insight and instruction on how he gets there. From pencil sketch to marker render to digital finished product, Doug takes you through his approach to getting an idea onto a medium.

What seperates this book from other "how-to" books in this design field is it's engaging simplicity in execution. Doug's broken the book into easy-to-browse chapters that cover different techniques and design subject matter in each. This is to it's benefit, as each step encompasses not only fundamental techniques of execution, but Doug's insights on the design of the subject matter. There is little, if any, over-explaining. The instructional images do the talking with simple text accompanying each.

Did I mention it's really hard to find a good (if any) book on marker techniques? This one's the best I've seen. So if you've been thinking about trying markers as a new style, this is a must have.

An all-out great purchase and true bargain considering you get a concept design, multiple-technique, step-by-step package by a truly exceptional and highly respected industry artist.

My son has been listening to Magic Tree House for a year, and will listen over and over in the car. I got the second box set for his 5th birthday, which is today, so he hasn't listened to them yet, but I KNOW he will love the whole set. All his (boy) friends love MTH and they talk about the stories (we also have some of the books which we have read a lot too). The books are recommended for 2nd and 3rd graders, but my now 5 year old concentrates and listens to the stories, asking questions about some of the words or events that he doesn't know. Even my 2 year old will ask for Annie in the car!
A few friends with girls have tried the books, and the girls just weren't that into them.

The service was exceptional as always and, the CD's are a great hit for my children as they follow along with the books. Ages 5-7

just loves these stories. They really are fun to listen to, and now he can hear them when ever... no waiting for mom!

These books on CD are fabulous. My five year old loves them. He tells me that he doesn't need illustrations because he can create images in his own mind. They are very educational. Each story covers a topic in such an interesting way that I now use these them to introduce that topic. These stories generated interest in history, science,art and much more.

My six year old loves these CD's! He wants to listen to them whenever we are in the car to go anywhere! I will have to buy more!

This book just ended horribly. It is not enough that the Anita Blake books are in the toilet but come on.... This ending was a cop-out on picking A king. Its awfully convient how LH makes up new "legends" to make the most pathetic ending "plauasble"

This is not bad erotica or bad porn. While LKH is getting heat from her fans for her Anita Blake series, I find that there is no complaint for her Meredith Gentry books. I found this series to be a much better story and so far each book has proven satisfactory. However, unlike some series, and like her Anita Blake stories, read them in order. They don't stand alone because each book usually picks up where the previous one has ended. Besides, I still feel the first book was the best.

I like the Meredith Gentry series so much, I am going to try the Anita Blake series next.

While one or two chapters were confusing due to the sudden magical happenings, over this was yet another of L. K. Hamilton's books that I just couldn't put down. Between the intense hot scenes and crying my eyes out with others I seriously enjoyed this book. Now I will truely be dying until the next Meridth Gentry book after this cliff hanger ending.

Unlike EA Solinas, I enjoy Ms. Hamilton's books, her writing and the way that the books and the plot lines evolve.

Each book generates more character insight as well as a furtherance of the challenges and successes of the heroine and her heroes - which increase on a daily/monthly basis :)

It would seem that most of the readers who were fans of the old Anita books liked the blood, gore and anger - and as a result share their anger through the reviews.

I love the Merry Gentry books because they deal with paranormal stuff that is beyond the pale. How do writers come up with this stuff?

Also, I feel that readers who choose to follow someone else's review of material without judging for themselves means that either a.) they like to follow others own thoughts; or b.) don't have the ability to think for themselves.

Have I ever read a LKH book that I didn't like? Sure - but it's my own opinion. Have I read other books from authors that I adore and collect that I didn't like? Absolutely. But again, it is my own opinion.

I enjoyed this book, just as I have enjoyed the other books. Reading for me is a way to escape into the lives of someone else - it helps me to get away from my problems and enjoy the problems, challenges, trivialities of other fictional character's for just a little while - rather than have to deal with the unhappiness, trials, tribulations and crisis in my life as well as those who have to deal with my life.

Am I an unhappy person? No. But reading for me is an escape. A review should be done with some personal aspect, but not be an attack on the author. Which I believe is happening right now. If you don't like the way things are going, then don't read the books - but please stop posting the negativity.


And stating that is my own opinion - I enjoyed this book, just as I have enjoyed all of them. The conflict within Merry's life is hazardous, there is a constant threat of death within her life from her cousin, as well as from her Aunt and Uncle. She has to be careful what she says through the mirror, and she can not be herself with very many of the guards that have been chosen to help her succeed in her goal of reproduction.

Merry's plight is fraught with disappointment because she knows who would be the better leader. She also has to face the fact that she may not be able to have a baby and the stress on her to get pregnant is what so many of us face today. Granted, we don't have all the hotties to sleep with like Merry does, but hopefully our chosen partner is hot to us - right?

Each Merry Gentry novel brings new possibilities - and each novel brings a new opportunity for us to escape for a little while into her life.

I gave this novel 4 stars - why not 5? I want more...more, more, more -

This is my review and my own opinion - You may use this review for just that - but personally, I hope that you read the book and make your own choices.

Wow, I wish I had found this series sooner. Great book and I am looking forward to getting all of the others.

I bought this book and once it arrived it sat on my shelf for several months. I couldn't get beyond the cover, which didn't give me a lot of confidence in the book.
However, when I finally pulled it off the shelf and started reading, I was sucked right in to the story.
Loved the characters, the variety of them, the depth, and their struggle with light and dark within themselves and each other.
Thought the relationship (if you can call it that) that Kaylin has with Lord Nightshade was awesome..the hint of sensuality..
Very impressed with the depth of the story and the journey it takes you on...never quite knowing what's around the corner (or who).
Left me wanting more.

A wonderfully written exploration of the fragile human experience. The past haunts, blocks sight, effects all facets of being... even when it is a distorted view or memory. A wonderful look at the power of relationships built in troubled times, the destructive power of events half seen and the effects of the no win choices that face real people. Friendship, love, dark powers and powerful non human races make a deep and rich world of fantasy with enough elements of our own world for us to relate and understand and enough differences to be magical.

I really enjoyed this book by Michelle Sagara. This is the first book of hers that I have ever read and I was pleased that it kept my interest through the whole thing. The writing style was unique and quirkie in that you really have to pay attention to every word or you really become confused. I actualy talked about the plot, dialogue, and writing method with other members of my family that I recomended the book to.
Good read, not best for multi-task reading, great for an escape.

Very intriguing plot line, but very badly delivered. If I had a dollar for every time the word "Hawk" was used, I'd be able to pay off my new car! Geez, I understand the character was a member of the Hawks, I don't need to read "I'm a Hawk" on every other page! Whomever edited this book should be fired. This reads like a first draft dictated to a typing program. It's really sad because the story idea is very good, but its buried under so much unnecessary stuff. Save your money and treat yourself to something better.

I bought this collection for my five year old granddaughter and she loves
it. We just wish there were more of the Fairy series sold as a set.

I wanted to find a series of chapter books to start reading out loud to my two daughters, ages five and three. These books are great. There are pictures on each page, the story is fun, and each chapter ends in a cliff-hanger. The two main characters have to find seven rainbow faires to bring color back to fairyland, and they find one in each book. This box set is a great deal if you're planning on getting all seven books. We're having fun reading these...highly recommended.

I bought this set for my 7 year old daughter for Xmas and she just loved it. She read every single book. It was a great series to get my daughter excited about reading for pleasure. Easy too for a new reader.

If you daughter likes fairies and ponies, these are the books for her. My daughter who is 6 loves them and begs me to read another chapter everynight.

My daughter is 5 and just loved these books. She was very excited to know where the fairies would be found. I also enjoyed reading them with her.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA pop-up book begins with a roar --- almost literally. In a two-page spread that chronicles the creation of Narnia, a splendid Aslan the lion practically leaps off the page as planets swirl and flowers and plants burst into life. It's a magnificent beginning to this superb pop-up overview of Lewis's novels, with paper engineering by Robert Sabuda.

Each of Lewis's novels is given a full two-page spread, dominated by one or more fantastical, multi-dimensional pop-up creation. For THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, for example, a sailing ship, complete with sails and rigging, bursts off the page as the mouse Reepicheep declares his courage. In other pages, fierce battles rage, a horse bounds across the landscape and a whole parade of beloved Narnia characters seem to march right out of the pages toward the reader --- and toward Aslan's Country.

The text accompanying each pop-up creation is spare, reducing the summary of each novel's plot to a handful of sentences. For example, the perennial favorite THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE is summed up as follows: "Many years later, four children enter the wardrobe and discover the snow-covered land of Narnia. They meet all kinds of magical creatures, but they find danger, too. The White Witch rules now, making it always winter but never Christmas. With Aslan's help, they break the Witch's spell and become great Kings and Queens."

This textual brevity is entirely fitting given the audience for this book, which certainly will be made up primarily of Narnia aficionados who will eagerly anticipate Sabuda's interpretation of their favorite novels. And what an interpretation it is. On the pages I've quoted above, snow-covered trees and menacing icy towers rise up majestically above pages that sparkle like new-fallen snow, where Mr. Tumnus the faun holds up his umbrella and four children emerge from a wardrobe when the reader opens a secret flap. Fans of Lewis's novels will be thrilled to find them come to life in this new way.

For years, I've given Robert Sabuda's classic pop-ups, from THE CHRISTMAS ALPHABET to THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, as holiday presents to family and friends young and old. This year, I know I will be giving his latest masterpiece as a gift. For fans of Lewis's classic children's books, devotees of paper engineering or those who just marvel at fantasy worlds, you can't go wrong with THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA POP-UP as a gift this holiday season.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

What a delightful work of art. The mechanics and cut out art work are superb. One must understand that the pop up book depecits all the stories within Narnia. If you have the complete series as shown on BBC or have read all 3 stories by C.S. Lewis then you will be able to relate to each page. Walt Disney has only released one movie "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" so one can only connect the first pages of the book to the movie. But even if you have never seen any part or read C.S. Lewis books, this is wonderful pop up book to own. I bought one for my granddaughter and one for me.

I expect my daughter to grow up enjoying this book. It's so beautiful I will be showing it to her for a few years. My nephews looked at it and now want to see it everytime they visit. I won't let them touch it, for fear they may break it and my daughter won't get to enjoy it when she is older. I would buy it again.

I enjoy looking at this book. It is a pleasure to share with others. The art and engineering are great. I would recommend the pleasure of this book to anyone.

I bought this book for my niece but have loved it myself. The artwork is beautiful and I enjoy looking at it over and over again.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves the Chronicles of Narnia books.

This edition does not have color illustrations. When I purchased it, I was under the impression that it did. They are printed in black and white. The paper in this edition is the sort of paper used in a low quality trade paperback: this isn't really a nice edition. I'm not very pleased.

But the story itself is worth reading in any edition! Wonderful book!

This is a wonderful three-in-one storybook. We are reading it as a family and it is so clever and beautifully written. I would highly recommend; you will not be disappointed.

Excellent children's book! I highly recommend it to all
people young and old. Great illustrations and wonderful
imagination!!! A classic!

My wife bought this on recommendation from another Amazon parent and we have enjoyed it very much! We curl up in bed together with our 4.5 yo son and 7+ yo daughter and read a couple of chapters each night. The children adore the story line, Elmer's cleverness and everything about this charming, delightful, classic series. Absolutely get this trilogy to share with your children and your grandchildren; it's wonderful!

I could have purchased each book individually, but bought the three in one version. I read the book in record time to my class in daily read-aloud sessions because every day they would BEG me to read just one more chapter in the story! They were engaged each day. It is an amazing read-aloud with excitement, adventure and thrilling parts that kept imaginations running and waiting for the next chapter then book~! I know these books will become a part of my read-aloud for years to come.

I'm not much of a fiction writer, but the author has a good concept at work that keeps the reader interested. He switches back and forth between two characters, a rookie superhero and a old hat supervillain, each taking the lead narrator position every other chapter. So, once you might start getting board with the superhero type, you get to suddenly get back into the mind of the book's supervillain.

The story is indeed a comic book story, but it also parodies and brings out the inherent realities that would arise if superheroes were indeed real. So, you get to find out the superman-like character is not loved by everyone because he can be kind of a self-obsessed jerk and the League of superheroes in the book have a pr department and book deals and the like.

The story is pretty simple and straightforward, which works in context of the book, because the lack of intricacy of the plot is made up for by looking at a straightforward series of events from two different and opposing points of view. This method of storytelling allows the reader to have fun being in on all the in-jokes about comic book heroes as well as still making you wish you were a superhero. The author does an exceptional job at making you feel bad for the villain and yet completely realize he's self-sabotaging.

My only problem with this book is it makes me yearn for a sequel (something I'm not sure I've ever actually read in fiction). And I worry that Austin will simply move onto other things. Oh well, it was still loads of fun.

Aside from Phil Foglio's Girl Genius this is the greatest tale of science gone wrong that I have ever read. What really makes this such a great story is Dr. Impossible himself, a dark yet understandable character.

This is a great book! Sure, it's not completely a comic book -- or a graphic novel. There are no drawings to look at. That is, if you discount the Chip Kidd / Bryan Hitch art. But, I can see them in my head as I turn the pages. I'm drawing the images from my own imagination. And what's better than the pages we each conjure ourselves? IT'S NEVER WRONG!!

And of course there are a lot of holes in the story:
1) Dr. Impossible's secret "alien gas"
2) The heroes couldn't tell that Galatea was a robot?!?

But there are 3 moments of genius in this novel. But you, gentle reader, need to do a little work. And when you do, the result will be most satisfying

- Who was that random tourist actually looking at when he says, "I think that's Dr. Impossible."
- The trail of the Pharaoh's hammer, from the seventies to present day
- And most importantly, why was the lead female heroine named "Damsel?" The real answer lies in your high-school science books!!

Enjoy your reading. And when you're done, try the audiobook for a different experience. It's two vocal performances that you thoroughly enjoy. SOON!

The Champions, a world famous group of superheroes, is changing. Some old members are gone and new members are coming on board. One new member is a new modern cyborg, part human and part machine, named Fatale. But villains don't take a vacation so that new trainees can get up to speed. Super villain Doctor Impossible, an evil genius who is always trying to find some way to take over the world, has escaped from his latest prison and is once again gearing up his diabolical plans. While Fatale tries to find her place to fit in with the existing Champions group, she also wants to find Doctor Impossible and prove her worth.

This young adult sci-fi book reads like a comic book without the pictures. It is the story of one young woman in the process of becoming a superhero and the story of a super villain getting one more chance to rule the world. The story is very fast paced with a whole lot of different heroes and criminals cropping up in the story. Several times I felt like I had dropped into the middle of an existing series-but this is the debut book. While the story is good, I could have used a few less characters to keep up with.

The story jumps from following Fatale to following Dr. Impossible. I loved Fatale's character and how she grows and matures into a heroine through the story. I wasn't nearly as interested in what Dr. Impossible was thinking and wanting, although I do think the information was a vital part of the story. I guess I'm just not a fan of super villains.

I also liked learning about many of the secondary characters but I think I would have enjoyed it more if their stories were in different books in the series with more details about each of them and their relationships instead of everything being in one book.

On the whole I liked the book and would read a sequel.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are a fan of superhero or super villain stories, this book is a pretty fun adventure!

Austin Grossman's debut novel Soon I Will Be Invincible rests on two points of view: that of super villain Doctor Impossible, who has an IQ of 300 and rookie superhero female cyborg Fatale. And there is the battle between good and evil, with people trying to take over the world in one way or another, but it's not always clear exactly who is doing what. Addressing childhood, shame, love, lust, and the weird twists of fate that make us who we are, the book shows how sometimes the difference between one path in life and another might be a chance word, a bit of kindness, and someone understanding. My daughter wasn't too fond of the writing, though for the most part I enjoyed it, with trite comic book dialog craftily placed to create a kind of character chiaroscuro, only the contrast not being between literal light and dark, but the metaphoric public and private parts of someone's psyche that help define the whole person. There were times that I thought the story got badly out of hand - for example, one character realizes the real identity of another and states it, when a hint would have done the trick and left one area of tension and suspense for resolution at the end for greater effect. But overall, worth the read and a book I can recommend.