Science Fiction Fantasy Books

This book has everything. Fighting, hard-core themes, and is a setup for the obviously final showdown between the sides. Defineately the one to read if anthing

As my daughter was reading this the other night she remarked that this is by far the best one yet in the series - we highly recommend it.

Riveting. Read it the same day I got it. Eagerly awaiting the next one in the series.

Exile is awsome! If anything, it's a little bloody, though. I was so sure it was going to be the last book-but don't be. The last chapter guarantees there will be another book. Nyra is not yet dead.In fact, Exile has little to do with Nyra. It's mostly about the Striga burning owls. I found it a little disappointing that Tengshu didn't kill the Striga. Overall, it was a good book. Not as good as the River of Wind, though.

Lots of action. I like these weird blue owls from the middle kingdom because it introduces weirdness. Also, I like the idea of The Striga (Blue owl from the middle kingdom; member of the dragon court who were formerly hagsfiends) somehow being completely opposite to "vanity" and thinks there should be none of it. (I don't like the idea)

The surface of Chilio is so hostile with its perpetual storms it is deadly to humans. Aztec descendents fled enslavement by aliens on New Anegada to settle on this lethal orb, but built domed cities floating high in the atmosphere above the deadly planet in order to avoid the excessive temperatures, the CRYSTAL RAIN and the crushing atmospheric pressure.

However, over time the technology has become lost, the cities in the sky decaying rapidly, and the residents unable to pay for infrastructure repair or spare parts of the machines that keep them alive. One of the floating towns Yatapek survives mostly due to a mining machine working the surface underneath the city; special physically apropos young men serve as mechanics as the ground suits needed to survive limit who can do the job. Fourteen years old repairman Timas is working on the surface when he sees an alien; he leaves his work to prove his startling discovery. Suddenly disaster strikes Yatapek and the other floating cities as invaders have arrived from space. Pepper, who has lived here decades past his peers as his insides are filled with alien gizmos that have kept him alive long after others he knew died (see RAGAMUFFIN) finds himself helping the people of Chilio in a war they cannot win, but to lose means extinction.

Letting time refresh the return to Chilio, Tobias S. Buckell provides an exhilarating outer space science fiction thriller that starts off with action as Pepper wearing a heat shield dives through the lethal atmosphere to the surface and never slows down until the final confrontation. The story line is fast-paced, but it is the cast who makes the plot entertaining. Fans will expect that of Pepper, but Timas makes the tale move briskly as the audience will believe he and the other mechanics are real and in turn that affirms the hostile conditions. Readers will relish SLY MONGOOSE as war has come to a forgotten unforgiving planet, but to know why requires reading about a planet with a humongous everlasting tempest (worse than that on Jupiter).

Harriet Klausner

When I bought this book, I had no idea what it was about...other than it had dragons in it..
So, I start reading it, and once I caught wind that this book has woven history in it...I started to become a non-believer. When they seized the dragons egg, that's when I'd had enough.
Frankly if she had written the book, without the history in it, I might have believed it more... If the story is strong enough, it shouldn't need the history in it..
She took a risk, and for me as a reader, it didn't pay off.

I picked this up as it looked intriguing, I am always ready for a good dragon tale.... This caught my attention form the first pages. Novik does a splendid job with her characters. History has always interested me, but I know very little about Nelson, Trafalgar or Napoleon. I have only read this one book, but plan on getting the rest. I am hooked!

I am a fan of great Dragon Series, I grew up on Ann Macaffey, Naomi Novik has hit the spot.

One of the best books I have ever read...I loved to idea of Historic facts...With the addition of an air corp...I like the way she took Dragons and made them more realistic such as fire breathing is a rare gift of only certain breeds...Who would have thought of that...I give this book 5 stars...

Get ready to be captivated as Naomi Novik draws us into an alternate history where humans and dragons join forces in the war against Napoleon. For every fan of Patrick O'Brien, Alexander Kent and Anne McCaffrey this is fantastic stuff which left us eagerly devouring this series. If you loved the Patricia Briggs Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood, ensure you get all five of these at once - you'll want to read them immediately!

I purchased this for my grandson, who at 91/2 is an exceptionally bright boy.
Neither he nor his father were able to make heads or tails out of this purchase.

I have seen the books' author on tv, I like the way he divided the book in 5 parts so you can understand about Harry Potter.

Very early in the book John Granger recalls Professor Moody's trunk with 7 locks. Each time Dumbledore inserts a key into a different lock the trunk opens and contains different items. This book is exactly like that trunk! I have read or listened to every Harry Potter book (except Phoenix) more times than I can count and yet each time that Granger brings out a new key my reaction was "I didn't know that that was in there!" I even understand now why I didn't enjoy re-reading Phoenix (the alchemical "black" stage of the series)as much as the other books.

I didn't read this book until after I had read Deathly Hallows and I still truly enjoyed reading Granger's predictions. Some of them were spot on, while others weren't, but the premises on which they were based were solid. I had to laugh at one point, when a reference was made to the sun/Sol and moon/Luna coming together as part of an alchemical wedding. It wasn't precisely a prediction, but in Deathly Hallows Luna certainly did arrive at the wedding wearing brilliant yellow, "sun colors."

The best part is that I can reread the entire Potter series one more time, with a new perspective, and be assured of appreciating details that I have missed before.

If you've already finished "Deathly Hallows," and you think this book is now obsolete, think again! This author's take on how Rowling thought while writing the HP series is fascinating and highly educational. Granger could teach a college course on the post-modern literary aspects of Harry Potter, and students would have to go on a wait list just to sign up for the course. Though Granger, I think, would be an annoying prof. His narrative voice has an edge of sarcasm and snobbery - which is hilarious and incredibly irritating at the same time.

Throughout reading this book, I was also fascinated with how on-target were many of his predictions for the "Deathly Hallows" book. At times he is way off-base, and other times you think he must have had an advance copy because he is so precise in his insights about how Rowling will think in crafting the 7th book. I learned a lot about this fascinating series - why I was duped by Rowling in almost every single book, why the themes are so compelling across 3 generations of readers ... and I was left wondering if we will ever again see a book or series like Harry Potter in our lifetime.

This is not always an easy read and there's some hard thinking required to keep up with John Granger's fascinating views. Likewise, I'm sure there are simpler books which roll around in the Potter mythos more completely. On the other hand, I cannot imagine a more thoughtful and though provoking analysis of the bigger historical movements and context that informs, flows within and, sometimes, drives the Potter series.

If you are someone for who learning is a pleasure and discovering new areas of learning to explore is a delight, this book is for you. Buy it right now, it is a great joy.

One note: this book was written before HP7 was published so it is somewhat dated in that respect. I would be curious to see a newer edition which encompasses the last book. But, having said that, it was very interesting to read this book knowing what Granger did not, the contents of the last book. His views stand up quite well and the honesty of this 'blind test' is comforting and fascinating.

Its a fun book, but you have to read the first book to know what's going on.

The second book keeps you just as interested as the first. The story line gets quite a bit more twisted around and many of the plots from the first are addressed and expanded on. Definitely worth the buy if you enjoyed Shadowmarch.

My wife and I are both big Tad Williams fans, and so we started this series with a high level of excitement. The first volume we got as a regular paperback, and it was a little disappointing: the world-building was not nearly as brilliant as many of his previous books, we found the twins a little annoying, and a lot of TW's sentences were crazily convoluted. However, it was gripping enough to go out and get us to buy book 2 in this trade paperback form. We should have waited. DO NOT BUY THIS VERSION OF BOOK 2. It is rife with errors, both typos and errors in content. For example, it will say Chaven said something, when it should have said Chert, or it will have a character wake up from his sleep on one page, and still be asleep on the next page. And the sentence structure didn't get any better. Some sentences have an entire separate paragraph's worth of description in the middle, separated from the rest of the sentence just by commas. Both the errors and convoluted sentences made the book hard to follow at times, and even when the meaning was clear, they detracted from the pleasure of reading it. Hopefully an editor will belatedly come along and salvage this book before they print the next edition, and hopefully Book 3 will be put together with more care before it is foisted onto the public.

That being said, a crappy Tad Williams book is still better than a lot of stuff out there, so I can't give it less than 2 stars.

I started reading this series and found some of the imagery and concepts compelling. First the criticism. Some of the story is tedious, as some characters we follow lack any apparent point commensurate to all the time spent on them. There can be times when poor editing might distract from the story, lines like "...the echoes echoed..." and the like. I found a number of spelling errors too. Also, a major character is apparently killed off and the reader is informed after the fact, 'so and so is dead', which in my opinion was a missed opportunity. If the author had removed some of the tedious stuff and developed moments like this instead, we would have a stronger story. The end of book 2 brings a merger of two main characters/storylines and the start of their journey north, seems a bit too contrived even for fantasy genre. At times it seems like we've gone so far off on tangents that to clean things up enough to get to book 3 some corners are cut. Again, some boring stuff could have been removed and relevant passages expanded.

Having said that, some of the book IS absolutely great and the author creates an amazingly detailed world for us, with compelling characters. For all the rough patches and boring bits, the good parts overcome this reader's occasional apathy and make the saga well worth the effort.

Waiting for 3rd book.

Author Tad Williams' second installment in the Shadowmarch trilogy shows definite improvement over the first, the latter of which left me somewhat unimpressed.

Here, Briony continues her flight from Southmarch and the family who have all but usurped her family's throne. In the process, she's rescued from starvation and the predations of the wilderness by a demigoddess (somewhat reminiscent of Geloe, of "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn"), eventually joining up with a traveling troupe of entertainers whose day job may be acting, but some of whose members have a more cloak-and-dagger midnight shift. Barrick travels with Capt. Vansen and Gyir, the latter bizarre by even fairy standards, and has an unfortunate meeting with a demigod of his own. We encounter captive King Olin at last, a prisoner in a reputedly impregnable city, as the mad Autarch batters at the walls, putting the city's claim to the test. Finally, the Minstrel Tinwright, ever the opportunist, finds being court minstrel to the usurpers a bit more dangerous than he thought, especially since he becomes romantically entangled with the concubine of one of the more ruthless of them - a lady who asks Tinwright to assist her in escaping her captor through death. The mysterious fairy folk, called the Qar, have all but vanished into the city surrounding Southmarch castle - their presence undetected, but the castle under siege nonetheless.

William's character development picks up in this second installment, and it's a welcome change from the first. While Barrick continues to be as annoying and whiny as in the first, Briony comes into her own and is turning into quite an interesting character - not at all the minor role I expected her to play. Tinwright, though unctuous and opportunistic, finds himself squirming in a trap of his own making - and is also proving to be one of the more interesting characters in the series, his moral ambiguity belying the tendency of William's characters to be somewhat two dimensional as regards their morality. Less emphasis is placed on the Qar, with the exception of Gyir, perhaps the most interesting of the Qar aside from the changeling Kayyin, formerly the halfwit Gil. This lack of focus actually benefits the story, as I never found the fairy army a particularly menacing threat from the beginning. The shift in focus in book two from the Funderlings to the sea people is also a benefit, the Funderlings being a bit too much rock-candy-coated Oompa-Loompas compared to the ambivalent natures of the sea folk. Still weak are the Autarch, whose Nero/Caligula-esque behavior seems all too much stock fare relative to someone of Williams' talent, and Chert, the hen-pecked Funderling who seems more a dwarven version of "Step-and-Fetch-It" to be truly credible beyond a fantasy allegory to the old negro stereotype.

All said, a strong follow-up to a weak beginning. Here's hoping the final book follows suit.

A tale of growing up and acceptance with a strong female lead who shows, without being ultra feminist, that girls can accomplish anything that boys can.

Admittedly a huge fan of the "women-warrior, disguised as a man" characters, I have been disappointed time and again by peoples take on them, but not this time. The take on magic, the involvement of the gods, and the world, which holds different morals, gave to a very interesting atmosphere for the books to be set in. Alanna is a character that I couldn't help cheering for, and identifying with.

Granted as others point out, this is very obviously a first novel that will kick-off a series. And while I did enjoy it, I do prefer to have series of novels have the ability to be stand-alones.

A terrific kick-off, to what I hope to be a wonderful series.

My Mom bought me the series 10 years ago when I was 13... Since then I have read them over and over and over... I find them impossible to tire of and once I start reading I don't want to put it back down... although by now I have half the books memorized.
I started reading these books when I was 13 years old and loved them... now at 23 years old- I still love to read this series.
The Immortals series is excellent as well.

I did not realize when I bought these books that they were for young adults, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about Alanna's adventures, friends and family. Alanna proved to the men again and again that "anything you can do I can do better". A great message to put out there for young girls. And even though it took me 1 day to read each book I just couldn't stop until I was done!

Is no one bothered by the essential lack of values in this book? Getting what you want is more important than honesty or respect for others. The main character threatens others with horrible, supernatural punishment, tricks her father, lies outrightly, and that's just in the first chapter.
What about integrity, justice, truth as foundations of doing right?
Compare this heroine with Jonas in The Giver, Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Andy in Wolf Rider, or Karana in The Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I thought the book was wordy and wandered around a lot. I found it hard to like Raine, or to care if she ever got rid of the link. It seemed to me that the book was written to stretch the tale into a three book series, but it may have been better to leave it as one grand adventure.

A strong female character that for the most part is not perfect, fantastic. How many times have you read a book where the main character, male or female, is perfect? There's no tension, no anticipation, since you already know that she or he will come out on top and they will obtain everything they always wanted. While Raine manages to get though all sticky situations, a little scratch might be nice. I don't want the character hurt, just a little scratch.

Mychael is one of those characters you just want to root for; he is the hero in the true sense of the word, not just martial courage. He'll stand up for what is right and will defend it even if he does bend the rules. He's smart, handsome but with a bit of mystery, somehow you know there is a lot more to the man that the author hasn't yet revealed.

And I liked Tam's entrance, his timing couldn't have been better but then that's how the author planned it. Tam is your typical, well not quite typical bad boy. Dangerous to be around but you want to be, good both in a fight and bed, based on his reputation and a kiss that Raine still remembers.

While the book is a fantasy, the author presents a cast of characters that are believable, one my favorites is Piaras.

And I like the love triangle between the main characters but I hope it will be resolved in the next book. (I'm voting for Mychael; for once let the clean cut guy win).

The action scenes are well scripted and move at a breakneck speed. Ms. Shearin's descriptions are perfect. Enough detail to give the reader a picture of the characters and settings without being bogged down. Sorry but I still have a problem with handsome goblins. ;-)

The author manages to wrap up the story while leaving the reader just enough to look forward to the next book and I am definitely looking forward to the next book which I read will be out in 2009. Hopefully it will be closer to the beginning of the year then the end.

Elves to the left of her, goblins to the right....and all Raine wants is OUT! After trying to help her friend she wound up with this magic stone the Saghred - otherwise known as the Soul Stealer - and next thing she knew it liked her! Now she was stuck with it, and everyone wanted a piece of her - well, the stone, really, they didn't really want her. But since it hadn't driven her insane, as it was known to do with anyone else who had touched it, a lot of questions were being tossed around. But since her mild Seeker skills had increased exponentially, as well, not too many of those questions were being asked to her face.

For now Raine and her friends have taken amnesty on the Isle of Mid with the Guardians. Raine's father, the former custodian of the Saghred, was a Guardian; they are all hoping that the stone may be contained there at the sorcery school. The spell shields help contain the stone while it is dormant, but soon trouble finds it's way to the island and Raine and her friends are soon at the eye of the storm.

Unfortunately, the Isle of Mid is also home to the Conclave, the sorcerer's governing body. It is clear that many of the sorcerers want the Saghred for their own - the power it holds draws the greed of many - but Raine is not one of the many. She stumbled upon these changes and simply wants her life back, but is slowly realizing that nothing will ever be the same again. But what will never change is how important her friends and family matter - and having this much power to control is teaching her to limit her trust in others more quickly than usual.
When the school's best spell-singer students begin to disappear - and Raine is afraid her adopted brother Piaris is next - Raine decides that she must use the power she has despite the danger of the Saghred gaining strength over her - and her losing control.

I wasn't sure how well I liked this series, even though I read straight through the first book and picked up the second and did the same. It is an unusual sci fantasy series, not like one I've read before: yes, the magic rock, the increased powers, etc. But there is still something different that I haven't been able to pinpoint, and I still cannot say positive or negative. I'll have to say I like it because I am looking forward to the next one to see what happens. Intriguing. Not gory or anything, and not a lot of mushy sex or anything - some romance, but nothing explicit. Teasing, maybe. But interesting. I guess I'll just have to wait.

This series is both beautifully written and great fun. The first in the series,
Magic Lost, Trouble Found was good. I went on to the second, this one. Even
better.
Best series I have read in ages. I have them on my Kindle. So I couldn't easily
leaf through when the action got .... well, to where I simply HAD to know what
happened next. In other words, it is a real page turner.

Another bouncing and magic filled adventure with Raine, an elf seeker.

It was interesting watching squabbles between different fractions, and we got to know a bit more about the magic system and the world this time.
The two serious love interests, Tam and Mychael, played quite big parts in the story, as did the infamous rogue of a cousin, Phaelan.

Lined with action, a ample portion of magic explosion, seasoned with Raine's sarcasm, and sprinkles of fascinaating supporting characters, Armed and Magical is a great and fun read, totally worth taking up book shelf space.

A good start to a series I think will be a real sizzler. If you like supernatural abilties mixed with uncontrolable passion.

"Bound by Shadow," was a good start to a series, and Anna Windsor writes both action and love scenes reminicient of Cheyenne McCray.

The Dark Crescent Sisterhood wasn't incredibly detailed however, so it will be interesting of the author will divulge more details on the history of their organization and conception.

The story begins w/ NYPD cop, Creed and his partner investigation a murder. During his investigation he meets w/ Riana and her Sybil Warrior Priestess sisters. Riana is charge of the Earth element, Cynda is Fire, and Merilee is the Wind. Creed charges in to their house one evening thinking to help them from a strange demon attack, but ends up being interrogated by 3 leather clad women while he hangs bound from their Sister's ceiling buck naked. The sisters are fighting a long war against the Legion Demons. What the Legion are fighting for or what the entire purpose of the war is not really explained. The Legion recruits people to create demons in their fight w/ the sisers.

The plot is a little weak and could use some more meat, but the writing I thought was very smooth and well written. I enjoyed it and will look up this author's Ellora Cave ebooks in the future.

I read this book back to back w/ "Bound by Flame," unfortunately the followup book did not meet expectations.

I am wary of a series that comes out as fast as this one. It's usually a number to things but they tend to be not thought out well and I think it lacks the fan input. Not that authors ask what they should write next but the reaction of fans is important. Well, I have only read the first book so far but it's a pretty good start. The concept isn't new but the relationship with the characters and the struggle with the Legion is authentic feeling. I feel like a lot of romance authors throw their couple together in a matter of hours and expect us to believe they fell in love that fast but with Riana and Creed they spent weeks together. There was a build up of events that worked smoothly to the conclusion at the end of the book and it left me looking forward to the next one.

This was one of the best new paranormals that I have read in a long time. The characters and plot were well written. I accidently happened on this book and thought it looked interesting but I was a bit concerned about reading an author I had never heard of. Boy, was I wrong! Another reviewer mentioned that "it's hard not to get wrapped up in the sheer beauty and power of the world the author created..." She was spot on! I was so wrapped up in it I finished the book in one night, couldn't put it down! I was also concerned at first that since the author had written 'erotica' all I would be reading was sex, sex and more sex. Yes there was some pretty hot sex, but it all balanced out into a very wonderful tale. I couldn't wait for the next book in the series. I'm just sorry that it's only a trilogy. Maybe if we beg hard enough, we'll get more????

I gave it 130 pages and gave up. It was boring. The sex in the holding cell was not worth $6.99 and why agree to go into the holding cell.
A plot, a plot, a kingdom for a plot. Books two and three are not on my list.

Part of a three volume series: I have read the first two (The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Hier) and have pre-ordered the paper-back edition of the third (The Dragon Heir).

I quite enjoyed the first, as the interest and action kept did not fade after the beginning, as occurs in many books.

The second was a bit more limited in scope and character interest, but good enough that I am awaiting the third with anticipated pleasure.

This book is truly amazing. It starts out a little confusing but soon it's fine. It is by far the best book I ever read except for the next book, "The Wizard Heir" which is just as good. I recommend this to mainly boys, but maybe some girls, ages ten to fifteen. Amazing book, you should definitly read it. Let me say that one more time, AAAMMMMMAAAZZINNGG!!!!
P.S. I cant wait for the third(and I think final) book in the series, "The Dragon Heir", which comes out on August 12.

I was recommended The Warrior Heir by a bookseller as an easy, exciting summer read. I was definitely not disappointed. The story is a fast-paced mix of teen coming-of-age and magical fantasy. Easy enough for teems to read with substantial plot and suspense to keep an adult interested, I would recommend this book to anyone who felt let down by the Potter series. There were enough loose ends to build on this first book, but not so many you're let hanging at the end. I would have prefered a few more details about the 5 guids of the Weir, but maybe more will be revealed in the 2nd book (The Wizard Heir) which I am about to start reading tonight!

The best fantasy book I have ever read. Action packed and full of suprises. I love the ending and I can not think of any thing that could have improved this book

16-year-old Jack finds out that he isn't a normal human, but a warrior that has magical powers. But you don't have to read 60 or so pages to find that out. The back of the book tells you pretty much everything that happens in the book (well, the exciting parts anyway...) except for the secret at the end (which is very predictable anyway). The plot is predictable and often used in sci-fi and fantasy writings.
It is a very fast paced book that would appeal to preteen-teen lads. It makes no sense and seems completely random at the beginning of the book, but it all comes together at the end of the book (kind of like a mystery based around teenage wizards) to create a great ending.
The amount of characters slows the story down. Too many unimportant characters are introduced one page, and are never seen again. This makes the reader think that these characters will change the story.
The story lacks detail, yet the characters are described well. The other elements in the story (settings, events, ect) are left up to the reader's imagination.
Overall, this book scores a 4.5 out of 5. A good summer read that will leave the reader wanting more.