Tag: fantasy

Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko

The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1) The Day Watch The Twilight Watch (Watch, Book 3) The Last Watch (Watch, Book 4)

I just finished reading Last Watch, which is the fourth and final book in the series.  They must be redoing the covers, they don’t match the ones I actually read.

Anyhow, I picked up this series because it’s one of my boyfriend’s favorite series of books.  Each book is comprised of three short stories, all of which tie together in some way.  They’re pretty easy reads, and having each book separated into three parts allows the reading to go a bit quicker too.  The books follow a main set of characters throughout all the stories, sometimes focusing on different characters.

I highly recommend these if you enjoy fantasy, especially if you like it mixed in with a more modern setting.  The stories take place mostly in Russia, as these are by a Russian author.  They are very well written, and while some things may not quite make sense (like a reference to a particular type of Russian food or drink, or a phrase, etc.) it doesn’t detract from the story.

There are a group of people, known as Others, who live among humans but have powers.  Some are wizards, some are vampires, some are werewolves, there are all kinds of magical entities.  And they’re split into two basic factions that fight back and forth, trying to tip the scale in their favor.

I enjoyed them immensely.  Thank you Dan, for getting me to read them.  *grin*

I wonder if he’s written anything else that’s been translated?  Hmmm….*runs off to search through Amazon*


three-star

Shadowbridge by Gregory Frost

ShadowbridgeShadowbridge
Gregory Frost

Shadowbridge is a book that I happened to find by just browsing the bookstore.  Upon entering the bookstore a beeline is made for the Sci-fi and Fantasy section.  And more often than not at least one book is found that comes home with me.  The latest one was Shadowbridge.

It’s a story about stories.  Which I found to be an interesting way for the book to be written.  Each sub story seems to connect with the main character in some way, and they will draw you in of their own accord.

One of the sub stories is rather large, but does fit into the overall arc of the book.  Unfortunately though the main character is not really involved in this sub story that sets up another character of the novel.  This did annoy me somewhat because I was so invested in Leodora that I didn’t want to branch off of her story quite that far. Once the sub story ended it was brought around full circle and was then understandable as to why it had been included.  The character that story set up, Diverus, became a central character to the story.

There is a sequel called Lord Tophet that I will be buying next time I go to the book store.  It will continue Leodora’s story, which is good because Shadowbridge almost ended without an ending.  It’s a story that definitely isn’t over yet.  I’m looking forward to reading Lord Tophet and learning the rest of Leodora’s story.

Crossposted to Bookreports on LiveJournal.


five-star

Witch Catcher

Witch CatcherWitch Catcher
Mary Downing Hahn

Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn is the latest book I’ve read, right before NaNo started this month actually.  It was sitting over at Meiran’s apartment and I was waiting on her for something, perhaps for my turn on the sewing machine (I’ll have to post about that later), and picked it up.  The cover intrigued me and once I got started I didn’t want to put it down.  I ended up only getting about halfway through it, then had to wait a couple of days before I could return to Meiran’s apt. and sit and read the rest of it.

It’s a cute book and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but there were parts that left me feeling a little eh.  The story is great, I just think that some of the characters don’t come off as well as they could, perhaps just aren’t rounded out enough.  Granted that it is a young adult book, or perhaps even a level below that, I still feel the characters and the story could have been a little bit more complex.

I absolutely love that this story is based on a real object and what amounts to an old wives’ tale.  That is one of the most fascinating things for me, to see a story grow from some random object or encounter.  This author asked herself what story the witch catcher had, and from there the book grew.  That little blurb in the back was probably my favorite part.

If you’re up for a fun, quick read, I say go for it!


three-star

Some light reading…

The Frog Princess Dragon's Breath Once Upon a Curse No Place for MagicTales of the Frog Princess
E.D. Baker

I actually read these a while ago, but am just now getting around to posting about them in here.  I believe they’re considered young adult books, I’m not sure what the actual target age is for them.  They’re really good books though.  The author takes a fun twist to all the well known fairytales and such.  Things are thrown in there so subtley that sometimes you’re not sure if it’s from a fairytale you know or not.

The first book, The Frog Princess, introduces us to the main characters and builds the story from there. The other books continue that story with new plots and all the characters you’ve grown to love.  There are singing swords, dragons, fairies, witches, wizards (or warlocks – can’t remember which they call them), trolls, and all manner of mischief and adventure along the way.

Granted I’m well above the age range for these books, but I still enjoyed them immensely.  They’re good, fun, light reading that left me feeling good when I was finished  with them.  It wasn’t anything to take too seriously and I didn’t have to really work to understand the book, which is nice sometimes when you just want to escape.

Highly recommended for people of all ages!


four-star

QotD: I’m reading (or about to read)…

What books are on your nightstand?

The Black Jewels Trilogy Dreams Made FleshThe Black Jewels Trilogy and Dreams Made Flesh
Anne Bishop

I just cleaned off what might be considered my nightstand, but the books that are there right now are The Black Jewels Trilogy and Dreams Made Flesh.  All are very good books.  The Black Jewels Trilogy tells the story of a girl named Jaenelle who grows into a loving and fearsome woman.  Dreams Made Flesh is a collection of short stories that fills in some of the happenings throughout the book.

They are adult in nature, but very good reads if you don’t mind some very adult situations.  I’ve read the BJT books several times (five or six now I think) and Dreams Made Flesh at least twice.  Every time I read them I am just as engaged as the first time I read them. I also find that I tend to read them slower and can therefore learn more things about the characters and the story.