This book is a lovely bit of Fantasy, but it seems like the author isn’t quite sure what kind of a book he is writing. Let me explain. As the title indicates, this is basically a take-off of the standard Fantasy Quest. It contains references to pickleball and other modernisms. I particularly liked the celebration…
Tag: Fantasy
REVIEW
“Card Snake” by John Morey
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This is classic Action Fantasy involving a large cross section of people in a society struggling against civic corruption. Set in a world equivalent to our late 19th century, it still echoes problems we have today. Authors take note; this story has used the marvelous technique of having an important backstory which is revealed slowly…
REVIEW
The Drunken Dragon, by George Morrison
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This is a fascinating novel. Billed as humour, with all the trappings of an Action Fantasy, it also manages to draw us in emotionally on a deeper level. Let’s put this story into perspective. It has towns called Spittlesburg, Whatadump, and Bristol. (What does the author have against Bristol?) It has a Province of Malevolentia,…
REVIEW
“Traitor Son,” Empire of the Stars Book 1 by Melissa J. Cave
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This tale qualifies as Epic Fantasy, but it wastes little ink on the machinations of the mighty. Just enough to demonstrate the pressure that politics exerts on the mere humans who must fit their lives into the mould of their heritage. Because this is really the story about two people who, despite their elevated titles,…
REVIEW
“Pacific Odyssey” by Chet Nairene
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“Pacific Odyssey” is out-and-out Romantic Comedy. It is so romantic it leaves reality and moves into the Fantasy realm, and we step into a world where truth takes a back seat to fancy. Put in traditional terms, this is the quintessential Hero’s Journey. Lew is a typical high-rolling young up-and-coming executive with the world at…
REVIEW
“Song of the Squire” by L. J. Amber
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This is a novel about the levels of understanding in the world. In a fine conjunction of medium and message, this concept is reflected in both the narrative style and in the topics of discussion. So, as we read, we often find ourselves wondering what a character meant, while the character is wondering the same…
REVIEW
“The Singing Bones” by Eric Shane Love
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This is a classic Fantasy, based on the traditional Hero’s Journey format. The heroine, Grey, goes on a physical and metaphysical journey as she matures and struggles with the fact that her future is bound up in her past. Images of metamorphosis abound as she sheds the ties that bind her. It is a story…
REVIEW
“Halls of Fire” by Christian Cura
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This is the second book of a serial, which picks up with a new chapter in the main character’s life and ends with a cliff-hanger and few conflicts resolved. It is one of those unfortunate stories where the author has done an incredible amount of creative world-building in setting, mythology, and society, but then feels…
REVIEW
“Six Moons, Seven Gods” by Robert A. Walker
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I really enjoyed this book, but one comment occurred to me early in my reading, so it takes precedence in my review as well. Someone ought to make a rule and engrave it on the pedestal of Calliope, the muse of poets and writers. “Don’t make readers spend too much time with unpleasant people.” This…
REVIEW
“Eye of Ksera” by Sedigitus Swift
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This Fantasy novel is a good story with the unfortunate addition of a certain amount of extraneous material that adds something to the overall atmosphere of the setting but pulls the reader’s attention away from the action. I sometimes find this situation in academic writers who don’t realize how much footnoting and interesting sidebars get…