Where are you in Fantasyland? July 2019

Still reading The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction September/October 2018.

Back on London with Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? which so far is as good as the first two in the series (but do not try to read this one without the previous two) although I want to lock some of the characters in a room and make them talk to each other... :)

I've been spending some time trapped in an abandoned castle in The Castle Behind Thorns, a younger skewing title for the "Middle Grade SFF" square on my fantasy bingo card.

I used to read a lot in the middle-grade range due to a general interest in children's literature, but this is my first in a while. It made for a pleasant palate-cleanser to have a book I could knock out in a couple days, and I enjoyed the premise a lot. I'd read the hell out of a full adult version of "character trapped in a ruined castle and following them as they start to repair the place".

Heading back to the DFZ for some Part-time Gods.

I'm on New Half-Way Tree reading Midnight Robber, inspired by the challenge I've given myself (https://www.librarything.com/topic/308163). Maybe it's classified more as sci-fi than fantasy, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Last month I rushed through Wildwood Dancing one weekend and enjoyed it. For some reason the sequel Cybele's Secret is a lot harder for me to get into? I should be really into it, because it's set in historical Istanbul, which is a great idea.

On the Sixth Order training grounds as Vaelin reminisces on his past in Blood Song by Anthony Ryan.

I'm still visiting The priory of the orange tree.

I'm in southern England for a Limited Wish.

Finished The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction September/October 2018 edited by C. C. Finlay. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Now getting caught up with surviving (and scattered) protagonists several years later at the beginning of Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan.

I've left The priory of the orange tree, reluctantly, after a long visit which I wish had been even longer. It's a great world to visit and I hope the author will choose to tell more stories set there.

Now I'm on an island in The gloaming.

It's time for a visit to the Disc to discover The Last Continent.

Taking a side trip to Pern for Dragonflight. I admit I'm nervous. Sometimes older SFF just doesn't hold up well and this will be my first time trying anything Pern.

>13 Narilka:, lots of positives in that one, practically a genre classic, but the Lessa/F'lar relationship is a bit dubious.

Currently working on the "vampire" square of bingo with Sunshine.

I kinda loathe vampires, and don't respond well to urban fantasy in general, so this is not proving to be an easy read for me, but I figure if anyone can keep me reading in a subgenre/topic I dislike, it'll be Robin McKinley.

>15 Niko: I'm not into vampires at all, either, but I did enjoy Sunshine, even if it's probably one of my least favorite of her books.

>15 Niko: I find that book really interesting! To me, it sticks out from everything else I've read by her. I'm curious on your thoughts once you finish it. It's not anywhere near my favorite by her, but it's not my least favorite, either (that would definitely be Pegasus). The main character in Sunshine has shades of grey morality, which I found unusual and compelling in McKinley's hands.

>14 Cecrow: Seconded. Still worth a reread every once in a while, but it's impossible for me to get totally immersed.

I finished up Cybele's Secret and really enjoyed it, more than Wildwood Dancing. It's slow to get to the fantasy parts, but then it goes all out at the end and really feels like a folktale.

I also read Mirage for a book club. If anyone has a younger relative who really likes romance, then it might be suited for them. But I found the main romance utterly cloying and the writing a little too YA (every plot development was followed by two paragraphs of the main character reacting). The plotting was also fairly underwelming. The Spanish/Moroccan vibe was nice, though. I have some new food dishes I want to try.

I have decided to wade into the Malazan Empire with Gardens of the Moon. I finished the Wheel of Time series a few months ago, so it will be interesting to compare and contrast the two (and also ASOIAF).

>14 Cecrow: I ended up liking Dragonflight but do not feel any burning need to move on to the next story. You're right, Lessa/Flar's relationship was problematic and timetravel made things too convenient for the plot. I am glad I read it though.

Finished Sunshine. Really didn't enjoy it, I'm afraid.

I'm having trouble sorting out how much of my dislike was due to my previously-mentioned dislike for vampires/urban-fantasy vs. being an actual problem with the book, but the main thing that struck me was how much this felt like a more experienced author's take on Twilight, but still keeping all the things that made Twilight bad for me. (I know Twilight came later than this book, that's just the best way I can describe it). Primarily, I think the sort of... stream of consciousness sort of vibe to how she uses first-person prose gives a sense of Rae being kind of... self-centered? Like she's the center of the universe for every person in her orbit without really feeling like the other humans are really flesh-and-blood people so much as cast members in Sunshine's hipster vampire baking drama, and only Con is a real person to her or something. It makes the big chunks of the book when she's basically just going to work and dodging having to tell anyone what's happening a rather unsympathetic experience.

Think I'm going to shift back to more comfortable secondary-world stuff for a bit. Not sure which just yet.

I'm exploring the land of Liglim with a Wolf captured.

I'm in Earthsea in The Tombs of Atuan.

I was in Altor at the end of Tower Lord, about to move on to the third and last book in the trilogy, Queen of Fire. Quite enjoyed reading it so far, though it doesn't have the incredibly variegated world-building or characters of, say, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

>18 drmamm:, that contrast/compare exercise is just about deserving of a topic in itself. To really round out the biggest series of that 1990s era you'd have to throw in Goodkind's Sword of Truth as well.

My nutshell take: WOT = most traditional; Malazan = most epic; SoT = most didactic; ASOIAF = most influential.

Visiting fantasyland!Italy in A Brightness Long Ago.

Heading to one of the planets in the Holy Anacrocy for Sweep of the Blade.

Just took a quick excursion into Dinétah to gobble up Trail of Lightning. I have some quibbles with the character writing, but the setting and use of Navajo mythology was amazing. Highly recommend for anyone interested in dystopian fantasy. (I've heard it described as a "rural urban fantasy", which I think fits.)

>20 Niko: Yeah, Rae's incredibly self-centered, and that's why I found it so interesting. I especially enjoy McKinley books where I don't like the protagonist (Outlaws of Sherwood comes to mind). I'm incapable of reading her books without comparing them to the others she wrote, and the tension between the fairy/folktale centering of "the hero" and a more psychologically realistic setting where such an attitude is toxic is like catnip to me.

Adding The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner to my reading rotation.

>26 Narilka: I'm joining you there! So excited to continue with this series!

>29 Sakerfalcon: I thought it was a great entry. Hope you enjoy it too :)

AUGUST THREAD: https://www.librarything.com/topic/309801