New Releases: The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - pornokitsch. The Hundred-Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance #1) by N.K. Jemisin. I’ve encountered many reviews of The Hundred-Thousand Kingdoms, the first volume of N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy. Most of them start with the reviewer claiming that they hadn’t expected to like the book but then found out they loved it.
The same goes for me: I did not expect much from this book. To be honest, the blurb sounded a bit boring. The only reason I read it anyway was all of those reviews that told me to ignore the blurb. The blurb This isn’t a mistake on the reviewers’ behalf. Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. This suggest a book about politics and about an ignorant, naïve girl who finds herself in the middle of a dangerous power struggle, where she has to find a way to win the hearts of the people and ultimately, the throne of the kingdom. What the blurb didn’t say A lot was left out, however. The role of magic All of this is set in a world of hundreds of kingdoms, ruled by one family, who inhabit the city of Sky. That’s right, instantly. The Broken Kingdoms (Inheritance #2) by N.K. Jemisin. The Broken Kingdoms is the second book in N. K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, the sequel to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (review here).
In the first book, we followed Yeine, a warrior princess summoned to the great city of Sky amidst a fierce political struggle. In this sequel, we learn the aftermath of that struggle as we follow Oree, an artist living in Shadow, a city teeming with godlings. One day, while discarding her trash, Oree finds a homeless, literally down-in-the-dumps godling and decides that the humane thing to do for one in such sorrow is to take him in. A page-turnerThe main storyline constitutes a mystery: Who is killing godlings, and why? The bigger pictureThe Hundred Thousand Kingdoms introduced Itempas (the Bright Lord, the Skyfather) who killed Enefa (Mistress of Twilight and Dawn) and enslaved Nahadoth (the Nightlord, the Lord of Shadows).
Jemisin also examines the uneasy and multi-faceted nature of love and sacrifice. Why should you read this book? Review of The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin. The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus #1) by Jonathan Stroud. The Amulet of Samarkand is set in a world where Magicians rule in public, but not by their own arcane power. All of their power comes from that of the demons they summon (in degree of potency: imp, foliot, djinni, afrit, marid) who they force to carry out their tasks – something that they don’t admit to commoners for fear of rebellion. This novel is set in London and follows two characters: Nathaniel, a talented and ambitious 12 year-old magician, and Bartimaes, the demon that he summons to perform a deadly task. An intriguing and ambitious plotThe plot of this book isn’t all nice and cozy like the Harry Potter series has a tendency to be. Nathaniel doesn’t have any friends, isn’t a secret prophetic master of all demons, and he doesn’t have a wise mentor to help him along.
What he does have is a plot for revenge upon someone who humiliated him in public and the ability to summon a powerful demon to carry out that revenge. Why should you read this book? Peter V Brett, Author. The Warded Man by Peter V Brett. Mankind has ceded the night to the corelings, demons that rise up out of the ground each day at dusk, killing and destroying at will until dawn, when the sun banishes them back to the Core. As darkness falls, the world’s few surviving humans hide behind magical wards, praying the magic can see them through another night. As years pass, the distances between each tiny village seem longer and longer. It seems nothing can harm the corelings, or bring humanity back together. Born into these isolated hamlets are three children. A Messenger teaches young Arlen that fear, more than the demons, has crippled humanity. Leesha finds her perfect life destroyed by a simple lie, and is reduced to gathering herbs for an old woman more fearsome than the demons at night.
And Rojer’s life is changed forever when a traveling minstrel comes to his town and plays his fiddle. But these three children all have something in common. Available in the US (as The Warded Man) March 10, 2009! The Desert Spear Japan. "The Desert Spear" by Peter Brett (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu and Mihir Wanchoo) "The Desert Spear": "Demons and glyphs, magic and survival, avoid the night at all cost and darker, grittier writing made The Painted Man (UK) aka The Warded Man (US) the debut of Peter Brett and of the series, a big time favorite last year...
", so "The Desert Spear" was a natural book to be included in a high position. FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: The Desert Spear stands at almost 600 pages divided into four sections and 33 chapters, all named, while there is a prologue featuring some new kinds of demons. The Desert Spear has about 6-7 POV characters namely Arlen, Leesha & Rojer from the previous book and Jardir, Renna and Inevera [Jardir’s principal wife] who is one that will trigger reader emotions as to the level of her prescience.
The Desert Spear prominently features Jardir a minor but very important character in the debut novel and it focuses upon his journey from childhood to adulthood in the same way as it was done with Arlen in the previous book. The Desert Spear (The Demon War #2) by Peter V. Brett. Brandon Sanderson: The official site. Elantris. Introduction ELANTRIS was Brandon’s first published book. A stand-alone epic fantasy novel, the book won the Romantic Times award for best epic fantasy of 2005, was chosen by Barnes and Noble.com editors as the best fantasy or sf book of the year, and is forthcoming in fourteen languages (about half of which have been released as of September of 2007.)
Synopsis It’s always interesting to describe your book to people, since a novel like this, at 200,000 words, is going to mean very different things to different people. Tor classifies this book as an epic fantasy. The setting is the city of Elantris and the surrounding suburbs. The book follows the experiences of three people as they interact with the people of Elantris. The three stories intertwine as the truth of what happened to Elantris, and its inhabitants, ten years ago is unearthed.
Reviews About the book, Publisher’s Weekly (which gave it a starred review) had the following to say: Best of all, the story is complete. Orson Scott Card. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Elantris is the debut novel from Ranting Dragon favorite Brandon Sanderson. Published in 2005, way back before Sanderson took over The Wheel of Time and became (by many people’s estimation) an overnight success, Elantris is a testament to the hard work that preceded his explosion into popular awareness.
Elantris is where the publishing career of one of today’s most prominent writers began. The great city of Elantris has fallen into decay; its god-like inhabitants, created from mortals in a transformation called the Shaod, were altered in an unexplainable event known as the Reod. Since the Reod, their magic is gone – they cannot die, nor can their bodies heal. The pain of accumulated injuries and insatiable hunger eventually drives them insane. Raoden, the prince of Arelon, is taken by the Shaod and is forced into the city to suffer with the other Elantrians, effectively dead to those outside the mysterious city.
Why should you read this book? Mistborn. Introduction MISTBORN is the name of Brandon’s epic fantasy trilogy. The first book is technically MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE, though people just tend to call it MISTBORN or MISTBORN 1. The entire series consists of THE FINAL EMPIRE (2006), THE WELL OF ASCENSION (2007), and THE HERO OF AGES (2008). It’s a hybrid epic fantasy heist story with a focus on political intrigue and powerful action scenes. If you want a more standard review, scroll down to the news media ones. If you want to launch into the chapters, here’s a link. Read directly below for a more casual explanation in Brandon’s own words. Synopsis I came into this book with two big ideas for the plot.
The second idea was to write a story about a world where the good guys lost. Hence, MISTBORN. Anyway, that’s the ‘back of the book’ movie trailer type explanation. During development, the story moved further and further away from the heist. The book has a little of everything for everyone. Reviews Robin Hobb Booklist Cinnescape Fun Stuff. Mistborn: The Alloy of Law Cover & Details Emerge! Patrick Rothfuss - Official Website. Read more reviews THE POWERFUL DEBUT NOVEL FROM FANTASY'S NEXT SUPERSTAR Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard. The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller #2) by Patrick Rothfuss. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss was one of the most critically acclaimed fantasy debuts of our time. Though widely recognized as a book that would impact the future of fantasy literature, The Name of the Wind has also received some critique. The book is a character study that focuses deeply on the dilemmas the young and gifted orphan Kvothe met on his life’s journey, and thus there was no need for action and suspense to thrive on. However, many felt that a book without all that excitement didn’t suffice. Needless to say, I am a fan of The Name of the Wind, so when its sequel The Wise Man’s Fear, the second novel in Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles, came out on March 1, I had to read it.
This book is everything its predecessor was. Kvothe’s story continuedThe Wise Man’s Fear follows closely after the events of The Name of the Wind. Breaking the laws of fantasy However, as Kvothe’s life progresses there are new elements introduced to the story. Let me explain that further. The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss. “I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings.
I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.” Today, Kvothe is an innkeeper of a nondescript inn in a nondescript village. Kvothe starts the tale of his life beginning with when he was a youngster. Kvothe’s father, leader of the troupe, is writing a song about the Chandrian.
Life at the University For the majority of the book, Kvothe tells about his life at the University. Day One This book is called “Day One: The Name of the Wind”. Kvothe Kvothe is by far one of the most thought out, interesting first perspective characters I’ve read. This author is very aware of what stories are and what make good stories. God’s War by Kameron Hurley. This is a dual-review. The general format is the same as our regular reviews, except that under each sub-heading, each reviewer gives his or her opinion on that topic.
We hope that you’ll enjoy this new way of reviewing! Kameron Hurley’s stellar debut novel follows the bloody life of Nyxnissa, commonly called Nyx, a bel dame (government-funded bounty hunter) trying to survive in a world consumed by a holy war that’s been raging for centuries. When she’s relieved of her duties for doing black work of her own to earn extra cash for herself, she has to adapt and find a new way of living. To survive, Nyx has created a team of independent bounty-hunters that are willing to take any bounty that allows them to survive another day. Suddenly, she’s summoned into the Queen’s presence to accept a note that could retire her team from the business altogether. Strong CharactersJames – God’s War accomplished what very few fantasy novels are able to do—create believable and in-depth characters. Interview with God’s War author Kameron Hurley.
God’s War has been out for a week now. We reviewed it and loved it, and the natural next step was an interview with the author, Kameron Hurley! Luckily for us, she consented, and it was a joy to interview her. We discussed a variety of topics from her feelings on having her book just released, where she says that she “just [can't get her] head around the fact that it’s actually happened, despite photographic evidence that it’s on bookstore shelves” to her near-death experience, where she says she went into a coma after a year of bad health. Finally, she talks about her plans after the God’s War trilogy, and her idea for a “Bloodtide in space” book. Before we start the interview, I’d like to say a bit about about Kameron Hurley and her book, God’s War.
It truly is one of the most original and gripping novels I’ve read in recent years, and I’m proud to say that it was the first five-star review that I’ve given a book since I began reviewing for The Ranting Dragon. Did it make me braver?