Patricia Wrede, author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Dealing With Dragons, etc.), Sorcery and Cecilia, and Shadow Magic, will give a presentation in Young Adults’ Services on the second floor of the Main Library this Saturday, November 7, at 10:00 am.
She won’t be doing any book signing during her ACPL visit, but if you want to get a book signed, you will have the opportunity at this event to get a coupon for Saturday admission to PentaCon (November 6-8 at the Grand Wayne Center) for just $6, thanks to the PentaCon organizers – a real bargain compared to the normal $18 one-day admission. At PentaCon, Patricia Wrede will have another presentation AND a book signing on Saturday afternoon, and you’ll also be able to check out the dealer area for the latest cool games.
November 2, 2009
Millenia ago, there was a war between the gods. Something during the war not only shattered the kingdom of the gods, but also shattered the gods themselves. This sundering caused each god’s individual self to separate into three distinct parts—aether, naether and physical.
The physical aspects of the gods landed on Myrillia—crazed by the sundering, the gods wrought havoc among the Myrillians until it was discovered that binding themselves to the land would end their madness. 100 gods chose to bind themselves, often bringing blessing and prosperity to their respective realms. The others roam the wilds, still maddened, still wreaking havoc.
Shadowfall begins with the murder of one of the 100 gods—something that was thought impossible. The only witness is a crippled, disgraced, former knight—as he comforts the dying goddess, she bestows a powerful blessing upon him—a blessing which heals his crippled body—a blessing which makes him the only murder suspect. He will be chased across the land by practically everyone as he attempts to find and kill a creature powerful enough to murder a god.
I was caught up in this story from the first page–I read it in two days. Other reviewers have criticized the character development but I think it’s well-done—I engaged with our protagonists right away. I am particularly interested to learn more of Rogger’s history as the Godslayer Chronicles continue—and of course, I’m anxious to see how Dart’s character will develop. I love animals so I quickly became attached to Pupp, Barrin and Hern (even though Barrin & Hern are minor characters and Pupp isn’t technically an animal).
I’m intrigued by the reverse trinity aspect of the gods—and I have to comment that the Myrillian Balger is bad enough, so I’d hate to meet his naethryn aspect! As far as the humoral graces of the gods and the Hands chosen to collect them—it’s an interesting concept, if somewhat icky.
Shadowfall has lots of action and intrigue with a hint of romance—recommended! If luck is with me, I will check out Hinterlands, Book Two of the Godslayer Chronicles from the library today. I’ll also have to check out something by James Rollins (aka James Clemens).
For more on the author, please visit his website http://www.jamesclemens.com/ .
Becky, Interdepartmental Librarian
May 13, 2008
Loving this trilogy!!! The concluding volume, Hero of Ages is scheduled for publication this fall and I’m looking forward to reading it.
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The setting for this trilogy is a mist-haunted, ash-ridden, barren world. Like many fantasy novels, the society is feudal. For one thousand years, the Lord Ruler has led an oppressive empire in which he proclaims himself God, the families of those who originally supported his rise to power have inherited noble status—and the families of those who did not support him are kept in perpetual servitude.
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Mistborn gets the trilogy off to a strong start—in the author’s own words, we have a gang of gentleman thieves, each of whom has his own distinctive magical power. What brings them together? A daring plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler. The author has stated that he wanted to create a heist story along the lines of Sneakers or Ocean’s Eleven—and I personally think he was successful—however, Mistborn is more than a heist story in a fantasy setting—much more.
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The Well of Ascension keeps the momentum going. What’s going on with the mists? They seem to be lingering past sunrise—something no one remembers them doing before. They also appear to be killing people—but how? And the mist-figure that seems focused on Vin—what purpose does it have? Does a journal from the days before the Lord Ruler assumed control have the answers?
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This is a fast-paced, action-packed trilogy with clever twists. I did not see the ‘ending’ of The Well of Ascension coming at all—the clues were there but I did not recognize them until it all came together. Sanderson’s character development is top-notch—I particularly love the characters of Vin and Tensoon.
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I picked up this series because I wanted to check out the writing of the author who will be completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. We’re in good hands!
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For more on Brandon Sanderson, please visit http://www.brandonsanderson.com/index.php
Becky, Interdepartmental Librarian
March 31, 2008
Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Greg Rucka. Originally (or best) known for their comics/graphic novels, and now also writing longer work with no pictures.
Neil Gaiman is the author of The Sandman, Coraline, Stardust, and American Gods, among many other titles. Stardust was recently made into a movie, and Coraline is also in production to be released this year.
Warren Ellis is the author of Transmetropolitan, Global Frequency, and a new novel, Crooked Little Vein. Global Frequency is great science fiction, and Crooked Little Vein is funny, scary, and just a little bit disgusting.
Greg Rucka is the author of the comic book series Queen and Country, as well as two novels that tie in to that series, A Gentleman’s Game and Private Wars, and the critically acclaimed Atticus Kodiak series (Keeper, Finder, etc.). I thought the two Queen and Country novels were quite good – very readable military thrillers spiced with political intrigue.
So – graphic novel readers, check out the novels, and novel readers, check out the graphic novels!
–Ian, science fiction reading librarian
February 11, 2008
One of the new board games our family is enjoying is “The Pillars of the Earth.” It’s based on the popular Ken Follett novel of the same name. Each player represents a team of builders trying to gather and use the most materials to build a magnificent cathedral in medieval England.
Novels have inspired several good board games over the years, including “A Game of Thrones,” “Dune” and, of course, several versions of “Lord of the Rings.” Particularly interesting was the way publisher TSR combined Tom Clancy’s “The Hunt for Red October” and “Red Storm Rising” into a scenario in which the Red Army was hard-pressing the NATO forces in Germany on one board while the Soviet Navy was trying to intercept the NATO reinforcements crossing the Atlantic on the other board.
Boardgamegeek.com, the source of the links on this posting, is a great site for all sorts of information about board games, especially strategy games for teen-agers and adults. It even has its own list of games based on books — or games based on movies that were based on books. Check it out. Maybe one of your favorite stories became a game and you never knew it. If you do see a game you want to get, there are various sources on the Internet, but I’d encourage you first to call a local game dealer. Some of them will give discounts for games you order, and, at least in my opinion, it’s a good thing to spend your retail dollars in support of local merchants.
Evan
January 31, 2008
According to the Book Standard, Knopf Publishers has set the release date for Brisingr, the third of the hugely popular Inheritance Cycle books by Christopher Paolini, for Sept. 20, 2008. The first printing will be 2.5 million copies. 
~Bibliotron
January 17, 2008
900 years ago the Quirsi, a magically-endowed race with distinctive pale skin, white hair and golden eyes, launched an invasion against their northern neighbors, the Eandi—the invasion failed. As the Forelands series begins, the races appear to be coexisting peacefully. Several Quirsi serve as advisors to the various nobles in the feudal society of the northlands; close relationships have even developed between some Eandi and Quirsi. Simmering under the surface however is a general Eandi distrust of Quirsi, compounded by fear of the Quirsi’s magical abilities; for their part, many Quirsi chafe at their precarious acceptance under Eandi rule. Individuals of both races have delusions of racial supremacy.
A powerful Quirsi, known to his followers as The Weaver, seeks to end Eandi rule in the northlands. He’s patient and politically-savvy; over a period of years, he orchestrates a series of events to divide the Eandi kingdoms. His plan is to let them weaken themselves and then, when they’ve done most of the work for him, he’ll sweep in with his army and finish the job.
Throughout the series, characters’ intentions are clear to the reader; the suspense comes from hoping the other characters will recognize the peril they are in before it’s too late. Coe has done an excellent job with this. Political intrigue abounds and, with a sad ring of truth, most of the time the motivation is individual ambition rather than the greater good. Still, there is hope–-some characters will recognize their flaws and attempt to overcome them, some will make unexpected sacrifices. For me, the only major ‘flaw’ was the fact that the logical characters did not consult, or even discuss consulting, an important ghost, given the turmoil her murder caused (in this fantasy world, talking to ghosts is an option every Bian’s Turn).
David B. Coe’s ‘Winds of the Forelands’ series is a well-written story with interesting characters and a frank look at racial prejudice. There are multiple storylines to follow so I do recommend reading the books fairly closely together—the snowy days of winter are just the time to snuggle up with this series!
*If this series hooks you, you’ll be pleased to know that Coe has begun a follow-up series: the first book is The Sorcerers’ Plague. While the Forelands series took place in the northlands, the follow-up series appears to be based in the southlands.
For more info, check this link http://www.sff.net/people/davidbcoe/SorcPlaguepage.htm
Happy reading!
Becky, Interdepartmental Librarian
January 10, 2008
