Another great site to keep track of your reading

Worldcat.org is a tool to search the catalogs of libraries everywhere, but they’ve added this function that lets you create an account and make & share lists of books that you create. It’s really easy to use: you just search for a book, click Save to, then choose a list: Book I Recommend, Books I Own, Books to Check Out, or create a new list. You can keep your list private or make it public and share it with others. The best part is, that when you view a book in your list, you can link to your library’s catalog (based on the zip code you enter in your profile) where you can then place a hold on it. Give it a try!

Mistborn and The Well of Ascension

 

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

David B. Coe’s ‘Winds of the Forelands’ series

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!

• Rules of Ascension
• Seeds of Betrayal
• Bonds of Vengeance
• Shapers of Darkness
• Weavers of War

*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