Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Looks like I'm back. Let's talk about George R.R. Martin's  A Game of Thrones. The Short of It Plot:  In the game of thrones, you win or you die. You all know what this is. Page Count:  835 Award:  1997 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes* Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  N/A. Review:  Superb use of perspective swaps, compelling characters, tight dialogue... this book is a masterpiece. An excellent start to a well-realized world. For a book heavy enough that the TSA could call it a weapon the pacing is remarkably swift. So many twist and turns, so much to take in, so many paths to trace and connections to make. This is peak medieval fantasy. The Medium of It Spoiler Free I had forgotten just how good this book is. I read through the whole series at the beginning of GoT fever - 2011. And I read it at the same time as I reread Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle.  While...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Peter S. Beagle's  The Innkeeper's Song. The Short of It Plot: Tikat will stop at nothing to be reunited with his deceased love, three mysterious travelers try to track down their friend, and Karsh just wants his inn to run smoothly.  Page Count: 346 Award:  1993 Locus Fantasy. Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Nope Review:  Beautifully written straightforward fantasy. Excellent use of perspective switches to both contextualize events and add depth to characters. Leans into tropes and clichés to place characters and interpersonal relationships at the fore. Superb use of diction and speech style to distinguish between different narrators. Pacing does not always work - there are major lulls which do not have enough payoff to be worth the break. Overall a warm glass of milk with honey: inoffensive but hits the spot. The Medium of It Spoiler Free...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Tim Powers's  Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather . The Short of It Plot:  When a particularly powerful ghost resurfaces, the boy he's possessing becomes a major target for all sorts of arcane sorts. His expertise in ghost handling makes him useful to Scott Crane as well. Page Count:  Expiration Date: 384 Earthquake Weather: 416 Award: Earthquake Weather: 1998 Locus Fantasy. Worth a read : No. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass. Technobabble:  Mild to moderate. Review:  These two forgo the dark humor and bitter charm of Last Call  and are instead ceaselessly miserable to read. It's hard to tell if this is an intentional choice or if the attempts at humor just don't land here. Pacing is spasmodic: one moment there will be an abrupt string of action sequences, and then nothing happens for the next thirty pages. Characters are generally too selfish to be engaging, and la...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Tim Powers's Last Call . The Short of It Plot:  Scott's life is falling apart. Maybe because of the alcohol, maybe because his dead wife keeps talking to him, or maybe because of that poker game where he bet his soul. Page Count:  535 Award:  1993 World Fantasy Award, 1993 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail. Technobabble:  Not really. Review:  Somehow walks the line between relentlessly dark and darkly humorous. Lots of fun world building showing off a hidden side of what we know, though occasionally gets lost in the weeds on the very same. Scott is such a depressing character that we both cheer on his improvements and believe his failures. For a book that really dives deep into the rules of both magic and card games this manages to maintain a remarkably solid pace. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! At the heart of this book is an extremely detailed ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Sherri S. Tepper's  Beauty. The Short of It Plot: After evading a certain sleep-related curse, Beauty ends up exploring far and wide to reconcile her human and fairy ancestry. Page Count: 412 Award: 1992 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : No. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal Review:  A remarkably ambitious book that takes a variety of clever turns, but ultimately unsatisfying. Dragged down by inconsistent pacing and passive characters. A lot of very convenient coincidences are needed for things to line up the way that they do, which grows tiresome. The result is an uneven patchwork of well-trodden tropes, though stitched together in a novel fashion.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Writing a spoiler free review of this is a challenge, as things go sideways pretty early on. The starting point is that this is indeed, in part, a take on Sleeping Beauty. Our protagon...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Orson Scott Card's  Tales of Alvin the Maker, books two through six. The Short of It Plot:  In an America much like our own, Alvin is one of the only forces of order capable of countering the Unmaker. Page Count:  Red Prophet: 311 Prentice Alvin: 342 Alvin Journeyman: 381 Heartfire: 336 The Crystal City: 340 Award:  Red Prophet: 1989 Locus Fantasy Prentice Alvin: 1990 Locus Fantasy Alvin Journeyman: 1996 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass, but only barely. As in, I think in only one book. Technobabble:  Mild fantasy babble. Review:  The delicate crafting of Alvin's world gets wackier and wackier the further the series goes. Card desperately scrambles to cram any and all historical figures he can into the narrative with little to no justification. Pervasive religious themes come across as excessive. Slow plotting and attempts to overdevelop...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Orson Scott Card's  Seventh Son. The Short of It Plot:  In an alternate-history America, the seventh son of a seventh son is born with remarkable abilities.   Page Count:  377 Award:  1988 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  None.  Review:  An intriguing alternate timeline that is ultimately undercut by bloat and poor pacing. Interesting use of different magic systems. Many well written scenes of believable family interaction, generally convincing interpersonal stakes. The protagonist, however, is the least compelling character by dint of being exceptional at everything. Weak antagonists as well. This book is longer than it needs to be, the series is even more so. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is easily the best book of the Tales of Alvin the Maker  series, and is possibly worth reading on its ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Roger Zelazny's  Chronicles of Amber (Merlin Cycle). The Short of It Plot: As much as Merlin wants to be his own person, Amber keeps pulling him in. Page Count:  Trumps of Doom: 184 Blood of Amber: 215 Sign of Chaos: 217 Knight of Shadows: 251 Prince of Chaos: 241 Award:  Trumps of Doom: 1986 Locus Fantasy  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail. Technobabble:  Mild fantasy babble. Review:  A remarkable job of creating a sequel series. Takes the previous five books as a foundation and develops it, filling in details of the world. Also adds a new magic system – or, more accurately, adds new aspects to the already neat system of magic. Zelazny struggles a bit in giving Merlin a distinct voice from Corwin. Pacing stays quick, writing is cleaner than the earlier books. Merlin’s motivations are much clearer than Corwin’s as well. Totally enjoyable. ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist. The Short of It Plot:  Latro forgets everything: he must keep a close record on a scroll. Even his meetings with gods.  Page Count:  335 Award:  1987 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Nah. Review:  A lot of fun elements that do not quite gel. All of the basic elements of story are good: interesting cast of characters, particularly the cameos from different gods; cool settings as we wander through ancient Greece; generally good pacing. It is the central conceit of this book that makes it hard to read: it feels like 20% of the text is Latro either being informed or informing others that his memory does not work. It gets exhausting - and while the rest of this is better than competent, it's not enjoyable. Also, Wolfe's terrible at ending books. The Medium of It Spoiler Free Gene Wolfe is an exce...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Robert Heinlein's  Job: A Comedy of Justice. The Short of It Plot: When Alex comes to, he is not in his own world. Is God testing him?  Page Count:  377 Award:  1985 Locus Fantasy  Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minimal to moderate. Review:  All the fun of parallel worlds with no charm. Irritating characters responding in incomprehensible manners to unfortunate but often uninteresting twists of fate. New candidate for weakest female lead character in a book! Pacing is atrocious - up to and including a massive shift for the final third or so of the book, making it feel like two lackluster novellas. This book felt significantly longer than its 370 pages. Everything about this book feels half-baked and peculiarly self-indulgent. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Except for the premise being a parallel world. I thought I loved Hei...