Fantasy

Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Title: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands, 1)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Faber and Faber (4th February 2016)
Blurb:

Tell me how you want your story to go, he says, and we’ll write it straight across the sand.

Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It’s not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al’Hiza must call it ‘home’.

Amani wants to escape and see the world she’s heard about in campfire stories.

Then a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run.

But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan’s army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion . . .

An epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn Hamilton is the first book in a new trilogy. It tells the story of Amani Al’Hiza an orphan who lives in a dead end town, where she is beholden to her uncle. Amani dreams of escaping the place she was born, of being able to see the places she has only ever heard about in stories. And this time she might just have a chance to escape.

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Review: Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip

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Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip

Title: Dreams of Distant Shores
Author: Patricia A. McKillip
Genre: Fantasy, Short Story
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Tachyon Publications (June 2016)
Blurb:

Featuring three brand-new stories and an original introduction by Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn.

Bestselling author Patricia A. McKillip (The Riddle-Master of Hed) is one of the most lyrical writers gracing the fantasy genre. With the debut of her newest work, Dreams of Distant Shores is a true ode to her many talents. Within these pages you will find a youthful artist possessed by both his painting and his muse and seductive travelers from the sea enrapturing distant lovers. The statue of a mermaid comes suddenly to life, and two friends are transfixed by a haunted estate.

Fans of McKillip’s ethereal fiction will find much to delight them; those lucky enough to be discovering her work will find much to enchant them.

(blurb from here)

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES by Patricia A. McKillip is a collection of seven short stories. All seven of the stories have a fantastical element to them, but some have more of a horror of science fiction twist. None of the stories are connected, and they all vary in length from quite short to fairly long.

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Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

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A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Title: A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, 2)
Author: V. E. Schwab
Genre: Alternative Universes, Fantasy
Publisher: Titan Books (23rd February 2016)
Blurb:

Kell is one of the last magicians with the ability to travel between parallel universes, linked by the magical city of London. It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into his possession and he met Delilah Bard. Four months since the Dane twins of White London fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body back into Black London.

Now Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. And as Red London prepares for the Element Games – an international competition of magic – a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life. The balance of magic is perilous, and for one city to flourish, another must fall . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

A GATHERING OF SHADOWS is the second book in V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series. It continues the stories of Kell and Delilah Bard, and takes place several months after the events of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC (review). Whilst Delilah is seeking adventure, Kell is facing the consequences of the choices he made, and another London is coming back to life.

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Review: The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

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The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Title: The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium, 2)
Authors: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Corgi Books (3rd September 2015)
Blurb:

WHAT IF YOUR SOUL WAS NOT YOUR OWN?
WHAT IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE DESTINED FOR EVIL?

Callum Hunt has returned from the Magisterium victorious. He is now a mage in his own right – a Copper Year student. He has friends; feels at home in the winding tunnels of the mysterious magical school.

But Call hides a terrible secret.

His soul is not his own. His body is a vessel for a powerful evil mage, wielder of chaos magic . . . murderer.

Salvation would like in the Alkahest, a mysterious copper gauntlet. But it is a dangerous object, with a violent history. It could destory everything Call knows and loves . . .

And release the evil within him.

THINK YOU  KNOW MAGIC? THINK AGAIN.
ENTER THE BREATHTAKING WORLD OF THE MAGISTERIUM.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

THE COPPER GAUNTLET is the second book in The Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. The book continues the story of Callum Hunt who having completed his first year at the Magisterium, is about to start his second but this time he knows a terrible secret that could have terrible consequences. Despite this Call wants to return to the Magisterium and his friends.

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Review: The Landfill War by Luca Tarenzi

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The Landfill War by Luca Tarenzi

Title: The Landfill War (Poison Fairies, 1)
Author: Luca Tarenzi
Translator: Kieren Bailey
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Acheron Books (13 December 2014)
Blurb:

Life in the landfill is hard. Between the ever-present danger of the deadly seagulls, problems with finding enough food, and the fights with other fairy tribes like the fearsome Boggarts, it’s a challenge just to make it day by day.
Needleye decides that things must change and so she convinces her friends, Verdigris and Thaw, to help her steal a car battery from the Boggarts.

Winter is on the horizon and the acid from the battery will provide plenty of energy for her people. It sounds like such a good idea, but then again, bad decisions usually do.

How will Needleye’s brother, King Albedo, react to the unauthorized mission? What is Waspider, King of the Boggarts, plotting? And who’s the mysterious fairy gifted with a Glamour that’s different from any other kind of magic Needleye has ever seen?

Find out in The Landfill War, the first chapter in a trilogy about the most ferocious beings in the entire world: fairies!

(Blurb taken from goodreads)

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE LANDFILL WAR by Luca Tarenzi is the first book in the Poison Fairies series, and my edition is translated from the Italian by Kieren Bailey. The novel tells the story of Needleye, a fairy who lives in a landfill. Life is hard in the landfill, as the tribe Needleye is part of has to defend itself from other fairy tribes and from seagulls, as well as remain hidden from man. A battery has been spotted on another fairy tribes land, and Needleye is determined to claim it.

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Review: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

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The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

Title: The Wolf Wilder
Author: Katherine Rundell
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Middle Grade
Publisher: Bloomsbury (10th September 2015)
Blurb:

Feodora and her mother live in the snowbound woods of Russia, where their closest neighbours are wolves. Feo’s mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training. Like the wolves, Feo has learnt to be wary of humans – even before the soldiers arrive with their guns and threats. And when the soldiers do their worst, she goes on the run with just a fugitive boy and her wolves for company – to rescue her mother and to save her pack . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE WOLF WILDER by Katherine Rundell reads like a Russian fairy tale. It tells the story of Feodora and her mother, they live in the snowbound woods of Russia. Feo’s mother is a wolf wilder, so Feo has grown up with wolves and has learnt to be wary of humans. So when soldiers from the Tsar arrive with weapons and take her mother away, Feo has no choice but to try and get her mother back.

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Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (UK edition)

Title: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, 4)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury (1st September 2015)
Blurb:

NO MASTERS.

NO LIMITS.

NO REGRETS.

Celaena Sardothien is cloaked in her assassin’s hood once more. She is back in Rifthold, but this time she’s no one’s slave. She must delve into her most painful memories and fight for her survival, while resisting a smouldering passion that might very well consume her heart. And she will face her former master, the King of Assassins, again – to wreak revenge for a decade of pain . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Mass is the fourth book in the young adult fantasy series Throne of Glass. Celaena Sardothien knows who she is and has returned to Rifthold, in order to collect the debts she is owed. Starting with her former master, the King of Assassins.

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Review: The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman

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The Sandman: Overture

Title: The Sandman: Overture (The Sandman 0)
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrators: J. H. Williams III and Dave Stewart
Genre: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novel
Publisher: DC Comics (10th November 2015)
Blurb:

He is known throughout Creation by countless names. Anywhere that life exists, he and his seven ageless siblings guide the forces that shape it.

He is Dream of the Endless. The year is 1915. And the universe is about to end.

With THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE, New York Times bestselling author and master of modern fantasy Neil Gaiman returns for his first full-length story of the Dream King in nearly 20 years – a stunning prequel to the original SANDMAN saga, illustrated by critically acclaimed artist J. H. Williams III and colorist Dave Stewart. This deluxe hardcover edition collects all six issues of the landmark VERTIGO series and includes more than 40 pages of special behind-the-scenes features, as well as an all-new sketchbook section from Williams.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by J. H. Williams III and Dave Stewart, is both the first and last story of Dream of the Endless. The story is set before the first part of the Sandman saga, THE SANDMAN: PRELUDES AND NOCTURNES, and explains the series of events that lead to that book’s beginning.

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Review: Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell

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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Scorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (8th October 2015)
Blurb:

SIMON SNOW ID THE WORST CHOSEN ONE WHO’S EVER BEEN CHOSEN.

That’s what his roomate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here – it’s their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story, and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

CARRY ON: THE RISE AND FALL OF SIMON SNOW by Rainbow Rowell is a standalone novel, which is linked to her young adult novel FANGIRL (review). CARRY ON tells the final part of the Simon Snow series which readers of FANGIRL will be familiar with, as the Simon Snow series is the fandom that Cath, the main character of the novel, is immersed in. Rowell gives readers a glimpse into the world they’ve only heard about through Cath, and her love of it.

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Review: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

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How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Title: How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, 1)
Author: Cressida Cowell
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books (4th February 2010)
Blurb:

HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD was an awesome swordfighter, a dragon-whisper and the greatest Viking Hero that ever lived.

Can Hiccup pass the Dragon Initiation Programme with a toothless dragon and fight the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus before it gobbles up every Viking on Berk? It’s time for Hiccup to learn how to be a Hero.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell is the first book in the series of the same name. The book follows Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he attempts to pass the Dragon Initiation Programme.

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