[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Fantasy February 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:52:02 -0500
Fantasy February 2008
"O Ireland isn't it grand you look--
Like a bride in her rich adornin'?
And with all the pent-up love of my heart
I bid you the top o' the mornin'!"
~ from The Exile's Return by John Locke
New and Recently Released!
God's Demon - by Wayne Barlowe
Publisher: Tor
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/16/2007
ISBN: 9780765309853
ISBN-10: 0765309858
Epic Fantasy. Hell is, well, hell. After years of fire and brimstone, one of
the Demon Majors, Lord Sargatanas, is tired of it all. Sickened by what he
has become and yearning for his former proximity to God, Sargatanas wants to go
home, to Heaven. But is that even possible and, if so, how can he manage
it? Sargatanas hatches a daring plan to rebel and escape Beelzebub and his
minions (no one knows where Lucifer, the devil himself, is...or even if he's
alive). Based on Dante's Inferno, acclaimed artist Wayne Barlowe draws his
pictures in words this time and does a spectacular job of it (Booklist calls
Barlowe's "envisioning...nothing short of awe-inspiring").
First Chapter
The Sword-Edged Blonde - by Alex Bledsoe
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/1/2007
ISBN: 9781597801126
ISBN-10: 1597801127
Mystery Fantasy. If you enjoy reading novels that combine aspects of
hard-boiled crime novels and whodunits with the trappings of a
sword-and-sorcery fantasy
world, Alex Bledsoe's debut novel should be right up your alley. Eddie LaCrosse
is a PI with a past he is trying to forget and an office located over a
bar--but his weapon of choice is a sword and his cases involve magic and
deities. In The Sword-Edged Blonde, the 1st book in a planned series (the 2nd
should be released near the end of 2008), Eddie finds himself working two
different cases involving royalty--a princess is missing and a young heir has
been murdered.
The Sorcerers' Plague: Book One of Blood of the Southlands - by David B. Coe
Publisher: Tor
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 12/10/2007
ISBN: 9780765316387
ISBN-10: 0765316382
Epic Fantasy. This 1st in a new series tells the story of Grinsa, one of the
heroes of author David Coe's Winds of the Forelands series. Grinsa is a Weaver
(one of the Qirsi who can perform various forms of magic), and he and his
family travel across the sea to the Southlands in search of a more peaceful
land.
Alas, they find that every place has its troubles. In their new land, tensions
between the magical folk and the non-magical ones come to a head, and a
plague is unleashed that targets the Qirsi. If you like the novels of Terry
Goodkind, you should enjoy Coe's work as well.
First Chapter
Dragon Harper - by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 12/26/2007
ISBN: 9780345480309
ISBN-10: 0345480309
Science Fantasy. Any reader who enjoys dragons combined with an outer space
setting has probably heard of and read Anne McCaffrey's popular Pern books (if
you haven't, start with the 1st, Dragonflight). In the latest installment--and
the third collaboration between McCaffrey and her son, Todd--a plague-like
illness threatens Pern even as the date that the deadly Thread will drop draws
near. Keeping the dragonriders healthy so they can deal with the Thread
makes Kindan, a harper-in-training, and his friends the only ones with the
ability keep the disease from destroying the world. This is "definitely a
welcome
addition to the Pern canon" (Booklist).
First Chapter
Borne in Blood: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain - by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Publisher: Tor
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 12/10/2007
ISBN: 9780765317131
ISBN-10: 0765317133
Historical Fantasy. In 1817 Switzerland, Count Saint-Germain, a vampire, is
living peacefully with his widowed lover Hero, whose husband died battling
Napoleon.
But a visit with an Austrian aristocrat whose research deals with the
properties of blood causes a major upheaval--the nobleman's beautiful ward
becomes
obsessed with the immortal vampire. Add to that Hero's desire to regain her
children from the custody of their grandfather, and there's trouble in vampire
paradise. This is the 20th volume in the author's fascinating saga. Historical
fiction fans will enjoy the richly drawn settings and accurate details that
imbue Yarbro's work, and horror fans will appreciate the vampires.
First Chapter
Focus on: Fantastic Ireland
The Greener Shore: A Novel of the Druids of Hibernia - by Morgan Llywelyn
Publisher: Ballantine
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/30/2006
ISBN: 9780345477668
ISBN-10: 0345477669
Celtic Fantasy. Ainvar the druid and his three wives have escaped "Caesar the
Reprehensible" following his legion's destruction of their sacred grove in
Gaul. Now they are cultivating Celtic society anew in Hibernia, combining their
druidic practices with those of the Irish Celts. Strong female characters,
in particular the wise and alluring Briga, abound in this tale, which
Publishers Weekly describes as a "beautifully told adventure story." Fans of
Morgan
Llywelyn's Druids should check out this exciting sequel (though The Greener
Shore can be read on its own), and historical fiction fans also should try
Llywelyn's books.
First Chapter
Child of the Prophecy - by Juliet Marillier
Publisher: Tor
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/1/2002
ISBN: 9780312848811
ISBN-10: 0312848811
Historical Fantasy. Fainne is torn. Her paternal grandmother, the sorceress
Oonagh, wants to destroy Fainne's mother's people--using Fainne as her
weapon--which
would effectively rid Ireland of all magic. But as Fainne starts spending time
with the Sevenwaters people, she has growing feelings for the maternal family
she has never known. Unfortunately, Oonagh is so desperate for her plan to
succeed that she will torture her own son, Fainne's beloved father, if Fainne
doesn't do as she says. Though this is the 3rd in the Sevenwaters trilogy,
after Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows, it can be read and enjoyed
alone.
First Chapter
Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle: The First of the Tristan and Isolde Novels -
by Rosalind Miles
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/1/2003
ISBN: 9781400047864
ISBN-10: 1400047862
Historical Fantasy. Cornish warrior and member of King Arthur's round table
Tristan, who's the nephew of the King of Cornwall, falls in love with Princess
Isolde, who's the heiress to the Irish throne, when she nurses him back from a
near-fatal wound. What the two young people don't know, however, is that
Isolde's mother has promised the princess' hand to Tristan's uncle Mark in a
politically arranged marriage. Author Rosalind Miles' tale of star-crossed
Celtic lovers Tristan and Isolde should please readers who enjoy Arthurian
legends (such as the author's Guenevere series). If you enjoy this book, check
out the next two in the trilogy: The Maid of the White Hands and The Lady of
the Sea.
First Chapter
Darkfever - by Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/31/2006
ISBN: 9780385339155
ISBN-10: 0385339151
Urban Fantasy. Twenty-two-year-old MacKayla "Mac" Lane is a nice Southern girl
who's content to relax by her parents' pool and bartend a few nights a week.
But all of that changes when she gets The Phone Call. Her two-years-older
sister Alina has been killed while living in Ireland. The police have no leads.
Unwilling to let someone get away with murder, Mac sets off for the Emerald
Isle, where she discovers that her sister's death was far more than a random
act of violence, that fairies are real, that some of them want to start a war
against humankind, and that she has some very special powers. The 2nd book
in this new series, Bloodfever, was published in October.
First Chapter
Song of Ireland - by Juilene Osborne-McKnight
Publisher: Forge Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/2/2006
ISBN: 9780765312433
ISBN-10: 0765312433
Historical Fantasy. Celtic bard Amergin tells the story of his people's journey
to Inisfail (Ireland), the island of magic that Amergin's Gaelic father
has always dreamed of finding. But they aren't the only ones who want to live
there. As they build their settlement, the Celts must deal with the other
inhabitants of the enchanted island--the Danu, a magical little people who are
powerfully connected to the land the Celts wish to claim as their own. Booklist
calls Song of Ireland "an irresistible blend of history and mythology." Readers
who love Irish history and memorable characters will not want to put this
book down.
First Chapter
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