Target: Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There Profile: Children’s Literature, Fantasy, Fairyland Catherynne M. Valente is a sleeper nod for the title of my favorite author. She combines the vocabulary of China Meiville with the storytelling sensibilities of Neil Gaiman and Philip Pulman’s eye for children’s adventure. And in my previous review of her Fairyland series, I compared her favorably to L. Frank Baum, C. S. Lewis and Lewis Carol. But what I think most impresses me about […]
Fatale: A murder/mystery with more murder and more mystery
It is raining. Darkly clad people under umbrellas at the funeral of Dominic Raines. One woman stands out, beautiful and dark. Our protagonist is immediately taken with her as she explains how her grandmother had a fling with the deceased – the godfather to our protagonist. This is the scene where Nicholas Lash meets Josephine. We meet these people just this day because this is the day Nicholas Lash’s life changes; people try to kill him at his Godfather’s house and Josephine appears to save […]
“Bright the hawk’s flight on the empty sky”
After taking on the rather draining Tiptree anthology, I wanted to rest my heart and mind and spirit. So I am revisiting one of my most cherished treasures: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea cycle. I was 10 or 12 when I discovered this series, and I fell precipitously in love with it. It was my gateway drug to the world of fantasy and SF. A Wizard of Earthsea is, at heart, a classic story of a Young Wizard who Comes Of Age And Goes On […]
We’ll see how brave you are
Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Coraline – Review #6 for AamilTheCamel
Sixth book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. Also my 50th blog post! Yahoo! Let me tell you first that I read this entire book in a British accent, and might I add, it was a delightful experience! I suggest that you try it too. Coraline is a delightfully creepy (oxymoron?) and surprisingly witty story about a girl who is not particularly fond of her surroundings and the people that inhabit them. Her parents don’t really pay much attention to her. The weather, being […]
Blood Rites: Sex, Blood, Magic
Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, Book 6)