Book Review: The Spirit of a Witch

This was a rather enjoyable story.  The chosen sorts of magic and the world setting are comfortingly familiar.  However, the real star of the show here is the main character's development.

Book Review: Hard Luck

This is an exceptionally fun tale that does a little bit in the way of a genre-blending two-step.  The characters are lively, animated and personable.  It is through those characters that the beautiful setting is painted.  There will be a few things that take the reader by surprise, elements that one doesn't expect to run across in what seems to be a traditional fantasy piece, but these elements do nothing but add to uniqueness of the piece.  Very much so, this book is a fun little romp and the series promises to be an increasingly fun and dramatic ride.

Sing the Midnight Stars by CMJ Wallace

This book is mis-advertised as a detective thriller. It certainly has aspects of that, but it is more appropriately categorized as a story of intrigue. The killer mentioned in the blurb falls increasingly into the background as the book moves around. Which is not to say that his or her presence does not continue to be felt. Regardless of this, the book is a very intriguing run, pun unintended, and has kept me interested throughout.

Hero for Hire by CB Pratt

Myths held the place of comic books when I was growing up, Judeo-Christian, Greek, Robin Hood and Arthurian to start and then moving on to Norse, Japanese and myth in general.  So I've been living something of a dream recently with the resurgence of fantasy based on world myths.  What with things like the Dresden Files, the Scion RPG by White Wolf, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson stories and now, it seems, Eno the Thracian.

Daughter of Mythos by Melissa Drake

Daughter of Mythos falls into the category of stories where a seemingly normal teenager has a hidden heritage that makes them a powerful force for good in the world. It is a tried and true story mode and this book does it justice. As a young adult book it is an excellent introduction for a young reader to the genre. It is also quite enjoyable for a long time adult reader of the fantasy genre. There are the expected subplots to these sorts of stories. Some of them end as expected, some of them threw me off my predictions, which I consider an applause worthy feat. Anybody who has done any significant amount of reading or (especially) writing can sympathize with me as to the tendency for stories to no longer be surprising.

The Raging One by Lexy Wolf

This story is an imaginative fantasy setting that makes clever use of traditional archetypes from Western fantasies. The setting is well-defined and sprinkled with just the right number of fictional words to give each of the four countries character. We aren't given full sentences in the various languages, but the words we do see seem to have a similar sound indicating a shared history, which makes sense given what we are given of the setting. The creatures and landscapes are intriguing, ranging from forests of giant trees and animals to desolate wastelands and vast oceans with cities thrown in as well. The way she treats the various sorts of powers is intriguing though we only see a few parts of the whole actually explained, there is a definite consistency to the powers.

Cast of Illusions by Ashley Barnard

Cast of Illusions, by Ashley Barnard is a wonderful story that can appeal to both fans of fantasy stories and lovers of classic Shakespeare alike.  The story very much reads like something of a love-letter to Shakespearean theater and style.