Rating: 5/5 Patricia A. McKillip, Riddle-Master (New York, NY: Berkely Trade [imprint of Penguin], 1999). The Riddle-Master trilogy is an oldie (1976) but goodie. I read it as a kid and absolutely loved it. I’ve read it a few more times over the years, but it had been quite a while since my last reading. I wanted Adele...
Rating: 4.5/5 Brian Sanderson, Warbreaker (New York: Tor, 2009), 592 p. This book reminded me of why I love (and, yes, in some ways hate) single-volume novels. They’re great in that they completely sidestep the “soap opera” problem so prevalent with massive series such as Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones. The author...
Rating: 1/5 Raymond E. Feist, Magician: Apprentice, The author’s preferred edition (New York: Bantam, 2004). This book was profoundly disappointing. I finished it simply because I had started it, and I will not be reading the second installment, Magician: Master. To be fair, this was Feist’s first foray into novel...
Rating: 4/5 The Death Gate Cycle is a series of seven books. I remember starting it years ago and never finishing. I picked it up again in the new year and yesterday finished the last book. The story is fundamentally about fear—about different manifestations of and reactions to it. It was an enjoyable read with some...
Rating: 5/5 Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind (New York: DAW, 2008). I have a general rule that forbids me from starting a series of books that’s not already finished. It can take years for a sequel to make it through production, and by that time I’ve read so many other books that I basically have to start over...
Rating: 1/5 David & Leigh Eddings, The Redemption of Althalus (Del Rey, 2001). In short, don’t bother. I finally put the book down about a third of the way through. I found it on a list of fantasy must-reads. Well it sure doesn’t make mine. It’s not that it is written for a young adult audience, it’s just that’s all it...
Rating: 5/5 Tad Williams, Otherland (4 vols: City of Golden Shadow, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, and Sea of Silver Light) (DAW, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001). An oldie but goodie. Published between 1994 and 2001, Otherland is a massive novel (3000ish pages across 4 volumes). It’s not a series. It really is...