Fantasy
Vellum, by Hal Duncan
I would compare Vellum to the attention-seeking middle child of His Dark Materials and The Da Vinci Code; without Pullman’s mighty narrative or Brown’s ability to merge reality, mythology and fiction, Duncan’s creation simply screams “Look at me! See how different I am!” before denying that it even values your opinion. Without a doubt it’s an impressive read but, at the heart of it, it’s sheer snobbery in book form.
Read More...White Wolf, by David Gemmell
David Gemmell was, in my humble opinion, one of the masters of the fantasy genre. Although the last series he wrote before he died, Troy, is probably his most famous, the Drenai series is certainly his most acclaimed with true fans of the genre. It is a joy then that White Wolf was written as a return to the Drenai, featuring Gemmell’s most renowned character, Druss the Legend, along with a new addition – the mighty Olek Skilgannon.
Read More...The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordon
There is almost certainly nothing in this book that hasn’t been done before and been done better. Jordon has written a great book and a wonderful series, but he certainly does not come to dominate the world Tolkien created, as his reviewers claim.
Read More...Bleeding Violet, by Dia Reeves
The tagline “Crazy never looked so beautiful” summarises Hanna’s personality completely. A recluse with a list of emotional disorders long enough to scare anyone, Hanna eventually runs away to find the mother she never knew. On arrival in Portero, where her mother is living, her challenge is to fit in in the town, or leave after two weeks. Thus begins Hanna’s journey into the paranormal and mysterious world of Portero.
Read More...Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett
Pratchett’s characters are always superb, but Night Watch stands apart from the others as a masterpiece of interplay and storytelling…seeing the characters in their young forms adds another level of humour to what is already a melting pot of conviviality.
Read More...The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
Aliens (who hate being called aliens) now live on earth with humans, and some humans possess supernatural powers. Charlie and her Siren-partner, Hank, have been working on a disastrous case—trying to track down the source and destroy a new drug that is putting people all over Atlanta in comas….
Read More...An Introduction To The Discworld by Terry Pratchett
Every novel based in the Discworld is subject to infinite possibilities, with each tale unwinding through a series of hilarious events as the characters attempt to evade or further their narrative destinies.
Read More...Assassin’s Apprentice, by Robin Hobb
Engaging enough for younger readers, yet interesting enough for older fans of the genre, Assassin’s Apprentice is a first-person narrative following the young life of Fitz – talented bastard child of a prince.
Read More...David Gemmell
If ever there was a way to fall in love the fantasy genre, reading David Gemmell’s masterpieces is the best and easiest.
Read More...25 Books To Buy This Christmas
And here it is: the top 25 must have books by Chrismas this year! We cover everything from paperbacks to hardbacks, fantasy stories, biographies, suspense, thrillers, fiction, non-fiction, chicklit: you name it and its here.
Read More...Genre Summary: Fantasy
Mystical, flexible and fundamentally magical, fantasy can take you to a whole new world, or put a twist on this world to make it infinitely more exciting.
Read More...The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear
Fantastic to an almost unparalleled extent and only occasionally boring despite being 700 pages long; the 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear is a book I will leave strategically around my children in the hope that they will pick it up.
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