“The Taker” by Alma Katsu
The Taker seamlessly blends history and the supernatural in a thrilling story of unrequited love and heartrending betrayal.
“The Scar” by China Miéville
Bellis Coldwine is unhappily fleeing her home in New Crobuzon for a colony across the world. Bellis, a cold, competent linguist, soon finders herself impressed by pirates and dropped onto the floating city of Armada.
“Stanley Finnigan and the Race Around the Universe” by Dan Cuoco
Stanley Finnigan is having a bad day. The bully of the seventh grade won’t leave him alone, his teachers all seem like alien life forms, and to top it all off, the weird new kid in town joined his science project. But he forgets all of that when the space ship lands next to him.
“Duchess of the Shallows” by Neil McGarry and Daniel Ravipinto
Title: Duchess of the Shallows Authors: Neil McGarry and Daniel Ravipinto Pages: 207 Release date: March 2, 2012 Publisher: Peccable Productions Genre: […]
“Before They Are Hanged” by Joe Abercrombie
Before They Are Hanged, the second book in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy, takes off right where The Blade Itself left off. Glokta, the crippled torturer with a sense of humor as sharp as his tools, has been promoted within the Inquisition. His new post in the besieged city of Dagoska brings him dangerously close to his old friends, the Gurkish—the enemies to the South who introduced Glokta to the torturing biz years before.
“The Blade Itself” by Joe Abercrombie
The Northmen have invaded Angland. The northernmost territory of the Union, a kingdom similar to Europe (or perhaps just a larger England), Angland has served as a tenuous barrier between the civilized Union and the wild tribes of the North, now held loosely under the control of Bethod, their self-proclaimed King.
“Delirium” by Lauren Oliver
“It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientist perfected a cure.” So begins Lauren Oliver’s electrifying book, Delirium, the first in a trilogy of the same name.
“American Gods” by Neil Gaiman
People have described Neil Gaiman’s American Gods as one of the true new classics of fantasy. I generally scoff at such claims, since it is virtually impossible to tell which works will stand the test of time; many books and movies are widely heralded upon their release, only to be quickly forgotten. But the description is actually quite fitting for American Gods. The book has a patient, almost meandering approach that echoes the slower pace of classical movies like “Citizen Kane” or “The Maltese Falcon.”
“The Passage” by Justin Cronin
Title: The Passage Author: Justin Cronin ISBN: 9780345504968 Pages: 784 Release date: June 8, 2010 Publisher: Ballantine Books Genre: Literary fiction (among others) Format: Hardcover Source: Millie’s collection Rating: 2.5 out of 5 I read this book because it was highly recommended on the internet as a vampire apocalypse novel good enough to be called literary fiction. I enjoy post-apocalyptic tales like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and World War Z by Max Brooks. And while I generally find vampires tiresome, I loved […]
Guest Review! “Beyond the Deepwoods” by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
This first book in the Edge Chronicles begins with an atmospheric description of the world on the Edge. Twig, the main character, is a young boy who just never seems to fit in with the woodtrolls around him. Ostracized by his “peers,” Twig longs for acceptance.
“The Heroes” by Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie’s new fantasy novel The Heroes continues in the world set in The First Law Trilogy. This time, he takes us to a single battle fought between the comparatively modern Union and the barbarians of the North. The story is told from the perspective of three Union and three Northern characters who all fight in the battle one way or another. Like Abercrombie’s previous novel, Best Served Cold, a few familiar faces from the first trilogy appear.
Guest Review! “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
The heroes of the book are met at the very beginning of humankind (at least, as the Bible claims it to be). Aziraphale is the angel of the East Gate of Eden, and Crawly (later re-named Crowley, because “Crawly” just wasn’t him) is the very serpent who tempted mankind out of paradise. The two of them meet for the first time just after the Lord has issued his judgment upon Adam and Eve and cast them out of the garden.
The Prince of Nothing Trilogy by R. Scott Bakker
R. Scott Bakker’s Prince of Nothing trilogy consists of The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior Prophet, and The Thousandfold Thought. These three epic fantasy books form a completed trilogy, although the series continues twenty years later with The Judging Eye (review coming soon).
Top 5 Books of 2010
Though I’ve read and reviewed many good books this year, there are several that stood out for me, so I’ve decided to compile a list of my top five books of 2010—enjoy!
Melody Schreiber 