' White did a great job of making the fantasy aspects of his story ...
580817
Action AND feelings makes this 'frontier fantasy.'  White did a great job of making the fantasy aspects of his story fit seemlessly into the New World reality of the characters.  And the world he paints is convincingly real. I kept thinking, "Wait a minute is this based in fact?" What a great story teller.  I don't generally go for this sort of thing, but it kept me riveted.  A fun summer read.
3094261
CM. Gray delivers a unique story about the King Arthur tale and the Excalibur. But this is not the story of King Arthur. It is a tale of Arthurs father king Uther. The Shadow of the half dead king. An intriguing story spun by one of the masters of fantasy  CM. Gray. I have read one other book by the author called  Chaos Storm which I enjoyed very much, and in this book, CM Gray doesnt disappoint. He masterfully creates incredible battles which are beautifully depicted with his wording. The descriptions were wonderful! Gray knows how to pull you into the story. He sets the introduction perfectly. I felt like I was in the Story. The book is flawless and is a primary example of what a fantasy tale should be that delivers a story of epic proportions and an incredible cast of characters. You have the great Merlyn and the great Sir Ector. At first we are brought into the story where king Uther is dying. As they travel on their journey to bring the king to the safety of his castle, we are then introduced to a number of characters and of course, what would this tale be without the great round council table. While you may think that this is just another one of these Arthur tales, its not! CM. Gray gives us a brand new original tale about the half dead king. The dark ages of Druids are here. Swords and sorcery fans are going to love this. Escape into a fantasy kingdom full of excitement! The book is nothing short of amazing, and I know youll enjoy the Shadow of the king.
2480609
Very interesting snow white retelling, really liked the added Egyptian lore!
2476067
This was really creative, very entertaining. I loved the way the different stories tied in together by the end. I really enjoyed the characters, and thought they were very well-developed.

However, I'm not giving it 5 stars because I thought some key aspects were not particularly well-explained. The definitions in the appendix helped but some were missing. This is part of a series, so I'm not worried about the storylines that remained unfinished, but more about underlying aspects that would explain the world they live in.

But overall it's a great, entertaining story for people who like fantasy.
283281
Tim Westover uniquely mixed magical realism, fantasy, folklore, fairy tale, and historical fiction together to create an interesting book named "Auraria". The genres are mixed well and blend seemlessly. Westover did a great job with writng. I just honestly don't know how I feel about this book.

The book's very first line reads "Hortzclaw hadn't heard of Auraria until his employer sent him to destroy it." which made for a great opening line! Auraria is a town deep in the mountains of Georgia that is obsessed with gold mining despite rarely finding gold, fishing is done by casting a line into the strange mist, and houses have infinite interior space. The story takes place during the 19th Century and is based around Appalachian folklore.

I honestly hate when people compare books to other books, but in this case I am breaking my own rule because I'm not sure how to explain the weirdness of this book without comparing it to Lewis Carrol's Adventure In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. It is the fantastical characters and awkward weirdness that makes this book intriguing at times and thoroughly confusing at others.

I think I could have really enjoyed this book more if I had knowledge beforehand of the basis of some of these ghost stories and history of the folklore used. The story setting has a divine richness to it which is really the main thing that kept me reading. The main character was a bit dull- all these strange things keep happening to him and he is a blank slate with no reaction or feeling to the craziness around him.

Auraria is extremely well written. Westover did a fantastic job at describing characters and places. I had no problem imaging  them.  The plot kept me intrigued, and though at times I was confused, it was (almost) never a boring plot. I do feel that the strange side stories were confusing at times and took away from the main story.

To the right reader this book is a 5 star read. To me, however, this was a 3 star read. Entertaining, yes, but there was just something "off", which left me confused. The ending was satisfying and appropriate and I honestly was left with the notion of wanting to research Appalachian folklore in hopes of better understanding certain plot points of the story.  I think because it is based off a real place (Auraria, GA exists) and includes real "beliefs" I just couldn't get lost in the magic. I wanted to know more about the "real basis" which didn't allow me to just enjoy the story.
1301201
This novel introduces us to the kingdom of Lindfel, a world much like our own in everything but geography. The society is the vaguely medieval culture typical of Tolkien and other fantasy writers. Here we meet young Gideon, a worthy but obscure and reluctant noble from a far-flung province whose destiny it is to restore peace and truth to a kingdom whose rulers have become bloodthirsty and evil. There is a heavy element of the supernatural, but it is Judeo-Christian rather than magical. There are no wizards or magic spells, but there is a prophet figure, Sandivar the Far Seer, and a demon figure, Arndskot. There is a real god, Iomthal, and angel-like figures of the afterlife known as Himmelvarden. The story of King's Fall is, we are told, one manifestation of the eternal struggle between Iomthal and Arndskot for the souls of mankind.

The storytelling is absolutely superb. The structure of the drama drew me in completely without the author resorting to any stupid tricks to create suspense. Besides the storytelling, the other great strength of the novel is the deeply compelling moral universe Busse creates. God and absolute truth exist here undoubtedly, but the search for God's will and truth seems rather complicated  for people in this world just as in ours. Themes such as corruption v. purity, self-indulgence v. self-mastery, fear v. confidence in self and God, blind faith v. mature faith, and many more are explored in complex depth and are the fuel that drives the story toward its moving climax in the temple on Mount Spier.

This book does suffer from a few pitfalls of a new author. Although the storytelling is wonderful and surprising overall, the romance scenes are cliched and predictable and at times downright embarrassing. I was often distracted by linguistic incongruities in the book--the names of people and places are drawn from many and unrelated sources, some of them from world history and literature and others simply invented. I would have liked to have seen more care taken to create a consistent language. The mysterious warrior Teanhi has a thick foreign accent and says an occasional foreign word in the openings scenes, but not in the rest of the book. There are occasional grammatical errors that would have been caught by a good editor.

The characters in this novel tend to be flat and uninteresting, but I cannot call this a flaw because they function well for their purpose, which is to tell a story and to explore moral themes. To flesh them out would make the novel cumbersome and detract from its simple beauty.

In movie form, this book would be a PG-13. The scenes that depict the evil of King Ammoron's reign are occasionally gruesome and uncomfortable. Topics such as torture, rape, and concubinage come up more than once, though never in explicit form. These are generally short-lived and easy to skip if you are squeamish, but this is not a book for children.

All in all, this is a captivating read that would be made truly excellent with the help of a seasoned editor. I look forward to the next volume.
2205184
This book is a role-reversal of the Snow White fairy tale.  Instead of focusing on Snow White (who isn't named Snow White in this story), it focuses on the seven dwarfs, and really one dwarf in particular.  It's really not like the original fairy tale, but I liked that.  It was a completely fresh take on the story.

Basically, (don't worry, no spoilers), the main character, Alariq, is exiled from Ishtara, his city-state, where he has been a skilled and faithful leader in the military there for a long time.  Six other dwarfs take his side when he's charged with a crime (that he didn't commit, obviously) and so they're all exiled as a consequence.  They then have to find a new place to live because, like most fantasy worlds, the Continent is a dangerous place.  That's when they meet Tianna (the Snow White character), who takes them in when they're in trouble (so the opposite of what happens in the original fairy tale).  The rest would get into spoiler-territory, so I'll leave it at that.

I really enjoyed the characters and the story.  The book was fast-paced and well-written.  There's a lot of action (mostly fighting, but some internal group-conflict too), but also a lot of character development, which is often missing from action-oriented books.  There were some romantic undertones, but it certainly was not central to the story.  I personally think it was just enough, although I hope we get more of it in later books.  I really appreciated the fresh take on Snow White/Tianna.  Instead of being the damsel-in-distress type, she's a loner and a fighter too, which is a nice change.

There was good world-building, without flooding the pages with unnecessary information.  I wish we got a little more backstory on all of the characters, but I can understand why we didn't (there are six other dwarfs, plus Tianna, plus the bad guys, which would be too much).  The world seems to be slightly different from a typical fantasy world.  When I read it, instead of getting feudal England, I got the feeling it was more like pre-colonial North America, which was another nice change.

Basically I would say it's a traditional fantasy book, without being so traditional that it feels like all the other fantasy books out there.  The characters, bad guys, and plot were definitely all unique and there were no cliches or anything like that.  I will definitely be re-reading this one and waiting (somewhat impatiently) for the next one.

Disclaimer: I received a free pre-release copy in exchange for my unbiased review.
1969312
This book turned me on to high fantasy--not an easy task at all.  Obviously I love speculative fiction, but I usually have a difficult time getting into the hard stuff. The story was well written with great detail. I haven't read Tredan's Blane, so I'm sure this will appeal even more to those that have.  The one thing I felt was lacking a bit was character development.  I know it's a short prequel, but I didn't really have a reason to *care* that these things were happening to Tredan.  Again, this is something that might have been filled in if I'd read Tredan's Blane.
925585
Robin Hobb is a great writer. She really captures the essence of her protagonist. She does so in a way that I have rarely if ever seen in a fantasy writer. Even the greats don't quite draw the picture in my mind that Hobb manages to create, detailing the whims of her Fitz. I really enjoyed this part of it.
Of course, the story itself, as can be seen through the fact that there are three books here making a whole piece, is a bit slow in this volume. It builds slowly, following the raising and teaching of Fitz as he grows, only occasionally sending him anywhere of note. If you're looking for a kick in the pants, action-packed fantasy book, you're not quite there yet with this volume, however, you must keep in mind that the story has just begun. This is the beginning and with subsequent books, you'll be able to see the real purpose of Hobb's story.
Definately recommended for fans of rich detail and wonderful characters in a fantasy setting
1736002
A fantastic sequel that lets us dive even deeper into White's fantasy/sci-fi world with just as many laughs as the first!
878
I've wanted to read this book for a while, so when I finally picked it up this past Christmas vacation I was excited for the story.  The story follows a somewhat "classic" fantasy storyline (i.e. parent's tragic death and discovery of a latent "special" talent).  A boy named Mordecai lives with his parents, his father is a blacksmith.  Although he knew he was an orphan, he didn't know the tragic story of his birth.  One day he discovers he has the ability for magic he is considered a mage, an untrained magician.  The story takes him through many adventures and has a strong conclusion.

There were several problems I had with the writing.  This may seem a bit backward, but after reflection, the biggest problem I had with the story was the ending.  I won't go into the details as not to ruin the story but it was just a little too perfect of an ending for my taste.  The second problem I had was, although the pace was quick, I almost wish the author had slowed down a bit and added a more meat to the story. Finally, I wish the author  would have taken more time to develop the relationships between Mordecai and his best friend as well as his love interest, Penelope.

Overall, it was enjoyable read, just not at the top of my list of fantasy.
4891635
It is a beautiful book - even before you get into the story itself. The author has told a rich and detailed story of magic and adventure that kept me reading to the end. I loved the detail and his wonderful imagination that has created new worlds and ideas. His is more than just a little magic and a drop or so fantasy, but the complex imaginings of how this new world view would all hang together...so adventure and a good think! Bravo!
12899
The White Tower is such a fun book to read. Wisehart has gruesome creatures, a motley assortment of interesting characters with clear strengths and weaknesses, humor, and an extremely creative world of magic wielders. The story is very visual and doesn't lag at any moment. I couldn't put it down and can't wait for his next installment.
1815177
I'm not the the type to faun over fantasy. I love it - don't get me wrong, but there's so much of it out there that's only-just-adequate that it takes a lot to inspire and surprise me.

That being said, this book took me by surprise. It was well written. The world was unique and interesting but still managed to remain familiar. The characters were believable, multifaceted, and interesting - people I actually cared about. The plot was engaging and entertaining - with very real drama throughout. The hero's arc, while in some ways predictable, kept my attention and made it hard to put the book down.

I love how the author managed to incorporate clearly Christian themes without falling into the traps of sentimentality and Christian-isms. The interactions between characters of different faiths felt genuine and authentic, so by the time the hero comes to the point of having to make a decision, it feels like a natural progression of his journey, not a convenient and necessary ending to the story.

Overall - I can easily recommend this to fans of fantasy and Christian literature alike.
299898
The author continues the story begun in "Subject 19" by picking up the shredded strands of life of some of the subjects as they try to return to "normal life".  The fantasy within a fantasy book tries to manipulate your mind with philosophical and psychological looks at some of the basic tenets of religious beliefs without being excessively religious in presentation.  Questions such as "What is the meaning of life?" Are not directly addressed, but are implied in this glimpse into a reality vs illusion struggle as it affects the mind of Angel while he transforms into an Angel.

The book can be read as just a fantasy story if desired, and if you can keep your mind from wandering about the thoughts that naturally occur to the reader of any story.  This book is best read through once for the story and repeated to allow in depth mental struggling with the concepts and questions expressed or implied by the characters.  It is very rare for the character development to cover such dramatic changes in the characters.  This book, along with "Subject 19" would be great for discussions in a book readers club, but might be distracting if you go for the refreshments.  It would also be necessary to agree to disagree without violence as the discussions will certainly provoke emotional reaction and perhaps even physical violence for some who cannot suspend their beliefs to allow discussion of topics that have already been resolved in their minds.  But lively discussion is needed.

This book should have 5 stars, but I gave it 4 because it seemed to take time to develop the thought and emotional battles of the main characters, causing the story to drag at times.  It was worth it in the end, but it was sometimes hard to get past all of the love/hate reactions and the frequent sex encounters needed to attract readers, and to focus on the real story of perception of reality as presented in the story background.  The author did an amazing and brilliantly intertwining job of using metaphysical and religious concepts to build a saga of gay sex and fantasy without losing the reader by going too deeply into the meat of the story's background plot devices.
863364
I came to this story, having read some of MacDonald's writings years ago, and now being drawn to him through a brief biography I had read of him. I also had read (again) Lewis' The "Great Divorce," where MacDonald shows up in heaven as a guide. All of this drew me to "Phantastes."

I found myself struggling at first, not being a regular reader of the fantasy genre. As I read this story, I, like so many have alluded to above, found the story to be a bit uneven, or disjointed. Still, the symbolism of some episoides intrigued me, and kept me going. The more I read, the more enjoyable and delightful it became. Over all the book is very entertaining, and even edifying. I rarely say this about a read, but I was encouraged after reading this book.

There are parts of this book, lines, paragraphs, and even one chapter, where the authors words approach the masterpiece level. His word-craft is superb at moments and should not be missed.
4064781
Myths of the Mirror is a compelling and engaging entry into the fantasy genre. The story focuses on dragons, dragon riding and the people and politics of the complex world that D. Wallace Peach has written. Specifically, the story follows two people who seek to free the dragons from imprisonment  which certainly sounds like the setup for a good fantasy story. The characters work well together, both growing as the story progresses and helping to hold the action of the story together. All-in-all, the storytelling and characters made for a great story that was everything fantasy should be. With so many predictable fantasies out there, it was great to find one that breaks the mold.