June '11

ABOLETHIC SOVEREIGNTY: PLAGUE OF SPELLS
-B. Cordell-epub-290
-fantasy- taking place sometime soon after the death of Mystra [recorded in the Lady Penitent trilogy], the world has changed. A blue fire plague has changed the land, the magic and made it possible for ancient evils to possibly return. Deals with one small sample of the twisted magic that can recall the Aboleths. Having a new set of characters for each sub series in the Forgotten Realms doesn't sit well with me. I understand it, but the only continuity provided is on a world wide scale, which is too big for me. I'll keep plugging away at the Forgotten Realms books, but as backups, not as primary reads.

WHEEL OF TIME: THE SHADOW RISING
-R. Jordan-epub-907
-fantasy-fantastic! Some really cool storylines. Forsaken are starting to be real characters instead of just non-entity bogeyman. Rand is starting to explore his powers on a very large scale. Perrin is back in Two Rivers, becoming the Lord he is destined to be. Matt is still Matt, running from responsibility while searching money, girls and drink. The women are becoming the arrogant characters that they hated in Morraine.

ACACIA: THE OTHER LANDS
-D. Durham-epub-504
-fantasy- I really enjoyed this. Where War with the Mein took me a while to get into, I was already hooked and ready to go from page 1 with this book. Follows the 3 royals and the consequences of the Guild poking its nose into business it doesn't understand. Basically, another war is coming to Acacia, with ALL the clans of the Other Lands instead of just 1. Magic, the book of Elenet, the Santoth and hinted consequences are integral to the story as well. Looking forward to the final book.

DISCWORLD: THUD!
-T. Pratchett-epub-297
-fantasy-a dwarf is murdered and Vimes must solve the crime before a war breaks out between the dwarves and the trolls with Ankh-Morpork caught in the middle.

5 NOVELS
-D. Pinkwater-dtb-648
-ya fiction-5 different novellas by Daniel Pinkwater. All dealing with teens or early teens and written for teens. Some ya books are written for ya AND adults. Not so this. Still well written and funny, just not AS funny as I remember :-)

RANGER'S APPRENTICE: ERAK'S RANSOM
-J. Flanagan-epub-327
-ya fantasy-Erak, oberjarl of the Skandians, is betrayed by one of his own. Will and company attempt to free him. With lots of difficulty and near death experiences they do. Ends with Will becoming a full fledged ranger. Laughter and tension in equal measure underpinned by a new environment. Also, truly Will's coming of age story, where he must act on his own without help from Halt.

MONTHLY SUMMARY
6 novels
2973 pages