The Book of Jhereg by Stephen Brust
The Book of Jhereg reissues in omnibus form three of the earliest of the popular author's novels about Vlad Taltos: Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla. In this series, the traditional epic fantasy is gleefully turned inside-out: Taltos is an Easterner (what we would call a human) in a world dominated by Draegarans, eight-foot tall, immortal, magic-wielding elves. In the face of the rampant prejudice against and oppression of his kind, Vlad has chosen not the heroic but the practical course: he has achieved wealth and status as a mob boss and a professional assassin, which allows him to indulge his hatred of Draegarans by exploiting, cheating, and killing them - and earning himself a fortune in the process. He is assisted in this endeavor by his brains and hard-won martial skills, by a smattering of witchcraft (very different from the "sorcery" practiced by Draegarans), and above all by Loiosh, his terminally sarcastic but utterly loyal familiar, who is a jhereg - a type of miniature dragon.
The Taltos series are rip-roaring adventures, with a breakneck pace and bodies galore, rather like living inside a comic book or a video game. Vlad solves mysteries, evades death, trades quips, steals artifacts, fights duels, cooks omelets, sharpens knives, and gloomily bandages jhereg bites. His friends are all warmongers, racketeers, legendary thieves or undead vampires. More realistic and gritty than most urban fantasies, the grimness is leavened by a persistent black-edged humor. There is no mucking about with tiresome prophecies or doom-laden destinies - these books deal with the basic motivations: greed, lust, revenge, and ambition. Behind the obvious themes, though, lurks trenchant commentary on such issues as racism, social justice, and the debate over nature versus nurture.
Brust has created a detailed and complex world with Dragaera, ruled by its seventeen Houses in succession each with their own characteristic personality (all of the Taltos novels except one are named after a particular House, and in mood exemplifies its defining traits - for example, Jheregs are corrupt scavengers, Yendis are twisty plotters, and Teckla are abused but obedient serfs). Brust delights in creating intricate, time-jumping plots, juggling multiple viewpoints, parallel narratives, and tangled nests of flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks, and somehow manages to never lose sight of a single thread or fail to bring them all together to a smooth - if never tidy! - conclusion.
But above all Brust has created a fascinating character in Vlad Taltos, who narrates most of his own adventures. His voice is sardonic, witty, self-deprecating, and brutally honest about his own virtues and vices. While his despicable profession and tough-guy attitude might seem to render him unlikeable, the reader is able to discern the more honorable qualities that Vlad himself would be at pains to deny. And it is almost impossible not to identify with him as he suffers both pain and anguish and hard-won success, finds and loses love, and makes and buries friends, and noticeably affects his world for the better. Unlike most series authors, Brust dares to allow, nay force Taltos to grow, to learn, and to change radically, and the many equally intriguing secondary characters transform both along with him and on their own terms. While every novel is complete in itself, subplots from earlier books suddenly explode in later books, and nearly every book contains a surprising twist that forces you to re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about Vlad, his friends, and his enemies.
In addition to nine books in the Vlad Taltos series Jhereg, Yendi, Teckla, Taltos, Phoenix, Athyra, Orca, Dragon, and the forthcoming Issola) he has written the Phoenix Guard series set in the same universe, which is an out-and-out homage to Dumas's Three Musketeers; and a number of non-related novels by himself and with others in the fantasy, science fiction, fairy tale, and horror genres. He is known for his use of humor, intricate plots, complex characters, flouting genre conventions, and a cynical but ultimately hopeful philosophical and speculative bent to his works. Recommend to fans of Roger Zelazny, above all; also Glen Cook and L. E. Modesitt.
Lesley Knieriem, South Huntington Public Library.
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
The tale of Sleeping Beauty intertwines with Baba Yaga folklore in this time travel fantasy. Young Ivan, staying with relatives in the Carpathian mountains, discovers an enchanted clearing in a forest. There on a pedestal lies a beautiful, sleeping princess. Frightened, the young boy runs away. Years later, as a graduate student studying ancient Slovak languages, he returns to the clearing, kisses the princess, and finds himself back in a ninth century kingdom. (Luckily he can speak the language!) This kingdon is terrorized by Baba Yaga the witch. Ivan, the hero, saves the kingdom and they all live happily ever after in both time periods. Reality and fantasy blend nicely together making this a memorable read.
The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
The Wooden Sea is set in the imaginary Hudson Valley town of Crane's view. The local police chief Frannie Mcabe takes in an abandoned dog at the station house. A mixed breed, the dog wears a red leather collar with a heart-shaped tag bearing the name Old Vertue. He is three-legged, blind in one eye, and has a breathing problem. When the dog passes on after a few days, Frannie buries Old Vertue in a nearby patch of woods. Later, he opens the trunk of his car and finds the corpse is still there.
Frannie tells his friend George about this oddity. Gorge suggests that the weird happening is either "mischief or metaphysics", or perhaps a sign from a greater power. George's extensive library contains a painting from 1750 of the exact image of Old Vertue. Frannie's life continues on this bizarre track. While investigating the death of a high school girl, he opens her locker and finds a notebook full of drawings of the recent events of his life, including Old Vertue. As the story propels Frannie fofward into more and more bizarre occurences, he discovers a young man sitting in his living room. This person is no stranger, but Frannie as a fifteen year old. The younger Frannie leads the police chief to a man named Astropel. Frannie moves back and forth through time trying to solve Astropel's riddle "How do you row a boat on a wooden sea?" Frannie's life depends on finding the answer.
Carroll's work defies categorization. It is part fantasy, part psychological thriller, and part science fiction. It is both mischief and metaphysics. Carroll's other works include The Marriage of Sticks, Kissing the Beehive, The Panic Hand, Bones on the Moon, and others.
Karen Baudouin, Half Hollow Hills Community Library
Time and Again by Jack Finney
By the time a musical based on Jack Finney's 1970 cult novel, Time and Again, reached the Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage II in early 2001, the author of the book had died five years previously at the age of 84. According to Newsday critic Linda Winer, he might have found the production disappointing because it failed to capitalize on the elements with which the "time-traveling story is loaded ... rich mystery, headstrong romantic characters and cues for music from today and 1882." A time travel exponent, Finney was a fine mainstream writer, whose Science Fiction and Fantasy stories were broad based and appeared in the leading popular magazines of the day. Many of his novels became motion pictures. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers was his only SF movie, but two of his adventure stories (Five Against the House and Assault on the Queen) and a comedy (Good Neighbor Sam) made it to the screen.
Time and Again is considered Finney's most memorable work, sequeled in 1995 by From Time to Time. After winning the kind of critical praise and wide readership rare for a genre book, the earlier work has become known as a cult novel. Its hero, Si Morley, is an advertising artist who conveys a feeling of frustration with his career. relationships and the times in which he lives (the Nixon years which would culminate with Watergate several years after publication). When the chance to take part in a time-travel project is proffered by a top-secret government agency, he sees an opportunity to change his life. He becomes skilled in self-hypnosis and spends time in painstakingly accurate reproductions of locales as they existed in the past. He travels back to New York of 1882 (his own choice), moves into the Dakota apartment building, actually built a few years later, and experiences the bygone age, replete with the old elevated lines and trolleys, horse-drawn carriages, gaslights, clothing and hairstyles of the era.
Even though he considers himself partly to be on a mission to clear up a mystery in the life of a girl he left behind, he falls in love with the appealing Julia. Often, she accompanies him as he roams the streets of old New York. Sights like the old reservoir, the Ladies' Mile of shopping, sledding in the park are brought to life not only by vivid descriptions but by sketches (he's an artist, remember?) and photographs (the storyline has him borrowing a camera of the times) interspersed throughout the book. Blackmailers and some thoroughly corrupt politicians and policemen enter the scene, leading to an exciting sequence of events that has Si and Julia fleeing a building set ablaze and ultimately destroyed by fire.
Fantasy, nostalgia, mystery, lovers from two different centuries, and even some potshots at supergovernment zealots --- it's easy to see how Time and Again achieved cult status, appreciated, especially by New Yorkers, for its rich and painstakingly researched descriptions of life in the city more than a century ago.
Arlene Leventhal, Half Hollow Hills Library
Outlander by Diane Gabaldon
In 1945, English nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall and her husband Frank, hoping to rekindle a marriage stressed by separation during World War II, go on a second honeymoon to the Scottish Highlands. The feisty, likeable heroine walks through a cleft stone in an ancient henge and is somehow transported back to 1743. She encounters her husband's ancestor, British captain Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, and nurses a young Scottish soldier, James Frasier, a gallant, good looking redhead. Claire and Jamie are drawn to each other, and progress through an arranged marriage and perilous, swashbuckling adventures involving Black Jack. The scenes of the Highlanders' daily lives blend poignant emotions with Scottish wit and humor. Finely drawn charachters abound with Clair, the Sassenach or Outlander, in the midst displaying resourcefulness and intelligent sensitivity. Romance and adventure continue through 627 pages. The heroine finds a chance to return to 1945 - will she or won't she? Her memories of Frank are dimming, and Jamie is most attractive...
Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library
Contract with an Angel by Andrew M. Greeley
The current surge of interest in angels and the like was foremost in my mind as I was searching for a fantasy to read for our meeting. This book came up with fantasy as a subject. Fantasy was certainly present, but perhaps not as strong as the romance fiction element. "You don't have much longer to live, Raymond Anthony Neenan," the man in the next seat said to him. "You'd better straighten out the mess you've made out of your life." Neenan looks at the speaker to see "a large black man in brown suit, brown shirt, brown tie, brown shoes, and brown homburg, who was six feet six inches tall, solid as an apartment building, and NFL linebacker, or an NBA power forward." He introduces himself as Michael, "as in Michael Jordan," and advises that he is a seraph, the boss seraph. Michael tells Neenan, "It's my job to salvage your immortal soul." Raymond doubts the seraph, and the plane takes a nose dive, nerves intervene, and the deal is made. "Am I supposed to be Faust to your Mephistopheles?" The deal requires that Raymond mend his manipulative, mercenary manners and make amends for mistreating people in his profit-centered existence: his wife, his estranged offspring (who hate him), and his numerous business associates. With Michael's assistance, often humorous and accompanied by an angelic chorus (although not visible for the most part to others), Neenan attempts to remedy the error of his ways and even seems to enjoy his newfound attitude. There are pitfalls, almost-successes, and final completion of amends as Raymond awaits his last day on earth.
Michael is enjoyable as his angel companion, and the witty references to the singing "angel brats." Booklist says: "a joyful romp, full of blissful interludes signaling love's radiant rewards."
Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library
The Jackal of Nar by John Marco
Marco's novel is an epic military fantasy, and the first volume of trilogy called Tyrants and Kings. He has created a world where magic and sorcery co-exist with medieval military technology. The central character is Prince Richius of Aranor, the "Jackal" to his friends and enemies. He is the son of the King of Nar. At the start of the book he is a captain in the army of Nar, ordered into battle by the Emperor of Nar, Arkus, to fight the neighboring people, the fanatical Trin. During the the battle he rescues Dyana, a beautiful Trin woman, and of course they fall in love. Dyana was originally promised to Tharn, a powerful warrior priest leading an uprising against the autocratic Daegog. Tharn is really ticked off and uses his magic to steal Dyana and defeat all his enemies. In Nar, though, magic is supposed to be used only for the good of all, not for personal gain. Richius is forced to return to his own land. he becomes king, afer his father dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances. The emperor's spy Count Biagio then enters the picture and orders Richius to again fight the Trin, because the evil emperor needs the Trin magic to make himself immortal. Probably suffering from some incurable disease! He warns Richius of the consequences for his people of disobeying the emperor, and as a consolation prize for losing Dyana, he is offered the hot little number, Lady Sabrina. But wait - while Richius is away fighting, Biagio steals the throne of Nar, and gives Sabrina to Baron
Gayle. Gayle was once an ally of Richius, but now hates his guts, because he was mutilated while coming to Richius's rescue during battle.
Meanwhile, Dyana is pregnant. However, even though she is now married to Tharn, the baby is really - and you know you guessed it - Richius's. Gayle kills lady Sabrina, and then Richius finds out that his father did not die naturally, but was instead murdered! This prompts Richius to join forces with his old enemy Tharn, who in the meantime has been deformed by the Gods as punishment for using his magic for evil purposes. The two buddies then proceed to kick butt against Baron Gayle and everybody lives somewhat happily ever after, at least until the sequel.
Fans of military fantasy and science fiction will definitely like this book. Authors in a similar vein would include Glen Cook's Black Company series, Hugh Cook's Wizard War series, Gordon Dickson, David Drake, and David Feintuch. John Marco is a Long Island resident and self-described fan of libraries.
Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library
The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey
In a futuristic world where Earth's inhabitants have colonized other planets and moons for natural resources and industry, a young girl who has no known family is discovered to be the newest prodigy who possesses vital talents such as telekinesis and mental telepathy. Anne McCaffrey's fantasy novel The Rowan follows this young girls as she grows up, learns to use her special capabilities, and falls in love with a man who also has astoundng mental faculties, and generally saves the universe from interplanetary warfare and destruction. This book is the first in a series of five.
Referred to as the "Dragon Lady," Anne McCaffrey is well-known in the realm of science fiction and fantastic novels. Her widely popular series about Pern, a planet protected by fire-breathing dragons and their human protectors, has gained her many devoted fans. McCaffrey lives in Ireland in a home called "Dragonhold." Most of the protagonists in her novels are women or children. she has also written romance novels and juvenile fiction.
Christine Ranieri, Smithtown Public Library
Wind in the Stone by Andre Norton
Once the Wind united the Valley with the Forest, enveloping them in the strongest of magic, which protected the land and vanished the threatening Darkness. There was peace for many centuries - until the Dark returned. A mage seeking to enslave the Valley and destroy the Forest has brutally sundered a family. A mother has fled into the woods with her infant girl-child, while the depraved sorcerer holds the babe's twin, a boy, captive in a black tower. the mother dies, but the girl survives. Adopted by the strange denizens of the Forest, safe from the mage's malevolent ingluences, she grows to young womanhood. She cultivates a cherished skill that has been denied to others of her kind, the ability to hear the sounds of the other world. However, her future will be fraught with trial and terror, for only she can smash the chains that shackle the Valley and its inhabitants. It is her destiny to confront sorcerers and demon minions, and to oppose the one she must conquer and free, the magician's protege, and her most powerful adversary - her bane and blood, her brother.
Andre Norton has written many highly regarded works of fantasy and science fiction, including Scent of Magic, Mirror of Destiny, and others. She has received lifetime achievement awards in both science fiction and fantasy, the most prestigious honors in her field. Ms Norton presently resides in Tennessee.
Jane Moore, Half Hollow Hills Community Library, Melville
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a hilarious and unconventional sci-fi fantasy world where gods, wizards and even Death himself are the vehicles for Pratchett's whimsical satire. This rich and imaginative universe is the author's playground in which he comments on society's bigger questions-religion, death and politics-in humorous and touching ways. Small Gods is the story of Om, a once powerful god and the conviction of his last true believer Brutha, but the author uses the tale to expound on Western Religion and our opinions on faith and religious tolerance. Brutha's journey to the city of Ephebes on a religious crusade to destroy the inhabitants supposedly false religious beliefs is a theme intertwined throughout history, from the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition to the attempted conversion of the Aztecs, Mayans and Native Americans. Vorbis, who is the head of the Quisiton and sends Brutha on this endeavor, believes the Ephebians doctrine that the world is a disc riding on the backs of four elephants standing on a turtle that is swimming through space is ludicrous, just as early missionaries and European armies found native religion and culture preposterous. Will the Ephebians religious beliefs be erased from history? Will Brutha revive faith in Om and discover the origins of the holy book that attributes it's writings to him, before Om vanishes forever? An entertaining and thought provoking book, Small Gods combines humor, pop culture parody and crisp writing to weave a story that confronts our core beliefs in faith.
Kenneth Miller, Copiague Memorial Public Library
College of Magic by Caroline Stevermer
The setting is Europe around the turn of the century - 19th to 20th, that is. Farris Nallaneen, Duchess of Galazon, is sent to Greenlaw College by her ambitious and conniving uncle. She will come of age in three years, when she is twenty-one, but in the meantime she must do as her uncle wishes, even though she is sure that he will bring ruin upon her beloved Galazon. She longs to claim he birthright, but must be content to remain at school. Though no magic is taught at Greenlaw, the graduates are known as "the witches of Greenlaw." As the story unfolds, Farris discovers her strengths and the magic that is her birthright. Eventually, after a series of adventures and perilous intrigues, she saves her beloved Galazon, but not in the way she would have wished. Caroline Stevermer writes with a light touch and a lyricism that is as magical as her story. Her debt to Georgette Heyer, one of her favorite authors, is apparent. her characterizations cause her to truly care about what hapens to the people you meet in these pages. Perfect for adult Harry Potter fans who like their fantasies based on a recognizable albeit different world where half the elements are very familiar, the other half decidedly not.
Michelle Epstein, Nortport-East Northport Library
When the King Comes Home by Caroline Stevermer
Artist's apprentice Hail Rosmer is studying the work of Maspero in the Renaissance city of Aravis. Having copied one of his works, a medal made with drops of King Julian's blood two hundred years ago, Hail is accused of counterfeiting. She flees the city and stumbles upon a man whose face bears a remarkable likeness to the king's face on the medal. Hail and the enigmatic stranger begin an adventure that carries them from palace to wilderness to battlefield, a journey that can only end when the King comes home.
Kathleen Scheibel, South Country Library
Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove
Nicole Gunther-Perrin, a divorced mother of two, burdened with child care woes, an ex-husband who doesn't make support payments and the painful disappointment of losing a partnership bid at her law firm to a male colleague, prays one night to the Roman gods Liber and Libera. In her desperation, she wishes she had been born in their world instead of 20th century Los Angeles. Her prayer is answered and she awakens in the Roman frontier town of Carnuntum in 170 a.d. where she will discover the real differences and similarities between modern life and days gone by. The plot does hum along with the countless shocks Nicole, now known by her Roman name, Umma, encounters. Violence, dirt and pain are the normal course. Slavery and drunkenness are taken for granted. Gladiators kill for sport. Plague sweeps through Carnuntum followed by invading German tribes. While Umma/Nicole does persevere, her reactions constantly clobber the reader with obvious conclusions that life without electricity, television,VCR's, soap and clean water was massively tedious and alarmingly dangerous. She reacts naively when a few words from her do not change the world she is living in. She has lost all the things that made life easier and gotten in return less equality, hard physical labor along with terrible events for which there is no recourse. She notes that she is "breaking down, belief by belief, conviction by conviction. The thoughts that were there...they kept coming back, mutating and changing, till they changed her and made her into something different from what she had been." An overwhelming emphasis on bodily functions does mar the narrative. While it may succeed in placing the reader in a particular time and place, it does intrude at times. The minute details of attacks of dysentery and ever-present head and body lice may make the reader feel a sudden desire for a hot bath or a dose of Immodium. However, the narrative is strong and the pace is energetic. The characters are nicely developed and life in the ancient world is depicted in rich detail. Highly recommended.
Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library
Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
The first novel written by the author of the fantasy trilogy, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, is a coming of age story told through the point of view of a young tomcat, Fritti Tailchaser. Fritti goes on a quest to discover the cause of the disappearance of a large number of cats, especially his beloved Hushpad. Accompanied by feline sidekicks, Fritti experiences strange new lands and challenges. Ultimately, his quest leads him and his companions to the fantastical underworld of Vastnir Mound, shich is ruled by an evil mythological cat, Grizraz Heartrender, and his demon crossbreed cat jailers. This novel provides a gentle introduction to the world of fantasy fiction.
Ilana Beckerman, West Babylon Public Library
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
Becca Berlin and her two sisters grew up listening to their grandma, "Gemma", tell the tale of Sleeping Beauty, a story about castles and thorns and mists. They thought it was just a fairy tale, until Gemma insists that she is the princess Briar Rose, and that "Sleeping Beauty" is her story. On her deathbed, she makes Becca promise to uncover the mystery of her past, and then the story will become true. Becca, a journalist by profession, feels compelled to research Gemma's past and her true identity.
Yolen's use of metaphors to bring the fairy tale and the contemporary story together is remarkable. Briar Rose lives in a castle in the woods. A great dark mist appears which puts everyone to sleep, but only Briar Rose will be awakened by a handsome prince. Gemma was brought to a ruined castle where the prisoners were held. Briar Rose's castle was surrounded by a dark mist and a thorny hedge. Gemma's castle was surrounded by barbed wire and poisonous gas was used to put the prisoners to sleep. Briar Rose is a princess. Gemma is given the Polish name for princess by her rescuer because she has no memories other than the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. The bad fairy dressed in black with big black boots and silver eagles on her hat cast a spell putting Briar Rose to sleep. The Nazis brought Gemma to a castle and gassed her. Briar Rose was awakened by the kiss of a prince. Gemma was found in a pit of corpses, barely alive; Josef breathed his breath into her mouth to reviver her when she had stopped breathing.
Yolen has told us about a part of the Holocaust we might not have known, using characters like Josef, who have made their peace and moved beyond, and those, like Gemma, who have subverted their memories. She has created a wonderful story combining the enchantment of Sleeping Beauty with the terror of the Holocaust.
Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library
