Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
http://io9.com/the-best-entry-level-science-fiction-books-to-convert-1510802842
Most of these suggestions I agree with. Give some of them a try and see how SF or fantasy suits you.
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http://www.lemodesittjr.com/2014/01/21/westeros-revisited/
Modesitt may be on to something here.
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Read January 2014
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Caleb Marcus is a Peacemaker, a roving lawman tasked with maintaining the peace and bringing control to magic users on the frontier. A Peacemaker isn’t supposed to take a life—but sometimes, it’s kill or be killed…
After a war injury left him half-scoured of his power, Caleb and his jackalope familiar have been shipped out West, keeping them out of sight and out of the way of more useful agents. And while life in the wild isn’t exactly Caleb’s cup of tea, he can’t deny that being amongst folk who aren’t as powerful as he is, even in his poor shape, is a bit of a relief.
But Hope isn’t like the other small towns he’s visited. The children are being mysteriously robbed of their magical capabilities. There’s something strange and dark about the local land baron who runs the school. Cheyenne tribes are raiding the outlying homesteads with increasing frequency and strange earthquakes keep shaking the very ground Hope stands on.
Continue reading “Book Review: Peacemaker by Stewart (4 Stars)”
http://io9.com/dresden-codak-creator-illustrates-each-chapter-of-the-s-1496454183
Interesting although not my preferred medium for mythic or epic art.
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Favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Covers of 2013 | Stainless Steel Droppings.
Reblogging via Tor’s Facebook feed. Lots of great eye candy.
J.R.R. Tolkien would have been 122 today.
His writings enriched and continue to enrich my life (see my Best Reads of 2013 wherein The Silmarillion received a rare five star rating from me).
While I haven’t re-read The Hobbit for the umpteenth time, I did venture out last week to see The Desolation of Smaug at my local favorite movie theatre (I gave that movie 3.5 stars via Flixster, and don’t think it’s as well done as the first one, An Unexpected Journey).
If you haven’t read any of Tolkien’s writings, I highly recommend all of them. I rarely re-read books, but I will always return, again and again, to the master of epic fantasy storytelling.
Some previous posts I’ve shared at this blog that reference Tolkien’s legacy:
Yesterday, on the last day of 2013, I posted my uncle’s best reads of last year. Today, on New Year’s Day 2014, I’m looking back at my reading for the past twelve months.
After Amazon acquired GoodReads in the Spring of 2013, I resolved to not rate or review books on that site going forward. I spent many hours relocating my existing reviews (and ratings) to this blog, where I can maintain my voice, my thoughts and my opinions as I see fit, without fear of censorship, tampering or deletions.
I’m relinquishing my blog today to my favorite uncle so he can share his essay on his best reads from 2013. You’ll have to wait for another day to learn the answer to the question ‘Why doesn’t he have his own blog?’ Currently, he is a retired Air Force Colonel, writing historical and speculative fiction and painting and teaching watercolor. And now without further ado …
∞ ∞ ∞
In 2013, I read a record number of books and don’t plan to read that many again in one year. I don’t just read for pleasure. I am an author-wannabe, so some of my reading is researching what’s on the market. (That’s my story.) And, I have a lifelong love of history, so I read a lot of history, biography and alternate history stories. Also, at church I give a Bible study a month, so I’m always looking for ideas to steal . . . uh, in a Christian-sort-of-way. Finally, I love humor. So, I occasionally give extra credit to stories that tickle my funny bone.
Continue reading “Guest Post: My Uncle’s Best Reads of 2013”
Read in Nov/Dec 2013
Synopsis (excerpts from author’s website Bright Weavings):
Provence, in the south of France, is a part of the world that has been—and continues to be—called a paradise. But one of the lessons that history teaches is that paradise is coveted and fought over. Successive waves of invaders have claimed—or tried to claim—those vineyards, rivers, olive groves, and hills.
In Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel, Ysabel, this duality—of exquisite beauty and violent history—is explored in a work that marks a departure from Kay’s historical fantasies set in various analogues of the past.
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/12/how-to-make-a-fantasy-world-map-emperors-blades
I love maps. I spent hours as a pre-teen pouring over the maps of Middle Earth and the Land and Pern. I even bought atlases of them that I still have in my collection. Recently, I ordered a large format print direct from the author/artist of the map of Athera so I could scrutinize it in detail with my aging eyes. My dream home library’s walls would be covered with maps from every fantasy world I’ve ever immersed myself in.
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