Fantasy February 2013: Part 2

FF is back! I think this will be our 3rd year and it has been a popular theme month. I know I accumulate many fantasy and related titles through the year, (thanks LT, you enabler!) so this is a good way to knock a few of those titles off the shelf.
This is a very easy going Thread but we'll try to keep the titles close to fantasy, which is a very broad genre. Dystopian, steampunk and Urban Fantasy fit in just fine.

I hope everyone is having a great time! I know I am. My first two FF books were amazing: Tigana & Oryx and Crake. Next up is Drowned Cities. This is the follow-up to the terrific Ship Breaker, which is top-notch dystopian.

Since I posted this at the very end of the last thread, let me repost it at the top of the new thread!

While everyone is coming by here on a regular basis, let me ask: What is your favorite obscure fantasy--one that many of us might not be familiar with?

One of my favorites, which I have to reread every few years, is The Winter King's War trilogy by Susan Dexter, consisting of The Ring of Allaire, The Sword of Calandra, and The Mountains of Channadran. These were published by Del Rey from 1981 to 1986. It is classic fantasy, but with original twists and, oh, I love the characters! Such great story!

Dexter wrote another threesome of prequels, which is not quite as good, and a singleton which happens some 20 years after the events of the original trilogy and IS as good. I'd recommend Dexter to any fantasy lover. This is pre-vampire, pre-urban fantasy fare, but among the best of classic epic fantasy.

Having finished all of the books I put on my FF list, I've been trying to decide what to read next. It's been one of my goals to reread all of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword & Sorceress anthologies, so perhaps I'll journey in that direction next. It's been years since I've read most of them and it will be good to reacquaint myself with some authors I've forgotten about.

Oh, Roni, I LOVE The Winter King's War; but naturally, it's one of those incomplete series on my shelves, which I can no longer buy. :(

But what is the title of the singleton? Maybe I can get that.

As for obscure fantasy favourites, I've got quite a few; and because they were all published in the 80's, I can't complete my series. Eheu *deep sigh*. Winter King's War, Riddle Master of Hed, Joanne Bertin's The Last Dragonlord (though she has just published the third book in hardback - hoping for reprints of the second, and paperback for the third), World of Alfar, Sword and Circlet, Belgariad, Greenbriar trilogy, Sun Wolf and Starhawk, Chronicles of the Cheysuli, .... there are a few more, but they're not really obscure - Earthsea (more of a classic, really), Damar and so on.

You asked.

In other news, I've managed to join another set of libraries, that I don't have to be in their catchment area for. Don't worry, it's all above board, and legit. The upshot of which is that I can find more of the books bullets I've been hit by on LT, including Tigana. I'll have to pop over to that branch, but it's there.

Unfortunately, still no Jhereg - which I'd actually prefer, having just read The Phoenix Guards, and since I've already read Tigana, albeit a few decades ago.

ETA :

>1 msf59:: PS - does SF count? I'm reading The Honour of the Queen, which is space opera. It is Fantasy - just futuristic fantasy ;0)

Finished The Sword in the Stone which I am naughtily counting as a single book (muahahahaha!). Speedily on to The Queen of Air and Darkness. Also enjoying my latest Modesitt.

#3 Probably slightly odd fantasy (or not, not sure) one of my favourites is still Angus Wells Lords of the Sky. Also Diane Duane's unfinished Door into... series. And... actually I'll cut short because I could go on for pages :)

@ 3 Oh, that is a great idea!

May I mention non- Brit/American authors/works? The Elfen cycle by Bernhard Hennen is great, but I like his Nebenan best. And Walter Moers has written amazing fantasy, and how can I not love The City of Dreaming Books?

Somehow I completely missed starring the Fantasy February read and suddenly realized it. Glad to have found all of you but I missed the whole first thread.

Anyway, I am here now and am listening to Robopocalypse. This is a book that Mark and somebody else read last year and liked. I had a copy of it and decided that since it was Fantasy February it was time to get it read and off my shelves. I know. It isn't fantasy. It is SciFi, and an apocalyptic distopian novel. But it isn't YA! Yeah! I have to say that at first I was not getting into this book, but I am about 2/3 of the way through and I am hooked. The narrator is doing a nice job on the reading and several of the threads in the story are interesting. I do have to say that there is some food for thought in this one as well. How much do we trust the "smart" machines we are currently building? I have often dreamed of a car that I could put on autopilot and cruise down the Interstate and read a book, but I am rethinking that dream. Maybe cruising down the Interstate and listening to a recorded book is good enough.

I can't help wondering what Jo Walton would have said about this one in Among Others. Speaking of that book, I noticed that it won another award this last month. Good. It is a good book. Well worth the accolades and attention it is getting. It is a cross between Fantasy and Teen Coming of Age that is all about Science Fiction books, writing, and all the good things that a book discussion group will do for a person.

My obscure fantasy favourite would be The Blue Hawk by Peter Dickinson. It's a children's book and it could almost be historical fiction except for the fact that the country and time it describes never existed (it's based on Ancient Egypt).

Obscure fantasy favorite: The Perilous Gard, which was unknown to me up until a couple of years ago.

Great selections so far! Nina, while I wouldn't consider the Belgariad or the Riddlemaster trilogies obscure, I agree that Hambly's Sunwolf and Starhawk books are my favorites of her and not nearly as well-known as they should be. And there are some others I need to check out.

Bekka, Duane's The Door Into series are also among my favorites--good call!

Kris, that's great that you love The City of Dreaming Books because I have it here in my tbr pile!

Heather, that is a good one. I find most of Dickinson's fantasy not to be as well known as it should be.

Joe, also a good one. Have you read Pope's other book, The Sherwood Ring? It's unusual, being a fantasy set during our Revolutionary War, and also excellent.

I have to check out some of your other suggestions now.

I finished Book 4 in Tigana--getting near the end.

Obscure fantasy: Mark Chadbourne's work starting with The Age of Misrule trilogy. Less than 100 copies listed on LT and I enjoyed the mix of contemporary society and the re-appearance of people and creatures from Celtic mythology.

>12 ronincats:: True, Roni. Riddlemaster is a bit hard to get hold of, now (I love the covers of the books I originally read, but those are out of print) but Belgariad is around in different versions. I did say something to that effect, but lost my post and had to retype from memory.

>8 aquascum:: It's great to hear of non-British / American authors. Do you know if they've been translated into English, though?

Most of my suggestions are from the last century, but I'd also like to put in a word for contemporary authors like Patricia Briggs - Huroth duology, Hob's Bargain - and Kristen Britain - Green Rider series.

My mind is drawing a great big blank when it comes to "obscure" fantasy, although I'm sure I must have read plenty of it in my time. :)

#9> Benita, I'm really loving Among Others! The main character is just a few years older than I was, so there's a fair amount of reading overlap between her and me. And a number of books I've never heard of, and my wishlist is going to be growing when I can stop and make some notes. (When I'm reading it, I just want to be reading it!)

Ditto to wookiebender... I can't think of any "obscure" fantasy. I think I'm just too new to the genre?

The Many-Colored Land and its sequels.

#11
We have The Perilous Gard in our library. I didn't know it was a fantasy. I thought it was historical fiction. I had been thinking I would read it someday and now it goes on the wish list.

#15
There were huge numbers of books mentioned in that one book and consequently so many intriguing titles. I surprised myself with how many I had read, but there were so many more that I had not. There were even authors that I had never heard of. I have been telling people to not read this book unless they want to add to their wish lists. The other thing I liked about this book was the place of the library and book discussion groups and how therapeutic they can be. The whole book is one wonderful paean to reading.

I am totally engrossed in Robopocalypse and can't wait to get into the car so that I can listen some more. I need my CD player, so may have to go out this weekend and buy a new one just so I can find out how this book ends. Joe and Mark both read this one last year and enjoyed it. Unfortunately I had to listen to them and now I have another good book thanks to their recommendations.

>18 benitastrnad: Oh, good, Benita. Kate's a great character, and I think you'll enjoy the adventures with the faerie folk in Perilous Gard.

You're right, Mark and I liked Robopocalypse. Engrossing, and definitely calling out for a movie to be made.

Favorite Obscure Fantasy: Crispan Magicker by Mark Lowenthal

I just finished Bad Glass, a piece of experimental fiction sitting in the intersection between horror, sf, and fantasy. And now I've started The Innocent Mage which has been on the TBR for years now...

back from the last thread 267 Bonnie I loved your review of Galore!! So glad that you let me talk you into reading it!!

I just finished Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin. Loved it! I am starting The Light Ages by Ian R. Macleod tonight which is out of my normal reading comfort zone but I have hopes for it :)

Nina, I forgot to tell you the title of the singleton by Dexter. It's The Wizard's Shadow.

So far I've added to my wishlist from your suggestions The Last Dragonlord, Lords of the Sky, The Age of Misrule, and Crispin Magicker, and moved The City of Dreaming Books up my tpr pile. If I haven't added one of your suggestions, I've probably already read it.

>18 benitastrnad:, The Perilous Gard is a retelling of the Tam Lin story set in Tudor England. Historical fiction with Elves, basically. It's one of my favorite books of all time and totally worth reading.

My favorite obscure fantasy (besides that one) is probably either The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea or Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison.

>23 inge87:: It's a fantastic book! I received a copy of The Perilous Gard when I was about 8 years old, and it took me 17 years or something ridiculous like that before I actually read it. Because I am an idiot. It was amazing and I would have loved it just as much as a child as I did when I eventually read it. Guess that's what happens when there are too many books on your shelves for too long... o_O

I'm going to start Beautiful Creatures this weekend, mostly because I want to find out if I want to see the film while it's in theatres or not! Also plowing through Dracula and still working on Tigana, though I'm at the end of part 4 and losing steam... I haven't touched it for nearly 3 days, and have no interest in doing so anytime soon, but I hear it wraps up beautifully, so I will solider on. I must have just hit a slow patch in the story.

Oh, good, The Hounds of the Morrigan is in my tbr pile as well.

I finished Tigana today, and am still working on Shadow of Night.

Again, let me encourage all lovers of The Perilous Gard to seek out Pope's only other book, The Sherwood Ring!

Question for Fforde fans: I've just started The Eyre Affair. Do I need to read Jane Eyre before I get too far in to the story?

No, but it would enhance your appreciation if you knew the original story to see where Fforde is tweaking it.

And it does contain spoilers, should you ever wish to read Jane Eyre later.

I finished Among Others and loved it. Highly recommended to all lovers of fiction, in particular genre fiction.

I've just started A Clash of Kings and I'm finding it almost unputdownable so far...

> 29 Heather *smile* great to hear that you enjoy the book. Did you enjoy the first one as much?

I just finished Genesis by Bernard Beckett, which was a very surprising and brilliant read and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs which I had already on my TBR since last year. I thought this was a nice read as well and I definately will read the next one.

#29 I liked the first one but I was happy to wait a whole year before starting the second book. Don't think that's going to be the case with book 3!

Genesis is on my wish list - I've seen lots of positive reviews from 75ers for that one.

>28 wookiebender:: I second the recommendation for Among Others! The book is a love letter to fantasy & sci-fi books, really. Such a fantastic book.

in the process of reading two books that I'm counting toward FF both are Dystopias so they are some what fantasy.... Gone by Michael Grant and Reached by Ally Condie but I am adding a couple of comic books that I have read this month.... (my first time ever reading comic books).... Batman VS Predator 1-3 and Grimm Universe 1-2.... Grimm was awesome as it was something I picked for myself... but my husband asked me to read the Batman comics.... and i was only slightly impressed.... the first one was not much fun the 2nd and 3rd much better!

I've put down The Light Ages by Ian R. Macleod as that along with Tigana were too much to read at once. I finished The Magician's Nephew today and loved it! Such a magical world!

I've just finished the latest in my read-through Pratchett: Lords and Ladies. This one features the witches and the wizards (including the orangutan Librarian, one of my favourites), and involves a midsummer night, wedding preparations, unlikely love affairs, and elves - but the latter are not tiny like Shakespeare's fairies, nor yet noble like Tolkien's elves, but glamorous and dangerous and possibly a match for Granny Weatherwax...

Continuing the Hunter's Guild series with Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh, and started Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger, a YA steampunk fantasy. Also rereading Tigana, and have the partially read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Mercury Rises on the back burner.

I started The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay and 150 pages in I'm really enjoying it.

27 & 28... Thank you! And I now know how Eyre ends so I probably won't ever read it :)

>38 brenzi: The Lions of al-Rassan is my favorite Kay, with Tigana a breath behind. I'm glad you are enjoying it!

How is the FF crowd doing? Are you lost in various worlds? I finished The Drowned Cities. Another winner! I really like this guy's work. This is my 3rd by him. I will take a brief breather and then I will start Rebel Heart.

I'm having a commitment problem - can't stick with anything :( Can't seem to stick with just one book - to the point where I have 6 on the go, which is a lot even for unfocused me! Hopefully it'll settle down again in a few days and I can get something finished.

#28> It was simply marvelous! I'm going to be pushing it on all my reading friends. :) Although I may warn them to not read the back of the book, it's an awful summary, really clunky.

#35> Lords and Ladies is a great Pratchett! Been too long since I read that one.

#42> oh, I hate it when that happens. Good luck finding a great book to focus on!

I just finished Dodger by Pratchett, and it was good although it was a bit of a stretch to call it fantasy, IMO. No more fantasy than any other somewhat whimsical historical romp.

ETA: and now I'm reading Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store.

Hello everybody! I just saw the group and I would love to join you. I'm quite a "Fantasy virgin". Until so far I have only read The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, the first two books of A Song of Ice and Fire and The Time Machine (if that counts) when it comes to that genre.

But as I want to broaden my horizon, I asked Bianca/drachenbraut for help and she recommended Elantris to begin with. And I think that I will find a lot of inspiration for my further reading in this thread. On my list for FF I've got two books: Elantris by Brian Sanderson and the anthology Steampunk! by Kelly Link. Stupid question, but can Jules Verne's novels and stories be counted as Fantasy as well? Then I might put that one on my list, too.

Here's to a fabulous Fantasy February!

re 44 weeell, I think Guards, Guards is THE fantasy book everyone has to have read ;)

edit: And if you are allright with reading German, Bernhard Hennen's Nebenan is a fine intro.

#44> I'd say a definite yes to the wonderful Jules Verne!

#45> LOL, it is a fabulous book. :)

>44 PersephonesLibrary:, 46: Seconded. Absolutely, Jules Verne.

In that case I have read a little bit more Fantasy than I thought. :)

#45: Thanks for the recommendations! I will check my library if both books are available. Pratchett is on my wishlist anyway. I haven't heard of Hennen, so thanks for the hint.

#46 + 46: Good to know, Tania and humouress! There seem to be a lot of possible reads, because there's no clear boundary between the sub-genres. Example: I would classify Stephen King as a writer of horror stories, not so much fantasy. But single stories could also be counted as fantasy...

By the way: Has anyone of you read Wolfgang Hohlbein? E.g. Märchenmond or Märchenmonds Kinder?

Fantasy Virgin! Fantasy Virgin! Welcome!

#48 Hohlbein yes, but not the books you asked about ;)

I am having great fun with Robopocalypse. I have about 50 pages left in that one. I am listening to the book and think that the narrator is doing a good job.

I think that this group interprets the genre of fantasy very broadly, so if you think a book fits in I would count it. I really don't think there are any "genre police" or "jurisfiction" watchers on this thread. There is enough for Thursday Next to take care of in Swindon.

#24
I'm with you on the Beautiful Creatures. I wanted to read it before I decided whether or not to see the movie and went to check it out of our library only to find out that somebody already had it out. I will wait a while on it so will probable miss it in the theaters. Oh well. There is always Netflix.

I read Among Others earlier this year and really liked it, so I am adding my endorsement to the previous positive recommendations. If you like books and reading, regardless of genre, you will like this one.

All the love for Guy Gavril Kay requires me to remind people of Under Heaven. This book was so good I purchased a copy for my niece and one for my nephew. Reading this one sent me to the book stacks to hunt down some overviews of Chinese history. There was great stuff in that book.

Benita- And that's a stand-alone?

Yes. It doesn't have a prequel or sequel that I know of. It is set in 6th century China at the very beginning of the Tang Dynasty. There are really very few fantasy elements in it, but there are two moons!

Two moons? Good enough for me!

Fantasy. Aber ohne doofe Elfen by Uwe Post *grins* Fun short story collection. *grins moar* Without silly elves.

> 48 Kathy, I read Märchenmond and it was ok. However, I am not a great Hohlbein fan, but Bernhard Hennen I can wholeheartedly recommend his Elfen books are brilliant.

I think Guy Gavriel Kay is perfect for fantasy newbies because it is such light fantasy. So easy to get into; yes there are usually two moons and the countries are invented although based on actual countries that you can easily determine. Tigana had magic but The Lions of Al-Rassan doesn't seem to have any (at the halfway point).

I just finished Shadow of Night. Since it is (I was going to say the midpoint but because of the short month) well past the midpoint of the month, here is my update:

My books

Jhereg: reread of a favorite in a group read
Tigana: been on my shelves since 4/09, also group read
The Killing Moon: an ER book from May, 2012
Wildwood Dancing: pre-2011 (first year I kept track of acquisitions)
Falcon: on shelves since July 2008
Goblin Moon: on shelves since June 2011
The Clockwork Three: lent to me by my sister in 2011
Magic To the Bone: also pre-2011

Library books

Shadow of Night: this is the sequel to A Discovery of Witches and the longest of the lot
The Hidden Gallery: this is the second in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.
The Crimson Crown: this is the fourth and final book of Chima's Seven Realms series, and there is no way I am not going to read it as soon as I get it. If you've been following my thread, you know how much I've enjoyed the first three books.

I've also read a children's fantasy that I got as an ER book last week.

The Conjuring Glass: Book i, The Phoenix Girls by Brian Knight

And this one appeared on my doorstep on Feb. 5, thanks to a preorder from Amazon.

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

And now I need to start a book for my RL book group on Tuesday, City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte, a pseudonym if I've ever heard one! I was going to get it from the library, but after a month I'm still second in line on the Hold list, so I bought it for my Kindle.

And after THAT, you can see that I really need to get to work on my own books off the shelf above!

So seven down, and 7 to go--luckily all the really long books are out of the way now.

It may be too late for many of you, but Amazon has Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion is on sale for the Kindle today for 99¢. It's really a top-notch fantasy, highly recommended.

#49: Thanks a lot, Mark! :)

#56: Hi Bianca, I just noticed that Märchenmond seems to be rather for children/YA... I will check Hennen out, but I am not so much into elfs. That's why aquascum's Fantasy Aber ohne doofe Elfen looks like I should give it a try. :)

#60 or Nebenan, that is worth a shot.

Hmm, Sergei Lukyanenko's Wächter cycle might be interesting for you, too, it's 'here and now' fantasy ;)

I also had a good laugh reading Winnetou unter Werwölfen, but I have been read the entire series by my parents before I could read myself...

#54
You have to wait and watch for the two moons, but they are in the book. I promise you. I really liked this book and it was one of my best reads of the year a couple of years ago. you need to add it to your wish list.

Just stopping by to see all the great books everyone is reading. I thought I'd get off to a late start on Fantasy February due to my grad school application, but now I'm too sick to read. I guess it'll be Fantasy March for me.

#61: Did they make a movie out of Lukyanenko's books? ("Wächter der Nacht"?) I didn't know that the movies were based on novels. Now, THAT's something I really would like to read!

They did. They're pretty good. Be sure to read all four.

Although I haven't been well, I have been reading and along with Bitterblue now have completed The Scorpio Races, which I really didn't care for, and Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country.

Greetings, all!

I haven't been on LT much this month, but I have been reading. Here's my update:

The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees was a rather interesting science fiction work with an alternate world fantasy feel. I read it because I snagged the sequel as an ER book - happily, I liked it.

Jhereg by Steven Brust - all hail Roni, who encourage me to read this one. It was really fun - now, of course, there appear to be a gazillion related books I have to read....

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger - if you like her other work, you'll enjoy this first book in her new YA series. I'll admit, I wish it had been an adult book, but I'll read whatever she publishes!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - this sequel to the YA novel Cinder, Scarlet was fun. I'll definitely keep reading the series, YA or not.

Enchanted, Inc. by Shana Swendson - Young woman from Texas in NYC discovers that her total lack of magic makes her highly employable by those with magic. It was little chick lit for me, but not bad.

As for obscure series, I think The Ladies of Mandrigyn, the first of the Sunwolf and Starhawk books is one of my favorite by Barbara Hambly.

No one ever seems to mention Stephen R. Donaldson's duology composed of The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through. Another I really like is Dave Duncan's A Man of His Word quartet.

BTW, Roni, thanks for the heads up on the kindle deal for The Curse of Chalion - I've read it several times, but didn't own it. Now I do!

Thanks Roni, I just downloaded The Curse of Chalion. For $.99 I couldn't really go wrong. Does this make me a full-fledged fantasy fan now? LOL

Bonnie, after you've read and simply loved The Curse of Chalion, THEN you will be a full-fledged fantasy fan! Fear not, it's one of the best.

Good work, Dejah! Glad you were able to pick it up. I also like the Sunwolf books a lot--my favorite of Hambly's books except for the Those Who Hunt the Night threesome. And that first one is the best.

The Curse of Chalion still on sale for Kindle at 99 cents.
Got it! Thanks, Roni!

Finished Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store in a little over 24 hours. Yep, it was fun. :)

I picked up I Am Legend this morning, I'm assured it's a quick read, so I'll probably be back here tomorrow with yet another book. Although it is more sci-fi/horror from the description than fantasy. I'll have to get stuck into a big fat fantasy epic (with elves! no, unicorns! no, fairies! no, gnomes!) before I feel like I'm really reading "real" fantasy this month.

I finished reading/listening to Robopocalypse last night. This was one that Mark and Joe both read and recommended. Since I had it on the shelves and Fantasy February was coming up I decided to give it a try. At times it is more of a zombie kind of thing than a apocalyptic sci/fi book, but I did enjoy it. For those who like technology and our new style of techno-warfare this book would be a fun read. The recorded version works too as the narrator did a good job. However, if you are listening in the car with kids, don't. Lots of bad language. Other than that it was a fun story.

Since there isn't much time left in the month I decided to start listening to Ghost Knight by the YA/Children's author Cornelia Funke. She writes some good fantasy that is a bit on the intellectual side so even though it is for kids it isn't easy storytelling either.

ROFLOL, that has to be the funniest review I've ever read!

I finished City of Dark Magic which qualifies as my worst read of the year so far. My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/149799#3924943

Just finished Tigana and it was wonderful! Best fantasy book I've read since Lord of the Rings!
Not sure if I'll be able to fit in another fantasy book this month. I'm still planing on reading Game of Thrones sometime soon!

Those Kindle daily deals are driving me crazy. When I first got my Kindle, I was able to take advantage of the 99 cent deals, but they eventually twigged that I was in Canada and I was advised that I didn't qualify for the daily deals. Now they have rerouted my account so I can only buy through their Canadian website! Just in case I did check The Curse of Chalion to see if it was on sale, but no, here in Canada it's full price.

29: Souloftherose, I'm about halfway through Clash of Kings, and I agree wholeheartedly with you. Reading Game of Thrones helped me get used to Martin's style, so now Book 2 is even more smooth a read.

I'm also reading Divergent currently, and I would say it fits right into the Fantasy February framework. For sure!

Karen O.

Just finished The Wee Free Men by Pratchett
Loved it! Witty, thoughtful, and just plain fun!

ANd you've got three more to look forward to in that story arc, Claudia!

:D

>69 ronincats: Bonnie, after you've read and simply loved The Curse of Chalion, THEN you will be a full-fledged fantasy fan! Ohhhhh, you mean just the acquisition of books doesn't count, you have to actually read them? Boy, I've been doing this all wrong LOL.

Woo-hoo! I got Chalion for my Kindle for 99 cents too! Thanks, Roni, brenzi and bahzah!

I finished and REVIEWED Guy Gavriel Kay's fabulous historical fantasy The Lions of Al-Rassan. This would be a good one to follow Tigana, all of you who read that and liked it. I actually liked this one a bit more.

I agree with you, brenzi. Although I do love Tigana, and am very much enjoying the reread, The Lions is my hands-down favorite. I'm going to be reading it next, and I have to say the anticipation is giving me the greatest pleasure. (Though I sobbed ~ sobbed, I say ~ at the end.)

Anybody who is not in full-blown weeping by the end of that book has no heart, no empathy. It wrings you out and leaves you drained. And yet we love it. Mark of a really good book.

Well, I Am Legend is definitely worth a read. Nice to get away from sparkly vampires.

Then quickly knocked off a manga book, Death Note Volume 2: Confluence, which is the second volume in a rather black little series that I'm enjoying.

Reading non-fantasy now, but will be back soon, no doubt. :)

>85 Storeetllr:, 86 Yep I was absolutely sobbing. Wahhhhhh!

Suddenly I am reading 2 FF books. I am chugging along with Rebel Heart, the follow-up to Blood Red Road. It's spare and gritty. Any other fans of the Dust Lands books?
I started on audio, The Lies of Locke Lamora, the 1st in the Gentleman Bastard series. I've been meaning to get to this one forever. I know opinion was mixed but I wanted to give it a try. So far, I am enjoying it. I like it's profane sense of humor. Anyone else a fan of this one?

Since my last post I have finished The Eyre Affair and Wake. Two enjoyable reads. I love Fantasy February!

I am a huge fan of The Lies of Locke Lamora, in fact, I can't for the life of me understand why I haven't gone onto the next book yet!

I've got so much fantasy in my tbr piles that I've been meaning to read, but what I've ended up doing this month is catching up on the Meredith Gentry fantasy series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Quick and easy pleasure reads for these snowy cold afternoons...

I finished Fire last night. I liked Graceling more but we shall see about the next book in the series. I am going to read Genesis before I get to Bitterblue. I finished The Doll's House and Dream Country. I am working my way through Season of Mists

I started listening to the children's fantasy Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke. It is a short one - only 4 CD's and then it will be on to something else in the fantasy realm. I have had Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay on my reading list for ever and all this talk about him has made me think I should pull that one out and read it.

Just finished Graceling. Everyone was right! Great book :-)

Can we add a few more weeks to February this year????

Listened to the wonderful Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver. It's a charming tale about grief and friendship and good and evil - somewhere in between a children's and a YA book but delightful for adults too.

> 91 Judy I am one of those who were a huge fan of The Lies of Locke Lamora as well and I have got the second one already lined up for ages

> 89 Mark yep that's what I loved about the story - the profane sense of humor - even so it was quite a brutal and violent story I still found myself howling with laughter.

> 64 Kathy die Wächter Reihe was brilliant. I only watched recently the two movies going with the first two books. Ahem, they were very fast paced brutal and - you know actually I liked them a lot. Although, my brother remarked that they are very Russian. *grin*

> 93 Roberta I am curious what you will think about Genesis as you know I very much enjoyed the audiobook.

> 94 benitastrnard I am looking forward on your thoughts of the Cornelia Funke book. I have read quite a lot by her, but not that one as yet.

Currently I am reading The Sparrow by Doria Mary Russell and I started listening to Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch after I abandoned the Dawning of Power trilogy by Brian Rathbone which was utterly boring.

#97: "Russian" sounds good. :)

Mark, how could anyone not love Locke Lamora??

#97
So glad you are reading The Sparrow it and its sequel Children of God are wonderful books. Can't wait to hear what you have to say about them. Sparrow was one of my all time favorite books. I read it for my real life book discussion group and was so glad that they put me on to it. Russell is simply a wonderful author as many readers here have loved Doc and Thread of Grace too.

>89 msf59: I don't know how I missed it, Mark, but I had no idea Rebel Heart was out. I'll track it down! I liked Blood Red Road a lot.

I recently finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and thoroughly enjoyed it
Review to follow

102. Ccookie, is this your first time reading Harry Potter? I wish there was a way I could go back in time and read them for the first time again. And The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite Hary Potter book, so yay!

I just finished a Harry Potter also, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This is my first read through of the series and am thoroughly enjoying the books. I also recently finished The Black Compan by Glen Cook and Artemis Fowl: the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. The first is the first book of a series which I look forward to experiencing more and the second was the last of the series. I'll be sorry to see it end, I really enjoyed the Artemis Fowl books, they were always fun reads. Next up I'll be starting Lost in a Good Book with all the Jasper Fforde talk going on over here, figured I would continue on with this series. And I'm also working on Eric by Terry Pratchett as part of my project to read the Discworld books in publication order.

104. Oh, you are dangerous, you! I've got a ton of reading planned and you tempt me with wanting to re-read HP (oh, or re-listen to the audiobooks), get acquainted with Fforde and his world, and ruin my plans for the summer by reading Pratchett's Discworld early.

But I will prevail, I am stronger than temptation. I will get through this and I will read in the order I have planned.

Just started A Wrinkle in Time, which is a new book for me. I'd never even heard of it before LT. Maybe one of those books that is huge in America, but less so in the rest of the world?? Although the library did have two copies, so maybe I'm just a rare breed who somehow missed it when I was a kid. :) At any rate, I'm enjoying it so far!

# 99 *blushes* and *raises hand* I did start reading, but found it uninteresting and dull... *hides* - should start a re-read, have other books on that 'didn't like it, but so many people think it's great, so must read again sometime' list...

# 106 and this Fantasy February has me convinced that popularity of books is a very regional thing. So many of the well known and well liked books here I'd never even heard of, or only negative things...
Plus there is the 'has it been translated?' factor.

#107> oh well, I knew there had to be someone out there who didn't like Locke Lamora. :) But it and its sequel are two of my more favourite recent reads.

Honestly, if you didn't like it, don't try it again. If you're not gripped quickly, then it's obviously not for you.

And I have to say A Wrinkle in Time didn't rock my world. Must be one of those regional things!

Moving on to The Book of Imaginary Beings and Moon over Soho. Because I couldn't choose...

Since I'm really struggling to read White Mountain an ER book, I need to read, I started Fugitive Prince.

I have no idea why I'm having so much trouble with White Mountain. It isn't bad. Just... I dunno.

106. I love A Wrinkle in Time and would love to read the rest of the books but they've not been translated and while I'm perfectly happy reading in English it's always a bit tricky to get hold of books from abroad.

The reason why Wrinkle in Time is so popular is that it is fifty years old! It was published in 1962 and won the Newbery Award that year. It was the first sci/fi book to do so. In so many ways it was a book ahead of its time and it is simply amazing that the Newbery committee picked it. They were also ahead of their time as sci/fi books are still in short supply in the august list of titles that have won that award.

For those who don't live in the US the Newbery Award is given yearly by the American Library Association for the book of merit for YA's and Children. It was first given in 1926. The award is chosen by a committee and the members of the committee change every year. It is not usually a committee noted for stepping out on a limb (much like the Academy of Motion Picture Artists and the Oscars) so Wrinkle in Time winning it was truly and anomaly.

Some people think it has become somewhat dated but then what fifty year old sci/fi book hasn't?

Mark I just wanted to let you know that even my Mom has been participating in Fantasy February! She has been reading the Graceling series and is now finishing it up. She is actually a huge fantasy/science fiction fan since almost forever, but she is relatively new to YA fantasy.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/146759#3934903

Finished Gone and Reached.... I would say that Gone was more fantasy than Reached but they were both good reads!

I'm still working on Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. I'm at 50% completed. I'm loving it but haven't had much time to read in the last week.

Count me in as another who enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora. I liked Red Seas Under Red Skies even more!

I'm excited to say that I am getting The Lions of al-Rassan from Paperback Swap....it will be my first Guy Gavriel Kay.

106... Sorry to say I've never read Wrinkle in Time either!

I did finish my 3rd FF book, Rebel Heart. A good follow-up to blood Red Road. If you are looking for good YA dystopian, look no farther.
I am also over halfway through with The Lies of Locke Lamora which has been very entertaining.

Roberta- Wow! That is so cool your Mom is joining us for FF. Has she tried the Hunger Games books? I hope to get to Fire in the next few weeks.

Mark Mom read the Hunger Games this past summer. I think I liked them a little better than she did.

I'm not wishing February over, but I have got a head start on March and have posted the thread for the March Mystery Month themed read. Hope everyone will be ready to switch from Fantasy to Mystery!

The Painted Boy by Charles de Lint 4 bright shiny stars
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 4 stars!
Eyes Like Leaves by Charles de Lint 4 stars
Beautiful Darknessby Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 3 stars
Beautiful Chaos by Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Okay, these are the reads of mine that ended up being Fantasy For February

All enjoyable!

Sturmwelten by Christoph Hardebusch

Odd Pirates-of-the-Caribbean type fantasy. AoS with weird magic is apparently not my thing, especially if the AoS bits are done 'wrong' - which is very Pirates of the Caribbean, but... not reading the other books of the trilogy.

Finished another for FF. This was a children's book Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke. This was a translated book and was very different from her other work that I have read. This one was more advenuture and perfect for reading aloud to younger children. Overall it was not as dark as her previous work, but it was a good story. It is set in Salisbury Cathedral and involves the ghost of a famous medical knight and a mystery. The ending makes me think that there will be some sequels. What makes this knee so good was the recording. It was of outstanding quality. If you need a book to listen to in the car with your younger children this one is it. It is long enough to keep interest high during a road trip, but not long enough to bore the adults silly.

The Ladies of Mandrigyn, the first of Barbara Hambly's Sun Wolf and Starhawk books, is a Kindle Daily Deal today at amazon - $1.99. I have been fond of this book for a very long time - it's one of my favorites. If you haven't tried Hambly, this is a good place to start.

Of course, I also love Dragonsbane and the Darwath trilogy. Although I must admit that the Darwath books, bring her first published books, aren't as good as her later stuff and some of my fondness comes from how much I loved them when I first read them many years ago.

I know Roni likes Hambly's fantasy - anyone else?

I used to read Hambly.. haven't for a while. . . so many books etc :)

>123 mckait:: Same here

Hambly moved over into the mystery genre with her Benjamin January series and recently her Abigail Adams mysteries as Barbara Hamilton and hasn't been writing much fantasy lately. However, she has written two more books in the James Asher series (Those Who Hunt the Night is the first) recently and those are my other favorite series by her (along with the Sunwolf and Starhawk books) and in my list of best vampire books ever. I also love Dragonsbane with a passion and have not read any of the sequels because I thought it ended perfectly there. I also found Hambly first with her Darwath books in the early 80s.

I just finiished an excellent dark fantasy called Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. And I finally was able to pick up a book I've been waiting to come into the library all month. Hoping I can still squeeze The Iron King by Julie Kagawa into Fantasy February.

>125 ronincats: I feel the same way you do about Dragonsbane - it was perfect. From what I've heard of the sequels, I'm glad I've avoided them! I'm actually considering a Darwath trilogy reread....

Dejah, have you read the James Asher series? I'd rather do a Sunwolf reread than the Darwath books.

I like Barbara Hambly's Stranger at the Wedding, which is a stand-alone book, but set in the same world as the Antryg Windrose chronicles.

Ohmigosh, A Clash of Kings is pulling me along; I have about 300 pages left of this 800+ page chunkster. I am very glad to be reading it as an ebook!

I've actually finished a couple other Fantasy genre books; they are all so different from each other that it makes me so aware of the variety of "Fantasy."

I just finished Once On a Time by A.A. Milne. Thanks to ronincats for her "heads up" on that lovely, quirky, "once upon a time" story.

I also just finished Divergent by Veronica Roth. It really knocked my socks off--it's a YA dystopia which left me with all kinds of things to think about--society, community, family.

I am just loving Fantasy February!

Karen O.

>128 ronincats: I read the early ones years ago, but not recently. I think I'll reread The Ladies of Mandrigyn this month - we'll see if I get to the others!

>129 humouress: I do like Stranger at the Wedding, although I haven't reread it in years. For that matter, I haven;t reread the Windrose Chronicles either. To tell the truth, I read them all so many time I think I needed to put the aside for a while! Now I'm kind of excited at the thought of picking them up again.

I finished The Lies of Locke Lamora, my final FF read. It's a good fantasy book but like many of these chunksters, it began to drag in the last 1/3rd. I think it was another great FF month!

Karen- Sounds like you are having a wonderful time with FF. I am so glad you are enjoying A clash of Kings. Have you started the HBO series.
I am also glad you liked Divergent. Me too! The 2nd book is pretty good too!

119 (Kath) - So glad to see you liked Beautiful Creatures! I'm hoping to read it soon so I can then see the movie. :)

I also loved Divergent Karen & Mark. Nice to see other fans!

I'm finishing up Neverwhere as my final FF read. Crossing fingers that I have enough downtime tomorrow to complete it. :)

I've just finished Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton and absolutely loved it. Anthony Trollope's Framley Parsonage with dragons.

Yay! I've read Jhereg by Stephen Brust.

I am now a member of 3 different borough / district libraries (which probably gives me access to about 20 individual libraries, never mind ILLs).

It's really interesting, out of pure curiosity (re 106, 107) I had a look at the amazon.de 'fantasy' pages and the local libraries catalouges... pretty much none of the books on this thread showed up on amazon.de or the local libraries. I hadn't been aware of how regional things still are! In these times of teh interwebs one sort of expects things to be same, same...

Moon over Soho was a great romp, a good sequel to Rivers of London. That's it for me this year! Yay for Fantasy February! Looking forward to 2014 already. :)

My usual genre is Fantasy; but this year, I've branched out somewhat. My haul this month :

1) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (YA / fantasy)
2) Lady Susan by Jane Austen (classic literature)
3) Piratica by Tanith Lee (YA / fantasy)
4) The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (classic / children's / fantasy)
5) Alcatraz versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (children's / fantasy)
6) The Honor of the Queen by David Webber (SF - futuristic fantasy?)
7) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (YA / romance wish fulfilment fantasy?)
8) Jhereg by Stephen Brust (fantasy)

I finished my last book for FF.....Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. I am really glad so many people recommended this book in the 75ers group. It was fantastic read. I had read only one other Sanderson before this one, Mistborn and had been underwhelmed to say the least. I probably would not have picked up Warbreaker without the great reviews I read here. So thanks everyone!

Finished up my last FF read - Soulless by Gail Carriger about the importance of parasols, tea, and hunky werewolves (among other things). An exciting steampunk adventure, I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I've enjoyed the Soulless series and recently read the YA set in the same world, Etiquette and Espionage. It was good but not as compelling as the adult novels.

Almost finished with my reread of Tigana but took a break yesterday because, well, I know how it ends and do not want it to end that way. In fact, the last time I read it (on the train), the part I was reading made me cry so I had to surreptitiously blot the tears from my eyes.

Thanks to everyone who shared their great fantasy reading experiences. I've found a number of new authors/series/standalones to add to the never shortening list of books to be read.

I'm also wrapping up Fantasy February with completing The Hidden Kingdom by N. K. Jemisin today. Here is the scorecard:

My books
Jhereg: reread of a favorite in a group read
Tigana: been on my shelves since 4/09, also group read
The Killing Moon: an ER book from May, 2012
Wildwood Dancing: pre-2011 (first year I kept track of acquisitions)
Falcon: on shelves since July 2008
Goblin Moon: on shelves since June 2011
The Clockwork Three: lent to me by my sister in 2011
Magic To the Bone: also pre-2011
Library books
Shadow of Night: this is the sequel to A Discovery of Witches and the longest of the lot
The Hidden Gallery: this is the second in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.
The Crimson Crown: this is the fourth and final book of Chima's Seven Realms series, and there is no way I am not going to read it as soon as I get it. If you've been following my thread, you know how much I've enjoyed the first three books.

And a few unplanned books:
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
The Conjuring Glass by Brian Knight: an ER book
City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte: for a RL group read

Dipped into classics to finish off: Meister Floh by ETA Hoffmann and was charmed by Kipling's Just-So Stories - well, ok, I hated Taffy, but how can you not?

Since I took out The Book of Jhereg from the library, I'll be reading Yendi and Taltos in March. Would anyone else like to join me?

>142 ronincats: Wow, you did a great job, Roni! I intended to read The Killing Moon this month, too, but it didn't happen. March, definitely March.

>144 humouress: I'm game, Nina. I picked up Yendi and Taltos from the library today. Any luck getting your hands on The Ladies of Mandrigyn?

I managed to squeeze my last book in for the month and it counts for Fantasy February. The Iron King is the first in a YA series by Julie Kagawa, and deals with the realm of the fae. It certainly kept my attention and I plan on continuing with this series.

>145 Dejah_Thoris:: I've just checked the catalogues on-line of the 3 (!) library systems I've joined, but none of them have The Ladies of Mandrigyn. (In fact, 2 of them only have one book each by her.) Unless I can borrow it by ILL or buy it, I won't be able to join you :0(

Nina, check your message on your profile page!

My Fantasy Reads:
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. Sweet children's book about a young night fairy who's wings are damaged by a bat and who has to survive in the daytime world without the ability to fly. I love how she grows from an enchanting but completely narcissistic creature into a being with empathy for others, without losing her wild charm. Great illustrations.
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. Set in Victorian England, this is the story of an evil puppetmaster, three hapless children who fall under his influence, and a witch with a burning problem. Schlitz is fast becoming one of my favorite YA storytellers.
Angels' Blood, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Consort and Archangel's Blade, novels of the Hunters' Guild series by Nalini Singh, set in a world ruled by beings with wings and strange powers. Warning: pretty explicit sexual scenes.
The Lost Night by Jayne Castle. A paranormal romance, fast, easy and fun.
Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger, YA steampunk set in the same world as The Parasol Protectorate.
Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay. One of the best fantasy novels I have ever read.

Finished one more book to end February on a high note, Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. This was another fun, quick listen. I think I enjoyed this one ever more than the first in the series. Didn't quite finish all of the books I started this month, still working on Eric by Terry Pratchett and Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb. They will be enjoyable no matter when I get them finished.

I'm going to carry it over a bit into March, but I've enjoyed Rebel Heart, and am near the end of it.

I finished A Clash of Kings (whew!) and am yearning to start the third book in the series.

Thanks so much for Fantasy February! I really enjoyed the reading, and got so many leads on books to-be-read!

Karen O.

I thought I was finished with FF, but I started Fire. Cashore really grabs you and pulls you in immediately. I am not an expert, but she's easily one of the best fantasy authors working right now.

Karen- Congrats on finishing A clash of Kings! FF is always a blast!

Mark - Fire was so good! Mom finished Bitterblue and since I was able to renew from the library I will read it this weekend. Yay!

I'm so annoyed with myself! Yet another February gone, and I haven't participated in a FF yet! WAH!!!! I had every intention of reading a slew of titles (and am still slowly working my way through Soulless and Tigana), but with a new job and a new schedule and fitting in an onslaught of clients who all wanted an appt at the same time.... well, I've only resurface late this week and have started reading anything again. Dang!!! I did, however, just read through both threads and have added quite a few titles to my TBR list.

Next year, I'll be back - I mean it! :)

This may be a dumb question, but couldn't there be a year long fantasy challenge for those of us who were enthralled (& surprised at my response) with FF?

http://www.librarything.com/topic/146480 ?

Back on Feb 19 I finished listening to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling and here is my review, such as it is.

http://www.librarything.com/work/2742161/reviews/89097190

I guess there is no reason why, FF can't just continue! There are no rules. I have been listening to Cinder and it's been a lot of fun.

FF goes on for me too, Mark. I'm reading Flora's Fury and listening to Garden Spells.

Yep, I'm in a FF frame of mind, too, I guess. I've started the third Song of Ice and Fire--A Storm of Swords--although I'm not concentrating on it right now as the books are a sort of black hole of reading time (hehe). So I guess it's "FY" (Fantasy Year) for me.

Karen O.

I had started listening to a fantasy book back in February and just finished it this last week. Entwined by Heather Dixon. Now I have started listening to another fantasy book. The Magicians by Lev Grossman. So far this one is really good.

This thread is fun! :)

Benita- I hope you enjoy the Magicians more than I did. I loved the first half but wasn't as crazy about the latter. I've heard good things about the 2nd book though.

I am on the homestretch of cinder. This book is a lot of fun.

Tina- Let's keep it going!

If Fantasy February is over, you can still make a Magical March, Mythical May and could go to a Science-Fiction or Steampunk September. :)

I finished Elantris last week and I liked it very much. Now, I'm looking forward to Storm of Swords as one of my next reads!

If Fantasy February is over, you can still make a Magical March, Mythical May and could go to a Science-Fiction or Steampunk September. :)

I love it!

Karen O.

Alternate-Reality April.

Or Alien April. :)

You guys have got me giggling now. Those are all good themes for April!

Karen O.

I'm smiling too!

I'm totally in for Mythical May.... Anyone else???

Remember, we have May: Murder & Mayhem too! Of course, there is always room for more.