april ([info]april_art) wrote,
@ 2008-02-07 02:32:00
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Entry tags:books, fantasy, fiction, reading, science fiction, sf

BOOKS-- 2007 Highlights
Here's a list of some of the more notable books I've read and enjoyed in 2007...


Bear, Elizabeth, BLOOD AND IRON, (fantasy)-- Urban fantasy with good, creepy, alien depiction of Sidhe. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the sequel(s) to this series, but this one is worth reading.

Berg, Carol, FLESH AND SPIRIT, (fantasy) -- Disreputable hero is taken in by monks--lots of secrets, interesting magic and society and intrigue. I'm reading the sequel now, and enjoying it.

Bishop, Anne, BELLADONNA, (fantasy) -- disappointing. Although the first book, SEBASTIAN, was OK.

Bull, Emma, TERRITORY, (fantasy) -- Magic in the Old West as events leading up to the shootout at the OK Corral are covered. Am looking forward to the continuation in the next book.

Campbell, Jack, DAUNTLESS: LOST FLEET BOOK 1, (SF) -- Military SF-- The legendary hero, Captain Black Jack Geary comes back in the nick of time, discovered in a defective escape pod on life-support a century after he was thought dead, forced to take command of a doomed fleet deep in enemy territory when treachery kills off those in command.

Carey, Jacqueline, KUSHIEL'S JUSTICE, (fantasy) -- 2nd book in the 2nd Kushiel Trilogy continues Imriel's tale as he briefly returns to Terre D'Ange before being sent off in a political marriage to Alban. I like Imriel's story even better than Phedre's amazing and harrowing tale (which I also enjoyed).

Cherryh, C. J., FORTRESS OF ICE, (fantasy) -- A return to the world of Tristen, a Sihhe lord brought to life by a dying wizard.

Harris, C. S., WHEN GODS DIE, (mystery) -- Second in the series of Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries set in Regency England. The Prince Regent is found asleep in a room at the Brighton Pavilion with a dead noblewoman and Sebastian is asked to investigate. There are three books so far and they keep getting better.

Humphreys, C. C., JACK ABSOLUTE, (fiction) -- somewhat picaresque adventures of a British officer during the American Revolution.

Kay, Guy Gavriel, YSABEL, (fantasy) -- One of my favorite fantasy authors takes a different direction with a tale of ancient enmities stumbled upon by teenagers in the South of France.

Monette, Sarah, THE MIRADOR, (fantasy)-- Third book in the Melusine series, following the sorcerer Felix and his former thief/assassin brother, Mildmay, haunting the corridors of the old fortress/palace that is full of ghosts, plots and intrigues.

Monette, Sarah and Bear, Elizabeth, COMPANION TO WOLVES, (fantasy) -- A fascinating examination of animal-bonding. Njall, heir to a lord follows honor and his fascination for the large bonded wolves, and goes to the Wolfcarls who are crucial in the battling the trolls and wyverns that best his people, leaving his old life behind for an alien and mysterious society.

Robins, Lane, MALEDICTE, (fantasy) --Intense tale of impersonation and revenge in a decadent society with cruel and demanding gods.

Rothfuss, Patrick, THE NAME OF THE WIND, (fantasy) -- The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One, covering the early life of Kvothe, a man of destiny.

Sanderson, Brandon, WELL OF ASCENSION (fantasy) -- Book 2 of Mistborn. Covers the aftermath of the fall of a tyrant who had ruled for a millennium, wherein the heroes have to try to survive and build the society they all had hopes of creating. Interesting magic system.

Smith, Sherwood, THE FOX, (fantasy) -- Sequel to INDA, wherein the prodigal hero deals with being captured by pirates and making his way on the high seas and through tons of swash-buckling adventure, court intrigue and politics.

Wilson, C. L., LORD OF THE FADING LANDS and LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS (romance) -- Fantasy/Romance crossover with quite a lot of Fantasy-- Rain, ancient king of the Fey, needs to find a way to save his people from slowly dying. On a rare trip to his human allies he finds a soul-mate who may be the solution if they can survive huge obstacles and work together.

---------------------------------

My Amazon Reviews--
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/ADYED6Z2R1R0Z?ie=UTF8&display=public&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview&page=1

I'm also "aprillee" on Shelfari --
http://www.shelfari.com/

And on LibraryThing --
http://www.librarything.com/



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[info]lunameth
2008-02-07 01:15 pm UTC (link)
Which ones of those do you highly recommend?

I'm desperately waiting for the rest of Imriel's story to be in paperback before I buy any of it (it's driving me mad!), and thought Sebastian was disappointing after how much I loved the Black Jewels trilogy. I wasn't sure if I was going to read Belladonna or not, and now I don't think I will!

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[info]april_art
2008-02-08 01:39 am UTC (link)
Definitely do NOT bother with BELLADONNA, then... I rather liked Sebastian's character, so his book was readable.. and I'd hoped that Belladonna's story would be good, but none of the characters were interesting, the bad guy was boring, the plot horrible...

I do have to say that I've had problems with Bishop's other books--but I do ADORE almost everything she writes in the world of the Black Jewels trilogy. I think I just like the world set-up and the characters there too much.

What do I highly recommend??? That's difficult since they are all such different books (although a lot the same since they accord to my tastes, of course! and are mostly fantasy, which I love). They are books I thought were worthwhile, aside from Belladonna, which I included because it was something I ought to have liked, I think, but found lacking. I guess I wanted to talk about at least one disappointing book! I've read a couple of others, and many that aren't worth mentioning at all.

Hmmm... well, it depends on what kind of books you like... If you like romantic fantasy and sidhe stories, the C.L. Wilson books were good--but maybe you'd better wait until the third in the story arc comes out if you don't like waiting for stories to finish. --And the third book will only complete the first trilogy. I think she plans on three more to finish the whole story!

If you like Carey's books, you may (but may not!) like Monette's writing (the series starting with MELUSINE). Although that story isn't complete yet and the third book ends with a bit of a cliff-hanger...

Her book with Bear, A COMPANION TO WOLVES, is a stand-alone so far, but may turn into a series yet. I liked that one more than her Melusine books in many ways. I'd check with the Editorial blurbs and reviews on Amazon to see if it would be to your taste. It's sort of like Pern wit Wolves, except a LOT more gritty and tough (with some sex scenes that pull no punches).

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[info]april_art
2008-02-09 03:20 am UTC (link)
Oh.. just finished the sequel and end to the story started in Carol Berg's FLESH AND SPIRIT. It was very good, I thought! And it's completed--(although there's always room for a sequel, although it definitely looks like a final ending).

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[info]hotmarscube
2008-02-07 04:54 pm UTC (link)
Cool! You look like the perfect victim... er, expert to read my novel once Lise and I finish it!

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[info]april_art
2008-02-08 01:48 am UTC (link)
I've got another friend's MS that I haven't read yet... I ought to get to that...

But I must warn you that I'm rather awful at critiques. I've been in a number of novel-writing workshops/groups (well, 3 or 4, anyway), and have had a chance to compare myself with others. I can catch some basic stuff (word repetition, weird changes in POV), but otherwise can only tell you how I'm reacting to certain characteristics and motivations... which may or may not be at all in step with most readers or what you're interested in...

Other than that--feel free to send me your novel! Good luck in finishing it. (I wish I could get up my motivation to write... *sigh*)

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[info]theclongster
2008-02-09 01:05 am UTC (link)
The only thing on your list that I've read is Blood and Iron, which was my least favorite of the three EBear books I read last year (my review is at http://www.librarything.com/work/1082499/reviews/24756155 ).

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[info]april_art
2008-02-09 03:18 am UTC (link)
I can certainly understand your problems with the book! Definitely do NOT read the sequel--it's even worse; terribly confusing with characters popping in from history and legend, motivations difficult to discern, tons of other characters I cared nothing at all about. At least BLOOD AND IRON did have some main characters to follow. I rather liked the Sidhe hunter and her conflicting links to both Faerie and the Prometheans--and distant, even antagonistic parental figures. Her other relationships were interesting, as well. Her storyline in the sequel kept me reading it, but I was just skimming through everything else and wasn't happy even with the parts I had hoped to find interest in...

I read CARNIVAL, too. It was a more focused story, but I can't say I related to the characters and situation any more than those inn BLOOD AND IRON. And I guess I'm a bit more partial to fantasy than SF, too.

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[info]theclongster
2008-02-09 03:54 pm UTC (link)
I thought NEW AMSTERDAM was a better book, and the collection THE CHAINS THAT YOU REFUSE was one of my favorite books of the year.

I've got CARNIVAL sitting in my contantly expanding "to be read" stack.

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