Summer Reading Highlights

Best Audio Drama: The Blackgaard Chronicles

This Adventures in Odyssey album collects all the episodes of the Blackgaard Saga in one album. Because I was too young to listen to the episodes when they originally aired, it was amazing to hear them. Oh, these are classics. Plus, it totally, completely confirmed my theory that Blackgaard is a Time Lord. He even offered to show Aubrey the Time Vortex in one episode!




Best Standalone Fantasy:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane

“I liked myths. They weren't adult stories and they weren't children's stories. They were better than that. They just were.” 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the latest Neil Gaiman work, was absolutely beautiful. I loved the fairy-tale atmosphere and mysterious setting. It may be classified as a novella, but it just left me feeling like I'd gotten inside something so much bigger and bigger than I am.

Best Familiar Reread : Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire/Children of the Bard
I  read all of Bryan Davis's anthrozil books in about a week, partially because it had been a while since I had read them and also because I felt like I was reuniting with old friends. Oh, I was watching them grow and mature and suffer all over again--especially the latter, they do that a lot! And by the time I got caught up with Children of the Bard, I felt nostalgic for the old days, when you only had to worry about your principal trying to kill you, not angels who wanted a situation where death was impossible.

Best Newly Discovered Series: The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica 
Oh, man....this is good. This is really, really good. When Jack, John, and Charles happen to arrive at an Oxford's facility office, it's an interesting coincidence--but when the man they came to see is dead, then things get really, really interesting. '
There's so much I want to say, but I can't because all the punchlines come in with the surnames. Anyway, READ IT!



Best Media Tie-In: Shada

 There are at least three versions of Shada, and this one is the most complete. It's based on the original Douglas Adams script, with lots of continuity nods to the new series.  
This story was originally meant to be a season seventeen episode, with Four and Romana, but a writer's strike left the filming unfinished. It was released in 1992 as a clip-and-narration production, a  Big Finish audio with Eight, and finally this 2012 novel based on the final script.


Best Poetry: The Fall of Arthur
Okay, I wanted to put this one under "Best Posthumous Author", aka Best Book by a Dead Guy, but A. that seems rather ridiculous. B. Shada also qualifies.
Seriously, Tolkien had more books published after his death than he ever finished alive; thank you Christopher Tolkien!
But it's a really interesting poem--perhaps not as good as  Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun--but the atmosphere is really, properly English, and I'm always up for more Arthurian legends.

Best New Book in a Series: Dragonwitch

I absolutely adore Stengl's writings. I actually received a free copy of this book as part of the blog tour, but it didn't arrive until the last week of July when I was busy with VBS. Then I was at camp for most of August and didn't have time to type up a review.
This book goes back to the past of Goldstone Wood, the world of Imrelda and other legends. I was slightly confused by the reappearance of the Dragonwitch, but after thinking it over, it made more sense. I think I'm prone to confusing the Dragonwitch with the Bane of Corriland. In any case, I love this series and highly recommend it. Reviews of the books are available on Quasars and Feathers.


Best New Author:  City of A Thousand Dolls
New authors can be hard to learn about, but Miriam Forster's debut novel is excellent. She manages to create a wonderful, complex world that feels fresh. She draws from Asian cultures to make a distinctive culture and setting,
The title location is a refuge of sorts for abandoned girls, who are brought up in one of the Houses and trained for service of various sorts.

Dragonwitch Blog Tour: Sneak Peak & Giveaway

 As a passionate fan of Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Tales of Goldstone Wood series, I jumped at the chance to be part of the online release tour for her newest book,  Dragonwitch.  The tour, lasting from July 14-16, covers several sites each day, with giveaways, special previews, and interviews at each site. Today's stops include:

Rebecca's Book Blog - Interview

Jennette Mbewe - Sneak Peek

Bluerose's Heart - Top Tens List

The Wonderings of One Person - Guest Post

Seasons of Humility - Interview

Worthy 2 Read - Guest Post

The Endless Road - Interview

Tea and Bree - Interview/Sneak Peek

JoJo's Corner - Interview

Dragonwitch, book five in the series,  further explores the mysterious character mentioned earlier. Firstborn of Death-in-Life, once a Faerie queen,  part of her story has been told in Starflower, where the famed Maid Starflower meets her in the Dragonwitch's ruined desmaine, but there is more to be revealed.  The tale of the Brothers Ashuin, namesakes of the famed Ashuin Lantern, will finally be told, as well as introducing new characters.

A Sneak Peak of Dragonwitch....

A sudden pounding at her door startled Leta to her feet. Did those fool soldiers think she might hide her former teacher in her own chambers? Drawing herself to her full height, she strode to the door and flung it wide, demanding as she did so, "What cause have you to . . . oh."A child, brown and wide-eyed, crouched before her, hands wringing. Leta could almost remember having seen this humble scrubber-boy before, hard at work in various corners of the castle. She had never spoken to him. "Lights above us!" she said, taking in the terror in that face. The boy looked as though he had seen a ghost. "What is the matter?""Allees-tar," the boy said, his eyes pleading to be understood.Leta shook her head. "Say again?"The boy chewed his lip, his eyes darting up and down the corridor. Then he reached out and took Leta's hand in both of his and spoke urgently. "Allees-tar.""Alistair?"The boy nodded.A coldness took hold of Leta at the mention of her betrothed's name. "What about him?"But the boy did not notice her icy voice or stance. He repeated the name and tugged at Leta, motioning and signing for her to follow. There was no understanding the child. Leta shook her head, her teeth grinding. "He must be summoning me. A first time for everything under the sun!"She grabbed her cloak, for it was far too cold to wander the castle corridors without one. Best to get the encounter over with as soon as possible, she decided. She followed the boy to Alistair's room. At the door, she pushed ahead and entered first so as not to seem dragged like a dog. She must retain at least some form of dignity.Then she saw the state in which her betrothed lay."Alistair!" She hastened to his side, leaning over him on the bed. Her mouth gaped, and she grabbed the one candle and held it closer for a better look. She saw the boiling, smelled the poison.One side of her mind said: SCREAM!
It's as well you aren't afraid of blood, her practical side responded.
RUN! roared the panicking Leta.
Someone's got to take care of this. And you want something to distract you. It might as well be you.SCREAM, dragons eat you!But, as usual, practical Leta won the day.She turned to Mouse. There was only a slight tremor in her voice when she spoke. "Fetch fresh water and some bandages." Then she shook her head. "How silly of me. You don't understand, do you? Stay with him, and I'll fetch them myself."

Oh...I'm intrigued already. How many times has the practical side of myself noticed logical points while the rest of me is having an emotional crisis....admittedly, not over a poisoned man, but still...

One of my favorite things about the Tales of Goldstone Wood is the skilled blending of traditional fairy-tale motifs and new approaches. For example, the idea of a beautiful maiden threatened by a fearsome dragon is a common one, but Heartless takes a fresh, deeper approach by  coupling the external threat with a threat to the heroine's mind and soul.  The characters are all well-written, fleshed out in startling detail.  I feel I know them all--to the point of wanting to slap some of them when they're being especially stubborn or foolish!
If you haven't read any of the books before, don't worry--although each novel adds fresh insight to the character,  they can be read in any order without confusion (with the except of Veiled Rose and Moonblood. Read Veiled Rose first).  I have previously posted reviews of Heartless, Veiled Rose, Moonblood and Starflower with only minor spoilers for the curious.
There's also another book on the way: Shadow Hand will release sometime in the spring of 2014. I can't wait!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest runs through the 16th, so stop back by the author's blog on the 17th to see the winner.