Books Blog : Fantasy

Harry Potter eBooks, downloadable audiobooks now available

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:27:00 GMT

Harry Potter eBooks & downloadable audiobooks are now available in our OverDrive collection!

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: eBook | MP3 Audiobook

Why did it take so long? The Harry Potter titles haven't been available in digital formats until now. They released to the general public on Tuesday, with availability to libraries starting yesterday.

Now that they're available in digital formats, will you be reading/re-reading these books?

Visiting Another World - Welcome to Westeros

kiya@evpl — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:57:00 GMT

Lately, my reading time has been spent in Westeros, a world created by George R. R. Martin for his series, A Song of Ice and Fire. My son is a longtime Martin fan, and many library customers are as well: all are anxiously awaiting Book 5 in the set. Meanwhile, HBO is producing a TV series based on Martin's works. Called A Game of Thrones (also the title of the first book), the first episode airs April 17, and the first season is supposed to roughly correspond to the first book. I decided it was time to read the books - before the TV show airs. I'd been putting it off, because these are big books, and I have to be in the mood to read fantasy. I was soon captivated by the world of Westeros, and the intrigue and complications of life in a somewhat medieval society.

Martin has lots of realistic, complicated characters. It isn't easy to tell the heroes and villains apart. The heroes have flaws and make mistakes, and even the worst villains have some redeeming qualities (well, maybe not one of them...). Entranced by the first book, I started the second as soon as I finished the first. I enjoy piecing together bits of information to figure out something, and that happens in these books.

When I finished reading the books, I listened to the audiobooks and caught some details I had missed. Roy Dotrice, who performs the first 3 audiobooks, is marvelous; he brings the characters to life. Realistic characters I can care about are very important to my enjoyment of a book, and Martin's books are well and intricately plotted, too. There is profanity in the books, as well as graphic violence and sex. If that isn't a problem, then I highly recommend these books for folks who like to spend some time in another world.

Writing this, I‘ve remembered some of the other worlds I have loved to visit. I was in junior high when I discovered Sylvia Louise Engdahl, and her 3-book Children of the Star series, as well as her Enchantress from the Stars/The Far Side of Evil set. These are favorites which I reread every few years. Mercedes Lackey has written several related series taking place in a world she calls Valdemar. Marion Zimmer Bradley created a world called Darkover, and even invited readers in to play. Along with Bradley's books, there are collections of short stories by other writers which take place in the world Bradley created.

I love getting immersed in another place and time, and seeing the world from that different point of view. J. K. Rowling created a wonderful magical world with her Harry Potter series. In his Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer created another magical world, just as wondrous, and completely different from the Potter world. I enjoyed Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, and am hoping that the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, will be just as wonderful when it comes out this week.

"Perdido Street Station": a steampunk classic

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:12:00 GMT

If you're in the mood for something really different, try this marvelously inventive fantasy novel.

British author China Mieville (who has a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics) self-describes it as "basically a secondary world fantasy with Victorian era technology...so rather than being a feudal world, it's an early industrial capitalist world of a fairly grubby, police statey kind!"

First in a trio of novels, "Perdido Street Station" (c2000) is set in the city-state of New Crobuzon in the fictional world of Bas-Lag. The following two novels, "The Scar" (c2002) and "Iron Council" (c2004) explore different areas and races of Bas-Lag, so the novels don't have to be read in sequence.

To give you an idea of the type of creatures you will encounter, here is a list from a review by David Soyka from sfsite.com:

moth-like creatures that combine the motifs of Japanese monster movies and vampire allegory;
bio-engineered "Remades" upon whom are bizarrely grafted any number of animal and mechanical parts, sometimes to serve a particular function, such as bodyguards with "built-in" weaponry...; in other cases as punishment, such as the baby murdering mother who has her child's limbs attached to her face as a constant reminder of her sin;
a giant spider with human hands obsessed with perfecting and protecting the interconnected web of existence that is utterly oblivious to the disastrous consequences its actions have on individual lives;
a machine intelligence spontaneously emerging in a junkyard of Victorian-era "steampunk" technology spreading a virus of consciousness to other mechanical constructs;
various co-existing species of ambulatory cacti, amphibious, parasitic, demonic, and ornithic creatures;
a humanoid insect -- complete with wings, mandibles, and head scarab -- who communicates by hand signals to her human lover

"Perdido Street Station" has won numerous SF/Fantasy awards and has inspired a number of artists to attempt to recreate this complicated world on paper. Here are some of those images.

The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

evillebibliophile@evpl — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:02:00 GMT

I just finished this book a few days ago, and I still have yet to find the right words to describe it. Here is what I wrote on GoodReads right after I read it:

At once monochrome, dull, and gray and at the same time hauntingly beautiful, The Girl with Glass Feet is a timeless love story doomed from the beginning. But though it is full of hopelessness it is also full of hope. Though it is unrealistic in its portrayal of the natural order of things, it is at the same time uncannily pure in its portrayal of the pain and wonderfulness of love. It takes the reader on a journey that is strange and unearthly but at the same time to a place of which we all, as human beings, are painfully familiar. This is a story of pain, of loss, of cowardice, of bravery, but most importantly, of what we can accomplish because of the love of others. It shows us that we need not be bound by our past. In a word, it is beautiful.

Colorful Fantasy Adventure

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:04:00 GMT

A few months ago I realized it had been a long time since I'd read any science fiction or fantasy novels. When I started making a list of titles to try, a friend recommended Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Now I'm recommending it to you because this is a book that has everything: mystery, romance, sword fights, political intrigue, religious debate, sarcasm and more!

Two strong female characters lead the story. Vivenna and Siri are sisters and princesses of Idris. Although Vivenna has been trained from birth to be the god king of Hallandren's bride, it is Siri who is sent to off to this foreign country to marry the god king. Vivenna, both confused about having her duty taken away from her and worried about her younger sister, takes off to Hallandren to rescue Siri from the god king.

The countries Idris and Hallandren have mostly opposite cultures, so both Siri and also Vivenna, who's been educated on the Hallandren lifestyle, experience major culture shock when they arrive in Hallandren. Idris is a quiet country with only small cities populated by worshipers of Austre, who strive to never be ostentatious. Their one god Austre is not someone they see, only someone who's good works they see. Hallandren is a bold country full of bright colors with a pantheon of gods, the most powerful of which is the god king. The Hallandren people can actually petition their gods in person at the gods' and goddess' palaces. Since the book takes place primarily in the capitol city of Hallandren, color is a very important part of the story.

Idris and Hallandren are about to go to war against each other and the two sisters, though separate, find themselves doing whatever they can to prevent it or make it easier on their beloved Idris. Meanwhile, in the court of gods, debate over the war becomes more and more heated. Most of the gods and goddesses are either strongly for or against the war, but Lightsong the Bold, a rather reluctant god, is not sure.

Each and every character brings something to this story, but some of my favorites are Vasher and his sword, Nightblood. Lightsong's high priest, who he nicknamed Scoot, is my favorite of the less central characters.The god king himself turned out to be more interesting than I thought he would.

At nearly 600 pages, Warbreaker is a little longer than most books I read, but it was well worth it. There really aren't any slow sections. Once I was in the last 200 pages, it became a real struggle to pull myself away from the story for anything at all!

To visit Brandon Sanderson's website, click here.

So good, you may want to Cry Wolf again

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:17:00 GMT

Here is a post from Seeker@evpl, whose posts can be found on the EVPL Research blog:

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

"Becoming a werewolf brought nothing but problems to Anna every since she'd survived the vicious attack that turned her. Now, she couldn't decide if meeting Charles, a strong and charismatic werewolf who insists she is his mate, was a step up in her life or just another problem. Charles, on the other hand, is sure that Anna is not only the best thing that's happened to him, but also a gift to his pack. He's the first to realize that she's an Omega wolf, with the ability to calm and encourage others around her. As second-in-command and enforcer of his father's pack, he's a wolf that can use a lot of calming (and loving).

Anna's introduction to the pack and her growing bond with Charles kept me riveted to the story. Patricia Briggs has the gift of making the werewolf lifestyle and paranormal romances totally believable with advantages and disadvantages appearing naturally. I literally could not stop reading as reports of a rogue werewolf lure Charles and Anna out into the wilds of Montana and into a physical and magical fight for their lives and the future of their pack. I've really enjoyed everything I've read by Patricia Briggs in the past. Her paranormal romances have a lot of adventure and characters that I can care about.

p.s. While this title can be read by itself as a stand-alone adventure romance, to find out how Anna and Charles first met, read the story "Alpha and Omega" in the collection On The Prowl. All 4 stories in this collection are good reading but very different. ( seeker@evpl)"

Patricia Briggs Website