Category Archives: Book Reviews

In which the reader shares his thoughts on the books that possess his imagination throughout the year.

Book Reviews, Fantasy, Short Stories

Short Story Mon..er, Wed: The Very Best of Charles de Lint Parts 3&4

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I dropped the ball over the last couple of weeks, missing my post last week and am now two days late for this week’s. But now I’m back on track, having secured Kailana’s forgiveness for dropping the ball, and am more than ready to discuss some more of the offerings of the talented Charles de Lint.

After the jump I’ll tackle this week’s questions (which it was my turn to come up with) and will follow that with my answers to Kailana’s questions from the week before.

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Book Reviews, Fantasy, Short Stories

Short Story Monday: The Very Best of Charles de Lint, Part II

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Well, this week it was my turn to ask the questions.

Confused?

Check out Part I (click here) and the clouds will be parted.

The ‘Very Best’ collection kicked it up a notch with this week’s stories, tales 4, 5, and 6 from the collection. I verbally wished for more stories about the character Meran from last week’s installment and was rewarded with two more Meran stories this week–both very good, as was the story about Merlin and a tree.

If you will recall, Kailana is answering the questions over on her site, here, and I am answering them after the break. If you would like to track down a copy of The Very Best of Charles de Lint and join us, we would love it. We can put you on the email list for the weekly stories and questions or you can just grab them here or at Kailana’s and answer them in the comments section. The stories for this week’s reading (and next week’s questions) are listed at the end of this post.

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Book Reviews, Fantasy, Short Stories

Short Story Monday–The Very Best of Charles de Lint

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As part of the Once Upon a Time Challenge, Kailana and I are doing a buddy read of the latest collection of Charles de Lint short stories. There are upwards of 30 stories in this collection, so we decided to read a few stories each week and then take turns choosing questions to ask about the stories read. Each Monday we will post our answers to these questions on our blogs. This week it was Kailana’s turn to ask the questions. You can click here to read her answers.

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Book Reviews, Fantasy

The Name of the Wind ~Patrick Rothfuss

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The Name of the Wind ~Patrick Rothfuss

–published 2007
–Daw Books
–722 pages (mmpb)
–2007 Quill Award, Publisher’s Weekly ‘Best Books of the Year’ 2007, 2008 Alex Award
–10/10 (I am in awe)

“It is a word. Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man’s will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself”.

I do not know what the typing equivalent is to a whisper, but I feel as if I must do so. Type gently, quietly, or it might break the spell that I am under. For a spell it is. I stand transfixed. Undone. And once again transformed by the power of the gift of good storytelling. A scant thirty minutes have passed since I turned the final page of Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel, The Name of the Wind, and I literally feel that tiny quivering, that emanating glow, that comes when I find myself wholly immersed in story. Patrick Rothfuss has lit a fire in this man’s mind and it has suffused me with a warmth known only to other passionate readers.

Wow.

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Book Reviews, Mystery

A Red Herring Without Mustard ~Alan Bradley

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A Red Herring Without Mustard ~Alan Bradley

–published 2011
–Delacorte Books
–398 pages
–9/10

In the fall of 2009 an apple green book cover filled me with such delight that I adopted it from my local purveyor of fine books and brought it home. Aesthetic-inspired love soon turned to the real thing as I was introduced to eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, lover of chemistry (especially as pertains to the creation of poisons) and soon-to-be amateur sleuth. Two years on, having turned the final page of the third book in the series, I am every bit as enamored with Alan Bradley’s creation as I was at the beginning.

In A Red Herring Without Mustard murder returns to the village of Bishop’s Lacey and Flavia de Luce cannot help but find herself caught up in the investigation. Alan Bradley’s mysteries rest comfortably in the cozy mystery niche carved out by the great Agatha Christie and others. While paying homage to those who have have come before, Bradley’s books step out of the shadow of the greats in their character examination of Flavia and the members of her family, both living and dead. It has become more and more apparent that the real mystery in the Flavia de Luce novels is not the one sparked by the murder du jour, but that one originating in the death of a young mother which continues to have deep and painful repercussions on the de Luce family.

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