My writing class is over, and I want to thank Kat for helping me with my FanLit duties. For those that wish to know, my class went well. When I began the class I was pretty sure I wanted to be a writer. Now that the class is over I am still pretty sure I want to be a writer. That’s good. I took the class with every expectation of having my writing aspirations dashed upon the rocks of academic scrutiny. That has not happened, and it gives me heart.

One thing I noticed about my writing is that I couldn’t keep the fantasy from leaking into my pieces. It made for some interesting mixes of genres, and resulted in positive comments from my professor. Little did he know that the fantasy elements were in there not because I was being super creative, but it was because I was unable to stop myself.

Which brings me to the topic for today: genre mash-ups. Fantasy has plenty of genre mixing stories. In fact, if a fantasy novel doesn’t have some mix of genres it is generally marked as “tired” or “clichéd.” Sometimes the mix is very subtle, and that often works out nicely. Our Edge of the Universe column is full of examples of those. However, it’s when an author mixes something completely unexpected into a fantasy novel that it becomes special. For example, Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is a detective story that takes place in a alternate universe and Mark Chadbourn’s The Silver Skull was a delightful mix of Victorian Elizabethan spies and fairies. What are some genre-bending books that you’ve enjoyed? One  commenter will be chosen to receive their choice of a book from our stacks.

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so it’s time to report:

What is the best book you read in April 2012 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF. We just want to share some great reading material. Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.

(And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.)

As always, one commenter will choose a book from our stacks.

Over here at FanLit we’ve been talking about how we rate the books we read. We realize that we’re not professional literature critics — we’re just a group of readers who love to read and write about speculative fiction — but we started this site to help SFF readers decide what to read and most consumers, whether of fine dining, vacuum cleaners, or fantasy novels, seem to like some sort of quantification. Thus, we assign “ratings,” even though a few of us find the notion disagreeable. This week we challenged ourselves to come up with a standardized rating system. Though Marion and Ryan a couple of us are notoriously stingy with our stars, we still managed to come up with a scheme that we could agree on:

I loved pretty much all aspects of this book: story, style, and characters. It will be one of the best books I read this year. Perhaps it blew my mind or changed how I view the world. A 5-star book is distinguished from just a really good book by the level of depth, emotional impact, and style. This book is awesome, so go out and get it today even if it means wading through a horde of orcs.

This is a really good book which I completely enjoyed. It was definitely entertaining, but didn’t blow me away. Maybe it doesn’t quite have the intellectual or emotional wallop of a 5-star book, or maybe I was hoping for something transcendent and it just didn’t quite deliver that. But still, I strongly recommended that you let the orcs pass by, then get the book, even if you have to deal with a straggler or two.

This book was enjoyable and there were qualities that I admired about the work, but it was marred by one or more noticeable flaws that kept it from being “really good.” Still, the good outweighs the bad, so pick this up if you have a long wait while the orc horde goes by.

I didn’t like it and I don’t recommend it. I had to force myself to read it (and it’s possible I skimmed parts). Perhaps the author’s goals are interesting or ambitious but the result is disappointing. Or it might have been boring or had major plot holes or mechanical problems. Or maybe I recognize that I am not the right audience for this book, so it gave me no enjoyment. I think you’re better off counting the orcs in the passing horde than reading this book.

This novel was dreadful in all respects, or was so impossibly poor in one area that no more positive qualities it might have could pull it out of the mire, or it was on a wavelength I just couldn’t tune into. It might have been an act of self-flagellation, but I finished it (possibly skimming) maybe just to see how bad it could get, and maybe just to generate a snarky review if it was written by a popular author. I’d recommend that you throw yourself into the midst of the orc horde instead of reading this book.

I couldn’t finish this book, maybe because it was horrible or boring, or maybe because it was just totally not my thing and I wanted to move on. Give this book to the orc horde. Life’s too short to read bad books!

Of course, we didn’t come to this without a lot of discussion. Here’s what Ryan and Tim had to say:

Ryan: When assigning ratings, I can’t help wondering about the dedication it would take to devote months, perhaps years, on a story or a character or a journey. It must take a lot of time to create a character like Neal Stephenson’s Hiro Protagonist. How odd it must be to devote one’s creative spirit to a story, only to have random strangers represent the entirety of their response to that story in just a few stars. (Preferably 4 or 5.) I imagine it must be disappointing for the author, if only because as someone who writes reviews, I sometimes find it irritating that I might spend an hour or so writing a review only to have readers glance at the number of stars I use to summarize the impact a work made on me. It may not make a lot of sense, but the number of stars associated with a novel or a number followed by a % is more likely to convince readers to move to a city like China Miéville’s New Crobuzon than anything I write about it. Which is why I give out 5 stars sparingly.

Tim: There are a lot of issues with assigning stars to novels. Of course we need a bit of a concrete rating system, but how are we to manage all the factors? Is it ‘good’ according to me and only me, the reviewer, that fiend who secretly (gasp) doesn’t much care for Terry Pratchett novels yet has the temerity to rather like confusing, oddball curiosities like Lud-in-the-Mist? Or is it ‘good’ in relation to other books in the same series, or in relation to the genre as a whole? I personally tend to rate books in relation to what I believe their position is in the subgenre from which they hail. I’m far less a fan of romantic fantasy than I am of epic fantasy, but if a good romantic fantasy dances hopefully by in its best dress, I’m not going to scoff, turn up my nose, and send it over there with the other riff-raff. Subjective I may be, but there are all sorts of fantasy readers, and whether or not I am the target of a novel is something I try to keep separate from my review. If I think a novel is a good example of urban fantasy, it gets a high ranking. Thus when I’m reviewing an IRON DRUID novel, for instance, I’m reviewing it in relation to other novels in the subgenre of urban fantasy. There’s something to be said for the purely subjective experience, I suppose, but I do tend to find this way of doing things more fair to viewers. At least if I’m forcing myself to contextualize the novel I’m not rating it a star lower simply because I happened to be suffering from indigestion most of the way through chapters 32-56.

Ryan: If I assign a novel 3 stars, there were likely things that I admired about the work. For example, although I am a big fan of William Gibson, I was not very impressed with Spook Country. Still, Gibson is an outstanding writer and the mood of the novel stood out to me. I do not regret having read Spook Country, and would consider reading it again to see if I might enjoy it more now that I’m older. Although some might refer to the 2 star rating as “mediocre,” I tend to have more in mind than “mediocrity” when assigning 2 stars. In my opinion, there is an audience for the 2 star novel. However, the novel did not speak to me. When reading SFF, I find that I often assign 2 stars to works within a series. There is certainly an audience for Robert Jordan’s WHEEL OF TIME series, but some entries are far weaker than others. (Oddly, I’m inclined to rate the series 5 stars, though I’d likely not rate any work within that series a 5). At other times, I might rate a novel 2 stars if I find the author’s goals to be interesting or ambitious but the result disappointing.

Tim: For me, 2 stars is a failing grade, the point at which the novel’s issues have swallowed up the reading experience to some extent, but it has some good points remaining. 1 star is something I’d use very sparingly, indicating that the novel was simply dreadful in all respects, or was so impossibly poor in one area that no more positive qualities it might have could pull it out of the mire.

Ryan: Assigning stars to novel is a ridiculous pastime. The only thing I can say in its defense is that it sometimes leads to an interesting discussion. “Really? Just three stars? Justify your rating!” In other words, the imperfection of star ratings is often what makes them so fun. It’s just unfortunate when counting takes priority over thinking. So readers are right to be wary of star ratings. Fortunately, they can read the entire review. Or better yet, they can read the book and consider their own response to the story. Like everyone else, I’ll be interested to see how many stars they assign it.

Tim: I like to think this is a fairly just way of dealing with the necessity of assigning rankings to these texts. I admit freely, however, that I often go back and forth on rankings quite a bit, and I often try to give positives and negatives for various types of readers. I encourage anyone who wants clarification on my opinions to ask me via a comment.

So, readers, how do you feel about ratings for books? Is the rating more or less important than the review? Do you prefer to have a quantification scheme or would you rather read a review to help you decide whether to read a book? How do you use (or not use) ratings? If you rate books on your blog, at Amazon, or at Goodreads, what is your rating scheme like?

One chosen commenter picks a book from our stacks.

Today’s covers all come from books we reviewed in March 2012. Once you identify a book cover, in the comment section list the number of the cover (1-12), the author, and the book title. If you get it correct, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a book of your choice from our stacks.

Please just identify one cover that has not been correctly identified so far.
That way, others will have a chance to play.
Make sure to check back to see if you won! Good Luck!

A few weeks ago we had a discussion about reading in different formats, and mostly we talked about ebooks vs. print, a topic we’ll cover every couple of years as technology progresses and our reading habits change.

Today I wanted to ask specifically about audiobooks. Here at FanLit we’ve got all types of readers: a couple of us read mostly in audio, a couple of us find ourselves unable to focus on audio, a couple of us have never tried one, and a couple of us have only recently tried them.

How about you? Do you read in audio? Tell us:

If not, why not? Have you ever tried audio? Why didn’t you like it?

If so, where do you get your audiobooks? On what device do you listen to them? Do you have favorite apps, publishers, services, or narrators? Any particular SFF audiobooks to recommend?

One commenter will win a book from our stacks which contain plenty of audiobooks such as Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making which is read by Ms. Valente (Kat loved it). If you don’t want this book, we’ve got plenty more to choose from, including books in print.

Last month we started a “Best Book You Read Last Month” feature that turned out to be a lot of fun. We liked hearing about what you enjoyed, so we’ve decided to make this a regular feature. On the first Thursday of each month, we’ll ask you to tell us about the best book you read the month before.

What is the best book you read in March 2012 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF. We just want to share some great reading material. Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or just a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.

(And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.)

As always, one commenter will choose a book from our stacks.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had a passionate discussion about our preferences for reading in non-traditional formats such as e-reader and audio, but technology has changed quite a bit since then! There are many more options these days and most of us carry around devices such as phones and tablets that make it easy and convenient, and often cost-effective, to read in different formats. So, out of curiosity, and also a desire to alert readers about new technologies they may be unaware of, I have some questions:

• What are your current format preferences?
• How do you do most of your reading these days?
• What devices/apps can you not live without?
• Does new technology allow you to read more than ever? Or more easily, or less expensively?
• Or do you still prefer to curl up with a hardback or paperback?

We look forward to hearing about your preferences and recommendations!

As usual, one commenter will choose a book from our stacks. Make sure to subscribe to comment notifications because that’s how we alert winners.

Our own Terry Weyna is at this very moment attending the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando Florida. The theme is “The Monstrous Fantastic” and guests of honor include China Miéville, Kelly Link, Jeffrey J. Cohen, and Brian Aldiss. Terry is presenting a paper called Fantastic Romantics: Romantics as Characters in Fantastic Fiction: Edgar Allan Poe. She’ll also be chairing a panel called Monsters and Superheroes. We look forward to hearing from Terry about her time at the IAFA conference.

Do you attend conferences or conventions related to the arts? Is there a local SFF convention in your area? Tell us about it. We’ll pick one commenter to choose a book from the stacks.

Hey, Beware the Ides of March out there, okay?

Today’s covers all come from books we reviewed in February 2012. Once you identify a book cover, in the comment section list the number of the cover (1-12), the author, and the book title. If you get it correct, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a book of your choice from our stacks.

Please just identify one cover that has not been correctly identified so far. That way, others will have a chance to play. Thanks and Good Luck!

Comics were a huge part of my childhood because they introduced me to the amazing world of reading. When I was a kid, my best buddies and I, with our weekly allowances of 50¢ jingling in our pockets, would make the mile-long walk to the one grocery store in town every Tuesday. That’s when the new comics were stacked on the grocery store’s spinner rack. Those comic books waited for us like personal invitations to worlds of heroes, adventures, and wonder.

Though I’ve moved on to more substantial literature, I never outgrew comics. My passion has recently been re-”Kindled” since I’ve found digital comics on my e-reader.

So, tomorrow I’m launching a new occasional column called Fanboy Friday where we’ll review comics and graphic novels. To get everyone in the mood, FanLit wants to know:

Do you read comic books and graphic novels?
If so, what do you like about them? If not, why not?

One random commenter will win a copy of the newly-released hardback graphic novel omnibus GIRL GENIUS: Agatha Awakens which Kat loved and Bill didn’t (proving my point that not everyone likes this format!). I look forward to reading your responses!

We posted a lot of less than 3-star reviews in February. We consider it our duty, and the purpose of our existence, to warn you away from books that aren’t worth your time (because Life’s Too Short to Read Bad Books!), but perhaps we haven’t provided enough reading inspiration lately.

So, we’re appealing to our readers for help. Please tell us: What is the best book you read in February 2012 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF. We just want to share some great reading material. (And don’t forget that we always have plenty of reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.)

As always, one commenter will choose a book from our stacks.

I stumbled across an article on the web the other day that discussed the controversy of L.J. Smith being booted from her own series, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. The series will continue to be written under the name L.J. Smith, but by another author. I found this tidbit to be shocking, and it got me thinking: What other SFF works have been ghost-written? What famous SFF authors were also ghost writers? Here are three examples:

1. The Madman Theory by Ellery Queen
Ghosted by Jack Vance

2. The Curse of Yig by Zealia Bishop
Ghosted by H.P. Lovecraft *Lovecraft also ghosted for Harry Houdini on a few occasions

3. TekWar by William Shatner
Ghosted by Ron Goulart

Do you know of other ghost-written SFF works? I would also like to hear your thoughts on the L.J Smith controversy. We will choose one commenter to receive a free book from the many choices in our stacks.

Time to play Identify The Cover! Today’s covers all come from books we reviewed in January 2012. Once you identify a book cover, in the comment section list the number of the cover (1-12), the author, and the book title. If you get it correct, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a book of your choice from our teetering stacks.

Please just identify one cover that has not been correctly identified so far. That way, others will have a chance to play. Thanks and Good Luck!

I’m standing in for Justin again, as he continues to labor for his creative writing professor. He got a 100% on his first writing assignment!

Still going with the creative writing theme, I thought we should start a (regular?) Fantasy Limericks contest. Your job is to write an original fantasy-themed limerick. It could be kind of general, such as this one about a dragon which was written by Val Burns for The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form (OEDILF):

George cried, “I’ll fight the dragon, oh sire,
Though the reptile is huge and breathes fire.
Thus the princess I’ll save
From a grave in the cave.
Though she’s hot, that much heat would prove dire.”

Or your limerick could be about a particular fantasy novel, character, or event. Whatever you want, as long as it’s related to fantasy literature.

A proper limerick follows strict rules about rhyme, meter, and content, so please consult the OEDILF’s tutorial to make sure yours complies. A limerick should be funny or witty or otherwise charming.

Post your limerick as a comment below. Tim, one of our literature experts, will pick a U.S. winner who will choose a book from our stacks. If you’re outside the U.S., we hope you’ll play, too. Good luck, limerickers!

This coming Sunday is a big day in American football, and is by far the biggest day in American sports for the year. The streets in Boston and New York will be vacant as fans are glued to their TV screens to watch the big game. Sports are important to the entire human race. One only needs to be outside the United States during the World Cup to realize exactly how important it really is. I personally love American football, MMA, and I even watch the  English Premiere League Football on the Soccer Channel whenever I can. I’ve also been known to watch basketball, baseball, tennis, cricket, Aussie Rules, X-Games, and even Curling.

It’s obvious I’m a sports fan, so it’s no surprise that I enjoy reading about cool new sports in fantasy novels. There have been some incredible games created in the realms of fantasy and science fiction. Perhaps the most famous recent example is Quidditch from J.K. Rowling‘s HARRY POTTER series. Science fiction readers love their futuristic sports, such as in Matt Forbeck‘s BLOOD BOWL series.

Tell us about a sport you’ve read about in a fantasy or science fiction novel that you wish you could watch or play. If you like, tell us about your plans for this weekend’s festivities, whether it be the Superbowl, or the Chelsea vs. Manchester United match. Or maybe you just plan on locking yourself up in a quiet place with a book until it all goes away?

Commenters will be entered for a chance to win a choice from our stacks.

I’m standing in for Justin today because he’s got a major creative writing assignment due soon, and I guess his instructor doesn’t think that Thoughtful Thursday counts for that.

Justin has to write a vignette about a mundane event in his life (he chose visiting Steak ‘n Shake), but he also has to have amnesia and he’s not allowed to use the word “amnesia” in the story.

Justin’s taking this class because of his interest in writing fiction. I’m wondering how many of our readers are also interested in writing fiction? Have you taken a creative writing course? Have you written any fan fiction? Are you working on a story? Have you actually submitted anything for publication, or had your work published somewhere? Tell us about it!

As usual, one commenter will win a book from our teetering stacks.

With all this talk about the effects that SOPA/PIPA would have on the internet, it got me thinking. Throughout history there are key moments that, had they happened differently, would have changed the future. As a history buff, I find alternate history fiction to be appealing. I’ve read a few of them and The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick is probably my favorite.

In Dick’s novel, the Allies lost World War II and Japan and Germany occupy the United States. The story focuses on a few characters who struggle to live in an oppressive society. It’s a short book with a very powerful message about freedom and individual expression. Nothing works better to help you consider and appreciate the present than being shown how it could have been much worse.

Tell us about your favorite alternate history novel.
We will pick one of you to get your choice of books from the stacks.

Time to play Identify The Cover! Today’s covers all come from books we reviewed in December 2011. Once you identify a book cover, in the comment section list the number of the cover (1-12), the author, and the book title. If you get it correct, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a book of your choice from our teetering stacks.

Please just identify one cover that has not been correctly identified so far. That way, others will have a chance to play. Thanks and Good Luck!

As a reviewer I get a chance to read books I wouldn’t normally read — it’s part of the job. However I have also been known to purposely read something that looks quite terrible on the off-chance that I discover a real “diamond in the rough.” These “diamonds” not only have terrible covers, but have cheesy back cover descriptions and blurbs from authors you’ve never heard of.

“Jack John Johnson’s latest book was great.” — Patrick Warbermanjensen Author of Night Fillies

I admit that I have not been very successful at finding diamonds. I tend to not finish them and then I usually have to cleanse them from my brain with a stiff drink. One diamond I actually did find, back when I was 13 years old, was L. Ron Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth. It’s a very polarizing novel in the Science Fiction community. People seem to either love it or hate it. When I bought it, I had no clue who Hubbard was and, at a quick glance, the book seemed to be quite awful. My grandfather had actually purchased it after we spotted it at the grocery store. We chuckled about the ridiculous cover and the book’s overwhelming length, and decided we should read it just for the fun of it.

We both read it and liked it a great deal. I had read it with no prior knowledge of Hubbard’s shenanigans. I liked Hubbard’s over-the-top style and simple prose. It was the very essence of a SciFi adventure story, and for a 13 year old it was like nothing I’d ever read before. (Keep in mind, this was well before the abysmal movie adaption.)

Have you ever bought a book on a whim and expected the worst, but got the opposite? How about a favorite of yours that seems to get a bad rap? Tell us about it in the comments below and we’ll pick one of you to choose a book from our Stacks.

Tomorrow we’ll be posting our annual Favorites list — the best books we read which were published for the first time in 2011 in print or audio format. Each year we spend many hours preparing this list, and we’re wrapping it up at this moment, but we thought we’d highlight some of our favorites today and ask about your favorite books that were published in 2011. We’ll pick one commenter to win a book from our stacks.

You can find our reviews of each of the novels listed below by clicking on the linked author names. We’ll go in Seniority Order. (That doesn’t mean that the first people on the list are any more senile or more important, or even older, than those at the bottom of the list — just that they were here first.)

Kat: I read 125 books in 2011 and, like last year, most of them were audiobooks and most of my favorites were classics that were published in print long ago and were just recently brought out on audio. In particular, Blackstone Audio, Brilliance Audio, and Audible Frontiers produced a lot of old SFF on audio in 2011 and there are so many great books to choose from! The two that I was most excited about both before and after listening to them were Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz and William Gibson’s Neuromancer. Both of these are must-reads for any SFF fan and these excellent audio productions are a delightful way to experience them.

Bill: The Magician King is my number one choice of the year for Adult books, sharing the honor with Icefall. It’s Lev Grossman’s second book in the FILLORY series and a better book than the first:  thoughtful, substantive, with great characters and great characterization, funny at times, harrowingly terrible at others. It’s both great fantasy and great meta-fantasy, with lots of rewards for the well-read fantasy reader, but also lots of stimulating questions in the more realistic literary fiction vein. A rich, sophisticated work, it lingers in the mind long after reading. According to Kat, our indefatigable leader here, Matthew J. Kirby’s Icefall needs to be categorized in our Best of 2011 List as YA so parents and teens know it’s a good choice for that age group. So you’ll see it listed under “YA.” But I want to be clear here. Without that necessity, I would have picked Icefall as my overall top choice of year, YA label be damned. It’s about as perfect a gem of a novel as can be crafted: incredibly tight, filled with sharply drawn, fully human characters, incredibly tense, emotionally wrought, beautifully individually voiced, stylistically and structurally creative and sophisticated, and written in sparsely lyrical prose that is a perfect match for both theme and setting. Because of the YA/Adult distinction, I’m giving it co-honors as personal book of the year with The Magician King. Different kinds of books, different targeted audiences, but to be honest, the one that lies closest to my heart and the one I’d recommend first to just about anybody is Icefall. So for the purposes of this  blurb, I’m recasting YA from Young Adult to Year’s Awesomest.

John: Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes was brilliant on so many levels, but as someone who has spent time as a soldier, the depiction of the camaraderie and companionship shared by the people fighting the war was simply amazing. I can’t tell you how much that means to see an author really get that right. The Rift Walker by Clay & Susan Griffith has kept a compelling series moving. The main characters continue to grow, we are introduced to a wealth of new supporting characters, and the Griffiths have added grit and depth to a world that was already captivating. I love the way they use the different climates of the globe to illustrate the social and physiological evolution of the vampiric race.

Greg: Joe Abercrombie is my personal favorite active fantasy author and The Heroes is my favorite of his books to date. Carnage, characters, and hilariously dark humor are Abercrombie’s mainstays and he seems to only get better with each book. Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence caught some crap for the violence. SWEET!!! It’s one of the best written fantasy debuts I’ve ever read. If the first line doesn’t grab you, maybe you’re just scared. : )Douglas Hulick’s Among Thieves was a great first novel. What fantasy reader doesn’t like a story about thieves already? But Hulick writes underworld characters exceptionally well. And I love how each book in this series will focus on different characters and plots with the only constant being the criminal element of the city.

Kelly: Anne Ursu’s Breadcrumbs is a poignant, beautifully written novel about the end of childhood and beginning of adolescence, told as a fairy tale. It’s aimed at children but will strike a chord with many adults too. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a tale of angels and demons — but they’re not like the angels and demons you’ve seen before. Laini Taylor’s writing is exquisite and the novel haunting and intricate. Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon will keep you guessing until the last page: was young Lisa taken by the fairies, or by a garden-variety predator? And which is scarier? Creepy, suspenseful, and full of twists.

Stefan: I read a lot of anthologies, and usually they’re a mixed bag. Some strong stories at the front and back, a few to anchor the middle, and the rest is filled with the average to good material. Brave New Worlds is that rare instance of “all killer and no filler.” It contains some recent stories that are among the best I’ve ever read (Paolo Bacigalupi, Matt Williamson, Joe Mastroianni) as well as some great older stories. Brave New Worlds, edited by John Joseph Adams, is the definitive anthology of short dystopian SF, and one of the very best anthologies I’ve ever read. Among Others is a wonderful contemporary fantasy novel, but it’s also a love letter from Jo Walton to science fiction and fantasy. If you found comfort in SFF when you were growing up, and still think back fondly on those first “sense of wonder” experiences, Among Others will take you back to those years — and deliver a wonderfully gripping coming-of-age fantasy story at the same time. This is a book for people who love books.

Justin: I really struggled this year to make time for reading. I had to choose the books I read wisely so as not to waste a single moment. I apparently chose very well since everything I read was very good. Top honors goes to Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes. It is such an amazing culmination of everything Abercrombie has written so far. The flawed characters, the brutal battles, and the razor-sharp wit. Everything came together perfectly. Next is Patrick Rothfuss’ The Wise Man’s Fear. Rothfuss is a terrific storyteller, and having him take you further into the life of Kvothe is a real treat. I got lost in The Wise Man’s Fear; I would start reading and not look up for hours. John Hornor Jacobs’ Southern Gods is an audiobook that took me by surprise — a well-written scary book with unique southern charm. If you need a change of pace next year, Southern Gods should top your list.

Terry: Seanan McGuire’s OCTOBER DAYE series continues to excite and enthrall. In One Salt Sea, Toby is charged with preventing all out war between two faerie kingdoms, but given precious little in the way of time or tools to get the job accomplished. The sadness that seems to always linger below the surface in this series is prominent in this book, changing the idea of Faerie as an idyll to Faerie as red in tooth and claw. It’s a great addition to a strong string of novels. M.L.N. Hanover’s series, THE BLACK SUN’S DAUGHTER, continues to get better with every book. In Killing Rites, Jayne Heller begins to deal with what lives within her own soul, and discovers that perhaps evil isn’t always pure.

Marion: Haruki Murakami’s IQ84 is a trans-reality love story, and so much more. It’s flawed, but rich and intriguing, filled with compelling characters and observations about life that stayed with me days after I finished the book. In Embassytown, China Miéville creates a literary work about the power of linguistics, a study of colonialism, and a wildly imaginative story — and of course Miéville’s signature semantic virtuosity. In Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s The Fallen Blade – magic and politics play out against an historical Venice, nicely flavored with bits of Shakespeare.

We’ll post our full list tomorrow at noon. Meanwhile, tell us which books are your favorites of 2011 and deserve to be on our list. We’ll pick one commenter to win a book from our stacks.

Happy Holidays!

Now that it’s the end of the year, which books have you missed in 2011 that you really wish you had gotten to or that you hope Santa will leave under the tree?

I wish I had found the time to read Mark Chadbourn’s The Scar-Crow Men and Jesse Bullington’s The Enterprise of Death.

As usual, we’ll pick one commenter to choose a Christmas gift from our stacks.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas!

I’m taking a writing course next semester and was thumbing through the textbook when I saw the chapter on clichés. The clichés mentioned were not particularly Fantasy-related but it did get me thinking about all the typical clichés we see in Fantasy. Genre fiction seems to be particular prone to this writing faux pas, and I’m not exactly sure why.

Maybe writers of Fantasy get so wrapped up in building a fantastical world that they forget that a farm boy can only become king so many times. It could be that authors have spent so much time developing complex lineages that they fail to realize that there have been more than a few princesses who have learned the error of their ways.

I will also admit that seeing a clichéd story line doesn’t usually immediately turn me off (see my review of Alexey Pehov’s Shadow Prowler as a good example of my level of tolerance). I love a well-written peasant-finds-hidden-power-within-himself story, and I think many Fantasy fans feel the same way. That forgiving nature may be another reason why we see recycled story elements  so often. What clichés do you loathe to see in the stories you read? Which ones do you tolerate? Are Fantasy authors guiltier than other writers? Leave a comment below and we’ll pick one of you to choose a book from our Stacks.

I enjoyed last week’s column enough that I decided to extend it a bit. I would now like to know which fantasy characters you’d like to sit and sip a brew with?

I’ve had a harder timer choosing a character than choosing an author. My initial thoughts went towards Logen Nine Fingers from Joe Abercrombie’s FIRST LAW TRILOGY, but Greg pointed out that drinking with Logen might not end well if he were to get too drunk and and bring out his more violent alter-ego, The Bloody Nine.

So I’ve settled on Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher’s THE DRESDEN FILES. I would love to hear about his adventures that are not in print. Plus, I would like to try the craft brew they serve at Harry’s favorite watering hole, McAnally’s Pub.

Let me know which characters you think you’d like to chat with and you’ll have a chance to choose a book from our stacks.

The Fanlit staff often discusses various dubious topics amongst ourselves via e-mail. A recent questionable discussion was one I could not contain to the confines of my inbox. I had to share it with our readers. We were discussing which fantasy authors we’d like to sit and have a beer with.

At first glance you might think that’s an easy question, and you immediately think of your favorite author. However, is your favorite author truly the one you would most enjoy having a pint or four with? I love Jim Butcher more than what is healthy, but I’m not convinced he would be my optimal choice for alcohol-induced camaraderie. I’m quite certain I’d have to choose Joe Abercrombie or Jesse Bullington. How fun would a conversation with those two be? Especially after being encouraged by a few strong stouts.

So dear reader, which author would you love to sit and have drinks with? Maybe you have already done that and you have a tale to share. Either way we’d like to hear about it. As usual we’ll randomly pick a commenter to chose a book from our stacks.

Have any book shopping plans for the big retail weekend? I plan on keeping an eye on Amazon for some book deals. No way am I going to venture out into the Black Friday madness. If I find any worthwhile book-related deals I will post them in the comments below. Leave your own book deal tips or maybe just a comment. We’ll pick one of you to choose a book from our stacks.

Okay, we’re trying to get this right. Some of our identify the cover art contests have been too easy, but when we tried to make them harder, they were too hard. So here’s what we’ll try this time: Today’s covers all come from books we reviewed in the last few weeks — since October 1. That will narrow things down drastically and will perhaps induce you to catch up on any recent reviews you’ve missed. Once you identify a book cover, in the comment section list the number of the cover (1-12), the author, and the book title. If you get it correct, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a book of your choice from our teetering stacks.

Please just identify one cover that has not been correctly identified so far. That way, others will have a chance to play. Thanks and Good Luck!

It’s time again for another Rename that Cover post. I love these posts, and they are almost always the hardest for me to do because there is an unbelievable amount of awful cover art out there to choose from. It was quite difficult deciding which one to pick on today, so I decided it was best to go with the one that has cleavage. Who wouldn’t?

I’m not exactly sure what this cover wishes to convey to the reader. Is she worried about a potential wardrobe malfunction? Maybe she stepped in something squishy while walking barefoot and  is now pondering what it might be? Whatever she is up to, it makes for an awkward and amusing cover that is ripe for renaming. We’ll pick our favorite new title for this cover from the comments below, and reward you with a book of your choice from our stacks.

Have you ever come across a magic system in a book that made you think, Wow what a cool idea? Maybe the book itself is not the greatest thing ever, but the way the magic works or the powers the characters possess is so intriguing that you’ve just got to keep reading it anyway?

Brandon Sanderson‘s MISTBORN series has a magic system that’s so cool and unique that I often wish other writers could play around in the MISTBORN universe, too.

Jim Butcher has a series called THE CODEX ALERA where the magic comes from elemental creatures that certain individuals are able to control. Sort of like Pokémon for adults.

Those are a couple of my favorite cool magic systems in fantasy literature. I’d like to hear about some more from our readers. We’ll pick a commenter to receive a book from our stacks.

I’m standing in for Justin again today because his first child, Amarani Sedah Blazier, was born a couple of days ago. I thought that, as a way to welcome Baby Blazier, we could create a list of essential speculative fiction that Amarani must have on her bookshelves. Her parents can use our list as a wish list for birthdays and Christmas.

Here are the rules: You may add up to 5 books to each category of our list:

1. Preschool (ages 0-4)

2. Early Readers (ages 5-8)

3. Middle Grade (ages 9-12)

4. Young Adult (ages 13+)

Your additions do not need to be different from what other commenters have suggested. Duplicates are welcome — that will just indicate how essential that book is.

Please indicate which category your book choices go under and offer an explanation for each of the books you suggest. Is it a classic which any young SFF reader must read to be educated in SFF? Is it an award-winner? Is it the best book you remember reading when you were that age? Let us know why it’s on your list. After we’re finished, we should have a nice wish list for Justin!

As usual, one commenter will win a book from our stacks.

I thought it would be neat to turn last week’s topic around a bit. Instead of talking about the authors for whom we have read every scrap they’ve ever written, how about those highly acclaimed behemoths that everyone loves, and you’ve yet to investigate?

I’ll go first: I have never cracked open a novel by China Miéville. Shame on me, I know. I have also never read a single word of Erikson, Eddings, Modesitt, Jordan, McCaffrey, or Moorcock. Having a heart attack yet? Lackey, Norton, and Hobb are also missing from my bookshelf. Ok, that’s not completely true. Several have been on my shelf for a long time, but still go unread. I think that might be worse. There are plenty more amazing authors I have yet to read, and I know I am not alone.

I would like to hear from you now that I’ve thoroughly exposed myself and will henceforth be shunned by my peers. Tell me which authors you are ashamed to have not read. Is there someone out there brave enough to admit to skipping The Hobbit? Who hasn’t read anything by Brandon Sanderson yet? I need to know that I’m not alone in my crimes against Fantasy. We’ll pick one of you from the comments to pick a free book from our stacks.

There has not been a scrap of paper that Jim Butcher has published that I have not read. Joe Abercrombie has never inked a published word that has not crossed my eyes. Those are just a couple of authors for whom I consider myself a completist. There is nothing they could publish that I would not make the effort to read as soon as possible.

Do you have any authors like that? Tell me about the authors whose every word you will consume. We’ll pick one of you from the comments below to choose a free book from our stacks.

Fantasy fans tend to be quite capable of immersing themselves in whatever it is that they enjoy. Most of the time that’s a book. However, many of us that delve into other genre-related hobbies. For instance, I’ve recently started getting into miniature wargames, like Warmachine. Others may be RPG players, quilters, convention attenders, painters, or maybe just collectors of fantasy related items. Whatever it is you do as a fantasy hobby, I’d like to hear about it.

The nerdier the better. I want links to your blog that hosts archives of your dragon salt and pepper shaker collection. If you’ve got cool crafty things, link them or send me a pic and I’ll post them in the article to share.  If your hobby is not quite fantasy related, go ahead and share anyway. If you don’t have links or pics, just tell us about it. I’m genuinely curious about how our readers spend their “me time” when they are not reading. We’ll pick a commenter to receive a book of their choice from our stacks.

Baby D-Day for the Blazier household is quickly approaching. We are now just a few weeks away from an Armageddon of vomit, poo, and cute little outfits. We’ve already picked out a name for her, but as a fantasy geek it did at least cross my mind to name her after some of my favorite characters. Fantasy is full of awesome names, and I thought about how great it would be to send my daughter off into the world with a name like Anastasia Lightbringer, or maybe Elven Swiftfeet.

I’m only kidding, mostly. My examples were just a tad too silly, and If I actually named her one of those I would likely be condemning her to a very difficult life as a fantasy convention prostitute. However, I have seen some really cool real-life fantasy-inspired names. Have you? If so, submit them in the comments. If you don’t know of any, just make one up. The commenter with one of the more awesome or silly names will get to pick a book from our stacks.

I love old iron gates. I even have one inside my house. It weighs a ton and has cool spikes on top. I’m not sure why I like old gates, but they always catch my eye on book covers. If you can identify one of these book covers which are all found somewhere on our website, we’ll enter you into a drawing to win a book from our stacks. Good luck!

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As you may have guessed by the title of today’s article, I want to know about really scary books. I debated with myself on when I should post my Halloween topic. I decided to post it now because I thought you might want to actually read some of the scary books mentioned while the Halloween season is still going on, rather than after it ends.

I’ll start by mentioning a book I just recently read called Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs. This book gave me a serious case of the heebie jeebies. It wasn’t the blood and gore that gave me nightmares, it was the creepy things watching from a distance that gave me the bad dreams. You can see my review for a more detailed description. Neverland by Douglas Clegg is another one that I found creepy, though not quite on the same scale as Southern Gods.

Tell us about a really frightening book that everyone should be reading during the Halloween season. I’ll make it a little tougher by asking that you keep it within the fantasy or sci-fi genres. Paranormal romance, or any books with vampires, zombies, and other such ilk, counts. We’ll pick one lucky US based person from the comments to choose a book from the Fanlit Stacks.

Today’s topic is for all the page benders, cover creasers, dog earers, and even the “books as a drink coaster” people. It’s time for the book abusers to come clean and confess their destructive natures. I’ll start first by outing my family. My mother, bless her, is pure evil to paperbacks. She’ll be engrossed in a novel and the front cover will slowly get rolled around behind. It obliterates the spine,and after one reading the pages are nearly unglued, and the book will never fully shut.

I’m pretty darn careful with my books. I abhor loose pages and creased covers. The most damage I do to a book is that I tend to fray the edges of the covers. Mostly due to my sweaty Sasquatch hands, but that’s not my fault. I simply refuse to read with tweezers. So how do you abuse your books? Maybe you have a particular story of book abuse you’d like to share? We’ll pick from the commenters to receive a book of their choosing from the Fanlit Stacks.

I felt it was time we do another cover rename segment. The cover I have for you today is form Death’s Daughter by Amber Benson. We gave this book a good review, and if you dig Urban Fantasy you should probably give it a read. It’s not the book, but the cover that is my target today. It’s quite awful, and I would love to rename it.

The first thing my eyes are drawn to on this cover is the creepy puppy photobombing in the corner. I believe he is supposed to be adorable, but he somehow manages to appear as exactly the opposite. I’m not sure if the lady on the cover is supposed to appear ethereal, but at a brief glance it kind of looks like Jaclyn Smith with no left arm. You also cannot help but notice the heavy amount of fog. I keep thinking her pants are on fire. My title suggestions are Jaclyn Smith and the Smoking Pants of Power. or The Ugly Ass Puppy of Fog Town. Please suggest your own cover titles for a chance to win a pick from the FanLit Stacks.

Today’s topic of discussion is rather simple. What is the coolest weapon you have ever seen grace the page of a fantasy story? I have a couple in mind I’d like to share:

The Speaking Gun: This weapon comes from Simon R. Green‘s Something from the Nightside. It was created at the dawn of time and is self-aware. It has the power to know the “true name” of all things, and if it “speaks” the name backward, that thing ceases to exist. There is nothing in the universe the Speaking Gun cannot kill. Not even angels or gods are safe from this weapon. The biggest drawback to using the Speaking Gun is that it will probably drive you mad when you pull the trigger.

Glamdring: The sword carried by Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s stories. Glamdring does not appear to contain any overt power other than glowing blue when Orcs are near, but you know it has to be the baddest blade in all of Middle Earth. I mean, it has survived a Balrog, dragons, wizard battles, and who knows what else? Would Gandalf carry it if it wasn’t the Middle Earth equivalent of a portable nuclear warhead?

Let us know your favorite weapon from fantasy literature. If we think yours is best, you get to choose a book from our stacks.

Fellow Fanlit staffer Ryan and I were discussing what a stellar year it has been for the fantasy genre. In fact we were so bold as to say this may very well be the best year of fantasy ever. I thought for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I would build a case for 2011 being the best year for fantasy ever, and then see if you readers could provide other years that might be contenders. There is also the possibility that you agree with Ryan and me, and if you do, then just say so.

Releases: George R.R. Martin, China Miéville, Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Butcher, Lev Grossman, Joe Abercrombie, and probably more that I’ve missed. They have all had highly anticipated releases this year. All have been very well received. Has there been a year with as many best sellers in Fantasy? The only year I think that would come close was last year. Once you consider that both Rothfuss’ and Martin’s sequels released in 2011, it kind of puts the year over the top.

Sales: If you go to Amazon Bestsellers right now you will see 4 fantasy novels (and one fantasy box set) in the top 10. That’s been the trend all year so far. Only 2 months have had no fantasy in the top 10 list in Amazon sales. In the NYT Bestseller list, a fantasy novel has held the #1 or #2 spot on the Fiction Hardback list for 10 weeks so far this year. Out of the 39 weeks of bestsellers in 2011, only 12 weeks have not had a fantasy novel in the top 10.

Film/Television: Harry Potter ended and Game of Thrones started… All the Marvel Comic book movies… Conan is coming out this year too.

Press/Media: I don’t have numbers to quote here, but I definitely noticed an increase in fantasy’s media presence this year. With all the Game of Thrones stuff, plus Harry Potter…I’ve heard little else it seems. I won’t even touch on fantasy’s ever-increasing internet presence that seems to grow year by year.

That’s my case for 2011. Has there been another year with as much going on for fantasy? Have we peaked? Will next year be just as big? I do suspect the popularity of fantasy will reach a saturation point. However, I think the days of hiding the fact you are a fantasy fan is at an end. We will choose a random commenter to get a pick from our stacks.

We here at Fantasy Literature have a tradition of poking fun at cover art. I thought I would change that up a today and show some truly great cover art. These are my personal favorites. I have listed 6 covers, and the reasons I like them. I would like for you to link to your own favorite covers in the comments below. Use the the info bar at the top the page to access the authors and their books. Our favorite cover from the comments will get their pick from the stacks. Here we go…

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. Cover art by ??

I like this cover because it does such a great job of setting your expectations for what awaits you inside. Abercrombie paints a violent and bloody world between these covers, and this design does a great job conveying that.

Pilgrimage to Hell by Jack Adrian. Cover art by Michael Herring

I’ve always liked this cover, even before I read the book. This post-apocalyptic romp is a bit on the cheesy side of things, but you wouldn’t guess that by the cover. The meanings you can draw from the dirty boots, barren soil, and sprigs of daisies are innumerable. My understanding is that it’s simply a portrait of contrasts. In the hardest of times there can still be beauty, now let’s go blow up some cannibals…. or something like that.


Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Cover art by Jon Sullivan

Simply stunning. Jon Sullivan is amazing. I would give a lot to get my hands on a large printing of this piece. All of Jon’s stuff is gorgeous, and this cover is a great example what he is capable of. The beauty, the metal, and the blood. All of it combines to give you a portrait of a lady who has a history of violence. 

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington. Cover art by Istvan Orosz

Istvan Orosz is a well known Hungarian artist. He is often compared to M.C. Escher and the comparison is quite valid. Orosz’s complex image within an image  is a a great way to give you a hint at what is in the book, which is mostly death.


The Silver Skull by Mark Chadbourn. Cover art by Chris McGrath

Chris McGrath is a modern Fantasy art legend. His covers are everywhere. There is so much of his work that I like and I chose this one simply because it adorns one of my favorite books. Dresden Files fans are also very familiar with Chris’ work. His depiction of Harry Dresden is the image I see in my mind’s eye while reading the books. Chris has amazing talent, and we’ll be seeing his work for a very long time.


The Hounds of Avalon by Mark Chadbourn. Cover art by John Picacio

This is the only book in the list I have yet to read. I wasn’t going to include it at first, but I could not make a list of awesome covers without including John Picacio. John is becoming a force in the fantasy art world, and this cover shows you why. The swirls of color and mist around a nightmarish image make a truly startling sight that is not likely to leave you for some time.

Aside from reading fantasy I also run a restaurant with my wife. Our restaurant is directly across the street from our local library, so we get a lot of readers through our doors and I get a chance to talk with many of them. Inevitably, when discussing books, the fact that I’m a huge fantasy nerd gets mentioned fairly quickly. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Customer: Oh, so you’re a big reader too? Who’s your favorite author? I love Stephen King.
Me: Oh yeah, King is great, but I like Joe Abercrombie…. a lot.
Customer: Who?
Me: Oh, and Jim Butcher… The Dresden Files are my reason to live.
Customer: Jim who?… Dresden Files? Abercrombie?… The clothing company? What do they write?
Me: *mental sigh* Fantasy. They write fantasy.
Customer: Ooooh, like children’s books?

That may seem like an exaggeration, but it’s not. I’ve had that conversation and similar ones at least a dozen times.  I’ve gotten to the point where I often avoid talking about books with my customers, period. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Lev Grossman says he has the same problem. A new acquaintance, after finding out that Grossman writes fantasy, will say:

Come on… It’s all made up. It’s like playing with dolls! None of it’s real!

Here’s Grossman’s defense:

I have terrible news for you. It’s all made up. All fiction is fantasy — it’s what my daughter’s kindergarten teacher would call “pretend play.” Madame Bovary is a doll. Stephen Dedalus is a doll. Mrs. Dalloway? Doll. When it comes to novels, fantasy is the rule, not the exception. If anything, it is realist literature that pretends to be real. Fantasy doesn’t pretend.

Fantasy doesn’t pretend. I love that. Have any of you encountered these Fantasy Poopooers (or, worse, are you related to one?) What did you say to defend our genre? Please share and we’ll pick a random commenter to choose a book from the Fanlit Stacks.

It’s been a while since we played Identify the Cover. This time I’ve got a Horror/Urban Fantasy theme. If you correctly identify one of the covers (with book title and author’s name), we’ll enter you in a drawing to pick a book of your choice from the stacks. HINT: All of these covers can be found on our site. Good luck!

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This week we’re giving away the entire series of YA Relic Master books by Catherine Fisher, the author of the New York Times bestselling duology Incarceron and Sapphique. (Read Bill’s review of Incarceron.)

“Welcome to Anara, a world mysteriously crumbling to devastation, where nothing is what it seems: Ancient relics emit technologically advanced powers, members of the old Order are hunted by the governing Watch yet revered by the people, and the great energy that connects all seems to also be destroying all. The only hope for the world lies in Galen, a man of the old Order and a Keeper of relics, and his sixteen-year-old apprentice, Raffi. They know of a secret relic with great power that has been hidden for centuries. As they search for it, they will be tested beyond their limits. For there are monsters — some human, some not — that also want the relic’s power and will stop at nothing to get it.”

To enter in the drawing, tell us:
If you could own and use the power of any ancient relic found in mythology or fantasy literature, which would you choose, and why?

Today’s cover masterpiece was originally title The Cingulum by John Maddox Roberts. It was published in 1985 by Tor Books, and the literary world has not been the same since. That might be a slight exaggeration. Actually, I just made that up completely. The literary world barely got indigestion when The Cingulum was released, but that doesn’t stop this cover from being completely awesome.

This has all the elements of an award-winning novel. It has a sexy lady in a somewhat revealing outfit.  Nothing says “Hawt” like a shiny space robe and a vacant stare.  The spaceship looks too fragile. How do you land it without breaking the front window? That has got to be expensive to replace every single time you land.  The dude in the back  just wants to leave. He is being forced to stand there while she poses for the picture. How about the killer whale? Killer whales are totally SciFi right?  The only thing missing from this cover is a bowl of petunias.

If I were to re-title this monstrosity I would have to go with Amazon Whale Riders from Space or maybe Zoella: Zombie Were-Whale Prostitute. How would you re-title it? The best suggestion gets to pick a book from our stacks.

Next Tuesday is a big day for many fantasy readers — they’re quivering with excitement over the release of A Dance with Dragons. After all the years of waiting, whining and crying, all the controversies, all the epic internet flame wars… After 5 years of waiting, the next installment in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is only days away.

Some readers have named their children after Martin’s characters, but I am, so far, not a huge fan. I enjoyed A Game of Thrones, but after hearing my brother’s cries of anguish over the waiting time between novels, I decided to stop with the first one. I’ll read the rest after they have all been published. I suspect I am not alone in that strategy.  I also suspect that some readers may not have started the series at all for similar reasons. But still, I look forward to the spectacle that is the release day of such of such an eagerly-anticipated novel.

What are your plans for Tuesday? Will you be getting your copy on release day? What about those of you who’ve become disenchanted with the series? Will you still buy a copy? Also, take a moment to tell us why you think this series is so special and why it gets so much attention. We’ll pick one random commenter to receive a copy of A Dance With Dragons.

I work 3rd shift and often find myself sleepy at almost anytime of day or night. When I get sleepy my mind has a tendency to wander. (I have a fairly active imagination, and evidently sleep is an integral part in keeping it in check.) Last night I was sitting at my desk which overlooks a data-center containing rows and rows of large “cages” filled with various servers and communication apparatuses. As I’m staring out over the data-center I begin to imagine what kind of damage a real live gremlin could do there. I’m aware that gremlins do not exist, but it didn’t stop me from picturing the contractor, who was milling about out there, being ripped apart after opening the wrong server cage.

It was at that point that I began to consider how horrific it could actually be if fantasy creatures actually lived in our world. I imagined Wil-O-Wisps luring interstate drivers into oncoming traffic… You thought those starlings roosting over your car was bad? Imagine what a single dragon could do! Would I have to start paying bridge trolls on my bicycle rides? Mark Chadbourn wrote a scene in his Age of Misrule series where a dragon takes out an interstate. In fact that whole series is basically exactly this scenario. What kind of nightmare situations can you imagine if our world were invaded by fantasy creatures? The best suggestion will get their pick of the stacks.

Congratulations to the winner from a couple weeks ago: B.T. won a copy of Dead Iron by Devon Monk. Tomorrow is the deadline for last week’s quote contest, so you still have time to post a few of your favorite fantasy quotes.

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them” ~Mark Twain

I love quotes. I love gaining a quick and clever insight about life from someone smarter than me.  Often I find these in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels or from interviews with SFF authors. Here are a few I’ve kept in mind:

“It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.” ~Gandalf the Grey (The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

“You backbiting, poisonous, treacherous, deceitful, wicked, clever girl. If this works I’ll buy you a pony.” ~Harry Dresden (Summer Knight by Jim Butcher)

“I’ve also been compared to Satan, which is something of an accomplishment for a debut novelist, I think.” ~Jesse Bullington, author of The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

“I love you so much I want to shit” ~Bremer Dan Gorst (The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie)

That last one is my most recent favorite. (Much to her displeasure, my wife has heard this line often over the last couple months — Nothing like a good poop joke to keep your marriage strong.) I now want to hear your favorite SFF quotes. It doesn’t matter if it’s from the author as themselves, or from one of their characters. My favorite quote will get their pick from that towering mountain of books we call The Stacks.

I will assume that most of you who frequent this site have been readers for quite sometime. More than likely for most of your life. I began reading a little later than most. I learned to read in the 1^st grade, but never really fully grasped “books” till the 3^rd grade. I was lucky in that I was diagnosed dyslexic fairly early and had a string of amazing teachers who went the extra mile for me. I’m glad they did, because in the 3^rd grade something happened. I read my first real “book”. I had finished Stuart Little on my own time with no lessons or guidance from teachers. It was an amazing experience for me and changed my life forever. I demolished E.B. White in just a short while. Then on to Judy Blume and those Choose Your Own Adventure books.

I quickly outgrew my own demographic and by the 4^th and 5^th grade I was consuming more and more mature stuff. I was still reading Choose Your Own Adventures (What can I say? They were awesome). I had an older brother who I was quite sure was the king of all things awesome. He was way into fantasy. He loved Conan, Gor and, of course, Lord of the Rings. After I finished his Conan Magazine collection, he told me I should read The Hobbit. I finished The Hobbit in the ^4th grade, and my reading life once again took a major turn.

Seeking more like The Hobbit, I finished the rest of LOTR and attempted The Silmarillion and it was there that I had finally met my match. A little humbled by my attempt on The Silmarillion, I decided to go back to reading things in my own age group while I slowly devoured my local library’s Fantasy catalog. I dabbled in SciFi and Horror a bit, too. I read some Non-Fiction and Mystery, but Fantasy was home and has remained that way ever since.

That’s the story of how I grew into Fantasy. I would like to know how you discovered Fantasy. Was it a family influence? Was it by accident? Maybe, like me, a little bit of both? With my brother being a Fantasy fan and my voracious reading habits, I was destined to cross paths with Fantasy at some point, but maybe your path wasn’t quite so direct as mine. I’d like to hear about it. My favorite will get a copy of Devon Monk‘s newest Steampunk novel Dead Iron, the start of a new series. Compliments of Roc Books. (US only.)

From Roc Books:

“Dead Iron is Devon Monk’s foray into the mesmerizing, up-and-coming steampunk genre. Known for her popular Allie Beckstrom series that takes place in an alternate Portland where magic, ghosts, and other supernatural beings rule, Devon is a master of weaving romance and adventure into one exciting story!”

Throughout my normal day I have lots of silly thoughts. Those who know me are probably not surprised by that. I keep most of my silliness to myself. But not today. Yesterday, while standing in the line at the grocery store, I was thinking about having supernatural editing powers. I could change checkout line magazine titles to read humorous things specific to the person standing behind me. Then I started wondering how to make a man-sized hamster wheel. Would it need some sort of breaking system? I’m not sure… but that’s not actually what I want to talk about today…

Today I’m wondering what kind of real-life job my favorite fantasy characters would have. Take Drizzt Do’Urden, the dark elf swordmaster from R.A. Salvatore‘s Forgotten Realms books. Drizzt is known for his spectacular sword play and acrobatic fighting prowess. I think he’d make a perfect Teppanyaki chef at your local Japanese steak house. Drizzt’s shrimp flipping and onion volcanoes would be known across the lands.

Who’s that behind the meat counter at Walmart? He’s a big dude, with long black hair and he’s scowling at a hunk of meat that needs to be cut for the old lady impatiently tapping her fingers on the counter. Why, it’s none other than Conan the Barbarian… err, Conan the Butcher, and the gods only know why the old witch won’t  buy a bigger crockpot. By Crom, he hates this job and old ladies!

So, what would your favorite fantasy character’s day job be? The best one gets to pick a book from our stacks.

What if the  world I knew came to an end? What if millions of the undead began roaming the streets in a quest to fulfill their never-ending hunger? Let’s say this process occurred over a period of a week or two, so I had some time to prepare.  What are the first things I would do? How could I get ready in just a few days for the oncoming zombie horde? Well, I’ll tell you.

First I would head to the grocery store. Hopefully my hyper-awareness of an imminent zombie apocalypse would allow me to be one of the first to realize that things had gotten bad, and I’d be able to load up a couple months worth of non-perishable items. I would also empty the store garden center of seeds in case I had to stay some place for a long time. Once I had secured my food supply, I would head home to load up my wife and doggy. Doggies are essential, since everyone knows zombies hate them. My dog is a Puggle and not particularly fearsome, but he is plump and may make a good zombie snack. It could give me a few extra minutes to get away in an emergency… OK, I’m kidding. I already said zombies hate dogs; they’d never go for the Puggle snack trick. I’d need to find a cat instead — way more tasty to zombies.

Next on my list would be armaments. Guns, bats, dynamite, missiles, and anything else that can make a zombie head explode. Food, family, and weapons would be tightly packed into the SUV, and we’d head to my parents’ house out in the countryside to secure more weapons. Country folk are always armed — my parents are no different. I’d make sure my brother was on his way from Terre Haute with his arsenal, and we’d begin to inventory the ammo.

Last on my list, after food and firearms, would be fortifications. We’d block up every window and unnecessary door. If blocks are not available, then I’d board them up. I’d leave very few holes to see out of. Anywhere I can see out of, a zombie can see in. I’d rather avoid them than fight them. I would also need board games. I would have my family sealed in a house with me for an undetermined amount of time. They will be forced to succumb to my call for Monopoly at some point. There would be no “mush pot” in the middle for when you land on free parking. They’d have to earn their money through rent over several hours like the game is supposed to be played.

That’s my plan. The four F’s of zombie survival: Food, Family, Firearms, and Fortifications. One could argue that a good sword is actually better than a gun. I would agree in the long-term. Guns create noise which attracts zombies. In the initial days of the zombie apocalypse, speed is the most important thing. You need to get the hell away from wherever you are, and nothing is quicker at dispatching zombies than a bullet through the head. Once you establish a base and plan to stay there for awhile, then it might be wise to limit your gun usage to only emergencies.

So dear readers, what would you do to get ready for the zombie apocalypse? You don’t have to get as detailed as I did, but I’m curious if you’ve put any thought into it. Where would you go first? To the family farm like I did? Maybe you live in the big city and are completely screwed. Would you head for a military base, or possibly a university? You can also tell me what I missed. The zombie apocalypse is coming, and the best preparation idea gets to pick a book from our stacks.

I was digging through the Thoughtful Thursday archives looking for some inspiration from our beloved Retired Ruth for this week’s post, when I spotted an early gem about guilty pleasures. It was nearly two years ago that Ruth asked you to admit them, so it seems like it’s time for confession again. We all have those little guilty pleasures which we’re embarrassed to admit to. Professional Wrestling, Fruity Pebbles cereal and fan-subtitled Anime are just a few of the female-repelling habits I have never been able to shake. I did somehow manage to lure a lady into wedlock despite them, but it wasn’t easy. She informs me now that if I had mentioned Pro Wrestling at any point during our courtship or even the first few months of marriage, she would have purchased a one-way ticket home before I could say “Suplex.” Alas, those are not my only guilty pleasures. I have guilty pleasures in my reading habits too. I have a particular fondness for Urban Fantasy, which some of you consider a questionable taste.

My literary guiltiness goes a little deeper than that. I enjoy a few cringe-worthy series that you’ll probably never see me review here unless it’s for some self-deprecating article… kind of like this one. For example, I adore Piers Anthony‘s Xanth books. I made it all the way to Zombie Lover (#22) before I finally moved on. Piers Anthony himself is actually a guilty pleasure of mine. The Incarnations of Immortality series is either loathed or loved by those who’ve read them. Guess where I fall? I’ve also recently gotten great pleasure from James Axler’s Deathlands series. Here is an excerpt from my review:

“There is lots of bloody action, over-the-top characters, with a bawdy and macabre humor tossed in. If there were a template to be made for “Books for Dudes” this would be the mold to start with. The men are manly, the women are beautiful. Sex is brief and very “Dude-centric”. It was the first time I’d seen the word “pumping” used to describe the act of intercourse. Mutants (Muties) and Cannibals (Cannies) are the common foe in the Deathlands. This book is awesome for the very same reasons Chuck Norris, Rambo, and demolition derbies are awesome. “

Sounds like a genuine literary masterpiece does it not? Now that you have completely lost what little respect you had for me, I would like you to share your guilty pleasures  in the comments section below. If you remember posting about this the last time we did confession, then tell me if you’ve discovered any new books you need to confess.  My favorite entry’s author will get to pick a book from the stacks as a reward for bravery.

Last week, I was offered a tenure track position at the university at which I am currently teaching. I have gone ahead and accepted that position. With the time commitment it is going to take to earn tenure, I’m going to be retiring from my position here as a reviewer and columnist. I’ll still contribute the random review from time to time, but my full time obligations will be coming to an end.

It’s been a wonderful two plus years and I’ve loved my time here at Fantasy Literature. I’ll still check in on the reviews as a reader. My husband got me a Kindle for a graduation present and with limited time, I’ll want to make sure I am picking the best books to read.

Because my time here is coming to a happy ending (not that I’m happy it’s ending, but the ending is for a happy reason) my last challenge to you will be to come up with the best ending in a fantasy book. Throwing jewelry into geological features doesn’t count. We’ll pick a commenter at random to win a book of your choice from the stacks.

Mothers’ Day is in three days, at least here in the states. I bring that to your attention since fantasy novels tend to do a horrible job with mothers. Rarely does our fair hero have a happy homelife. Usually (s)he sets out on a journey because either (s)he is terribly abused and misunderstood or orphaned (e.g. every Disney movie ever.) Consider this your reminder to call your mother now, for no reason, to tell her how much you love her. And then call again on Sunday.

As for me, my mommy is coming to town today! And my sister! And my dad and two brothers and a brother-in-law. This weekend shall be of epic proportions. I bought a new firepit, so that’s going to be exciting. The possibility of making smores without camping may not be good for my backside. So you’ll excuse me if this post is so short because I need to go do the dishes and scrub the toilet. Have a wonderful Mothers Day weekend from all of us at FanLit — and remember, your mother raised you to be smart enough not to read bad books.

And since now you’re thinking about mothers, who do you think is the best mother in fantasy literature? State your case below and you’ll be entered to win a book from our stacks. Also, be sure to check the box for following the comments because I’ll announce the winner in the comments.

First, congratulations to erysimum for winning our cover art contest last week. Please contact us to let us know which book you would like from our stacks.

Now, on to the main business of the day.

Next Thursday I am guest lecturing in a college class on YA literature. I’ve been asked to speak about the state of the YA Fantasy market. The class is designed for people who are planning to teach at the junior high or high school level, and I’m turning to you for some advice. I got my list of classics every kid should read, and some of the hot new books, but I want your help here. If you had a captive audience of prospective junior high teachers, what would you tell them about fantasy literature? If you could go back and make your reading experience better, what would it take?

And also, when are we going to see an end to the vampire trend? Is steampunk as big among the YA audience as it is becoming amongst the adults?

Thanks for your help. I’ll pick a random commenter to win a book of their choice from our stacks.

It’s time for another round of Identify the Cover Art! Since you managed to burn through the last one in under two hours, I’ve made this one a bit more difficult. I think.

We’re focusing on sparklies today, so all the covers feature a piece of jewelry.

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If you correctly identify one of the covers, we’ll enter you in a drawing to pick a book of your choice from the stacks.

I’ll be defending my dissertation today so I’ll turn the thought-provoking question-asking duties for the day over to one of our readers. In response to Terry‘s Magazine Monday post, Mark Lawrence asked:

I’m a fan of the short story both reading and writing (not that any of mine were Nebula-nominated). I’ve always felt they deserved a bigger press/market/readership. It’s odd really… we’re told the public’s attention span is getting shorter and shorter, and yet the short-story market shrinks day by day and the best selling fantasy is delivered in 1000+ page door stops!

So, readers, why do short stories not have a bigger press/market/readership?  I personally love short stories — they are wonderful for lunch time reading, or a quick tale before bedtime — so I’m not much help here. What do you think is going on?

We’ll pick a commenter at random to win the book of their choice from the stacks.

My niece turns 20 today. I’m not sure what space time warp continuum breach accounts for that since I’m pretty sure she is still nine, but, advanced mathematics and all aside, somehow she grew up. She’s more like a little sister than a niece, because I lived with her and her mom for years after she was born.

Muffinhead, for that is what I called her, is an inspiration to me. She decided she wanted to be a pastry chef so she up and moved to a different state to learn to bake. And then she wanted to see if she could make it in New York City, so she up and moved with to the city with a pocket full of change and a suitcase full of hope. She said she gave herself three months to see if she could make it, and if she couldn’t then she would try something else. Within a few months she was a baker at a restaurant owned by a very famous chef (think orange crocs.) So now she wanders around NYC baking fabulous food and doing fabulous things — she’s joined a quidditch team, participated in a flash mob, goes to museums on her day off, and during the huge blizzard slid down the front staircase of her building to get to the street so she could get to work. She said it was like being Legolas skiing down the stairs at Helm’s Deep. And then, once it had stopped snowing, she hiked out to the statue of Balto in Central Park to take a picture with it in the snow because she loved that story as a child.  She decided she was going to turn her bedroom into a steampunk airship, so she went to Home Depot, walked up to the oldest guy in an orange apron she could find and said, “This is what I want to do. How do I do it?” She now sleeps in a hammock, with maps on the walls to pick where she wants to go. She is always going to be that person — the person who sets off on whatever journey she has chosen. She calls her bedroom the H.L.S. Invictus after the poem by William Ernest Henley — I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

She completely is.

Watching her growing up is like reading a fairy tale.  She’s the charmed princess — a paperbag princess maybe – one who rescues her own self and would never slay a dragon because dragons are cool. She is much more likely to befriend one. She is the fantasy character I wish I could be. It’s great watching her story unfold. I can’t wait to see what epic quest line she is going to follow next.

So, dear readers — Muffinhead included — if you could be a character, either from real life or from a fantasy book, who would you want to be? I’ll randomly pick one commenter to win a book of their choice from our stacks.

Dear readers, this one is short and quick. There’s a reader who is wondering if there are any fantasy books where an old person is the protagonist. I can think of a few middle aged heroes, but not any old ones. The closest I can get is Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold where the female protagonist is late-middle aged. Unless undead counts as old, because some of those guys are hundreds of years old, but I don’t think that is what she is going for.

So, dear readers, we’re crowdsourcing this one. Please help a fellow reader and leave suggestions for books with old protagonists. I’ll draw a random commenter to win a book of their choice from our stacks.

We’re going to start a new regular feature here on Thoughtful Thursday. We’ve renamed cover art before, but today we’re going to see how well you recognize cover art. I’ll post four snapshots of parts of covers of fantasy books. For each cover, the first person to identify it will be entered into a drawing for the book of your choice from our stacks. You can identify all four if you want to make sure you get the book. Just make sure to label your answers with the number(s) of the picture.

One month I am going to do this with nothing but snapshots of back tattoos, but I’m going to start you off easy this month.

Your covers for this month are:

1.2.3.4.

Ready, set, go!

First off, congratulations to Franziska for winning last week’s knock knock joke competition. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to send books overseas right now, but feel free to contact me and tell me which book I should read next. I look forward to your choice.

Okay, so I’ve been surfing around the internet a bit and I stumbled upon a most disturbing rumor. You probably know that Hunger Games is being turned into a movie.  Well apparently, the rumor is that Alex Pettyfer and Jennifer Lawrence are being considered for the leads of Peeta and Katniss.

Ummmm, what?

If you are not familiar with these actors, take a gander:

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see it. He’s too pretty and too old, and she’s too delicate. Also, I never thought of Peeta as built, ya know?  You can tell this guy has muscles in a head shot.

My personal preference would be to cast unknowns, like they did with the Harry Potter movies. Hunger Games has enough of a fan base that you don’t have to worry about names to carry the launch. But, assuming you have to go with established actors, these are not the two I would go with.

How about Hailee Steinfeld for Katniss?

Even in a princess dress, I still get the impression she would punch you in the face if you tried to steal her purse. Also, she did True Grit, so you know she’s got the survival chops. Plus, she got an Oscar nod, so she’s good.

And for Peeta.  Hmmmmm. I’m past the age where I know good teenage boy actors, so the only one who springs to mind is Chord Overstreet. I still think he’s a bit too pretty.

And Haymitch has to be Jeff Bridges.

What do you think? If you were in charge who you cast? And what about the minor characters? Lisa Edelstein or Kristin Chenowith for Effie?

What about Rue? Or Cinna?

Post links for suggestions and we’ll see if we can collectively do better than Hollywood.

First person to suggest Taylor Lautner for Gale or Robert Pattinson for anything gets their library card confiscated.

We’ll randomly select a commenter to get a book from our stacks.

Okay, time to start casting!

It’s been a long hard slog through dissertation land. Yesterday I got an email telling me I really will get to defend in April and graduate this semester (Whoohoo!). Also, one my committee members is in the hospital with a heart attack (Crap!). Don’t worry, though, he’s going to be fine. Hopefully. For many reasons, the most important of which is that he is awesome and should not die because of his awesomeness.

So, do you know what this means?

I can start reading fantasy again! Double whoohoo! I haven’t read a fantasy book since Christmas break because I’ve been up to my eyeballs in drafts and revisions and formatting and 8 1/2 hours double-checking citations. And then there was the job interviewing. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And it’s a light spell. And lo, it is good.

So, today, my dear readers, we have a new sort of a challenge for you.

Create a fantasy knock-knock joke. The one that makes me laugh the hardest gets the book of their choice from our stacks and also (!) gets to pick my first fantasy book to read after this long drought.

So, tell me a knock-knock joke and list which book I should read. I’ll let you know which one makes me spit my drink I laughed so hard.

Back in the day when I played D&D, one of my favorite characters was a gnome druid. She planted a grove in the back of a wagon that was pulled by her companion dire badger. Sometimes she would ride the badger, and the badger would fight with her in combat. It was awesome.

Yes, my dungeon master was… flexible… when it came to the rules.

In last week’s comments we started a discussion about pets in fantasy books, and were hard pressed to come up with many examples. While this is probably due to the adventuring lifestyle being hard on four-legged friends, a lot of fantasy books feature telepathic animals. Horses, dragons, cats — all have been central players in fantasy literature. My first foray into fantasy literature as an adult was Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows of the Queen and I wanted a Companion with all of my teenage girl heart. To have a best friend forever and ever is something any teenage girl would identify with. My sister wanted a dragon, but I wanted a Companion, and then I wanted one of the hawks from the Hawkbrothers, mostly because the Hawkbrothers had cool outfits and hair. And lived in trees.

Did you ever fall in want with an animal from a fantasy book? What was it about the animal that mesmerized you? And is it just me or are we about due for a revival in the telepathic bond-creature storylines?

Let me know in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a book of your choice from our stacks!

Our long time friend and former reviewer Tia wrote a post on her blog a week ago about what blurb elements inspire her to pick up a book.  Warrior Women, ancient historical settings, secrets, the word “epic” and clash of culture stories all do it for her.

For me, there’s a few things that will usually cause me to pick up a book I haven’t heard of. Nature-based magic systems, strong religious or political themes, any retold fairy tale, and Victorian or Ancient Greek and Roman settings all seem to make it into my shopping cart. Egyptian settings will kill it for me usually, as  will vampires (though I love Gail Carriger’s vampires – I just didn’t know they were going to be in the book when I started reading it.)

So, dear readers, what blurbs entice you or dismay you? Let me know in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a book of your choice from our stacks!

Well, I set off a bit of a firestorm last week, didn’t I?

I want to follow up on a point that came up in the discussion.

Kat said:

Ruth, I don’t like rape scenes, either, but it’s a fact of life just like murder, war, animal cruelty, and child abuse. If we wiped it out of our books, they’d be more pleasant, but they wouldn’t be real. Why not wipe out all the other distasteful stuff, too, then?

And then Greg responded:

I agree with Kat’s point about the medieval settings. To me, there are a lot of authors that just can’t make me buy it when they make women being warriors too common. I mean, in many fantasy stories it just doesn’t jive with the world the story is in. Heck for that matter look at the ratio in our world for women cops or combat soldiers to men. And we live in a society that has been motivated to be more accepting of that. Most fantasy worlds don’t have that motivation.

So, I just have a question: What is the benefit of realism as a rating mechanism for fantasy? Isn’t the point of fantasy that you can do things that aren’t real? If the society is internally consistent, why does it matter if it doesn’t look like our history? There are elves and trolls running around and you are concerned about realism as defined by historical earth standards?

Dear readers, what do you think? Do you care about realism when it comes to fantasy? Or are you looking for internal consistency? Or is it something else entirely? Let me know what you think and we’ll enter you into a drawing for the book of your choice from our stacks!

[Ruth's post reflects her own opinions and not the opinions of the entire FanLit staff. We love Ruth, so we sometimes let her rant here.]

Justin, I love you like a brother, you know that right? That said, your claim that “I may have agreed with her 15 years ago, but I think the gender bias in epic fantasy has balanced out pretty evenly” in regards to N.K. Jemisin‘s post about the feminization of epic fantasy struck me a bit as “the lady doth protest too much.”

Now, I don’t read much epic fantasy, but that is because of the problem that you said doesn’t exist anymore. Long doorstopper bricks of a novel, in my experience, tend to feature manly men and the women who are (contractually obligated) to love them.

My completely non-scientific sample of epic fantasy includes the following male-centric works:

• J.R.R. Tolkien — Not many women folk of any race running around in those, other than as objects of inspiration or desire. He does get bonus points for Eowyn, though.
• Piers Anthony — I stopped reading him because of all the suicidal teenage girls.
• Patrick Rothfuss — Brilliant author. Main female character is a professional.
• C.S. Lewis — Yes, Lucy and Susan are there, but kept at a distance from the main action. And then Susan grows up and commits the sin of *gasp* liking boys so she gets kicked out of fantasy land.
• George R. R. Martin — Lots of man violence and rape.
• Robert Jordan — ’nuff said.
• Terry Brooks — I admit to not having read these.
• Stephen R. Donaldson — Establishes manliness through raping a woman.
• David Farland — I DNFed these in my pre-FanLit days.
• Terry Goodkind — *gag* smashing babies — not a particularly feminine attribute.
• Robin Hobb — Another fantastic author. Mostly male leads.
• Ursula K. Leguin — Earthsea — I’m specifying a series here, because LeGuin does amazing work with gender in other books, but as an example of male-centered epic fantasy, I have to include this.
• Patricia McKillip — The Riddlemaster of Hed.
• L.E. Modesitt‘s — The Saga of Recluce.
• Janny Wurts — The Wars of Light and Shadow.

Now, you’ll notice that I am not saying that this is a problem with male authors, because there are several females on my list. I love some of these books, but I think they all feature male protagonists. At least the ones I’ve read.

So, my questions this week are multiple: Are there epic fantasy series out there featuring women that I am just missing? Or is there something about the epic fantasy sub-genre that requires male protagonists? Epic fantasy is usually about saving the world, the battle between which is more powerful — good or evil — and which will come out victorious. Combined with the typical trappings of some sort of feudal monarchy — medieval European setting, it’s not surprising to see that so few authors manage to escape standard constructions of power = male. But that is what we get. In the few epic fantasies featuring women, they are basically men without penises in all but fact — muscular, aggressive, large — that they don’t get beyond the gender divide in any meaningful way.  C’mon, Justin, I want to believe you that all is happy in fantasy land, but I’m discovering a dearth of evidence that supports your claim. Maybe our dear readers can help you out.

Join in what I am sure will be a respectful and courteous comments section and we’ll enter you in a drawing to win a book from our stacks!

My sister Sarah emailed me earlier this week:

Someone mentioned in a comment on your Name of the Wind review that this book is what got them re-excited about Fantasy the way Dune was the book that got them excited about SF or something like that.I’ve been trying to think… what book got me excited about fantasy or SF? Can you remember? Does Lion, Witch and Wardrobe count? Is there a book that you can point to? I think there is more than one at different times in my life and different types of SF/F.

• Dune is probably the first real Space Opera I read – I don’t consider it SF
• Anne McCaffrey’s dragons
• Telzey Amberdon because I’ve always loved psychic powers – which goes back to the dragons :) Which came first for me? Catseye and the Beastmaster stories by Norton or Schmitz‘s Telzey stories? Hmmm. This may take some more thought.

This got me started thinking about when I started reading fantasy as a genre. As a young teenager, I read Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows of the Queen, Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsong and Midori Snyder’s Oran Trilogy in quick succession and I never looked back. That’s when I started pursuing fantasy novels specifically, in stead of reading them if someone else recommended them to me.

So, dear readers: what book started you down this magical path? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll enter you in a drawing to win the book of your choice from our stacks.