He’s not just a demon, he’s THE demon. And honestly, Kaiisteron is one of my favorite characters from the past year. Maybe not quite in possession of “a heart of gold,” he nonetheless loves his friends and tries to do right in the world.
Witch King by Martha Wells opens with Kai returning to consciousness, confused and worried about being disembodied – basically a ghost. It’s a disorienting start to a mystery full of politics and betrayal, as we have to figure out what’s going on along with the demon. He immediately resolves the need for a body (and revenge) and goes looking for his best friend, Ziede. She is a Witch who can no longer sense her wife, Tahren – a nearly immortal being who switched sides in the last war. Kai and Ziede, along with an abandoned orphan and other people picked up along the way, immediately set out to find Tahren and figure out what has happened in the year they were imprisoned.
From that point on, the novel intersperses the current timeline with the story of how all these powerful people met each other and changed the world. They were part of a rebellion, upending the power-hungry Hierarchs who were conquering the world. As usual, Martha Wells provides world building that’s miles deep and centuries long. This world feels real and lived in, so the stakes matter. Except that the full, entire stakes are not crystal clear until past and present come together in a surprising, satisfying ending with plenty of twists and turns.
This book definitely rewards a second read. The first time through I was more concerned with figuring out who was who and what was happening. Wells throws you into the deep end and slowly parcels out clues and details. The stakes are so much higher than a missing spouse or a betrayed friendship. The second time, I could appreciate the sheer genius of how the two timelines fit together and inform each other. Once again, Kaiisteron’s actions and his loyalty to the man who saved him changes the fate of his world. I hope Wells writes more in this world, but this is a fantastic standalone as is.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).
It’s an alternative history, magical, buddy cop, police procedural romp of a story, complete with a little romance. If you’re looking for fun, A Master of Djinn has it!
Set in 1912 in an alternative Cairo, Egypt, the story begins with the horrific mass murder of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Al-Jahiz, a group of British men dedicated to the return of al-Jahiz, an almost mythological mystic. Only almost, though, because al-Jahiz did exist, and he upended the world order when he brought djinn and all sorts of magical creatures back into the world. He’s regarded equally as hero, genius, and dangerous iconoclast. It would appear that al-Jahiz has returned, and he’s working to upset the balance of powers yet again. Or has he?
Fatma el-Sha’arawi is an agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, and she’s called immediately to the Brotherhood’s mansion, home of the Worthington family. Fatma wears beautiful, flashy Western-style suits and a bowler hat, and she carries a sword in her cane. She is met at the crime scene by her unexpected, new partner Hadia, a recent addition to the Ministry. The interplay between the seasoned professional and the newbie who can “handle herself” provides terrific exchanges and some genuinely funny moments. Hadia has a cousin for every circumstance and wears modern, colorful hijabs. The third amazingly competent woman who contributes to solving the crime is Fatma’s mysterious lover, Siti, who worships Sekhmet of the old Egyptian pantheon. These three women of color make a formidable team with their intelligence, various connections, and genuine affection for one another.
The Worthingtons, on the other hand, seem rather hapless and ineffectual. The patriarch, whose murder launched the investigation, had an attachment to all things Egyptian that bordered on obsession. None of his offspring share his interests, and his heir starts to disentangle the family fortunes in order to return to England’s greener shores. The friends and flunkies around them serve to reinforce the suggestion of incompetent colonialists trading on wealth and social standing, but the investigation keeps leading back to the estate.
The unraveling of the whodunnit involves lady thieves, a worldwide peace summit being hosted by the Egyptian king, old gods, and new technology. It’s a fantastic mix – in all senses of the word. Layered among all the action and adventure, author Clark sneaks in commentary on colonialism, sexism, classism, colorism, and all manner of other social constructs. However, he never throws these strong women a challenge they can’t overcome in this highly cinematic, fast-moving novel.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).
I like Joe Hill’s fiction, no matter which selection it is. I am particularly drawn to and sometimes revisit his amazing anthology 20th Century Ghosts. The collection comprises 15 short stories, each with its own unique theme and style. Joe Hill’s versatility shines through as he explores various aspects of horror, from traditional ghost stories to psychological thrillers. The stories are infused with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and dark humor, creating a diverse and engaging reading experience.
The opening story, “Best New Horror,” sets the tone for the entire collection. It tells the tale of a jaded horror fiction editor who stumbles upon a manuscript that takes him on a horrifying journey into a world he could never have imagined. Hill’s use of meta-fiction in this story adds layers of complexity to the narrative, leaving readers with much to ponder.
Joe Hill’s ability to create compelling characters makes his fiction unforgettable. Whether it’s a young boy who can transform into a living comic book character in “Pop Art” or the ghost of a movie projectionist in “The Projectionist,” his characters have a depth and humanity that gives the supernatural elements all the more a stirring and relatable feel. Hill’s skill in creating atmospheric settings also permeates the collection. Whether it’s a creepy movie theater, a haunted tunnel, or a sinister roadside attraction, the locations in these stories are as much a part of the narrative as the characters themselves. The sense of place adds to the overall immersion and tension in each tale.
While horror is its primary genre, 20th Century Ghostsdoesn’t rely solely on scares. Many of the stories delve into deeper emotional territory, exploring themes of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships. “Better Than Home” and “Voluntary Committal” are poignant examples of Hill’s ability to tug at the heartstrings. Joe Hill’s imaginative storytelling is a defining feature of this collection. He doesn’t rely on clichés or tired horror tropes; instead, he constantly surprises the reader with fresh ideas and innovative twists. “My Father’s Mask” and “The Black Phone” are prime examples of his originality and the ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats.
The titular story, “20th Century Ghosts,” is a beautiful and melancholic piece that serves as a fitting conclusion to the collection. It explores the idea that we are all haunted by the past in one way or another, and Hill’s prose resonates long after the final page is turned.
Angie is an Instructor & Research Specialist at Central Branch and is a co-facilitator for Reads of Acceptance, HCLS’ first LGBTQ-focused book club. Her ideal day is reading in her cozy armchair, with her cat Henry next to her.
When I was four years old, I told my brother that I was a 5,000-year-old witch. For nearly every Halloween thereafter, I was a witch. My truest form. As a child, every book I chose was unusually supernatural. A little dark. A little different. A lot like me. Indeed, this little Guamanian girl’s house was strewn with interesting reading material. Little did I know my witchy fascination would stick with me well into adulthood. When I say I was delighted to find that “witchy” books were gaining popularity among my (now adult) peers, you understand I was beyond ecstatic!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna is cozy, sweet, and a lovely listen. Samara MacLaren’s voice perfectly conveys a romanticized, present-day UK filled with worldly, contemporary witches. We follow Mika Moon, an orphaned witch from India who was brought to the UK and raised by Primrose. Primrose is a strict (regional manager type) witch who believes witches must live by the rules or risk persecution, or worse still – death. The most important of these rules dictates, “Alone is how we survive.”
Mika is the very embodiment of this forced loneliness. Cursed from birth (like all witches), she is motherless, untethered, and yearning for family. A loveless, rootless existence is complicated by the necessity to live with magic in the world without being discovered. Her story demonstrates how witches experience the same kind of childhood trauma, feelings of insecurity, and a need for belonging much like any mere mortal.
Mika seeks connection so desperately that she creates an alter-ego (and a humble online following) where she “pretends” to be a witch concocting magical teas in her cauldron for all to see and enjoy. A safe and clever way to hide in plain sight. She is soon sought out by a group of characters inhabiting Nowhere House seeking a real witch to care for three young witches. She finds herself at the doorstep of Nowhere House interviewing to be a live-in tutor and her life is turned upside-down yet again, but in the best way. Shenanigans ensue, as can only be expected with young girls and spellcraft. The staff at Nowhere House only add to the story’s magic.
This story is brimming with magic, love, and found family. There’s an honest vulnerability that weaves through Mika’s character. You can’t help but see the gilded glitter of magic swirling in the landscape and the witches. You can’t help but be mesmerized by the lure of magic and the desire to control what is sometimes uncontrollable. And you can’t help but to empathize with Mika’s unrealized grief or cheer on her personal growth. My goodness, also to wish the brooding librarian to give her a kiss! Heavens!
If anything, this book proves that magic not only lives in everyday places, but the most powerful magic wants to be used just as much as each of us deserves and wants to be loved. Read this book and embrace all the good there is in life, love – and feel magic again.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna is available an e-book and e-audiobook. There’s a bit of a wait, but it’s worth it.
JP has worked for HCLS since 2006. She enjoys gallivanting, Jollibee, and all the halo-halo she can eat.
Once upon a time, there were three sisters. I love a story about three sisters, probably because I am one. The Once and Future Witches grabbed my attention right away with Bella, Agnes, and James Juniper Eastwood. Bella is the bookish, rule following oldest (hello, yes, it’s me), followed by the fiercely independent Agnes who guards her heart, then the rebel, wild child June. They were separated from each other and their home in Crow County before the book opens but are unexpectedly reunited in New Salem as the story begins with a dramatic rally.
This wonderful, rich, layered novel closely weaves together many elements, including witching, suffrage, civil rights, and nursery rhymes. Witchcraft is forbidden, even if every woman knows a spell or two for domestic tasks and other “unimportant” business. It used to be more. Except women became too powerful (in whose eyes?), and the witch hunters burned down Old Salem. Since that time, the Way of Avalon, with its last Three witches, has been lost. Until all three Eastwood sisters were pulled into the town square by a strange spell that called the black tower of Avalon, briefly, into being above them.
This launches the Eastwoods into forming the Sisters of Avalon, a secret society of women who want to reclaim witching. By pooling knowledge and handed down stories, the sum becomes greater than its parts. They begin to piece together not just more power than any single woman had on her own, but what was lost when Old Salem burned. Each chapter begins with a small spell, mostly based on old nursery rhymes or superstitious sayings, along with the ingredients to make it work. Every spell needs the words, the way, and, most importantly, the WILL. None of the women in this book lack willpower, that’s for sure.
The sisters also have messy personal lives that compound the larger story. Agnes, who works in a mill, is unmarried and pregnant, and she chooses to raise the next generation of Eastwood women. Bella falls in love with a nosy newspaper-woman, who has keeps an interesting set of secrets within the Black community of New Cairo. This slow-burn romance lends an unexpected joyful note to the proceedings. And Juniper, well, she has her own murderous secrets and lonely heartaches.
Inevitably, the Eastwood sisters and the Sisters of Avalon cross the Powers That Be and all seems lost. But, not put too fine a point on it, where’s there’s a Will, there’s a Way. The end absolutely delivers on the promise of that first meeting in St. George’s Square. One of the things I appreciated about this novel was the villain, who is entirely, unapologetically villainous. Not many stories have such a defined antagonist these days, and it made the final showdown more meaningful.
I fell headlong into this story and was glad I picked it up over a long weekend where I didn’t feel guilty about losing an afternoon or two. It’s a long one, at 500+ pages, but I enjoyed spending the time with the Eastwood sisters, their friends, and their lovers. A brief review doesn’t really do the entirety of the story justice, but I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of how the Eastwood Three – Maiden, Mother, and Crone – reclaim all that is rightfully theirs.
This title is available in print, e-book, and e-audiobook. You’ll have to wait for the electronic copies, but the physical book is ready to borrow.
When I’m looking for a new book to read, any book with a dragon on the cover immediately calls my name. To Shape a Dragon’s Breathcaught me at the title, and with a gorgeous red-and-black illustration of a fierce dragon on the cover, I was sold!
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is the debut novel from author Moniquill Blackgoose. It’s a queer, Native American dragon rider story, full of originality and anti-colonial power. The magical worldbuilding is strong, and the cultural commentary is not subtle but refreshingly straightforward. We get dragons, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ representation, magical academia adventures, political intrigue, and more in this first book of the Nampeshiweisit series.
Blackgoose cites Peter Beagle’s The Last Unicornand Terry Pratchett’s Discworldas her favorites of the fantasy genre, and hers is an important and timely addition to the fantasy literature canon. I was instantly struck by Blackgoose’s clear, cutting prose, the rich alternate-history Victorian universe, and the strength of the characters. It’s easy to claim “strong female protagonist” as a checklist item, but it’s harder to make good on that claim, and Blackgoose achieves it thoroughly. Anequs is a protagonist who refuses to let her will be shaped by others, and though our main character knows herself from the start of the book, we watch her discover who she will become in a world that seeks to make her into something else—a world that is inhabited by humans that are crueler than the dragons they try to control.
Like any good dragon book, there are dragons on every page. They are controlled by the alternate-universe Vikings, known as the Anglish, who colonized the land they live in, and claim ownership of land, people, and dragons whom Anequs is aware cannot be owned by anyone. Due to the colonizers’ control over the dragons, the book’s main character is the first among the indigenous people to be chosen as the partner of a dragon hatchling in many generations, and the story follows Anequs as she travels to the Anglish-run Kuiper’s Academy of Natural Philosophy to train in all aspects of raising and keeping a dragon.
Although it’s set in an alternate history, the social and political events that occur in Anequs’s life mirror those of the real world, and it’s a story that deals frankly with the harms of colonization and racial injustice. The book delves into societal issues of prejudice and deep-rooted worldview differences between Anequs and the colonizers who run the dragon academy. We see through Anequs’s eyes as she confronts the depths of racism, colonialism, sexism, and homophobia that are ingrained in the colonizer society. Her strength in the face of their bigotry is refreshing and powerful, and presents a complex examination of tokenism, while questioning the white colonial savior complex and reminding readers that Anequs and her Indigenous people never needed saving or advancement.
Blackgoose’s version of the dragon-rider archetype is unlike anything I’ve read before, but readers who enjoyed books like Eragonor Fourth Wingwill love this refreshingly original dragon story, told in Anequs’s direct, clear voice. I hope you’ll join me in eagerly awaiting the sequel!
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose is available in print and e-book.
Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Glenwood Branch + Makerspace. She loves reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally trying to squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.
One of the hottest titles at the moment is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. It has Hunger Games energy, plus dragons! Violet, a young woman who expects to follow her deceased father into a scholarly life, is instead enrolled into the military academy by her mother, the general. From there, the story takes off into a school story, but with death of cadets an inevitable, acceptable outcome. On top of not wanting to be in the dragon academy, Violet has physical issues (which seem similar to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) that make it even more difficult for her to succeed. However, she does have a fair amount of stubbornness and unwillingness to die – gotta love her! The story only gets more complicated with conscripted children of a failed rebellion and ever-increasing military action at the country’s borders. I suspect there’s more going on here, but I will have to wait for answers until the next book in the series, which comes out in November.
Speaking of waiting – go ahead and get yourself on the list for Fourth Wing (print, e-book, or e-audiobook). In the meantime, here are more great books with dragons:
Heartstone by Elle Katharine White Pride and Prejudice, with dragons! This one leans more toward Austen and Regency romance than modern dystopian fantasy. It has everything: country houses, fights with monsters, terrible misunderstandings, class issues, and one true love. But, you know, with dragons. Aliza Bentaine, second of five sisters, resides at the family’s country estate of Merybourne Manor. A flock of wild gryphons has infested their land and, tragically, killed the youngest sister. Riders come to the rescue, and the rest follows from there. Reader, I devoured it – plus, there are sequels.
Native Americans and colonization, with dragons! In this alternate timeline, the Viking explorations became permanent settlements of this continent, with a Spanish-equivalent nation to the south. In what maps to current-day New England, Anequs, a young Native woman, lives a traditional island lifestyle with her family, until a rare indigenous dragon lays an egg and the ensuing hatchling bonds with her. She is compelled to attend a dragon academy, which brings her in close contact with “regular society,” and not particularly subtle culture clashes ensue. Anequs, though, is determined to do what is best for herself and her dragon, as well as her family and friends, while actively avoiding assimilation. Also available as an e-book.
The Napoleonic wars, with dragons! Will Laurence is an officer and a gentleman serving in the Royal Navy when his ship captures a French frigate carrying important, secret cargo – a dragon egg! The dragon Temeraire chooses Will, causing him to leave the Navy and, for the most part, good society to become a member of the Aerial Corps along with his new charge. Class structures provide much of the drama, outside of the war raging across the continent. The subsequent political and military maneuvers are wonderfully entertaining, especially with Temeraire as the outsider who often needs to have things explained. The mystery of the dragon’s origins continue through this book and the next. Over the course of the series, Laurence and Temeraire travel the world, always looking to advance the cause and care of the intelligent, capable species of dragonkind. Also available as an e-book and e-audiobook.
Kitchen boy to … well, more … epic fantasy, with big, bad, scenery slaying dragons! This sprawling series takes on many standard tropes and has a lot of fun with them. Prophecy, immortal elves, scheming merchant families, named swords, battles for the throne, absent and all-too-present deities, and dragons combine in Jenn Lyons’ huge (finished!) series. Khirin is the main character, but not necessarily the hero, of a story that is the most recent chapter in a epic that spans millennia. A seeming orphan thief who lives in a brothel, Khirin’s life is turned upside down when he’s condemned to slavery and again when it seems he’s a lost scion of a noble house. The plot moves fast, and things are never quite as they appear. The stories are written as a sort of historical account, complete with dry, snarky footnotes. Discovering the “author” and the role he plays is part of the fun. Despite the doorstop size of the five volumes in this series, they move fast and require you to read carefully. Also available as an e-audiobook.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).
Some of you may have already collected your finisher prizes for our Summer Reading Adventure. If you have, congratulations! Great job reading and completing activities. It’s not too late to visit one of our branches to collect your prize if you haven’t. They are available through Thursday, August 31, as long as supplies last. If you’re still working on finishing those last few reads, I have a highlight for you from each of our elementary lists. This time, I’m focusing on friendship stories.
This book offers a beautiful beginning, showing ways to say “welcome” from around the world even before the title page. Amy is excited to see a new student join her class, but he doesn’t talk at all during the school day, even when she tries very hard to make him feel welcome. When she sees him light up and talk away to his little sister – in Chinese – she’s surprised to see how different he is! Amy thinks hard and comes up with an idea of another way to make him feel welcome. Check the book out to see if Amy succeeds, and be sure to explore the craft idea and note from the author.
How to Test a Friendship, the first title in the series Magnificent Makers, introduces readers to third graders Pablo and Violet, best friends who are looking forward to being in the same class and studying science, their favorite subject. When new student Deepak appears and starts making friends with Violet, Pablo is not very excited. But the three suddenly find themselves transported to the Maker Maze when they solve a riddle in science class. They must complete challenges to return to their world, but they will only finish in time if they work together. Can Pablo set aside his hard feelings toward Deepak so that they make it home in time? Do they know enough to solve the puzzles? If your young scientist is feeling inspired, be sure to take a look the STEM activities in the back to try at home!
Readers who enjoy fantasy will love The Witchlings, offering another unique view of magic and the world by the author of Ghost Squad. It’s the night of the Black Moon Ceremony, when Witchlings are placed in their covens, and twelve-year-old Seven Salazar knows exactly where she wants to be: House Hyacinth, with her best friend Poppy. Instead, Seven’s worst nightmare comes true. She’s named a Spare, one of the three witches left over at the end of the ceremony, along with Thorn, who is new to town, and Valley, Seven’s long-time enemy. Spares are stripped of their magic and treated poorly, but Seven invokes the rarely used Clause of the Impossible Task. If she and the other Spares can accomplish the Impossible Task, they will complete their circle and become a true coven. When they learn they need to find and defeat the dreaded Nightbeast, Seven and her coven wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into. Little do they know, Seven, Thorn, and Valley will uncover even darker and more mysterious things lurking in their town of Ravenskill. They need to work together and learn to trust each other if they have any chance of success. Check out The Witchlings to discover whether they manage the impossible and overcome their own pasts and fears, as well as the dark powers working against them.
Eliana is aChildren’s Research Specialist and Instructor at HCLS Elkridge Branch. She loves reading, even if she’s slow at it, and especially enjoys helping people find books that make them light up. She also loves being outside and spending time with friends and family (when it’s safe).
King Arthur isn’t dead. The Round Table yet survives.
Only… it looks a little different. In the place of mail and armor, you have sixteen-year-olds with unbelievable strength and speed. Merlin’s around too, but he’s a college student and “Merlin” is merely a title. And somehow, wonder of all wonders, the seat of all this ancient power is in Chapel Hill, NC.
That’s not the only fantastical thing, though, in Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. There are centuries of lore, of demons and Shadowborn, all hiding under a thinly veiled surface of messy college kid drama. They surround the Onceborn (read: all of us), who live blissfully ignorant lives, worrying about normal things, like getting busted going off campus or figuring out who is headed to the party tonight.
And Bree, our protagonist, doesn’t know about any of the secrets of the Round Table when she applies to the University of North Carolina’s Early College program with her best friend Alice. She doesn’t expect to be caught up in an Arthurian world of magic and lore, and she definitely doesn’t expect that applying to go to the same school her mother attended would cause so much personal tragedy. Still reeling from the trauma of losing her mother, trying to establish some sense of normalcy, and looking for the truth about the suspicious circumstances of her mother’s death, Bree throws herself headlong into this Arthurian world, making friends and enemies along the way.
Cool, right? It’s everything I want from my YA novels, hearkening back to the good ole days of 2014, when the trilogy ruled the YA realm with works like Divergent or Matched. But now, we get far more in-depth lore, speaking more candidly (and less stereotypically) about mental health, and a whole lot more diversity of character. Bree’s experience at UNC is profoundly shaped by being Black. It’s a reality that so many BIPOC students face that has only recently been put to pen, and a reality that author Tracy Deonn knows intimately, having gone to UNC herself.
The coolest part is one I won’t spoil for you, but there is a very fun other magic in this book too, so if you like King Arthur and his knights, but it’s not enough to sway you, there’s a whole lot more to the magic of this world, and Bree discovers all of the secrets and implications in due course.
It’s a brick of a book, but it flies by. The themes in this book of being Black, the unquestioned queerness among her friends and peers, and the honest discussions of grief and the trauma that results make for a real and grounded force within this novel that is otherwise so perfectly fantastical. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second one. In this series – here’s hoping for a trilogy.
Do you remember the old Hershey’s Peanut Butter Cup ad? Who got their chocolate in my peanut butter? Who got their peanut butter in my chocolate? Sometimes, two great tastes go together! Urban fantasy follows this winning formula – you get all the modern conveniences candy-coated with some of your favorite myths and fairy tales.The genre can get a bad rap, though, with werewolves, witches, and vampires living among us, hidden in the hustle and bustle of cities.
But who doesn’t love a good series? However, they make for tricky book reviews because it’s hard to know where to begin. So, here’s a peek at four urban fantasy series by three of my favorite authors, all of whom have other work. You can decide whether you want to commit to the long – but rewarding – experience of either finding and reading a backlist title or starting at a good pickup point. Honestly, the author will tell you what you really need to know in setting up the newest book. If it turns out you enjoy urban fantasy, you’re in luck, because this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Some common, positive elements across all these series include found family, short and long narrative arcs across the series, and a subversive sense of humor.
Seanan McGuire: Incryptids & October Daye
McGuire is a beyond-prolific writer, maintaining multiple series at a time. The Incryptid series concerns the most recent generation of the Price/Healy clan, who have made it their goal to study and save all the “monsters” and myths who have managed to adapt and survive. The series begins with Verity Price, who is a competitive ballroom dancer for her day job. Tons of fun and super fast-paced, these books move main point-of-view characters every second or third book, so you have easy access points. Come for the scary and smart women, stay for the Aeslin Mice who worship them (no, really). First book: Discount Armageddon Most recent/last in series: Spelunking Through Hell, available via Interlibrary Loan
McGuire’s other big UF series follows changeling October Daye, born of a fairy mother and a mortal father. When the series begins, she has spent more than a the decade as a fish. Yep, you read that right. Toby finds work as a private investigator solving problems that involve the fey courts along the west coast. Sixteen books later, Sir Toby has made big strides with her abilities and sense of self-worth, as she strives to make the world a better place, because, honestly, she cannot leave well enough alone. Come for the wonderful cast of characters, and stay for the genuine other-ness, sometimes downright creepily so, of the faerie world. First book: Rosemary and Rue (I started with An Artificial Night) Most recent: Be the Serpent
Patricia Briggs: Mercy Thompson
These qualify as guilty pleasures, given the number of new, interesting books published every year. I still look forward to spending the occasional weekend with Mercy Thompson and the local werewolf pack. As the series begins, Mercy is eking out an existence for herself in the Tri-City area of Washington state, working as a mechanic and staying loosely connected to local fey community. She’s something of an oddity, as she can turn into a coyote at will but was raised in a werewolf family. The local pack lives, more or less, in her backyard, and their leader isn’t quite sure what to make of Mercy. The world-building may be a little haphazard, but it fits together well enough as repercussions from previous adventures circle around to cause further problems. Come for the sassy, stubborn VW mechanic/were-coyote, stay for a series that has grown with its protagonist.
I have to admit these took a turn into gritty, almost grimdark, territory, and I’m a little behind with the series. As the series opens, Harry Dresden is Chicago’s only wizard for hire, complete with an ad in the yellow pages (wow, that dated quickly). He is a sarcastic, sardonic sort of knight in battered armor, tilting at windmills and living by his personal (slightly sexist) code of honor. One of Butcher’s strengths is that everybody gets their own story arc, affected by and, in turn, affecting Harry’s. Actions have consequences, and the series deals with a wide variety of disasters. Come for Harry’s adventures as he takes on high-powered enemies and frenemies – mortal, fey, and monstrous alike; stay for the sense of humor that brings you Sue the T-Rex (from the Field Museum) being animated by a one-man polka band.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).
CHAPTER CHATS 