Urban fantasy has long-reaching roots, but it is only in the last twenty years or so that writers and readers have begun using the term in an effort to describe and define a subgenre of fantasy. A subgenre in which the city defines the setting as well as itself as a character. The theme of Paper Cities, an Anthology of Urban Fantasy is to illustrate how cities are like living entities in themselves, and how they affect and influence the lives of those that dwell within them.

Some of the stories emphasized the physical aspects of the city creating distinctive images and atmospheres like Jay Lake's Promises: A Tale of the City Imperishable,

On the roof---a roof, rather, for the Sudgate was ramified and ramparted like some palace of dream---the moonlight was almost violet. The heavy grease-and-shit scent of the Sudgate Districts moiled below them somewhere, miscegenating with night humors off the Saltus and whatever flowed down from Heliograph Hill and the Limerock Palace. Sister Nurse set Girl down so that they stood on a narrow ledge, looking back across the City Imperishable to the north and east as a curious, abrasive wind plucked at them both.

and The Funeral, Ruined by Ben Peek,

Lately, the twin ovens had a tendency to blur around the edges for Linette, but even with the beginning of her deteriorating eyesight due to her thirty-eighth year, the immense girth and height of the creations meant that they were unable to be passed over when she looked at Issuer’s skyline. In contrast, the hundreds of long, bronze windmills that rose out of the city could---and did--- fade from her awareness. The Ovens, however, lurked on the horizon like a pair of dark, hunched watchers outside the city, covered in a layer of soot as a disguise. If you managed to forget them (and Linette doubted she ever could), then you would be reminded each Friday when they belched tart smelling ash, and plumes rose out of each to signal the burning of the weekly dead.

Others showed how peoples lives were re-shaped, adapted to, or otherwise forced to conform to their environment like in the absurdly strange Godivy by Vylar Kaftan where office managers mate with copiers to produce...copies of themselves, and in the sobering story Taser by Jenn Reese in which a gang of human boys is led by a ruthless husky-mixed dog with telepathic abilities. In Catherynne M. Valente’s Palimpsest, the city makes its mark on the inhabitants literally,

I caught a glimpse in my mirror as I turned to catch a loose thread in my skirt---behind my knee, a dark network of lines and angles, and, I thought I could see, tiny words scrawled above them, names and numbers, snaking over the grid.

After that, I began to look for them.

There were the fantastically adventurous stories like Alex and the Toyceivers by Paul Meloy. This short story is actually the first chapter of a novel in which demented toy-like beasts are after Alex. A sudden, violent confrontation and narrow escape left me wanting to know more about the Toyceivers and why they were after Alex. The Somnambulist by David J. Schwartz tells of a woman who awakens most mornings exhausted and aching because …

She dreamed that she carried a fire-tipped lance astride an eight-legged horse, that she excavated bones from the floors of ancient cathedrals, that she climbed the inner walls of ruined fortresses long since given over to tourists and pulled amulets from behind loose bricks. Sometimes she killed faceless things that crawled through wind or flew upon currents of sand. She developed calluses on her hands, woke up sore after sleeping on silk sheets. Her nails never needed to be clipped.

The Tower of Morning’s Bones by Hal Duncan is an exaltation of language that spans time and space to revel in the most ancient of myths and more modern technologies in a single bound. Its tone and prose are reminiscent of his duology, The Book of All Hours,

Over the grey memory of his dream and over the grey reality of the world outside, he sings out loud and long the lines that weave the world around him, music and mosaic, a shape of songlines. This modern muezzin sings from his minaret to wake the mourning city up, and as he sings, a tower of hours arises out of swamp, vines climbing shaft to glassy dome. The songliner laughs---the city’s morning glory. Somewhere a weathervane cockcrows.

Although they all share a common theme, the diversity of the stories and imaginations of the authors make this collection an interesting and compelling read. In Paper Cities, the city is not a mere background against which authors prop their characters to tell a story. The city is a character: an incredibly viable, evolving, and influential one at that.

Misty Massey’s first novel, Mad Kestrel is a story of a young lady who has made her way in life to her satisfaction, while avoiding some common pitfalls of unfortunate youths and also evading capture by the Danisoban – the cadre of mages who control the use of magic and it’s wielders, capturing and either brainwashing or enslaving them all. She evades them because she is a Promise, a person born with the potential to use magic. She has the ability to control the wind though she rarely uses it and only when she cannot be observed. She’s made her way onto a pirate ship, the sea can neutralize the Danisoban magic and thus she is safe from capture. She is not safe, however, from treachery, trickery and betrayal. Her life and her companions are no longer what they appeared to be and danger follows her around every corner.

When her captain is captured and arrested for piracy, Kestrel, barely escaping the same fate, in turn gets captured by a Danisoban agent. Her subsequent adventures are engaging and fun to follow along with. While there is a substantial lack of background given for both the lead character and the world she lives it – this can be easily corrected in future stories – her character and basic plot are interesting enough to pull readers into those yet to be written stories. I would have preferred to have a few more buckles swashed, and for sure more on the magic concept, as well as more world building background to move the geography from an isolated spot surrounded by void into a place on a map you can spatially understand. She also inconsistently changed pace – at first we are immediately thrown into action, then we get slowness…andbacktoaction…and then s l o w n e s s again. It may not have been as jarring had I not just finished a novel that was action from cover to cover; so take that with a grain of salt. I truly enjoyed some of the surprises that were sprung on the reader, and though one or two were things I might have imagined as natural evolutions of the story, some definitely took me by pleasant surprise.

Mad Kestrel is what I call a debut of interest. While I would not consider Mad Kestrel to be bestseller quality, the author definitely shows potential to give us some wonderful stories and possibly a blockbuster or two. I found her ideas and plot machinations to be very interesting and enjoyable. The main issues I had with the book were the inconsistent pacing and the lack of background and as explained above, these are fixable issues and only highlight her newness to the publishing scene. I also wanted to mention that I found the cover to be one of the more interesting and aesthetically pleasing covers I have seen in a while. I have found that lately, covers seem to be almost afterthoughts; not given the importance and stature they deserve. Clever images and photos are nice, but a painter’s interpretation seems much more often to find the mark of the personality of the book itself.

Embrace the Night, Karen Chance’s third volume in the Cassandra Palmer series is a fitting sequel to the first two. Fast paced and filled with faeries, kids, vampires, mages, ghosts, incubi, gargoyles, magic spells, evil plots, backstabbing and surprises – this one follows the lead of the first two and adds in a bit more of each to ‘kick it up a notch’ so to speak. In this novel, Cassie is now Pythia, the most powerful living clairvoyant with the charge of keeping the current timeline from being corrupted through unscrupulous use of time travel. Cassie’s familiarity with vampires and ghosts is an aid to her for this post but she has just a few tiny little obstacles to surmount. The first issue she has to deal with is a geis placed upon her by the very old and very powerful vampire Mircea. Just for complications sake, during one of her trips to the past, she accidentally caused the geis to be intensified. Another problem she must manage is her deal with the king of the faeries. She has agreed to retrieve an ancient book of magic for him. Not just any book but one written personally by Merlin and sought after by everyone who is anyone in the magical community. It hasn’t even been seen in hundreds of years, yet she has to find it and recover it. Working against her are the mage’s Silver Circle and various factions of this or that group that either want to kill her or control her because of her power.

Cassie, however, has friends. She has the permanently cranky Pritkin, war mage extraordinaire who is not only an expert on demons, but the son of one himself. Can she trust him? She also has Casanova, an incubus in the employ of her former tormentor, crime boss and vampire Tony. Can she trust him to not betray her to Tony? Then there are the gargoyles who illegally work the kitchen of the casino where she’s hiding out, Francoise a powerful witch transported from the past, and of course, Billy, her gambler ghost friend.

The action begins immediately and carries through to the final page. This one goes quickly and drags you along for the ride. Full of quirky humor, a bit of steamy romance, and lots of inventive magic and mayhem it is an enjoyable ride to follow along as Cassie attempts to control her gift, save her life and those of her friends as well as to get the magic, faerie and vampire communities off her back. Being new to the post of Pythia, she has to learn as she goes. Her jumps through time seem to be both too easy in a technical manner, as she decides she must go to a certain place and time and does so – even though in the last book it was explained that her magic was tied to a disarray of the timeline and that would be the only way she would travel back in time and would also dictate when she arrived; and too inconsistent – as her multiple leaps bring her physical discomfort some times but not others.

All in all a very engaging book that had me leaping through the pages, and since it is nearly double the size of the previous two, it kept me engaged for a decent amount of time. Now that Cassie is getting settled into the Pythia role, I expect that the series can branch out from personal-to-her stories to more stories of her working at the role of Pythia and keeping the timeline intact. I will definitely be interested in finding out what happens next.

Small Favor, the 10th book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is another tale full of Harry Dresden’s wisecracking and wizardry. In this episode, Harry has been recruited by Mab, Queen of Winter to find and rescue the mob boss, Johnny Marcone. This is a job Harry would never take, except for the fact that he is in debt to Winter and must do it despite his reservations. Regardless of the fact that Harry is being harassed by minions of the Summer Court and that whoever kidnapped Marcone was not only a professional but very powerful, Harry is now on the case.

Asking questions of the right people, Harry discovers who has kidnapped the crime lord and is forced by Marcone’s people to set up a neutral meeting between his abductors and Marcone’s seconds. Macrons’ abductors are none other than the Knights of the Blackened Denarius, mages who have been possessed by fallen angels. Talks of this sort need neutral ground and a neutral negotiator. Harry decides that a meeting this dangerous requires a powerful negotiator and calls in the Archive, the living repository of all knowledge. Getting this sort of meeting set up while being stalked by Queen Titania’s enforcers taxes Harry’s resources. Living through the talks could be even harder.

I find that I enjoy this series for several reasons. The largest of those reasons is Butcher’s voice. Undoubtedly, his characters are of a sort who have lives that readers love to follow. I even find his secondary characters to be fascinating. Bob, Mouse and Mister are some of my favorites, and I love to hear about them. His fantasy Chicago, full of hidden magic and faerie creatures is also very compelling to us mortals stuck in our mundane lives. However, it is his voice that brings it all to life. The character dialog, Harry’s internal dialog, and his pop culture reference riddled descriptions make this reader feel as if the story was written specifically for me. If Mike Hammer was a wizard living in modern-day Chicago and had a fondness for sarcasm and snappy comebacks, his name would be Harry Dresden.

Butcher’s fans will definitely devour this one just like the last nine. It has all the elements, danger, magic, romantic undertones, wisecracks, a multitude of pop culture references, evil beasties and arrogant bad guys, mayhem, threats, faeries, vampires and even the billy goats gruff. Seriously, they are there, I kid you not (pun intended).

The story is set on Firefly Island, a land inhabited by four peoples, each with their own magical gift. The Stonesons can magically manipulate stone, Esirens can transmit thoughts, Healers have the power to heal wounds, and the Forrestfolk can transform their own bodies to mimic the attributes of animals. From time to time, each race will produce an individual known as a Firechild, whose powers dramatically surpass the others of their race.

Aeolia, a teenage girl, has a unique gift: she can link her mind to those around her, directly sharing thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Her gift must be kept secret at any cost, because it makes her the only person on the Island capable of killing Sinther, brutal king of the militaristic nation of Stonemark, whose mastery of the innate magic of his people has let him transform his body into invulnerable living stone. Sinther knows that someone with the power to harm him is out there, and is willing to destroy whole nations to eliminate the only threat to his rule. Sold into slavery as a child, Aeolia’s only solace is the hope that she will someday be reunited with Joren, her brother, who swore that someday he would find her.

Her life as a slave comes to an end when she is found by Prince Lale, son of King Sinther. He means to kill her, but a struggle breaks out and Aeolia escapes in the chaos. On the run, hoping to find her brother, Aeolia finds a protector in a young man named Talin. Her desperate flight will take her across the Island and into a bloody struggle for the future of all its peoples. It will also bring her to her beloved brother Joren, but he is not the boy Aeolia used to know…

I enjoyed this book a good deal. After a slightly slow start, the story picks up and kept me interested. The magical innate abilities that form the basis of the setting were an interesting change from the sort of magic more typical of medieval fantasy, and are used in some creative ways. The characters are interesting and enjoyable, and the portrayal of Aeolia’s growing strength and courage in the face of increasing and adversity is well-done.

The book did have two weaknesses. The first is that the romantic subplot involving Aeolia seemed to progress too fast, and with too little fleshing out. This diminished its effects somewhat. The second is that Arenson’s descriptions of large-scale battles, which are important to the plot, were not satisfying to me; they would have benefited from more attention and detail.

Overall, however, the book’s strengths overshadow its weaknesses. One of my favorite aspects was the way magic was used and described- the bodies of the shapeshifting Forrestfolk warping and shifting with each moment to gain advantage in battle, Stoneson armies bringing fortifications crashing down by sheer combined will, or the confusing and somewhat frightening blurring of thought and identity when Aeolia fully links with another mind. I especially enjoyed the look at what happens when a Forrestwoman gets cut in two while temporarily shifted into the form of a worm. A powerful Forrestfolk shapeshifter can take on the attributes as the form of other animals, and worms have some remarkable regenerative abilities…

I also quite liked the characterization of the evil Prince Lale: prince of a great nation, leader of armies, and pitilessly brutal to those who oppose him, yet ultimately a pathetic, even pitiable figure driven not by ambition or power or ideals, but by a self-destructive desperation to please and be accepted by his tyrannical father. I found the character both poignant and sadly believable. This also provides some nice characterization for his father King Sinther, despite the relative brevity of Sinther’s personal appearances in the book. It is made clear from his bloody crimes against the nations of the Island that Sinther is an evil figure, but it is Arenson’s portrayal of Sinther’s revoltingly cruel psychological destruction of his own son that really sold him to me as a monster.

I thought “Firefly Island” was a very promising debut for Arenson. As a self-contained story of only 347 pages, it is an especially good choice if you like fantasy but don’t want to become committed to reading a long series or one of the 900-page tomes that are so common in fantasy nowadays. It is also, despite some fairly grim aspects, generally more upbeat in tone than many other modern writers of medieval fantasy, which is nice if you enjoy the genre but want a break from the darker, more downbeat worlds of fantasy authors like Glen Cook, George Martin, or Steven Erikson. I would highly recommend this book for fantasy fans, and look forward to seeing how Daniel Arenson develops.

Fans of the Noble Dead saga have watched Magiere discover her heritage, assist in rescuing an elven assasin, and constantly remain on the lookout for more vampires. Now, driven to recover a powerful talisman, she finds herself blindly following a mysterious dream to a castle somewhere along unknown trails. She must find the talisman before her half-brother, the vampire Welstiel, finds it first and uses it for untold evil. Readers will also see into the mind of one of the Undead, Chane, a “child” of the vampire Welstiel. Created by Welstiel, Chane owes him allegiance for the half-life he leads but finds that allegiance challenged in the days to come. The two sides are joined by a third, a powerful elven contingency who seek the talisman also to use it’s power to further their own agenda. All three collide at the mountaintop fortress that holds answers to questions raised throughout the entire series.

For a long and complicated series, the book is a quick read and easy to understand. The descriptions of the Undead and their practices are chilling and a bit unusual in this age of overdone vampiric clichés. There are a lot of characters with very odd names, which can make it difficult to keep them straight. (I would have appreciated a cast list but I realize that serious fans would not necessarily need such a crutch.) The elven casting was as expected, but the political byplay wasn’t. The power struggle between the three groups adds depth to what could have been a shallow story.

Readers definitely need to read the series in order, otherwise they will be lost from the beginning. The action starts right in the middle of the story where the last book left off. Many allusions are made to previous happenings and the events in this book gain significance by the experiences the characters have already weathered.

I appreciated the way the authors crafted the sense that Fate can be avoided for awhile, but eventually she catches up with you. Several characters in this story are pushing the limitations of their destiny, but each one will be called upon to finish their chosen task whether they want to or not. Sometimes the action became a bit repetitive but the grand finale was worth it.

The end of the book served as a bit of a teaser also, so I looked up the series’ website and discovered the authors are preparing to continue the saga by beginning a new series. The website suggests there will be a couple of characters carried over from this first series but that the action will happen on another continent. The first book in the series should come out around January, 2009.

My first foray into Glen Cook's writing was less than a success. I got through about 50 pages of The Tyranny of the Night and threw it across the room—page after page containing made up words with no explanation of what they meant. Every problem that people have with fantasy books was made evident in those first 50 pages and I had never gone back to a Glen Cook world.

However, I'm a big fan of the subgenre, urban-fantasy, and when I read that Cook's Garrett PI novels were an early representation of said genre, I quickly bought the first book. I should have left it collecting dust in the used bookstore I found it in. In truth, this is more of a detective story in a cartoony world than an urban-fantasy.

Sweet Silver Blues is the first book in the Garrett PI universe. It’s centered around a man named Garrett who works as a PI in a town called TunFaire, where its citizens consist of dwarves, elves, trolls, and many other fabled creatures. Yes, Garrett is a PI in a fantasy world where humans coexist with the other species. Sounds very similar to the Toontown in Who Framed Roger Rabbit , but with more sex and killing.

Also, pivotal to Garrett's world are two warring factions that have been fighting wars for land that contain silver—silver being the prime metal all sorcerers use for their, well, sorcery. A tenuous pitch at best. Nothing more concerning these sides fighting is explained, although I'm sure later books go into more detail, this seeming important. But honestly, I'm sure like me, you won't be able to rush fast enough to get out of Garrett's and Cook's world.

The main problem I had with this book is that nothing really happens, and for a short book that’s surprising. Garrett is supposed to be a PI but there is barely any detective work that gets done. When he needs a new clue, some goons attack him; he in turn beats the goons up; the goons cry and whine, spilling information which leads him to the next clue. Any detective work that gets done is done off-page—the character having done the detecting then comes back and explains how he went about his detecting. It's all entirely superficial and becomes increasingly irritating and boring.

Another problem is the action sequences. I mean come on! Most of the characters just spend the pages drinking, getting drunk, and then trying to recover from being drunk. That's mainly the action that gets done in the book. Why would I want to read page after page of others just drinking and talking about drinking? Thanks, but no thanks. I can just as easily be drinking and not reading this book.

Also, I have to take Mr. Cook to task with his dialogue. Again, his dialogue is peppered with too "cool" for school lingo that entirely exists in his own little world. Half the time I didn't know what anyone was talking about (and I've studied Dostoevsky, Beckett and Nabokov for most of my life!!). Cook's sentences are also quite terse and short, leaving much unexplained.

And what’s with Cook’s characterization of the different species? My god!! It essentially goes like this: Here is a dwarf—she’s short, yet somehow leggy and sexy. Here is a centaur—look at him run around with his large testicles. *Cue laughter.* I mean is this the best he can do? I mean, really?

The positives? It's a quick read, there are sexy dwarves, there’s everyone's favorite interspecies mating, and well, the series does continue in other books (although this as a positive is debatable).

As Peter Griffin in Family Guy so eloquently put it when faced with a stand-up comedy act he disliked, "You sir, are not for me. No. No, not for me, sir." Alas I must say the same thing to Mr. Cook. While I did finally finish one of his books, I must sadly say, "You sir, are not for me."

Not recommended unless you are dead set on wasting more hours of your life. Rated a low 3/10

If you liked this also check out: trains crashing, New Jersey, a day at the dentist’s, and the always enjoyable, high-school bully beating.

Every once in a while a book comes along that redefines enjoyment and artistry. With Breath and Bone, Carol Berg has achieved just that. The magic in this story lives and breathes in the very words and phrasing of the tale. I have not read a more captivating work of art in sometime.

Readers are drawn seamlessly into Valen’s mind in this first person point of view tale spun effortlessly, woven with magic and such craft as to gift life into its very pages. Valen finds himself between the devil and the deep blue sea as his oaths and renegade reputation catch up with him. Bound to the bastard prince Oriel and struggling against a deadly addiction, he comes the overwhelming realization the kingdom and the very existence of all creation depend on him and his questionable decision making. At the root of it all lies the reason for his grandfather’s madness and the hatred he feels from his father.

The plot twists and turns, knarled like an old tree and filled with unexpected darkness. Hidden motivations come to light and questions raised by the first book in this series, Flesh and Spirit, are answered. The tale is filled with numerous characters yet each has an individual voice so readers easily can keep them straight. More than a typical quest fantasy, Valen struggles with questions many people face. Issues of familial devotion, abandonment, and loyalty are woven within the age-old conflict of whether the ends justify the means. Is saving the lives of hundreds worth the damning of one soul?

I could find no weak link in the golden chain of this story. From beginning to end I was held in thrall by the beauty and blending of myth and magic. Carol Berg is a gifted artist who paints magnificent scenes of prose. The only slightly negative statement I can make is to beware - know that every book you read from now on may suffer in comparison. Here is a book that will compel you to return and enjoy its texture and savor its depth. Bravo, Ms. Berg!

There are four young dragon riders and four dragons whose destiny is to seek out the Dragon Oracle.

This first book in a new young adult series starts with a meeting. Elian, a young boy, whose life changes when he encounters a Dawn Dragon – Aurora.
In a far away land a young girl, Nolita, also encounters her dragon, Firestorm.
However, they both have quite different reactions to their destinies. Elian embraces his, were Nolita flees from hers.

However, four dragons and their riders are required to carry out the Dragon Oracles quest. To find Four Orbs.
Without Nolita and Firestorm the future is uncertain for Dragon kind.

Personal Thoughts – I like dragon stories. There is something about dragons that feels fantastical to me, so it was a delight to get to read a new series based on dragons.

The story begins with Elian when he meets his dragon, Aurora – a lovely name I felt for a dragon. He soon sets aside his fears and embraces his destiny.
However a dragon hunting party tracks the pair. Another young rider, Kira, and her dragon Longfang come to Elian's rescue. And we learn that Aurora can move between worlds.

When the two dragons and their riders join up for the same journey, we get to learn a bit more about dragons and what motivates them. I enjoyed the bonding process between riders and dragons as each dealt with their situations uniquely.

Their journey to the Oracle brings them to Nolita, who is shunning Firestorm, due to a terrible fear of dragons. Nolita’s issues give this story an interest twist as she must face her fears before she can carry out part of the Oracle’s Quest.

The dragons for me are the most enjoyable characters. Their world is interesting, I liked the idea of duty and destiny which influence their actions. And there were plenty of unanswered questions about their society for the next book.

The strangest character is Kasau, the dragon hunter. He is shrouded in mystery throughout the story. We’re never told how he can sense the dragons or why he is driven to kill them. Plenty of questions left unanswered with his character too.
I couldn’t help but dislike him a little though, as I grew quite attached to the dragons.

Plenty of interesting ideas in this first book and a good start to lead us into a more volatile situation as the series continues.

A Dark Sacrifice, the second book in Madeline Howard’s Rune of Unmaking series is a well written sequel to The Hidden Stars. As we begin this book, we pick up directly where the first book left off – we find Sindérian, Prince Ruan and Skerry on their way to find and bring home Princess Winloki. Meanwhile, Winloki is holed up in an ancient castle full of malicious magic that is under siege by an army of Eisenlonders and Ice Giants.

Because this is the second in a series, as we often find, the author takes this time for character development and pays less attention to plot. While there is quite a bit of action going on, it almost feels like background ambiance. This focus on character development is so sharp that while the book covers a great deal of time and travel, I got the feeling that only five days or so had passed. Whereas many may say that this is a flaw in the book, I appreciated the time taken on the characters and to give the reader a better feel for them. We are even treated to some insights into Queen Ouriána and her motivations as well as some background information on her chosen priests and her children.

Many of you, after reading the above paragraph will say “but where’s the action?” Not to worry, you will get your action. Howard gives us sieges and battles with foreign armies, fearsome new races, skirmishes with unknown enemies and even a desperate fight with a manticore (which was also beautifully rendered on the front cover). There are many obstacles that the travelers must pass through in order to get where they are going and the lover of action-packed books will not be bored.

This book, while well constructed and enjoyable, does not quite meet the same level of The Hidden Stars. It is a good book, though it is mostly a vehicle to set up the reader to the rest of the story. The first book in a series often races the reader through a series of plot maneuvers that tend to leave holes unless the author is willing to periodically bore the reader with sleepy info dumps. This leaves the author with the need to fill in some background and give the reader a better understanding of what is happening and why. Howard has done this admirably. I finished the book still desiring to find out more of the story and not at all disappointed that I had a better understanding of the major characters and the history that created the situation behind this particular series. Yes, I will most definitely pick up the next in the series as soon as it is available.

Drake is sent on a journey meant to be short and simple. Yet no journey through the Thornwoods could be termed simple. Constrictor vines, vicious ants and thorn vipers were the least of his worries. Aevians top the list, beginning with the bloodthirsty and aggressive griffins and wyverns. Only by hiding in the thorny woods and taking hidden paths does Derek have any change of bringing his two guests to their destination. His fellow travelers, however, are dwarves on a daring quest to face the one who set the aevian plague on this world - Draglune, the Iron Dragon himself. Although Derek knows by leaving he may never see his home or his beloved again, he too feels called on this quest.

This is Mr. Genesse’s first foray into writing a fantasy fiction novel after denying his calling for years. He has crafted a world where humans are dogged by dragons, wyverns and other aerians. Living in towns protected by thorn trees with paths whittled through forests, humans use what they have available in their natural world to fight for survival. They also have the use of Earth magic assists in their struggles against the unnatural and the already dead. Ghosts walk this place also, haunting those they can easily control.

For a first novel, this was a fairly good attempt at world building. Mr. Gennesse has crafted believable characters that have layers to their motivations and emotions. There is a sense of dogged tenacity in the humans, in their determination to survive in this inhospitable world. The author has certainly captured the malice and evil that drips from the dragon and his minions. He may borrow heavily from archetypes but manages to lend his own bent to them.

Each aspect of the story taken by itself seems well-built. Yet the process of knitting these pieces together falls short of impressive. The weakest point of the entire story is the romantic relationship between Drake and his beloved. I appreciate the lack of sugary sappiness, but the shift between death-defying action and enduring love was not believable for me.

Even knowing this, however, I would be willing to read the next book in the series. Mr. Genesse has the rest of the series written and I am interested to see what will happen with Drake and his quest to save the world. This is a promising book from a writer working to perfect his art.

Brandon Mull ups the stakes in this third installment of the Fablehaven series. Things are looking bad for Fablehaven. The artifact protected there is gone and all over the world secret refuges for magical creatures are collapsing in disarray.

Grip of the Shadow Plague picks up right where Rise of the Evening Star, book two, left off. After defeating one enemy and unveiling a traitor, Kendra and Seth plunge into the international world of magic. As Kendra travels to another refuge to locate an artifact of incredible strength, Seth faces another attack at Fablehaven. The creatures there are turning, not falling into evil like the fairies previously but actually turning into shadow - evolving into powerful and more threatening forms never seen before. Even those creatures known to be resistant to falling are changing and infecting those around them.

This is by no means a capstone to Mull’s series, but a continuation of the adventures of Seth and Kendra that lives up to the high standards he set with his first two books. Brandon Mull takes it up another notch with this one. Seth and Kendra face decisions that have no clear cut answer, carrying more weight and responsibility than before. There is a sense of growth and maturity in both characters, of the two of them coming into their own in regards to their talents and abilities. This is one aspect I truly enjoy about these stories. Seth and Kendra are not static characters, but are growing and developing as people.

Mull’s gifts as an author are obvious as he develops this story, carrying the tale forwards as he both widens the scope of the magical world and fills in back story that satisfies our curiosity and piques our interest. Once again Mull highlights doing the right thing, but for both Kendra and Seth the right thing isn’t so obvious anymore. Much like real life, issues are no longer clearly marked black and white and the repercussions for making a wrong move are devastating.

This is a book for young readers, but it will do more for them than just entertain. They will be encouraged to think and examine the situations, challenge them to agree or disagree with what the characters choose. Well-crafted, there are no weak points or shaky aspects to this book. From cover to cover, readers will fall into the world of Fablehaven and never want to leave.

The government of 2057 is regretting the deregulation of time travel as private companies deluge the past with tourists. As the delicate web of history flexes under the weight of interference from the future, Jacynda struggles to locate the man who made time travel a reality - Harter Defoe. Cynda’s friends Dr. Allistair and Detective Keats also continue their struggles with Victorian Transitives and a mysterious bloody murder. The stakes are high as Jacynda and her companions attempt to fulfill their duties. With Keat’s life on the line and Jacynda facing eternity in prison if they fail, the odds have never looked worse.

Jana C. Oliver has crafted a sequel that packs a whallop! Virtual Evil is a sensory overload of spine tingling adventure and mind-tickling wit. I absolutely love how she has deepened the characters in this second book. Dr. Allistair and Keats come alive here, standing aside Jacynda as they struggle to put the pieces together in this inventive mystery. Oliver splits her focus between these three characters, yet is able to maintain the momentum and tension in the tale. The action is non-stop as readers follow all three in their struggles to identify an invisible killer that can take on the image of anyone.

If anything, Virtual Evil is even more complex than the first book in the Time Rovers series, Sojourn. Oliver builds the suspense and intrigue, causing readers to doubt the integrity of just about everyone. Not knowing who to trust is one of my favorite aspects of this story. I am also impressed with her concept of time travel as she fills in even more details for readers. In fact, the only weakness I see in the story is the role of government as the Big Bad Brother looking over Jacynda’s shoulder. I feel the writing on that aspect is a bit clichéd and is the only predictable part of this book. However, this did not interrupt my enjoyment of a thoroughly rolicking tale.

Readers, please prepare for this book by reading the first in the series and then jump into this second story. Hopefully, we will not have long to wait to find out just what befalls our heroine and her two companions after the cliffhanger ending of Virtual Evil. I promise you will be breathless waiting for the third book, Madman’s Dance, to arrive sometime in the fall of 2008.

Jacynda is a Time Rover from the year 2057, escorting academic tourists back and forth in the river of Time to engage in historical research. Called upon to recover a reluctant tourist who is enjoying the past a little too much, she finds herself in one of the most terrifying times and places during the Victorian Era - East End London, 1888, the playground of Jack the Ripper. As if a tourist refusing to return isn’t enough, Jacynda finds out a Rover has also gone missing. Woven throughout her escapade is the presence of the Transitives, a group of people with the mysterious talent to alter their appearance by shifting their shape completely. Jacynda must decide who to trust as she finds she is running out of the very commodity she has always controlled - Time.

Winner of the Daphne du Maurier award, Sojourn is an exquisitely crafted tale that takes readers back to the very bowels of the East End. Squalid, derelict, and desperate, the people there are simply trying to survive another day. Jacynda can’t help but compare her life in 2057 with the existence of those in 1888. The author lays the stark and sterile society of the future next to the teeming life of the Victorian Era. Jacynda begins to realize filth and struggle serve to heighten the pleasures of the simple things in life, such as fresh hot scones and a quiet bath.

Jana G. Oliver has performed a masterful feat, balancing the multiple threads in the storyline to culminate in an ending that both satisfies and leaves questions unanswered. The only threadbare aspect to the plot was the relationship between Jacynda and her employer in 2057, but this pales in comparison to the rest of the story. Readers will find non-stop action from the beginning as they tumble from 1888 to 2057 and back again. Ms. Oliver introduces characters and creates personalities, capturing the Victorian fussiness and the “ladies of the night” with finesse. Her addition of the Transitives, shape shifters, serves to add a different twist on the activities of Jack the Ripper. Ripperologists, fear not, this is not an attempt to lay to rest the identity of that cruel fiend. Jack does, however, have a place in the plot (as readers will find out for themselves).

Sojourn was a wonderful adventure, full of unexpected twists and turns. I encourage you, Reader, to experience this time trip for yourself.

The Unnatural Inquirer is the eighth book in the Nightside series by Simon R. Green. I’d probably have been better off starting with something earlier in the series, because this book felt a bit played out already and tracking the main character’s magical abilities was confusing at times. A lot of time was spent on worldbuilding—why Nightside works the way it does, the cool places on Nightside and the various characters and rules that govern this supernatural seedy, hidden side of London. The setting was actually quite fascinating, but while readers of the series might have been enjoying visiting old and dear characters, I found myself a tad bored with every little stop into yet another place. Each one was unique, but not always necessary in order to forward the story. There were interesting little what-ifs throughout: what-if buildings could rebuild themselves or what if religious zealots really could call down lightening, and the main one, if you could see what the afterlife really looked like, would you want to know?

There were some very dynamic characters in this book: John Taylor, the main character, finds things. He has the ability to look through time and see what happened in the past and then follow the past to the here and now, usually finding the person or object he is after. Of course, he needs enough clues in order for his inner eye to work. As he says, he has to know what question to ask. If he’s looking for an object, he has to know who to look for that might have moved or taken the object. He has to be in the right place. In this book something is blocking his powers, and he is forced into manual mode, searching for a recording of the afterlife without much help from magic.

Suzie “Shotgun Suzie” is Taylor’s girlfriend—and I suspect I would enjoy any Nightside caper that included more of her involvement. I am certain I would enjoy the winding tale of how the two of them came to trust each other enough to work together. In this caper, we instead get Bettie as Taylor’s companion; a reporter from the Unnatural Inquirer—(yes, it’s a play on the magazine and has a similar reputation.)

Bettie appears to be there so that Taylor has someone to talk to. She plays the dumb blonde, asking a lot of questions and supplying info dumps of her own. She was little more than a prop for most of the book.

There were other characters that probably played heavier parts in other books: the mysterious Walker who has the ability to give commands that Must Be Obeyed. He is some sort of enforcer/clean-up/self-appointed cop of Nightside and scenes with Walker were always quite interesting and well-done.

The plot--Taylor is hired by the Unnatural Inquirer to find an Afterlife Recording—a DVD the “newspaper” has already bought and paid for, only it disappeared before delivery. Of course, since it is seen as a valuable object, everyone else wants it too—collectors, religious zealots, the aforementioned Walker and the odd god creature. Taylor’s powers came and went as he tracked down the DVD—blocked by something or someone. I was never quite satisfied with the explanation given; yes, at the end, I knew ‘who’ caused the problem, but not ‘how.’

Perhaps because there are other books in this series, the borders of Taylor’s capabilities were never well-defined in this book. The most interesting scenes were at the beginning of the book where Taylor had use of his power and readers get to experience how he works. As the book progresses, he is steadily blocked—both in mundane ways and as he tries to rely on a few other secondary abilities that he has.

The ending had several battles, but frankly, nothing worrisome. Taylor’s powers just so happened to reappear in time for one or two battles, and when they weren’t working, it didn’t take him very long to talk his way out of trouble or otherwise free himself from disaster.

I wouldn’t hesitate to read one of the earlier novels in this setting because I suspect the whole series is a collection of quick, fun romps through a strangely magical urban setting. The premise for this story was good, the execution of it wandered, and in the end, it was much like bar-hopping with a guide that knows a city well—some places were fun, some had good music, some had interesting people with more than a hint of danger and some were dingy and tired with questionable food.