Tick, an introverted and intelligent young man suddenly receives a mysterious letter. By opening it, Tick launches himself on an adventure of a lifetime. Each subsequent letter holds a quirky and sometimes humorous clue, promising Tick danger if he continues and harm to others if he quits. Intrigued and compelled, he pursues each clue vigorously in spite of the risk involved. The mysterious clues drag him across the country and introduce him to a spitfire Italian girl and an all-American jock from California. Banding together, the trio commits to seeing the mystery through.

At the root of it all are concepts of time and reality, the forces that bind and drive creation. In The Thirteenth Reality, Tick discovers more than one reality exists. Life as he knows it continues in Reality Prime while as many as thirteen other Earths continue on different planes of existence. If this seems overwhelming, don’t worry. Dashner lays out his concept of parallel realities in a manner young readers can understand. Even the basis of quantum physics, aka kyoopy, becomes approachable!

I enjoy how Dashner portrays Tick’s relationship with his family. Too many times, parents are viewed as either the idiot contingency or the evil overseers. Not here. Tick’s sisters drive him nuts but he still obviously loves them. Tick’s dad is a wonderful character that supports and trusts him even though this means letting go of his little boy. In a world where Tick is often a target, at home he is safe and loved. Maybe that isn’t realistic, but who said fantasy had to be reality? Perhaps a little wishful thinking would do us all some good.

I liked this story. There are a few classic aspects that walk on stage, but these are presented in a fresh and believable manner. The evil witch (dressed in lemon), a giant with a quasi-Cockney accent, a dwarf as round as he is tall, mechanistic magic that blurs the line between technology and fantasy; all delivered in wrapping paper designed by Dashner himself. He writes in bold colors, splashing strong characters across the pages who demand your attention (and sometimes your fear).

This isn’t a sweet little fairy tale, bad things happen and our hero is faced with tough decisions. Dashner quietly leads his readers from an odd mystery into a hair-raising quest complete with flesh-eating monsters. As odd as some of the scenes are, though, the entire thing holds together. This is definitely a book young readers should sample.

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.

From the back cover of the paperback book (blurb) -

Now the people know that the dragon minions of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, have returned. But the races have long been divided by hatred and prejudice. It seems the battle has been lost before it begins.

The companions are separated, torn apart by war. A full season will pass before they meet again—if they meet again.

It is always a pleasant surprise to find out that book that you loved, got turned into a graphic novel. That said though, visiting a world that you know and love in graphic form, it has to live up to some healthy expectations for the reader. Devils Due and their team brought it to life, and everyone should be very pleased by their work. Dragons of Winter Night, has the dark feel one would think it should and it comes across in the artwork and layout.

I thought the artwork was beautiful, and where it really seemed to shine was in the outdoor scenes and the artwork of the dragons. The characters were also depicted well for my personal tastes, whether or not they live up to what you envisioned them to be is something you have to look at for yourself. My favorite representation though was Kitiara, you can feel the evil bubbling below the surface, in her facial expressions. I always thought she was a great anti-hero to the group, and I can feel that in the artwork. I also enjoyed the depiction of Fizban as well; the humor of the character still shines through in the drawings. Overall the artwork had pretty big shoes to fill, if you go by the covers of the books done by Larry Elmore, and I think for the medium (a graphic novel can not be of the level of a single piece of canvas) the team of Kurth, Ruffino, Narvasa, Bradley, Rauch and Crowley, did an excellent job. They put together the perfect graphical companion to Weis and Hickman’s novel.

The adaptation by Andrew Dabb stayed pretty faithful and the overall feel and storyline stayed where they needed to be due to the restraints of the graphic novel medium. I personally find the graphic novel to be a nice companion to the book, but it still needs to stand on its own if one has not read the book. It worked for me on both of these levels as I had read this sometime in the 1980’s I believe. It does not hold the same weight as the book, but I do not believe it is supposed to. There is no way they can include everything and I found it to be a fun visualization after reading the books. Even if you are not familiar with the books though it is still very enjoyable just not of the same level I believe as someone that has read the books.

DDP always brings us something new for the fantasy crowd looking to dip their toes in the graphic novel and comic market. I think once you feel the temperature you will want to dive right in. Dragons of Winter Night, the graphic novel, is a great piece to own; visually telling what I consider a classic story in the fantasy book market

We revisit Kendra and her brother Seth as Brandon Mull takes the story a bit deeper in Rise of the Evening Star, the second book in the Fablehaven series. In the first book of the Fablehaven series, Kendra and Seth meet magic face-to-face at the refuge run by their grandparents. Here in the second book, magic comes to meet them in their very normal, non-magical lives at school and home.

Kendra is beginning to realize that when you touch magic, it also touches you. She has to face some realities in her life, such as how magic has changed who she is. Seth, who had a terrible time staying out of trouble in the last book, struggles again. But this time, he faces earning back the trust of his family. They do this while facing a mysterious creature that will frighten you to death, and a global conspiracy that is wanting to release magical creatures into the world. To tell you more would reveal too much of the storyline. Trust me, it’s worth it to read the book for yourself!

Brandon Mull has raised the level of danger and broaden the scope of the story in his second installment of the Fablehaven series. Risks are greater and the choices aren’t as clearly marked as “good” and “bad”. The players here aren’t just the inhabitants of Fablehaven, but includes others on a far-reaching global scale. The plot is twisty and at times very hard to predict, which is something I crave in any story.

Once again, this book will appeal to a variety of readers. The writing is superb, with a plot whimsical enough to keep the attention of young readers but deep enough to satisfy the older ones. As with the first book, Mr. Mull has added an addendum containing discussion questions that push young readers to look deeper than the surface of the plot.

Kendra and her brother Seth know next to nothing about their grandparents, mainly that they never want to spend time with their grandchildren. So when the kids have to spend two and a half weeks with the inhospitable couple, they are less than excited. Driving up to their house is daunting, as signs reading “Beware of .12 Gauge” and “Violators Will Be Persecuted” are boldly staked along the road. Looks can be deceiving, though, as Kendra and Seth learn over and over again in this delightful adventure about magic.

What if the magical creatures were able to survive the Industrial Revolution, two world wars, and several overseas armed conflicts? What if fairies, unlike hobbits, didn’t fade away or take a ship to some faraway land? Where would they go? They would go to Fablehaven, a refuge from the modern world that both protects the magical from humanity and vice versa. The grandparents are the “gamekeepers” of this refuge, tending after the magical creatures and maintaining the protective boundaries around Fablehaven.

Of course, no adventure is complete without the bad guys and this story definitely has it’s share. There is a troll and imps, a witch and a demon, naiads and even fairies that aren’t completely innocent. This is one theme of the story; that which is beautiful is not necessarily good. Other themes touched on are resisting temptation, fulfilling responsibility and following the rules. The children face consequences for their decisions throughout the book, some of which are very unpleasant. The storyline is deceptively simple, but artfully weaves these universal truths within itself so that the book does not read like one huge “Aesop Fable”.

In this day of a headlong rush to quench the thirst of young readers for fantasy fodder, finding a well-written book is difficult. This is one of the reasons Fablehaven is so rewarding. Enjoyable and whimsical, readers meet the usual magical species but the story overall contains a very modern practicality. In an unusual addition, the author has added discussion questions at the end to challenge young readers to do more than just read the words. Readers are asked to think about why the characters make their choices or if they would do the same. This adds to the flexibility of the book, making it just as valuable to the classroom teacher as to a librarian or parent. Best of all, young readers will enjoy reading for the pure pleasure of escaping to a world that just might exist after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. Even though it is aimed at young readers, the writing is so well done I was still satisfied. I am very impressed with this debut novel from Brandon Mull. He has already published a second volume to the Fablehaven story. Stay tuned for a review of Fablehaven #2, Rise of the Evening Star. These are definitely books worth reading!

As many fanboi will complain, Salvatore’s last few Drizzt books lost a step here or there. The story needed to move on though and sometimes that takes a few books. Here we have the culmination of those efforts in “The Orc King” with a new and exciting chapter in the life of our favorite dark elf, Drizzt.

Salvatore gives a glance at the future in the prologue and epilogue of the books. On one hand, maybe these peeks into the future give us too much information by allowing us to see who lives and who may die. On the other hand, I have been told that allowing us to see the ending allows us to focus on the story more. I personally disagree with the second statement and would have liked to see both the prologue and epilogue removed from the book to allow me more of an element of surprise. Regardless of this, Drizzt and his friends/enemies are back and the story they have to show us is magnificent and action packed. Salvatore is doing what he does best: action, sword fighting, and battle description. He brings you so close you can smell the blood and sweat and taste the dust. Salvatore can plop you in the middle of a raging battle you are brought in with a magnifying glass without ever losing the whole picture.

The setting this time focuses on the Spine of the World (Forgotten Realms). Bruenor is looking to hold on to his kingdom while King Obould Many-Arrows is trying to build a kingdom where the orc tribes can unite. Along the way, Bruenor is searching for Gauntlgrym, which is pretty much the dwarven version of Atlantis. The Forgotten Realms is as richly detailed in Salvatore’s hand as we have come to know; with the world changing events that take place and look to be coming, it is a great read.

The characters in the Orc King are some that we have loved for over 20 years, and Drizzt, Bruenor, Cattie-brie, Wulfgar, Regis and the rest of the gang show up in this corner of The Forgotten Realms for a wonderful romp in the Realm. Salvatore brings us a bunch of new secondary characters to flesh out the cast and move the story forward. For me there were two characters though that were not on the top of my list, one which will sure bring boos from a few of you. Minor Spoiler if you have not read previous books- Wulfgar should have stayed dead. He is on my list of I do not really like his current story, hopefully it goes somewhere when he finds his destination. Also, there is a lich wizard named Jack who is pulling the strings of a secret rogue clan of orcs, like the Wizard of Oz. He seems like an afterthought to push the story, nothing more at this point. I was a huge fan of the Orc/Ogre clan as they worked into the story well, giving our anti hero (or hero?) Obould some needed conflict outside of Mithral Hall.

Salvatore’s writing style stays true to previous books, with his weaving of battle scenes and fast paced action, like Elminster casting a spell. This is not a complex book, but it does not need to be as it is very action driven with a group of characters we are all very familiar with. Drizzt’s inner musings are always well written and give us even more depth to one of the most well known characters in the Wizards of the Coast franchise.

The Spellplague pokes its head up in the prologue and epilogue which are set 100 years in the future. This is a world changing event and we are given an appetizer, but we are all waiting for the full meal where we get this whole story, either in the form of a book or when the 4th Edition Rules come out. It is nice when an author gets to introduce some world changing events like the Orc Kingdom and then the Spellplague. We also get to see the beginning of the way that Salvatore addresses Cattie-brie’s injury and her new role in the group (which seems like it will only grow, and may solve an early death problem we are all worried about) and I loved it! The intriguing find in Gauntlgrym will lead to another twist in the story in the future I am sure. Salvatore steps up his game and his fans will be happy for it.

The Wanderer's tale was my pick in Jay Tomio’s Blind Desires: Fantasybookspot.com's 2007 Speculative Fiction Picks, based on magic, weapons, and the epic fantasy blurb that Tor put out in their catalog. By the end of the first chapter, I knew it was going to be a win for me. A quest to stop an ancient evil by a rag tag band of heroes seems cliché, but nevertheless, it worked on many different levels for me.

From the back of the book:

I hope whoever wrote that blurb got a bonus check because it was right on the money.

The title of the book makes it seem like a single character’s tale, but the band of adventurers includes many different individuals. This worked well as no one character in the heroes group stood out, while they all seemed interesting. It was also quite interesting to see how they played off one another, as one would think of a group of people thrown together with different ideals. The group takes from each end of the fantasy spectrum with warriors, sorcerers, priests, mercenaries, squires, and the like. What was great is that each one of the people in the party was given a side story, which fleshed them out quite nicely. The side stories themselves were quite interesting, and a pleasant diversion. Hopefully we will get to revisit their effect on the overall larger quest. A famous hero of legend in the world of Lindormyn even makes an appearance and we find out he was not up to the standards of the bards.

Nibulus, the leader of the group, was given that title after his father appointed him to that position. This was done so Nibulus could have an epic quest of his own. One thing I found quite interesting was how Nibulus realizes he does not have the experience of failure because all the campaigns he was on under his father were successful. We get to see behind the man that Nibulus is – a leader that seems real – by watching him lead with a host of emotions floating around him.

The secondary characters of The Wanderer's Tale were really top notch. David created unique characters ranging from giants, to fairies, to a band of roaming thieves that have enough magic weapons to be featured in an ancient elven armory. David gave this world enough fleshed out races to keep the characters fresh, as well as the secondary characters that he introduced. It was nice to be in a world that is filled with more than just humans.

One of David’s strong points was his ability to create a world that feels real and imaginative all at the same time. He did not disappoint as I was immediately drawn into this world from the first page and was gasping for breath to the very end. A great example is the town of Myst-Hakel. David really does a good job with describing this town on the edge of civilization and the characters that inhabited it. The smoke, the smells, the watching for things hiding in the shadows, I felt as if I were really there! Eotunlandt, which is a little cluster of old fey land hidden in the far reaches of the world, is also done wonderfully by David, with a sort of Jurassic Park feel. An epic fantasy needs a world that the reader can feel is real, descriptive, and fun to read about. It has to have a real history to it where one could imagine the life of a peasant all the way to that of a hero. David accomplished this.

The author’s writing style gives the reader a lot of information and description, but in a way that you could digest it and not let it take away from the swift pace. It gave a wonderful first hand view of the world he created. Plus, I am always a fan of an author that loves weapons and magic weapons. Some of my favorite scenes come later in the book when the group of heroes came in contact with a band of thieves with quite a weapons arsenal.

There are a few stumbling blocks to the story itself, one of them being the way that the group was brought together. It did not seem all that realistic, and it was glossed over in the beginning of the tale. There was a full group of hundreds of warriors that are asked to go on the quest, but when they all pretty much refuse, this small band still decides to go? Hmm. Another point, which is the polar opposite of some other reviewers, is I personally felt there were what I call “television transitions” in the story. What I mean is that we can go from one scene to the next without really knowing what happened. Ever see the end of an old Batman episode where he is tied up and the next episode the first thing you see is Batman with Robin and they are free and have the Riddler in jail? Like how did that happen? Well, I felt a little bit of that with this book. I will even go out on a limb and say I wish this book was enlarged to encompass two books so we could get a little more of the characters’s backgrounds, filled in some of the parts of the story, and not feel rushed through the book.

One might perceive an issue with this story in that it brings nothing new to the genre, but I am not one who believes this is necessary for a book to be good. There have been hundreds of thousands of love poems written, but that does not mean that a poet in our current year cannot write a classic love poem. It can be of the same subject material but have a new take on it. This is how The Wanderer's Tale pans out. Remember when old school meant it was something in the past that was actually good? This uses the same formula as old school sword and sorcery, and I really liked the ride.

After reading B.T. Robertson’s first novel I was thrilled to be given the chance to review the next volume in the Chronicles of the Planeswalkers series. Just as I expected my excitement was not misplaced as I revisited the world of Vaalüna, where an evil force was getting ready to bring pain and destruction to all.

Aerinas’ and his companions continue on their journey to stop an unknown evil from returning to the world and visiting destruction on the places they call home. But Aerinas is not only struggling against his external enemies, he is battling himself and his willingness to except his destiny. As the only son of the ruling family of Elves it is his duty to rule one day. On top of this he has also recently discovered his innate magically ability, which he cannot control, and is unsure of its origins. Robertson masterfully spins all of these external and internal battles into one masterpiece, continuing along on an already excellent storyline.

I have to say that this story is definitely a step in the right direction for Robertson’s writing career. Most of the problems I had with the first novel, except of course the names which there was nothing to be done, seemed to have been remedied in this new installment of the Chronicles of the Planeswalkers series. This story in my opinion deserved the 8 that it is receiving, as it is above and beyond the level of creative storytelling which Robertson displaying the first novel. The reader is given an exciting and enthralling story which really brings the story of Aerinas and his friends into a whole new world of complexities and adventure. My only recommendation for someone who is going to read this series is to not let too much time elapse between reading Part Zero and Part One as the similarities of names can be a little confusing for the first twenty pages if your memory of the first story isn’t that sharp. Other than this small recommendation I will say if you are looking for an entertaining and enjoyable read pick up B.T. Robertson’s Chronicles of the Planeswalkers series and join Aerinas’ and his friends on a battle to save the world from evil!

Story: We get Alexander Carter who has the ability to visit the world that he grew up dreaming about that is filled with all the childhood friends one would expect. Mythical characters are the standard fare, but we do have some interesting break out characters like the dance instructor rock giant Paddington, a side kick fairy Kiwi, and his elf love interest Nastajia. Even though it is a very cliché story, I found there was enough to keep me interested.

Artwork: The artwork for The Dreamland Chronicles was very Pixar like, which is a good thing. We did get a glimpse of some of the non rendered work at the end of the book based on some covers done by comic book artists in the industry like Mike Wieringo. After see that I am a little curious how the whole comic would have looked, I am sure just as splendid. Some of the color combinations though do not do the graphics justice, I would have liked to see less pastels personally. A very nice computer generated world for the characters and knowing a little about rendering I know how much work must have gone into this.

Quality: The book was put together nice, even though I think all larger graphic novels should go hardcover, but financially this probably does not make sense. It is rather lengthy novel with some extra at the end including how it was designed, as well as some of the author’s thoughts. I like extras and this book does not disappoint with them.

Final Thoughts:I really think this is one of those graphic novels that would make a great adaptation into a quality movie. It is also an ongoing title that you can check out at http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/ where you can see the online version of The Dreamland Chronicles and I believe that it is new Monday thru Friday every week. Scott has also done pilots from Nickelodeon You can watch the Emporer Pilot short at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0aXTae7B3Y I do not see why this was not picked up based on the short and I hope Scott gets some more chances to bring some of his creations to life either on television or on the big screen.

The Forgotten Realms is the most well known shared world in Fantasy and we get to talk about one of the most secretive areas of the Realms by venturing into Thay for this story. I am really happy to be able to step back in to somewhere I find familiar and intriguing at the same time, as the Forgotten Realms has been a reading home of mine for some time now. The Realms have an abundance of history, and while Thay is referenced time and time again, it is nice to fully visit this area and take a look at the inner working of betrayal and politics that are so common place. Why do they all wear red robes again though, can someone answer this question for me?

Byers gives us a few storylines at the beginning of the book, but the overall theme we have is Szass Tam and his overall plans to take over Thay and then all of the Forgotten Realms. By the end of the book, we see some of the story lines intersect and we know that all of the players introduced are part of a larger game. Bareris the bard, and his love interest, Tammith, give us our required save the damsel part of the story with a nice, interesting twist. Tammith's story is far from over, and even though her part played in book one was small, I believe she is part of the greater story. We have Aoth, who is a battle mage griffon rider. That seems a little out of place in the backstabbing politics being played, but she does give the reader an insight into the army fighting the undead from the Thay standpoint. We then have all the Zulkirs and Burning Braziers - with Milsantos and Nymia (Tharchions) commanding the army - trying to fight the undead menace. There is some nice interaction from some of the background characters, including Samas Kul; who is Master of the Guild of Foreign Trade, Iphegor Nath; High Flamelord of the Church of Kossuth; and others. Back to Szass Tam, this lich is a force to be reckoned with as master of magic. Though, we hear from others who are too awestruck to even make moves against the Zulkir of Necromancy. "I'm a Red Wizard of Illusion, and I have no idea how one would go about managing that." Okay, so if people who have a lifetime of study in an area of magic are in awe of the power of Szass Tam when performing magic that isn’t in his sphere of magic, we have a villain that is no push over. Don't worry about all these characters, at the end of the story there is a list of people under the title Personages of Thay. This really helps you keep track of everyone and the part they play in Thay, and I am very glad it was included.

Ah…one of the greatest things about a shared world, cross referencing - also one of the worst. The dilemma is that you have tons of back history and other plots and going ons in the world at large. This makes you feel you are in a breathing world that you know a lot about and isn’t just about one set of people pigeon holed in a world building exercise where you meet less then .01 percent of the population. The bad part as an author must be to integrate this in a way that if the user didn’t read one of those previous series you know what is going on. Byers does this in his referring the Rage of Dragons, "The Great Rage of Dragons two years ago was but one manifestation of a sort of universal ferment likely to continue for a while." I have read the Rage of Dragons and the reference is known to me, but even if not you still get the general meaning. It is also cross promotional as maybe you will now want to read more about what is going on in the world. A fine balance is necessary and Byers does that well.

Another strong point in the beginning to this series is the betrayal and political machinations that are going on as everyone tries to scramble for more power, as well as trying to stay alive. Thay always seemed to be teetering on some sort of political see saw where it could all implode upon itself or take over the rest of the realm at the same time, and this story line is no different. I like Thay as there is such an uneasy balance of power, not unlike the Drow, except that because of the human lifespan things seem to happen more often in Thay.

I am a huge fan of stories where magic is abundant, magic weapons, the supernatural around every corner, and large scale battles where wizards, priest, and warriors all play a big part of the strategy of the battle. From battle mages flying griffons to demons a lich commanding an undead army, you have it all: necromancers, gnolls, orcs and bards also included in the package. The Forgotten Realms is a true Monty Haul campaign and I enjoy every minute of it.

The Forgotten Realms have seemed to grow up recently by introducing more and more mature stories for the seasoned speculative fiction reader. This publisher does not only cater to the YA crowd or novice fantasy reader anymore. Byers writing is well formed and I enjoyed the flow of the story with only a few lines that seemed forced from the characters. A very strong start to "The Haunted Lands" and I am very eager to read more and how this touches the world at large. Richard Lee Byers should be well known to anyone who frequents "The Realms" and his writing is placing him in the top echelon of writers that Wizards of the Coast enjoys. You can feel safe in placing him in the same category as Salvatore and Kemp when we talk about fast paced, magic infused, sword and sorcery fantasy.

This was one of those reviews where I had a hard time keeping the spoilers out of the review and I think that is a good thing.

In the first installment of Catherynne M Vaente’s In the Night Garden, the first part in duology entitled The Orphan’s Tales, the ingredients are all present and the conditions are met. Clichés abound at every corner, every three steps a risk at tripping on tropes, another orphan’s story, meandering prince in tow and a quest for each cast member, a jaunt into fantastic fiction that is epic in the truest sense of the word. On the surface, a description of another forget-me-soon, brand-expectation feeding, disappointment. - the next and last in the seemingly sempiternal line our hobby has to offer. Something happens, however, our memory fails us, the expected horizon blurs, while at times grimmly familiar, our once assured stride turns into adventures stumbles and off the paved path we still encounter homages, but homages turned vintage, as we encounter cynocephali, rapacious wizards, witches, shape shifters, assassins, mother goose, griffins, flame birds, we are like the prince aware of and living his intended story but in welcome need of the immediate contradictory and continuous afterword. It is a story of beasts and adventures on the high seas, in cities of dream, and where barkeeps wait for a divine promise kept, all residing below a star-studded pantheon. But it is always the garden we go back forward to.

Surrounding the palace of a Sultan, a garden serves as the dwelling place of an outcast child shunned for her ornate gaze, her eyes magically tattooed with stories carrying the weight of 1001 nights. Ostracized for the birthmark, she was only even allowed to wander the garden – relegated as a tolerated local gapeseed - out of fear of retribution from her kind – she must be a demon child right? A living taboo, it is only natural it would be the curiosity of a child of the royal house who would come looking for her, as even the greatest story ever told requires someone to listen. A pact is made between the two, the girl - the literary bastard child of Scheherazade and Ishmael – our narrator and the young lordling drawn into her tales like a strung out Bastian Balthazar Bux. We see a pact turn into symbiotic bond, a relationship growing with the story and it is through their exchange that the reader will experience a series of interlocking tales, myths in a myth, folktales told within a folktale, in a clever fashion never but never too clever, sidestepping contrivance. Valente’s ball of yarn seems infinite, as stories keep mounting, pieces fitting before, after, on top of, and under previous chapters and at times might induce some reader weariness, but the patient reader will start to see their breadcrumbs intersect. These are stories set to no particular or uniform emotional tone – in Valente’s world treachery, vengeance, camaraderie, love, independence, faith, tradition, shame, sacrifice and family – exist concurrently with each other, which is why one moment can be dementedly violent while the next may offer a worthy laugh or indeed both.

When critique is offered of a formidable stylist like Valente, noted strengths delegated are usually more aesthetic in nature, and while there is no depreciation in this regard from her previous work, perhaps the most significant achievement of In the Night Garden is the world she creates (or Harrison’s bane if you will). We will not be given the product of Valente’s world building, we will travel with her as she builds, she gives us no map, it’s drawn as you flip the pages. The perspective of the world around her characters allows the world to organically grow and shift even when standing in place – you do not buy into the background, you buy into the inherent belief system of individual character’s who inhabit backdrop – whether human, beast or divine in inspiration – revealing the secret life of the world around them, and that’s a mean trick. Readers will bask in the Arabian atmosphere and recognize Canterbury’s twisted roads but shouldn’t discount the bloody chamber or Heian myth – all harnessed by one of the most distinctive writers to come along in fiction in the last few years.

In short, In the Night Garden is downright folk-funky, with DJ Cat V scratching and mixing myth and lore with an original blend given previously untold life by a writer who ultimately made me ponder the question of what happens when a neverending story ends, while almost making me forget to ask about the power in the name of the teller. The Orphan’s Tales is the poet, short fiction writer, and novelist maximizing her entire skill set in an offering that caters to the sensibilities of the fan of all forms.

Not in the too distant past one of my favorite - now flawed - methods to describe my tastes in the fantastic or preferred reading in general was to make the distinction between those who had a story to tell and were simply given a venue to tell it – a capacity that I couldn’t help but view as seemingly having as much to with hat-drawn luck as much as existing as a true barometer of actual proficiency of craft - and to those who had the actual gift of conveying the story. It was well intended, putting more credence to the deft of stroke rather than the common root of vision – the for some reason at times abstruse distinction beyond base synop between a Celidon and Landover, a Severian and Rahl, a Conrad Metcalf and Harry Dresden, that separates fantastic fiction from simple fanciful fluff - but when making that refined and defining cut, judging works as either stroke or stencil, I think in less drastic comparisons it became all to easy to ignore the true end game, a combination of the intent of both circumstances. The Story and the Teller. We read In the Night Garden, but in the girl’s hands we experience, we feel, we live the stories as if we accompany the character’s journeys with blood soiled club in hand and yet simultaneously watch them from afar armed with S’mores on a stick. Like the young prince, we run off in the night, we steal time, lie to our obligations, indeed we may find ourselves in a dungeon and better for it with proper company, as we shut the world out for the privilege to have it told to us seeking our forbidden fruit - but mostly we listen for a glimpse of the miraculously cursed girl with the deep, beautifully-burdened eyes with the greatest gift of all…

Catherynne M. Valente is a storyteller.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhisattva

Fugitives of Chaos continues the story begun in Orphans of Chaos.

The five orphans Amelia, Victor, Colin, Vanity and Quentin have discovered their true nature: They are the offspring of the mythological Titans and their captors are an equally legendary and diverse pantheon of Greek gods and lesser figures. In turn, they have discovered their various abilities and how they can be countered or used. Thus begins a race to learn how their powers can effect an escape from captivity and avert a war between Chaos and Cosmos that will destroy the very universe itself...

Having read and been greatly impressed by the first volume of the series, I had great expectations for Fugitives of Chaos and didn't come away disappointed. The same strong characterizations and inventive twist on Greek mythology as well as the fascinating (if dense) metaphysics are combined into a very intriguing mix.

If there is a criticism to be had here, it would be that the book does tend to drag a bit in places, due to the (albeit necessary) discussions of how Amelia and company's powers work, and how they can be nullified by their various counterparts in the pantheon of gods and lesser beings. As such, there isn't an incredible amount of plot advancement, though the ending is neatly done, setting up for the final volume in the series.

However, I will say it was nice to have a "Dramatis Personae" included at the beginning of this book (which the first book lacked) to keep track of who's who, given that most of the players are known by at least two or three different names.

In sum: A good follow-up and here's hoping the final volume will conclude the series on an even higher note.

Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories are perhaps one of the best-known works in the eponymous "Dying Earth" sub-genre, alongside other greats like the Viriconium stories and Book of the New Sun (Gene Wolfe has in fact cited Vance as an influence on Book of the New Sun).

Tales of the Dying Earth gathers together all 4 of the Dying Earth novels penned by Vance: The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga and Rhialto The Marvellous. The setting therein is that of a far-future Earth where the sun has diminished to a faint red sphere struggling to warm the planet and science has all but vanished to be replaced by magic as the world slides ever-closer to an inevitable doom.

The first novel, The Dying Earth consists of several inter-connected stories following various characters and their adventures.

The following two novels (The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga) follow the misadventures of Cugel the Clever, who after attempting to rob a magician famed for a cruel sense of humor, is forced to wander distant lands before he can return home.

The final book Rhialto The Marvellous follows the magician Rhialto and his fellows as they quarrel with one another in the course of overcoming various challenges.

Out of the four stories, I'd have to say I enjoyed the two Cugel novels the most, mainly for the various peoples and challenges Vance invents for Cugel to overcome in the course of his journey homeward, although it suffers a bit from the same episodic feel of The Dying Earth, with Cugel constantly fleeing one scenario only to immediately encounter another. Rhialto The Marvellous moves away from this a bit, though it still consists of three inter-connected stories.

However, Vance's slightly archaic style of writing, his impressive vocabulary and great attention to descriptive detail serve to lift even the lesser stories up to a higher level and gives the overall work a very distinct feel. It may have its flaws, but Tales of the Dying Earth is still deserving of classic status.

Chance Fortune takes place in a world that has a prevalent super-hero population. The goal for those with powers is to be accepted into the Burlington Academy for the Superhuman. Josh Blevins has one goal in life, to be a superhero. But there is a problem; he has absolutely no powers to speak of. But his luck changes when a retired superhero, Captain Fearless, moves into his neighborhood. After Josh discovers his true identity, Captain Fearless agrees to train Joshua and teach him everything that he knows. When Josh’s application to the Academy is rejected Captain Fearless interjects and pulls some strings creating a false identity for Josh, Chance Fortune, whose power is unnaturally good luck. When Chance gets accepted into the academy Josh is off to new adventures.

Berryhill has an obvious love for all things comic book and pulp related and it shows on nearly every page of Chance Fortune. The obvious glee that is readily apparent on every page become infectious as the story kicks into gear. There are numerous references to comic books, super heroes, movies, books, comic book creators, silver age super heroes and pulp heroes, I swear there was even a reference to the movies Stripes and The Outsiders but I cant prove that. As engaging as the central story is, picking up on the myriad of references becomes its own game. Now, if the book were only homage then it would be a flat reading experience, but Berryhill has a firm grasp on the pulp type story that he is paying homage to that his story stands on its own.

One of my favorite moments happens when he first arrives at the Academy Josh and the other new students are introduced to the presiding council of seven super heroes (most if not all of whom should be recognized). As each super hero is introduced it is reminiscent of a professional wrestling event with each one receiving their own theme music and dramatic entrances. The scene is indicative of the fun tone of the book; I couldn’t help but smile when reading this and could easily imagine Berryhill doing the same while writing it.

Upon arrival Chance is grouped together with other students. They become a team and will train together and work their way through battles that are scored on school wide inter class rankings. The other members of Chances team are Psy-Chick, Shocker, Gothika, Space Cadet, Iron Maiden, and Private Justice and together they are known as The Outlaws. As they coalesce as a team and rise in the ranks the action culminates in a tournament with an older class of students that have proven themselves to be devious, underhanded and the arch nemesis' of The Outlaws.

We discover that there is an enforced hierarchy at the school that extends from the highest levels to the lowest. The students are divided into a rigid caste system: there are demigods (those with the highest level of powers), mortals (those with one specific power) and adventurers (those with minor unique attributes at best). All of this serves to divide the populace of the school and sets up the necessary battle lines of the "haves" and "have not’s" that most stories set in a high school type environment seem to have.

The battles, which serve as real world tests and lessons in a controlled environment, are some of the highlights of the book. At times this is reminiscent of the battle school in Enders Game and fans of that book should check this one out as well. These battle lessons are not glossed over. They are conveyed in tight action packed prose that lasts for multiple chapters. The details that are given puts one right in the middle of all that is happening on the battle field. Berryhill never loses track of any of the participants and keeps everything moving swiftly until their conclusion.

Appropriately for its pulp fiction aspirations it ends on a cliff-hanger. The worse part is that we have to wait for the other books to come out. This book is a lot of fun and a light-hearted read. I look forward to seeing what the further adventures of Chance Fortune & The Outlaws bring us.


-Brian Lindenmuth

The Empire of Ice Cream represents Ford’s second collection of short stories, and if you liked the first, no doubt you will enjoy this one as well. Not because they’re the same kind of stories but because they represent the same kind of quality and eclectic mix. It’s presented in the same format as The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant in that a brief note by the author follows each story giving some background information or inspiration for its origins.

Many of the stories obviously draw from Ford’s memories and experiences, and the fact that he often writes in the first person and the protagonist is usually a struggling writer lends a certain credibility and familiarity to the tales. It’s as though you’ve just sat down with an old friend who is relating some experience to you, and on the surface, nothing seems out of place, but then you slowly start to realize there’s something about your old friend’s story that is a bit bizarre or just plain eerie. You start to wonder if your friend the author has been smoking a few too many of those funny smelling cigarettes or if there is really something supernatural about it.

The stories run the gamut from little faeries who live in sand castles to ghost tales to a coming of age novella-length story, Botch Town, which was my favorite. Botch Town seems to be a nostalgic childhood recollection of a particularly eventful Halloween. One of the neighborhood kids has disappeared without a trace. Alarming but not fantastic in itself. Except that as our young narrator and his brother try to investigate the crime by recreating the scene on their model of the neighborhood street, the little clay figures representing their neighbors seem to move on the board of their own volition. The unbridled imagination of kids and a mysterious stranger in a car help to further the feeling that there’s more to this story than the tragedy of a missing child.

The title story The Empire of Ice Cream is about a young man who suffers from synesthesia, a neurological condition in which things are perceived simultaneously by more than one of the senses. For example, aromas may be accompanied by sounds, sounds may be coupled with visuals, and colors may invoke scents. For this young man, ice cream, specifically coffee flavored ice cream, manifests the presence of another person. However, by the story‘s end, everything gets turned on its head, and it seems neither the young man or the reader is exactly sure if his perceptions are indeed real or imagined.

Which seems to be Ford’s hallmark: making the reader question everything he’s just read and thought he understood, but then just as the tale winds down, the reader starts wondering anew. Ford has a way of making ordinary events seem fantastic, sometimes even terrifying, and often they are tinged with sadness. He is the master of the “story with a twist” and the “ironic ending.” The Empire of Ice Cream is an intriguing and diverse collection that only further solidifies Ford’s overall mastery of the short story.