Last night, the Genre Reading Group met on Zoom to talk
about science fiction’s zany sibling, fantasy fiction!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede
it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white
striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking
amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at
night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two
young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood
expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them
both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the
high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off
a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone,
from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
Tiffany Aching is ready to begin her apprenticeship in
magic. She expects spells and magic—not chores and ill-tempered nanny goats!
Surely there must be more to witchcraft than this!
What Tiffany doesn't know is that an insidious, disembodied
creature is pursuing her. This time, neither Mistress Weatherwax (the greatest
witch in the world) nor the fierce, six-inch-high Wee Free Men can protect her.
In the end, it will take all of Tiffany's inner strength to save herself...if it can be done at all.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of
beautiful Victoria Forester—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the
night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side
of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that stone
barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie...and the most exhilarating adventure of
the young man's life.
Star Wars fan films
Star Wars + Star Trek Fan Fiction YouTube Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJCprt9ByAQ3kLpYOcWArbwfcR_YGXOF
Star Wars Cops Parody - TROOP (Considered canon by George
Lucas):
https://youtu.be/pe6yy3sW6NI
The Axanar debacle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_fan_productions#Star_Trek:_Axanar_(2014)
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders,
but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge
of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart,
the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for
being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the
attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than
flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. She
will face an impossible challenge and, along with two unlikely allies, uncover
a secret that threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the
forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the
border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people
rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at
bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over
to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that
the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things
Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to
save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it
is not Kasia he will choose.
Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, a hero, the Chosen
One, was born . . . and so begins every fairy tale ever told. This is not that
fairy tale. There is a Chosen One, but he is unlike any One who has
ever been Chosened. And there is a faraway kingdom, but you have
never been to a magical world quite like the land of Pell.
There, a plucky farm boy will find more than he’s bargained for on his quest to
awaken the sleeping princess in her cursed tower. First there’s the Dark Lord,
who wishes for the boy’s untimely death . . . and also very fine cheese.
Then there’s a bard without a song in her heart but with a very adorable and
fuzzy tail, an assassin who fears not the night but is terrified of chickens,
and a mighty fighter more frightened of her sword than of her chain-mail
bikini. This journey will lead to sinister umlauts, a trash-talking goat, the
Dread Necromancer Steve, and a strange and wondrous journey to the most
peculiar “happily ever after” that ever once-upon-a-timed.
Witches for Hire by Sam Argent
All recovering drug addict and witch Jeremy Ragsdale wants
is to shamble on to the next job without any disasters. Instead, the temp
agency saddles him with a fellow witch who hates him, an Amazon one violent
outburst away from deportation, and a knight from another world as his boss.
Even worse, their jack-of-all-trades magic business stumbles upon a conspiracy
to kill Desmond the Great, Atlanta’s sexy star magician. Jeremy must prevent it
without letting his colleagues know that he not only has ties to the energy
vampires behind the plot, but that his past misdeeds might have instigated the
attacks.
Despite Jeremy sporting a suit and tie like a good witch,
his lies snowball to bite him in the ass. The lack of trust brewing between him
and his teammates could cost Desmond his life and Jeremy his progress on the
straight and narrow path if his secrets are revealed. Because no matter how
much Jeremy has reformed, there’s still enough bad witch in him to kill anyone
who messes with him or the people he cares about.
Tales of Horror and Fantasy by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling, a major figure of English literature, used
the full power and intensity of his imagination and his writing ability in his
excursions into fantasy. Kipling is considered one of England's greatest
writers, but was born in Bombay. He was educated in England, but returned to
India in 1882, where he began writing fantasy and supernatural stories set in
his native continent: "The Phantom Rickshaw," "The Strange Ride
of Morrowbie Jukes," and his most famous horror story, "The Mark of
the Beast" (1890). This masterwork collection, edited by Stephen Jones
(Britain's most accomplished and acclaimed anthologist) for the first time
collects all of Kipling's fantastic fiction, ranging from traditional ghostly
tales to psychological horror.
Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks
Five hundred years have passed since the devastating
demon-led war tore apart the United States and nearly exterminated humankind.
Those who escaped the carnage were led to sanctuary in an idyllic valley, its
borders warded by powerful magic against the horrors beyond. But the cocoon of
protective magic surrounding the valley has now vanished. When Sider Ament, the
only surviving descendant of the Knights of the Word, detects unknown predators
stalking the valley, he fears the worst. And when expert Trackers find two of
their own gruesomely killed, there can be no doubt: The once safe haven has
been made vulnerable to whatever still lurks in the outside wasteland.
Together, Ament, the two young Trackers, and a daring Elf princess spearhead
plans to defend their ancestral home. And in the thick of it all, the last
wielder of the black staff and its awesome magic must find a successor to carry
on the fight against the cresting new wave of evil.
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
In the early 20th Century, the United States government
concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to
be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true
things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a
man in two. This was a terrible plan.
Contained within this volume is an 1890s America that might
have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from
around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is
the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge.
Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
Jo is in a strange new country for university and having a
more peculiar time than most. In a house with no walls, shared with a woman who
has no boundaries, she finds her strange home coming to life in unimaginable
ways. Jo’s sensitivity and all her senses become increasingly heightened and
fraught, as the lines between bodies and plants, dreaming and wakefulness, blur
and mesh.
This debut novel from critically acclaimed artist and
musician Jenny Hval presents a heady and hyper-sensual portrayal of sexual
awakening and queer desire.
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
Raiders of the Lost Ark fan film and documentary:
https://www.raidersguys.com/
Author list :
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik (Book 1 of 9 in the
Temeraire series)
When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes
its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence
from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with
a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial
Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the
daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces
rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and
Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale
of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age and
the birth of a new. It is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal,
and deeply laid conspiracies. A world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers,
deposed rulers and a besieged Queen, a warrior-priest, the Prince of Travelers,
barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess...
all seen through the unflinching eyes of an unforgettable heroine.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian
wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by
the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the
story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he
claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from
evil.
Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely
devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household
spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to
stalk the village.
But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to
her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent.
As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer,
Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed—to protect her
family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales.
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
Princess Lissla Lissar is the only child of the king and his
queen, who was the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms. Everyone loved the
splendid king and his matchless queen so much that no one had any attention to
spare for the princess, who grew up in seclusion, listening to the tales her
nursemaid told about her magnificent parents. But the queen takes ill of a
mysterious wasting disease and on her deathbed extracts a strange promise from
her husband: “I want you to promise me . . . you will only marry
someone as beautiful as I was.”
The king is crazy with grief at her loss, and slow to regain both his wits and
his strength. But on Lissar’s seventeenth birthday, two years after the queen’s
death, there is a grand ball, and everyone present looks at the princess in
astonishment and whispers to their neighbors, How like her mother she is! On
the day after the ball, the king announces that he is to marry again—and that
his bride is the princess Lissla Lissar, his own daughter.
Lissar, physically broken, half mad, and terrified, flees her father’s lust
with her one loyal friend, her sighthound, Ash. It is the beginning of winter
as they journey into the mountains—and on the night when it begins to snow,
they find a tiny, deserted cabin with the makings of a fire ready-laid in the
hearth. Thus begins Lissar’s long, profound, and demanding journey away from
treachery and pain and horror, to trust and love and healing.
Swords and Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery edited by
Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
A truly breathtaking new anthology edited by Jonathan
Strahan and Lou Anders, Swords & Dark Magic offers stunning new
tales of sword and sorcery action, romance, and dark adventure written by some
of the most respected, bestselling fantasy writers working today—from Joe
Abercrombie to Gene Wolfe. An all-new Elric novella from the legendary Michael
Moorcock and a new visit to Majipoor courtesy of the inimitable Robert
Silverberg are just two of the treasures offered in Swords & Dark
Magic—a fantasy lover’s dream.
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Aerin is the only child of the king of Damar, and should be
his rightful heir. But she is also the daughter of a witchwoman of the North,
who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her.
But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people
know, for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into the
wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It is he who at last
tells her the truth about her mother, and he also gives over to her hand the
Blue Sword, Gonturan. But such gifts as these bear a great price, a price Aerin
only begins to realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the
Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.
Staked by J. F. Lewis
Eric's got issues. He has short-term and long-term memory
problems; he can't remember who he ate for dinner yesterday, much less how he
became a vampire in the first place. His best friend, Roger, is souring on the
strip club he and Eric own together. And his girlfriend, Tabitha, keeps
pressuring him to turn her so she can join him in undeath. It's almost enough
to put a Vlad off his appetite. Almost.
Eric tries to solve one problem, only to create another: he turns Tabitha into
a vampire, but finds that once he does, his desire for her fades -- and her
younger sister, Rachel, sure is cute. And when he kills a werewolf in
self-defense, things really get out of hand. Now a pack of born-again
lycanthropes is out for holy retribution, while Tabitha and Rachel have their
own agendas -- which may or may not include helping Eric stay in one piece.
All Eric wants to do is run his strip club, drink a little blood, and be left
alone. Instead, he must survive car crashes, enchanted bullets, sunlight, sex
magic, and werewolves on ice -- not to mention his own nasty temper and
forgetfulness. Because being undead isn't easy, but it sure beats the
alternative.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment