|
|
|
Brief Cases
by Jim Butcher
Urban Fantasy. This entertaining collection assembles 11 reprints and one brand new novella, all set in the world of Butcher’s popular Chicago-based wizard PI, Harry Dresden (last seen in 2014’s Skin Game)
Read it for: Its quirky but flawed characters. Collection of short stories.
|
|
|
Season of Storms
by Andrzej Sapkowski
Epic Fantasy. Geralt of Rivia and Dandelion embark on a new series of quests in the face of the approaching season of storms and monster-creating sorcerers who would thwart their efforts to protect humanity by depriving Geralt of his weapons.
Series watch: Book six in the Witcher series.
|
|
| The Poppy War by R.F. KuangWhat it’s about: In this historical military fantasy, dark-skinned war orphan Rin surprises everyone when she aces the entrance exam for Sinegard, the most revered military academy in all of Nikan. Will her discovery that she has shamanic powers help her prove to herself and her classmates that she’s worthy of her place?
Why you might like it: Punctuated with mysticism, treachery, and martial arts, this debut novel (the (the 1st in a planned trilogy) is inspired by real events in 20th-century China. |
|
| Song of Blood and Stone by L. PenelopeStarring: outcast Jasminda, thrown out of Elsira because of her gift of Earthsong; and injured spy Jack, whom Jasminda heals with her voice and then partners with to save her homeland.
Is it for you? This epic fantasy, which is inspired by Native American and African mythologies, is for readers who like stories with romantic elements.
You might also like: N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, which also features a strong-willed female heroine. |
|
| The Last Unicorn by Peter S. BeagleWhat it’s about: In her quest to seek her own kind, the last unicorn leaves the safety of her forest home and goes in search of other magical creatures. During her travels in the outside world, she finds some intrinsically good humans -- such as Schmedrick the Magician -- but also finds selfish people, mortal danger, and a stunning change in herself.
Did you know? First published in 1968, The Last Unicorn is a modern fantasy classic beloved by many; it was adapted into a 1982 animated children’s film. |
|
| The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel KayWhat it's about: In an alternate 9th-century Britain, conflicts between the Viking-esque Erlings of Vinmark, the Saxon-like Anglcyn, and the Celtic-inspired Cyngael escalate through a series of seemingly unconnected events that eventually converge to devastating effect.
Is it for you? If you like multi-layered narratives, you'll enjoy this sweeping historical fantasy.
Related books: The Last Light of the Sun is set in the same world (but a different time period) as The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Sarantine Mosaic. |
|
| The Last Days of New Paris: A Novella by China MiévilleWhat it’s about: In 1941, a surrealist bomb explodes in Nazi-occupied Paris. A year later, Parisians and Nazis are fighting for control of the city, now known as New Paris, while “manifs” -- physical realizations of surrealist paintings -- are loose on the streets, creating their own bizarre chaos.
Read it for: an imaginative coupling of art history and speculative fiction.
You might also like: The City, Not Long After by Pat Murphy, which also features warfare, art, and surrealism. |
|
|
The Last Mermaid
by Shana Abe
Romantic Fantasy. A mysterious legend, a locket, and the enchanted Scottish island of Kell become the thread that ties three haunting romance stories that span more than one thousand years.
Read it for: This is a wonderfully intense, magical story that brings readers from the distant past to the present through its three books. In the warm waters of the island of Kell lives a Siren, a being of myth and legend. She found a great love but, human nature being as it is, he changed and sought to end their idyll. In her torment, she spoke a curse, which she means to affect the families down through the ages.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Forsyth County Public Library 660 West Fifth Street Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101 336-703-2665www.forsythlibrary.org |
|
|
|