PROPHET - R J Larson

"Close your eyes, Ela of Parne. Close your eyes and you will see."

Ela Roeh of Parne doesn't understand why her beloved Creator, the Infinite, wants her to become His prophet. She's undignified, bad tempered, and only seventeen--not to mention that no prophet of Parne has ever been a girl. Worst of all, as the elders often warn, if she agrees to become the Infinite's prophet, Ela knows she will die young.
"Istgard has turned their back on Me. See the evil they do."

Yet after experiencing His presence, she can't imagine living without Him. Determined to follow the Infinite's voice, Ela accepts the sacred vinewood branch and is sent to bring the Infinite's word to a nation torn apart by war. Here she meets Kien, a young Traceland ambassador determined to bring his own justice for his oppressed people. As they form an unlikely partnership, Ela must surrender to her destiny . . . and determine how to balance the leading of her heart with the leading of the Infinite.
"Will you accept the branch and speak My will? Will you be My prophet?"

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A YA fantasy tale reading like a Bible story and that's not a bad thing. I like Bible stories, my favorites are the ones that have strong female protagonists. That's what PROPHET has, a strong lead character who is offered the daunting task of becoming the voice for the Infinite, the being her people worship. The Infinite wants war to end and for others to come back to his fold.

The story flows along nicely with plenty of well-written dialogue, action, a bit of romance, humor. It's the beginning of a lovely series that's not too preachy.

Four lovely flowing beans.....

AFTER HOURS: Tales from the Ur-Bar - Anthology

From the back of the book: Benjamin Tate, S C Butler, Jennifer Dunne, Barbara Ashford, Maria V Snyder, Kari Sperring, D B Jackson, Patricia Bray, Seanan McGuire, Juliet E McKenna, Laura Anne Gilman, Ian Tregillis, Avery Shade, Jackie Kessler, Anton Strout

The first bar, created by the Sumerians after they were given the gift of beer by the gods, was known as the Ur-Bar. Although it has since been destroyed, its spirit lives on. In each age there is one bar that captures the essence of the original Ur-Bar, where drinks are mixed with magic and served with a side of destiny and intrigue.

Science fiction and fantasy readers have long shown an affinity for a good "bar story". From TALES FROM GAVAGAN'S BAR and TALES FROM THE WHITE HART to the CALLAHAN'S CROSSTIME SALOON stories, bars and imaginative accounts just seem to go together.

Now some of today's most inventive scriveners have decided to belly up to the Ur-Bar and tell their own tall tales---from an alewife's attempt to transfer the gods' curse to Gilgamesh, to Odin's decision to introduce Vikings to the Ur-Bar...from the Holy Roman Emperor's barroom bargain, to a demon hunter who may just have met his match in the ultimate magic bar, to a bouncer who discovers you should never let anyone in after hurs in a world terrorized by zombies.....

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I rarely have luck with anthologies. I think that's the norm for a lot of people based on reviews I've read here and there.

That said, I saw a review for this particular anthology. Can't remember who was so in favor of it, but it was a 'trusted agent' and I put it on the WWBL. Then B&N must have been having a heckuva sale and it was put in the shopping cart and on Mt Git'r'Read.

I think it only languished for a bit before I was in the mood for this type of read.

And what a swell decision! Every single story is amazing and well-written, completely different premise from the rest with only the Ur-Bar as the single theme tying everything together.

The book seems to move in a forward pattern from the past to the future and the sort of nil.

Anything more is a rehash of the 'Back of the Book', so will stop here. I really liked this book, glad that not all anthologies are pewp and happy to 'meet' some new authors to add to the WWBL.

Five belly up to the Ur-Bar beans....

WOLF MOON - Charles de Lint

From the back of the book: Wolf magic, harper spells....

His name when he was human was Kern, and it seemed he had been running forever, for he had become the most feared of beings: a werewolf. When the change had first come upon him, his parents had driven him away with silver daggers. Later, Kern sought human companionship. But he could not hide the truth for long, and so he kept running until he ran headlong into the deadliest pursuer of all----a harper bent on stealing his life away.

By chance Kern was able to take refuge at the Inn of the Yellow Tinker, a warm and welcoming place where he might find a home if he guarded his secret well. And at the inn, Kern found a woman he was destined to love. But could he risk both human and harper vengeance to keep her?

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Charles de Lint...this is only my second of his books. First was WIDDERSHINS, part of the acclaimed Newford series, modern fantasy at its finest.

WOLF MOON is a superb fantasy set in a time of tinkers, mages, wee folk, harpers, and werewolves. The werewolf/shapeshifter aspect of the story was a new one to me, the way Kern became a werewolf. He was born a werewolf, no one else in his family is one, just him. He wants to fit in somewhere, but knows it's always just a matter of time before he is reviled and cast out or killed. Kern is on the run, finds refuge with the innkeeper, Ainsy and her friends and family. He thinks he is still on the run, but might be able to rest his soul for a bit with Ainsy who has enchanted him and maybe captured his heart.

Five fantasy at its finest beans......

MAGYK: Book One SEPTIMUS HEAP - Angie Sage, narr Allan Corduner

From the back of the BOCD: Silas Heap's seventh son, Septimus, has just been born. Silas is in the woods collecting beneficial herbs for his newborn when his wizard ears hear a faint heartbeat--another infant, a girl, has been abandoned in the brush. Silas brings her home only to discover the midwife whisking Septimus away, declaring that he has died.

Soon the Heaps realize what only the ExtraOrdinary Wizard knows: not only is their new daughter really a princess, but their son is alive. Before the Heaps can find Septimus, though, they must keep the princess safe from the assassins who killed her mother and want to prevent her from ascending to the throne.

British author Angie Sage begins an enchanting trilogy with MAGYK. Her incredibly popular novels have been compared to the Harry Potter series. Narrator Allan Corduner's performance of this exciting and quickly paced tale will bewitch listeners.

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I did enjoy this story, but I am going to have to relisten in the car or get the book to read as a handheld. I didn't get as much of the story as I would have liked. And it's a fabulously engrossing tale, intricately woven and deserves better attention. If you like a well told fantasy tale with magic and humor and excellently drawn characters, then this story is for you. I will get this trilogy in audio and for the shelves to read for Lady K.

Four fantasticly MAGYK beans....

THE CHILDREN OF MEN - P D James, narr John Franklyn-Robbins

From the back of the BOCD: P D James, best-selling author of the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, has proven herself adept at writing novels that are suspenseful without being gratuitously violent, complex without being complicated. Her characters are convincing and their plights believable, which makes THE CHILDREN OF MEN all the more compelling.

The human race faces extinction. It is annihilation brought not by disease or nuclear war, not by crashing meteorites or colliding stars. Men and women have ceased, simply, to procreate. In 1994, sperm counts hit zero; pediatrics wards were rapidly and permanently depleted. Overnight, it seemed, the human race had lost its power to breed.

The last generation of children to offer mankind a chance was born in 1995--the Omegas. Coddled and overprotected, the Omegas were the world's last, great hope. When they, too, reached sexual maturity unable to breed, everyone realized homo sapiens had become a doomed commodity.

Now, 25 years later, a pervasive lethargy blankets the world. Pornography has been legalized. Massive numbers of people have fled back to the cities, fearful of encroaching nature. Ritualistic suicides are sanctioned by the government as a means of ridding countries of their surplus elderly. Anarchy reigns in the prisons, immigrants are enslaved, renegade Omegas terrorize the land.

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I will say right now that I enjoy the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries that P D James writes, I can read those any time, watch the movies made from the books at the drop of a DVD. I really tried to bring the same enthusiasm to this book, but just couldn't get into it as much.

The premise is intriguing, but very bleak. Humans no longer reproduce due to some unknown malady. They have dolls as their babies with baby showers, baptisms, etc (creeeepy) or over-baby their pets.

A miracle occurs and the small team of rebels that becomes the center of the story is on the run.

There is death, sadness, oddities and a story that meandered. I will always love reading P D James' mysteries there is no doubt about that. It was just that this very bleak look at a possible future was not for me.

Three why does the future always seem bleak in books and movies beans....

MYTH DIRECTIONS - Robert Asprin, narr Jeff Woodman

From the back of the audiobook: With over three million copies in print, best-selling fantasy author Robert Asprin continues to delight his fans with the antics of the otherworldly beings featured in his Myth series. Adding a dash of romance to his usual mix of adventure and comedy, he takes his fans on a wild inter-dimensional ride with Skeeve, the incorrigible young magician.

Tanda, the beautiful demon of young Skeeve's dreams, needs a favor. She wants him to travel with her to another dimension to steal a national trophy. It doesn't matter that there's danger involved or that the trophy is the ugliest thing he's ever seen. He'd do anything for the object of his affection. With his heart on his sleeve and his trusty dragon at his side, Skeeve prepares to face the challenge of his life.

Enjoy the magical world where dragons, demons, and kings blissfully co-exist, and shape-shifting and interdimensional travel are a way of life. Jeff Woodman's lively narration ensures listeners a rollicking good time.

*****

I highly enjoyed my commute with this story! This is a short book and a fast paced story. I've not listened to or read this series before, but I am going to add the rest of the series to my wishlist on RecordedBooks and I will be on the lookout at the bookstores, new and used, for more of this series. This one is #3 in the lineup, but I don't think I missed anything by not reading or listening to the first two before. Sadly, Robert Asprin died 22 May 2008. Unless someone steps up to fill his fantasy-building shoes, there won't be any more of the series.

Four dimension hopping beans....


Jeff Woodman, narr

WEBMAGE - Kelly McCullough

From the back of the book: Magic is about to get an upgrade
Ravirn is not your average computer geek. A child of the Fates -- literally -- he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can zero in on the fatal flaw in any program. Now that twenty-first-century magic has gone digital that makes him a very talented sorcerer. But a world of problems is about to be downloaded on Ravirn -- who’s just trying to pass his college midterms.
Great Aunt Atropos, one of the three Fates, decides that humans having free will is really overrated and plans to rid herself of the annoyance -- by coding a spell into the Fate Core, the server that rules destiny. As a hacker, Ravirn is a big believer in free will, and when he not only refuses to debug her spell but actively opposes her, all hell breaks loose.
Even with the help of his familiar Melchior, a sexy sorceress (who’s also a mean programmer), and the webgoblin underground, it’s going to be a close call...

Once I got past the computer geek talk and really got into the mythology aspect of the story, I enjoyed the book. I had to make it my bedside book to make good time with it and that allowed my enjoyment and comprehension increase. It's not really a good book to read in fits and starts which was how it was going as my purse book.

My favorite characters were Cerice, Ravirn's lady love, and Melchior, Ravirn's webgoblin/familiar. Both are strong minded and smart asses...my favorite characterization.

I reckon I'll look for the rest in the series at some point in the future when I am back in the mood for sci-fi/fantasy mix that this was.

Three computer magic beans.....

POLTERGEIST - Kat Richardson

I haven't read many books by the same author back to back lately. I made an exception here for two reasons. One because I want to get the first two of the series back to their rightful sweet owner, Jenna. Two because I just knew this would be just as FREAKIN' GOOD! And I was right!
I really liked the first one best. It laid the groundwork for the series in a truly wonderfully written way. POLTERGEIST continues with Harper Blaine, PI, in a continuous learning mode, but semi-acquiescent with her Greywalker status.
She is hired by a college professor to find the 'mole' in his group of poltergeist seekers. He feels that someone is faking the results, it can't possibly be that there is a real poltergeist in their midst as they simply do not exist. Yeah, right....
Harper goes back to the friends she made in the beginning of her Greywalker status, Ben and Mara, magic theorist and his wife the witch and some vampires that still scare the bejeezus out of her. They all teach her how to walk in the Grey world and take care of the ghost business that needs taken care of.
Honkin' five beans!

THE PRESTIGE - Christopher Priest

THE PRESTIGE turned out to be better than I expected. It started slowly and not at all like the movie I saw at the show, which is how it usually is. Movies never live up to the books they are made from. Now I really liked the movie..what was not to like with Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie in the roles. History of magic and an amazing fantasy story of the two feuding magicians and what drives them to the lengths they go to outdo each other at every turn.
The story is told in three viewpoints, one from each magician and one from two of the descendents. This is the kind of audiobook that makes the listener stay in the parking lot or driveway to listen to just a little more before departing the vehicle. It would make me work longer, walk more miles, ride just one more lap just to get more of the tale heard.
Four beans!