fantasy books

Book Review: The Story of Kullervo

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The Story of Kullervo by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Story of Kullervo 
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Verlyn Flieger (editor )
4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


Kullervo’s uncle murders his father, and Kullervo vows to find revenge. He grows up wayward and wild and without compassion for anyone except his twin sister. With the help of the magical hound, Musti, Kullervo escapes the murderous machinations of his evil uncle. Kullervo has set his hand against the whole world, and he ruins crops, creates a wasteland in the forest, commits mass murder, and generally reeks destruction wherever he goes. His story is tragic for everyone involved.

This short story, one of Tolkien’s very early attempts at rewriting myths, includes a great deal of poetry, a tragic plot, and the delicious rich language that characterizes all of Tolkien’s works. Most of the book is commentary, essays, and notes about the story, its Finnish roots, and its influence on Tolkien’s later writing.  Continue reading →

Book Review: The Tea Dragon Society

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The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill
The Tea Dragon Society 
by Katie O’Neill


3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads
In this graphic novel, Greta’s mother is teaching her to be a blacksmith, but Greta is distracted when she befriends a tea-shop owner with a pet tea dragon. As Greta learns to care for the tea dragons, she befriends a whole new group of people in the society dedicated to protecting their tea dragons, and brewing the delicious tea leaves harvested from their horns. But will Greta ever return to her blacksmithing lessons, or have a tea dragon of her own?

I love the whimsical artwork! The colors and lines are soft and sweet. I thought the plot was adorable and lovely. The little tea dragon creatures are the cutest thing ever created! But there were some confusing things about this book that make it difficult to review.

My main problem is that there is a homosexual couple in this book. One of them is a human and the other is some kind of furry llama-looking guy with a long tail. I did not appreciate this kind of political/philosophical posturing in an otherwise lovely children’s book about dragons.
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Book Review: The Wizard’s Dilemma

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The Wizard's Dilemma
The Wizard’s Dilemma by Diane Duane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yet another book in this series that broke my heart! Such beautiful writing!

Nita gets the terrible news that her mother is dying of cancer. In between hospital visits, Nita searches for a dangerous and elusive wizardry that will cure her mother, but the price may be more than she can pay. She and her wizarding work partner, Kit, have suffered a misunderstanding that keeps them apart. Determined to find a cure on her own, Nita falls prey to the evil Lone One, not realizing that Kit might have stumbled on the answer to all their problems, if only they can reconcile in time!

As in all the other books, I adore the camaraderie and complete trust between Kit and Nita. Their friendship is so special, and seeing it fall apart in this book was heartbreaking. But even through their argument, I loved seeing these characters grow and change, and their friendship ultimately grows and changes along with them. All friendships have some rocky spots, a few bumps in the road, and I was so happy to see how both these characters overcome the obstacles in their way, and it makes them better people, and makes their friendship stronger! Continue reading →

Book Review: The Soldiers of Halla

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The Soldiers of Halla
The Soldiers of Halla by D.J. MacHale

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m so happy with this last book in the series. There were a lot of questions answered and mysteries solved, and somehow it all finally made sense. I loved seeing all the story threads from previous books coming together, and all the settings being revisited.

There was a big information dump near the beginning that got a little tedious, but at least all that stuff was explained finally. But other than that, the writing is (as always) funny, serious, well-paced, compelling, heart-wrenching, with a sense of urgency that keeps you reading.

I was completely riveted with the plot, the action, and the characters! I cried a few times, and I was laughing at other times. I was utterly invested in the story.

After sticking with these characters through 10 books, it was so rewarding to see them growing into these amazing people, coming into their own, and I was cheering them on, fighting their battles alongside them. They are like real people to me now. Continue reading →

Book Review: Ship of Destiny

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Ship of Destiny
Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Usually I love Robin Hobb’s books, but there are so many things that annoyed me about this one. It’s entirely too long and repetitive. It could have been about 200 pages shorter. There are too many POVs flip-flopping all over the place in every chapter. I HATE it when a POV changes in the middle of a orscene! And there are about 10 or 11 different POV characters in the book. Too many! Continue reading →