Is Elizabeth Bennet the new Sherlock Holmes? I ask because she has escaped from her original home (in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) to star in numerous recent novels. Many of these Jane Austen Variations include Mystery and/or Fantasy elements. The contrast between the polite and prosaic settings and the wild magic woven into the… Continue reading
This August let Fantasy Reads take you to an unusual holiday destination – Unholy Island. It is the setting for a series of Fantasy/Mystery novels by British author, Sarah Painter. The first novel in the Unholy Island series is called The Ward Witch (2023) and it is available in all the usual formats. The second… Continue reading
Do you enjoy a good literary argument? Then this month’s choice may be just the book for you. It is an intriguing novel by American author, John Barnes, called One for the Morning Glory. This was first published in 1996 and currently seems to be out of print. You can still find fairly cheap second-hand… Continue reading
This month I’m doing something a little different. I’ve noticed that recently my reading and viewing has been dominated by stories involving Asian fox-spirits. So I’m going to recommend a varied group of Fantasy novels and series which feature these fascinating beings. Last month I wrote about A.Y.Chao’s novel Shanghai Immortal (2024) whose heroine, Lady… Continue reading
Last month I recommended a journey through the hellish landscapes of Lilith but this time we’re off to a very different version of Hell – a Chinese one modelled on Shanghai in its 1930s heyday. Shanghai Immortal is the first novel by Chinese Canadian author A.Y.Chao who currently lives in London. Published in 2023, Shanghai… Continue reading
This month I’m recommending a neglected Fantasy Classic – George MacDonald’s extraordinary novel Lilith. This Scottish author is still fondly remembered for his Fantasy fiction for children such as The Princess and the Goblins and The Light Princess (see Fantasy Reads January 2013) but his two adult Fantasy novels Phantastes (1858) and Lilith (1895) are… Continue reading
This month I’m recommending the most recent novel by captivating Mexican-born author Sylvia Moreno-Garcia who lives in Canada. Silver Nitrate was published in 2023. It is currently available in hardback, ebook and Audio editions and a paperback will be out soon. When I tell you that this story is set in the Movie and Television… Continue reading
For my first book choice of 2024 I’m returning to one of the most versatile of Fantasy Writers – Garth Nix. I recommended Clariel, one of his gripping Old Kingdom series, back in September 2015 but the Old Kingdom is just one of this Australian author’s invented worlds. Now I’m recommending Sir Hereward and Mister… Continue reading
Each December I like to write about a Classic Fantasy for children and this year I have chosen The Rose and the Ring by William Makepiece Thackeray (1811-1863), who is best known as the author of Vanity Fair. The fact that The Rose and the Ring is a Victorian Christmas book may lead you to… Continue reading
This month I’m returning to one of my favourite genres – Epic Fantasy. Long and complex books which require a considerable investment of time and effort from the reader are standard in this genre. If you want to be sure that your investment will pay off you need to look for authors of high quality… Continue reading