My recommendation for February is a Victorian Faerie Tale with a strong romantic element and an unusual heroine. Cruel Magic (2022) by American author E.B.Wheeler is the first in the Iron and Thorns trilogy. The second volume, Wild Magic was published in 2023 and the third, Fierce Magic, in 2024. All three volumes are easily available in… Continue reading
I’m starting the new reading year with a recommendation for The Crow Folk (2021) by Mark Stay, a story I’d classify as Horror with humour and heart. This is the first book in The Witches of Woodville, a series set in a far from ordinary English village during World War II. Four volumes have been… Continue reading
In the festive month of December I usually recommend a classic Children’s Fantasy. This year my choice is Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh (1906-1982), a magical story about two children and a witch’s cat who is feline royalty. This novel was first published in 1955 and there were two sequels – The Kingdom of Carbonel (1960)… Continue reading
Since I’m recovering from surgery this month, here is a briefer than usual recommendation for something short and strange – Lady Into Fox by David Garnett (1892-1981). This prize-winning novella was first published in 1922, illustrated with charming woodcuts by Garnett’s first wife, Rachel Marshall Garnett. It has rarely been out of print since. You… Continue reading
October is Ghost Month on Fantasy Reads and this year I’m recommending the subtle ghost stories of the American author, Edith Wharton (1872-1937). Although she is more famous for literary classics such as The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, Wharton wrote on supernatural themes throughout her career and her last published book… Continue reading
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