Tag Archives: contemporary fantasy

Orson Scott Card’s Magic Street

Posted on 21st May 2018 by Robert

In his previous novels, Orson Scott Card seems to have dealt with either the (far) future or the (mythic) past. Magic Street is set squarely in the here-and-now — sort of. Baldwin Hills is a black, middle-class neighborhood in Los … Continue reading →

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Jane Lindskold’s Child of a Rainless Year

Posted on 20th May 2018 by Robert

Jane Lindskold is one of the more adventurous authors working in the mode of speculative fiction. From her transparent contributions to Roger Zelazny’s last two books through the contemporary urban fantasy of the athanor novels through the more-or-less “classic” fantasy … Continue reading →

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Patricia A. McKillip’s Solstice Wood

Posted on 20th May 2018 by Robert

It seems somewhat odd, on reflection, to realize that in a genre that so often uses magic as a metaphor and/or device, so few writers actually evoke the qualities of magic in their writing. That observation is prompted by Patricia … Continue reading →

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Charles de Lint’s The Wind In His Heart

Posted on 18th May 2018 by Robert

The Wind in His Heart is Charles de Lint’s first adult novel in eight years. It was worth waiting for. Usually, one tries to start a review of a book by giving a sense of the set-up, the opening situation, … Continue reading →

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Jane Lindskold’s Nine Gates

Posted on 2nd March 2018 by Michael M. Jones

Ever since their exile from the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice a century ago, the Thirteen Orphans and their descendants have done their best to blend into the cultures of Earth, striving to maintain their bloodlines and protect their … Continue reading →

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Jane Lindskold’s Five Odd Honors

Posted on 1st March 2018 by Robert

Five Odd Honors continues the story begun in Thirteen Orphans and Nine Gates, leading the Orphans and their allies back to the Lands of Smoke and Sacrifice from which they were exiled years before. Five of the Orphans need to … Continue reading →

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Charles de Lint’s Jack of Kinrowan novels: Jack the Giant-Killer and Drink Down the Moon

Posted on 20th March 2017 by Robert

Charles de Lint is known as “the godfather of urban fantasy,” and indeed, it’s in that genre that he’s made his mark – he’s never been a writer of heroic fantasy: in a better than thirty year career, very few … Continue reading →

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Charles de Lint’s The Hour Before Dawn and Two Other Stories from Newford

Posted on 3rd March 2017 by Robert

This volume was my first encounter with Charles de Lint’s Newford. Strangely enough, these works, particularly the title story, remind me very strongly of some of Jonathan Lethem’s stories, and I couldn’t begin to say why. De Lint’s stories are … Continue reading →

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Charles de Lint’s Dreams Underfoot

Posted on 3rd March 2017 by Robert

Charles de Lint’s Dreams Underfoot is another collection of Newford stories, rather different in feel than those in The Ivory and the Horn. While that collection leaned more toward the “ghost stories” category, this one is much more inclined toward … Continue reading →

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Tanya Huff’s The Future Falls

Posted on 24th February 2017 by Robert

The Future Falls continues the saga of the Gale family, begun in The Enchantment Emporium and continued in The Wild Ways. The Gales are not your normal family, although certainly given to family politics and rivalries, with a few interesting … Continue reading →

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