Adult Fantasy Fiction

It all started with The Paradise War: Book One in The Song of Albion Trilogy back in high school. A story of Celtic folklore and the wonder associated with the land of Eire. I have read that series countless times. I also love his Pendragon Series which starts with Taliesin. I am currently in the middle of his King Raven trilogy and waiting for Tuck to come to me from the library. His books have been faithful companions of mine over the years. I always look forward to his next book.

It's here!! I am starting Tuck as we speak. I can't wait to see how the story ends. . . and I was not disappointed. I love how he takes the old legends and makes them real. The entire trilogy was well put together and will written. I would definitely recommend them.

In looking at the back of this book, I realize that I have not read The Dragon King Trilogy. What is up with that? I am going to have to get these from the library very soon.

Okay, so I started The Dragon King Trilogy with In the Hall of the Dragon King. Not sure what I think yet . . . I will let you know.

The first one was a little slow and I was completely sidetracked by www.the39clues.com of which I read four installments in about two days. I had determined in my mind that I would only start the next one of these (Tke Warlords of Nin) if another book had not already come through the library. Nothing came, so here goes. Maybe this one will speed up a bit.

Okay, this one was a bit better. At least, it kept me reading. There is one more in this series, The Sword and the Flame, I am going to hold on to it maybe through my trip to Texas. Again I am waiting to get through the other books I have before I start this one.

Well, I finished the books I had and I haven't been able to pick anything else up from the library, so I am starting the last one in this series tonight. This has not been my favorite series of his but I still appreciate him as an author and would recommend everything of his I have read.

I avoided Terry Brooks for years because the artwork on the front was cheesy (admit it, we all judge books by their covers, though these have gotten better over the years). I came into ownership of a box full of Terry Brooks books from a friend who got them from a friend. And I proceeded to immerse myself in the land of Shannara. I think I am starting the Landover books at the wrong end but if I like this one (which I will) then I will go back and start at the beginning of the series.

I am quickly making my way through the Landover books and will be starting The Tangle Box this evening. What kind of trouble can Ben Holiday get into next?

And now I am starting the last one of these (at least that I haven't already read). If you are starting this series, don't do like I did and start at the end of the series. The last book is A Princess of Landover which has just been published recently. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. What great characters -- the half man/half dog court scribe, the inaccurate court wizard, the very human king and his green wife. Very entertaining and fanciful.

I came across Charles de Lint by accident one day at my local library and I have been devouring his stuff ever since. He writes of a modern day world with every day people and an undercurrent of magical beings. I was surprised by his writing and his imaginary world. Very good! I don't think, out of the fifteen or so of his books that I have read, that I have even touched the surface of his repertoire.

I have never considered these young adult, though that is where you will find them in the library. When I bought the entire series in college, they were in the fantasy fiction section. The battles are a bit gory but they are fought by small woodland animals. I find that every time another one of these comes out, I enjoy it as a good read. The characters are interesting and believable. I look forward to my kids reading these when they are quite a bit older.

I don't know how I got into these or when I started reading them but they are definitely good reads. They write some of the best characters -- the kender people are so funny and the old wizard man who always forgets his hat. Laugh out loud! Still good stories that flow well and kept me reading. I actually have six more of these books at my bedside right now.

These books by Katherine Kurtz were introduced to me by my girlfriend. She is not much in to fantasy books but got ahold of one of these and loved it. She told me about it and I think I have read most of them by now. They are set in a medieval time with two distinct classes -- people with magic and people without. It all started with Deryni Rising way back in 1970. You can get an idea of what order to read them in at her official website www.rhemuthcastle.com

The Warlords of Nin
(The Dragon King Trilogy, Book 2)

In the Hall of the Dragon King
(The Dragon King Trilogy, Book 1)

Witches' Brew

The Tangle Box

Wizard at Large

Tuck
(The King Raven Trilogy)

The Song of Albion Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead

The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks

The War of Souls Trilogy by Margaret Weisman and Tracy Hickman

Redwall Series by Brian Jacques

The Doomsday Key:
A Novel
(Sigma Force Novels)

The Associate

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood:
A Novel

Where the Heart Is
(Oprah's Book Club)

A Voice in the Wind
(Mark of the Lion #1)

Flight to Eden
(Cradleland Chronicles)

I love my local library. It has everything I could ever want and saves me lots of money. I live in a small town on the Western Slope of Colorado, so this is not a three story mammoth of a building I am talking about. They do not house thousands upon thousands of volumes, more like mere hundreds. But they have internet capabilities that allow me to access the volumes at all the small local libraries along the Western Slope. All I have to do is request a title I see on the website and some poor soul will trek it across the mountains for my reading pleasure -- rain, snow or shine. If they don't have it, there is a little thing called "Suggest new titles". I have used this feature as well. And usually within a month or two, they have put it on my list or are in the process of ordering it. I couldn't ask for better service.

And not just books but movies -- our library offers all of the newest releases for free. It may take a little longer to get them but if we put them on our request list, we get them eventually and for nothing. Totally worth it in my opinion.

So if you are currently in the habit of spending all your food money on books, I would encourage you to go down to the nearest library, get a free card and start surfing their catalogue. You will save lots of money and still get to enjoy all the great books -- and movies -- you love.