the Book Brothel

Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling

Tuesday, August 30th, 2005

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover, 607 pages, 2005

Rating: 10/10

Reason for Reading: C’mon, the real wonder is how I managed to wait a whole month for it to come in at the library.

Synopsis: The evil Lord Voldemort is growing stronger by the day, causing harm in the world of wizardry through his followers, the Death Eaters. Harry Potter’s school, Hogwarts, is supposed to be one of the best-protected places there is because of the powerful headmaster, Dumbledore, as well as a series of spells and charms placed on the school grounds to prevent trouble from getting in…But what if Harry�s suspicions are right and someone is working their evil from inside the grounds?

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The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Thursday, November 25th, 2004

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover (available in mass market), 399 pages, 1995

Rating: 10/10

Reason for Reading: Pullman’s trilogy got mentioned a lot when Harry Potter was brought up, and a girl needs something to tide her over until the sixth Potter book, doesn’t she?

Synopsis: Lyra lives in a world much like our own, with a big exception being that each individual possesses a daemon in an animal form, Lyra’s being the shape-shifting Pantalaimon. While eavesdropping in a room of scholars, including her uncle, Lord Asriel, Lyra first learns about the mystical Dust, even though she can’t quite piece together what it is or what it does. There’s a suspicion that it has to do with the vanishing children in the area, and soon Lyra finds herself swept up in the mystery and adventure of a quest to the far north to discover the truth about Dust and the missing children. The Golden Compass is the first in the trilogy refered to as His Dark Materials, and is followed by The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

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Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

Tuesday, October 19th, 2004

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover (available in trade), 389 pages, 2004

Rating: 9/10

Reason for Reading: I love Fforde, and if reading his Thursday Next stories is as close as I can come to living inside a book, I will be one content bookworm.

Synopsis: Thursday Next is a woman with the rather strange capability of being able to jump into books and interact with the characters, but after living in a peaceful book for a few years in order to give birth to her now-toddler son Friday, she decides it’s time to rejoin the real world. Her husband, Landen, has been eradicated and officially never existed anywhere but in Thursday’s mind, and she’s decided it’s time to go up against the Goliath Corporation to demand he be allowed back into existence. She’s also got to stop the book-burning Yorrick Kaine from becoming dictator to ensure the world doesn’t come to an end, and her time-traveling father tells her the only way to prevent this is…for her town to win a croquet tournament. Don’t ask. Just prepare yourself for a wild ride.

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Posted in Fiction, Humour, Literary Sci-Fi, Action, Fantasy | Comments Off

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Friday, October 8th, 2004

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Mass-market, 367 pages, 1990

Rating: 9/10

Reason for Reading: A lovely woman in the States was nice enough to send me an entire box of books a few years ago, which included this one. It’s a title that seems to come up when people mention getting their feet wet before a full-fledged dive into the fantasy/sci-fi genres.

Synopsis: The Apocalypse is due on Saturday, but Crowley, one of Satan’s own sent to cause chaos on Earth, has somehow lost the Antichrist. Aziraphale, sent from Heaven, has developed an odd relationship with Crowley over the centuries, seeing as how they’re among the few non-humans around, which means he’s developed a bit of tolerance for Crowley’s bad behaviours while rubbing a bit of his goodness off on Crowley. And neither of them is quite sure that they want the human race to come to an end - heaven doesn’t have any rock music, after all, and they don’t quite see the point of fancy cars and cell phones in hell. But there’s not much you can do when faced with the will of God and Satan…is there?

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Posted in Fiction, Humour, Religion, Fantasy | No Comments »

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Monday, September 27th, 2004

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Trade, 216 pages, 1990

Rating: 9/10

Reason for Reading: Here it is, my yearly treat/rationing of a Salman Rushdie book. I want to give myself as long a time as possible for my reading speed to catch up to his writing speed, because the thought of not having a new Rushdie book to look forward to is too sad to contemplate.

Synopsis: Young Haroun’s father, Rashid, is a great storyteller that drives his wife into the arms of another man because she feels he’s too lost in imaginary worlds to focus on the realities of life. Angrily, Haroun curses his father for ruining their lives, and Rashid finds he’s suddenly lost his gift to spin wonderful tales, filling Haroun with regret. A strange series of events lands them in a bizarre land that seems an awful lot like one of Rashid’s stories, where they suddenly find more is at stake than just Rashid’s lost talent.

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Posted in Fiction, Humour, Magical Realism, Fantasy | No Comments »

Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover, 607 pages, 2005

Rating: 10/10

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover (available in mass market), 399 pages, 1995

Rating: 10/10

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover (available in trade), 389 pages, 2004

Rating: 9/10

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Mass-market, 367 pages, 1990

Rating: 9/10

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Trade, 216 pages, 1990

Rating: 9/10

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