the james review » Fantasy

Review: The Heroes

james m. toburen — Tue, 31 May 2011 19:00:07 +0000

Joe Abercrombie has earned a reputation as a writer of gritty, intense fantasy that’s unafraid to deconstruct and reexamine the typical fantasy assumptions. For many readers, this falls firmly in the camp of being “a very good thing,” though individual mileage may vary (see here for an interesting blog post and an impressive thread of commentary responding to one critic’s unfavorable opinions on postmodern interpretations of the fantasy genre). His freshman effort, The First Law, offered up a fresh, violent, and often funny take on epic fantasy...

Review: The Lions of al-Rassan

james m. toburen — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:30:23 +0000

As I mentioned in my review of Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay is well known for his “historical fiction,” using the geography and societies from factual history as the inspiration for his meticulously written, fantasy-based accounts. An analogue of a moment often overlooked in Europe’s history, The Lions of al-Rassan replicates the final decades of the [...]

Review: Warbreaker

james m. toburen — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 23:40:48 +0000

Brandon Sanderson’s first novel, Elantris, was published only five years ago, in 2005. Since then, this prolific writer’s impressive catalog of published novels has established him as a fantasy author to be reckoned with. His Mistborn trilogy is especially loved among fantasy readers for its knuckle-whitening action, meticulous world-building, and intricate system of magic. When [...]

Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora

james m. toburen — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:09:19 +0000

It seems every year a debut fantasy novels electrifies the speculative fiction community. Scott Lynch opened a planned seven volume series (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence) with The Lies of Locke Lamora, which arrived in a perfect storm of buzz, excitement, and positive reviews. So did Scott Lynch’s debut live up to the hype, and with the benefit of hindsight, does it compare favorably to other impressive fantasy debuts? I would say yes and no; unlike many reviewers, my reaction to The Lies of Locke Lamora was decidedly mixed. ..

Review: City of Saints and Madmen

james m. toburen — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:30:38 +0000

Jeff Vandermeer's City of Saints and Madmen is a sometimes bewildering collection of works related to the fictional city of Ambergris. Almost immediately, it becomes apparent that this is not your typical fantasy; instead, Vandermeer's literature is a bizarre amalgamation of fantasy, horror, and postmodern literary techniques.

Review: Tigana

james m. toburen — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:00:12 +0000

Guy Gavriel Kay, a Canadian author with a dozen published manuscripts under his belt, has established himself as an author of "historical fiction," or at least that's the description often given to his novels. Tigana, set in a fictionalized version of medieval Italy, continues this tradition...

Review: Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

james m. toburen — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:00:34 +0000

Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy thunders to a conclusion with the lengthy (the trade paperback edition I purchased was almost 800 pages) Mistborn: The Hero of Ages. Even from the opening paragraphs of the first novel, Sanderson established that the Mistborn series was going to be a work of fantasy to remember: the first two installments in the trilogy were well written, entertaining, and surprisingly thought-provoking (see my earlier reviews of The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension)...

Review: Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

james m. toburen — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:30:38 +0000

Brandon Sanderson's sequel to Mistborn: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension has big shoes to fill. The first novel in the Mistborn trilogy was a fun, exciting, and meticulously written fantasy tale that documented a thieving crew's attempt to overthrow their tyrannical government, led by the near-omnipotent Lord Ruler. Without spoiling too much of the story from the first novel, their plan was more successful than they could have anticipated, leaving the surprised crew-members as the leaders of an uncertain kingdom...

Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire

james m. toburen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:16:44 +0000

Mistborn: The Final Empire is the first novel of Brandon Sanderson's freshly completed Mistborn trilogy. Sanderson is probably most famous, at the moment, for being the author chosen to finish Robert Jordan's mammoth Wheel of Time series, but he has been extremely busy over the last few years...

Review: The Child Thief: A Novel

james m. toburen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:15:40 +0000

In The Child Thief: A Novel, Brom, perhaps best known for his work as an artist for role-playing games and collectible card games (Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering), retells the story of Peter Pan with a dark and modern twist. Recycling a classic fairy tale with an updated perspective is certainly nothing new...