Charles de Lint: Dingo
De Lint's customary emphasis on the magic and beauty of the everyday is fully present in this lovely story. With characters who are often more than they seem, de Lint shows the potential of looking beyond the surface, and the reward for those who do (K. Howard).
Melissa Marr: Ink Exchange
Marr returns to Faerie with her new offering, and does an excellent job exploring its darkness and danger, as well as the cruelty that mirrors that of the mortal realm. Not precisely a sequel, this compelling story is set in the same world as the gorgeous Wicked Lovely (K. Howard).
Neil Gaiman: M Is for Magic
This is a collection of previously published short stories, ostensibly for young adults but fun for all. Neil Gaiman narrates the audio version, and his skill at reading aloud makes the anthology a real treat. (J. Bluth)
Donna Gillespie: Lady of the Light
A compelling novel of Pagans and Romans; rebellious barbarians rattling the gates of the Empire -- and the indomitable warrior woman who stands on the threshold of both worlds. Great historical details, fierce battles, and intrigues, all properly seasoned with the right amount of fantasy. This is the sequel to
The Light Bearer. (M. Snyder)
Michael Swanwick: The Dragons of Babel
This is a wonderful serpentine of a book, constantly coiling back on itself and changing. It skillfully interweaves various mythologies and allusions, to an effect that is both jarring and beautiful. A compelling read, and gorgeously written, I highly recommend it. (K. Howard)
Brian Barker: The Animal Gospels
This gorgeous poetry collection draws on animal imagery, folklore and myth to explore cultural history and contemporary life in the American south. Powerful work. (T. Windling)
Peter Hoeg: The Quiet Girl
Hoeg's latest is a thoroughly interstitial novel: part literary thriller, part urban fantasy, part post- catastrophe sf, set in near-future Copenhagen and told in rich, labyrinthine prose. This fascinating, atmospheric story may be my favorite of Hoeg's books since his haunting, best-selling Smilla's Sense of Snow . (T. Windling)
Oh Jung-hee: The Bird
The fantasy in this book is imaginary rather than actual (the heroine's brother believes that he can fly, like his cartoon hero Astroboy), and Jung-hee's use of folklore is sparing (but powerful nonetheless). This beautifully written Korean novel explores family dysfunction and violence against children in ways far beyond the cliche, examining the passage of its young heroine from abused girl to abuser. It's a simply amazing read. (T. Windling)
Jonathan Carroll: Glass Soup
Like many mythic fiction readers, I'm a big Jonathan Carroll fan--despite the fact, or maybe because of the fact, that I find his books so disturbing. Somehow I missed the publication of Carroll's Glass Soup, published last autumn. Good lord, this writer just gets better and better. The novel is a sequel to White Apples, and like the former is odd, outrageous, hilarious, infuriating, and occasionally profound. Carroll wrestles with some big themes here: the nature of love, the nature of religious belief, the nature of life and death itself. (T.Windling)
Jeanette Winterson: Tanglewreck
Time has lost its moorings. Time tornadoes are ripping through London, depositing artifacts from centuries past and stealing people from the present.... So starts the story of eleven-year-old Silver, who has been living with her selfish aunt ever since her family vanished under suspicious circumstances -- until the strange Abel Darkwater shows up looking for a missing clock called the Timekeeper, purported to control all of Time. I've long been a fan of Winterson's writing, and so I wondered what her first book for children would be like. Ultimately, there's a big adult life message in the story...nevertheless it's a fun read, full of quirky characters and adventures. [Read a longer review here.] (J. Bluth)
Ekaterina Sedia: The Secret History of Moscow
a wry political satire of Moscow in the 1990s with a richly imagined underworld, populated by Russia's iconic fairy tale figures -- from the smallest of the domovoi (house spirits) to the powerful Koschey the Deathless. Readers will find this novel thoroughly engaging -- whether one is new to Russian history and folklore or already well versed in both. [Read a longer review here.] (M. Snyder)
Ellen Kushner: The Golden Dreydl
This children's novel is charming, fast-paced, filled with imagery and characters from Jewish folklore(including riddles! my favorite), and sparkles with the author's considerable humor. [Read a longer review here.] (M. Snyder)
Libba Bray: The Sweet Far Thing
This novels completes the trilogy that began with A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels: gothic-tinged, Victorian-era historical fantasy for Young Adults. Reviews for this book have been mixed, but I found it to be a satisfying conclusion to Bray's engrossing story. The book isn't perfect: the magical elements are sometimes sketchy, and the language is occasionally anachronistic -- but Bray's particular talent is in creating complex characters full of all the strengths and flaws of real people. If, like me, you tend to go for character-driven novels over plot-driven novels, give this intelligent and thoughtful book a read. (T.Windling)
Kelly Link & Gavin Grant: The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
I adore this collection of fabulous tales and poems (among other things) from the pages of LCRW. If somehow you've missed this quirkly, edgy, trail-blazing little 'zine these last ten years, here's a good place to get a taste of all the delights you've been missing. The anthology contains excellent, wide-ranging work from Jeffrey Ford, Karen Joy Fowler, Karen Russell, Sarah Monette, Theodora Goss and numerous others -- including fairy tale works by Nan Fry, Lawrence Schimel and Kelly Link. (T. Windling)
Ted Chiang: The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
New from Subterranean Press: this time-travel story set in Baghdad fuses the lyricism of Arabian Nights tales with an incisive and thoroughly modern meditation on the nature of past and future. Chiang, a fiercely intelligent writer, uses the stories-within-stories literary technique to powerful effect. (T.Windling)
Randall Silvis: In a Town Called Mundomuerto
This is a rather lovely little magical realist novel, set somewhere in South America, exploring the tragic side of myth and folklore when it devolves into mere superstition. (T.Windling)
Michael Swanwick: The Dog Said Bow-Wow
New from Tachyon Publications: a collection of 16 terrific stories--ranging from fantasy to sf--from this innovative, award-winning author. (T. Windling)
Giambattista Basile: The Tale of Tales
Finally, an edition of Basile's influential Lo cunto de li cunto, one of the very earliest known collections of literary fairy tales (published in Naples in the 17th century), translated by fairy tale scholar Nancy Canepa. If you're interested in the roots of fairy tales, don't miss this important and surprising volume. (T. Windling)
Neil Gaiman: The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 2
This gorgeous volume contains two never-reprinted stories, including one which will make you think a little more kindly of Desire, the also never-reprinted "The Sandman: A Gallery of Dreams," and the original script and pencils for Chapter Two of "Season of Mists." Oh, and issues 21-39 of "The Sandman. If you haven't yet met the Endless, introduce yourself (K. Howard).
Sarah Monette: A Companion to Wolves
In the harsh north, the men and their wolves stand as shields, protecting the towns from the predations of the trolls. Though the wolfbond is viewed with suspicion and hatred, Njall defies his father to honor his calling. The strength of that bond, and the meaning of honor are movingly explored in this powerful and exciting book (K. Howard).
Nathalie Mallet: The Princes Of The Golden Cage
An engrossing tale of intrigue, murder, fratricide, and magic--all delivered by a likeable young prince, caught in the path of destruction. Set in an imaginary Persia, Mallet's tale is a fun cross between the Arabian nights, classic fantasy, and a twisty murder mystery. Looking forward to more adventures of the young Prince Amir, coming in 2008.(M. Snyder)
Michael Scott: The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
This book was so much fun to read. The plot is compelling and there is always one more secret to discover. Scott does a fabulous job of incorporating elements of a multitude of different mythologies. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel. (K. Howard)
Miranda Shaw: Buddhist Goddesses of India
This is an essential reference book for any mythic library. Miranda Shaw has written an eminently readable and comprehensive text on the multitudes of female goddesses in Buddhism. The academic reviews cite this as "a significant contribution to the field." I found it absolutely fascinating. Handsomely illustrated too.(M Snyder)
Christopher Barzak: One For Sorrow
While reading Christopher Barzak's remarkable debut novel, I was reminded of a quote from Danish author, Tove Ditlivson: "Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and we do not get out of it without help." This is a poignant and lyrical rites-of-passage story, written with a gentle touch. Barzak deftly combines the supernatural elements of the plot with the ambiguous realities of small town life. Read a longer review here. (M. Snyder)
Heather O'Donoghue: From Asgard to Valhalla
O'Donoghue's volume provides a fascinating look at Norse myths and the ways they have influenced culture and creative artists from William Blake and Richard Wagner to JRR Tolkien and Neil Gaiman. Read a longer review here. (T.Windling)
Will Shetterly: The Gospel of the Knife
Set in the 1970s, a hippie misfit from a small Southern town is about to shape the world in ways even his comic books couldn't prepare him for. From his narrow scrapes with bigotry, to his encounters with girls, there is an emotional reality & honesty that becomes necessary as events spiral out into the deepest myths of humanity. Read a longer review here. (A. Santa Maria)
Emma Bull: Territory
Set in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881, Territory features some familiar faces, such as Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, alongside characters not normally seen in Westerns. Bull refers to the historical events in Arizona as the Matter of Tombstone, much like the Arthurian legends are the Matter of Britain. Before reading Territory, I would have dismissed the comparison as ridiculous. Now, I find it apt. Read a longer review here. (K. Howard)
O.R. Melling: The Light-Bearer's Daughter
Set in a landscape that shifts between contemporary Ireland and the half-hidden world of faerie, Melling's latest novel centers on a young girl whose mother mysteriously disappeared when Dana was a toddler. The book contains a dazzling cast -- from high kings and queens to wise-cracking cluricans, tricksterish boggles, a powerful she-wolf and shape shifting ravens. Read a longer review here. (M. Snyder)
Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds.: The Coyote Road
The latest volume in the mythic fiction anthology series I edit with Ellen Datlow is now out. This one contains stories and poems inspired by Trickster myths, from Chris Barzak, Holly Black, Rick Bowes, Charles de Lint, Carolyn Dunn, Jeff Ford, Ellen Kushner, Kelly Link, Pat McKillip, Delia Sherman, Will Shetterly, Jane Yolen, and lots of other good folks; with illustrations by Charles Vess. (T.Windling)
Alma Alexander: Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage
Thea is the seventh child of a seventh child, and so is supposed to have great magical powers. But she doesn’t. Or maybe her powerlessness is in fact her great power? Time spent in another world, meetings with Grandmother Spider, and life at the Wandless Academy (a school for those who can’t do magic) teach Thea how, when there’s a battle to be fought, she can choose the place of the battlefield.
(J. Bluth)
Susan Fletcher: Alphabet of Dreams
Mitra and her little brother Babak are exiled royal-blooded Persians. They hide in the City of Dead, stealing food and dreaming of being reunited with their family. Then Babak starts dreaming other people’s dreams. His gifts of prophecy get him noticed by a Magus, and the siblings begin a journey across the desert, pulled by others’ ambitions and desires. This is a beautiful story of adventure and self-discovery, with a slowly-revealed mystery at its very heart.
(J. Bluth)
Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, editors: Wizards: Magical Tales From the Masters of Modern Fantasy
This excellent collection is full of diverse and wonderful stories. Orson Scott Card introduces a forthcoming series in a compelling longer story. Offerings by Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, and Peter S. Beagle are particularly lovely. (K. Howard)
David Anthony Durham: Acacia
Already a well-respected author of historical fiction, Durham skillfully turns his hand to fantasy with Acacia, the first of a planned trilogy. The story takes place in an excellently realized world, populated with a multitude of complex and distinct cultures. Along the way, important and timely questions of power, politics, and choices are raised. I am eagerly awaiting the next volume. (K. Howard)
Karen Russell: St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
This is a collection of wonderful short stories reminiscent of the subtle magic realism of Kevin Brockmeier. In the title story, packs of wild girls are gathered into dormitories, forced to shed their raucous, gleefully wolfish natures in order to become domesticated young women. Read a longer review here. (M Snyder)
Betsy James: Listening at the Gate
In this beautiful and mythic Young Adult novel, James creates a complex tale of dualities as two children from two different cultures struggle for identity in this richly imagined world. Throughout the novel, James incorporates fragments of poetry and children’s songs which act as an unexpected commentary on adult conventions. Read a longer review here. (M Snyder)
Charles de Lint: Promises to Keep
If you are already familiar with residents of de Lint's invented city of Newford, Promises to Keep provides a lovely glimpse into their past, and how they came to know one another. Readers new to de Lint's work will find this book an easy introduction to Newford. The cover art is by Mike Dringenberg, well-known for his work on Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Read a longer review here. (K Howard)
Cassandra Clare: City of Bones
Oh boy, the legacy of 80s urban fantasy has returned and is thriving in City of Bones, a splendid new novel from Cassandra Clare. Fast-paced, funny, dark, and exciting, Clare has dipped her pen in the deep resources of fairy lore and epic tales, and has her ear well tuned to the teenage voice. The plot is tight, twisting, and full of surprises. Read a longer review here. (M Snyder)
Catherynne Valente: The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden
In a textured, baroque writing style, Valente creates a novel out of familiar folk tales from around the world, but twists them into new, unexpected shapes that challenge what we assume about heroes and heroines, about rites of passage, and about women and men. The Orphan's Tale won the 2007 Tiptree Award. Read a longer review of the novel here. (M Snyder)
Arthur Phillips: Angelica
Angelica is a stylish and creepy ghost story set during the Victorian era. It's also a meditation on the ways that memory, character, and point of view serve to shape the things we see and believe, and even reality itself. A fascinating and memorable novel. (T. Windling)
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
Rothfuss' debut novel, The Name of the Wind, is complex and enjoyable; the characters are well-drawn and nuanced; and the plot draws the reader in, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. But the most gorgeous thing in this beautifully written book is the profound importance it places on words. In Rothfuss' invented world world, not only does the wind have a name, but there are seven words that can make any woman fall in love with you, and singing the wrong sort of songs can have the direst consequences. Read a longer review of the novel here. (K. Howard)
J.R.R. Tolkien: The Children of Húrin
The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien is a dark, Wagnerian tale of Middle Earth drawn from the author's unpublished manuscripts. The new book was compiled and completed by the author's son, Christopher Tolkien, and is gorgeously illustrated by Alan Lee. Read a longer review here. (T Windling)
Elizabeth Knox: Dreamhunter
The Dreamhunter, and its sequel volume, Dreamquake, are actually two parts of a single story titled "The Dreamhunter's Duet." (Don't read one without the other; Volume I ends on a cliff hanger.) This is one of the very best Young Adult fantasies I've read this year -- beautifully written, suspenseful, and utterly unique. You'll find a longer review of both books posted here. (T Windling)
Thedora Goss & Delia Sherman, editors: Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing
Interfictions contains excellent, genre-busting stories by nineteen writers, from several countries, who "dig into the imaginative spaces between conventional genres -- realistic and fantastical, scholarly and poetic, personal and political" -- along with with an essay on interstitialism by Heinz Insu Fenkl. Read more about the book here. (T Windling)
Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, editors : Best American Fantasy
This is an absolutely first-rate collection, full of stories you may not have come across in your reading last year and won't want to miss. The authors include Kelly Link, Kevin Brockmeier, Elizabeth Hand, Sara Monette, Sumanth Prabhaker and Chris Adrian; the stories come from a wide variety of publications including The New Yorker, Strange Horizons, The Mississippi Review, The Alaska Quarterly Review, Zoetrope, McSweeney's and many others. This wonderful anthology is the first in what I hope will be a long-running series, making excellent companion volumes to the estimable Year's Best Fantasy & Horror editions edited by Datlow, Grant & Link. (T Windling)
Datlow & Windling, editors: The Coyote Road
Inspired by world-wide Trickster myths, this anthology contains a riot of original YA stories and poems, complimented by the art of Charles Vess. There are terrific stories from Holly Black, Charles De Lint, Jeff Ford, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Kelly Link, Chris Barzak, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jane Yolen and many others.
A longer review of the book can be found here. (M Snyder)
Alice Hoffman: Skylight Confessions
In her many books for adults and teenagers, Hoffman has been a pioneer of contemporary American Magical Realism, writing mainstream novels that bristle with magic, folklore, and fairy tale allusions. Her latest novel, Skylight Confessions, is a purely realist story about a fractured family in Connecticut, yet it's told using imagery and themes drawn from classic fairy tales. Read a longer review of the novel here. (T Windling)
Marina Warner: Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, Metaphors, and Media
In previous books, Warner had looked at the cultural history of fairy tales, the dark imagination, and mythic metamorphosis, among other subjects. Now she mediates on the spirit and the soul -- a facinating subject indeed. Read a longer review here. (T Windling)
Tim Pratt: Hart & Boot & Other Stories
Tim Pratt's fabulous collection contains 13 old and new tales -- including the title story, selected by Michael Chabon for the America's Best Stories anthology series.
This is a writer to watch. (M Snyder)
Max Eilenberg & Angela Barrett: Beauty and the Beast
I was thrilled to discover that one of my favorite artists, Angela Barrett, has illustrated one of my favorite fairy tales, Beauty and the Beast, set in one of my favorite historical time periods, the 19th century. Barrett's gorgeous pictures are complimented by a terrific story from Max Eilenberg, whose skillful re-working of the fairy tale is intelligent, poignant, and fresh. Read a longer review here. (T Windling)
Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler: The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein
Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler investigate the amazing history of some of the most well-known of literary monsters, and the curse that followed the young authors who invented them. Drawing on diaries, letters, and personal accounts, the Hooblers do an excellent job of recounting the lives of these authors, the stories behind the ghost stories, and the spooky and tragic fates that followed. Read a longer review here. (M Snyder)
Delia Sherman: Changeling
For a lot of people, authors and dreamers alike, fantasy is harder to pull off in an urban environment. The stories tell us that magic is an ancient tradition, predating urban civilization: as a result, it can be hard to imagine magic happening all around you in a city. Even authors who work in the field of urban fantasy can sometimes retreat to the green places for a form of contrast, to root their work in the myths and legends of yore. But Changeling combines old and new for a result that's unique. I couldn't recommend it more highly. Read a longer review here. (H Pilinovsky)
Theodora Goss: In The Forest Of Forgetting
Now out in paperback, Theodora Goss' exquisite collection of short stories, In the Forest of Forgetting, will delight and haunt readers of contemporary fairy tales. Read a longer review here. (M Snyder)
Marvin Kaye, ed.: The Fair Folk
This anthology of Fairy-inspired stories won the 2006 World Fantasy Award. It's a great collection of novellas and short stories by some of the best: Patricia McKillip, Tanith Lee, Megan Lindholm, and Kim Newman. Also included is "Except the Queen," a fantastic novella about aging fairy godmothers, co-authored by Midori Snyder and Jane Yolen. Funny, romantic, sinister, and fast-moving. (T Windling)
Kelly Link: Magic for Beginners
These short stories are the best I have read in as long as I can remember. They're full of magic and zombies and dead people; they're funny and poignant and weighty. I put myself on a strict schedule to make the reading experience last as long as possible. (J. Bluth)
Jeanette Winterson: Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles
This is Jeanette Winterson’s contribution to the Canongate Myth Series, a retelling of the myth of Atlas and Hercules. It’s a little book, but full of humor and wisdom, exploring what we carry and why. (J. Bluth)
Anne Ursu: The Shadow Thieves
I have to admit, I was predisposed to enjoy a book with a redheaded protagonist who loves cats and Greek mythology. Even setting aside that bias, The Shadow Thieves is one of the best YA novels I've read in a while. This book is charmingly written, with well-drawn characters, a compelling plot, and an excellent take on the Greek Underworld. I am eagerly awaiting the next two installments of The Cronus Chronicles. (K. Howard)
China Mieville: Un Lun Dun
Mieville's first novel for younger readers is an absolute treat. The protagonists are a 12-year-old London girl and her best friend (playing more than the usual side-kick role) who cross over into an alternate world -- a darkly magical Un-London that has sprung from a surrealist's dreams. Mieville is in peak form here, subverting fantasy cliches right and left in moods that range from whimsical to terrifying. It's a book I'd happily recommend to adults and young adults alike. (T.Windling)
Louise Downie: Don't Kiss Me: The Art of Claude Cahun And Marcel Moore
This is the first comprehensive book on the art of photographer Claude Cahun and on Marcel Moore (Cahun's romantic and artistic partner for over 40 years), documenting their extraordinary lives as artists, as Resistance fighters during World War II, and as members of the Surrealist movement. (T.Windling)
Susan C. Power: Art of the Cherokee: Prehistory to the Present
This gorgeous art book traces Cherokee art from the 16th century to the present, looking at basketry, beadwork, masks, embroidery, jewelry, sculpture and painting in relationship to Cherokee myth, history, and culture. Stunning. (T.Windling)
Paul Park: The White Tyger
The White Tyger is book #3 in a taut, intelligent, welll-written fantasy series set in an alternate version of the 18th century, rich in complex political machinations and spiced with shape-shifting and alchemy. I highly recommend Park's fascinating series, which is truly first rate. But if you're new to the series, start with the first two books: A Princess of Roumania and The Tourmaline. (T.Windling)
Christopher Moore: You Suck: A Love Story
Here's another novel about vampires -- this one from satirist Christopher Moore, author of Coyote Blue and other gonzo, truly hilarious novels. In his lastest, he lampoons the horror and teen romance genres (with a dash of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course) to great comic effect. (T.Windling)
Patricia Briggs: Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 2)
Blood Bound is the second book (following Moon Called) in a fantasy adventure series set in New Mexico -- a landscape full of vampires, witches, werewolves and the like, but with an unusual desert twist. Briggs' protagonist (a shape-shifting coyote who is also an auto mechanic) is engaging, the southwest setting is nicely evoked, and the books are lightweight, granted, but also a lot of fun. (T.Windling)
Kate Thompson: The New Policeman
This terrific YA fantasy novel out of Ireland (which won the Guardian Children's Book Prize and the Whitbread Award) is chock full of Irish myth, folk music, and Celtic faery lore. (T. Windling)
Patricia McCormick: Sold
Here's another harrowing YA novel about child abuse -- this one based on the real-life stories of Nepalese and Indian girls sold into prostitution. The heroine, from a small village in Nepal, is sold to cover her step-father's debts and ends up in a brothel in Calcutta. Her tale is told in verse and prose with simple, painful clarity. (T.Windling)
Nancy Werlin: The Rules of Survival
Werlin's harrowing YA novel is a thriller, not mythic fiction -- but I'm listing it here to recommend to Endicott readers interested in the ways child abuse is depicted in fiction. This is a very moving tale of siblings struggling to survive life with a mentally unstable mother. The novel was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. (T.Windling)
M.T. Anderson: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party
This YA novel is astonishing indeed, chroncially the life of young black boy held in genteel captivity by a household of scientific philosphers in Revolutionary War-era Boston. Bearing the influence of writers from Dumas to Hawthorne and Poe, the book is beautifully written, highly original, and enormously thought-provoking. (T.Windling)
Megan Whalen Turner: The King of Attolia
This is a follow-up book to Turner's previous YA fantasy novels The Queen of Attolia and The Thief (a Newbery Honor winner). Here, the thief of the previous book is now the king of the kingdom, but he has yet to earn the respect of his subjects. Full of action, court intrigue, and a complicated romance, teens will find this well-written series a lot of fun. (T.Windling)
Susan Beth Pfeffer: Life As We Knew It
Like Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now (reviewed down below), this is a haunting story about a teenager whose world changes drastically around her -- in this case, because an asteroid has hit the moon. The author uses this apocalyptic premise to create an utterly convincing coming-of-age tale. (T.Windling)
Michael Gruber: The Witch's Boy
This terrific fantasy for Middle Grade readers is about about a boy named Lump, abandoned as a baby in the middle of the forest and raised by a witch with dubious parenting skills. Gruber weaves traditional fairy tales into a story that is magical, unusual and emotionally powerful. I highly recommend it. (T.Windling)
Laura Williams McCaffrey: Water Shaper
This enchanting book for Middle Grade readers draws on Celtic folklore and fairy tale motifs, stirring them up into an original story about an outcast princess with a magical affinity to water. McCaffrey does a lovely job of evoking the plight of a lonely young woman caught between conflicting cultures, longing for a place to feel at home. Princess Margot is a memorable heroine and her story tugs at your heartstrings. (T. Windling)
Peter Beagle: The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version
As Beagle explains in the Afterword, this fragmentary early version of The Last Unicorn is very little like the story he eventually wrote. Although there are differences of character and setting from The Last Unicorn, The Lost Version has its own moments of beauty and delight. Beagle's fans, and students of writing, will particularly enjoy his Introduction and Afterword, which explain how both Unicorns came to be. (K Howard)
Martine Leavitt: Keturah And Lord Death
This deeply folkloric YA novel is about a girl who follows a deer into the forest and meets the Lord of Death. Leavitt's story (a 2006 National Book Award finalist) is enchanting, surprising, and truly beautifully written. (T.Windling)
Heid E. Erdrich: Fishing for Myth
I only just caught up with this lovely collection of poems, first published by New Rivers Press way back in 1997. Erdrich is an Ojibway writer (sister to the novelist Louise) who makes good use of mythic themes ranging from Native American to Greek. I also recommend her more recent (though less overtly mythic) collection, The Mother's Tongue. (T.Windling)
Joel Rudinger: Sedna: Goddess of the Sea
This slim edition from Cambric Press is a lucid re-telling of the Alaskan "Sedna" myth, by scholar and story-teller Joel Rudinger. The volume includes explanatory notes, and a vocabulary list for young readers. (T.Windling)
Rachel Storm: Mythology: India
Rachel Storm creates volumes that serve as reliable guides to world mythology (for the general reader). Here she focuses on the rich, multi-faceted tradition of Indian myths and legends. (T.Windling)
Rachel Storm: Mythology: Asia & Far East
Another good reference volume from Rachel Storm, this one providing an introduction to tales from China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. (T.Windling)
Leander Watts: Beautiful City of the Dead
This unusual YA novel is a fast-paced, dream-poem of a story about a high school girl with a fondness for cemeteries, myths of the four elements, and the "Ghost Metal" music of a heavy metal band called Scorpion Bone. If you like Francesca Lia Block's fiction, then definitely give Watts a try. (T.Windling)
Elizabeth Bear: Blood and Iron
In the hands of a lesser author, Bear's blending of classic fantasy elements from (among others) the Tam Lin ballads and the Arthurian legend would have been a hopelessly derivative mishmash, rather than the astounding and powerful work that it is. Bear's willingness to re-imagine Faerie, and to populate it with multifaceted characters
forced to make complicated decisions makes for a truly resonant story. (K. Howard)
Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer: The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm
The third installment in this epistolary mannerist fantasy series by Wrede and Stevemer is just as charming as the first two. Kate and Cecy's correspondence is joined by letters from their respective husbands, Thomas and James, in a pleasing addition of new voices. While written for young adults, this volume will be a delight for any admirer of Regency fiction. (K Howard)
Tamora Pierce: Beka Cooper: Terrier
Fans of Pierce's strong and strong-willed heroines will be very pleased with Beka, her latest (and may also recognize a certain purple-eyed cat). Departing from her usual third person narrative style, Pierce successfully adds another layer of depth to Beka's growth by allowing her to tell her own story through a series of journal entries. Best of all, this YA novel is listed as "Book One," meaning we can look forward to more of Beka's voice in the future. (K Howard)
Isabel Allende: Portrait in Sepia
If you loved Allende's House of Spirits and Daughters of Fortune as much as I did, here's the latest in her masterly (and subtly magical) saga of the entwined lives of a Chilean family. The story centers on Aurora del Valle, a female photographer at the turn of the last century. Splendid! (T.Windling)
Meg Rosoff: Just In Case
Rosoff's recently released second novel is a gripping tale about a boy who believes Fate is playing with his life...which, in fact, she is. (The novel includes passages from Fate's point of view.) Rosoff is fast becoming one of my favorite writers of YA fiction. (T.Windling)
Meg Rosoff: How I Live Now
The end-of-the-world themes of the McCarthy and Adrian novels recommended below reminded me of just how much I liked this smaller, quieter, but equally powerful YA book by Meg Rosoff -- set in contemporary England, after an un-named enemy invades the country. The book got a lot of attention in the UK (where it won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize), but deserves to better known by American readers. It's absolutely terrific. (T. Windling)
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I have to credit BoingBoing with this find this morning. Sanjey Patel, an animator and storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios, has created a wonderfully illustrated book for children, The Little Book of Hindu Deities. The illustrations are bold and colorful, and the short synopsis informative and fun. Visit his site Ghee Happy (love the pun!) and check out the sample pages, as well Patel's fabulous sketches and the kids' t-shirts.
This is a great idea. The illustrations are fabulous! I passed the link along to a friend of mine, who said that they have long had "comic book" style missivles explaining the Hindu religion for children, but that the illustrations were boring and outdated. This is a whole new look, and reminds me of the Powerpuff Girls or something like that. :) Way to go!
Posted by:Megan | December 28, 2006 at 12:02 PM
I was really captivated by the work too. I really want a ganesha t shirt--just hope one day they make them for adults!
Posted by:midori | December 28, 2006 at 01:29 PM