Dies The FireThe Change Occurred When An Electrical Storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electrical devices and firearms inoperable - and plunged the world into a dark age humanity was unprepared to face....I've read and reviewed Dies The Fire before, and loved it then - enough to run out and get the rest of the series over the rest of the past year. The book, the first in the series is detailed and vivid - right from the first, the moments just before the Change.
Michel Havel was flying over Idaho en route to the holiday home of his passengers when the plane's engines inexplicably died, forcing a less than perfect landing in the wilderness. And as Michel leads his charges to safety, he begins to realize that the engine failure was not an isolated incident....
Juniper Mackenzie was singing and playing guitar in a pub when her small Oregon town was plunged into darkness. Cars refused to start. Phones were silent. And when an airliner crashed, no sirens sounded and no fire trucks arrived. Now, taking refuge in her family's cabin with her daughter and a growing circle of friends, Juniper is determined to create a farming community to benefit the survivors of this crisis....
But even as people band together to help one another, others are building armies for conquest.
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and sequels and the Templar trilogy (which begins with Knights of the Black and White
).
A gorgeously written fantasy about the friendship between a princess and her Pegasus.I've read and enjoyed a number of Robin McKinley's other books before, especially The Blue Sword (one of my favourites) and Chalice. As a result, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of Pegasus. The e-book version was the easiest - and worked out to be very readable.
Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pagasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own Pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication.
But its different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close-so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo-and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.
New York Times bestselling Robin McKinley weaves an unforgettable tale of unbreakable friendship, mythical creatures and courtly drama destined to become a classic.
RULES:
(1) Timeline: January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2011
(2) Post about this challenge on your blog stating that you are participating. That post is the link that you will include in the Mr. Linky below. The link should be the post link not just your blog link. But you don't have to have a blog to participate! You can be like a guest blogger here and I'll post your review.
(3) Grab the button and display it in the post (use grab code underneath the button) or on your sidebar so others can join in the fun.
(4) You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you are participating in.
(5) You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.
(6) Only print books and ebooks count (no audiobooks).
(7) The book doesn't HAVE to be set in Egypt, but has to be significantly about Egypt. For example, the 2nd and 3rd Theodosia books by R.L. LaFevers aren't set in Egypt, but they're all up in the artifacts and mummies.
(8) Choose from one of the five levels:
Hawk Horizon: 1-5 books.
Ibis Incline: 6-10 books.
Jackal Jetty: 11-15 books.
Feline Flats: 16-20 books.
(9) I will have a page dedicated to you, so you can link up your reviews!
(10) At the end of the year I will pick a participate to win a prize. Could be random, could be most books read, could be best review... we'll just have to see how I feel when the time comes.
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.I'm honestly a bit confused by this one. Amazon.com is saying March, but the Chapters/Indigo site says that River Marked will be out on January 25. Either way, I can't wait to read it. The Mercy Thompson books are some of my favourite urban fantasy novels.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...
Elizabeth Moon returns to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter—Paks for short—in this second volume of a new series filled with all the bold imaginative flights, meticulous world-building, realistic military action, and deft characterization that readers have come to expect from this award-winning author. In Kings of the North, Moon is working at the very height of her storytelling powers.Kings of the North is a book I've been looking forward to since the day the last book, Oath of Fealty came out last March.
Peace and order have been restored to the kingdoms of Tsaia and Lyonya, thanks to the crowning of two kings: Mikeli of Tsaia and, in Lyonya, Kieri Phelan, a mercenary captain whose royal blood and half-elven heritage are resented by elves and humans alike.
On the surface, all is hope and promise. But underneath, trouble is brewing. Mikeli cannot sit safely on his throne as long as remnants of the evil Verrakaien magelords are at large. Kieri is being hounded to marry and provide the kingdom with an heir—but that is the least of his concerns. A strange rift has developed between him and his grandmother and co-ruler, the immortal elven queen known as the Lady. More problematic is the ex-pirate Alured, who schemes to seize Kieri’s throne for himself—and Mikeli’s, too, while he’s at it. Meanwhile, to the north, the aggressive kingdom of Pargun seems poised to invade.
Now, as war threatens to erupt from without and within, the two kings are dangerously divided. Old alliances and the bonds of friendship are about to be tested as never before. And a shocking discovery will change everything.
Collected here for the first time are all of the tales from the land of Tortall, featuring both previously unknown characters as well as old friends. Filling some gaps of time and interest, these stories, some of which have been published before, will lead Tammy's fans, and new readers into one of the most intricately constructed worlds of modern fantasy.Interestingly, on this book I think Amazon.com made a bit of a mistake. Their title notes Tortall and Other Lands to be a Beka Cooper book, but the product description doesn't suggest that at all. Besides, I think the next book in that series is to be Mastiff.
Return to the world of the Black Jewels with New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop.Anne Bishop's books are a bit of a guilty secret for me. I enjoy them, and yet there are times (many of them) where the books make me cringe a bit. And yet, I'm looking forward to the release of this one - and I'll probably end up buying it in hardcover. Besides, the cover art is absolutely gorgeous, and has been on all of the other books in this world too.
Anne Bishop's "darkly fascinating"* (SF Site) Black Jewel novels have enthralled readers and critics alike with their mixture of fantasy, intrigue, and romance. Now in Twilight's Dawn, Bishop returns to the Blood realm with four all-new captivating novellas.
#1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward's thrilling new novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.Another great series, but I'm feeling like I have some re-reading to do before I read Lover Unleashed.
Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels featuring three resourceful heroines and three different takes on the modern world and on magics both modern and ancient.A book with a new Jenny Talldeer story and a new Diana Tregarde? I just had to read it. Never mind the third one. Trio of Sorcery turned out to be just as good as I'd hoped.
Arcanum 101: Diana Tregarde, practicing witch, romance novelist, Guardian of the Earth. Studying at Harvard, Diana is approached by Joe O’Brian, a young cop who has already seen more than one unusual thing during his budding career. The distraught mother of a kidnap victim is taking advice from a “psychic” and interfering in the police investigation. Will Diana prove that the psychic is a fake? Unfortunately, the psychic is not a fake, but a very wicked witch—and the child’s kidnapper.
Drums: Jennifer Talldeer, shaman, private investigator, member of the Osage tribe. Most of Jennie’s work is regular PI stuff, but Nathan Begay brings her a problem she’s never seen before. His girlfriend, Caroline, is Chickasaw to his Navaho, but that’s not the problem. Somehow, Caroline has attracted the attention of an angry Osage ghost. Thwarted in love while alive, the ghost has chosen Caroline to be his bride in death.
Ghost in the Machine: Ellen McBridge: computer programmer extraordinaire, techno-shaman. The programmers and players of a new MMORPG find that the game’s “boss,” a wendigo, is “killing” everyone—even the programmers’ characters with their god-like powers. A brilliant debugger, Ellen discoveres that the massive computing power of the game’s servers have created a breach between the supernatural world and our own. This wendigo isn’t a bit of code, it’s the real thing . . . and it’s on the brink of breaking out of the computers and into the real world.
, Burning Water
and Jinx High
. It had more or less the same feel, and was easy to read and get the gist - even though it's been years since I read the three Diana Tregarde novels. Arcanum 101 is the first Diana Tregarde story as I understand things, so the other three books stand on it, not the other way around.
, and again it's been a heck of a long time since I read that book, so I had more than a few "Who?, What?, Why?" moments as I read it. Even so, it made for a great read, once I'd remembered the characters and their relationships, just sucking me into the story. I believe it would be perfectly possible to read this story without the knowledge of the original novel, but that does help.
In March 1987, a young author from Oklahoma published her first novel, Arrows of the Queen. This modest book about a magical land called Valdemar was the beginning of a fantasy masterwork series that would span decades and include more than two dozen titles. Now readers can take a journey to the world of Valdemar-including Tanya Huff, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Fiona Patton, and Judith Tarr-each adding their own special touches.Finding The Way And Other Tales Of Valdemar is the latest anthology of Valdemar/Velgarth related short stories. It's become an annual thing to buy now for me. Some stories I enjoyed more than others of course. Unfortunately, the edition I have, I bought for my Kobo e-reader. Not a problem, except it was somehow formatted so the whole book was just one chapter. So, no easy list of authors and story titles for me to refer to now.
