Reading Recommendations

Fantasy Recommendations

City of the Beasts
Isabel Allende (F Allende)

When fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his individualistic grandmother on an expedition to find a humanoid Beast in the Amazon, he experiences ancient wonders and a supernatural world as he tries to avert disaster for the Indians.

The Somnambulist
Jonathan Barnes (F Barnes)

In the Victorian London underbelly, filled with such figures as a human fly, deformed prostitutes, and a man who lives backwards, conjurer Edward Moon is called upon to find a murderer.

Magic in the Mirrorstone: Tales of Fantasy
Steven Berman, ed. (SC M194)

Contains fifteen stories of magic for teen readers, featuring selections by a variety of fantasy writers, including Holly Black, Eugie Foster, Gregory Frost, and others.

The Memory of Earth
Orson Scott Card (F Card)

The planet Harmony is under the care of the Oversoul, an artificial intelligence functioning as the caretaker of a human settlement. But Oversoul discovers that it is no longer able to access parts of its memory and relies on a group of human beings to save the planet.

Summerland
Michael Chabon (F Chabon)

Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.

Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 14th ed.
ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (SC Y39 14th Annual)

Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling yet again collect the best fantasy and horror short stories of the year, as well as a comprehensive summary of the year in horror and fantasy publishing and comics.

Memory & Dream
Charles de Lint (F DeLint)

Izzy, a young art student in New York, paints pictures that allow otherworldly creatures to pass into this world, but this gift puts her in danger. DeLint is a master of urban fantasy that combines real world cities with mystical happenings.

Pawn of Prophecy
David Eddings (uncat)

Long ago, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgrath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe. Garion, a child raised on a quiet farm by his aunt, thinks this is only a story, but he is about to find out that it's real - and that he has a part to play in keeping the Orb safe. First in the epic Belgariad series.

The Eyre Affair: A Novel
Jasper Fford (F Fford)

Thursday Next, a Special Operative in literary detection in a time-altered Great Britain in which messing with the classics is a punishable offense, sets out to apprehend a criminal who is murdering characters from works of literature and has chosen Jane Eyre as his next victim.

The Confessions of Max Tivoli
Andrew Sean Greer (F Greer)

Max, born with the body of a very old man, finds his physical body growing younger as his mind grows older, giving him multiple chances to win the heart of Alice, the neighbor girl he fell in love with as a child, and who fails to recognize him as they meet again and again throughout their lives.

Tigana
Guy Gavriel Kay (F Kay)

The few surviving inhabitants of the destroyed land of Tigana bond together in a together in a secret battle to release their homeland's curse and gain their freedom. This is a beautifully written, dramatic, and suspenseful fantasy.

Black Juice
Margo Lanagan (SC L243B)

Provides glimpses of the dark side of civilization and the beauty of the human spirit through ten short stories that explore significant moments in people's lives, events leading to them, and their consequences. If you like these, you can read more of her short stories in White Time (SC L243W).

Foxmask
Juliet Marillier (F Marillier)

In this historical fantasy, Norseman Eyvind becomes a Wolfskin-a Viking dedicated to Thor-and travels to the mystical Orkney Islands, where he meets the Princess Nessa, a seer who becomes his soul mate. As Vikings and Orkney residents work out a peace, a new generation arises to forge strong ties.

Heart of Stone
C.E. Murphy (F Murphy)

New York lawyer Margrit Knight decides to represent a gargoyle who has been accused of murder, but doesn't realize her decision will cause an upheaval in her personal and professional life.

His Majesty's Dragon
Naomi Novik (uncat)

After capturing a French frigate and seizing its precious cargo, Captain Will Laurence of the HMS "Reliant" befriends the dragon Temeraire and uses his new friend to help defend his country from other airborne dragon forces. Throne of Jade and Black Powder War continue their adventures.

Wild Magic
Tamora Pierce (uncat)

The mage Numair, the knight Alanna, and Queen Thayet enlist thirteen-year-old Daine's help to battle the dreadful immortal creatures that have recently begun to attack the kingdom of Tortall. Book One in The Immortals series.

Monstrous Regiment
Terry Pratchett (F Pratchett)

Polly Perks, fearing that she will lose the family's inn because women aren't allowed to run a business, disguises herself as a man in order to join the military and find her brother. Her troop includes a vampire, a troll, a zombie, a religious fanatic, and two uncommonly close "friends," all whom have their own secrets. Both politically sharp and devilishly funny, this Discworld novel is another hit for Pratchett.

The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman (Class03 F Pullman)

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. Paralleling Milton's Paradise Lost, this book is first in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

The Once and Future King
T.H. White (F White)

This classic fantasy tells the story of the youth and reign of King Arthur, the establishment of the Round Table, and the search for the Holy Grail.

The Dragonbone Chair
Tad Williams (F Williams)

Simon, a young kitchen boy and magician's apprentice, finds his world torn apart by a civil war fueled by immortal enemies and the dark powers of sorcery. Book One in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series.

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