Archive for Fantasy Books
New Young Adult Fantasy: FANG by James Patterson
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Title: Fang
Author: James Patterson
Pages: 309
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Max is the leader of a group known as the Flock, winged humans being pursued by people who want to exploit them and their talents.
Fang begins with Max and the Flock flying high over Africa, accompanied by cargo planes that are bringing much needed aid to the continent’s poverty stricken regions. Among the volunteers is the mission’s benefactor – a mysterious billionaire, Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen. Max is intrigued by his generosity but there’s also something about him – his intense scrutiny of the Flock – that makes her nervous.
But Dr. Hans isn’t the only puzzling thing about this trip. The Flock receives a cryptic message from a young girl, who tells them, “the sky will fall.” Although they’re unable to make sense of the statement, Max and the Flock are ready to return home. However the surprises don’t end with their departure, and something unbelievably momentous shakes up the Flock – pushing Max and her true love Fang closer than ever. Can the stick together through the chaos? Fang is Book 6 in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.
The latest Fantasy Book Hit – Progeny by R.T. Kaelin
Posted by: | CommentsR.T. Kaelin’s Progeny seems to be the start of the next big fantasy series. Progeny is a 655 page fantasy novel and the first book of The Children of the White Lions series. The reviews the book has received so far sounds like the onset of the next Harry Potter succession.
Published on 1st December 2010 (merely a month ago) the book has already received attention from dependable professionals. For only a few giveaways there were as many as 1500 entries during the first month Kaelin was sharing his book with readers. The author, Kaelin, is due to be featured shortly on The Authors Show where he will be talking about his inspirations for the book. Kaelin will be available on librarything.com also for a period of two weeks where readers can personally interact (via chat) with Kaelin and have any questions answered.
The story line revolves around siblings Nikalys and Kenders who, like many other heroes of fantasy thrillers, find themselves drawn powerless into a world of magic and adventure. Battling with the loss of everything familiar and loved (family, friends, neighbors… their whole life in a quiet farming village) the siblings grope their way into mystery hoping for answers. They later learn of a foreboding prophecy that tells of evil so violent and it threatens war, unprecedented in the history of the fictional world. The Prophecy also reveals the chosen leaders for this historic war – two children of (one of the) White Lions. Now, unable to turn their back on the events to come the siblings journey on in a frightening world.
In the words of D. Kistner, Associate Editor at FutureCycle Press: “This is a big book and a big world, surprisingly well conceived for a first novel.” Quite like the story he writes, Kaelin enjoyed simple beginnings in the IT world in Columbus, Ohio before deciding to venture out into the magical world of fictional writing. After learning early in his career that traditional publishing methods involved chance, Kaelin self- published a book (with the help of peers and references found on the internet.) Another self-published book by the small town press was subsequently picked up by a national publishing house. Kaelin, who hails from Cincinnati, now lives in Pickerington, OH with his wife and two children.
First Contact – Or, It’s Later Than You Think by Evan Mandery
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Title: First Contact – Or, It’s Later Than You Think
Author: Evan Mandery
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Pages: 272
Genre: Epic Fantasy
A satirical joyride in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, First Contact introduces us to the hyper-intelligent Rigelians, who admire Woody Allen movies and Bundt cake, and who urge the people of Earth to mend their ways to avoid destruction of their planet. But the president of the United States, a God-fearing, science-doubting fitness fanatic, is skeptical of the evidence presented to him and sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of his young attachÉ, an alien scam artist, several raccoons, and a scientist who has predicted the end of the universe. Parrot sketch excluded.
Fantasy Book Review: Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White
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Title: Forget-Her-Nots
Author: Amy Brecount White
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Pages: 384
Genre: Epic Fantasy
A new novel entitled Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White is a teen novel about a girl named Laurel whose whole life has been spent loving flowers. Her mother has recently died and her father put her into an exclusive boarding school. With her mother’s death, Laurel has graduated from simply loving flowers to being a “flower-speaker”, a trait that runs in her family. It seems that every flower has a special purpose and if she chooses a flower for someone, then that person will find that the flower’s purpose comes true for them.
With her new found powers Laurel tries to help as many of her friends as she can. Think of the possibilities! There is a flower for the return of happiness and another for the return of affection. When she puts these both together in a bouquet, she can actually help someone find true love. The fun begins when the flowers she makes for one person are accidentally given to someone else and the consequences are both hilarious and disastrous.
I really enjoyed this book because the story was simply fun to read. The author did not try to overly explain how the flower speaking ability worked which made it much easier for me to understand the fantasy aspect of this book. The characters were believable and for teens, this is a fast fun read. The thing about this book that really held my interest was the language of flowers that Laurel was researching and documenting. I never knew that each flower means something special, they each have a purpose and I found this idea particularly fascinating. Read Forget-Me-Nots to enter a world of unusual fantasy and take away some new knowledge with you at the same time. I’m glad I did.
Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
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Title: Two Moon Princess
Author: Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
Release Date: June 16, 2010
Pages: 324
Genre: Fantasy Teen Romance
In this coming-of-age story set in a medieval kingdom, Andrea is a headstrong princess longing to be a knight who finds her way to modern-day California. But her accidental return to her family’s kingdom and a disastrous romance brings war, along with her discovery of some dark family secrets. Readers will love this mix of traditional fantasy elements with unique twists and will identify with Andrea and her difficult choices between duty and desire.
Do You Read Your Teens’ Fantasy Books?
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I often get emails from parents as well as teens and young adults asking for fantasy book recommendations. Although I try to answer all such inquiries, I sometimes find it difficult to match a fantasy book with the appropriate age group.
I just read a great article written by Kailin Gow over at Blogging Authors about starting a family book club. The basic premise is that parents should consider reading the same books as their teens.
I’d never really thought of this, but after reading the article I think it might provide me with an interesting answer to some of the email requests I receive. When recommending books to teens and young adults I should probably ask myself “which books would be appropriate for teens/YA to read along with their parents”? I guess what I’m saying is that the whole idea of a family book club could come into play when making fantasy book recommendations for younger readers.
Now that I think about it, wasn’t the fact that parents AND their kids read the Harry Potter books a contributing factor in the popularity of the series? I know that several of my friends read these books WITH their kids and discussed with them things like loyalty, good vs. evil, determination and courage. The parents enjoyed the books as much as their kids and in one instance I was pleasantly surprised at how the books enabled a dialogue to occur between one particular parent (a workaholic that constantly traveled) and his daughter.
So parents, what do you think? Are any of you already doing this? Would you be willing to read YA fantasy books like those in the Twilight, Vampire Academy and Morganville Vampire series with your teens?
Hit me up in the comments.
The Beast Within by Bianca D’Arc, Erin McCarthy, Jennifer Lyon
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Title: The Beast Within
Authors: Bianca D’Arc, Erin McCarthy, Jennifer Lyon
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 320
Genre: Fantasy Romance
“The Howling” by Erin McCarthy – When Liv Lugaru’s boyfriend Sebastian disappears, she finds comfort in his brother’s arms. But Sebastian is much closer than Liv realizes…and he’ll stop at nothing to protect her from the feral danger that comes alive only when she sleeps…
“Smoke On The Water” by Bianca D’arc – In the misty fog of a lakefront village, zombies are roaming wild – and zombie hunter John Petit must stop the carnage. John is also fighting a different kind of battle: a forbidden passion for his new partner, Donna. With her help, killing zombies is a walk in the park, but keeping his desire in check is making him sweat…
“Redeeming The Wizard” by Jennifer Lyon – Gage Remington was once a powerful wizard; now he’s a recluse who keeps the world at bay. But when Mira Tate arrives at Gage’s door, she stirs in him an attraction he can’t deny. Soon, Gage will risk everything to keep Mira close – even the secret that may be his ruin…
