Libromancer's Apprentice

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse   (Thorne Chronicles #1)  / K. A. Eason It turns out describing a book as "Princess Leia meets The Princess Bride" is pretty much a guaranteed way to get my interest. The tale of Rory Thorne is an utterly delightful space romp told by a smart narrator with a sardonic sense of humor.  It takes on the mantle of a familiar fairy tale (with the titular character's last name of "Thorne" it's not a hard guess) and makes something new.  We have the "fairies" with their gifts, our royal princess, a curse - but noting quite as traditionally expected. Rory's curse is not to die (nor is the amelioration to simply fall asleep), but instead she is cursed to always see the unvarnished truth of things, what people actually mean.  Considering how much of society runs due to polite fictions, that is no insignificant burden on a precocious child, particularly when among adults who may not believe in such things as...

The Library of the Unwritten (A Novel from Hell’s Library) /  A. J. Hackwith From the cover: Join the Library. Raise Hell. Well... that sure as shit hits me as a target demographic. The Library of the Unwritten  gives us a mythology infused contemporary fantasy as a Librarian and her assistants attempt to prevent a war between Heaven and Hell, and defend the library from those who would use it for their own gain. The Ensemble we follow is made up of characters that don't so much grow as are revealed and discovered.  They also exist in shades of grey, with internally conflicting needs and wants, adding depth to the story.  The span of the book is not so long in time, and the cast is new to both the reader and to each other.  The story itself makes referential use to literary tropes, but does not rely heavily on pop culture to convey ideas. Over all it was a very enjoyable read, one that I have not only recommended to friends but we have added it to ...