There is a whole world beyond Six Duchies. Let's explore it! A Nostalgic Reflection on “Assassin's Fate”. Yes. Nostalgic. I must admit that it was a great surprise to me, to like the last part of Fitz and Fool trilogy so much, and to mourn after its characters. I liked the first trilogy about Fitz … Continue reading Revisiting Six Duchies—Part Three
Category: fantasy
Revisiting Six Duchies—Part Two
A Not-so Nitpicky Reflection on “Fool's Quest” by Robin Hobb Who is who Fitz Farseer—our protagonist Bee—his younger daughter Shun—Fitz's ward Chade—Fitz's old mentor Fool—Fitz's buddy, a White Prophet FitzVigilant—once Bee's tutor Dutiful—Six Duchies' king Elliania—his Queen Consort Starling—a bard, once Fitz's lover Where is where Six Duchies—our main Homely Kingdom Chalced—west from Six Duchies … Continue reading Revisiting Six Duchies—Part Two
Revisiting Six Duchies—Part One
A Nitpicky Reflection on “Fool's Assassin” by Robin Hobb WARNING: heavy spoilers and heavy angst Who is who Fitz Farseer—a royal bastard, assassin and magician, now living under disguise as a gentryman Molly Chandler—his wife. Once the wife of Burrich, Fitz's foster daddy. Kinky. Nettle—their elder daughter, living at Buckkeep's court Bee—Fitz and Molly's late-comer … Continue reading Revisiting Six Duchies—Part One
The Falcon Throne by Karen Miller
Warning: spoilers and ranting OK... It was a very bad read. When a book is boring for over 700 pages it isn't a good sign. When it makes you angry and irritated, and feeling that you've wasted your money, it's even a worse sign. And the worst thing is that this reading wasn't a foretold … Continue reading The Falcon Throne by Karen Miller
The Progress of Susanna Clarke’s Works
I wonder if I'm the only one who prefer “The Ladies of Grace Adieu” and “Piranesi” over “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell”. Something tells me I'm not. It seems to me as if over years, the works published by Susanna Clarke have been getting only better and better. It all started with a door stopper … Continue reading The Progress of Susanna Clarke’s Works
The Name of the Wind
I don't know what's wrong with me, because so many commonly appraised fantasy books do not appeal to me. And The Name of the Wind is certainly one of them. It has become a classic and it has been praised for originality. The originality I wasn't able to see. The book bored me to the … Continue reading The Name of the Wind
Little, Big by John Crowley
Warning: heavy spoilers Who is who: Daily Alice and Sophie Drinkwater—two sisters, live at Edgewood, their family houseSmoky—Alice's husbandAuberon—their sonSylvie—Auberon's True LoveAriel Hawksquill—a magicianViolet Bramble—a great-grandmother of Sophie and Daily Alice There are books with excellent style and rich but somewhat controversial content like One Hundred Years of Solitude. There are books with excellent style … Continue reading Little, Big by John Crowley
The Most Ridiculous Misconceptions About Ursula K. LeGuin’s Books
1. Through writing positively about communism in “The Dispossessed” and “The Left Hand of Darkness” she offended the victims of Stalinism, Maoism and other regimes. Well, if you read these books carefully, you'll probably see that she's been never positive about dictatorship-like communism. In The Dispossessed the state of Thu (based on the Soviet Union, … Continue reading The Most Ridiculous Misconceptions About Ursula K. LeGuin’s Books
Five Things Which are Wrong with Black Jewels by Anne Bishop
Five... But if I'd count them, there would be more, I'm sure. Kink Fantasy Instead of Dark Fantasy Oh, yes. It's damnably kinky. And it isn't even about numerous sex scenes. Or about magical rites and hierarchies connected to sexuality on a literal level. It was to be dark and lush, I'm sure. Male sexual … Continue reading Five Things Which are Wrong with Black Jewels by Anne Bishop
The Social Side of the Strange Worlds of Patricia A. McKillip
Patricia A. McKillip is an evenement in fantasy. She writes neither fairytales-retellings nor epic fantasy. She never precises whether her books are for Young Adults or for adults, or for everybody. She doesn't step into writing big multi-volumed sagas and her books aren't centered on generic adventures or YA-ish finding of a True Lover. Her … Continue reading The Social Side of the Strange Worlds of Patricia A. McKillip
Left Hand of Fiction 