Fantasy Titles

Has watching the ‘Game of Thrones’ whetted your appetite for reading the series? Ready to expand on your reading diet to include other fantasy titles? Read on below!

“… general description of any literary work whose action takes place in an extravagantly imaginary world, partakes of the supernatural, or generally flouts expectations about what can and cannot happen.”

- Fantasy. (1995). In The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. Retrieved from http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk/.

Best Served Cold
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Publisher: London: Gollancz, 2009
Call No.: ABE-[FN]
In Styria, the ruthless Grand Duke Orso has been locked in struggle with the League of Eight, themselves mired in infighting – for the past 19 years – with no signs of any rapprochement. Monza Murcatto, the feared mercenary in Orso’s employ becomes too popular for her employer’s liking and is thrown down a mountain… Miraculously, she survives but then as the title suggests, is more than ready to make her enemies pay.

Peter and Max: a Fables novel
Author: Bill Willingham
Publisher: New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, c2009
Call No.: WIL-[FN]
Haven’t read the Eisner Award- winning comic series Fables? Not to worry. As the author points out, Peter and Max ‘is its own tale, autonomous and self-reliant’”Peter Piper (from the tongue-twisting nursery rhyme) and Max Piper (the Pied Piper of Hamlin) are brothers, and a series of momentous events results in an epic tale of sibling rivalry that comes to a stunning conclusion.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Author: N. K. Jemisin
Publisher: London: Orbit, 2010
Call No.: JEM -[FN]
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms pits the gods against mortals, and siblings against cousins. After a long epic war, the gods are oppressed by the mortals, and they must follow the humans’ biddings. Young Yeine Darr is caught right in the middle of it when she is named as one of the heirs to the throne.

This novel is a standout for its rich characterization and has been nominated for several awards.

Note: This is Book 1 of the Inheritance trilogy series. Book 2 (The Broken Kingdoms) and Book 3 (The Kingdom of Gods) are also available at our public libraries.

God of War: [the official novel of the thrilling video game]
Authors: Matthew Woodring Stover and Robert E. Vardeman
Publisher: New York: Ballantine Books, c2010
Call No.:STO
God of War takes the reader on an action-packed adventure of epic proportions steeped in Greek mythology. Cursed by recurring nightmares for an unpardonable sin he committed in his thirst for power, the fearsome Spartan warrior Kratos now seeks redemption by serving the Greek gods. His latest task takes him from the majestic city of Athens, through the scorching Desert of Lost Souls and even to the infernal depths of hell to seek a legendary weapon to stop Ares, the God of War. Success means the end of his nightmares but do the gods have other intentions for him?

The Spirit Lens: A Novel of the Collegia Magica
Author: Carol Berg
Publisher: New York: ROC, 2010
Call No.: BER-[FN]
An attempted assassination on the King of Sabria seems to point towards the Queen’s doing but beneath the surface, it hints at a more sinister plan that may throw the entire kingdom into turmoil. A magical spyglass – found on the body of the dead assassin – shows the horrific scenes of Ixtador’s Ten Gates to those who looked through it. How is everything linked?

Note: This is Book 1 of the Collegia Magica series. Book 2 (The Soul Mirror <>) and Book 3 (Daemon Prism ) are also available at our libraries.

Ysabel
Author: Guy Gavriel Kay
Publisher: London: Harper Voyager, 2010
Call No.: KAY-[FN]
Ned Marriner is spending six weeks with his father in Provence, where the celebrated photographer is shooting images of the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral for a glossy coffee-table book. An exploration of the shadowy interiors unearths a surprising discovery, and soon Ned is embroiled in a haunting tale of love, loss and sacrifice that reaches 2,500 years into the past.

May Contain Traces of Magic
Author: Tom Holt
Publisher: London: Orbit, 2009
Call No.: HOL-[FN]
Mild-mannered sales representative Chris Popham spends his days peddling magical products such as portable parking spaces, the inexplicably popular dried water (“Just add…”) and books capable of telling you exactly what you need to know.

But then Chris discovers that his navigation device (‘SatNav’) is really an imprisoned soul who will do anything it can to get free. What follows is a hilariously bewildering adventure peppered with Holt’s characteristic brand of wacky humour.

Holt’s light-hearted novel combines the fantastic with enough elements of the familiar, making it a palatable introduction for newcomers to the genre.