Although I had intended to stop buying books until after Christmas, I simply had to take advantage of some of the promotions being run by my favourite bookstore this past week and, as a result, my to be read pile grew by a few more books :-)
Passed on my purchases, I think I'll be doing a lot of reading within the fantasy genre over the next little while.
Unless otherwise stated, all synopses courtesy of Chapters.indigo.ca
Around the world, black handprints are
appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have
crept through a slit in the sky.In a dark and dusty shop, a devil''s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she''s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she''s about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
A powerful secret. A dangerous path. Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg''s strange talent for seeing the paths of people''s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him--secrets about Rigg''s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.
Rigg's birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.
The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
Danny North knew from early childhood that
his family was different, and that he was different from them. While
his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners
called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such
miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that
he would never show a talent, never form an outself.He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins, and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.
There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English - but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny's cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.
Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.
The Griffin Mage Trilogy by Rachel Neumeier
The desert winds have come to the village of Minas Ford. Griffins,
creatures of fire, have appeared in a burning haze - searing the sky a
blinding white and scorching the earth to parched, barren sand. These
majestic beasts, half-lion, half-eagle, spread the arid desert wherever
they roam. Iaor, the King of Feierabiand, will not tolerate the
destruction of his people's farmland. He means to drive the griffins
from his domain - whether by negotiation or brute force. But not all
those who encounter the griffins fear them. Kes, a timid village girl,
is summoned to heal the King of the Griffins himself. She will discover
her affinity with these creatures, and come to realise that the menace
they flee is even more deadly than the blazing fires of the desert. This
omnibus edition contains: LORD OF THE CHANGING WINDS, LAND OF THE
BURNING SANDS and LAW OF THE BROKEN EARTH Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton (synopsis courtesy of amazon.ca)
What would you do if the stories of your childhood suddenly began coming to life?Teagan Wylltson’s best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures—goblins, shapeshifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty—are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn’t worried. Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives, with his killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. Either he’s crazy or he’s been haunting Abby’s dreams, because he’s talking about goblins, too . . . and about being born to fight all goblin-kind.
Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby’s right. The goblins are coming.
The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford's novel about the doomed Katharine Howard, fifth queen of Henry VIII, is a neglected masterpiece.Kat Howard-intelligent, beautiful, naively outspoken, and passionately idealistic-catches the eye of Henry VIII and improbably becomes his fifth wife. A teenager who has grown up far from court, she is wholly unused to the corruption and intrigue that now surround her. It is a time of great upheaval, as unscrupulous courtiers maneuver for power while religious fanatics-both Protestant and Catholic-fight bitterly for their competing beliefs. Soon Katharine is drawn into a perilous showdown with Thomas Cromwell, the much-feared Lord Privy Seal, as her growing influence over the King begins to threaten too many powerful interests. Originally published in three parts (The Fifth Queen, Privy Seal, and The Fifth Queen Crowned), Ford's novel serves up both a breathtakingly visual evocation of the Tudor world and a timeless portrayal of the insidious operations of power and fear in any era.
*****
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