A List Update

Today I decided that enough was enough: I'm cleaning up the List! At the last count I had over 170 novels to read, which realistically would take me over a year. Plus I want to read all of the newer ones I've bought, not the random books I bought on a whim (mostly from the Library).

So I went through my room (mostly my closet), getting rid of both the books I no longer want to read and the books that I read awhile ago and hung onto (but now don't want to reread). I don't know how many books I am getting rid of in total, but I am reducing the List by 46 books.

In case you're curious, here are the titles I am getting rid of:

The Jester

Preludes Volume 1 Darkness and Light

Preludes Volume 2 Kendermore

Preludes Volume 3 Brothers Majere

Heroes Volume 1 The Legend of Huma

Heroes Volume 2 Stormblade

Heroes Volume 3 Weasel's Luck

Demon Lord of Karanda

Queen of Sorcery

Magician's Gambit

Castle of Wizardry

Enchanter's Endgame

Changing Planes

The Cursed

One Hundred and One Ways

The Tower of Beowulf

The Spiral Dance

The SFWA European Hall of Fame

The Dark Beyond the Stars

Alien Chronicles: The Golden Ones

Emperor the Death of Kings

A Plague of Angels

The Death Gate Cycle Volume 1: Dragon Wing

The Shattered Chain

The Genesis Quest

The Tragedy of the Moon

The Left Hand of Darkness

Witch Hill

Restoree

Sleep With Evil

Crusade

London Fields

The Mists of Avalon

Lady of Avalon

The Way the Crow Flies

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

The Doomsday Conspiracy

Mr. Murder

The Deep End

Jurassic Park

Are You Afraid of the Dark

Ford County

Year's Best Fantasy 5

Year's Best Fantasy 6

30th Anniversary DAW

Best New Fantasy

By getting rid of these books, the List is now down to 132 books. While this is still a lot, the number is now a lot more manageable. And now it's full of books I actually want to read.

Between you and me, there are still some books I could probably let go of. If push comes to shove then I will. But for now, I'll hang onto them in the hopes that I read them. I feel better already in getting rid of just this much clutter!

I'm planning on donating these books to the Canadian Diabetes Association Clothesline Program. Normally I would trade them at a used book store for more books. But I think I need to actually get through some of the stuff I have right now.

Tales from Wonderland Volumes 1, 2 and 3

I bought all three Tales from Wonderland graphic novels when I was reading the Wonderland trilogy. I was originally planning a separate entry for each volume, but the stories are all interconnected in ways that don't make much sense until you have read the entirety of the Grimm Fairy Tales Wonderland series. So rather than trying to separate everything, here they are altogether.

Volume 1 has four stories, with one ("The Experiment") rather longer than the other three. The three shorter stories give the origins of the Queen of Hearts, the origins of Mad Hatter, and the story of how Alice "escaped" from Wonderl

and. The final story ("The Experiment") actually ties into the Queen story, and shows how the King of Hearts came to be.

Volume 2 tells the story of what happened to the Cheshire Cat between Beyond Wonderland and Escape from Wonderland. During that time he was trapped as a house cat and taken in by a Japanese college student. This was a great story because it gives the origins of Lina, the girl with him who was never explained in Escape from Wonderland.

The story about Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum didn't make a lot of sense in the scheme of things until the end. It actually explained who exactly the Carpenter is. The story about the Red Queen was another really cool tale, but it didn't make sense to me until after I read "The Arrangement," which is the story of how Dodgson bargained with Wonderland to live through his illness. Finally, there was another Mad Hatter story. This one showed the Hatter at peace, and set the stage for his war against the Queen of Hearts.

So that brings us to Volume 3. Volume 3 had a few more origin stories, starting with the White Knight, who becomes corrupted and finally serves the Queen of Spades. There is also the story of the Red Rose, who voluntarily went to Wonderland long before Dodgson made his bargain. Then we get the war between the Hatter and the Queen. And finally we see how Dodgson tried to break his pact with Wonderland all in the name of love.

As I said above, only after you've read all six volumes (the Wonderland trilogy and the Tales) do you really get the full story of Wonderland. So if you have any interest in the trilogy, be sure to give these a read as well!

The Stepsister Scheme

While wandering around Minneapolis I inevitably ended up in a Barnes and Noble. Browsing the new paperbacks, I found a book by Jim C. Hines, an author I had never heard of before. I wandered into the Fantasy section and found the first book in the series (The Stepsister Scheme), so I decided to buy that instead.

The Stepsister Scheme tells the story of Danielle Whiteshore (aka Cinderella). After her honeymoon with her prince charming (Armand), she is attacked by one of her stepsisters. The assassination attempt is ultimately unsuccessful, but the stepsister reveals that Armand has been kidnapped. And so Danielle, aided by Talia (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (White) set off to rescue Armand. The Stepsister Scheme takes the girls all the way to Fairy Town as they track down Danielle’s stepsisters.

I really liked the three princesses. Danielle is a friendly girl trying to adjust from being a servant to now being royalty. Talia is a blunt fighter who distrusts almost everyone (most especially the fairies, with good reason). And Snow is a sorceress and a flirt , someone who takes innocent joy in almost everything along the way. It’s great fun to see the three of them interact, and to witness how their friendships grow throughout the book.

Hines does a great job of twisting the fairy tales we all know in a rather believable direction. This book is proof that the stories we all know may well differ from the “truth.”

Wolfsbane

I've put off reading Wolfsbane for quite awhile now. I really enjoyed the first story of Aralorn and Wolf and was rather excited to start the second. But I've been busy working on other things (getting ready for a conference plus working on a video game) that I didn't really have time for it. And the few times I did, I decided to either read something else (like library books and graphic novels) or whatever else. But now, on my way to my conference, I decided to bring Wolfsbane with me. On the first part of my journey, a seven hour car ride, I started reading it. And I found I couldn't stop! Now in the hotel, I finished the final 40 pages last night (meaning I read the book all in one day!)

I love Aralorn and Wolf, and was really glad to return to their world and story. This time around, Aralorn has received word of her father's death. So after 10 long years, she finally makes her way home to pay her respects. Her family welcomes her back with open arms. Except for Nevyn, her sister's husband who hates magic (even though he himself is a magic user). He discovered that Aralorn was a shapechanger and has hated her ever since (which is why she has been uncomfortable returning home).

When Aralorn goes to pay her final respects to her father, she makes a shocking discovery: her father is still alive! He was ensorcelled as a means of luring Aralorn and Wolf back to her home.

As Aralorn and Wolf evade the traps set for them while trying to free her father, they are left with the mystery of who has done this to her father. And all of the clues lead toward Wolf's father the ae'Magi whom they thought they'd killed...

Wolfsbane is a fantastic story. It is yet another example of why I love the work of Patricia Briggs!

Library Book: Loki

After seeing the movie Thor about a month ago, I realized that I know very little about Marvel's version of the god. Sure, I am relatively familiar with the Norse mythology thanks to my studies of The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. And in my travels I've seen a few Thor graphic novels that have caught my eye. Finally I decided to read one from the library.

The one I chose was Loki. This graphic novel gives Loki's point of view of events. The trickster god has defeated his step-brother and step-father and is now Lord of Asgard. After parading Thor's humiliated form through the streets, Hela, the Goddess of Death shows up asking for Thor's soul. Loki then debates with himself over whether he is going to have Thor executed. He speaks with those he has conquered, Sif, Baldur and Odin in particular, who paradoxically convince Loki (in his own mind) that he should kill his brother. But he gains other doubts along the way. And the whole time, Thor is locked in prison, slowly regaining the strength to free himself.

This was a really interesting look at Asgard from Loki's perspective. I enjoyed reading it and can't wait to get a hold of more Thor stories!

Escape From Wonderland

Well here it is: the final part to Calie's story. At the very end of Beyond Wonderland, Calie's newborn daughter was taken from her by her brother Johnny. Johnny has become the Mad Hatter and is serving the evil of Wonderland. They need Calie's daughter so that the evil can break free of Wonderland and invade the real world.

But this time, Calie is through with running and hiding. So she heads back to her home and storms Wonderland with the intention of saving her daughter.

Escape from Wonderland was an epic conclusion to the Wonderland story. As a quote on the back of the book from pendragonpost.com says: "This is very much a thrill ride from start to stop." The artwork through the whole series was fantastic and I am extremely happy to have read this story. Yes it is a darker version of Alice, much darker than pretty much everything I have encountered thus far. But it is a brilliant reimagining of the tale and well worth reading for yourself!

Beyond Wonderland

Beyond Wonderland takes place a few months after Return to Wonderland. Calie and Brandon have started a new life together in New York City. But Calie is suffering from nightmares of Wonderland. She tries to tell Brandon about what happened but he doesn't believe her - he thinks she's suffering from mental illness like her mother was.

So Calie attempts to go about her life but starts to question her own sanity. On top of that, Brandon goes missing (she believes he leaves her), then her best friend is brutally mauled to death in her apartment. And when her friends throw her a baby shower, a mysterious package shows up - with the dress she found in Wonderland in it.

While a little slow at the beginning, Beyond Wonderland really continued to draw me into the continuing saga of Calie Lidel. I can't wait to finish this trilogy off!