Fantasy & Science Fiction Book Suggestions

Dragonet Prophecy 1:

Wings of Fire

Coming July 2012

By Tui T. Sutherland

We have been fans of Tui T. Sutherland's since her fabulous mythology trilogy entitled Avatars (as good as the Riordan, in our humble opinion). This first book in her new series on dragon lore does not disappoint! Five young dragons are isolated and raised apart in a secret cave because they have been chosen - by a prophecy - to be heroes and hopefully end the feuding amongst all dragons. They long to get out of the cave and see the world and find their families, but the world they find outside the cave is far different than they expect. This is a story of friendship and bravery. It's examination of not only how we find friendship, but how we maintain it even when things get rough, and also how, even though it can be the hardest thing in the world, we always have to try to be brave enough to make the right choices. There is nothing bad about this book, the dragons are all given distinct personalities, the action sequences keep your heart racing, the plot involving how the dragon factions came to war is well thought out, and the dragon mythology Sutherland creates is one of the best we've read so far. (Middle Fiction)

Seraphina

Coming July 2012

By Rachel Hartman

Apparently, it's going to be a very dragon-y summer with Wings of Fire and Seraphina coming out in the same month. This is the story of a land where peace between humans and dragons has been achieved, but it is not a stable peace. Some humans still distrust the dragons while some dragons look down on the humans. Seraphina is a young musician at court who gets embroiled in the murder mystery of a prince, a murder clearly designed to end the peace and create another dragon war. In a unique position to understand both sides (we won't tell you how), Seraphina tries to solve the mystery and becomes involved in court life far more than she expected. What really captured us was the psychological examination of the main character and the unique way in which she deals with her...for lack of a better word "visions." There is a romantic subplot to the book which is nicely handled and the universe Hartman creates is well laid out and very historically interesting. (Young Adult)

The False Prince

By Jennifer A. Nielsen

We open the book with a young man named Sage being taken from his orphanage by a strange man. Describing the rest of the book becomes trickier as so much of the interest lies in figuring out, with Sage, what heck is going on. We'll do our best to tell you about the book without any spoilers. In a fantasy universe of kings and queens and political intrigue, several young men are taken from their homes and have their courage, their education, the gentility, and their combat skills tested by a mysterious man. There will be only one winner, but just what exactly will he win? The book is well written, and Sage is a sarcastic, realistic and likable protagonist and narrator. He tells his story well and leaves you pretty much in the dark until BOOM! You're not in the dark anymore, you are in completely different place than you started out in. This is well written court intrigue with just the right elements of mystery and danger. Read it, just trust us.(Young Adult)

The Grave Robber's Apprentice

Canadian!

By Allan Stratton

Talk about a book that grabs you by the collar! This book doesn't let you go until the last page, where you finally put it down, tired but excited at the same time! Our two main characters are Hans and Angela, each with their own problems and each with their own courage and strength. They are thrown together in order to discover Hans' true identity and to save Angela's parents in a fantasy world that has it all: danger, adventure and, oh yeah, hilarity! And it also has genuine heart as well. The author himself describes it best on the Acknowledgments page, "Family and friends; secrets and identity; transformation and reconciliation - these are the themes I've held close to my heart since I was a child and that find expression in this tale." (Middle Fiction & Young Adult)

Ghost Knight

By Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Funke is a back with fun, spooky tale in her usual, inimitable poetic prose. When Jon Whitecroft is sent to boarding school and, "excited" is not the word he'd use to describe his state of mind. But when ghosts start attacking him and he ends up partnered with a girl named Ella (a fabulous female heroine!) things oddly begin to look up. For those fans of things that go bump in the knight! (Middle Readers)

Underworld Chronicles 1: Elliot & the Goblin War

By Jennifer A. Nielsen

This series is not new, but it is new to us. Based on how much we loved Nielsen's False Prince, we decided to try her middle reader series and have not regreted it one bit! When Elliot saves a young girl from bullies on Halloween, he unknowingly sets off a race war between brownies and goblins (the young girl was actually a brownie and the bullies were goblins, but on Halloween it's a little tough to see who is in costume and who is not). Elliot gets involved in a weird world he knew nothing about and he and our fabulously insane narrator take us on a ride that we'll never forget! (Middle Readers)