Book review: The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Wow. This is a traditional Fat Fantasy novel, the first of a series/trilogy/more, and it's wonderful. Somehow Weeks focuses on the people rather than the events, so that although you're swung around the countryside following various characters, you're never lost and you're never bored. In fact, he manages to surprise the reader, which isn't easy when you've read as many books as I have over the years. Basics: magic and change and politics and warriors and a school of magic (which runs on colour rather than any of the usual tropes) and fights over who is in charge at the moment. There are no heroes or villains here, exactly, which is why I enjoyed it so much.

Doesn't hurt that there's a gorgeous warrior on the cover, resembling Ares from the old Hercules/Xena series (the late Kevin Tod Smith).

Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to getting his first trilogy soon and trying it as well.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/The-Black-Prism-Brent-Weeks/9780316068130-item.html?ikwid=black+prism&ikwsec=Home

and

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Prism-Lightbringer-Brent-Weeks/dp/0316068136/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329731150&sr=8-1

Book Review: A Little Night Magic by Lucy March

This book looks from the cover like a common romance, but it's not. It's a modern paranormal romance, half fairy tale, half speculative fiction.

In some ways it resembles A.M. Dellamonica's "Indigo Springs" but less serious, less devastating to the reader. Our heroine is in love with a man who obviously likes her but won't go out with her, and it drives her crazy because it doesn't make sense. Then first one then another new person comes to the small town, and make our heroine's life much more interesting than she ever wanted. There's adventure and explosions and a purple origami crane that flies. There's a 70-odd year old who runs the diner, and four friends who have known each other since elementary school, and there's the cook and dreamboat, Tobias, who has secrets of his own. By the end, all is explained and there's a happy ending for our couple as expected in a romance, even if it doesn't come easily.

If you like Jennifer Crusie, or would like a more real Nora Roberts, or would like a lighter version of Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series, try this book. I'm keeping my copy to reread, I think, because I want to reread the character development now that I know their secrets.

Definitely recommended if you like a paranormal twist to your romances.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/A-Little-Night-Magic-Lucy-March/9781250002679-item.html?ikwid=a+little+night+magic+lucy+march&ikwsec=Books

and

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Night-Magic-Lucy-March/dp/1250002672/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329732106&sr=1-1