Spellsinger

Foster, Alan Dean. Spellsinger. Book 1 of the Spellsinger Adventures Series. 2011. 290p. ISBN 9780743498258.

Jonathan-Thomas Meriweather is a pre-law student at UCLA who works as a sanitation engineer (also known as a janitor) for the school, and who appreciates music and marijuana. When he wakes up in the middle of a forest from an epic party the night before, he is thoroughly confused. Why is he not in his bed? Why is this otter wearing clothes and standing on two legs threatening him with a sword? Thinking this must be a dream, Jonathan gets himself stabbed, which reveals to him that he is very much here, in this fantasy world where animals are anthropomorphic.

Brought to meet the great turtle wizard Clothahump by the otter, Jon-Tom, as he becomes known, is informed that the turtle is in fact the one who summoned him here. Looking for an engineer, the turtle brought him over to help defeat an unspeakable evil that threatens their world with destruction.

Armed with nothing but law, politics, and history, Jon-Tom joins a merry rag-tag of animal and human adventurers looking to warn all of the world's communities of the impending doom that will come from their insect-like neighbors, who have acquired a powerful weapon and who hope to finally achieve the conquest they have been denied for thousands of years. From a card-cheating rabbit to a Marxist-spewing dragon and an angry indented bat servant, the group must make its way across the continent before it is too late!

While Jon-Tom learns to master the magic that defines the land, he and his companions gets in all sorts of trouble. Hilarious and poking fun of fantasy tropes, the Spellsinger nevertheless delivers an interesting world building and memorable characters!

Inheritance, or the Vault of Souls.

Paolini, Christopher. Inheritance, or the Vault of Souls. Book 4 of the Inheritance Cycle. 2011. 860p. ISBN 0375856110. Available at FIC PAO on the library shelves.

Eragon and Saphira have grown together and their skills since Brisingr have gotten better. However, there is still much doubt that they can defeat the King.  As the Varden marches towards Urû’baen, capital of Galbatorix’ empire. Always in the background, the King has sent Murtagh and his dragon Thorn to fight Eragon and Saphira, but at every step of the way Murtagh has failed to stop them. With the Varden on the move, though, the King reserves several surprises for Eragon and his allies.

Favorite characters are back, from Roran to Nasuarda to Arya, each engaged in mortal struggles against the forces of the King. As city after city falls, the Varden’s strength is dilapidated yet the army moves forward, with the siege of Urû’baen their ultimate goal, for only with this attack do they expect Galbatorix to take the field with his dragon Shruikan.

As the situation worsens, with Nasuarda a captive of Galbatorix, Eragon, Saphira, and their friends must come up with a plan, any plan, to confront the King and once and for all free Alagaësia. Even if they are successful, however, will they be able to restore order and justice throughout a continent abused and oppressed over the last hundred years?

Fans of fantasy will appreciate this masterful ending to the Inheritance Cycle.

The Hobbit

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. 2001. 330p. ISBN 0-618-16221-6. Available at FIC TOL on the library shelves or as an eBook on Overdrive.

Bilbo Baggins leads a life of contentment in his very comfortable dwelling under the hill in Hobbiton. A hobbit of means, Bilbo enjoys good food and time with friends. On a beautiful morning, he greets Gandalf the wizard, a human, who just happened to be passing through, with a good morning. Gandalf questions whether it is a good morning, or whether Bilbo meant it as a question, confusing the hobbit who promptly retreats back to his hobbit hole. Gandalf realizes he has found his hobbit, and marks Bilbo’s door. Thus commences Bilbo’s adventure to the Lonely Mountain and back.

That night, thirteen dwarves present themselves at Bilbo’s house and eat all of his food. They reveal that Gandalf told them to meet here, and that Bilbo is to accompany them as a burglar for the purpose of infiltrating the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves’ ancestral home, and fight the dragon Smaug, who conquered it over a century ago. Bilbo is not the adventuring type, but he soon finds himself on the road. Along the way they encounter trolls, elves, goblins, shapeshifters, spiders, more elves, and the men of Laketown. Bilbo manages to acquire a weapon that glows when goblins and orcs are present, as well as a strange ring that allows him to become invisible. He acquired this ring from a creature named Gollum who dwelled in the depths of the Misty Mountains.

Freeing the mountain from the dragon takes some work, but the death of Smaug leads to several competing claims on the Lonely Mountain, all backed by armies. Five armies meet on the plains by the mountain, and though not a fighter, Bilbo is nonetheless involved in the conflict. Peace is finally achieved, but at the cost of the deaths of many a dwarves, who are now tight friends of Bilbo.

Returning home a rich hobbit due to his share of the treasure but a changed one due to the hardships of the adventure, Bilbo discovers with astonishment that his cousins thought him dead and have proceeded to auction off his possessions and his home.

The Hobbit introduces the world of Middle Earth and provides several details that become important in the Lord of the Rings. Fans of fantasy will love the worldbuilding Tolkien performed and will cheer Bilbo on as he manages time and again to overcome the odds placed before him.

Brisingr

Paolini, Christopher. Brisingr. Book 3 of the Inheritance series. 2008. 763p. ISBN 978-0-375-82672-6. Available at FIC PAO on the library shelves.

In Eldest, Murtagh reappeared as a dragon rider under the control of their enemy, King Galbatorix. Eragon and Saphira now find themselves at the center of events affecting Alagaësia. Having nearly been defeated by Murtagh and Thorn on the battlefield, Eragon knows he is hopelessly outmatched against the magical skills of the king. He will need more training in order to gain enough strength to overthrow Galbatorix. Fortunately, the Varden was able to win the battle in the end, and now Nasuarda and her troops are on the offensive, moving deep in the Empire.

Hoping to save Katrina, Eragon and his cousin Roran set out on Saphira to Hellgrind, the Ra’zac’s lair. Discovering the fell beasts and their parents, the trio triumph and dispatch the monsters, rescuing Roran’s love in the process. Unfortunately, Eragon finds that Sloan, Katrina’s father, is a prisoner of the Ra’zac. Having been rendered blind and tortured, the butcher is in bad shape, but Eragon knows he cannot be both judge and jury on the penalty he should suffer. He lets Roran and Katrina escape on Saphira, while he rescues the old man and sends him on a quest to seek shelter in the land of the elves.

Trekking back on foot, Eragon is reunited with Arya, who departed the Varden to meet up with him when Nasuarda learned what had transpired at Hellgrind. Together they travel back to the Varden. There Nasuarda sends him out to travel to Farthen Dur, the dwarves’ capital, to convince them to elect a king and support the Varden’s efforts. Saphira, meanwhile, stays back and runs patrols in the sky to let the Varden and its supporters believe Eragon is still with them.

Following the election of King Orik and his support to the cause of freedom, Eragon travels back to Ellesméra to meet once again with his teacher, Oromis. There Eragon and Saphira finally discover Galbatorix’ secret of collecting dragon heart of hearts. Filled with the consciousness of a dragon before he or she died, these items are powerful magic and the evil king has been drawing off them to oppress the people of Alagaësia.

With Roran fulfilling several dangerous missions for the Varden, and with Eragon, Saphira, Oromis and Glaedr heading back to the various battlefronts, the fate of an entire continent rests in the efforts of this motley crew.

Eragon tries to uphold the oath he made to save Katrina from King Galbatorix, while being pulled in different directions by the needs of the Varden, elves, and dwarves--all of whom need his help and strength to overcome the tyranny of the king.

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart

Burgis, Stephanie. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart. 2017. 242p. ISBN 978-1-68119-343-4. Available at FIC BUR on the library shelves.

Life as a dragon can be very exasperating, especially when you have older siblings. Aventurine is tired of being hidden in the mountain by her parents. Her mother and grandfather have informed her on occasions too many to count that she can’t leave the mountain for it is dangerous out there, and humans could harm her. Only when her scales have thickened enough to protect her from most every bullet and magic will she be allowed out. But that’s in about a hundred more years, and she’s had enough playing with her older brother, who is more interested in reading human books anyway. Plus, Aventurine has an older sister who has left the mountain years ago, and she’s just so perfect that Aventurine can never compare in the eyes of her mother.

So when the opportunity presents itself, Aventurine sneaks out of the mountain to go hunting by herself. This task proves more complicated than she thought it would be, however, and she’s unable to catch prey. Until, that is, she smells a human sheltering in a cave. She follows the scent, only to discover that he’s cooking … hot chocolate. Entranced by the amazing smell, Aventurine agrees to spare the human’s life until the hot chocolate is ready. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a food mage, and as she drinks the hot chocolate, which is amazing and tastes nothing like she’s ever had, she is transformed into a puny human.

Unable to return home (grandfather tried to roast her when she approached the mountain), Aventurine makes her way to the capital of the kingdom in search of chocolate. She soons becomes an apprentice to the cantankerous Marina, whose uncompromising baking and cooking style and her infuriating personality fit perfectly with Adventurine’s own. Soon, she’s learning more about chocolate than she ever thought possible. But the dragons in the mountain have stirred, and they’ve been spotted as far as the outskirts of the capital. And when an entire flight of them bears down on the city, striking panic and fear in the inhabitants’ hearts, only Adventurine can save them all.

Eldest

Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. Book 2 of the Inheritance series. 2005. 681p. ISBN   0-375-82670-X. Available at FIC PAO on the library shelves.

Eragon survived the assault on the dwarven city of Tronjheim but was maimed by Durza the Shade before killing him. Known as the Shadeslayer, Eragon looks forward to heading to Ellesmera, capital of the Elves, to complete his training as a Rider of Dragons. Now that Eragon and Saphira have joined the Varden and with the destruction of his army, Nasuada decides it is time to take the fight to King Galbatorix, he who singlehandedly eliminated the Order of the Riders.

As the Varden moves south to Surda, Eragon, Saphira, Arya and Orik head north to Ellesmera. There Eragon and Saphira discover that they are not the last riders aside from the King. Oromis,  the Crippled Who is Whole and Glaedr his dragon still live in the forest, having hidden themselves from Galbatorix. Together and with limited time, they begin the process of training Rider and Dragon in the art of magic, flying, and fighting.

Meanwhile, in Carvahall, Roran and the villagers are visited by the Ra’zac, who are here to seize him. Refusing to surrender, Roran hides in the forest, but the soldiers accompanying the Ra’zac soon begin making the villagers’ lives miserable. When one of them dies at the hands of a soldier and is returned as nothing but a pile of bones, Roran is so incensed that he leads the villagers in battle against the Ra’zac and the soldiers, and soon the soldiers are forced to abandon Carvahall. Getting ready for a siege, the villagers fortify all access points and wait for the Empire’s assault.

Eragon’s training proceeds apace, but his desire for Arya, whom, he discovers, is the daughter of Queen Islanzadí, soon turns the elf against him, and she departs to return to the Varden. Meanwhile, Roran’s love, Katrina, is kidnapped by the Ra’zac following her father Sloan’s treachery, and with the knowledge that more soldiers is on the way, the villagers soon face a stark choice. Remain behind and be enslaved, or tempt their chance through the Spine to the ocean to secure passage down to the Varden and Surda.

As forces mass on both sides, and with an ally of Galbatorix ready to take the field against the Varden, will Eragon and Saphira’s training be completed in time to save his friends from complete destruction?

The story continues in Brisingr.

Eragon

Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. Book 1 of the Inheritance Cycle series. 2003. 509p. ISBN 0-375-82668-8. Available at FIC PAO on the library shelves.

On the large continent of Alagaësia, fifteen-year-old Eragon occupies a very small place in the village of Carvahall, as removed from everything else as one can get. An orphan, Eragon lives with his farming uncle Garrow and his cousin Roran about 10 miles out of the village, in the shadows of the Spine mountains. A foreboding place and rumored to be full of magic, the Spine mountains are left alone by the local residents, but Eragon long ago learned how to hunt and avoid its pitfalls.

Eragon is looking for food for the coming winter during one of these hunts when he comes across the strangest stone he has ever seen. Polished and with different shades of blue, it must be worth a small fortune. He brings it back to the village and attempts to sell it, only to discover no one wants to purchase it because it comes from the Spine. Then one night the stone hatches, and a dragon emerges. Soon, Eragon and Saphira are inseparable friends, but as the dragon grows it becomes harder to hide her.

Agents of the evil king Galbatorix are on the move, searching everywhere for the dragon egg that was stolen from the king. The elf that carried the egg was captured, but not before she transported the egg away. Two of those agents, a mix of bird and men, the Ra’zac arrive at Carvahall looking for Brom, a former dragon rider, but they stumble upon Eragon and begin the chase. Eragon escapes in the Spine, and the Ra’zac kill his uncle Garrow.

Vowing vengeance, Eragon decides to pursue his attackers as they retreat. Brom accompanies Eragon and trains him on the history of dragon riders and of Alagaësia, as well as on the proper ways of magic and combat skills. Soon the pursuers become the pursued as Galbatorix’ soldiers are intent on capturing Eragon and forcing him to join forces with the evil king. Saved from imprisonment several times by a new friend named Murtagh, Eragon rescues Arya, the elf who carried the egg, but she is dying and in a magically induced sleep. Now Eragon and Saphira’s only hope is to find the Varden, an opposition group fighting Galbatorix, in their secret base before it is too late. But with an army of Urgals, fierce and ruthless creatures, on their tails, will they reach their destination in time to save Arya, and, if so, at what cost?

Peopled with amazing creatures and vivid descriptions, Eragon is fantasy at its best, with magic, dragons, and sweeping vistas. Fans of Lord of the Rings will find themselves at home in the universe of the dragon riders.

Dragon Heir

Chima, Cinda Williams. Dragon Heir. Book 3 of the Heir Chronicles series. 2009. 348p. ISBN  978-1-42313713-9. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

At the end of Wizard Heir, D’Orsay fled his conspiratorial meeting at Second Sisters with a Covenant that once again binded the underguilds to the wizards’ dominion, following the wizards’ loss of control at the Tournament in Warrior Heir. The Roses have laid siege to D’Orsay’s ancestral home, hoping to get their hands on that Covenant. The Weir inhabitants of Trinity are weary of this battle between the three sides and have declared themselves a Sanctuary for all Weirs.

Jason Haley, wishing to get involved, smuggles himself in D’Orsay’s land and discovers a long-forgotten cave and a hoard of powerful magical items, including the Dragonheart, a strange stone filled with magical energy. When elicitor Madison Moss touches the Dragonheart, it suddenly reacts to her and wizards suddenly lose access to it. As wizards marshall outside the Weirwall erected around Trinity and protected by the wizard Seph, and the warriors Jack, Ellen, and their ghost armies, betrayal and tragedy are about to befall the unlikely band of rebels. Are Jason and Madison willing to finally commit to the cause of magic?

A satisfying if bitter-sweet end to the Heir Chronicles, all of the main characters gather one more time in a fast-moving plot in which many of them will die. Fans of the fantasy / modern world hybrid will find their fill in this brilliant conclusion.

Beowulf

Beowulf. 2010 translation, 3 hours. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

The most famous Anglo-Saxon epic tale, Beowulf tells the story of Beowulf, a hero who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes. The great ogre Grendel has been besieging Hrothgar’s hall in his capital and has killed many when Beowulf arrives with his crew of men from Geats to assist the Danish king. In a violent battle, Beowulf outsmarts Grendel and manages to slay him. Grendel’s mother, wishing to avenge the death of her son, attacks the hall the following night and kills Hrothgar’s most favored warrior. Beowulf once again sets forth and this time he dives at the bottom of the lake to find her lair. In an epic battle, Beowulf is eventually triumphant over Grendel’s mother and he cuts Grendel’s head, whose corpse also laid in the cave.

Beowulf returns home with prestige and wealth, and becomes king of his countrymen. Many decades pass when a slave steals a cup from a dragon’s lair. That dragon, mighty angry at this, comes out looking for his missing loot and burns everything along the way. Beowulf, now old and wizened, sets forth with his warriors and confronts the dragon alone at first before being joined by a courageous fighter, manage to slay the dragon but not before being mortally wounded.

The conflict between good and evil runs deep in this epic story which inspired much poetry and literature, and fans of fantasy will appreciate its precursor nature.

A Feast of Dragons

Rice, Morgan. A Feast of Dragons. Book 3 of the Sorcerer’s Ring series.  2013. 280p. ISBN 9781939416094. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

At the end of A March of Kings, The Legion’s new recruits departed the Ring and headed out to the Isle of Dragons to spend one hundred days of the hardest training ever devised. Thor and his friends must survive the challenges they encounter if they are to become members of the Silver, the MacGill’s elite soldiers. But as clues to his power and destiny are encountered, Thor faces yet more questions to whom he really is and what the wizard Argon wants with him.

Meanwhile back in the Ring, the ruthless king of the McClouds has invaded MacGil’s lands, destroying and pillaging their way towards the capital. King Gareth of the MacGil is plagued with doubts, as to his suitability as leader of his side. Having imprisoned Kendrick, his father’s bastard child and first born under suspicion of murdering the previous king, Gareth attempts to tie loose ends and eliminate those who present a threat to him and those who know he is the one behind his father’s assassination.

Godfrey and Gwendolyn, Gareth’s younger brother and sister, continue their investigation of their father’s murder, and discover a crucial proof leading straight to their brother Gareth. Unfortunately, Gareth is too quick and eliminates the threat before it’s too late.

Having survived his training, Thor returns to King’s Court and Gwendolyn’s love only to once again be wrenched away as the Silver heads to fight the McClouds. Unfortunately for everyone, Gareth has planned his plot well, and now the young wizard is heading to certain death ...

Wizard Heir

Chima, Cinda Williams. Wizard Heir. Book 2 of the Heir Chronicles series. 2008. 458p. ISBN 9781423104872. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Joseph McCauley has always crackled with power. He can subtly alter people’s perceptions. He is irresistible to women and men alike. Everyone want to help Seph. Except that he is racking up a high number of accidents. When a night club warehouse burns down in Toronto, Seph gets sent to the Havens, a school for boys in trouble.

But Seph is not like the others there. He knows he is a wizard. He is untrained, and his guardian died many years ago, leaving him orphaned. He doesn’t know his birth parents, nor does he know how to control this magic that courses in him. At the Havens, Seph quickly realizes that he is different from the other boys there, but that he shares a trait in common with the alumni. All are wizards. The Headmaster, Gregory Leicester, tells Seph he will train him in the ways of the wizard world, but in exchange Seph has to merge his powers with him.

Not wanting to participate in Leicester’s nefarious purposes, Seph is stuck at school. He meets Jason, who also refused to join with the rest of the alumni. Jason teaches him a few tricks to harness his power and to resist the mental invasions of Leicester, but without breaking out of the Havens, Seph cannot hope to survive. With a wizard war looming, Seph needs to choose sides, but what choices does he really have?

Taking place a year after Jack and Ellen upended the magical world order, the story of Seph eventually rejoins that of the Warrior Heir. Fans of the first book will not be disappointed with this second book of the Heir Chronicles.

The Other Normals

Vizzini, Ned. The Other Normals. 2012. 387p. ISBN 9780062079909. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Fifteen-year-old Peregrine Eckert is a late bloomer. He’s socially incompetent, and would rather spend all of his time in the world of Creatures & Caverns. A paper and dice roleplaying game with strange creatures, strong magical powers, and weapons that can cleave a man in half, C&C is the only hobby Perry has. His older brother is a drunk and a drug addict. His parents are divorced and dating their divorce attorneys. And he has no friends. Except when he meets Sam, a fellow C&C fan. They begin meeting at Perry’s school, playing during lunch in a back staircase.

Concerned at Perry’s absences and social ineptitude, his parents, through their lawyers, sign up Perry for a summer camp experience away from Brooklyn and from C&C. Perry is crushed. At fifteen, he shouldn’t be going to camp. Once there, however, he realizes he’s the only white boy there. The other kids are openly hostile to him. Except Sam, who also happens to be attending this camp.

After a fight with one of the resident bullies, Perry goes to the infirmary and meets Anna, the first girl who even deigns to talk to him. But the conversation does not go well. Then Perry notices something strange outside. A human with the head of a fox and a bushy tail that matches seems to be lurking outside, a creature similar to one of the denizens of C&C. Perry manages to catch up to the creatures, and he meets Mortin Enaw, a special consultant on C&C who reveals that he comes from the World of the Other Normals, a place very similar to Earth and the inspiration for C&C.

Traveling to the World of the Other Normals, Perry meets Ada Ember, a very pretty girl with blue hair and undefined animal features, and he immediately falls hopelessly in love. Unfortunately, not everything is perfect in the World of the Other Normals. The Princess has been kidnapped by the forces of evil, and the only thing that can save her is kissing her correspondent on Earth, Anna.

All the hours of geek and nerd training are coming to fruition, and Perry can be the great warrior and hero he’s always known he could be. But only if he can conquer his fear of girls.

In the vein of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Grasshopper Jungle, readers will cheer for Perry on his odyssey of self-discovery and late-blooming!

Shadow Scale

Hartman, Rachel. Shadow Scale. Book 2 of the Seraphina series. 2015. 608p. ISBN 9780375866579. Available both as a book at FIC HAR and as an audiobook on Overdrive.

In Seraphina the peace between the dragons and the kingdom of Goredd was shattered when assassins in the service of rebel dragons attempted to end the life Ardmagar Comonot, general of the dragons who was currently visiting the kingdom. With the dragons now broken into two camp, civil war engulfs both sides. On one side, those who support Comonot and his peace initiative with the humans. On the other, those who claim dragon superiority and who wish to purge their ranks of all aberrations as well as humanity.

Part dragon and part human, Seraphina finds herself on the front line of this clash of civilizations. She has built a garden where she keep grotesque representations of other half dragons, but now she must find them all in person so they can create the ultimate weapon to end this terrible conflict.

Unfortunately, others are also pursuing this end, and now Seraphina finds herself in a race against time, where she must muster enough support from the other of her kind to tip the balance and save Goredd. And her enemy is another half dragon just like her. Seraphina will need to make a terrible choice. Retain the relative safety that her life currently provides, or release her mind and, while putting herself in danger, reach her destiny?

A Turn of Light

Czerneda, Julie E. A Turn of Light. Book 1 of the Night’s Edge series. 2013. 864p. ISBN 9780756407070. Available at FIC CZE on the library shelves.

The small village of Marrowdell is isolated in the northern reaches of the country of Roth, bound on one side by the Bone Hills and the lazy river that runs from them. The colonists who arrived here two decades ago are hearty and healthy, and live long lives. But most visitors cannot stay, for their nights are populated with nightmares. And not everything is what it seems. Toads lay eggs. The wheat harvests itself. It’s almost as if a spirit watches over Marrowdell

Jenn Nalynn was born here, and on the eve of her 19th birthday, she cannot wait to escape. All of her life she’s been willing herself elsewhere. Her most precious possession is a faded map showing a large part of the world, and all of these places attract her. What mysteries lay beyond the limits of her small village? Living with her father and her older sister Pegg, Jenn is ready to leave with her aunt after the fall festival.

For as long as she can remember, Jenn has spent time in the meadow at Night’s edge, near the Bone hills. There, her friend Wisp lives. Invisible, Wisp talks to Jenn, but, more importantly, he listens to her. If she could only have one wish, it would be to bring Wisp to her. When she stumbles upon a magic ritual, she decides to turn Will into a man so they can live happily ever after.

Meanwhile, Bannan Larmensu’s war has concluded with a peace treaty, and the countryside where he fought as a truthseer has been turned over to the enemy. Surrendering his weapon, he makes his way north to the farthest place in Roth, where he hopes to settle with his loyal companion and fellow soldier Tyr and his warhorse Scourge. He arrives in Marrowdell in time to see the results of Jenn’s wishing, when Wisp, now Wyll, falls in the river and must be rescued.

Now Bannan and Wyll are engaged in a battle for Jenn’s heart. But something else is tugging at her too. Marrowdell itself is coming alive, and at the Great Turn, the solar eclipse of this lifetime, the edges of the world will fray with the Verge, and wishes will become possible.

An original tale of magic and wishing, the fantasy setting is exquisite and its inhabitants are worth the read.

If you enjoyed this book, you will like Seraphina.