Tag Archives: fantasy

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Posted by melydia on September 21, 2012 2 comments

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (unabridged audiobook read by Graeme Malcolm; 3.5 hrs on 4 discs): Despereaux is a small mouse with large ears who loves music and falls in love with a human princess. Roscuro is a dungeon rat who loves light. Miggory Sow is a slow-witted, half-deaf serving girl who longs for more. Their stories intertwine to form one lovely little fairy tale. I think my favorite part was how involved the narrator was, constantly talking directly to the reader as if you’re there in the room with them. This is the sort of book I would have enjoyed as a kid.

A note on the audio: Malcolm was fantastic. I’ll have to be on the lookout for other books read by him.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Posted by melydia on September 18, 2012 2 comments

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (unabridged audiobook read by Hope Davis; 6 hrs on 5 discs): Meg Murry is an ordinary girl in an extraordinary family: her parents are scientists, her baby brother is a prodigy. One day they are visited by the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit, who takes them on an amazing adventure to combat evil personified. I read this before, back in college, and I’d forgotten how overtly religious it is. Sure, there’s plenty of science, but also quite a bit of talk about faith and god. Which is fine, as it manages not to be too preachy. As with the first time I read it, I wasn’t all that excited about it. I mean, sure, it was fine, and maybe I would have loved it as a child, but as an adult it came across as just kind of strange. That said, I still intend to read the rest of the Time Quintet, which I haven’t read before, to see what further adventures lie in store for the Murry family.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Stuart Little by E.B. White

Posted by melydia on September 14, 2012 None comments

Stuart Little by E.B. White (unabridged audiobook read by Julie Harris; 2 hrs on 2 discs): Perhaps I would have felt differently growing up with this book, but as an adult this book struck me as profoundly weird. First off, a human couple give birth to a mouse, and no one seems to think this is at all strange. Their first son is human; their second son is a rodent. What? Anyway, this is basically a collection of Stuart’s various adventures, including boating, substitute teaching, and courting a 2-inch tall human girl. I don’t even know. The ending is left completely open, which I suppose could be inspiring for a young imagination, but I didn’t know it was coming so I was a little confused at the end. Oh well. It was fine, and there were parts that were funny just because they were so strange.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Posted by melydia on September 11, 2012 None comments

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke: I do not read all that quickly, but I managed to inhale all 660 pages of this book in three evenings. I simply could not get enough of the Inkworld. Everybody’s here and everything’s falling apart. Mo may or may not be the Bluejay, Meggie’s heart is conflicted, Fenoglio has lost the power of words, and Orpheus is screwing everything up. I’m actually looking forward to re-reading this trilogy so I can savor it, rather than obsessively reading just one more chapter because I just have to know what happens next. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so completely sucked into a story and I loved every moment of it. Highly recommended.

A note on the trilogy: I read Inkheart and Inkdeath, but listened to Inkspell, read by Brendan Fraser. The other two books had different narrators, but this way I was able to hear Inkdeath with Fraser’s amazing narration in my head.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

Posted by melydia on August 28, 2012 3 comments

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke (unabridged audiobook read by Brendan Fraser; 18 hrs 46 min on 16 discs): Meggie and Farid enter the Inkworld in search of Dustfinger and find it much changed from the lands described in Inkheart. A new reader, Orpheus, has started reading people into and out of books. Meanwhile, Mortola and Basta are still on the hunt for Mo. Unlike the previous book, this story takes place almost entirely within the Inkworld, and it is a fantastic place. I wanted so badly to visit, even with all the danger involved. And I fell a little bit in love with most of the characters, most especially the impulsive Farid. And oh, I was so happy to already have the third book on hand to start immediately after this one. Some may find Inkheart a little slow, but Inkspell is anything but. So much fun.

A note on the audio: Fraser made this book come alive. I knew he was a talented narrator, but he made me want to stay in my car longer just to hear what happened next. I laughed, I cried, I squealed in delight. Now I’m sad because he’s only read two books and I’ve listened to them both. I guess I need to watch more of his movies.

Breaking the Devil’s Heart by H.A. Goodman

Posted by melydia on August 14, 2012 None comments

Breaking The Devil’s Heart by H.A. Goodman: When you die, the very good people become angels and the very bad people become demons, but if you’re just mostly good you may be given the option of becoming an Observer. Contrary to their title, Observers are more like hands-on angels in the battle between good and evil. Stewart and Layla are two such Observers, on a mission to discover the secret behind the Formula, some sort of evil-making product demons peddle to conflicted humans. After touring parts of both heaven and hell and receiving rather puzzling answers to their queries, Stewart and Layla come upon what may be the answer they seek. And you know, I really enjoyed the story up to this point (save the intensely gooey relationship between Stewart and Layla, which often left me gagging). I love heaven versus hell stories in general, I like the concept of Observers, and the role of Time/Fate was intriguing as well. But then there was this strange twist ending. I really did not understand what happened. I’m willing to accept that maybe I just missed something obvious, because the lead-up was pretty good. Either way, I’ll be curious to see what else Goodman cooks up for this universe. It certainly has a lot of potential.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Posted by melydia on July 24, 2012 3 comments

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (unabridged audiobook read by Roy Dotrice; 33.5 hrs on 28 discs): Eleventy-billion characters and the only truly interesting one is the dwarf. Sure, there were a few decently intertwined stories, but I really only paid attention when it was focused on Tyrion Lannister. His cynicism was refreshing amidst all the obsession over who gets to be king next. I liked this book far more than I’d expected, given that I tend not to favor political intrigue of any genre, but I don’t feel any particular desire to read more of the series.

A note on the audio: Dotrice’s voice is rather…um…moist. It was more noticeable with some voices than others, and at times I felt like I was listening to a grandfather with loose dentures. It didn’t help that I was listening to this book on headphones rather than in my car, where that sort of sound would probably be lost in the background. It wasn’t a problem most of the time, but it made certain words (like “breasts”) pretty jarring.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Posted by melydia on July 17, 2012 None comments

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke: Meggie lives with her father Mo, a gifted bookbinder. One night, a stranger named Dustfinger appears at her window, prompting Mo and Meggie to flee to the home of Elinor, a bibliophile of the highest order. This is a story for storylovers, for people who wish they could bring books to life outside their imaginations. Though the pacing is arguably a touch slow at first, the characters are charming and I had fun not quite knowing whom to trust. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Posted by melydia on July 13, 2012 None comments

Lost in a Good Book (unabridged audiobook read by Elizabeth Sastre; 11.5 hrs on 10 discs): This is the second book in the Thursday Next series, and while familiarity with Jane Eyre was essential for enjoyment of the first one, I didn’t feel the same flailing desire for a list of prerequisites to understand this one. It deals a lot more with time travel and the perils of paradox, coincidence, and general literary shenanigans. Sure, an appreciation for Austen, Dickens, and the Brontes will certainly enhance your experience (mostly in the form of understanding more of the jokes), but I’m far from the world’s biggest Brit Lit fan and I still got a good chuckle from time to time. That said, I don’t see myself going out of my way to read the rest of the series. I suspect I don’t fall into the target audience quite neatly enough.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

War of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Posted by melydia on June 1, 2012 None comments

War of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends, Vol. 2) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: I need to not wait multiple years between reading these books, but luckily I was able to find my place fairly quickly. We rejoin all the characters from the previous book – Raistlin the crabby dark mage, his twin brother Caramon the somewhat dimwitted fighter, Crysania the beautiful and rather misguided cleric, and Tasslehoff the entertainingly amoral Kender – now one hundred years in the future from where they were (and still two hundred years before their own time). This time they find themselves re-enacting the Dwarfgate Wars, seemingly without any choice in the matter. And you know, as terrible as Raistlin is, I really like him. Well, perhaps “like” is the wrong word. I’m fascinated by him. He’s evil and cruel and selfish and yet still oddly sympathetic. I look forward to the final installment in this trilogy, mostly to find out if he ever gets over himself and lets himself love Crysania. It’s not a complicated story, but it goes quickly and I’m enjoying it very much.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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