Fantasy – Carol's Notebook

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

October 30, 2025October 31, 2025 by Carol2 Comments

I loved A Night in the Lonesome October. It's the late 1800s and a group of strangers have gathered in a village outside of London for The Game. We know them, of course: Jack (the Ripper), Larry Talbot (The Wolfman), the Great Detective (Sherlock Holmes), the Count (Dracula), the Good Doctor (Frankenstein) and others, along with their familiars. Our narrator is Snuff, Jack's mathematically-inclined dog, who is a very good boy. There are 31 chapters, one for each day in October, but I listened to most of it on a long car ride. We are dumped right in the middle of the action and left to kind of figure stuff out on our own. It's a light, fun book, but chockful of literary and cultural references and amazing dialogue. It's clever and funny and the characters, including the critters, are so well drawn. And the showdown at the end is fabulous. I will say i should have boned up on...

A Brew for Chaos by Esme Addison

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I remember liking the first two Enchanted Bay Mysteries, which is why I picked up A Brew for Chaos, but looking back at my comments now, I definitely enjoyed the first more than the second. As for A Brew for Chaos, I really should have skipped it. It's fall in Bellamy Bay and Oktoberfest is coming up. I was hoping for all the fall vibes and a cozy mystery, which is not what I got. And I should have been prepared based on how I felt about the second, but I only remembered the cute town, the close-knit family, the bit of mermaid magic. Instead I got more paranormal than cozy and more government conspiracy than killer down the block. The characters are mostly well-developed and the topics it brings are worth discussing, especially in light of the political climate, but it did have me rolling my eyes occasionally at how outlandish some of the plot was. I think this is...

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

September 5, 2025September 5, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

A couple of caveats: this is the first book by Kingfisher I've read and I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings, even if I don't read enough of them. In this loose retelling of the Snow White story. We have Snow White, of course, apples, and mirrors, but no dwarves. Our main character is a healer, Anya, a poisons expert who is summoned by the King to discover how Snow is being slowly poisoned. Anya, of course, has no choice but to go. Anya is essentially a spinster who has devoted her life to her studies, made possible thanks for her father being a wealthy merchant. She's smart but her discussion of poisons and poisonous plants tends to be a bit much for people in social situations. Anya is aided in her investigation by two of the royal guards, one of whom is a potential love interest, and a talking cat, who is just as haughty as you might expect. . I...

The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan

May 14, 2025May 14, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I enjoyed the first in this trilogy, The Justice of Kings. There we met Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an itinerant Justice, his taskman and friend, former soldier Dubine Bressinger, and his clerk and protégé, Helena Sedanka. The Tyranny of Faith starts with our party, including Sir Radomir, former sherriff, going to Sova, the Empire's capital. The Magistratum is in disarray, losing influence and harboring traitors. The Emperor is worried about issues closer to home than Claver, the big bad guy from book 1. The writing is good. The plot moves along at good pace. The world is medieval-esque, with religion wrapped up in politics. And i will probably read the third just to see how it all plays out. The investigation this time around centers on finding the Emperor's grandson, which Vonvalt allows to become more complicated than it is. However- The characters in this just make such bad decisions. Let's trust this lady we've never met before. Granted, so does half the Senate,...

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I read The Tainted Cup, the first in the series, last year, but apparently didn't review it. I loved it. The world building is amazing and Ana and Din make a fantastic team. I would read it before starting A Drop of Corruption though. This second kind of drops you into the world and Dinios Kol's life. The world revolves around the leviathans, giant sea creatures who "attack" the Empire every wet season. The Empire protects the people from these monsters, but the leviathans' blood has infused the soil, the plants, the creatures. The blood also fuels the Empire's power and technology. Ana Dolabra is an brilliant, but eccentric investigator. Din is her assistant, an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, but he is becoming more adept at putting what he learns together. This time, the two are investigating the disappearance and murder of a Treasury officer, but as soon as Ana...

Killing in C Sharp by Alexia Gordon

April 11, 2025May 9, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I read the first Gethsemane Brown mystery back in 2016 when it came out, but never got back to the series. Last year I watched the show on Hallmark mysteries, which was fun. Killing in C Sharp has been sitting on my to-read list for probably years now, but the audio was available from the library and I was in the mood for something light. (I'm always in the mood for something light.) There is a lot going on in this one. Ghost hunters have come to Gethsemane's cottage to prove her friend and resident ghost, Eamon, exists. A true crime writer is in town working on an updated version of the book she wrote on Eamon and his wife. Aed, a once-famous composer, is premiering his new opera at the opera house and giving a couple guest lectures at the school. He is followed by the reviewer who nearly killed his career with a bad review. And the opera manages...