I picked this up because it appeared to be a YA book with a The Night Circus feel, and I liked that book, so why not? The premise is kind of similar. There is a traveling extraordinary circus show that performs once a year. The audience can either participate or watch, but the participants are playing a giant game to win a prize. This year’s prize just happens to be a wish. Scarlett Dragna has always wanted to see the mysterious Caraval, encouraged […]
Olives Are a Despotic Fruit
I think I say this on every Richard Kadrey review. Richard Kadrey is currently my favorite author and I am ridiculously excited every time he releases a new book. The Wrong Dead Guy is the second in Kadrey’s Another Coop Heist series, built around thief and reluctant Federal Agent, Charley “Coop” Cooper. Like the Sandman Slim series, the Another Coop Heist series is set in an LA where magic is real and the end of the world is nigh. Unlike the Sandman Slim series, Coop […]
Gunpowder, gelatin. Dynamite with a laser beam.
I was skeptical about this graphic novel when I picked it up. I’d been looking for some more female-centric stories and I’ve been a Dungeons and Dragons player practically from the time I was in the womb. The description of this book sounded possibly fun but potentially more character quirks than actual story. I’m definitely glad I took a chance. Reading Rat Queens is a bit like playing a table top RPG with your best gaming friends. The stakes are serious but the atmosphere […]
A delightful set of magical fairytales.
I have read one of Beedle the Bard’s now-famous Tales, “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” because it plays such an integral role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It’s such an exquisite, simple tale, that I wondered how the rest of the tales would fit in to make a volume. As it turns out, Rowling does her best when she is telling stories within stories. I highly recommend this particular collection. The Tales of Beedle the Bard is an anthology of folksy tales, […]
Lots of fabulous beasties to be found here!
Last fall, The Chancellor and I saw the first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film in the new series, and we were underwhelmed. As much as I enjoyed the beasties, I didn’t find the story to be all that great or exciting. Plus, there were some troubling aspects that I thought were too mature for young kids and also possibly sneakily homophobic? Also, major ugh to Johnny Depp? On the bright side, Colin Farrell is positively a silver fox now, so enjoying that […]
A crash course in quidditch
A few years back, when I had just defended my dissertation, Barnes and Noble was running several sales which I fell for. One was a three-pack of Quidditch through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Tales of Beedle the Bard. As a Harry Potter fan, I thought, “These sound fun! Let’s buy them!” plus, you know, post-dissertation glee made me really spendy. I finally sat down and read all three this year, so I will place them each in the order […]