Category Archives: Fantasy

#WitchWeek2020 Day 5: Gothic fantasy, with puppets

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

Puppet shows! Fun times for all, right? Not in this chilling Newbery Honor book. In 2007, Laura Amy Schlitz had won the Newbery Award for Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. This 2012 gothic fantasy by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Gothic, Historical fiction, Mystery, Witch Week, YA Lit | Tagged , | 8 Comments

#WitchWeek2020 Day 4: M R James and the Gothic Tradition

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

In this post, guest blogger Jean takes us to the world of M. R. James, famous for his creepy gothic tales, which have inspired several 20th and 21st century authors. Jean is a librarian blogging at Howling Frog Books who … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic, Fantasy, Gothic, short stories, Witch Week | Tagged | 15 Comments

#WitchWeek2020: Master Post

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

Diana Wynne Jones’ Witch Week (1983) is a fantasy set between Halloween and November 5th — Bonfire Night — marking the day in 1604 when Guy Fawkes was caught preparing to blow up Parliament. Six years ago, Lory of Emerald City Book Review used this … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Mystery, Witch Week | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Witch Week 2020

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

Not long now! Witch Week, the annual celebration of fantasy fiction, begins in under 2 months. Lory @ EmeraldCityBookReview created it to honor Diana Wynne Jones, author of the Dalemark and Chrestomanci series, along with dozens of other fantasy novels and short … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Gothic, Witch Week | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Quickly, now

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

A big trip is coming up, and before departure I’m racing through some last minute e-books from the NYPL (see below). Can’t send them back un-read! I’m also pulling out a nearly abandoned manuscript to revive/revise for a writing retreat … Continue reading →

Posted in Am reading, Am revising, Fantasy, Fiction, Humorous, short stories | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Weird combinations and scary dreams

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

Yep, I’m definitely craving odd-ball books these days. Here are 2 more for your consideration: Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman (2006, 2013, NYPL e-book). Another collection of Gaiman’s writings, most of which come a là macabre. The book includes short stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Am reading, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Historical research, Horror, Humorous, Macabre, Science fiction, short stories | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Flotsam and Jetsam

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Lizzie Ross

4 books reviewed here, and from them you’ll get a sense of my odd taste in reading these days. No particular reason for it — each one spurred by happenstance, satisfying a yen, or whatever. Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees (1926, … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Am reading, Fantasy, Mystery, YA Lit | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Shore leave ends

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Lizzie Ross

Last night I finished The Secret Commonwealth (Vol 2 of Pullman’s follow-up series to His Dark Materials) and sent it back (virtually, and virtuously) to the NYPL. By now, another patient reader has begun this dark and compelling tale. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Am reading, Am revising, Fantasy, NaNoWriMo, Seafaring, short stories | Tagged , | 7 Comments

A penny for the guy

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Lizzie Ross

Happy Guy Fawkes Day! To wind up Witch Week, we’re exploring a political fantasy by Diana Wynne Jones appropriate to this day of “gunpowder treason and plot“. Head over to Calmgrove to read our discussion of Cart & Cwidder. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Villains, Witch Week | Tagged | 1 Comment

Evil too close to home

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Lizzie Ross

What’s that police van doing here, you ask? Well, it’s a subtle reference to the title character in one of Diana Wynne Jones’ fantasy novels, whose villain Jean Lee (from Jean Lee’s World) discusses in detail in today’s Witch Week … Continue reading →

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