S.J. Parris
S.J. Parris writes about her inspiration for Heresy, which masterfully blends true events with fiction into a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Adam Haslett
A conversation with Adam Haslett, author of Union Atlantic, a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
Set in the world of the Half-Continenta land of tri-corner hats and flintlock pistolsthe Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy is a world of predatory monsters, chemical potions and surgically altered people. Foundling begins the journey of Rossamund, a boy with a girls name, who is just about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor. What starts as a simple journey is threatened by encounters with monstersand people, who may be worse. Learning who to trust and who to fear is neither easy nor without its perils, and Rossamund must choose his path carefully.
Complete with appendices, maps, illustrations, and a glossary, Monster Blood Tattoo grabs readers from the first sentence and immerses them in an entirely original fantasy world with its own language and lore.
Book Reviews
BookBrowse Foundling, the first in the planned Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, sucked our then twelve-year-old son in on the first page and spat him back out a couple of days later only after he'd read the book cover to cover (including the glossary and the 100 page appendix which particularly fascinated him) and pored over the maps and illustrations In the intervening period we did see him from time to time - for meals and breathless plot updates - but in essence, although his body was with us, his mind was somewhere in the Half-Continent! With illustrations reminiscent of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy this is a book to kindle the imagination of any child who revels in fantastic worlds filled with fantastic creatures. Full Review (members only, 764 words).
Kirkus Review
This epic fantasy, though solidly based in classic form ....., flounders under cluttered writing.
Booklist - Cindy Dobrez
Starred Review. .... enough secrets, promises, and mystery to create impatient demand for part two.
School Library Journal
Starred review. A delightful, refreshing standout in a sea of cookie-cutter fantasy worlds.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. From the pre-industrial English feel to the sprawling setting and backstory, this book feels every bit as substantial as its heft implies.
Tamora Pierce, author of the quartets Song of the Lioness and Circle of Magic
I felt constantly at the edge of a gasp.
Michael Cart, writer, professor, expert in children's and YA literature
Meticulously plotted, prodigiously imagined, and richly realized.
Lloyd Alexander, Newbery-winning author of The Chronicles of Prydain
..A remarkable new world, complete in every detail, totally convincing.
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family.
The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
I read this book in two days and found it so refreshing. Although you will learn a great deal about barn owls by reading it, the book is not just ...
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I enjoyed reading this book, however, feel that this is not completely her own ideas. This books remembers me of a cross between 'ghost','Sixth ...
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Lisa See has written a great book! This story is satisfying on many levels, some scenes horrifying, but seemingly truthful, and her handling of the ...
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Amazon 'buy button' rumors abound(Mar 18 2010) Rumors swirled today that Amazon could revoke the buy buttons for books by Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin, or Hachette if the major publishers can't...
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Amazon's e-pricing threats(Mar 18 2010) With Apple's iPad launch just weeks away, Amazon raised the stakes again when it threatened to stop directly selling the books of some publishers online...
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