Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar, edited by Mercedes Lackey

I would have to say that this is my least favorite of the Valdemar short story anthologies. For one thing, I have a serious issue with the title--there is no story called "Crossroads" in the book! Then there's the fact that three of the stories had no reason to be set in the world of Valdemar at all They were interesting stories, but they didn't have to be in this anthology.

Other stories were really enjoyable, though. I think my favorite was the one set in Karse's distant past--right when the corruption was just beginning. And it was fun to revisit a beloved fantasy world. Actually, it's made me want to reread the books--I haven't touched some of them in years, despite owning most of them. In fact, I only read this one because I was on vacation. The Forest House was depressing me, and the only other books I'd brought were its sequels! Of the books my mom had brought, Crossroads was the most appealing.

The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Since The Mists of Avalon holds a special place in my Top 5 Favorite Books Ever, I had little doubt but that I would enjoy the first of its prequels, and I was not disappointed. This is another feminist novel, set many years in Avalon's past--so far back, in fact, that there are yet no priestesses on Avalon, and the women instead live in a place called Vernemeton, or the Forest House, established by the Romans to isolate and protect the priestesses after their sanctuary at Mona was cruelly invaded (by the Romans themselves, of course). The main character, Eilan, dreams of being a priestess one day, then falls in love. I really admire the way MZB made the men's control of the women, especially their sexuality, not just an inconvenience or a metaphor but a central part of the plot. The priestesses of the Forest House are only permitted sexual contact with a man if that man is the chosen Year-King, symbolic sacrifice for his people. Eilan must struggle with her choices and few around her believe that she has made the right ones.

Unlike Mists, The Forest House has a male POV character. At the beginning he is rather heroic and quite likable. However, as the novel progresses, he is shown to be more and more flawed and toward the end he really becomes a big jerk. He is redeemed somewhat, and manages to remain sympathetic for a time, but it would be nice to see a more relatable male character. (I do think we get that in the next book.) Besides that and some repetitiveness, though, I have nothing to complain about in this book.

My favorite character is Caillean, the Assistant to the High Priestess who is later sent to establish a house of priestesses on Avalon. I see in her Raven, Morgaine, Niniane, and especially Viviane--it's easy to find the beginning of a long legacy of manipulative High Priestesses of Avalon. The Merlin also makes an appearance, though not in the guise you might expect, and I'm intrigued to see how the perception of that role changes.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who didn't like The Mists of Avalon, and probably not to anyone who hasn't read it--it's a decent stand-alone novel, I think, but gains more depth if you know its future. To anyone who loved Mists as much as I did, though, I definitely recommend The Forest House!

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from this book. Whatever it was, I didn't get it--but I did get something wonderful. According to the introduction, it is a reconstruction (from notes) of a forged translation of a 14th-century manuscript by a Benedictine monk. Of course, it is actually a novel written by the talented Umberto Eco, and a mystery along the lines of Arthur Conan Doyle or Edgar Allan Poe--that is to say, the detective is a logician along the lines of Sherlock Holmes or C. Auguste Dupin. It is narrated by the supposed author of the manuscript, Adso of Melk, a German novice who is traveling with the detective, William of Baskerville, to learn from and assist him. It took me until about halfway through the book to accept that the novel was probably not fantasy--fantastical elements were certainly hinted at, but the style of such a logician does not lend itself to that genre!

William has been asked to an Italian abbey to help mediate a discussion between two opposing Catholic sects, but when he arrives, he has another task: solve a series of unlikely and possibly mystical murders. This task is made more complicated by the fact that the one place that seems to hold the most answers, the abbey's famous library, is the one place he is not permitted. Like any good detective, he gets his answers anyway. The main mystery plot is intertwined with monastic politics, political intrigues, and intriguing personal relationships. Sometimes the discourses on logic or heresy, which can get quite long, distract from the plot, but they are interesting and the only thing I have to complain about, with the exception of Adso's sometimes irritating lack of judgment, which can easily be excused by his youth. The novel is even, as far as I can tell, quite historically accurate. The monastery itself and most of the characters are fictional, but the politics and the heresies are real, which is quite impressive.

Unfortunately, I never figured out the import of the title. The last line of the book has the words "name" and "rose" in it, but as it's Latin (which is peppered throughout the monks' speech) I couldn't understand the rest. I naturally think of Shakespeare, but as he writes several centuries after The Name of the Rose is set and the only meaning I can think of is fairly weak, such a connection seems unlikely.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

This short story collection is mainly retold fairy tales, which is a genre I adore, so I was naturally excited to read this book. Some of the author's takes on fairy tales were quite intriguing. I especially enjoyed the title story, Bluebeard with a quite a twist, and "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon," a sweet Beauty and the Beast. From there, though, it seemed to go straight downhill. The author's overwrought style, peppered with extremely obscure words, was enjoyable at first, but grating on the nerves after several stories. It never seemed to change, and a number of the stories, I felt, would benefit from a different style. Some of the stories had twist endings that made no sense, and some, particularly "The Lady of the House of Love," were just not interesting. (The last may have been more fun when it was first written, when the trope of the reluctant vampire wasn't quite so done.) I do recommend many of the stories if you enjoy the genre, but perhaps one at a time would be better.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Well, I was right about there not being another book like American Gods; still, this book was pretty delightful. I liked that it was about characters barely mentioned in the prequel--Anansi's sons. Fat Charlie is a memorable and sympathetic character, while Spider is the fascinating sort I'd never want to meet in real life. Rosie, Fat Charlie's fiancee, is also a great character, even if the way their relationship changes over the course of the book is fairly predictable from the beginning. The plot moves by increments that seem implausible from just a chapter away, but, by the time you reach them, are inevitable. Even the villains are fantastic, especially the wonderfully weaselly Grahame Coats. All in all, an excellent, satisfying book, told as only Gaiman can.

The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

Ah, Shakespeare. What could there possibly be to complain about? I have just one thing: it would be so much better on stage. This is a hilariously funny play, full of sex and deception, but text is not an ideal way to consume it. While some of the jokes wouldn't make sense were it not for the glosses, that sort of thing is easier to pass quickly by on stage, and it's such a physical play that it would be vastly improved by being able to see the characters. I'm glad I read it, but now I know that I should absolutely snatch any chance I get to see it performed.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

It's hard to say much about any of Gaiman's work beyond "Gaiman is a genius." But I'll try! This novel is quite, quite delightful. The characters are real and complete, the premise--the old god of religion warring against the new gods of technology--is compelling, and the plot is both surprising and masterfully crafted. I don't think there could ever be another book lite this--and I say that knowing that there is a sequel. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that the end left me feeling a bit adrift, and I suspect that was done on purpose.

Bone by Jeff Smith

I read a few pages of the beginning of this comic when they were in Disney Adventures magazine. I really liked it then, and had been hoping to find a copy of the book for some time. Well, now I have, and I have to say--wow! It's so much more than I expected it to be. Like with webcomics and other serially published stories, I have to wonder how much the author knew or planned from the beginning. Was this sweeping fantasy epic in the works when I read about three cousins run out of Boneville and met a talking leaf bug and a cow-racing grandmother, or did it evolve as Smith wrote? Either way, it is extremely successful at moving from humble beginnings to a world-changing tale. Sometimes, with such things as the "lost princess" theme, it does seem a bit stereotypical, but the characters and the storytelling make up for it.

The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks

As always, Terry Brooks delivers. He's my favorite fantasy author for many reasons: intriguing, varied, abundantly realized characters; interesting and creative plots; and above all, masterful suspense. I can sometimes predict what's going to happen, but only because I know his style well--and even then, I'm never sure, because Brooks is so skilled at managing expectations and bringing surprises (the best kind--ones you should have predicted). The Elves of Cintra is the second in the Genesis of Shannara set, and it's really exciting! He has three series--the Shannara series, the Word and Void series, and the Magic Kingdom of Landover series. I've known that the first two were connected, the fantasy world of Shannara being what emerges from the collapse of the modern world of the Word and Void. This set connects the two--the modern world in chaos and dying, demons out of hiding, fantasy creatures evolving... the King of the Silver River, a faerie as old as the world, even makes an appearance, guiding a character in this book as he does so many of the series' heroes. The Elves are here too, in hiding now, but that will change soon. The end of this book was completely unsatisfying--I can hardly wait for the next one!

The Mabinogion translated by Charlotte Guest

Considering how obsessed I am with Welsh language and culture, it certainly took me long enough to read this! Of course, I'm glad I did. It's a collection of medieval Welsh hero tales--many of them are quite a bit older than that, of course, but they're first found written down in the twelfth century. It's actually fairly obvious which only survive in more recent forms, between the Europeanization and the Christianization. The first four, I think, are the most interesting. They are the least Christian, feel the most Welsh, and certainly have the best female characters (plus, they're the only ones in which the term "mabinogi" actually appears). This translation also includes part of the tale of Taliesin, which was fun to read, but unfortunately in a very Christianized version--Ceridwen is represented as an evil hag and Taliesin is always talking about how he serves God and Jesus. I also had a slight issue with the translation of the whole thing--many of the names seem to be partially Anglicized, so that I can't really tell how they're properly spelled or pronounced.