Books: Inventors, Journeys, Tomorrows, and Dreams

The Dreamblood Duology by N.K. Jemisin

This pair of fantasy novels are by Hugo-award-winning author Jemisin. The setting is Middle-East-inspired, where the city of Gujaareh is filled with dreaming magic, used to heal, to keep the peace, and (inevitably) for political gain. The novels are as much about culture clash as they are about magic and politics, and all the cultures are drawn with their flaws and virtues. Entirely recommended.

Line To Tomorrow by Lewis Padgett

A collection of Padgett's quirky SF and fantasy stories, which lean as much on the foibles of 20th-century humans as on their contrafactual premises. Mildly recommended.

The Silver Call Duology by Dennis L. McKiernan

Blatant Lord Of the Rings fanfic, with the serial numbers filed off. There are orcs in Moira again, and the dwarves need to return and roust them out, but the only record of the interior is in Frodo's notes. So, the current Hobbit keeper of the Red Book, and his faithful servant, set out with a band of dwarves to invade Moira. It's not bad, by any means, and its publication history is intriguing. Very mildly recommended, if you need a sequel to Rings. (There's also an associated trilogy, which was meant to give these books a proper prequel that wasn't Rings. Slightly less recommended.)

Hiero's Journey by Sterling E. Lanier

A post-apocalyptic fantasy, and one of the inspirations for Dungeons & Dragons. I got about halfway through, and decided I was part-bored, part-offended by its handling of women, and set it aside.

The Warlord Of The Air by Michael Moorcock

Interesting steampunk-y novel set on an alternate Earth where the UK has conquered a lot of the world using airships, with the inevitable reaction by the conquered. Moorcock's handling of race and politics is, as ever, clumsy. The framing sequence (explaining how a man from our world traveled there and back) is lengthy and unnecessary, and the narrator largely just watches events unfold. Mildly recommended, maybe?

Romancing The Inventor by Gail Carriger

Set in Carriger's fantasy-steampunk Parasol universe, this is a lesbian romance novella, swinging lightly into erotica towards the end. If that's your thing, this is definitely your thing!