I’ve always loved fantasy novels, which is why I write them, though I tend more toward epic fantasy. My father had a great love of nature. It wasn’t unusual for him to stop in the middle of building a fence or walking across a pasture in order to examine a bug or watch a hawk in flight. He taught me the value of animals and the wonder of the world we live in. Because of it, I’m especially drawn to stories where the animals act and think like animals really might, so I can imagine their unique perspectives. Every species is unique, a miracle that they exist at all.
Peter Beagle is best known for his fantasy novel, The Last Unicorn, but other than featuring unicorns, this book is unrelated. It’s a beautiful story about thirteen-year-old Josephina Rivera. Her parents don’t have time for her, so she hangs out at a music store, where she is drawn to the music played by a mysterious young boy. This soon leads her across a magical border into a land peopled by unicorns, fauns, and other magical creatures. But the story is about more than mythic animals; it’s a poignant, inspiring tale about life, sacrifice, and the love between a girl and her grandmother. Don’t expect a children’s book. Though kids might like it, one has to have lived a while to fully appreciate it.
A tomboy misfit and born musician, thirteen-year-old Josephine "Joey" Rivera encounters a mysterious young man named Indigo who changes her life, playing ghostly, haunting music that she follows down an ordinary street into the magical world of Shei'rah.
I’ve never seen the Disney movie, so I can’t compare, but the book isn’t your typical children’s fare. Although I wrote The Back of the Beyond before reading Bambi, there is a similarity, in that Bambi also depicts animals as they really are: predatory, sometimes merciless, often confused by the acts of humans. The hunting scenes, seen from the forest animals’ perspective, aren’t easy to read. Nonetheless, there is great beauty as we follow Bambi from the moment of his birth through his journey to adulthood. I came away with a greater appreciation for nature. The brief chapter depicting the exchange of the last two leaves left on a branch, facing the prospect of their autumnal falling, is worth the read by itself.
Immerse yourself in a young deer's world in this resplendent, collectible edition of the richly imagined and vividly illustrated masterpiece that inspired the beloved Disney film.
Bambi lives in a thicket in the forest. From his kind and caring mother, to all the friends he makes among the forest's inhabitants, to his twin cousins Faline and Gobo, he is surrounded by animals who wish him well. But there are dangers within and surrounding the forest, and all too soon they will make themselves known.
A beautifully written and critically acclaimed classic that has been translated into more than twenty languages…
Technically, though it has a fantasy feel, this is a post-apocalyptic science fiction story concerning Per Hiero Desteen, a sort of Knight’s Templar dedicated to recovering the knowledge lost after a nuclear holocaust. Hiero fights antilife telepaths and mutated monsters in a journey to discover a lost, ancient secret in time to save humanity from destruction. Fun stuff, but the charm of the book lies in his telepathic mount, Klootz, a bull morse (think of a giant moose), and Gorm, a telepathic bear who joins him on his mission. Long after you’ve forgotten the battles, the charm of the animals remains.
Per Hiero Desteen was a priest, a telepath -- and a highly trained killer. Together with his great riding moose and the young bear who was his friend, he was on an extraordinary mission. For this was five thousand years after the holocaust known as The Death. Now the evil Brotherhood of the Unclean was waging all-out war against the few remnants of normal humanity, determined to wipe out all traces of its emerging civilization. Hiero's task was to bring back a lost secret of the ancients that might save the humans. But his path lay through the very heart…
Patricia McKillip is most famous for her other fantasy books, but this one is her first novel, which won the 1975 World Fantasy Award. Unlike many other fantasies, it’s done on a small scale. The beautiful heroine, Sybel, lives alone on a mountain with magical beasts: the Boar Cyrin, the Dragon Gyld, the Black Swan of Terleth, the tawny Lyon Gules, the Cat Moriah, and the falcon Ter. Icy and emotionless, Sybel’s world is changed when the prince of the land brings a baby for her to raise. The story, filled with lovely, sparse prose, takes several turns. Be warned that the ending is somewhat ambiguous. Also, because the book is relatively short, the personalities of the animals aren’t really individualized. Nonetheless, it’s a unique, interesting read.
World Fantasy Award-Winner Newly available in print and e-book editions
"Rich and regal." ―The New York Times
Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments.
But when a soldier bearing an infant arrives, Sybel discovers that the…
I know these are an obvious choice, but I can’t resist including them. I read them the first time over Christmas break when I was in college, going through them one after another, so they became a blur. It wasn’t until I read them again a few years ago that I realized how well they hold up for adults. I don’t find any one of them particularly better than the others, though if you’re unfamiliar with them, it's probably best to start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which introduces Narnia. The Magician’s Nephew is sometimes listed as chronologically first, but it’s a much different book, and not a good introduction to Lewis’ world. They’re entertaining adventure tales for both children and adults, filled with lovable characters.
Don’t miss one of America’s top 100 most-loved novels, selected by PBS’s The Great American Read.
Experience all seven tales of C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia, in one impressive paperback volume!
Epic battles between good and evil, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds, and friendships won and lost all come together in this unforgettable world, which has been enchanting readers of all ages for over sixty years.
This edition presents the seven books—The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The…
Lourana and Darrick took down the dreaded coal barons in To the Bones, but it seems that the Kavanaghs aren’t done yet. The college-age son of Eamon Kavanagh has unexpectedly inherited not only the family’s business empire but the family itself: generations of Kavanagh men whose spirits persist and who have now taken up residence in Rory’s mind and body.
As Lourana and Darrick try to shape a life together, they are attacked by Eamon through Rory, and flee the life-sucking Kavanaghs across Appalachia and then, in desperation and hope, to Ireland. The reluctant Rory is urged onward in the…
In this sequel to To the Bones, Lourana and Darrick have taken down Eamon Kavanagh, patriarch of the dreaded coal barons of Redbird, WV, but it seems that the family isn’t done yet. The college-age son Rory has unexpectedly inherited not only the family’s empire but the family itself: generations of Kavanagh men whose spirits persist and who have now taken up residence in Rory’s mind and body. As Lourana and Darrick try to shape a life together, they are attacked by Eamon through Rory, and flee the life-sucking Kavanaghs across Appalachia and then, in desperation and hope, to Ireland.…
The elves claim no one can cross the border and live...When Gray Darien's love, Lady Tana, is kidnapped, he leads warriors from different Earth eras to rescue her. They enter Animonea, a land the Elf-King fears so much he raised a wall to keep its denizens out. There, every animal, tree, insect, and bird possesses intelligence. Every object: swords, chairs, garments can speak. Which creatures can they trust? Which merciless predators intend to destroy them?
Gray is soon embroiled in a war against an invading army of mechanical soldiers intent on eradicating the source of Animonea’s sentience. Unless he and his companions can overcome the designs of men, wolves, rivers, and trees, Animonea will perish, and Gray and Tana with it.
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