Where does that dark passage really lead?
Could that crazy drainage area really be a secret base for small aliens?
Just walking down the streets as a child these were the kinds of thoughts that would swirl through my mind. I would see passages to parallel worlds, or the signs of a hidden world everywhere I looked. They really were all around us, kept out of our perception by some spell or grand camouflage device.
Part of being a writer I really enjoy is creating secret, hidden worlds, alternate realities, exploring the possibilities, and looking at all the dark passageways to see if there is a portal there.
This is Gaiman at his best.
I loved his truly original hidden world of 'London Below,’ as it is unlike anything I had ever seen before.
We get such a meaningful story with characters that we care about, exploring a fascinating world that is far from safe, lurking right beneath our feet, just beyond our perception.
And I was in awe of all the great characters.
The Marquis de Carabas is just brilliant. Nothing more needs to be said.
I was truly impressed with the bantering between Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, so spot on for creepy hitmen of undetermined supernatural types.
When we get to the end and we are shown the idea of getting to decide your reality, that was just a powerful idea to me that I have always been drawn to.
I have found this to be one book that has something new to discover with every reread.
Zelazy was a master writer and nowhere is that more obvious than this fantasy series.
A royal family that can walk between worlds, knowing only Amber and Chaos to be the real worlds, with all the other countless worlds being poor reflections of them.
I found I was unable to put these books down, getting lost in reading and just wanting to learn what happens next.
I was drawn into the idea that reality for those of the royal families was just a change in perspective as you walk. All they needed to do was picture something different as they made their way and they could cross a dozen worlds with a dozen thoughts.
In these books I found it all: Mystery, family drama, fight for the throne, vengeance, curses, murder, fantastic beings of all kinds, and one of the best-written funeral precessions ever.
One of the most revered names in sf and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes—including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards—over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny’s most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels.
Now officially licensed by the Zelazny estate, the first book in this legendary series is now finally available electronically.
Carl Corey wakes up in a secluded New York hospital with amnesia. He escapes and investigates, discovering the truth, piece by piece: he is really Prince Corwin, of Amber, the one true world…
This series of YA novels at first felt like it was going to be another cliche series of stories, but quickly breaks away from what you would expect to give you a massive and complex hidden world with great twists and turns as to what is really going on.
I was really pulled into the intricate world that had so many new and creative areas to explore with every story.
Each book adds in incredible new elements, expanding the hidden world that is really what is holding our reality together.
I found it to be a fun, unique YA series that left me fulfilled by the fully told story.
This is a great time to reprint the spellbinding start to The Keys to the Kingdom!
Best-selling author Garth Nix creates a magical world and an intriguing mystery in this new blockbuster series.Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world -- where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets. This is another thrilling, triumphantly imaginative series from Garth Nix, the best-selling author of THE SEVENTH TOWER, SABRIEL, and LIRAEL.
I thought it was perfect that the main protagonist is named Hiro Protagonist in the story to make it clear I should not overthink things as I got to enjoy the action-filled adventure.
And I learned a lot about the deadly career of a pizza delivery boy.
The story jumps between a dark future real world and the VR world of the Metaverse, keeping you guessing as it plays with your sense of reality.
Watching as Hiro makes his way through a crumbling and unfair society, ruled over by the wealthy and corrupt I felt made for a powerfully relevant narrative.
The “brilliantly realized” (The New York Times Book Review) breakthrough novel from visionary author Neal Stephenson, a modern classic that predicted the metaverse and inspired generations of Silicon Valley innovators
Hiro lives in a Los Angeles where franchises line the freeway as far as the eye can see. The only relief from the sea of logos is within the autonomous city-states, where law-abiding citizens don’t dare leave their mansions.
Hiro delivers pizza to the mansions for a living, defending his pies from marauders when necessary with a matched set of samurai swords. His home is a shared 20 X 30…
An absent-minded, modern-day scientist is pulled out of time, finding himself in a medieval England of a parallel universe. He is mistaken for a sorcerer and starts using his knowledge to make a name for himself.
I know all of that may sound cliche, the story is anything but.
I was especially drawn to the big bad of the story, who is so powerful that he can hear that narrator and start to argue with him in some great fourth-wall-breaking moments that turn out to be more than just humorous exchanges.
I found this to be a fun series that really plays around with some common fantasy concepts and has fun with it all, not taking itself too seriously.
Magic Is Alive, Science Is Afoot….Trying to discover time travel, absent-minded genius Dr. Marvin Brewster accidentally transports himself to a parallel universe where magic really works … a land that resembles medieval England, but is populated by leprechauns, virgin-hating unicorns, coffee drinking beatnik vampire elves, rapping Rastafarian grunge dwarves, philosophically musing dragons, ambulatory vegetation, bumbling outlaws, gorgeous brigand queens, cursed were-princes and evil wizards. In a world where science is unknown, Brewster’s knowledge results in his being mistaken for a sorcerer … but the real sorcerers have a powerful, exclusive guild, and Brewster’s not a member. As he searches for…
Welcome to the famous Georgie and Armand’s place, an interdimensional hotel unlike any place you’ve ever seen before. Inside you will find doorways to a thousand-thousand worlds, with all manner of beings interacting and going about their lives. The Hotel is run by Georgie and Armand, shape-shifting dragons, life partners, and Master Mages of the highest order. Here you will find guests and staff members from countless worlds, each with their own stories to tell. While their tales play out, something sinister is afoot. Forces are working against The Hotel. How does it connect to the Dragons’ past?
Come experience a true cross-genre adventure. At Georgie and Armand’s Place you get science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, with some mystery and romance sprinkled in for good measure.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
