Third Starlighter (Tales of Starlight) (Paperback)
by Bryan Davis
ISBN: 0899578853

Price: USD 14.99
42 used & new available from USD 8.93

Starting where Masters and Slayers left off, Third Starlighter continues the story of Adrian and Marcelle as they try to free the slaves from the dragon planet. Marcelle’s back on Major Four, the human planet, trying to raise an army to help Adrian. Meanwhile, Adrian has his hands full on the dragon planet with new discoveries and mysteries. It all adds up to one wild ride, so fasten your seatbelt!

You can’t get away from the fact that this book is great. I had a fantastic time reading it, getting to know the characters better, and having little aha moments everywhere as the story unfolded. Once I finished Third Starlighter, I roamed the house, muttering about plot points yet to be resolved and wondering out loud how Bryan Davis thinks he can wrap it all up in one more book. That is my only reservation here, and it’s probably unfounded. Do not miss this series.

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella (Hardcover)
by Donita K. Paul
ISBN: 0307458997

Price: USD 14.42
84 used & new available from USD 0.10

Cora Crowder bumps into coworker Simon Derrick in a very odd bookstore. That night, she discovers a ticket to the Wizards’ Christmas Ball in a book she bought. Simon finds one too. What follows can only be called a lighthearted romance full of fun, twists, quirky characters, and a little magical matchmaking.

Having previously read Donita K. Paul’s fantasy books, I was very excited to see how this contemporary tale turned out. The result is nothing short of delightful. There are just enough hints of fantasy interwoven with the normality to keep things interesting, while the mystery of it all remains and keeps the book standing tippy-toed on solid ground. What we have here is a satisfying story with twists and important lessons aplenty, without either feeling contrived in the least. You can’t get much better than this.

The Sword in the Stars(Book1) in The Dark Sea Annals Series (Paperback)
by Wayne Thomas Batson
ISBN: 0899578772

Price: USD 14.99
63 used & new available from USD 4.47

Alastair Coldhollow, a man with a dreadful past of evil deeds, has become a follower of First One. He believes he is the Caller, a prophesied person who will call forth the also-prophesied Halfainin. But when everything lines up and nothing happens, Alastair is faced with doubt and struggles to maintain his faith while getting used to disappointment in the midst of an oncoming war.

That’s an oversimplified synopsis. This book has so much going on, it’s hard to boil it down. It explores some very compelling themes without quite coming to a conclusion, leaving the door open for answers in later books. Wayne Thomas Batson started writing fantasy worlds in his The Door Within series, and this huge world tops that handily. There’s much more depth and detail to drink in here, though I do wish he’d describe things a little bit more, and I also found myself begging for a map more than once. My one real gripe is that I found the description of some of the fighting to be a bit much, but overall I had a great time with this one and I can’t wait for more.

Masters & Slayers (Tales of Starlight, Book 1) (Paperback)
by Bryan Davis
ISBN: 0899578845

Price: USD 10.17
62 used & new available from USD 6.25

Adrian Masters is chosen by a secret society known as the Underground Gateway to find a portal to a dragon planet. According to legend, dragons from this planet captured and enslaved humans many years ago. Adrian believes the legend is true and will stop at nothing to free the slaves. Meanwhile, his friend Marcelle discovers a plot by the government to kill Adrian before he can complete his mission. Together, Adrian and Marcelle must thwart both dragons and humans if they plan to survive on the dragon planet.

Masters and Slayers is supposed to be a companion book to Bryan Davis’ earlier teen novel Starlighter. It succeeds smashingly in that respect, but goes deeper and stands on its own. Readers of both books will find connections everywhere. Those who have yet to experience Starlighter will enjoy a rich fantasy world peopled by many mysteriously deep characters. Regardless of category, both sets of readers will be sent frantically scrambling to Amazon.com to check the release date of the sequel.

Prague Counterpoint (Zion Covenant, Book 2) (Paperback)
by Bodie & Brock Thoene
ISBN: 1414301081

Price: USD 9.85
98 used & new available from USD 1.56

Hitler’s invasion of Austria is sudden and complete, and the beautiful city of Vienna is transformed overnight. Everything has changed, just like in Berlin. And now those who refuse to shut their eyes to the truth fear that Czechoslovakia will be next. John Murphy continues his efforts to alert the world to the reality of the danger. Leah, separated from her husband, helps hide two little boys who are destined for destruction if found. Elisa, safe for the time being, struggles with feelings of uselessness. Then she’s given the opportunity to help the Jewish Underground like never before. But if she chooses this, she will have to turn her back on all of the people she cares about.

Prague Counterpoint picks up almost directly where Vienna Prelude leaves off, and it proceeds in much the same style—following multiple threads of story in different locations and with different characters, a technique that works well for giving the reader a broad picture of the many events that led to the war. I do think this second installment is better written than the previous book, which is a plus, but I also have to issue the same warning about it. There are some very cruel, painful scenes to read, and I would caution everyone to consider before trying this book. It’s a worthwhile read, but only if you’re certain you can handle the darker content.

A Study in Scarlet (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
by Arthur Conan Doyle
ISBN: 0140439080

Price: USD 9.00
88 used & new available from USD 0.10

Dr. Watson agrees to share an apartment with Mr. Sherlock Holmes to save money. Soon he learns that Holmes is the only consulting detective in London and can make accurate logical deductions from even the smallest details. When a man is murdered and even Scotland Yard cannot find a clue, Holmes and Watson set out to untangle the threads and get to the bottom of the mystery, beginning the classic stories about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

This is undoubtedly an interesting story and a good mystery. There’s enough detail here that even though I’ve read it several times I still pick up on something new each time. You’ll find yourself trying to make Holmes’ deductions before he does as the plot thickens. I’ve marked this for advanced readers because the second half of the story is a bit disturbing, though not gruesome. An exciting introduction to one of literature’s greatest detectives.

A Penny for Your Thoughts (The Million Dollar Mysteries, Book 1) (Paperback)
by Mindy Starns Clark
ISBN: 0736909923

Price: $0.01
75 used & new available from USD 0.10

In this first of the Million Dollar Mysteries, Callie Webber is on her way home from a charity donation when her mysterious boss asks her to stop off and deliver two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to an old friend of his.
Callie, with her background in private investigations and law, is very loth to just hand over that much money to anyone without checking up on them first. After all, it’s her job to investigate anyone who requests a grant from her boss’s foundation. But she agrees, and grudgingly heads off to Feed the Need with the check. All she can think about is getting home and enjoying her dog Sal—until the head of Feed the Need is murdered.

A Penny for Your Thoughts is very well written with lots of suspense and action! And it has one of those “gotcha” endings that, when you think about it, you should have been able to catch! I love those. Actually, the whole series has the delightful distinction of being written by a Christian author, and starring a Christian main character. I wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers, though. Like every murder mystery, there are some unsavory people and events, as well as a teensy bit of mature content. Happily, that latter is not over the top, nor held up as good. I find these books so refreshing after wading through several secular series.

Drowned Wednesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 3) (Paperback)
by Garth Nix
ISBN: 0439436567

Price: USD 7.99
159 used & new available from USD 0.10

Wednesday dawns and Author Penhaligon is facing his next task: finding and claiming the next part of the Will and the Third Key. But this isn’t any easier than Monday and Tuesday were. Lady Wednesday herself, rumor has it, has been transformed into a monstrous, all-devouring whale. And the terrible and powerful pirate-sorceror Feverfew is set on capturing and killing Arthur. Falling in with the unusual crew of the salvaging ship The Moth, Arthur faces high adventure on the Border Sea, risking much to complete his quest. Lives are at stake.

Drowned Wednesday is fairly consistent with the first two books of the series, while still keeping the adventures fresh and unique. A good blend of humor and peril, with both old characters and new. I can’t say that it’s an exceptionally remarkable story, but I found it imaginative and enjoyable nonetheless, and I intend to follow it up promptly with the fourth book, Sir Thursday.

Vienna Prelude (Zion Covenant, Book 1) (Paperback)
by Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene
ISBN: 1414301073

Price: USD 10.06
130 used & new available from USD 0.61

Europe, 1936, and Nazi darkness is beginning to descend. Elisa Lindheim is a violinist in the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, and while she is half Jewish, she is protected by both her German Aryan looks and the stage name Elisa Linder. Though situations are worsening in both Germany and Austria, Elisa refuses to believe that Hitler’s Third Reich will gain as much power as it claims. But her family has to escape, and her father goes missing, and so many of her friends are in danger. Before she knows it, Elisa is involved with something much bigger, along with members of the orchestra and an American news-reporter, John Murphy.

This is overall a worthwhile book, providing a good look at what life was like for so many during the events that led to World War II. It also covers some of the bigger picture views involving the politics and problems that leaders in England and America were dealing with at the time. I do have a few complaints about Vienna Prelude, though, the primary one being that Elisa’s romance occasionally bogged down the main story to the point of frustration. Also, I cannot at all recommend this book to young readers, as the sheer brutality of the Gestapo and the concentration camps are not watered down. That said, it was still a fairly good read, and I will likely look into the rest of the series.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel (Paperback)
by Susanna Clarke
ISBN: 1582346038

Price: USD 10.90
346 used & new available from USD 0.10

There has not been a practical magician in England for several hundred years. So the people are astonished when Mr. Norrell, a small, quiet gentleman who has been studying the subject for much of his life, proves that he is, in fact, the next great magician. More than that, he intends to restore magic to England and even aid the country in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the midst of this rises a second magician, the young and dauntless Jonathan Strange. Strange has an uncanny knack for magic, and despite some rather grave differences of opinion between the two of them, Mr. Norrell takes him on as a pupil. Perhaps their most serious disagreements are about the Raven King, a mysterious figure in history who was responsible for much of the magical foundation. As time goes on, Strange becomes more and more intrigued with the Raven King and the more perilous forms of magic, risking not only his partnership with Norrell but everything that he holds dear.

If I do not restrain myself, I’m going to gush about this book. Problem is, if I force myself to slow down, I’m left speechless. This novel is 782 pages long, and I was enthralled to the very last one. It is incredible. The writing style itself is so beautifully similar to that of Jane Austen and other writers of that period, I could scarcely believe this was such a recent publication (2004). It is intricate, delightful, terrifying, and captivating. I have never come across anything quite like it. The antagonist alone was one of the most uniquely and well-done characters I’ve read. Everything is brilliant, right down to the use of footnotes to enhance the story and add to the seeming reality.
Now, all that to say… I don’t feel that I can go about recommending Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to everyone. My one single—but substantial—reservation about this book is the heavy involvement of magic. I do not mind magical things in fantasy realms, but this particular story grounds magic firmly in reality, in Europe, in the 1800s. Given that Susanna Clarke is not a Christian author, it creates some gnarly situations. So, is this book for you? I cannot say. You will have to do your own research and choose for yourself.