I thought I’d take a look at all the Science Fiction and fantasy books on the New York Times Best seller list for this week. I’m a big fan of giving books for Christmas presents. It’s ridiculously easy to find someone a great book as a Christmas present.

Here is the list:

Ranking at #6, Just After Sunset, by Stephen King. This is a compilation of short stories blending fantasy and psychological realism.

Sitting in at #8, The Host, by Stephenie Meyer. According to the publisher: “Aliens have taken

control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but one woman won’t
surrender.” Go here for more info. This is a great book by the way. I’m going to do a review on it soon.

#10 is Dean Koontz’s Your Heart Belongs to Me. A man is

stalked by a woman who resembles the donor of the heart he received in a
transplant operation. For more info, check out the book on Amazon .

#21 is Jim Butcher’s Princep’s Fury. This is book 5 in his Codex Alera series. If you like action packed fantasy set in an alternative Roman world where magic works, you should check out this series. Butcher has come a long way with this series and I eagerly look forward to each new release. His Harry Dresden noir/detective fantasy books also a fantastic read.

And finally at #26 we have Orson Scott Card’s Ender in Exile. I haven’t read this one, but Card’s Ender’s Game is one of the pinnacles of Science Fiction. If you are a fan of the ender series (and what true science fiction bluff isn’t?), you should read Ender’s Game.

Well, there you go; all the fantasy and science fiction books on the current New York Times Bestseller list. It’s great to see that Science Fiction and Fantasy books are making a strong presence on the list! Now, back to Christmas shopping…

Everyone loves assassins. What’s more cool then kick ass killers killing people for money? The assassin theme has been done several times in the fantasy genre, the notable ones being Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice, Mathew Stoover’s Caine books, and Lian Hearn’s Japanese flavored fantasy, Tales of the Otori.

Week’s effort is something new though. It’s assassins with a whole lot action and a whole lot of magic. If you like your fantasy with powerful characters, you’ll love this book. Those looking for Hobb’s glass jaw heroes or the cynical realism of Martin’s cast of characters may find themselves somewhat disappointed, but Weeks delivers a unique world and very addictive story.

The plot revolves around Azoth, a young orphan boy who grows up in a ghetto that makes Brooklyn look like Beverly Hills. Part of a gang of street children, Azoth longs for a better life, a life free from the daily abuse he endures at the hands of the older boys. After an encounter with Durzo Blint, the world’s greatest wetboy — a sort of super assassin with serious magical powers, Azoth stalks Blint in an attempt to become his apprentice. By passing a gruesome entrance exam that involves a vicious murder, Azoth lands his apprentice with Blint.

The Way of the Shadow is a very dark. Murder, sex, and mayhem are the commodities of the world. Those wanting a light-hearted fantasy best seek other shores. While the novel is generally pretty serious, Weeks populates his world with over-the-top characters. Both heroes and villains are powerful – almost too powerful.

The villains are the standard type found in a fantasy world (remorselessly evil), but the heroes are what makes this novel interesting. Weeks creates an fascinating anti-hero in the character of Durzo Blint: ostensibly a relentless assassin, Blint is in fact crippled with guilt; he’s a man who’s killed so much that humans have become nothing but flesh. Yet, at one time Blint was in fact the best of heroes, the greatest of men…and these memories torture his soul.

It’s quite interesting to see how Weeks blurs the lines between hero and villain. At its heart, The Way of the Shadows is about people forced to do things they despise. It’s a novel about killing…and redemption.

Despite the strengths of the novel, there are some weaknesses. Weeks fall prey to Dues Ex Machina – something all too common in the fantasy genre. However, the strong action, interesting characters, and addictive plot make this forgivable. It’s a fantastic book that I highly recommend.
Those looking for one of the best releases this year, check out this book.

The days when village boys and dark lords chase each other endlessly across a landscape may be at an end. There’s a new type of fantasy that’s taking the fantasy world by storm.

The Fantasy genre has historically been a very static one. We have the classics like E.R. Eddison’s The Worm Ouroboros, arguably the prime contender for the work that laid the foundations of the fantasy archetypes, and Tolkien, who pretty much single handedly laid out the foundations of modern fantasy.

We’ve seen a variety of subgenres birthed the past few decades: urban fantasy, Celtic fantasy, romantic fantasy, gothic fantasy, etc. But by and large, the most popular fantasy has always been the fantasy that followed Tolkien’s example (epic fantasy). Yes, in some of the more obscure subgenres of fantasy, we’ve seen some interesting things being done. Writers like China Miéville (The Scar) and Neil Gaiman (American Gods) have been cloaking some fascinating ideas in the robes of fantasy, but the main vein of fantasy – epic fantasy – has remain unchanged for nearly fifty years.

However, the past several years, I’ve seen a new type of fantasy coming to the fore of the genre . This new Fantasy has been gaining swift momentum. This new style of Fantasy takes the old staples of Fantasy and remakes them into something more sophisticated. Strong, witty writing, dry humor, twisted plotting, and full of contrasting elements, this new style makes for some intelligent reading. In this new world of noir Fantasy, shades of grey are the new black and white. Gone are the hopefully optimistic village boys wielding magic swords on a quest to defeat the impossible; in their place, a gritty fantasy has arisen; a stark genre where the very conventions of what it means to be a hero are challenged: worlds are made of gray not black and white; heroes may be both a villain and savior; love is powerful, but ultimately ephemeral; heroes die and villains live.

Many fantasy readers are becoming more astute in their fantasy choices. Gone are the days where Terry Brooks and David Eddings topped the fantasy lists. The quality level demanded of a good Fantasy novel is now much higher. No longer satisfied with the dark lords versus farm boy conceit, readers are demanding fantasy novels that don’t follow the normal fantasy vein; they want something completely new.

There are several authors pioneering this new wave of fantasy: George Martin, Joe Abercrombie, R. Scott Bakker, Patrick Rothfuss, and Scott Lynch to name a few.

Have we seen the end of farm boys and dark lords? Who knows, but right now, I’m enjoying the dramatic increase in the quality of fantasy writing today.