Dragons & Jetpacks is a science fiction and fantasy bookgroup, based on Goodreads. The group is open to all, all that is required is a Goodreads account. We read two books a month, one fantasy and one sci-fi – the second week of each month is when members make suggestions, and the third is used for voting. We’re always happy to meet fellow fans of the genres, so you’re more than welcome to join the group!
Somewhere within our crowded sky, a crew of wormhole builders hops from planet to planet, on their way to the job of a lifetime. To the galaxy at large, humanity is a minor species, and one patched-up construction vessel is a mere speck on the starchart. This is an everyday sort of ship, just trying to get from here to there.
But all voyages leave their mark, and even the most ordinary of people have stories worth telling. A young Martian woman, hoping the vastness of space will put some distance between herself and the life she‘s left behind. An alien pilot, navigating life without her own kind. A pacifist captain, awaiting the return of a loved one at war.
Like everyone else, precocious high school senior Quentin Coldwater assumes that magic isn’t real, until he finds himself admitted to a very secretive and exclusive college of magic in upstate New York. There he indulges in joys of college-friendship, love, sex, and booze- and receives a rigorous education in modern sorcery. But magic doesn’t bring the happiness and adventure Quentin thought it would. After graduation, he and his friends stumble upon a secret that sets them on a remarkable journey that may just fulfill Quentin’s yearning. But their journey turns out to be darker and more dangerous than they’d imagined.
Fantasy Friday is my own feature, posted every other Friday. It’s pretty self-explanatory: I do a feature on something to do with the genre. Sometimes it will be a book recommendation, sometimes showcasing a book or series I’ve loved and other times it might be a discussion post. You’re more than welcome to join in with this feature, let me know if you make your own Fantasy Friday post!
Today I want to mix things up a bit, and set a quiz for my readers!
I’ve come up with a bunch of questions from various fantasy books – you’ll find the answer for each one under the spoiler link, as well as the title of the book it’s about (if that’s not already the answer 😉 )! Let me know how you did in the comments. If you’re unsure about some of the answers, or unfamiliar with a series, it may be worth looking at previous Fantasy Fridays. All these books have been featured in the past…
1. Who is Adarlan’s Assassin?
[spoiler]Celaena Sardothien. (from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, books include Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight)[/spoiler]
2. Which form of magic does the Abhorsen/Old Kingdom series centre around?
[spoiler]Necromancy. (the books in the series include Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen by Garth Nix. Apparently there will be a fourth book, entitled Clariel!)[/spoiler]
3. What are the four colours of the Istari?
[spoiler]Blue, Brown, Grey and White. Saruman also becomes the ‘Many Coloured’. (from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)[/spoiler]
4. What physical feature gives away a Graceling?
[spoiler]Different coloured eyes. (from the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore, books include Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue)[/spoiler]
5. Tywin Lannister is related to Joffrey Baratheon in what way?
[spoiler]Tywin is Joffrey’s grandfather. (from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin)[/spoiler]
No, of course I didn’t just want an excuse to use this GIF again…
6. What is the magic system in The Kingkiller Chronicles known as?
[spoiler]Sympathy. (books in the series include The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss)[/spoiler]
7. Death makes an appearance in many books of which well-renowned fantasy book series?
[spoiler]The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. AND DEATH TALKS LIKE THIS. WHICH MEANS I ALWAYS IMAGINE HIM AS SPEAKING VERY LOUDLY, NOT QUITE SHOUTING, LIKE HE’S A LITTLE BIT DEAF. WHICH IS FOR SOME REASON VERY FUNNY.[/spoiler]
8. Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy series, which opens with Shadow and Bone, features a world based on which country?
[spoiler]Russia. (from The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo, books include Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm)[/spoiler]
9. Who finished writing The Wheel of Time series, after the death of Robert Jordan?
[spoiler]Brandon Sanderson. (The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.)[/spoiler]
10. How old would Harry Potter be today?
[spoiler]He was born on 31st July 1980, meaning that he would be 33 as of 11th April 2014. (from The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)[/spoiler]
I’VE BEEN HERE!!
11. What is the name of the female elf featured in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, but does NOT feature in the original book – and who plays her?
[spoiler]Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly. (film [mostly!] based on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)[/spoiler]
12. In the book The Magicians, where is the gate that leads Quentin to Brakebills?
[spoiler]New York. (from The Magicians by Lev Grossman.)[/spoiler]
13. What is steel used for in allomancy?
[spoiler]Pushing. An Allomancer who can burn steel can use it to push off of things, or push it towards enemies. A Mistborn, who can also burn iron (which pulls), can combine the two to push and pull themselves around areas, allowing them to cover long distances in a short period of time. (from the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, books include The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages and The Alloy of Law.)[/spoiler]
14. Who wrote The Broken Empire series?
[spoiler]Mark Lawrence. (books include Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns and Emperor of Thorns)[/spoiler]
15. Percy Jackson is the son of which Olympian god?
[spoiler]Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. (from the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan.)[/spoiler]
How did you do? I’m excited to see the results! If you didn’t do well, I hope this dwarvicise GIF will placate you.
Fantasy Friday is my own feature, posted every other Friday. It’s pretty self-explanatory: I do a feature on something to do with the genre. Sometimes it will be a book recommendation, sometimes showcasing a book or series I’ve loved and other times it might be a discussion post. You’re more than welcome to join in with this feature, let me know if you make your own Fantasy Friday post!
Today I want to talk about: gateway fantasy books.
I know that fantasy can sometimes receive a bit of a bad reputation – some people seem to think it’s either a really difficult genre to read, or really geeky, or they just have no idea where to start. So I want to share with you today a three stage process for people new to the fantasy genre. I’ve split them into three ‘stages’, with the idea that you tackle them in order, to build up confidence reading the genre. It was really hard to split these books into stages, and I hope my explanations of why and how I split them make sense and don’t offend anyone!
Stage One: for younger readers AND/OR fantasy set at least partly in our world
These books come under ‘Stage One’, as they are either aimed at younger readers so the fantasy world is not as complicated as say, The Lord of the Rings, or they are set either partly or entirely in our world. I think these are pretty good books to start with, particularly the ones set in our world: Sabriel by Garth Nix, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and The Magicians by Lev Grossman (this one is definitely an adult book!). This way you won’t be immediately thrown in at the deep end, and at least some elements of the story will be familiar. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett and Song Quest by Katherine Roberts are set in fantasy worlds, but are aimed at younger readers so you know you won’t need to worry about keeping up with a huge cast of characters, assortment of strange languages and entirely new and vast geography that you might find in books for older readers.
Stage Two: aimed at Young Adult audiences and older AND/OR set in a ‘less detailed’ fantasy world
I say ‘less detailed’ because I do not mean in ANY way that the author has only half-heartedly created their world, or that these books are seen as ‘lesser’ fantasy. I just mean that the scale of the world-building is as not big as some of the books in the next stage. ‘Stage Two’ includes these sorts of books, as well as Young Adult Fantasy, which often falls into the category anyway. Throne of Glass (my review) by Sarah J. Maas, Graceling (my review) by Kristin Cashore, The Wind Singer by William Nicholson, Finnikin of the Rock (my review) by Melina Marchetta and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo come under Young Adult fantasy fiction, and all are fantastic examples of the genre. Mort by Terry Pratchett, like the rest of the Discworld books, is primarily aimed at adults but Pratchett’s brilliant sense of humour makes it a lighter read.
Stage Three: ‘heavier’ fantasy
Feeling ready for ‘Stage Three’? By ‘heavier’, I mean that these books have more detailed world building than those in Stage Two – perhaps the author has created an entire history, a new language etc. If you’re prepared to take a dip into the world of heavier fantasy, then I’d recommended starting with The Magicians’ Guild by Trudi Canavan. And if you’re not too scared of reading some Tolkien, then give The Hobbit (or even The Lord of the Rings) a shot! So many people are unsure about reading his work, but I was recently interviewed by Pages Unbound for Tolkien Reading Week, where I shared my love for Middle-earth – hopefully that will convince some people! As you feel more confident with reading fantasy books, I would highly recommend the following: The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett, The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson and The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
Are you going to give any of these books a try? Have you read any of them already, or are there any others you’d recommend for new fantasy readers?
I am currently taking part in the 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, and as of yet have not written any progress posts, so I’m taking the chance to make one now! My goal was to read 15 books over the year, from a list of 30. You can view my original post here, which includes the list.
So how have I done so far?
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green – my first John Green book (The Fault in Our Stars is waiting for me…) and such a sweet read.
Tristan and Iseult by Rosemary Sutcliff – I just finished this one. A bit disappointing really. This was meant to be the ‘romantic’ version, rather than Tristan and Iseult falling in love because of a love potion, but it really didn’t feel it.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Beautiful and so, so moving.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner – Fantastic dystopian YA story, and I also recently read the second book in the series, The Scorch Trials.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – This one caught me by surprise, it was original and interesting, and rather different from what I was expecting!
The Magicians by Lev Grossman – Definitely accurate in the ‘Harry Potter for adults’ description, with some C.S. Lewis thrown in for good measure.
My ‘Weekly Roundup’ is where I share the books I have received in the past week, whether bought, gifted, borrowed etc.
Bought
The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett – I’ve spoken about this book a lot – you can read my review here. Waterstones were doing a special edition paperback for £2.99, so now I finally have my own copy!
11.22.63 by Stephen King – this one from the charity shop, practically brand new and only £1. It’s all about time travel and trying to prevent the assassination of JFK – which occurred on the eponymous date.
Library
The Magicians by Lev Grossman – described as ‘Harry Potter for grown ups’. Yes. Yes, and yes!
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – I have actually never really read the blurb for this one… I just kept seeing it everywhere and it has a pretty cool cover. That is quite honestly the only reason I ordered it.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner – I added this to my TBR list when looking through the Dystopian genre on Goodreads. It claims that if you loved The Hunger Games, you’ll love this – but I think they say that for every YA Dystopian novel these days. We shall see!
Ready Player One by Robert Cline – this one sounds so cool – like a mix of Tron and Blade Runner!
I am continuing this challenge throughout 2014, as I hope to have read all 30 books by the end of the year.
I have decided to join the 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, which runs from 1st January – 31st December 2013. You can read the rules and join the challenge here. There is also a handy Goodreads group for the challenge, which will track your challenge books for you, as long as you shelf them correctly.
I have almost 300 books on my TBR list, and some have been sitting there for years. One of the rules of this challenge is no books published after 2013, and no ARCs – which rules out a lot of my review books. This means I can read the books I want to, and have been meaning to read for some time – which means they’ll most likely be ones that I already own. I have set a goal of 15 books (considering that I also have to read review copies), any from this list:
1.The Odyssey by Homer
2.Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (read 2014)
3.Endymion by Dan Simmons
4.The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (read 2014)
5.Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
6.The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
7.An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
8.Redhead by Ian Cook
9.Tristan and Iseult by Rosemary Sutcliff
10.The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez
11.The Ice Storm by Rick Moody
12.The Twelve by Justin Cronin
13.A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
14.The Maze Runner by James Dashner
15.The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
16.The Magicians by Lev Grossman
17.Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
18.The Sun in my Eyes: Two-Wheeling East by Josie Dew
19.The Weeping Empress by Sadie S. Forsyth
20.A Walk in the Wood: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trial by Bill Bryson
21.Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
22.Dear Fatty by Dawn French
23.Gone by Michael Grant
24.Virals by Kathy Reichs
25.Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
26.The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (read 2014)
27.Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (read 2014)
Rinn Reads 