The Rainbow Abyss and The Magicians of Night by Barbara Hambly

[samvara]

Eh, we all get an urge to write crack I guess (and sometimes it's an awfully good idea). I love her other fantasy and recommend it wholeheartedly but this didn't quite work for me.

Magical fantasy world cross-over with Nazi Germany.

Comments

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

I have to agree, I like most of her stuff. Love some of it, but this pair of books didn't even make 'meh'.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

Bought em second hand, not unhappy.

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

Her only fantasy books that I have no urge to own. I've never even been able to finish the first one.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

It's not a complete loss, I now know what a spiracle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiracle) is.

[ascetic-hedony.livejournal.com]

Wierd, this duology and 'Stranger at the wedding' kept me coming back to Hambley, despite not enjoying several of her other fantasy novels.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

I think that speaks directly to your love of crack, a love I appreciate deeply as it keeps me roaming your shelves.

[jaydeyn-sitari.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I need a good book icon. :) I have Dark Hand of Magic by Barbara Hambly and have dearly loved that for a long, long time. What other books by her would you recommend?

:)
Jaydeyn

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

Hi there ;-)

If you liked The Dark Hand of Magic it happens to be book three in the Sun Wolf and Starhawk series so you've two others to read, The Ladies of Mandrigyn and The Witches of Wenshar.

The Winterlands series is also good, Dragonsbane, Dragonshadow, The Knight of the Demon Queen and Dragonstar.

Don't ignore the Darwath series either, it's earlier stuff and is guilty of the 'ordinary person sucked into fantastical world' device that so often fails *so* badly but in this case it works - or at least it worked for me.

I read Hambly for her novel take on classic fantasy storylines and her characters. She does heroic yet complex and geeky men and her fantasy is never ordinary.

Bibliography (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/barbara-hambly/)

[jaydeyn-sitari.livejournal.com]

*g* I think I've always known that there are others in that series but it was a book exchange book and I was lazy about finding the others... :)

Thanks for the recs though, I'll see if I can find that book exchange in springwood again. It's one of those tucked away little places that you glimpse only every so often as you're driving past.

*g* I'm a sucker for the ordinary people sucked into fantasy land thing. Like Christopher Stasheff or L. E. Modesett (hmm.. there may actually need to be an 'i' in there somewhere, haven't seen the books for a while)... though I only ever really liked the Soprano Sorceress.

*peeks at the bibliography* What an awesome name is 'Bride of the Rat God'.. I love it! :D

:)
Jaydeyn

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling, I haunt secondhand bookstores and I'm gradually building up a Hambly collection - I lived with a gal who had all her stuff and now have to get my own *sniffle*

Pleasure to rec stuff, it's harder to stop me than get me started when talking books is the topic.

Oooah, you'll love the Darwath stuff then - I see them around a lot in Perth secondhand stores... they might be available in Brissy too.

I've two Modesitt books but haven't been inspired to chase down the rest - I'm slack though and reading less novels right now because I'm on a fanfiction bender.

Bride... she delves into Horror quite successfully.