samvara

Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones is the sequel to The Dark Lord of Derkholm and was just as silly and fun to read. Young, magical creatures full of hope, youthful spirits and mysterious histories come to the University to study magic. I really liked the students deciding to cast EVERY protection spell they can find and the resulting beehive.

Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones I did not finish, I sort of trailed off 3/4 of the way through then lost interest. I need at least once character whereupon I can care if they live or die.

Sex and the Single Vampire by Katie MacAlister is a tragedy, she must have read the Malkavian Carpathian novels and been inspired to write something worse.. Remember the Malkavian Carpathian novels? You don't? Good! you've been saved from a terrible fate. Cheesy romantic fantasy about people a lot like vampires but not, who have mystically fated soul mates who invariably are human women who don't like them very much.

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck. I have no-one to blame but myself, I know how depressing Steinbeck is and yet I choose to read his stuff. The story of a boy on a poor farmstead who is given a pony to raise and train. It's atmospheric, vivid and awful in an "I write good about heartbreaking stuff' kind of way.

Sabazel by Lillian Stewart Carl demonstrates yet again why people should not write amazonian fantasy, it's so hard to build a world that the bullshit detector doesn't immediately reject.

Lifehouse by Spider Robinson will date terribly but is still readable. It's focused on fannishness and science fiction and retains the dreadful puns that seem to be a trademark of Robinson's books. Fun.