Other Media Review: Log Horizon

    I don't have a Down the Stacks review prepared this week, so instead I'm starting a "substitution" series where I'll review anything that isn't books but I feel like stating my opinion about.  This "Other Media Review" will be about an anime series I recently watched: Log Horizon.

Down the Stacks #11: Warbreaker

This week on Down the Stacks, I’m turning my attention to one of the my all-time favorite contemporary authors, Brandon Sanderson.  He is a master story-weaver with a particular gift for crafting fascinating and complex worlds with unique cultures and very realistic problems.  Sanderson is also the best creator of new and unusual systems of magic; half the fun of reading his novels is learning the rules that govern each world’s magic systems.  The other half of the fun is watching the characters resolve major conflicts that may only tangentially relate to magic.

There are a lot of Brandon Sanderson book series to choose from, but for this review I’ll be looking at one of the stand-alone novels: Warbreaker.

Down the Stacks #10: Celtika

This week on Down the Stacks, we’re diving into the first entry in a take on the legends of Merlin and King Arthur that reaches far beyond the shores of Britain and into the realms of other gods, myths, and heroes.  Author Robert Holdstock has a clear love of the old stories from before the spread of Christianity throughout Europe: the times of paganism, tribal and clan honor, and bloody cycles of revenge.  Through this wild world wanders the sort of Merlin we rarely consider - not a sagacious mentor but a man of passion who has yet to gain wisdom.  Come with me as we explore the untamed lands of Celtika.