Book Review: The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Now that the busiest period at work is over, it’s time for me to pick up my posts where I left off. First up is a long overdue review of a book that I originally read for Keishon’s TBR Challenge for March. Title: The Firebrand Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley Genre: Historical Fiction/ Fantasy Publisher: ...
Book Review: Kill Me Twice, Thrill Me to Death
It’s time for me to catch up on my backlog of book reviews, so I’ve grouped these romantic suspense books into this bundled review. Now, I’ve long admired the way The Book Smugglers structured their review post, and since one of the Top 10 Things I’ve resolved to do this year ...
TBR Jan Book Review: Dear John
If I were asked to name one great male romantic fiction author 2 years ago, I would have said “None comes to my mind.” However, having read A Walk to Remember and watched the movie (on YouTube, no less!), and recently followed that up with the heart-achingly sweet war romance (well, ...
Great Western Romances: Diablo, The Scotsman and Never Love a Lawman
It’s the New Year, and time for me to catch up on that backlog of book reviews, over the next couple of weeks (I hope!). One post that has been sitting in my draft folder for the longest time, is that follow-up to the Great Western Drive spearheaded by Kristie, ...
Book Review: Lords of the Underworld series (Books 1 to 4)
Well, I did promise that the next post would be about Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series, didn’t I? And since I’ve been slacking off on posts -- the understatement of the year, if ever there was an award for it – it’s more than time I make up ...There is no doubt in my mind that Neil Gaiman is a true blue romantic at heart. Just read his fantasy work Stardust, which was adapted into a movie starring Claire Danes, Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, and which I simply had to watch, and you’ll surely agree with me.
Let’s talk about the book first, since I like it slightly more than the movie, which I watched just before reading the book. The story revolves round a young man Tristan Thorn, who set off on a quest to fetch a fallen star to win the hand of the town beauty. His quest took him into the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall from which his tiny village took its name where he encountered strange things, magical creatures, witches and other wondrous things that belong in Faerie. Along the way, Tristan uncovered the truth of his parentage, found his heart’s desire and learnt the meaning of true love.
I took to Mr Gaiman’s imaginative story-telling right away. This is the Brother Grimms for grown-ups, and living up to the tradition of the fantasy genre, the realistic yet poetically tragic ending was more palatable to me than the pat happily-ever-after curtain closure the movie attempted to conjure. I mean, the heroine is immortal, but the hero isn’t. Some of Gaiman’s wry humour wasn’t moved to the big screen.
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