Review of Out of Avalon by Jennifer Roberson

Out of Avalon edited by Jennifer Roberson is a collection of Arthurian short stories by various authors. One story entitled The Heart of the Hill is set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's version of Avalon and takes place sometime in the middle of The Mists of Avalon during Morgaine's training to be a priestess. This story was the sole reason I purchased this book and I definitely enjoyed reading it. It should be noted that none of the other stories in this collection have anything to do with Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon, which I was aware of before reading this collection. Many of the other stories are retellings of familiar Arthurian tales, though sometimes the focus is on original characters within those tales. Other stories are merely inspired by Arthurian legends and that particular time period.


Of course some stories I enjoyed more than others, but I would rate most of them as three or four stars. Besides The Heart of the Hill, I also particularly enjoyed The Secret Leaves which is about a young girl that becomes Myrddin's(Merlin's) apprentice and lover, and The Mooncalfe which is about a child with strange abilities born of a human mother and an otherworldly father. The only story that I really didn't care for at all was Me and Galahad which was a search for the holy grail story taking place in an American Western setting. I enjoyed this collection overall, but at times it was a bit confusing just because the stories were all written by different authors, and as such there were many details that were inconsistent from story to story. It was mostly things like differences in character's names and differences in how characters were related to each other, but of course there were even plot details that varied from story to story. After the first few stories though, it was easier for me to go with the flow and not worry so much about the details. I'd definitely recommend this collection to fans of Arthurian or medieval fantasy.

Review of The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

The Neverending Story by Michael is an exciting fantasy adventure story about a young boy who comes across a magical book. As he starts to read the book he begins to suspect that there is something very strange about it and the more he reads the more he quite literally gets sucked into the story. This is one of my favorite books of all time and I think I enjoy it only slightly less as an adult than I did as a child. What I love about this book isn't just the story, but the book itself which is a work of art. The book is printed in two colors to help differentiate between what is happening with the main character and what is going on in the book he is reading. There are also beautiful illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I know some editions are in black and white so I would recommend finding a color version to get the full experience. This book is geared towards children/young adults but I think other adults will enjoy it as much as I did especially if they enjoy stories such as Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Review of Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett is about secret order that decides to summon a dragon with magic to terrorize the city of Ankh-Morpork in order to stage their own hero to defeat it and become the next ruler of the city. However their plans go terribly wrong and it's up to the night watch to defeat the dragon and apprehend those responsible for summoning it. I found the book to be rather amusing even if it's not one of my favorites in the Discworld series. I particularly enjoyed the humorous portrayal of secret societies and the larger than life character of Lady Ramkin, noblewoman and dragon expert.

Review of The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett is the first book in the Discworld series. This book details the adventures of Twoflower, the Disc's first tourist, and Rincewind, a failed wizard who acts as his guide, and lots of other humorous characters. This book is extremely funny, both in the events, and in the imagery used. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys British style humor.