Now that I've finished with my test, I have a chance to catch up on all the library books I recently checked out. I just finished this one today:


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Today, we take a look at the end of the world. More specifically, it's the final war of Norse mythology, Ragnarok. One fascinating thing about the myths of Ragnarok is that the descriptions are so specific, and the gods know all about them, but they're simply resigned to carrying out their roles. No point in messing with fate, I suppose.


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countblastula had a meme up about which authors he'd read the most books by, and that seems like a pretty cool activity. I'm actually not sure who my top author would be, though. L. Frank Baum would definitely rank pretty highly, and I've read most of his fantasy, but surprisingly little of his other works (no Mary Louise or Boy Fortune Hunters, for instance ( Read more... )

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Well, I've now finished all of the Xanth books, and I guess I should review the last four, even though I'm not sure anyone will be interested.

Pet Peeve - This one was actually pretty good. The title character is a parrot-like bird who specializes in insults, and he's pretty amusing. Also in starring roles are a well-behaved goblin and a ( Read more... )

Today, in my weekly mythology post, I'm going to take a look at a symbol of rebirth. You're free to join me if you'd like, but I guess you don't have to. Anyway, the phoenix quite possibly originated in Egypt, but was often associated with India, because of its similarity to the bird-god Garuda. After 500 years of life, the bird would burn ( Read more... )

The topic of sex in Oz can be a controversial one, although I doubt there was any such controversy when the books were actually being written. I mean, come on, they're children's books from the early twentieth century! The argument comes in over whether writing more adult Oz stories is...appropriate, I suppose. There's also the question as to ( Read more... )

Hey, my third post today! Can you tell I'm bored? :P This is something I'd been wanting to do anyway, though, and here's an excuse!

Okay, I might as well go ahead and do another Xanth review, since I've read five of the books in the series since last time I did this. These are the twenty-fourth through twenty-eighth volumes about that vaguely Floridian magic land.

The Dastard - I found the villain in this one pretty interesting. He trades his soul to a demon for the power to ( Read more... )

I'm not sure anyone has been reading my ongoing reviews of Piers Anthony's Xanth series, but I'm going to keep writing them anyway, if only for my own benefit. Here are my thoughts on the twentieth through twenty-third volumes:

Yon Ill Wind - The demon who is the source of all magic in Xanth is challenged by his fellows to take mortal form. It's ( Read more... )