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New Judith Tarr and Irene Radford eBooks!
My life has been so crazed the past two months, I am woefully behind on mentioning great new releases at Book View Cafe. So I thought I would mention them grouped according to what your tastes in fantasy and science fiction reading might be. This post is about two fine historical fantasists, Judith Tarr and Irene Radford. With these series, you will get great characterization and multiple points of history, intersected with and woven with magic. You'll also see characters dealing with the mental maps of the world that the religions they have grown up with have given them -- living those maps, questioning those maps, changing those maps as their understanding of the world and of Spirit evolves.
For starters -- I have read all of Judith Tarr's The Hound and the Falcon series, and I adored them. I went nuts trying to find the second book, having taken the first one on a trip as part of my carry-on travel bag of mostly books. I loved that first glimpse into Judith Tarr's worlds, and her work has never, ever disappointed me. So I unreservedly recommend them to you. If you like the blurb, you'll probably love the book, and the series.
Book View Cafe has released the first book, The Isle of Glass, as an ebook. As is our custom, you can read a sample of the novel here. I fear to go look - I'll be sucked in and get nothing else done today!
Yes, we will be releasing the other two in the series!
For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Tarr, she is not a talented amateur; she has a PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale, has published over three dozen novels, and won the Crawford Award for this series. She's been nominated for the World Fantasy Award. And she raises and trains Lipizzan horses, so you are in good hands there, too. ISBN: 978-1-61138-167-2, DRM-Free as always, only $4.99.
Highly recommended. Here's the blurb:
Alfred of St. Ruan’s has lived his life in the seclusion of the monastery. But a badly wounded knight on a mission from the Elvenking, a beautiful and mysterious stranger who walks as both woman and beast, and a warrior king call him out of the cloister’s walls into the wars and storms of the world. For he is neither mortal nor human, though he has long tried to live as both; and he can deny neither his nature nor his powerful magic.
Now, we come to Merlin's Descendants, a series by Irene Radford I missed the first time around, but I'll be sure to read them all this time! I would like to mention that I read Guardian of the Vision first (it is not the first book in the series) and I had no trouble centering myself in the book. (That's a link to my Goodreads review, if you want my take on the series from just one book.) So I am confident that you could start this series with Guardian of the Freedom, new in ebook this week. If you want to return to the beginning? Here's a link to Guardian of the Balance for you.
Our story in this volume of Merlin's descendants:
1763: all of Europe is at war with each other and the Turks are storming toward Vienna. The magical protection of Britain requires that Georgina Kirkwood, a potential Merlin, leave the secret Pendragon Society and disguise herself as man to fight for England.
Wounded and no longer able to carry a sword, Georgina is recruited by the King as a spy in the American Colonies. Transplanted to a land and people vibrant with life and ideas, she begins to question her loyalties. Only her love for Major Roderick Wythe gives her the grounding and stability to work with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams and many other notable leaders to discover what being the Merlin truly means and to determine who she is protecting from whom.
A museum-trained historian, Irene Radford's interests and reading range from ancient history, to spiritual meditations, to space stations, and a whole lot in between. She writes under many names in many sub-genres of fantasy and SF, and even in mystery. ISBN: 978-1-61138-171-9, DRM-Free, and only $4.99. Read a sample here. If you like complex fantasy, definitely try this series.
Bonus for reading this far -- these links will take you to the Beta version of the new Book View Cafe store! It is fully operational -- we're running around busily smashing bugs with great abandon. You can now buy multiple books in one cart! Go take a look, enjoy, let us know if something gives you any trouble!
For starters -- I have read all of Judith Tarr's The Hound and the Falcon series, and I adored them. I went nuts trying to find the second book, having taken the first one on a trip as part of my carry-on travel bag of mostly books. I loved that first glimpse into Judith Tarr's worlds, and her work has never, ever disappointed me. So I unreservedly recommend them to you. If you like the blurb, you'll probably love the book, and the series.
Book View Cafe has released the first book, The Isle of Glass, as an ebook. As is our custom, you can read a sample of the novel here. I fear to go look - I'll be sucked in and get nothing else done today!
Yes, we will be releasing the other two in the series!
For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Tarr, she is not a talented amateur; she has a PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale, has published over three dozen novels, and won the Crawford Award for this series. She's been nominated for the World Fantasy Award. And she raises and trains Lipizzan horses, so you are in good hands there, too. ISBN: 978-1-61138-167-2, DRM-Free as always, only $4.99.
Highly recommended. Here's the blurb:
Alfred of St. Ruan’s has lived his life in the seclusion of the monastery. But a badly wounded knight on a mission from the Elvenking, a beautiful and mysterious stranger who walks as both woman and beast, and a warrior king call him out of the cloister’s walls into the wars and storms of the world. For he is neither mortal nor human, though he has long tried to live as both; and he can deny neither his nature nor his powerful magic.
Now, we come to Merlin's Descendants, a series by Irene Radford I missed the first time around, but I'll be sure to read them all this time! I would like to mention that I read Guardian of the Vision first (it is not the first book in the series) and I had no trouble centering myself in the book. (That's a link to my Goodreads review, if you want my take on the series from just one book.) So I am confident that you could start this series with Guardian of the Freedom, new in ebook this week. If you want to return to the beginning? Here's a link to Guardian of the Balance for you.
Our story in this volume of Merlin's descendants:
1763: all of Europe is at war with each other and the Turks are storming toward Vienna. The magical protection of Britain requires that Georgina Kirkwood, a potential Merlin, leave the secret Pendragon Society and disguise herself as man to fight for England.
Wounded and no longer able to carry a sword, Georgina is recruited by the King as a spy in the American Colonies. Transplanted to a land and people vibrant with life and ideas, she begins to question her loyalties. Only her love for Major Roderick Wythe gives her the grounding and stability to work with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams and many other notable leaders to discover what being the Merlin truly means and to determine who she is protecting from whom.
A museum-trained historian, Irene Radford's interests and reading range from ancient history, to spiritual meditations, to space stations, and a whole lot in between. She writes under many names in many sub-genres of fantasy and SF, and even in mystery. ISBN: 978-1-61138-171-9, DRM-Free, and only $4.99. Read a sample here. If you like complex fantasy, definitely try this series.
Bonus for reading this far -- these links will take you to the Beta version of the new Book View Cafe store! It is fully operational -- we're running around busily smashing bugs with great abandon. You can now buy multiple books in one cart! Go take a look, enjoy, let us know if something gives you any trouble!