The book is tagged as an enthusiastic blend of the superhero and fantasy genres and our reviewer, Janea, describes the book as “Win. Lots of win.” Check out the full review here.

Thanks to the people at Solaris Books, we have six copies of Greatshadow to give away in preparation for June. The giveaway will end on Tuesday, May 15^th 23:59 EST and is open worldwide. To join the giveaway, all you have to do is fill out the form below and, whether or not you win, please join our book club in June!

As always, anyone who would like to read the book is encouraged to join the discussion and, with the second volume hitting shelves in July, now is a great time to get in on the action.

For anyone who needs any more encouragement, here’s the blurb for Greatshadow:

Greatshadow is the primal dragon of fire, an elemental evil whose malign intelligence spies upon mankind through every candle flame, waiting to devour any careless victim he can claim. The Church of the Book has assembled a team of twelve battle-hardened adventurers to slay the dragon once and for all. But tensions run high between the leaders of the team who view mission as a holy duty and the super-powered mercenaries who add power to their ranks, who view the mission primarily as a chance to claim Greatshadow’s vast treasure trove. If the warrior fails to slay the beast, will they doom mankind to death by fire.

Feel free to sign up to our forums and join this month or future months of our book club. We’d love to see you around!

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Our protagonist is Infidel, a magically overpowered woman working as a mercenary and occasional thief. She has super strength and is impervious to most damage. When her closest friend dies, she decides to take one last big job so she can retire in style. Her best chance is to join a team of heroes heading out to kill the primal dragon of fire, known as Greatshadow. His horde is legendary, and it’ll take everything Infidel and her companions have to get it.

Pure and unabashed sword and sorcery
On the surface, this is a tale about stereotypical heroes straight out of 1980s fantasy pulps. You’ve got a group of inhumanely talented people, some of whom have never really been challenged in their adult lives. I’d expect a book like this to be rather dull and emotionally uninteresting. Where’s the challenge, after all? However, Maxey does a fantastic job with this. First, the book is told from the point of view of Infidel’s dead companion Stagger. He’s a relatively average guy, for a ghost, and is a far more relatable as a narrator than Infidel would have been. Additionally, for all their super powers, this is a group of deeply flawed people. The paladin archetype is a fanatic who can’t see the forest for the trees. The strong man isn’t as dumb as you might think, but his deformities (which cause a speech impediment) limit his ability to interact with the other characters. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. For all their powers, they aren’t gods.

The other thing that saves this book is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Infidel is the type of girl you don’t touch in a bar. She might take exception, rip off the arm that’s groping her, and beat the offender with his own severed limb. There’s a part of me that appreciates the dark humor in that image. On the other hand, this isn’t an innately humorous book. It’s more what would happen if you had a group of people role playing these twelve characters: stupid, crazy stuff. Every once in awhile I’d read something that would make me giggle, and then I’d move on to the rest of the action feeling reinvigorated.

Not terribly predictable
Okay, so it’s a sword and sorcery book. You have a group of heroes, they go out to slay the dragon, some of them die. After all, what would be the fun if they all walked away without a scratch? What made this fun for me were the twists and turns Maxey took to get there. Dead didn’t mean dead, right from chapter one when Stagger dies only to haunt his knife for the rest of the book. I was entertained to see just how some of these characters died and how some of them managed to survive. And with so many characters there for different reasons, whose ultimate goal is going to the one that is fulfilled?

This book also has a secondary plot line (which you could argue may actually be the main plot line), which is the relationship between Infidel and Stagger. They both have a lot of thinking to do on what their relationship was, and what it could have been. This is made more complicated by Stagger struggling to come to grips with the fact that he’s a ghost, and his inability to affect anything in the physical realm. It’s Stagger’s growth as a character that really fleshes this book out, and keeps it from becoming just another sword and sorcery tale of dragons and heroes.

Why you should read this book
Two words: it’s fun. In fact, I think this is the most fun book I’ve read in months. It plays with archetypes, it’s intense with just a bit of silly, and there’s a nice romantic arc. In short: win. Lots of win. Can it be June so I can read the next book now?

Interested in reading Greatshadow? It will be next month’s book club read at The Ranting Dragon! Look for a giveaway of Greatshadow and more information about the book club tomorrow.

The protagonist is Calla Tor, a teenage Guardian (a shapeshifter who turns into a wolf) who has been selected as the leader of her generation. She’s been raised to be a warrior and to follow the instructions of her masters, the Keepers in all things, regarding everything from her friends to her future spouse. Her life has been planned for her from the cradle, but will she fulfill her duty or follow her heart to something else?

An original world
I found Nightshade to be an interesting mix of urban and dystopian fantasy. On one hand, you have a shapeshifter living in modern Colorado. On the other, she’s part of a highly controlling patriarchal society where one’s entire life is planned from birth to death and questions are not tolerated. Cremer pulls off the blend rather well, albeit with a heavy dose of feminism. I think the book could have been stronger with a bit less emphasis on modern feminism and more on personal rights and freedom in general. Cremer is also building a completely original world, not relying on preexisting mythology. I enjoyed being able to look at her work with fresh eyes without mentally comparing it to myths I already knew.

Believable protagonist
Fans of strong, driven female characters may find Calla a bit disappointing. While Calla is certainly a strong protagonist, the entire book is about her coming to terms with what she wants to do with her life. For someone who has been trained to be obedient to her designated leaders, this is no easy task. She has a lot of doubts about the choices she ends up making. Instead of being driven by a deep conviction that the society she lives in is ultimately right or wrong, she makes her choices based on her ability to tolerate the future those choices give her, and she never quite commits to a decision until the very end of the book. Calla is not someone who is comfortable with her choices, but I think that makes her believable. It also makes her relatable, because whether we’re sixteen or eighty, we all have periods of doubts in our life. I can’t imagine many people walking away from that kind of society without deeply struggling with their choice.

Yes, there’s a love triangle
I think it’s unfortunate that in the YA genre, female characters’ choices so often boil down to being between two boys. Ren is the young man Calla’s people chose as her mate when they were both five. Shay is a human boy, new to the area, who fascinates Calla. They serve as metaphors for the choice Calla is facing: stay with the pack and do her duty, or leave and try something new. While I understand Cremer’s decision to present the problem in this way, and I acknowledge that she does it well, I would have been happier if Calla’s decisions about her future focused on herself and her own needs without the added weight of romantic entanglements.

Why you should read this book
Nightshade is a solidly written book and an entertaining read. It’s original and has a lot of relatable characters. This coming-of-age story about finding one’s own voice and empowerment will keep you guessing until the last chapter.

Bacigalupi’s first YA novel takes place in a future that mirrors the world he created in The Windup Girl: countries as we know them today have fallen apart, genetically-manipulated people have become commonplace, and the dividing line between the rich and the poor has become immeasurably vast. Ship Breaker tells the story of Nailer, a teenage boy who works on a crew stripping the remains of ancient oil ships for valuable metal and precious resources, all the while dreaming of a better life. After a vicious tropical storm leaves the wreck of a rich girl’s clipper on the beach, he uses its owner as a means to escape his life of ship breaking, only to be caught up in a conflict between the world’s most powerful people.

A true page-turner
As far as I’m concerned, it’s practically cliché to describe a book as a page-turner. For this reason, I’m hesitant to give any novel such praise. However, I believe Ship Breaker really earns this description. Bacigalupi’s interesting characters, intriguing story, and intricately detailed setting all kept me flipping the pages, even through sections of the novel that I likely would have found tedious if written by a less talented author. I read the entire novel in one day; I was so drawn in that I simply had to continue reading. This isn’t a common thing for me: I’m a slow reader, and it’s rare for me to be so engaged by a story that I devour it all in one day. This,  more than anything else, may be the greatest testament to just how incredible I believe Ship Breaker is.

Pushing the limits of YA
Ship Breaker is a YA novel in terms of length, pacing, and writing style, but the content of the story itself pushes right to the edge of adult literature. Bacigalupi’s previous novel, The Windup Girl, was heavy on adult content, and his tendency to stray toward that type of material shows in Ship Breaker. There is no lack of swearing or graphic violence in Ship Breaker, although it certainly isn’t beyond the realm that teenage readers are capable of handling. Bacigalupi is comfortable with adult content and he excels when writing it; therefore, I can’t help but wonder if Ship Breaker would have been more effective if Bacigalupi had simply written it as an adult novel, giving him the chance to fully embrace this darker content rather than resisting it as the YA category requires.

Seamless execution
It’s difficult for me to break down exactly what works so well in Ship Breaker because everything works well. I honestly can’t praise Bacigalupi’s execution enough. His pacing is practically flawless, his writing vivid and sharp, and his setting extraordinarily believable. While not always utilized to their full potentials, Ship Breaker’s characters are all fascinating in their own ways, and the book’s climatic sequence is both visceral and emotional, capitalizing on everything that was set up beforehand to form a suitably cinematic showdown. Bacigalupi nails every aspect of this book to absolute perfection, and I simply have no other way to describe Ship Breaker.

Why should you read this book?
Simply put, Ship Breaker is a stunning novel that works on every level. Bacigalupi has a keen understanding of how to craft a vivid setting, believable characters, and an engaging plot, and he integrates these elements flawlessly into a tightly structured story. Ship Breaker is a novel that worked for me in every possible way; I have no real complaints with the book. Not only is Ship Breaker one of the best YA novels I have ever read, it’s one of the most enjoyable books I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long, long while.

Dystopia meets post-apocalyptic
If you’ve read any amount of dystopian fiction before, you know that there are two genres it likes to intersect with: dying earth and post-apocalyptic. Article 5 is a bit of the later. After a hugely destructive civil war, the United States has fallen into the hands of a highly conservative militant government. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and democracy itself are gone. Instead, the dictator and the Federal Bureau of Reformation have issued a series of moral articles to which everyone must comply. This has put added stress on a population that’s already been decimated by civil war, relocation, and food shortages. Entire cities have been abandoned under the order of the new government, and the country is rife with lawlessness and unrest.

Our protagonist Ember and her mother are taken into custody for non-compliance with article 5, which outlaws children born out of wedlock. Even though Ember is seventeen years old, and the FBR has only been in control for around three years, they don’t intend to grant Ember and her mother an exemption. The rest of the book follows Ember as she gets a good, hard look inside the system of the FBR and just what this new government means for her and society as a whole.

No fluffy bunnies here
Young adult literature often gets a bad rap for being too much about romance and sparkly vampires. This is not Article 5’s sin. In many ways, this book pushes the envelope. It’s one of the darkest young adult books I’ve ever read. Ember is physically abused, sees people die, and spends most of the book in very real and justified fear for her life. All of this happens directly on the page, and is not just referenced in passing to dilute its impact. By the end of the book, she’s seventeen going on thirty because the seventeen year old she started the book as cannot survive in this world. Her companion through much of the book, Chase, has been abused even more than she has and has a major case of PTSD. In short, this is not a book for those under twelve. This is definitely a book that should come with a disclaimer recommending that you know what you, or your teenager, are capable of dealing with before you pick it up.

Ember is a protagonist who isn’t going to take anything lying down. She’s a real go-getter, and by the end of the book she’s in the position to save others instead of needing others to save her. She doesn’t give up, no matter how many mistakes she makes. It’s her drive that pulls you through the book. I also liked that Ember isn’t the kind of girl to just fall into a boy’s arms. Even though Chase was Ember’s boyfriend before he was drafted into the FBR as a soldier, she isn’t interested in getting back together just yet. She’s got other things to do, like finding out where her mother is and figuring out where and how they’re going to live. At the same time, both Chase and Ember have to deal with how the FBR has changed them both. That’s not to say the romantic tension isn’t there; it is. It’s just being allowed to develop and mature, unlike the the somewhat shallow and unrealistic relationships often featured in young adult books.

Why you should read this book
If you enjoyed The Hunger Games, this will be exactly what you’re looking for. Fast action, tension you could cut with a knife, and a strong critique of certain aspects of our current American culture. However, if you like your dystopia a bit more literary, or perhaps you like your young adult fiction slightly more watered down, this is not going to be for you. Again, if you, or your teenager, are not ready to deal with things like executions and torture, leave this book on the shelf for a while.

A grim, believable future, and a protagonist to match
Germline is set in a decidedly bleak near future where US and Russian troops battle for the Earth’s few remaining mineral deposits. Foremost in the American arsenal are deadly squads of all-female, genetically engineered super-soldiers. These women, known as Genetics, are indoctrinated into a cult-like religion of Faith and Death and exist for the sole purpose of killing as many enemy soldiers as possible before they themselves are killed or are “honorably discharged” (via a bullet to the head) at the age of eighteen. However, the US advantage is short-lived, as the Russians soon begin to engineer Genetics of their own. As the supply of healthy human troops dwindles, women are “encouraged” to stay at home breeding future war fodder while the US military recruits old men and boys.

Enter Oscar Wendell, a sub-par, drug-addicted reporter with a few friends in high places and ambitions for a Pulitzer Prize. When Wendell manages to secure an assignment with US troops on the front lines in Kazakhstan, he believes he has finally scored the story that will make him famous. However, he soon realizes that nothing could have prepared him for the realities of war. Already an addict, Wendell begins to rely increasingly upon narcotics while his former life as a reporter and the civilian world gradually fade from his tormented mind.

Daring and confronting
I say Germline is an ambitious debut because it is in no way the kind of “safe” first novel we sometimes see from new authors. McCarthy refuses to limit his fiction by sticking to familiar or uncontroversial concepts, or those we can view from a comfortable distance. Nor does he feature characters and scenarios calculated for the broadest possible appeal or least likelihood of causing offence. Instead, McCarthy chooses a nihilistic and disturbed protagonist, places the reader inside that character’s broken mind through first person narration and then proceeds to pack his novel with biting social commentary.

So many things could go wrong with this kind of setup that one has to admire McCarthy’s daring, if nothing else. Yet he manages to pull the novel off in spectacular fashion, creating a grueling experience sure to impress the reader.

A harrowing first person perspective
Oscar Wendell’s first person narrative is undoubtedly one of the key factors making Germline such an intense novel. Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson, Wendell is not necessarily a likeable protagonist, and the reader is privy to his every flaw. He is a selfish, self-indulgent, broken wreck of a human being whose emotions jump between extremes with alarming regularity. Furthermore, he is not even particularly competent compared to the novel’s other characters, and his continued survival in a war-zone is just as often due to the efforts of friends in high places, genetics, fellow soldiers, and dumb luck than the result of any actions of his own.

Despite all this, Wendell is somehow the perfect protagonist to carry the reader on an eye-opening journey through McCarthy’s desolate future. In addition, although I am no expert on psychology and addiction, McCarthy’s depiction of this aspect of Wendell’s character seems very true to life. Wendell is, in essence, a deeply flawed and believable human being who—seemingly beyond hope—must learn to take responsibility for himself the hard way. “The hard way” doesn’t get much harder than this.

The prose itself is direct and unadorned in a way that perfectly complements the setting and protagonist. After all, there is little time for poeticism when the world is falling apart around you.

No shortage of social commentary here, sir
Germline gives the reader their first glimpse of a world where basic human rights have been all but stripped away and provides countless hints of more to come. Although we are limited to Oscar Wendell’s personal experience in this world, much more may be read into the novel once one looks below the surface. The horrors that Wendell witnesses cannot be viewed in isolation; they are, after all, the product of the society that allowed them.

For instance, the gender of the Genetics serves a dual purpose. The accepted explanation to the Genetics’ gender holds that the initial male prototypes, unlike their female counterparts, are too prone to uncontrollable, testosterone-fueled violence; but the female models provide yet another benefit. Their presence on the battlefields can be used by those in power to counter any allegations of sexism in excluding women from the front lines. While this idea may make some readers uncomfortable, it is deliberately calculated to be troubling and one would be hard pressed to say that this kind of set-up is in any way acceptable.

And now for the really uncomfortable part…
All in all, although Germline is a work of science fiction, in many ways it is not all that far-fetched or unfamiliar.  The technology depicted throughout the novel is futuristic yet disturbingly plausible. McCarthy merely takes already existing and swiftly developing technologies such as genetic modification and cloning to the next level. As someone who has some familiarity with genetics and related science, there was nothing depicted in the novel that I found particularly implausible.

Likewise, the novel’s premise, despite being unpleasant, is also quite believable and finds its basis in real world issues. Most would agree that humanity is just beginning to realize, somewhat reticently, that natural resources are not infinite. Furthermore, it is not hard to believe that if we continue to rely upon such finite materials too much longer we could well end up with the kind of resource war scenario McCarthy depicts. Some may be so bold as to suggest that, to some extent at least, we already have.

So why should you read this book?
Germline is without doubt one of the most intense and affecting books I have read in long time.  The fact that the details of the novel remain clear in my mind a month after finishing it should be a good indication of the extent to which it engaged me as a reader. Nevertheless, it won’t suit everyone: Germline is not a light read, nor is it an easy one. What it is, however, is a well-executed and relevant novel that will haunt you long after you finish reading. It is gritty, unsettling, confronting, and at times quite harrowing—yet I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The beautiful, steampunk-esque Republic City

A more mature setting
The Legend of Korra is set seventy years after the series finale of The Last Airbender. A lot has changed in those seventy years. There is peace in the world, and Aang’s legacy is most obvious in the marvelous metropolis he founded. Republic City, the main setting of this new show, is a steampunk-esque place where people of all four nations live together in harmony. However, the city isn’t the utopia it seems.

At the center of The Legend of Korra is a deeper conflict that immediately shows the new-found maturity of this sequel. Benders, people who can manipulate one of the four elements, are too powerful, and many of them abuse their powers at the expense of the normal population. Civil war is brewing, and the Equalists—the anti-bender movement—is at the heart of it. This well-executed exploration of deeper themes connects with the now-grown-up fans of Avatar while still staying true to the old concept of witty dialogue, comical characters, and seriously epic magic. The city itself is beautifully visualized, with spectacular Victorian-style skylines and gorgeous buildings.

Avatar Korra
At the time of this sequel, Aang is long gone, and the new Avatar incarnation is Korra of the water tribe, a young stubborn woman still training, and not yet in command of all four elements. She, too, is grown up compared to the characters in The Last Airbender, and so are most other characters, in their adolescence. The story of The Legend of Korra follows her as she stumbles onto the public scene in Republic City, where she lives with one of the only living air benders, a son of Avatar Aang whose political obligations prevent him from taking Korra away from the public eye for her training.

The awesome Pro-Bending arena

Bending for sports
In quick succession, these first two episodes give a solid introduction to all the defining elements of the series, from new characters to the political climate of Republic City, and from an organized bending mafia and the metal-bending police to Korra’s unsuccessful air-bending lessons. The Legend of Korra more than lives up to the legacy of Avatar. What stands out to me most, though,  is Pro-Bending, a professional sports that utilizes the bending magic. Unlike most fictional sports, this one is easily comprehendible and exciting to watch. On top of that, the arena in which the games take place is a true pleasure to look at.

All in all, The Legend of Korra is off to a promising start. The new and mature angle, combined with the steampunk setting, is definitely a hit. The Last Airbender left big shoes to fill, but this sequel may well surpass the original. I, for one, look forward to seeing more, and I can’t wait to find out where the story goes from here. If you loved Avatar: The Last Airbender, don’t forget to watch the season premiere of The Legend of Korra!

The story follows Reuben, a young reporter doing a feature on a large estate that’s about to hit the real estate market just outside of San Francisco. That night, he and the owner are attacked, leaving the owner dead and Reuben infected with “the wolf gift.” The rest of the book is his struggle to come to terms with and control his new reality while searching for answers. What has he become? What does all of this mean?

An old school story
In the back of my mind, I was half expecting Rice to write an urban or paranormal fantasy like the other werewolf tales that are populating our horror sections these days. While The Wolf Gift is certainly contemporary fantasy, it’s following the structure and tropes of earlier Rice works. There’s some ass-kicking of bad guys and a romantic line, but that’s not the main thrust of the book. Instead, Rice focuses much more on Reuben’s relationship with himself. In fact, villains only make brief appearances, and they are really little more than a plot device for Reuben to finally get some answers. The conflict is almost entirely internal rather than external. Don’t read this book expecting something like Laurell K. Hamilton or Patricia Briggs; you’ll be disappointed. Read this book looking for something a bit more literary, a bit more like the horror section used to be before Anita Blake.

A pleasant surprise
I picked up this book with curiosity, but rather low expectations. I haven’t picked up a Rice book in a good ten years because I just wasn’t interested in where she went with The Vampire Chronicles in the last books. And Jesus? Really? But I thought, “Ah, what the heck, I’ll give this a try.” I ended up rather liking the book. Rice is a very good descriptive writer with a great respect for language. On the other hand, she’s a much more subtle writer than most authors being published at the moment. You have to pick up on the subtexts she gives you, or you’ve lost at least half of her characterizations. This means that the first third of the book feels a little slow, because you’re getting tiny pieces of the puzzle and Reuben hasn’t committed to the changes in his life yet. Once he commits, starts making personality changes, and becomes someone who makes things happen rather than someone who has things happen to them, the book takes off. That slow start is not something most authors can pull off well, but if you stick with it you’ll be rewarded.

Why you should read this book
First, don’t read this book if you love everything Anne Rice and have her up on a pedestal. This isn’t her best book, but I’d say it’s better than most. If you’re expecting an earth shattering tale that does for werewolves what Rice did for vampires back in 1976, you’ll leave disappointed. If you like the very blunt style of modern urban and paranormal fantasy, this is not likely one for you. Rice is too subtle here, emphasizing philosophy more than action. However, if you’re looking for something a bit more literary, something with fantastic descriptions, and overall something different, this is a good pick.

That doesn’t mean that all we have are sequels, though. April has a lot to offer for fans of debuts, short story anthologies, series, and stand-alones in whatever speculative fiction subgenre you may prefer.

Without further ado, here are The Ranting Dragon’s top picks for April:

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1.				Tricked by Kevin Hearne
				Tricked is the fourth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles, featuring charming Irish Druid Atticus O’Sullivan and his lovable wolfhound companion, Oberon, among a multitude of other memorable characters. Tricked picks up from the climax of the last book, Hammered, with Atticus on the run from vengeful thunder gods. When he seeks help from the Navajo trickster god, Coyote, he finds himself duped into facing yet another seemingly impossible task. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, after all. Especially when it comes to gods and deities. Overall, this promises to be another excellent installment in a much-loved urban fantasy series. If you haven’t already read Hounded, Hexed, and Hammered, then what are you waiting for? There’s still time to catch up before the April 24 release date.
				Published by Del Rey on April 24.
2.				The Straits of Galahesh by Bradley P. Beaulieu
				The Straits of Galahesh is the sequel to Beaulieu’s acclaimed debut novel The Winds of Khalakovo, and is the second installment in the Lays of Anuskaya trilogy. Like its predecessor, The Straits of Galahesh promises to be a sweeping epic fantasy set in a fascinating world and brimming with intrigue. Five years have passed since the events of the first book, but Anuskaya remains in peril. The wasting disease still runs rampant while powerful forces scheme against both the Landed and the Landless. Bitter enemies will have to join as allies if any are to survive the oncoming storm.
				Published by Night Shade Books on April 3.
3.				Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
				This month, Angry Robot brings us Blackbirds, an unconventional urban fantasy by Chuck Wendig featuring heroine Miriam Black, who unwillingly foresees the death of anyone she meets. When she foresees the death of a man she just met, she is forced to attempt to prevent the inevitable. Louis will die calling her name. He will die because he met her. And if she doesn’t stop him from dying, then she will be next. Early reviews mark it as dark, intense, frenetically-paced, and very, very good. All in all, Blackbirds is definitely worth checking out.
				Published by Angry Robot on April 24.
4.				The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
				The Wind Through the Keyhole sees King return to the world of his largest work and that which many fans may consider his magnum opus, The Dark Tower series. Chronologically, the events in The Wind Through the Keyhole take place between the end of book 4 of the series, Wizard and Glass, and the start of Book 5, Wolves of the Calla. We could say more; however, if you (like some of our reviewers) have already read and enjoyed seven hefty volumes, let’s face it, you are going to read it. Resistance is futile and, most likely, involves a lot less dark and disturbing Mid-World fun.
				Published by Scribner on April 24.
5.				Pandemonium: Stories of the Smoke edited by Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin
				Pornokitsch is one of our favorite genre blogs, and thus we were thrilled to learn that they were branching out with a new award and a series of short story anthologies. The second of these anthologies, Pandemonium: Stories of the Smoke, will be published in April and contains a mix of both new and well-known writers. Pandemonium: Stories of the Smoke brings you London as you’ve never seen it before—science fiction and fantasy in the great tradition of Charles Dickens. Among many others, Stories of the Smoke contains short stories written by Aliette de Bodard, Kaaron Warren, Lavie Tidhar, and our very own Michelle Goldsmith.
				Published by Jurassic London on April 4.

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If you’re anything like we are, five books are not nearly enough. Luckily, there are many more new releases that are definitely worth a look despite not making our Top Five. We also suggest you look out for:

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			Above by Leah Bobet
			Leah Bobet’s magical debut urban fantasy novel Above tells the tale of Matthew, who has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee’s wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above, those like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.
			Published by Arthur A. Levine Books on April 1.
			Alien Diplomacy by Gini Koch
			Alien Diplomacy continues the series that began with Touched by an Alien. Being newlyweds and new parents is challenging enough. But Jeff and Kitty Martini are also giving up their roles as super-being exterminators and Commanders in Centaurion Division while mastering the political landscape as the new heads of Centaurion’s Diplomatic Corps. Enter a shadowy assassination plot and a new set of anti-alien conspirators, and nothing will ever be the same…
			Published by DAW on April 3.
			The Burning Man by Mark Chadbourn
			In the second volume of Mark Chadbourn’s Kingdom of the Serpent, a quest of epic reach spans the globe under the mythologies of five great cultures. After a long journey across the ages, Jack Churchill has returned to the modern world, only to find it in the grip of a terrible, dark force that the population is unaware of.
			Published by Pyr on April 24.
			Champion of Mars by Guy Haley
			In the far future, Mars dies a second time. The Final War between man and the spirits is beginning. When an artifact is discovered deep in the caverns of the red planet, the actions of Holland and his team lead to tragedy, with profound consequences that ripple throughout time, affecting Holland’s present, the distant days of Yoechakanon, and the eras that bridge the aeons between.
			Published by Solaris on April 24.
			Faustus Resurrectus by Thomas Morrissey
			Faustus Resurrectus is Thomas Morrissey’s debut—an action-packed, urban occult thriller about Donovan Graham, part-time bartender, full-time occult scholar, who has just graduated college with a Master’s Degree in Philosophical Hermeneutics and has begun helping the NYPD investigate a particularly gruesome series of murders.
			Published by Night Shade Books on April 3.
			Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
			From Mary Robinette Kowal comes the sequel to her charming and magical Jane Austen-influenced debut novel Shades of Milk and Honey, set in a world where magic is an every day occurrence. Glamour in Glass continues following the lives of beloved main characters Jane and Vincent, with a much deeper vein of drama and intrigue.
			Published by Tor on April 10.
			Lance of Earth and Sky by Erin Hoffman
			Lance of Earth and Sky is the sequel to Erin Hoffman’s sword and sorcery novel Sword of Fire and Sea. Elemental magic is awakening across the planet after centuries of dormancy, bringing with it magically powered wonders including flying ships and ancient automata.
			Published by Pyr on April 24.
			Rage of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
			From New York Times bestselling authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman comes Rage of the Dragon, the action-packed third book in their Dragonships fantasy series.
			Published by Tor on April 24.
			Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson
			As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion mixing and pixie retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ’s boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond. Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.
			Published by Tor on April 10.
			Shadow Blizzard by Alexey Pehov
			Shadow Blizzard is the third book by the international bestselling fantasy author Alexey Pehov. Following Shadow Prowler and Shadow Chaser, Shadow Blizzard is a traditional epic fantasy story that follows Shadow Harold, Siala’s master thief, on his quest for the magic Horn that will restore peace to his world.
			Published by Tor on April 24.
			Summoning by Carol Wolf
			Night Shade Books never fails to bring us the best weird fiction the genre has to offer, and Carol Wolf’s Summoning promises to continue this habit. The World Snake is coming, devourer of Thrace and Atlantis… and the only one standing in its way is Amber, a sixteen-year-old runaway, recently arrived in Los Angeles.
			Published by Night Shade Books on April 3.
			Sword & Blood: The Vampire Musketeers by Sarah Marques
			In a world where vampires have taken every humble chapel, defiled every grand cathedral, subdued most nations, and treated every human as cattle, Dumas’ hero musketeers rise to a greater challenge than they ever met in their original adventures. Athos has spent a decade fighting vampires in the king’s musketeers.
			Published by Prime Books on April 3.
			Vengeance by Ian Irvine
			Ian Irvine is one of the lesser-known masters of fantasy. In his newest novel, Vengeance, a child has sworn revenge after witnessing her mother’s murder. Even though she is a slave, even though she is powerless, even though she is nothing in the eyes of those who live above ground, she will find her mother’s killers and bring them to justice.
			Published by Orbit on April 3.

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Agree with this month’s choices? Disagree? Let us know what you’re anticipating on The Ranting Dragon forums. Whatever your interests, we wish you all a great month of reading!

This list is not meant to be an all-encompassing list of retold tales, but a sampling of the styles available within this genre. We’ve cast our nets far and wide on this one, and we feel certain that there’s something here for everyone. There are books that were published within the past year, and there are a few from the early days of the fantasy genre as we know it today. We do not expect that everyone will like everything. Some of these works are light and entertaining; some are dark and gritty. Some retellings are more traditional, while others are highly literary. What this list is meant to show is the wide variety of works available. For the most part, we’ve chosen to only feature a single title from any series of books, with one exception: you’ll see multiple entries from the Fairy Tale Series only because these are all by different authors and are in different styles. Their connecting thread is the editor, Terri Windling, who was a central figure in the revival of this genre during the 1980s and 1990s. You will also see only one title per author, although several of these authors have multiple works that qualified for this list.

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1.				Happily Ever After edited by John Klima
				If you’ve never read a retold tale, this may be a good place to start. Happily Ever After is a large collection of short stories, and all of the tales within are retellings. This collection features authors such as Gregory Maguire, Charles de Lint, Jim C. Hines, Jane Yolen, Gregory Frost, Neil Gaiman, and many more. Along with being a great collection of modern fantasy authors, it also contains just about every style of retelling out there. From literary fiction to dark realism, traditional to urban fantasies, this compilation has it all. What better jumping off point could there be?
2.				Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
				This is perhaps the most well-known retelling of our time. Wicked follows Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, and tells the story from her viewpoint. This is a very literary piece of fantasy, and Maguire uses Elphaba’s tale to ask questions about differing perspectives, racism, and what it means to be human. There are three more books in Maguire’s The Wicked Years Series, and Wicked has also been made into a Tony Award winning musical. For those who are only familiar with the musical, do be warned that the book is meatier, more complex, and much darker than the show.
3.				Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. S. Lewis
				One of Lewis’s lesser known and more literary offerings, Till We Have Faces was originally published in 1956 and is based on the tale of Cupid and Psyche from The Golden Ass by Apuleis. Rather than focusing on Psyche and her “God of the Mountain,” this book follows Psyche’s older sister Orual. She is left at home to dispense advice that is not always good, and to live a very human life while Psyche becomes increasingly divine. Unlike more well known Lewis works, this tale is fairly dark and reflective. Lewis is also fairly liberal with the interpretation of the original tale, showing how folklore and mythology can change its memory of events even within a single lifetime.
4.				Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
				An unexpected retelling of Sleeping Beauty, this book will haunt you. It’s part of The Fairy Tale Series compiled by editor Terri Windling, and won the Mythopoeic Society Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. While this title finds itself on the young adult shelf nowadays, do not be fooled into thinking it’s an easy read emotionally. The tale follows Rebecca Berlin, who has a feeling there is more to her grandmother’s life story than she’s ever told the family. Becca’s hunt takes her to Poland and the Chelmno extermination camp, where she learns the horrors of the war through which her grandmother lived. This tale is understandably dark, and extrapolates from the Grimm tale by using ideas like the Evil Witch as metaphors for far more complex ideas like Nazism.
5.				Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis McKiernan
				This is a wonderful tale where the peasant girl rescues her prince. Based on an old French tale, Camille triggers a curse and has a year and a day to rescue her love. To do this, she must find him in a land that is “east of the sun, west of the moon.” This adventurous yarn is the first in a five part series, all more or less based on French fairy tales. They are all very solidly in the traditional realm of fantasy, and are highly accessible.
6.				1,001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham, illustrated by James Jean and Charles Vess
				This is a prequel companion volume to the popular Fables graphic novel series, which follows some of our favorite storybook characters as they try to live in hiding in modern America. While it’s fabulously fun to watch Prince Charming squirm when confronted by all three ex-wives (Snow White, Briar Rose, and Cinderella), that alone wouldn’t qualify Fables for this list. 1,001 Nights, however, does. Taking place an indeterminate time before the first volume of Fables, it features Snow White, who finds herself cast as Shaherezade. Inside this larger tale are the nightly tales Snow must tell to save her life. Some of these stories are themselves retellings, while some are original. Each tale is illustrated by a different artist with the in between pieces done by Charles Vess. This graphic novel can be read completely separate from Fables, though it does provide an incredible amount of background information for several characters. Don’t be fooled by the medium; this collection (and its parent series) are for mature audiences!
7.				Beauty by Robin McKinley
				Robin McKinley has written multiple retellings in her career, including two of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty is the first of the two, and has been in print for over thirty years. There isn’t much here that is innovative, per se, but it is a quietly touching tale about how and why people change. More so than many others on this list, Beauty is extremely faithful to the style of story it retells, rather than bringing a modern outlook to it. It is also one of those few books that is equally accessible to both teens and adults.
8.				The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
				Perhaps Bradley’s most enduring work, The Mists of Avalon retells the Arthurian cycle from the point of view of Morgain, Arthur’s older half-sister and the mother of Mordred. Set in a post-Roman, pre-Saxon British Isles, this book is beautifully researched and written. We follow Morgain from her birth as the daughter of the Duke of Cornwall through her training as a pagan priestess at the temple of Avalon in a world that is growing decidedly more Christian. Her life takes several interesting turns while her brother is king, and the book ends with the Battle of Camlann and Arthur’s death. There are several prequel books that were written after Mists was published, but they are not necessary for the full appreciation of this book.
9.				Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
				Marilier’s debut novel, and basis for her Sevenwaters Series, Daughter of the Forest retells the Celtic myth Swans, which was also used by Hans Christian Anderson. Marillier stays close to the original myth, using a historical setting and introducing a romantic line. Sorcha, the youngest of seven children, must save her older brothers from an enchantment laid on them by their evil stepmother, all without speaking a word.
10.				Deathless by Catherynne Valente
				Based on a Russian folk-tale Koschei the Deathless, Deathless is set during the Russian revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century. Marya Morevna is the youngest of four sisters, and is chosen by Koschei, the Tsar of Life, to be his mortal bride. When your sister-in-law is none other than Baba Yaga, you know your life isn’t going to be easy. Marya must fight to maintain her husband’s affection while securing a position of respect within her marriage. Valente is known for fabulous descriptions, but the tone here is dark and sometimes ambiguous, with a fair amount of feminism thrown in. If you’re familiar with Valente’s YA work, know that this book is for mature audiences and has little in common with her other work.
11.				The Child Thief by Brom
				This is Peter Pan like you’ve never imagined him before. This dark novel takes a look at the war between Peter and the Captain and the lost boys who serve as soldiers in that war. Forget any ideas about the boy who won’t grow up; this is a story about those who find themselves in bad situations with no good choices to be made. The majority of the story takes place in a fleshed-out Neverland that is an interesting blend of Celtic and English mythology, making it quite different from the child’s paradise found in most incarnations of Peter Pan. The book also jumps between the present story and Peter’s origin story.
				Check out our review of The Child Thief here!
12.				Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint
				This is part of Windling’s Fairy Tales Series, and it is actually an omnibus edition of Jack the Giant-Killer and its sequel Drink Down the Moon. In de Lint’s version of the tale, the Jack of too many tales to count is a woman called Jacky from modern Ontario. She is swept up by the Wild Hunt and taken to the land of Faerie, which is just out of sight of her modern city streets. Drawn into the war between the Faerie Courts, Jacky must use all her ingenuity to help defeat the giants and save both Faerie and her own city. These are also two of the earliest examples of urban fantasy, first published in 1987.
13.				The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
				The first book in a trilogy of the same name, The Looking Glass Wars takes Alice in Wonderland to new heights. Fleeing from a palace coup in Wonderland, Alyss confides in the aspiring author Lewis Carol only to see her life story turned into a piece of children’s fiction. Instead of being an innocent child from our world, Alyss is the rightful Queen of Hearts, who has been ousted and is willing to fight a bloody war to reclaim her throne. If you’re looking for a loving tribute to the original work, keep looking. This young adult trilogy goes in a completely different, and new, direction.
14.				The Once and Future King by T. H. White
				This is the second oldest book on our list, and also one of the most famous. Originally published in 1958, this work has become a touchstone of the fantasy genre as a whole and casts a huge shadow over any author working with the Arthurian myths. In fact, Disney’s Sword in the Stone is based off the first quarter of this book. At the time this was written, it was meant to be a highly accessible version of the Arthurian cycle with modern references and a relatively informal voice. However, sixty years later, some of the modernism is a bit dated. On the other hand, the book is masterfully written and a worthy classic.
15.				Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
				Lackey has worked a lot with retold tales, but this is one of my personal favorites of hers. It’s the fourth book in the Elemental Masters series, but it does not require a reading of the previous three novels in order to enjoy it. In this retelling of Cinderella set in England during WWI, we follow Eleanor as she struggles to escape her abusive family and help the handsome but mentally traumatized pilot Reggie. Lackey has also written several other retellings, including the rest of the Elemental Masters series and Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms.
16.				Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead
				This is a very historic reinterpretation of Robin Hood. Set in the tumultuous time right after the Norman conquest of England, Lawhead follows Bran ap Brychan of Wales as he transforms from the son of a noble to a landless outlaw. Bran initially is not a very likeable character, though he does grow into his role as a hero. There’s also a fair amount of history to keep up with at this time: Great Britain is split between a number of warring factions living in highly localized areas with their own laws and culture. There are two sequels to Hood, rounding out a complete trilogy.
17.				Beastly by Alex Flinn
				Another retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but this time it’s from the Beast’s point of view. Once upon a time, Kyle had everything any teenage boy could want, until he blows off the wrong girl. The main thrust of the book is how Kyle comes to terms with being a beast instead of a handsome boy, and how that in turn must change how he sees everyone else. Luck comes his way when a drug dealer gives Kyle his daughter, and Kyle’s last chance to return to a human identity. This is a teen romance novel, and the basis of a movie by the same name.
18.				Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
				A Russian flavored retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Card follows a modern day Russian man who was raised in the United States as he returns to Russia just before his marriage. Following his memories of a sleeping girl in a forest, he gives her the fatal kiss and thus the story starts. Ivan and Katerina must get to know each other while madly dashing through time and space, fighting the evil witch who first enchanted Katerina. This is another title which is typically rated for mature audiences.
19.				Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
				The last installment we’ll feature from the Fairy Tale Series, Tam Lin is based on the tale of the same name. Set on a 1970s liberal arts college campus, we follow Janet through her college years and her dealings with a certain Professor of Classics. The story is deeply loyal to the original tale, making updates mostly to time, place, and personalities. This is a special treat for those who enjoy literature and classics.
20.				The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
				Last but not least, why not explore what happens after the fairy tale is over? What is a princess to do? Become an enchantress? How about an assassin? What if she needs to rescue her prince? Hines takes three Grimm princesses (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella), and takes them on a new adventure and fleshes out their origin stories in new and interesting ways. While Hines is known for comic fantasy, some of the themes running through his Princess series are very dark and sometimes controversial. Overall, however, The Stepsister Scheme and its sequels are fun romps.

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Did you enjoy our Introduction to Retold Tales list? Was it helpful? Do you agree with our choices or disagree? What would you add to the list? Discuss it with us on the forums!