Fantasy Recommendations

I’ve always admired those booktubers/bloggers that had a ton of books to recommend every month regardless of genre. Romance? No problem. Fantasy? No biggie. Non-fiction? Bring it on. Not only were they voracious readers, but they are also willing to try out enough books from various genres to have a shortlisted pool of books that they could deem as love-its or hate-its.

Now I know for sure I’m not as well read as them, but I’m gonna work on it (hurry up, reading speed!). In the meantime, I’m presenting to you my list of fantasy recommendations because god knows this is one of my most read genres (apart from crime and sci-fi). Let the rambling begin.

The Odyssey by Homer

Goodreads, Book Depository

Probably one of the first, if not the first, fantasy books I have ever read. My chancing upon The Odyssey was quite… peculiar. I remember stumbling upon a brightly illustrated book that was shaped and decorated like a box. You guessed it, it was Pandora’s Box. And like Pandora, I was curious and dived into the world of greek mythology with child-like wonder and probably reverence (’em greek gods seemed so… godly to a child who didn’t knew any better). That book lead me to discover the rest of the greek mythology books by that author (the trademark was box shaped books) and eventually, Homer’s Odyssey.

All these might not sound very “peculiar” to you, but the thing is that I’d never found that book again after I returned it to the library. Nor the other books in the series. Fast forward 10 odd years later and even with the aid of goodreads, I still couldn’t find it. Strange isn’t it?

The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Goodreads, Book Depository

The father of modern fantasy. The magic and genius of Tolkien was that he was able to extract elements and characters that commonly existed in folklore and legends, each with an already preconceived idea of who and what they are, and gave them new and distinct personalities and characteristics that morphed into our modern definition of folklore. Plus the invention of a totally new language. The man’s a legend I tell ya. Must read for all those who haven’t.

Book review: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden, #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian, Young Adult (YA)
Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2012)
ISBN 9780373210510
464 pages
Goodreads: click here
Book Depository: click here

Ah, vampires. The seductive, damned creature of the night whose tales has been spun into many (too many, perhaps) possible worlds and paperbacks. Given the repetitive regurgitating that is the vampire genre these days, I was initially skeptical about Kagawa’s The Immortal Rules. However, the summary on the back cover (and the mysterious aesthetics of the book, comeon) seemed like it had a lot going for it. So, why not?

The Immortal Rules takes place in a world where a fatal disease has wiped out most of humanity, leaving its remaining human inhabitants to scavenge for food and territory. An easy way out would be to become a Registered, hence subjugating oneself to monthly bloodletting for the Vampire Lord in return for some food ration coupons, or risk encountering a Rabid and possible death while on the hunt for food. Being the tough heroine that she is, our protagonist chooses to be an Unregistered, and lives each day scraping for food, until one fateful day when she and her friends are attacked by a group of Rabids. In the face of eminent death, Allie chooses eternal life as a monster, and ‘lives’ the rest of the novel battling her humanity and uncovering ways to save the dystopian world from itself.