Chester
A lifelong Seattleite, Chester labored in the seafood industry until he got tired of the smell and the bears, and now grudgingly works as a bookseller in order to support his out-of-control poutine obsession. In his free time, Chester marinates his brain in science fiction and fantasy stories. He has also been known to drink whiskey and squeal during horror movies.
Reviews & Recommendations
Though it's set in the same universe as Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles, you'll not find desperate rescues, cunning plots, or off-the-cuff heroism here. What you will find is a musing, introspective look into the day-to-day life of Auri, that strange girl who lives in the Underthing of the University. This gorgeously-written novella is Patrick Rothfuss at his most lyrical.
It's not a standard fantasy setting, and they're not standard heroes. With the first book of the Gentleman Bastards series, Lynch gives us an excellent and colorful heist thriller, chalk-full of intrigue, deception, and double-crosses. Or are they triple-crosses? I lost count. A little bit Artful Dodger, a little bit Ocean's Eleven.
My absolute favorite by Murakami. One of his more fantastical works—which, for a fantasy reader like myself, made it a perfect fit! The parallel narratives of the Hard-Boiled Wonderland on the one hand and The End of the World on the other keep the story fresh and moving, and just slightly uncomfortable in that very Murakami way.
Mind-controlling alien slugs versus pre-teens who can turn into animals sounds like the plot of a hokey '90s sci-fi -- and that's exactly what it is! -- but the wonderfully deep and nuanced development of the main characters elevates this series to the status of an epic. I am beyond thrilled to see the Animorphs series making its debut in the graphic novel form.
