Adventure

I left so many out!  Arrrgh – will fix.  I forgot The Wizard of Oz series.  While I love the movie, they are not at all like the books, yes, books plural.  Baum wrote many Oz novels.  The books are wonderful.  Start with the first published in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

P.W. Catanese – The Books of Umber:  Happenstance Found, Dragon Games, The End of Time    

This fantasy adventure series is rather unique. The writing is excellent, the characters are all endearing, and the story is quite entertaining.  Lord Umber is a character I would never tire of reading about and the innocent Hap and his view of the world . . . This is one series that doesn’t lag in the middle or peter out at the end.

Philip Caveney – Sebastian Darke:  Prince of Fools, Prince of Pirates, Prince of Exporers

 Sebastian wants to be a court jester but that just doesn’t seem to be his destiny.  Through a series of misadventures, he meets a whiny buffalope and a pint-sized but quite effective fighter dude/soldier.  The threesome set out on adventures.  Plenty of witty banter here and great fun.

Elizabeth Haydon – The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme:                                           The Floating Island,  The Thief Queen’s Daughter, The Dragon’s Lair 

Ven Polypheme comes from a famous dwarf family of shipwrights.  Through a series of odd circumstances he travels from one adventure to the next, gathering friends, and experiencing life in this rich fantasy world.

C.S. Lewis – The Chronicles of Narnia

Best read in the order published and that means The Magician’s Nephew is before The Last Battle.  Or at least read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first, then The Magician’s Nephew second before Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Last Battle.  I am not a fan of The Horse and His Boy.

Kai Meyer – The Wave Walkers:  Pirate Curse, Pirate Emperor, Pirate Wars   

Sigh – a new subgenre: pirate fantasy.  This series is really good and rather unique.  Good vs. Evil on the Caribbean sea!

 

Bridget Zinn – Poison

Kyra is a potions master who also has a bit of a witch’s Seer abilities.  She has mastered the art of potions or poisons and can be a deadly assassin.  Earlier in her youth, she became best friends with the princess and heir to the throne, Ariana.  The story opens with Kyra on the run after she failed to assassinate Ariana. Kyra had a vision of the kingdom withering and dying at the hands of Ariana so killing the princess was the only way to stop the future destruction.  Kyra sets out with a seeker pig that can sniff out Ariana so Kyra can try once more to kill her.  Along the way, her path crosses with Fred who seems to be having a walkabout.  This was great fun and made for a delicious little romp!  The sniffer piglet is absolutely delightful and nosed her way into Kyra’s heart.  Fred is the perfect carefree soul who contrasts nicely with the deadly serious Kyra.  Then there is the spunky princess Ariana who is the ultimate good natured friend and sidekick.