good fantasy, bad fantasy {mini reviews}

This time around, my mini review theme is fantasy--and, coincidentally, both authors are very familiar with horses, which shines through in their books! Unfortunately, though the first book was very, very good, the second was, well, let's just say not-so-great.

Inherited Danger (World of Godsland #2)
by Brian Rathbone

I am in love with this series!

Inherited Danger picks up almost exactly where the first book, The Call of the Herald, left off. Although the story itself is just as amazing, the writing isn't quite as smooth.

Catrin's powers begin to make more sense, but there's still some mystery surrounding them--is Istra really a god or simply a name given to an inexplicable phenomenon?

The well-developed side characters add a lot of color. Barnabas is odd yet very likeable, and it's hard to tell which side--if any--Prios is on! Nat's story, sporadically included, makes very little sense, though hopefully this will be fleshed out in the next book, as his visions can be prophetic.

My complaint? I don't have the third book (or the fifth, sixth, eighth, or ninth . . . ).

Check out my review of book one!

The Stonegate Sword
by Harry James Fox

At first glance, The Stonegate Sword is a typical medieval fantasy novel. But the setting? North America in the future. Despite beautiful, well-written descriptions of the unique setting and the author's obvious knowledge of horses, this book had quiet a few flaws.

One of the two POV characters is included only intermittently, and even at the last page his part in the story was unclear. Donald of Fisher, on the other hand, is a pacifist lore-man who becomes a man of war. Besides my dislike for this (poorly executed) transition, I found Don to be a rather bland character.

Oh, and there is no plot. After about halfway through, the book became a political, violent, boring, medieval military novel and I couldn't wait to be done with it.

I reviewed this book for OnlineBookClub. Click here to view the full review.

*******

Have you read any amazing fantasy novels recently? Please share! I'm always happy to find good fantasy books (though my TBR would rather I didn't . . . )!