The Magic of Recluse is the opening story in The Saga of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. The series is unusual in several ways. First of all, the series is not written chronologically. The book first actually occurs towards the end of the series. As the series progresses, characters in the stories will be in later books referred to as heros and legendary figures.

The books also feature an in-depth system of magic in the series. Instead of wizards just casting a spell, they must have the ability to control the natural forces of order or chaos inherent in all matter.

The author recommends reading the series in the order written, not chronologically. The second book in the series is The Towers of Sunset.

Enjoy.

The other night my son asked me a very profound question. "What would you do if you found out you only had two days left to live?" I told him that I'd spend it with my family. No parties, no wild adventures, no spending sprees, just time with my wife and kids. That got me thinking. What would I read if I could only read two books in my life. My first pick is the Bible. My second is The Hobbit.

Why The Hobbit you may ask? Well, the story of Bilbo, Gandalf and the thirteen dwarfs is a classic for all ages. Written by J. R. R. Tolkien, the story was originally intended to amuse his three sons. The library has several different versions of the story: Book on CD, Book on Cassette, DVD, graphic novel, large print, Spanish translation, and Korean translation.

So, if you could only read two books, what would they be?

What do a fire in Manhattan, P.T. Barnum, Irish gangsters, and an Aztec deity have in common? Nothing unless your reading A Scattering of Jades by Alexander C. Irvine. In his first novel, Irvine combines historical facts with elements of fantasy to make this a great book.

Some twelve year olds might be prodigies. Artemis Fowl, however, is a criminal mastermind. While plotting to restore his family's wealth after his father's disappearance this young Irishman discovers an entire world below Ireland, full of fairies, elves, and all manner of creatures of legend. But gone are the days when magic is their only weapon. These mythical folk are armed with high-tech gadgetry and they bring it all out in defense of their gold.

All the audiobooks are read by Nathaniel Parker who does excellent Irish accents and voices for all the characters. The stories also start and end with a techno-rock theme that, while some may find cheesy, I quite liked and I thought it definitely fit the tone of the story. I liked the audio versions so much that I listened to the entire series which is currently five books long with a sixth (Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox) scheduled to come out July 15th. It is also worth noting that the audio versions are the original Irish editions and not changed or edited for America. There are very few changes, but if you'd like the original versions, audio's the way to go.

Having grown up reading a lot of fantasy books, I used to be of the opinion that the world didn’t need any more retellings of the King Arthur legend. Didn’t the ones already out there cover all the bases? But I’ve been forced to revise my opinion after reading The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein. This retelling is told from the perspective of Medraut (called Mordred in most other versions) and is more a character study than the usual quest. So if you’re looking for a fantasy book that’s a little different, check this one out—and then read the companion books: A Coalition of Lions, The Sunbird, The Lion Hunter, and (coming soon) The Empty Kingdom.

In Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey tells the story of Lessa. She is the sole survivor of the noble family ruling Ruatha Hold, located on the northern continent of Pern. Lessa eventually becomes a dragon rider and attempts to save Pern from an impending Thread reappearance, which would destroy the existing civilization. If you enjoy this story, you can find other Pern stories. You can also listen to Dragonflight on CD.

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) follows the story of Lyra Belacqua, the secrets surrounding her birth and future, and travel between the worlds.

With the recent film and a revival of the controversy that has always surrounded the Golden Compass series, these books are once more in the public eye. I've been told that even people who like them find the books difficult, but I throughly enjoyed listening to them on audio. This is possibly because they're performed by a full cast complete with sound effects and narration from Philip Pullman himself, making the whole experience more like an old fashioned radio drama than your average audio book. I highly recommend the entire series.

Join us for an afternoon of strategy and fun gameplay - this Sunday, March 30 from 1:00-4:00 PM @ the Downtown Library (in the MP room)! The library owns copies of the award-winning Settlers of Catan, Carcassone, Condotierre and Chrononauts, but attendees are welcome and encouraged to bring along their favorite Euro-style board game (no Monopoly or Sorry here!). Bring friends, learn to play a new game, or teach someone to play your fave - Teens in grades 6 & up and adults are welcome! These may be no-tech games, but there are definately not no-fun. Alex Horvath, owner of the store Get Your Game On (on Packard @ State) will be there to play games and offer a coupon to his store for attendees. Snack and drinks will be served - see you there!

What happens when you take L. Frank Baum's classic The Wizard of Oz and turn it inside out? You get Gregory Maguire's book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Follow the story of Elphaba as she grows-up and eventually becomes know as the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. The book was made into a musical. We have the CD and sheet music. Enjoy!

In Terry Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith we meet Tiffany Aching, a young girl learning to be a witch and helped along the way by the formidable Granny Weatherwax, the Discworld’s most renowned witch and an entire colony of tiny little blue men….

Stephen Briggs, does a hilarious rendition of the tiny Scots men known as the Wee Free men in the audio versions of the Tiffany Aching series, the story of a young girl learning to be a witch. Briggs also does an amazing Tiffany as well as all the other voices. Briggs has been in many Discworld plays and reads many of the other audiobooks in the Discworld series.

Black Ships* is debut novelist Jo Graham's captivating retelling of Virgil's The Aeneid from the perspective of Gull, a slave girl taken at the sacking of Troy.

At 17, Gull was chosen by the oracle Pythia as her successor for her prophetic visions, but she must decide if she would give up her exalted position and sail with exiled Trojan Prince Aeneas on the black ships, in order to guide him to his destiny.

Graham ably re-creates a vivid picture of the ancient world in this historically based fantasy. Her spare style complements the action-filled plot, and the “smoldering emotional resonance” fully engages the reader.

For historical fantasy fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana Paxson.

* = Starred Reviews

L.A., gangs, turf war. Sound familiar? Well, Toby Barlow's debut Sharp Teeth* is anything but!

Written in free verse, this "highly addictive, enormously enjoyable, and unexpectedly moving", horror/thriller is about the fantastical world of werewolves. Caught in the middle of savage pack rivalry is Anthony, a kindhearted, down-and-out dogcatcher and the girl he loves who is in fact, a female werewolf.

This adrenaline-packed, fast-paced, darkly comic (card-playing dogs, crystal meth labs, surfing) debut by a Michigan author will surprise and entertain. Barlow is the Executive Creative Director of the giant ad agency JWT, whose clients include Ford, Shell and MTV. He lives in downtown Detroit.

* = Starred reviews

I have loved the story of Ella Enchanted before it even won the Newberry Honor and I was vastly disappointed in the movie. But being a fan of audiobooks I had hope that this would be a good listen since, as an unabridged version, at least nothing would be changed. Unfortunately, this was probably the first audiobook where the voice of the reader bothered me. Nothing against Eden Riegel, who did an excellent job as young Miriam in the Prince of Egypt, but she made her voice sound too juvenile. Ella is supposed to age over the course of the book and an apparent romance between the prince and what sounded like an eight year old made me slightly uncomfortable. I would have been all right with her starting out sounding young and then sounding older over time, but her voice did not really change. I was able to get through the recording by imagining that it was a child reading me the story and not the character herself.

There was also music in places, which I didn't mind but I know it can annoy some people. I at least felt the music was generally roughly medieval sounding and thus appropriate to the story. Still, if you've not already read the book, then you might not have a set idea of what the character would sound like and not be bothered by the voice.

and the start of a new one. Bloodring is the opening book in the Thorn St. Croix series by Faith Hunter. The world didn't end as expected during the apocalypse. Now the world has been thrown into a new ice age and seraphs battle demons. Our heroine, Thorn St. Croix is a neomage. She escaped the Enclaves and lives among normal humans, hiding her powers. When Thorn's ex-husband goes missing, she's accused of kidnapping him. Thorn must rely on her powers to find him, without being discovered to avoid punishment and possible death.

Tired of the bleak Feb. days? Looking for something light and engaging? You might want to try Gods Behaving Badly by first time novelist Marie Phillips.

The immortals of Mount Olympus have fallen, and not just on hard times. Apollo, Aphrodite, Artemis, Eros and Zeus are slumming in modern day London, working menial jobs as a dogwalker, a phone sex operator, a TV psychic; and falling for their cleaning woman, all the while worrying about their waning power and each other with their endless squabbling.

"Phillips imagines a hilarious world that explains all that is inexplicable in our own". "Fanciful, humorous and charming, this satire is as sweet as nectar" ~ Publishers Weekly.

Phillips is a graduate of Cambridge University currently working at the BBC and writes for the blog StrugglingAuthor.blogspot.com.