As a kid growing up in Southern California during the 1960s – what some now call “Golden Age of Trick or Treating” – I always loved Halloween, but I didn’t develop a real obsession with it until I wrote The Halloween Encyclopedia (first published in 2003). Since then, Halloween – once almost exclusively an American celebration – has achieved global popularity, and has created an entire cottage industry in haunted attractions. I remain fascinated by Halloween’s continuous expansion and evolution.
A wonderful, beautiful book, written in Bradbury’s inimitable style. Not only is The Halloween Tree (first published in 1972) entertaining and superbly written, it also provides a crash course in Halloween history. It also served as the basis for a charming 1993 animated television movie. There are editions available from different illustrators, including Gris Grimly and Bradbury's longtime collaborator Joseph Mugnaini, but the gorgeous story will always be what's front and center here.
Make storytime a little spookier with fantasy master Ray Bradbury as he takes readers on a riveting trip though space and time to discover the true origins of Halloween.
Join the shadowy Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud as he takes eight trick-or-treaters on an unforgettable journey to find their missing friend, Pip. Travel through space and time, from the tombs of ancient Egypt to the gargoyles of Notre-Dame Cathedral, all the way to the cemeteries of Mexico on el Día de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Is Pip still alive? And if so, can his friends save him from a…
On the back of my ragged edition of The Fellowship of the Ring is a picture of JRR Tolkien smoking a pipe. Even at a young age, I thought, “That’s what I want!” No, not the pipe. Though it would be cool to have it sans tobacco. I wanted to have my picture on the back of a book that was filled with fantasy characters, adventure, good, evil, magic, and elves. Since that time I have been writing books and chasing after my own characters and epic tales. So I’m thankful for that first inspiration.
What if there was a computer program that reduced every single thing in the world down to a set of numbers? Sounds mathematically boring. But what if by changing one number you could suddenly be six feet tall? Or levitate? Martin Banks has, by spending far too much time on the internet, discovered that program. And made himself rich. Which gets the authorities snooping around and next thing you know he’s fleeing to the middle ages, where several other mathematical types have taken up residence. They know the secret of the program and have made themselves wizards. And Martin becomes a wizard in training to learn these skills. Which is all well and fine, until one wizard starts to turn evil. I am a geek. I admit it. And this send up of geek culture had the perfect geekish vibe for me.
An io9 Can't Miss Science Fiction and Fantasy title in March 2014.
Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little "tweaks" have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
What could possibly go wrong?
An American hacker in King Arthur's court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers,…
Connections In Time Bain's Story
by
S.G. Boudreaux,
Finding Family, Discovery, Destiny. This is what nineteen-year-old Bain Brinley is searching for.
In his homeland, far in the mountains, he stepped into what he could only describe as a time-portal and landed in a strange land known as Egypt. Then he falls through another portal during a storm, only…
I am a former journalist, currently a freelance writer and editor, book blogger, and author. I’ve spent my entire life voraciously reading. I majored in history in college and spent many years covering Congress and politics in Washington, D.C., before turning to writing books.
Edward Eager’s books were my inspiration when I started writing the President and Me series. I picked The Time Garden here because it specifically deals with the concept of time, but most of Eager’s books would fit the bill, including Half Magic. Eager’s books, published in the 1950s and ‘60s, feature kids who have magic adventures, often through time travel but are also grounded in their own present-day reality, with issues they have to cope with in between their escapades.
Book four in the series called "truly magic in a reader's hands" by Jack Gantos, Newbery Medal winner for Dead End in Norvelt.
Time and again, the children from Knight’s Castle have longed for another magic adventure.
But you can’t find magic just anywhere. It doesn’t grow like grass. It requires the right place and the right time . . . Or thyme, as the case may be. At Mrs. Whiton’s house, magic grows as wild as the banks of thyme in the garden. Growing there is olden time, future time, and common time. Or so says the Natterjack, the…
I’m an award-winning and USA Today Best-Selling author whose work includes everything from short stories in school journals to horror and epic fantasy. But I’ve long been obsessed with books that work as well for adults as they do for children. The prose must be beautiful and designed to read aloud; the plot must be on point, and the characters must be compelling. And all of this with a PG rating. A tricky ask, even when the authors haven’t added Easter egg extras for adults. It’s because of this that I believe these are some of the best fantasy books ever written. So, enjoy!
Garth Nix is an amazing author, and this is his most memorable book, as far as I’m concerned. While it’s sold as an adult book, the sharp-eyed reader will note the ties to Susan Cooper's famous The Dark is Rising. I remember it as a fantastic story, but returning to it was like returning to The Greatest American Hero.
So that’s where this book comes in handy. It’s modern, it’s fresh, and it has tight ties to mythology—not unlike Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London. I also greatly respected that Garth Nix acknowledged his muse openly and with little Easter eggs. He even called the main character Susan! I adored this fast-paced, updated adventure of page-turning fun.
A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of fantasy, Garth Nix.
In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive…
Before I was published, I played Dungeons and Dragons for years. I grew up on games involving fantasy, and though my career took me into government, it stayed my passion. I’m well on my way to publishing the last two books in my four-part saga as well as venturing into Kindle Vella, and I can’t wait to see what is next for me in the realm of fantasy. When writing in the genre, it’s easy to fall into the same old tropes and utilize the same creatures. These five books are atypical in this age of overdone plots and monsters. I hope you find your next read among them.
The Dragon and the Double-Edged Sword is a fantasy-adventure novel that incorporates rarely used mythical creatures like harpies, aswangs, buso, and even a lava monster. Set in 2599, The novel takes an unorthodox approach to dystopia by asking, “What if humans went extinct?” The story has time travel and an interesting system of magic. What really impressed me about this story is how it started off with a bang and didn’t let up. Even as it switched between two different timelines, there weren’t any filler scenes where the story dragged. Every character had a clear purpose and something to connect with.
With the human race gone, mythical creatures roam ... In the year 2599, Lysandra, mermaid princess of the sea, loves all things human. It’s why she can’t resist helping a dragon who claims to be one. Sixteenth-century Duke Virginio Ormani II is cursed to walk as a dragon in daylight, and he’s stumbled into the twenty-sixth century. Dragging her elven warrior boyfriend, Cyali, along for the ride, Lysandra and her friends will face conjurers, harpies, and overgrown rats on their journey across the western lands. And that’s the least of their worries. When a cabal of witches plans to bring…
As a genre reader since childhood, I’m all-too-familiar with the tropes of the Chosen One, the Prophecy and all those things that lead the unsuspecting child of humble birth to fulfil their Great Destiny. I’ve no complaint against it, it’s been the source of many rich and inventive stories, but I find myself increasingly drawn to stories where the protagonist is an ordinary Joe (or Jo), sucked into uncommon events beyond their normal lives and forced to find a way to survive. It’s easy to grab attention with the threatened destruction of the galaxy. How much more satisfying, then, to make a reader care about the soul of one character.
Moorcock is, of course, a legend of genre fiction, but even as I acknowledge this, I have to say my own journey with him as a reader has had its ups and downs. This book, though, finally sealed the deal for me because it is just that good.
Provocative and challenging, especially for readers of faith like myself, it succeeds because it’s so well-crafted that there’s no choice but to acknowledge its genius. I found its alternative portrayal of the life of Christ startling, but played as straight as it is, it never comes over as shocking for shock’s sake. Instead, by reframing the familiar as something totally other, it becomes a jumping off point for critical reevaluation and even reaffirmation. The Greatest Story Ever Retold?
In the title story readers are introduced to Karl Glogauer, time traveller and messiah. In "Breakfast in the Ruins", Karl is the central character once again, in the setting of Derry and Toms's roof garden. "Constant Fire", set between the other stories, continues the quest through time.
Connections In Time Bain's Story
by
S.G. Boudreaux,
Finding Family, Discovery, Destiny. This is what nineteen-year-old Bain Brinley is searching for.
In his homeland, far in the mountains, he stepped into what he could only describe as a time-portal and landed in a strange land known as Egypt. Then he falls through another portal during a storm, only…
I've always been a gamer, even now that passion burns bright. My favourite genres being FPS, Horror, Fighting, and adventure games. There's nothing like delving into a new game and feeling the adrenaline that comes with slaying beasts and leveling up, or getting emotional during a cinematic movie-like horror game. I've been gaming since I was a child all the way up until today. Gaming has always had my heart, which has led to me writing books inspired by gaming as well as being a gaming content creator, posting reviews on my website and social media. I love the fast-paced feeling you get whilst gaming and wanted to echo that in my storytelling.
One of the first manga books I ever read and one of the reasons I fell in love with the fantasy genre as a whole which then spread into gaming.
Set in Feudal Japan, a school girl named Kagome one day falls in a well and finds herself in a completely different timezone, where there are demons, priestess, and a particular dog eared half demon named Inuyasha...
It's a rollercoaster ride of emotions and heart, and this one I actually wished had been turned into a game as it would have been so much fun.
Rumiko Takahashi's manga epic in its original format - historical action and romance from one of Japan's most beloved creators.
Kagome is a modern Japanese high school girl. Never the type to believe in myths and legends, her world view dramatically changes when, one day, she's pulled out of her own time and into another! There, in Japan's ancient past, Kagome discovers more than a few of those dusty old legends are true, and that her destiny is linked to one legendary creature in particular - he dog like half-demon called Inuyasha! That same trick of fate also ties them…
WINNER OF The Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella, the Reddit Stabby Award for Best Novella AND The British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novella
SHORTLISTED FOR 2020 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award The Ray Bradbury Prize Kitschies Red Tentacle Award Kitschies Inky Tentacle Brave New Words Award
'A fireworks display from two very talented storytellers' Madeline Miller, author of Circe
Co-written by two award-winning writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It…
Where does that dark passage really lead?
Could that crazy drainage area really be a secret base for small aliens?
Just walking down the streets as a child these were the kinds of thoughts that would swirl through my mind. I would see passages to parallel worlds, or the signs of a hidden world everywhere I looked. They really were all around us, kept out of our perception by some spell or grand camouflage device.
Part of being a writer I really enjoy is creating secret, hidden worlds, alternate realities, exploring the possibilities, and looking at all the dark passageways to see if there is a portal there.
An absent-minded, modern-day scientist is pulled out of time, finding himself in a medieval England of a parallel universe. He is mistaken for a sorcerer and starts using his knowledge to make a name for himself.
I know all of that may sound cliche, the story is anything but.
I was especially drawn to the big bad of the story, who is so powerful that he can hear that narrator and start to argue with him in some great fourth-wall-breaking moments that turn out to be more than just humorous exchanges.
I found this to be a fun series that really plays around with some common fantasy concepts and has fun with it all, not taking itself too seriously.
Magic Is Alive, Science Is Afoot….Trying to discover time travel, absent-minded genius Dr. Marvin Brewster accidentally transports himself to a parallel universe where magic really works … a land that resembles medieval England, but is populated by leprechauns, virgin-hating unicorns, coffee drinking beatnik vampire elves, rapping Rastafarian grunge dwarves, philosophically musing dragons, ambulatory vegetation, bumbling outlaws, gorgeous brigand queens, cursed were-princes and evil wizards. In a world where science is unknown, Brewster’s knowledge results in his being mistaken for a sorcerer … but the real sorcerers have a powerful, exclusive guild, and Brewster’s not a member. As he searches for…
I am an esoteric storyteller. One day a technician was installing our internet. When he found out we were from New Orleans, he told us a story about when he visited there and saw a ghost. To hear him, there was no doubt about his truthfulness, how it scared him and convinced him never to return to that city again. Here was an ordinary guy whose life view was turned upside down by the paranormal. I write about such things—urban fantasies. I include esoteric books as well as accounts of such experiences in my reading. For me, I believe there is much more to this world than meets the eye.
I read this years ago and recently listened to the audiobook to revisit it. It’s a fascinating character study, listening to the voice of Richard Collier, a man dying of a brain tumor, and his journey embracing the concept of time travel. Sometimes, listening to his struggles felt like a Poe story questioning his sanity in the grips of his obsession, and, at other times, it was like getting a crash course in Esoteric Arts as he did.
This is an amazing book that explores the concepts of soul mates, astral traveling, destiny, and the metaphysical construction of time—the list goes on and on. I couldn’t help but fall in love and root for Richard and Elise, though their fate felt as inevitable as a Greek tragedy.
Matheson's classic novel tells the moving, romantic story of a modern man whose love for a woman he has never met draws him back in time to a luxury hotel in San Diego in 1896, where he finds his soul mate in the form of a celebrated actress of the previous century. "Somewhere in Time" won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and the 1979 movie version, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, remains a cult classic whose fans continue to hold yearly conventions to this day.
