Recommendations

Occasionally I make a visit to one of the local bookstores with the intent of actually buying something (not as frequent as I would like, but hopefully this year changes that :) ). My habit is head for the Tolkien books first, see if anything is avaliable aside from the books I already have. So far I've got three full collections of the trilogy, two of which are boxed sets and one comes with a companion book. The third set are single books are are so worn from repeated readings. I also have a single volume of the trilogy which I refuse to even crack open since it's a 50th edition and I don't want to ruin its beauty. Along with those I have The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Children of Hurin and The Lost Road and Other Writings. I don't often see anything other than the trilogy, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion but you never really can tell. After that I scour through the rest of the Fantasy section to see if there's anything of interest, and if I find nothing there a quick browse through the store. It stops if I find a book or two I like.

About a year ago I was going through the store, found nothing and so was on my way out when I stopped by one of the sales tables. It was mostly hardcovers, all sorts of genres but what caught my eye was a book titled Sebastian by Anne Bishop. It was a name I've never heard of before, but the reviews touted her as new talent so I just put it to that. Wasn't a purchase I regretted at all, so if you see this book in your book store or decide to do some shopping on Amazon and love fantasy, pick up this book. Sebastian is wonderfully fresh and imaginative, a very unique world. And Bishop's writing style is beautifully descriptive without being overbearing. It's very easy to get absorbed into and connect to the characters. By the end I couldn't wait for the release of the next book, though I don't know why I didn't think of searching her out to see when that was - especially considering the techie that I am. Well it's out now, and as soon as I'm able I plan to grab it - the title is Belladonna, for anyone who's curious. Aside from Sebastian, Belladonna was my favourite character so I'm really stoked that the sequel focuses more on her. If anyone's already read it, tell me what you thought!