Dead Witch Walking – Kim Harrison
Harper Collins, 2007
432 pages
RRP: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780007236091

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Dead Witch Walking is the first in Kim Harrison’s prolific The Hollows series about Rachel Morgan, a witch (and bounty hunter) who lives in an alternate Cincinnati where vampires, ghosts and other interesting paranormal types roam. Rachel’s job is to apprehend paranormal criminals for Inderland Security; we first meet her as she is stalking a tax-evading leprechaun.

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Gladiatrix – Rhonda Roberts
HarperCollins, 2009
592 pages
RRPS: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780732288556

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

The first novel in the Timestalker series by Rhonda Roberts, Gladiatrix, is an intriguing and fast-paced novel that stands alone very well. It tells the story of Kannon, an Australian girl who has recently lost her foster mother, fighting to find out the truth about her birth. Kannon then discovers evidence to prove she is the daughter of the US Time Warden, Victoria Dupree, jut as Victoria goes missing on a mission to Ancient Rome. After uncovering a plot to kill Victoria, Kannon decides to follow her.

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The Accidental Sorcerer – K. E. Mills
Harper Voyager, 2008
442 pages
RRP: AU$24.99
ISBN: 978-0-7322-8604-0

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

The Accidental Sorcerer is the entertaining story of Gerald Dunwoody, a dangerously accident-prone Third Grade wizard. After losing his job as a public servant after a bit of an explosion, he manages to land a job as Royal Court Wizard in New Ottosland, Ottosland’s isolated colony in the middle of a faraway desert.

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The Two Pearls of Wisdom – Alison Goodman
HarperCollins, 2008
448 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 9780732288006

Reviewed by Kate Smith

Two Pearls of Wisdom was an interesting novel to read but one that had this reader in two minds when considering several aspects of the tale. The story is a very interesting premise and one that to begin with draws the reader in. The first part of the tale, the description of the life of a young girl pretending to be a boy and trying to complete a taxing training regime, is well told. While it may initially feel as though the story is familiar – young girl pretending to be a boy and risking huge penalties if she is discovered – the reader should stay with it and allow the tale to develop. The middle part of the story was not as captivating as the beginning, however, but the ending was good and the reader is well-prepared for the next novel in the series. As a standalone novel the ending was too abrupt and I was frustrated at not being able to continue the story.

Black Powder War (Temeraire #3) – Naomi Novik
HarperCollins Voyager, 2007
RRP: AU$24.99
ISBN: 978 0 00 721916 2

Review by Cat Sparks

The fact that I am not overly fond of dragons and have not read the two Temeraire novels that precede this one (His Majesty’s Dragon and Throne of Jade) did not hamper my enjoyment of this book, although it is probably best to start at the beginning and read them in sequence if you’re interested.

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Flight of the Night Hawks (Darkwar #1) – Raymond E Feist
HarperCollins Voyager, 2005
420 pages
RRP: AU$45 (hbk), AU$32.95 (tpbk), AU$21.95 (pbk)
ISBN: 0-00-713374-x

Reviewed by Sarah Parker

Originally, I was drawn into this novel by the two characters in the opening chapter. It’s been a while since I visited the Kelewan/Midkemia books. I still think Magician is one of the best fantasy novels ever written, a quintessential read which has all the best elements of fantasy put together in a way that kept me entranced for all 800 plus pages. Flight of the Night Hawks, however is not Magician. I found that this novel told me more about my own expectations and experiences than it did about engaging me into a story.

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Empress of Mijak (Godspeaker vol. 1) – Karen Miller
HarperCollins Voyager, 2007
565 pages
RRP: AU$20.99
ISBN: 978-0-7322-8451-1

Reviewed by Cat Sparks

Empress of Mijak is the story of a girl: a nameless she-brat, purchased by traders in the Savage North, favoured as a rich man might favour a pet, told she is beautiful and precious, yet imprisoned as a slave. Hekat, as she names herself, takes the words “beautiful” and “precious” to heart and sees how she might make something of herself in the brutal city of Et-Raklion. When she learns of the fate traders Abajai and Yagji have in mind for her, she mutilates her own face and cuts herself an alternate destiny, one in which she catches both the god’s and the warlord Raklion’s eye.

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