Rogue Gadda (Dream of Asarlai #3) – Nicole Murphy
Harper Voyager, 2011
408 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780732291631

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

All three stories in the Dream of Asarlai series from Nicole Murphy shared interesting characters, saucy love stories and an added spice of the intrigue surrounding Asarlai’s story as she tried to take down the gadda, the magical beings inhabiting Murphy’s world. Rogue Gadda, as the last in the series, is fittingly about the most powerful of the magical guardians, the Sabhamir, the protector of all the gadda. Like the others in the series, Rogue Gadda is a light but compelling read: a lovely way to while away an afternoon or two.

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The Spell of Rosette (Quantum Enchantment #1) – Kim Falconer
HarperCollins Voyager, 2009
528 pages
RRP: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780732287719

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

The Spell of Rosette is a great read. A mix of dystopian science fiction and high fantasy, it introduces the interconnected worlds of Gaela and Earth. Near-future Earth is familiar, but technology has failed with the destruction of the environment, causing the breakdown of society. Gaela is an idyllic pseudo-medieval world of magic, travelling bards and swordplay.

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Tymon’s Flight – Mary Victoria (Chronicles of the Tree #1)
Harper Voyager, 2010
576 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780732290986

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Tymon’s Flight is the first in Mary Victoria’s Chronicles of the Tree series, a vaguely steampunk-high fantasy world nestled in the branches of a world-sized Tree. Tymon is the archetypal fantasy hero: an orphan with a rebellious chip on his shoulder, left to be brought up at the Argos seminary by the priests who rigidly stick with their interpretation of religion. While much of the story relies on familiar aspects of the fantasy genre, there are enough twists and turns to pique the reader’s interest.

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Power Unbound – Nicole Murphy
HarperCollins Voyager, 2011
416 pages
RRP: $22.99
ISBN: 9780732291624

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Paranormal romance/urban fantasy fans will be pleased to see that Nicole Murphy’s Dream of Asarlai trilogy continues with Power Unbound. The story continues on from where we left it at the end of Secret Ones, but we have a new protagonist, Maggie’s friend Ione, and we follow her budding relationship with Stephen as the story arc about Asarlai, a renegade Gadda, and her entanglement with the Forbidden Texts continues.

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Power and Majesty – Tansy Rayner Roberts (Creature Court #1)
Harper Collins Voyager, 2010
500 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780732289430

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Power and Majesty hit my to-read pile a while ago, as I’d read some of Roberts’ fantastic short stories and was intrigued to see what her novel-length work was like. Now it has been nominated for both an Aurealis and a Ditmar award, so it shot to the top of my list with a bullet! After reading, I can see why it’s been so popular: Roberts has created a world which is at the same time magical and dangerous, but disturbingly similar to our own.

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The Scent of Shadows – Vicki Pettersson (The Zodiac #1)
Harper Collins Voyager, 2008
454 pages
RRP: AU$ 20.99
ISBN: 978-0-0072-7021-7

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

The Scent of Shadows begins a series with an interesting take on urban fantasy. The heroine, Joanna, is a ‘chosen one’ of sorts, the child of light and shadow and walking the knifes edge between. Her world, already rocky in the wake of an attack when she was sixteen and the subsequent disappearance of her mother, is thrown into further turmoil on her twenty-fifth birthday when she loses even more than she thought possible.

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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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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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