Author Archives: Barbara Howe

Weaveworld

Posted on 18 May 2019 by Barbara Howe

Have you heard of the Fugue? You may have caught glimpses in other stories of that alternate magical world overlapping our own. It is a fecund land filled with wonders and peopled by almost human creatures known as the Seerkind. … Continue reading →

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The 13 Clocks

Posted on 4 May 2019 by Barbara Howe

I have tales to make a hangman weep, and tales to bring a tear of sorrow to a monster’s eye. I have tales that would disturb a dragon’s sleep, and even make the Todal sigh. I don’t remember exactly when … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Fiction | Leave a comment

Moonheart

Posted on 21 April 2019 by Barbara Howe

Of all the settings in all the thousands of books I’ve read, Tamson House in Ottawa, Canada is among the ones I’d most like to visit. That world-straddling residence is a significant presence in the urban fantasy Moonheart by Charles … Continue reading →

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Fallen Into the Pit

Posted on 6 April 2019 by Barbara Howe

Before there was Brother Cadfael, there was Inspector Felse. Ellis Peters is well known for her series of historical mysteries featuring the Welsh monk, Brother Cadfael. She began writing those in the late 1970s, but she honed her skills on … Continue reading →

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The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Posted on 24 March 2019 by Barbara Howe

Most of the books I review on this blog are ones that I can endorse, ranging from lightweight, pleasant entertainment to hefty tomes worth the effort for the emotional or intellectual impact. That has been a deliberate choice; I’d rather … Continue reading →

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This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin

Posted on 8 March 2019 by Barbara Howe

What is This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin about if it isn’t about Charles Darwin? The creative process, primarily, as the author, Emma Darwin, explores her failure to write a novel about the Darwin family, and the toll … Continue reading →

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Mistborn

Posted on 23 February 2019 by Barbara Howe

The Final Empire is a grim dark place, caught for a thousand years in the iron fist of the Lord Ruler, a god-like immortal with a squad of fanatical minions, the Steel Inquisitors, bent on rooting out heresy and enforcing … Continue reading →

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Trip Diaries

Posted on 16 February 2019 by Barbara Howe

Years ago, when I was single, I always travelled with a trip diary: a small notebook to record anything I wanted to remember about my experiences. I carried a camera, too, and took photos, but there are many things a … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | Leave a comment

Witch

Posted on 1 February 2019 by Barbara Howe

The old house is perfect. Ellen March falls in love on first sight with the pre-Revolution farmhouse, sitting in a clearing surrounded by lilacs, apple trees, dogwoods, oaks, and maples. It doesn’t matter to her that the locals say the … Continue reading →

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The Spirit Ring

Posted on 19 January 2019 by Barbara Howe

Lois McMaster Bujold’s noblebright fantasy The Spirit Ring, set in Renaissance Italy, opens with a young woman, Fiametta, assisting her father, Prospero Beneforte, master craftsman and mage, in putting the final touches on a magical poison-detecting salt cellar. Their richly … Continue reading →

Posted in Noblebright Fantasy, Uncategorized | 2 Comments