Angieville

. . . not one, but  two new Sword-Dancer books ! I am, quite simply, wild with delight. In Ms. Roberson's words: If you have been waiting patiently for the last two Karavans novels, I do apologize. But Tiger and Del are calling to me. Loudly. It's time to answer them. That right there, my friends, is music to my ears. I ♥ Tiger & Del in rather a big way. Then she went and topped the good news off by stating that she's also planning on writing two to three more historicals in the vein of her wonderful Robin Hood retellings Lady of the Forest and Lady of Sherwood . Bust out the party hats! I can hardly wait.

I read Jennifer Roberson 's historicals long before I discovered her fantasy books. But after downing her two Robin Hood retellings and one Scottish massacre novel, I discovered she was actually much better known for her earlier Sword-Dancer saga . I loved her historicals for being so character-driven. I loved them for their strong women. And I loved them for their chunkiness. So I went into Sword-Dancer --the first book of six in the Sword-Dancer saga --with a sense of happy anticipation but with no knowledge of what they were about. The covers are a mixed bag, the cover artist changing with every two books. I prefer the first artist, as the third is just cartooney looking, while the middle one makes my beloved Tiger and Del look like members of an 80s Glam Metal band. *shudder* Of course, right after I finished the series DAW re-released all six in three trade paperback omnibus editions, natch. A look at the original cover for the first book and the cover of Volume I of the omni...

Have you ever finished a book that just knocked your socks off? So far off you felt like shouting its praises from the top of someplace very high. And have you then gone trolling around looking for reviews and discussions on said book and been absolutely flummoxed to find...nothing? Or, if not nothing, small pockets of devoted readers here and there but nowhere near the following you feel it deserves. Last week Diana Peterfreund wrote a thoughtful post about Under-the-Radar Books in which she listed a few of the books she wishes everyone were reading and threw the question out to her readers. A lot of it, for better or worse, has to do with money and marketing but in this day and age it seems like authors and readers and bloggers can do a lot to spread the word on a few hidden gems and why they deserve the love. I can think of a host of excellent books--books that have ended up on my Beloved Bookshelf--that I would never have picked up on my own. But because of some other reader'...