BW7: 52 Books Bingo - Gaslamp

 

Happy Sunday! My son surprised me with two books for Valentine's day:  Alan Moore's The Great When and Carly Fortune's Every Summer After.   Neither one was on my radar, but both look equally interesting. Moore's book fits our 52 Books Category this week - GASLAMP - and Fortune's book is a love story. I look forward to reading both. 

What's the difference between Gaslamp and Steampunk?  While both are considered Victorian Fantasy,  steampunk is science fiction centering around steam powered tech and magic vs gaslamp is more fantasy and centered around magic and supernatural creature.  Gaslamp has also since evolved to take place from the early 1800's Victorian era to the beginning of World War one in 1914 according to New York Public Library's Bewitched, Bothered and Betrothed: An Intro to Gaslamp Fantasy  

Some words on Gaslamp Fantasy, Good Friends, and Great Fiction

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an excellent example of a Gaslamp fantasy which I thoroughly enjoyed when I read it back in 2014.  I think it's time for a reread.  It's a chunky book at 1006 pages but well worth the effort. 

"The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country.

Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine."

12 Gaslamp Fantasy Books Full of Magic and Mystery

Reddit Fantasy recommendations

Goodreads Listopia Gaslamp Fantasy

Helene Wecker's the Golem and the Jinni, Marie Brennan's Lady Trent series, as well as Devon Monk's Age of Steam series to name a few are all excellent as well.  

Happy reading!

BW32: August Author of the Month - Marie Brennan

 

Happy Sunday! Welcome to August and our Author of the Month - Marie Brennan who is best known for her Memoirs of Lady Trent series.  Brennan has also written several other science fiction fantasy series as well as numerous short stories.  I am currently on the third book in her Lady Trent series  - Voyage of the Basilisk - and looking forward to reading the rest of the series which just so happen to be available for free on Kindle Unlimited. 

August is also Romance Awareness Month and International Pirate Month which means it looks like we'll have some swashbuckling pirates to read about as well.  And since we're still in the Dog Days of Summer, today is National Water Balloon Day.  So fill up some balloons with water and cool down with a royal water balloon fight. 

We're counting down the year with our A to Z and Back again challenge and this week's letter is U.  Big U, little U, authors names that begins with U. Uris, Unger, Undset, Ure, Underhill to name a few.  Also, look for books with U in the title such as Unbroken, U is for Undertow, The Ugly Duckling, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, Uncle Fred in the Springtime, or Under the Net.  

Understand? 

Have fun uncovering unique and uplifting or ubiquitous reads!

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