Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

Mosca Mye lives in a precarious world full of political and religious complications. There are dozens of candidates to be the next monarch (although the appointed committee is taking so long to decide that some of the candidates have died and been replaced by children or grandchildren) and there are even more deities presiding over every facet of life. Meanwhile Guilds maintain order amidst the chaos including the Stationer's Guild which must approve any written publications. Although her scholarly father died when she was very young, he taught Mosca to read (a rare skill) and infected her with a love of language. When Mosca ends up tagging along with an odd fellow who has many secrets and uses interesting words, she and her goose, Saracen, discover that they've ended up in the middle of an adventure.

This was an interesting story. The plot is somewhat complex and full of political intrigue. The characters are fairly realistic, although the world is just odd enough that it takes some getting used to. I had a few issues with this story: for one thing, it's supposed to be horribly strange that Mosca can read (and people have strange reactions to any written word not approved by the Guild) but it's surprisingly easy for her to buy written tracts and no one seems to question it; it seems to attempt a commentary on censorship, but it's all rather heavy-handed or vague enough to be confusing and a little annoying. Also, the story tends to plod; although it's clear that the author loves language and likes to play with it (which is refreshing), the writing is not pretty, mostly just tedious. Overall, I'm not a huge fan - this wasn't a bad book, but I didn't enjoy it very much. To be fair, however, I don't usually enjoy 'political intrigue' stories, but fantasy readers who do might want to give this book a chance.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Spirit Fox, Lady in Gil, or Howl's Moving Castle

The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Stories by Gail Carson Levine & Half-Human edited by Bruce Coville


The Fairy's Return and other Princess Stories is actually a collection of novellas which are all published separately as The Princess Tales: The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, For Biddle's Sake, and The Fairy's Return. All of these stories are retellings or reminiscent of fairy tales set in a fictional kingdom. I enjoyed this book; the stories are short enough to read quickly and then put down, but longer than most 'short stories.' The plots are definitely creative and interesting takes on fairytale elements although the stories do seem to be geared toward younger readers and are not very sophisticated or complex. I would recommend this book to fantasy readers who enjoy fairy tales or who are looking for short, quick reads.


Half-Human is a collection of short stories about 'half-humans' including gorgons, mermaids, selkies, and even a tree that becomes a man by authors including Bruce Coville, Tamora Pierce, Gregory Maguire and Jane Yolen. I really love this book; the stories are all short enough to read in a few minutes, but they are interesting and well-written. I would absolutely recommend this book to fantasy fans - particularly if you're short on time and need something that you can read in snippets of time. Almost all of them are about half-human children living in the 'real world' so readers who enjoy books about fantasy in the midst of today's world should definitely pick this one up.

• If these books sound interesting, consider these: Black Pearls, The Immortals series, Once Upon a Marigold, or The Frog Princess