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20 Books for 20Somethings

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

A veritable classic of fantasy, Peter S. Beagle's tale of the last remaining unicorn is brimming with wonder and the necessity for dreams and magic in our lives. Giving up a life of ease and peace, Unicorn sets out to face Red Bull and free the imprisoned unicorns. Along the way she will meet great companions and undergo great tribulations, in the end learning that she is forever changed by her journey. It is beautifully written, with language that creates mental images instantly, and which sing on the page. What will you do for those you care about and what is it to be a hero? These are of major importance to this exquisite tale.

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

Fairy tale and high fantasy converge in this 1924 novel. The lord of Erl and the daughter of the king of Elfland are wed and have a son. As is the way of things, the elf queen is out of place in this world and returns to her home. Her husband, forlorn in his loss, wanders lost in a desperate quest to find her. The King of Elfland's Daughter is a beautiful work. It is written with such graceful language and with a touching tale to be told. Alongside Tolkien, Dunsany's novel is one of the cornerstones of fantasy, and ranks as one of the lost gems that should be a part of any library.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

As the Napoleonic Wars run rampant across land and sea, two men emerge in 1806 England wielding magic long thought to be lost. Mr. Norrell weaves amazing illusions to try and turn the tide of the war against France, and his young understudy, Jonathan Strange, is equally as powerful. Soon, however, master and apprentice develop a rift, and the future of England is in the balance. Susanna Clarke's debut is magnificent. It is full of great historical tone and filled out with footnotes that immerse one in the world she is crafting. Magic and politics seem so well suited as companions that a reader will not find the more fantastical elements to be distracting. A sensational read from beginning to end.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

The grandfather of the fantasy genre stumbled onto the story of a stay-at-home Hobbit contracted to join a team of dwarfs on an adventure to reclaim their gold from a dragon and in doing so he ignited the imaginations of readers and future writers. The tale of Bilbo Baggins and his unexpected journey was crafted for younger readers but has grown into a timeless classic. It is a precursor to his masterful Lord of the Rings but the tone and style are decidedly more light-hearted and mixed with more humor. Currently being translated into three movies by director Peter Jackson, all things Hobbit will be seeing a massive media blitz over the next three years. It could be the best time to pick up a copy and dive right in. 

Grendel by John Gardner

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

Casting aside the mere epic grandeur of the saga of Beowulf, John Gardner's Grendel is a parallel work. In this take on the legend, the story is told from the viewpoint of the monster, Grendel. What is the nature of good and evil? Are those we consider monsters really just simple creatures who act as they must for their own survival, and who view US as the monsters? What meaning, if any, do we have in the world? Grendel ponders these questions and others as he menaces the land. Gardner explores his mind and his life up to the point when he is confronted by the warrior, Beowulf, and this intelligent novel is a prime example of the depths of thought and study one can achieve in a fantasy setting. Grendel has long been the most popular of John Gardner's works, and for good reason.

The City & the City by China Miéville

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

In the city of Beszel, even something as seemingly simple as the investigation of a murdered woman is not nearly as easy as it should be. The wrinkle is having to journey to the neighboring city of Ul Qoma. Each is peopled with unificationists who seek to combine the two cities and nationalists who intend to destroy the other. And the people of neither city are permitted to recognize the others. That makes it more difficult when investigators from each city join forces to uncover the murderer and along the way discover something more disturbing that lies between the two cities. Miéville is one of the hot new writers on the scene and while the majority of his work has been outstanding, nothing has compared to The City & The City. Segregation, revolution, and the lengths people go to uphold their own social ideas and realities echo in this fantasy dipped in the color of mystery.

Beowulf by Burton Raffel

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

With the author unknown, many a translation has come to tell the epic saga of the feats of the mighty Geat warrior Beowulf.  This Anglo-Saxon poem crafted sometime between the 8th and 11th century is an amazing work to behold and tells the story of Beowulf, prince of the Geats, who defeats the monster Grendel, his mother the Witch, and the great Dragon. It is a sword-wielding onslaught and translator Burton Raffel presents the text in a clear and poetic way, giving a vivid detail to action and thought. His edition is overshadowed of late by the award-winning translation of Seamus Heaney, but elements of his version sing in a way that properly illustrate the depth of the original poem.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Stand Alone Fantasy Titles, August 2012

Shadow is a former criminal. His wife is dead but he still sees her sometimes. And now he is caught up in a war between the new gods of America and the old gods of the immigrants who populated the continent. The old gods fight for relevance, to stay alive, while the new gods seek to replace them, each using Shadow as a pawn to meet their own ends. Neil Gaiman has designed a scintillating work of sheer brilliance with American Gods. Traversing the heartland of America and populated with touchstones of world mythologies brought to life, this novel is a certifiable page-turner, drawn out in only the way that Neil Gaiman can do it. A sure winner for anyone interested in fantasy, in mythology, or in suspenseful fiction.

The Kings of Cool: A Prequel to Savages by Don Winslow

20 Great Thrillers, June 2012

This prequel to SAVAGES does much more than reveal the origin of O, Chon and Ben. Set primarily in the Laguna Beach of 2005, THE KINGS OF COOL deftly balances a number of storylines reaching back to 1967 and tells the tale of how the trio barely out of their teens, find themselves involved in a dangerous drug war. The sharp characterizations, plotting, and situations are all top-rate here, with the best lines arguably uttered by Dennis Cain, a DEA agent who sells is soul and is more surprised than anyone else at his own corruptibility.