Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson YP FIC MCKINLEY

Fire is five stories about magical creatures born of fire and the people that encounter them. There is Phoenix, a story of an old man that finds the legendary fire bird in a small English forest and is changed in an extraordinary way. In Hellhound a fiery eyed dog from the pound is more than it seems. Fireworm tells of a prehistoric young man that must become one with the spirit world to fight his clan’s ultimate enemy. In Salamander Man a slave must become more than human to fight an invasion of evil wizards. The final tale is First Flight, the story of Ern, a boy that must guide a dragon home.

This is a great collection of stories for almost any fantasy fan. It has very realistic and modern settings in Phoenix and Hellhound and three very different magical settings in the other three tales. It was great to have such variety and I think it will appeal to a large range of fantasy readers. Dickinsion wrote Phoenix, Fireworm, and Salamander Man and of these I would say Fireworm is the best. The ancient world of primitive man is an excellent setting for fantasy because in that time what we see as myth and make believe was reality to people. My favorite of the collection however is McKinley’s Hell Hound. The main character Miri is an animal lover that has a creative mind and finds that her imagination is dead right when she calls her dog Flame a hell hound. The realistic setting and characters make the magical elements really believable and effective. Also check out Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by the same authors in YP FIC MCKINLEY.

The Dark Hunters Volume 1: Story by Sherrilyn Kenyon; Art by Claudia Campos

Author Sherrilyn Kenyon is known for the romantic fiction series The Dark Hunters, which is the basis for this new manga series. Set in New Orleans, The Dark Hunters Volume One sets the story about Amanda Devereaux, an accounting student, who is in denial of her super powers. All of her sisters have embraced their special abilities, but she longs for normalcy and does everything possible to make it happen. She even dates boring men, including Cliff, with whom she was engaged until her magical family freaked him out and he broke things off.

One day when she reluctantly visited her twin sister’s house to let out her dog, Amanda is hit over the head and abducted. She awakes to find herself handcuffed to a gorgeous, blonde hunk of a man, who introduces himself as Hunter. He’s a vampire- kind-of. Really he is a Dark Hunter, who are the good guys in the world of vampires. Dark Hunters fight daimons, who are the bad guys and suck out people’s souls. Amanda and Hunter find themselves united together beyond the hand cuffs they share when one of the deadliest vampires comes after them. Together they must save themselves and the rest of humanity. Along the journey they discover things about themselves and fall for one another.

The story is loosely based on ancient mythology with a vampire twist. There are gods, tough warriors, spells, psychic dreams, and visits from the undead. Volume One of The Dark Hunters acts as an introduction to Kenyon’s story and characters. At times the pages are text heavy, but this seems necessary in order to fit in the weighty story line. Claudia Campos’s illustrations capture the manga style, but unfortunately are forced to compete with the text throughout the story. Kenyon leaves the reader wanting more, but Volume 2 won’t be published until March 2010. In the mean time, if you enjoy this book, check out the original Dark Hunters series. Readers who love romance and vampires are sure to be satisfied while waiting for the release of the next book in the manga series.

Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey

Fans of Kathleen Duey’s Skin Hunger will be happy to learn the second book of the A Resurrection of Magic trilogy, Sacred Scars, is now available at the Moore Memorial Library. The story picks up with Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss, who have been driven out of Limori by a suspicious fire to a series of caves. Somiss is still on his mission to restore magic, which has been outlawed, by capturing a group of orphaned street boys. He claims to want to train the boy, but Sadima is skeptical of his motives.

Similarly to Skin Hunger Duey also follows the character, Hahp, who lives generations into the future of Sadima’s reality. Hahp is still reluctantly attending the Academy of Magic in Limori and its dangerous classes. Although Hahp and his roommate, Gerrard, have agreed to work together to bring down the evil at the academy, they know that they will need the assistance from all of the students. Now they just need a plan and the trust of their fellow students.

Skin Hunger was a National Book Award Finalist. Both books are available at the library. Sacred Scars is currently available in the New Books area, and Skin Hunger is shelved in the YP section of the library.

The Red Necklacy by Sally Gardner

Gypsy orphan Yann Margoza has an ability to read minds and throw voices, and so the story begins when he is in a magic show with a magician and dwarf. The setting begins in pre-Revolutionary France. They are persuaded to perform for a private party of the Marquis de Villeduval. During the performance the evil Count Kalliovsky messes with the trick and as a result, the magic is mortally wounded. There is begins an ordeal of fleeing for his life, murder, deception, secrets and on a positive note, he meets the lovely Sido. Sido is the abused, neglected, shy, lame daughter of the Marquis. The authors spins a story of mysterious heritages (of Yann and Sido), a serial murderer who leaves behind his signature (red garnet necklaces), and the turbulent times when servants turn against their rich master’s with blood and vengeance. Teen Ages 12-up Probably adults will like. Historical fiction One of best teen books I’ve read in a long time.