I didn’t get through as many books this month as last, but there’s one I absolutely want to rave about:
HALF-WITCH, by John Schoffstall
In Lizbet Lenz’s world, the sun still goes around the earth, God speaks directly to his worshippers, goblins haunt every cellar and witches lurk in the forests. Disaster strikes when Lizbet’s father Gerhard, a charming scoundrel, is thrown into a dungeon by the tyrant Hengest Wolftrow. To free him, Lizbet must cross the Montagnes du Monde, globe-girdling mountains that reach to the sky, a journey no one has ever survived, and retrieve a mysterious book. Lizbet is desperate, and the only one who can help her is the unpleasant and sarcastic witch girl Strix.
Wow, this book was fantastic. And despite some rave reviews in prominent places, it seems to have flown under everyone’s radar for the most part. Whimsical, inventive, irreverent (and sometimes surprisingly reverent), this novel is a true hidden gem that deserves a much wider audience.
Other books I enjoyed this month included THE LAST DAYS OF NEW PARIS by China Miéville, NEON ROSES by Rachel Dawson, TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH by Moniquill Blackgoose, ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE by Robin Hobb, SCABBY QUEEN by Kirsten Innes, and THE PRISONER’S THRONE by Holly Black.
Ry Herman 