Throwback Thursday: The Lady of the Lake, by Andrzej Sapkowski: Book 5 of the Witcher Saga

It is difficult to finish a series, regardless of genre.  There is great pressure on creators to create the perfect finale, wrap up every storyline, and provide every character with a satisfying conclusion.  Sometimes the fans are satisfied, other times they are far from it.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an emotional and filling conclusion to one of the most popular book franchises to exist, while Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker is altogether disappointing, undoing so much of what made its predecessors great.  With The Lady of the Lake, the fifth and final novel in the Witcher series, Andrzej Sapkowski had to provide a conclusion to a series spanning two collections of short stories and five novels.  A series following several main characters, a multitude of side characters, and major political upheaval.  In The Lady of the Lake, however, something does not just end, something begins.

Black Ring Match: A Review of Crush the King, by Jennifer Estep

I have talked endlessly about the power of fantasy novels on this blog, and will continue to do so as long as this genre maintains its unique power.  Fantasy is about all about creation and imagination, allowing readers to inhabit worlds wholly unlike our own.  It is a measure of escapism that other literary genres can only dream of.  Free from the pretentiousness of literary fiction, and liberated from the need for explanation in science-fiction, fantasy authors set their own rules in each new story.  Crush the King is the third and latest novel in Jennifer Estep’s wonderful Crown of Shards series, preceded by Kill the Queen and Protect the Prince.  Few would call this story literary fiction, but few series are more fun to read that the adventures of Everleigh “Evie” Saffira Winter Blair.