First you should know that I mostly a fan of urban fantasy or alternate world fantasy and not such much of high fantasy. In other words even though I think Viggio Mortensen is about the hottest thing ever to hit the planet, I have never read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have tried, but as great as it is to watch, it doesn't hold my attention so much to read. This does not mean for a minute that I have a low opinion of high fantasy - it's just not for me. So consider this a recommendation list for part of the Fantasy genre, and certainly not all of it.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Well, I had to start with the master, didn't I? ha! This is a great dark fantasy story that captures all the creepiness of traveling carnivals and ties it into the complicated relationships between fathers and sons and best friends. It manages to be scary without the gore and shows one of Bradbury's greatest strengths - his ability to create an evocative atmosphere and hold it together from beginning to end. This is where the land of October Country began and should not be missed.

Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau. It's really hard to classify this quirky, funny family drama but as it involves a talking skull it has to belong to Fantasy World. Jeanne Les Flambeaux is on a mission to track down her lover Johnny who has stolen one of her family's prized possessions. Along the way she takes advice from her sidekick, the skull, (really!) becomes a stalker, is stalked and somehow learns to cook. There's also a romance in here and lots of arguing and making up with very funny relatives. It's hysterical and has just the right touch of magic.

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow. I reviewed this book in September for Bookslut and it really impressed the hell out of me. I keep saying that it shouldn't work, and really it seems impossible that it does. The narrator is the son of a washing machine and a mountain he and his brothers (an island, a precognitive, and three Russian nesting dolls) killed their other brother - a sociopath. Then he came back from the dead and now he is bent on revenge. There is also a girl with a flying problem and a plan to bring free internet to Toronto. It shouldn't work, but it does. This is a glorious novel and you are missing out on something special if you don't give it a chance.

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. One of my all time favorite books! Dean brings the ballad of Tam Lin to a 1960's college campus and then has a party with it. There is much to love here for literary types, there is romance and some suspense that leads to great and scary drama. Mostly though it is all about college and figuring out who you are and unravelling the mystery of gorgeous men who seem to stay forever gorgeous. Dean also wrote another winniner with the mystery/astronomy kinda vampire novel Juniper, Genetian and Rosemary. I adore her writing so much and wish she had more out there for all of us rabid fans.

Voluntary Committal by Joe Hill. I bought this from Subterranean Press on a gamble - I am a total sucker for the Alice in Wonderland world and this creepy modern take on the idea of falling into another world looked very appealing. Well, hell - where has Joe Hill been all my life?! It is creepy, it is crazy, it is so perfect I can hardly stand it. Your brother build towns out of boxes in the basement, he builds tunnels, he keeps himself occupied, it all seems innocent fun. And then - well and then. I always knew that Wonderland idea wasn't so innocent. Check this out, if you're lucky enough to get a copy.

Bellwether by Connie Willis. Willis has written a ton of classic sci fi/fantasy and everyone will want to vote for their favorite. Bellwether is a quirky little title she came out with concerning accidents and fate that has never failed (in the many times I have reread it) to make me laugh. It digs at academic snobbery and makes outright fun of fads but mostly it is just a bit of fun with some slight sci fi elements to help it along the way. It reminded me of all those screwball comedies from the 1930s - this one has Carole Lombard written all over it.

To Charles Fort, With Love by Caitlin Kiernan. Oh My. This is the first thing by Kiernan I have read and I went on and on about it for Bookslut a few months back. It's a short story collection that covers all manner of things that go bump in the night and manages to be terrifying in a most 1950s-out-of-the-corner-of-your-eye kind of way. I kept hearing that little girl from Poltergeist when I was reading these stories - "they're here, indeed". She is scary and smart and wonderful and now has me as a fan for life. If you like short fiction, take a chance on Kiernan.

Castleview by Gene Wolfe. Wolfe is a master of the genre and has a ton of great books in print. This modern take on King Arthur is one that I adore more than pretty much any other. I didn't expect most of it and loved every bit of it. You will not know what is coming next, I promise you. And as always - the writing is perfection. (And please, ignore the amazon reviewers, just read the book and enjoy it!)

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. Another classic and if you can find it, grab it! This is also a retelling of Tam Lin, but wholly different and original. Polly's inability to remember just what she saw as a child and what she knows now is fascinating and disturbing. Jones comes much closer to the creepy, seductive manner in which fairy tales were originally written than most writers today. She doesn't shy away from what Tam Lin was all about, and she doesn't let Polly hide in a little girl's innocence either. Jones makes her characters play the game with the faerie and we get to revel in each and every moment. (Please don't be put off by the cheesey new cover!)

And finally, Charles de Lint. I have pretty much every book de Lint has written and he is by far one of my favorite writers. The easiest way to enter the world he created with the city of Newford (in Canada) is through the short stories collections - try Moonlight and Vines or The Ivory and the Horn. He has a great modern take on the Jack and the Beanstalk story with a girl named Jacky in Jack the Giant-killer. And he wrote a classic real world/alternate world tale with Moonheart. I can not stress enough what a great writer de Lint is, or how timely and intense his stories are when it comes to the human condition. Like I said, he writes it, I buy it. And I am never disappointed.

Tomorrow something different.......maybe books on writing? or maybe some biographies and memoirs? Hmmmmm. Check back to see what I come up with next!