Table of Contents

Most Popular . . .

• Main Page
• Hotlists & Notable Books
• Starred Review Lists
• Featured Titles

More . . .

• Booklists
• Author Connections
• Interactive Stuff
• Readers Advisory
• Genres

Hotlists 2008

Fiction | Zoho DB

Crime Fiction | Zoho DB

Crime Fiction - embedded

Booklists

Lists of books, many of which received at least one starred review (indicating a work of unusual merit) from the following review sources: Booklist , Publisher's Weekly (PW), Kirkus and Library Journal (LJ). Additional titles of interest may be included on the lists. Titles are generally listed alphabetically by author.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overbooked specializes in providing timely information about fiction (all genres) and readable nonfiction. Overbooked has been online since 1994. Overbooked is a work in progress . . .

Overbooked is the winner of the 2008 Louis Shores - Greenwood Publishing Award: to recognize excellence in book reviewing and other media for libraries. The award recipient is selected for significant achievement related to a reviewing process that helps librarians make selection decisions.

Booklists and Suggested Reading

Legendary Characters Stars

 

Page Modified: June 18, 2008

Fiction about a wide range of legendary characters, from Anansi to the Tooth Fairy, and from Camelot to Troy. All genres may be included on the list.

---

 

Annotations are from Advance, the Ingram Book Magazine, unless noted.

---

Fiction

• Lady of Avalon
  Author: Bradley, Marion Zimmer
  Publisher: Viking $ 24.95 ISBN: 0670857831 Date: 1997
  PW
  The eagerly awaited link between Marion Zimmer Bradley's spectacular The Forest House and her blockbuster bestseller The Mists of Avalon, this book spans the creation of Avalon itself and foreshadows the birth of King Arthur. Spellbinding, dynamically plotted, rich in ritual, character, and turbulence of Roman Britain, Lady of Avalon is sure to win the hearts of Bradley's avid fans and of spiritual seekers everywhere.
  Updated 9.26.05
• Priestess of Avalon
  Author: Bradley, Marion Zimmer & Diana L. Paxson Date: 2001
  Publisher: $ ISBN:
  Booklist
  In this long-awaited new epic of the beloved Avalon series, myth, ancient lore, and the cult of the goddess fuse in a spectacular unfolding of one woman's role in the making of history. Priestess of Avalon tells the story of Helena, a daughter of the Holy Isle who became a Christian saint and the heroine of Welsh legend.
  
• The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well
  Author: Chamberlin, Ann
  Publisher: Tor $ 23.95 ISBN:0312865511 Date: 1999
  PW
  This stunning historical fantasy, based on actual events, casts Joan of Arc and her times in a revealing new light, recounting how her outstanding destiny was predicted by ancient prophecies attributed to Merlin.
  
• Merlin of the Oak Wood
  Author: Chamberlin, Ann
  Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0312872844 Date: 2001
  Booklist
  In the saga begun with The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well, Merlin's ancient prophecy foretells that a Maid will come, La Pucelle, who will unite the kingdom and heal the Land, but how much longer must the wounded country wait?
  
• Hades Daughter: Book One of the Troy Game
  Author: Douglass, Sara
  Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0765305402 Date: 2003
  PW
  The first title in Douglass's compelling new series, this is a riveting historical fantasy series of love and revenge and the madness that can ensnare even the most noble soul.
  Updated 12.16.02
• Anansi Boys
  Author: Gaiman, Neil
  Publisher: Morrow $ 26.95 ISBN: 006051518x Date: 2005
  KirkusPWBooklist
  Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spirit of rebellion able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. When he dies on a karaoke stage, things get very interesting for Charlie.
  Suggested Reading: All Stars
  Updated 8.15.05
• Lord of the Silver Bow: Troy
  Author: Gemmell, David
  Publisher: Del Rey $ 24.95 ISBN: 0345458354 Date: 2005
  KirkusLJPW
  This re-imagined Trojan War is the beginning of an epic trilogy. Readers will be introduced to Aeneas, Lord of the Silver Bow, a feared warrior who surrenders his heart to Andromache, who is betrothed to Hektor.
  Suggested Reading: All Stars
  Updated 8.8.05
• An Antic Disposition: A Medieval Mystery
  Author: Gordon, Alan
  Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 0312300964 Date: 2004
  PW
  In 1204 A.D., The Fool's Guild, on the run from an enraged Innocent III and the Papal troops, has established a secret guildhall in the Black Forest. While laying low, one of the great stories of the Guild's history is revealed--how in 1157 A.D., the Guild intervened in a complicated, soon to be bloody dispute over the crown of Denmark.
  Suggested Reading: Historical Crime Fiction Stars | Shakespearean Stars
  Updated 12.29.03
• Celtika: Book One of the Merlin Codex
  Author: Holdstock, Robert
  Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765306921 Date: 2003
  PW
  From an award-winning fantasist comes a magical novel linking the Arthur cycle to the mysteries of ancient Greece.
  Updated 3.13.03
• The Iron Grail
  Author: Holdstock, Robert
  Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 076530726x Date: 2004
  PW
  After long travels, Merlin has returned to the future England. Likewise, Urtha, High King of the Cornovidi, is coming home, and Jason is sailing in to seek his son. But Urtha's stronghold has been taken by warriors from Ghostland. Now there will be war--against the Otherworld.
  Suggested Reading: Adult Books for Teens
  Updated 5.19.05
• The Tooth Fairy
  Author: Joyce, Graham
  Publisher: Tor Books $ 22.95 ISBN: 031286261X Date: 1998
  BL Kirkus PW
  The award-winning author of Requiem returns with a blackly comic, disturbingly erotic tale of an ordinary boy named Sam - and the unearthly being only he can see. Is she real - or is she just a figment of his turbulent imagination? All Sam knows, as he grows from childhood to adolescence, is that she is never very far away.
  Suggested Reading: Contemporary Fantasy Stars | All Stars
• Green Grass, Running Water
  Author: King, Thomas
  Publisher: Houghton $ 24.95 ISBN: 0395623049 Date: 1993
  PW
  With a totally fresh voice--carefully controlled yet without artifice--Thomas King presents a complex web of character, myth, folklore, and very contemporary experience. Green Grass, Running Water is a rich tale that ranges from a Blackfoot reservation to Hollywood, weaving magical humor, revisionist history, nostalgia and sacred humanity into one bright fabric.
  {Coyote the Trickster}
  Updated 9.26.05
• Grail
  Author: Lawhead, Steve
  Publisher: Avon $ 24 ISBN: 0380975262 Date: 1997
  PW
  The eagerly anticipated new "Pendragon" novel from the author of The Dragon King trilogy. Plague has come to Britain and King Arthur, awed by the miraculous healing power of the Grail, is determined to build a shrine for the holy cup. The evil Morgian, Queen of Air and Darkness, however, has other ideas.
  Pendragon Cycle series
  Updated 9.26.05
• The Knight of the Sacred Lake
  Author: Miles, Rosalind
  Publisher: Crown $ 24 ISBN: 0609606239 Date: 2000
  Kirkus
  In the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Miles's bestselling Guenevere: Queen of the Summer Country, the fate of the glorious realm of Camelot stands vulnerable to the dark designs of Arthur's half-sister, Morgan, and the irresistible power of the love shared by Guenevere and her young knight, Lancelot.
  Updated 9.26.05
• The King in the Tree: Three Novellas
  Author: Millhauser, Steven
  Publisher: Knopf $ 23 ISBN: 0375415408 Date: 2003
  KirkusBooklistPW
  From the author of Edwin Mullhouse and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Martin Dressier come three dazzling novellas about the many shapes of love.
  { Don Juan, Tristan & Iseult, Mark, King of Cornwall }
  Suggested Reading: All Stars
  Updated 1.20.03
• Lady of Sherwood
  Author: Roberson, Jennifer
  Publisher: Kensington $ 24 ISBN: 1575664755 Date: 1999
  PW
  The author of Lady of the Forest continues the tale, as Robin Hood and Marian are caught up in the intrigue of kings and face a betrayal that will test their faith in each other - and the power of their love.
  
• Brazil
  Author: Updike, John
  Publisher: Knopf $ 35 ISBN: 0679430717 Date: 1994
  PW
  Erotic joy, criminal mischief, politics and sorcery mingle in the 16th offering from the author of Rabbit Run. In Brazil, the lives of two young lovers spring together and take flight--forever running from her rich father and the toughs he sends in pursuit of them.
  {Tristan & Iseult - Tristao & Isabel)
  Updated 9.26.05
• Gertrude and Claudius
  Author: Updike, John
  Publisher: Knopf $ 23 ISBN: 0375409084 Date: 2000
  PW
  Updike's 19th novel brings to life the story of Gertrude and Claudius, King and Queen of Denmark, before the action of Shakespeare's Hamlet begins.
  Suggested Reading: Shakespearean Stars
• John Henry Days
  Author: Whitehead, Colson
  Publisher: Doubleday $ 24.95 ISBN: 0385498195 Date: 2001
  KirkusPWBooklist
  From the author of The Intuitionist comes a retelling of the legend of John Henry that sweeps across generations and cultures in a stunning, hilarious, and unsettling portrait of American society.
  Suggested Reading: All Stars | African American Stars
  Updated 4/26/01
• The Saxon Shore
  Author: Whtye, Jack
  Publisher: Forge $ 26.95 ISBN: 0312865961 Date: 1998
  Booklist
  In this historically authentic novel, the orphaned Arthur, heir to the Colony of Camulod, is adopted by his cousin. Meryln realizes that he must prepare young Arthur to unify the clans of Britain and to guard the mighty sword Excalibur.
  Camulod Chronicles series
  Updated 9.23.05

 

Overbooked is a volunteer project undertaken by Ann Chambers Theis: Collection Management Administrator, Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library. 9501 Lori Rd. or P.O. Box 297, Chesterfield, VA, 23832. Phone: 804.748.1760.

Overbooked is not an official Chesterfield County Public Library service. Overbooked.org is a nonprofit web site hosted by CVCO - Central Virginia's Community Online. Overbooked.com is a nonprofit web site in experimental mode. Overbooked does not endorse any commercial providers (or their products and services) linked to from this web site.

Please join the conversation(s) at Overbookers - a rather quiet social space for the chronically overbooked.

Join the Overbooked List - A quiet list for readers to share recent reads, keep up to date with details about new books, discuss favorite authors/titles, etc.

Comments, suggestions, corrections: Ann Chambers Theis (AKA Ann/ACT): ann_overbooked@earthlink.net or ann@overbooked.com

I really appreciate all the e-mail I receive from avid readers and writers and regret that I am not able to respond to all correspondents. Special thanks to those folks who regularly help keep me on track...

---

---