Book club: Al-Kabar by Lee French

The first book in the Kick-Ass Heroine Fantasy Book Club is Al-Kabar by Lee French! [Click the link for more information about the book club]. I will start a discussion thread in my reader run fan group as well, but feel free to comment on this post if you aren’t on Facebook.

FYI – Al-Kabar by Lee French can currently be found in the 2019 SFWA Fantasy Storybundle but only util Feb 14, 2019.

Short synopsis: A young woman is chosen by powerful supernatural forces to bring justice to a desert land of oasis kingdoms. 

About the Author: Lee French lives in Olympia, WA with two kids, two bicycles, and too much stuff. She is an avid gamer and active member of the Myth-Weavers online RPG community, where she is known for her fondness for Angry Ninja Squirrels of Doom. In addition to spending too much time there, she also trains year-round for the one-week of glorious madness that is RAGBRAI, has a nice flower garden with one dragon and absolutely no lawn gnomes, and tries in vain every year to grow vegetables that don’t get devoured by neighborhood wildlife.

You can find Lee on her web site: https://authorleefrench.com or on Twitter: @AuthorLeeFrench

MCD’s thoughts/notes (as of Jan 23): I’m only about a third of the way through Al-Kabar, but quite enjoying the world Lee French has created. It’s a different read for me (I tend to read only straight up urban fantasy these day), full of spices and sand and fire layered between tiny intimate moments that really breath life into the otherwise foreign setting (for me at least).

Let me know your favourite parts in the comments below or over in the fan group discussion. We have two weeks to read and chat. Also please feel free to chat amongst yourselves!!

Kick-Ass Heroine Fantasy Book Club

I mentioned the idea of a book club connected to the SFWA Fantasy Storybundle that I posted about last week in my reader run fan group, and a bunch of readers seemed interested. So we discussed the idea, I suggested a schedule, and the ‘club’ officially starts tomorrow.

How it will work: I’ll introduce a book every two weeks (see the schedule below) here on my blog and in Facebook group, along with links and some extra info about the author, etc. If it is a trilogy, we’ll read the first book for the club. The main discussion will take place in my fan group, but if you aren’t on Facebook please feel free to start a discussion on the specific blog posts as well.

A few of the authors might be participating as well. Fun! Fun! But I’ll confirm who and how as we move forward.

The schedule:

  • Wednesday, January 30 – Al-Kabar by Lee French
  • Wednesday, February 13 – Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak
  • Wednesday, February 27 – Ashwin by Kit Rocha
  • Wednesday, March 13 – Blade and Rose by Miranda Honfleur
  • Wednesday, March 27 – Catching Echoes by Meghan Ciana Doidge
  • Wednesday, April 10 – Dragon Blood Omnibus by Lindsay Buroker
  • Wednesday, April 24 – Genrenauts by Michael R. Underwood
  • Wednesday, May 8 – Radiance by Grace Draven
  • Wednesday, May 22 – The Arrows of the Heart by Jeffe Kennedy
  • Wednesday, June 5 – The Glass Gargoyle by Marie Andreas
  • Wednesday, June 19 – The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
  • Wednesday, July 3 – The Twenty-Sided Sorceress by Annie Bellet

Some of you might own some of these books already, or prefer to get them from the library, but if you’re interested in purchasing the book bundle you can find more information about it here: https://storybundle.com/fantasy or in my previous blog post.

Also I understand that sticking to a two week schedule might be difficult (for me as well) so if you need to skip books, or pick and choose what you have the time to read, no worries. Please participate as you are able. This is all just for fun.

Let me me know if you have any questions. The book club officially launches tomorrow with Al-Kabar by Lee French! I’m about a third of the way through my read so far and quite enjoying the world Lee has created.

I hope you can join me. It should be fun.