Gifts For the Geek: Day 16

December is here and with it the holiday gift-giving season!

When it comes to objects, I’m a minimalist. Those authors who have been in my home know this. Though nice, I have few things. I have my signed books—some on bookcases, others on my desk. I have two pieces of artwork on my walls, both framed Michael Whelan signed prints. I don’t have a couch. I don’t have a recliner. I have a Mac on my desk, an iPad on my night stand, and a new television powered by Netflix that I watch from my computer chair when I need to decompress while doing web work.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have a wish list though. There are some really cool items out there and this is the season I begin thinking, “Wouldn’t it be neat if I had X or X or X or X?”

For the month of December I’ll post some of my own personal picks, some of which I’m sure will also excite some of you, maybe to the point you add them to your own gift wish lists!

Day 16: Shadowmarch Quadrilogy by Tad Williams

In this age of incomplete massive fantasy series, Tad Williams has completed three of them. First came Memory, Sorrow & Thorn. Then Otherland. And now—Shadowmarch!

Shadowmarch and its three sequels are Tad Williams at his best. Here is the Amazon.com Review for the first book:

Shadowmarch introduces a world conquered by humans, who have driven the Qar, or fairy folk, into the far north. There, the Qar hide behind the “Shadowline,” a mysterious veil of perpetual mist, which drives mad any human who dares enter it. Bordering that mist and named for it is Shadowmarch, the northernmost human kingdom.

Shadowmarch has lately fallen on hard times. Its king has been captured by a rival kingdom, the regent has been mysteriously slain, and the new regents are callow fifteen-year-olds. Moody, crippled Prince Barrick is uninterested in their responsibilities and haunted by eerie dreams. His twin, Princess Briony, takes their new duties seriously, but is hot-tempered and headstrong. How can they defeat the greatest threats in Shadowmarch history? Their nobles plot to overthrow them–and the plotters may include their pregnant stepmother, seeking the throne for her own child. The expanding empire of Xis has sent its agents into Shadowmarch. And, for the first time since it appeared centuries ago, the Shadowline has starting moving. As the maddening mist spreads south over Shadowmarch, it does not quite hide the powerful, uncanny, and vengeful Qar army of invasion…

For me, it doesn’t get much better than Tad Williams. He is the consummate wordsmith, able to weave words with wonderment and ease. The characters he creates are always multi-dimensional. For the reader though, the Shadowmarch series is newly completed, with the concluding book, Shadowheart, having published two weeks ago. That means epic fantasy geeks out there have a new series to read if they haven’t already!

And with cover art by Michael Whelan and Todd Lockwood, Shadowmarch will also stand out on book shelves!

If you have an epic fantasy geek that would love a series that is complete, look no further than Tad Williams and Shadowmarch, Shadowplay, Shadowrise and Shadowheart!

To view the other Gifts For the Geek, click HERE!

More tomorrow!