Based on the Oz series by L. Frank Baum
Written by: Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz
In Short: A less-wicked origin story, but less interesting.
Recommended: Kind of – this movie is best served on DVD.
OSCAR: I might not actually be a wizard.
GLINDA: Yes, but they don’t know that.
The Wizard of Oz is all about magic, and ingenuity and a sense of childlike wonder. Even with the other side of the MGM classic: that “not family-friendly” version where adults watch it on mute …

Story by: Chad Kultgen, Tyler Mitchell
Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Directed by: Don Scardino
Starring: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey
US Release Date: Friday, March 15, 2013
In Short: An amusing diversion, but nothing special.
Recommended: Yes, but only as a rental.

GRAY: It’s natural for a dying leaf to be frightened by the autumn wind.
Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) are aging magicians with a popular act on the Vegas strip. Despite being friends for decades, they are clearly growing irritated with each other. After a run-in …

Published by Orbit Books
Release Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Available in Paperback and Kindle editions
In Short: Nyx Fortuna is the son of the fourth Fate, Lady Fortuna. He has dedicated his immortal life to obtaining justice for her death at the hands of her three well known sisters.
Recommended: Not really
“Everyone deferred to the House of Zeus, except the Fates. Even a sorcerer from the House fo Zeus, the most powerful sorcerer’s family there was, wouldn’t take on a Fate.”
Marlene Perez is known for her young adult paranormal novels and her fantasy …

Published by Harper Voyager
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Available in Paperback and Kindle editions
In Short: A psychiatrist in Paris struggling to overcome a tragedy becomes embroiled in some fantasy crap in a cookie-cutter fantasy world.
Recommended: No – not as a “stand-alone,” anyway.
“Forgive me,” Reynard said, his voice low and gentle. “I’ve looked into your background. The internet is very helpful.”
- The villain of the book’s first third giving readers of this ‘standalone’ some good advice
There’s no such thing as a stand-alone entry in a series. Oh, sure, there are television series …

Daughter of the Blood (1998), Heir to the Shadows (1999), Queen of the Darkness (2000)
Published by: Roc
Available in Paperback and Kindle editions
In the Stacks: Demons
In Short: Those who still hold on to the ancient traditions dream a queen into life who can cleanse the taint from their ancient, magic based society.
Recommended: Yes!
In The Black Jewels Trilogy, Anne Bishop has created a high fantasy world rich with darkness and tradition. The Blood (think more blood of the land than let’s drink human blood) are a magical people that rule over three …

With Brandon Sanderson’s A Memory of Light at last rounding out the series, a look back at the fourteen books in Robert Jordan’s work of Epic Fantasy.
by K. Burtt
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the halls of Geek Speak Magazine. …

Based on the novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Written by: Richard LaGravenese
Directed by: Richard LaGravenese
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Emmy Rossum, Emma Thompson
US Release Date: February 14th, 2013
In Short: Ethan Wate’s quaint southern lifestyle is forever changed when a new girl with mysterious powers moves to town.
Recommended: Not really.
LENA: You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know who I really am inside. I don’t know who I’ll be.
As much as I love the growing trend of Young Adult novels making it to the big screen, Beautiful Creatures didn’t …

Written by: Tommy Wirkola
Directed by: Tommy Wirkola
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Pihla Viitala
In Short: Hansel and Gretel live out their logical conclusion after the candy house incident.
Recommended: Yes – on DVD only.
HANSEL: One thing this job has taught me over the years: don’t eat the fucking candy.
Dear Hollywood,
Clearly, you have made it your mission to ensure that we can’t have nice things. Why can’t we have these things that are nice? Because you take movies with potential and then ruin them for me by destroying the only things …

Written by Christine Boylan & Kalinda Vazquez
Directed by Guy Ferland
US Airdate: Sunday, February 10, 2013
In Short: Emma and Gold embark upon a journey, and Anton the Giant’s backstory, which we have all been breathlessly awaiting, is at long last revealed.
Recommended: Zzzzz.
ANTON: All you humans do is lie and cheat and kill, and I’m sick of it!
This is going to be a short review, because “Tiny” was a deeply underwhelming episode. To jump right in:
Emma and Gold leave Storybrooke to search for Gold’s lost son, Baelfire; young Henry tags along, but …

Published by Del Rey
Release Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Available in Hardcover and Kindle editions
In Short: A female airship pilot is drawn into a continent-spanning quest to save her father and prevent a magical apocalypse.
Recommended: Kind of.
She felt the little voice inside her whisper the warning. But doing exactly what she ought not to was one of her very worst habits.
I put a “Kind of” up there. I hate “Kind of.” It’s so wishy-washy. When you read a review, you want a definitive declaration of “Yes, it’s worth your time” or …