{4.5\/5} “You were sitting where you could grab a Coke from the fridge and listen to U2 on your headphones, and then you were in a place where a bull had just been sacrificed and a man had drunk its blood and summoned a woman to life, between fires.”<\/p>\n
Ysabel<\/strong> by Guy Gavriel Kay, published in 2007<\/p>\n Ned is in Provence with his father, who is taking photos for a book. He runs into the middle of a scene that’s been repeated many times over the last 2600 years — two men fight for the love of one woman, Ysabel. This time Ned’s friend Melanie’s body has been usurped by Ysabel — and she doesn’t intend to give it back.<\/p>\n Many fantasy books start off mysteriously and then gradually you find out what’s going on, and the main character has powers they were previously unaware of and don’t know what to do with. This game plan isn’t my favourite — given that Kay is using it, though, he does so very well.<\/p>\n It’s not quite as brilliant as Kay’s other books, but it’s worth reading.<\/p>\n