Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves is a collection of short, humorous fantasy tales. I like to read this one when I need a laugh.

Take Thimgs, for example. If you could have a wish, what would you wish for? The Mysterious Ways Department can grant you a wish, but they do have their limitations. All they can do is edit. So what would you want? Be careful what you ask for!

I could go on about the various stories, but there are just so many to choose from. If you need a laugh, it’s a good place to get one.

Need a light read? Want to see bureaucracy befuddled? You might enjoy Retief!

Retief is a diplomat, but he doesn't play by the usual rules. He plays by his own and is highly successful, despite the efforts of his superiors. 

This isn't a single novel; rather, it is a collection of some of the Retief short stories. However, some of the stories are connected in many cases.

There aren't many competent people in this book aside from Retief and some of those on his side. I don't mean his fellow diplomats who are more concerned with status and doing things by the book than with getting the job done right.

All you have to do is take a look at modern international diplomatic relations to wish there were a Retief to make it all make sense.

For Retief fans, you'll be glad to hear that Retief! include many of the stories that were previously hard to find. That's a delight to any fan of short stories. 

Arrows of the Queen is the first book in the Heralds of Valdemar series. Talia, a young girl who has been brought up very strictly runs away on being informed that a husband has been chosen for her. She is rebellious and frightened by what she sees of marriage in her small village, where men typically have multiple wives and women have very little status.

As she tries to decide whether or not to return, she is chosen by a Companion, a creature rather like a horse but with abilities no horse could come close to. With that choice she is taken to become a Herald. But not just any herald. She is to be the Queen's Own.

Arrows of the Queen is not the most exciting of novels. It has it's moments, but it's relatively peaceful. Talia faces some problems, even danger to her life, but nothing extreme. I know that sounds contradictory, but if you read you will understand. Call it a lack of drama, perhaps.

Arrows of the Queen is probably best for younger readers of fantasy, say early to mid teens. It's not challenging, but girls in particular of that age group may be more likely to identify with Talia. 

In the Ages of Chaos, many strange gifts were developed in the Domains of Darkover. One of the most dangerous was the gift of Dorilys, Heir to Aldaran. She can call on lightening, tapping the electromagnetic potential of the entire planet. Hence the title Stormqueen!.

Her power can kill, and her control is poor. So her father requests a leronis come from a Tower to help teach her control before her gift destroys her. It's no easy task. Dorilys is spoiled and feared by most in the castle.

Stormqueen focuses on the problems inherent in the breeding program that the Domains of that time relied upon so heavily. No laran family escapes unscathed, as is noted in the story. Children die of threshold sickness, gifts go out of control, and the desire for power is strong. 

Fans of Darkover are likely to enjoy Stormqueen quite a bit. It's an excellent story with a true ethical dilemma... many dilemmas, in fact, that must be dealt with throughout the story. 

Oops! My black hole! I dropped it!

Sounds like a preposterous premise for a novel, but that more or less describes the basis of Earth. Except it is not as lighthearted as that statement. 

The Earth is in great environmental trouble and many people disagree on what to do about it. Environmental groups and opinions are fractured, with the usual mix of extremists who believe everything from the world would be better off without humans to those who still love going out unprotected in the now more dangerous rays of the sun.

This is hard sci-fi. Not for those who don't want to think or read about technology and its potential impact on humanity or even the entire world.

It's also a murder mystery. The victim isn't dead yet, and with some work will survive the attack. We'll just leave it at that.

The story is complex with many substories. It can be hard to keep track of the relationships between all the characters... who knows who, who is related to who and who really means well after all?

Although Earth was first published in 1990, its predictions are pretty good. Not nearly as dated as it might be.