1. Abbey: Rifkind’s Challenge
2. Abraham: A Shadow in Summer
3. Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
4. Baker: The House of the Stag
5. Ball: Disappearing Act
6. Barnes: The Domino Men
7. Bentley: Harmony
8. Bray: The Far Sweet Thing
9. Briggs: Moon Called
10. Bryan: The Serpent and the Rose
11. Butler: Nightshade
12. Butler: Survivor
13. Cabell: Jurgen
14. Carroll: Sleeping in Flame
15. Caselberg: Wyrmhole
16. Child: Tripwire
17. Clarke: Childhood’s End
18. Cooper: The Last of the Mohicans
19. Cunningham: Shadows in the Starlight
20. D’Almeida: The Musketeer’s Apprentice
21. Delany: Neveryona
22. Dines: The Queen’s Soprano
23. Duncan: Impossible Odds
24. Durgin: Heritage (Earth: Final Conflict)
25. Eddison: The Worm Ouroboros
26. Eliot: Middlemarch
27. Elliott: Shadow Gate
28. Elliott: Traitors’ Gate
29. Engdahl: This Star Shall Abide
30. Fisher: Sorcery Rising
31. Fisher: The Rose of the World
32. Fisher: Wild Magic
33. Flewelling: The Oracle’s Queen
34. Garrett: Lord Darcy Investigates
35. Gentle: Ash
36. Gerritsen: Vanish
37. Gilman: Thunderer
38. Haden Elgin: Star-Anchored, Star-Angered
39. Harris: Dead Until Dark
40. Hill: Blade of Fire
41. Hinton: Hawkes Harbor
42. Hobb: Renegade’s Magic
43. Hoffman: A Fistful of Sky
44. Hughart: Bridge of Birds
45. Huxley: Brave New World
46. Jones: A Sword from Red Ice
47. Jones: Life
48. King: The Wild Road
49. Lake: Mainspring
50. Landon: The Hidden Worlds
51. Larke: The Last Stormlord
52. Latner: Hurricane Moon
53. Learner: Soul
54. Lindskold: Child of a Rainless Year
55. Lisle: Hawkspar
56. Ly: Roots and Wings
57. MacAvoy: A Trio for Lute (Damiano, Damiano’s Lute, Raphael)
58. Mallet: The Princes of the Golden Cage
59. Masters: The Mushroom Years
60. McDonald: The Outback Stars
61. McDonald: The Stars Down Under
62. Meluch: Wolf Star
63. Novik: Black Powder War
64. Novik: Empire of Ivory
65. Pettersson: The Scent of Shadows
66. Priest: Four and Twenty Blackbirds
67. Roberson: Deepwood
68. Roberts: Salt
69. Robson: Selling Out
70. Rosenblum: Horizons
71. Rusch: Duplicate Effort
72. Russon: Undine
73. Sagara: Cast in Courtlight
74. Scott: The Bride of Lammermoor
75. Sinisalo: Troll
76. Smith: Inda
77. Smith: King’s Shield
78. Smith: The Fox
79. Snyder: Poison Study
80. Stewart: The Crystal Cave
81. Stewart: The Hollow Hills
82. Stewart: The Last Enchantment
83. Tepper: Sideshow
84. Tepper: The Gate to Women’s Country
85. Thomson: Storyteller
86. Thurman: Moonshine
87. Thurman: Nightlife
88. Traviss: Ally
89. Traviss: Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Revelation
90. Viehl: Plague of Memory
91. Walpole: The Castle of Otranto
92. Walton: The Sword Is Forged
93. Wilkins: The Veil of Gold
94. Williams: Shadowmarch
95. Williams: Shadowplay
96. Wooding: Poison
97. Woolley: Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn
98. Zelazny: The Chronicles of Amber (Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, The Courts of Chaos)
99. Zettel: Kingdom of Cages

1. Aguirre: Grimspace
2. Allende: Kingdom of the Golden Dragon
3. Atwood: The Robber Bride
4. Avanti: GreeHee: The Journey of Five
5. B., Christine: The Afterlife of Charlotte Browning
6. Banker: Prince of Ayodhya
7. Bowling: The Tower of Shadows
8. Bradley: Thendara House
9. Bray: A Great and Terrible Beauty
10. Bray: Rebel Angels
11. Bray: The First Betrayal
12. Bruns: Through Phantom Eyes: Volume 1
13. Buckell: Crystal Rain
14. Butler: Adulthood Rites
15. Butler: Dawn
16. Butler: Fledgling
17. Butler: Imago
18. Charnas: The Bronze King
19. Cherryh: Foreigner
20. Clare: City of Bones
21. Coe, David B.: Children of Amarid
22. Cooper: The Dark Is Rising
23. Dean: The Secret Country
24. Duey: Skin Hunger
25. Duncan: Children of Chaos
26. Duncan: Lord of the Fire Lands
27. Duncan: Sky of Swords
28. Duncan: The Gilded Chain
29. Durham: Acacia
30. Erikson: Gardens of the Moon
31. Eva Ibbotson: The Star of Kazan
32. Garner: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
33. Gentle: Illario: The Lion’s Eye
34. Greenwood: The Kingless Land
35. Grimsley: Last Green Tree
36. Hoyt: Heart of Light
37. Hugo: Les Miserables
38. Karr: Wildraith’s Last Battle
39. Kenyon: Bright of the Sky
40. Kiernan: Silk
41. King: The Golden Cat
42. Klause: Blood and Chocolate
43. Kushner: The Privilege of the Sword
44. Larbalestier: Magic’s Child
45. Le Guin: The Telling
46. Martin: The Huna Warrior
47. McKinley: Chalice
48. Meluch: The Myriad
49. Mieville: Un Lun Dun
50. Miller: The Awakened Mage
51. Nagata: Memory
52. Nicholson: The Wind Singer
53. Norton: The Beast Master
54. Novik: His Majesty’s Dragon
55. Palahniuk: Fight Club
56. Palmatier: The Cracked Throne
57. Palwick: Shelter
58. Paolini: Eragon
59. Poole: Jewel and Thorn
60. Roberson: Karavans
61. Rusch: Recovery Man
62. Russell: The Sparrow
63. Rutland: When We Were Colored
64. Shinn: Mystic and Rider
65. Shinn: The Safe-Keeper’s Secret
66. Shinn: The Truth-Teller’s Tale
67. Smith, West: Murder on the Middle Fork
68. Smith: I Capture the Castle
69. Spencer: Tinker
70. Stuart Hill: The Cry of the Icemark
71. Swift: Nottingham Lace
72. Taylor: Let the Circle Be Unbroken
73. Tepper: The Family Tree
74. Thomas: Dark Matter
75. Traviss: Matriarch
76. Valente: In the Cities of Coin and Spice
77. Valente: In the Night Garden
78. Voight: On Fortune’s Wheel
79. Walton: Farthing
80. Walton: Tooth & Claw
81. Ward: Life’s Spices from Seasoned Sistahs
82. Westerfeld: Blue Noon
83. Westerfeld: Touching Darkness
84. Williams: City on Fire
85. Wodehouse: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
86. Wooding: Storm Thief
87. Zelazny: The Guns of Avalon

YES — I read it.
NO — I haven’t read it.
MAYBE — I don’t remember.

First grade

1. Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss YES
2. The Foot Book, Dr. Seuss NO
3. Are You My Mother? P.D. Eastman MAYBE
4. Hop on Pop, Dr. Seuss YES
5. Biscuit, Alyssa Capucilli NO

Second grade

1. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff YES
2. Green Eggs and Ham YES
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle NO
4. If You Give a Moose a Muffin, Numeroff NO
5. If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Numeroff NO

Third grade

1. Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White YES
2. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Judi Barrett NO
3. Officer Buckle and Gloria, Peggy Rathmann NO
4. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Jon Scieszka NO
5. Dogzilla, Dav Pilkey NO, but it sounds like a fun book.

Fourth grade

1. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume NO, not even one of her books, although I’ve heard great things about them.
2. Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan NO
3. Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo NO
4. Charlotte’s Web
5. Stone Fox, John Gardiner NO

Fifth grade

1. Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson NO
2. Hatchet, Gary Paulsen NO
3. Holes, Louis Sachar NO
4. The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth Speare NO
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling YES

Sixth grade

1. Hatchet
2. Bridge to Terabithia
3. Holes
4. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry NO
5. The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket NO

Seventh grade

1. The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton YES
2. Holes
3. The Giver, Lowry NO
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling MAYBE

Eighth grade

1. The Outsiders
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
3. The Giver
4. Holes
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rowling NO

Ninth–12th grade

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee YES
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
3. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck NO
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
5. A Child Called ‘It,’ Dave Pelzer NO

1. Allison, Dorothy: Cavedweller
2. Ballantyne, Tony: Recursion
3. Bishop, Toby: Airs Beneath the Moon
4. Boyle: A Friend of the Earth
5. Brennan: Doppelganger
6. Bronte: Villette
7. Brown, Simon: Empire’s Daughter
8. Cook, Dawn: The Decoy Princess
9. Crispin, A.C.: Storms of Destiny
10. Croggon: The Naming
11. Croggon: The Riddle
12. Cross, Janine: Touched by Venom
13. Delaney: Nova
14. Duchamp: Alanya to Alanya
15. Edgerton, Teresa: The Queen’s Necklace
16. Elliott: Jaran
17. Elliott: Spirit Gate
18. Griffith: Ammonite
19. Hambly, Barbara: The Silicon Mage
20. Hemingway, Amanda: The Greenstone Grail
21. Hemingway, Amanda: The Sword of Straw
22. Hobb, Robin: Forest Mage
23. Hopkinson: The New Moon’s Arms
24. Howard, Madeline: The Hidden Stars
25. Hurston: Dust Tracks on a Road
26. Kerr: Snare
27. Kinnan: The Yearling
28. Kritzer, Naomi: Freedom’s Sisters
29. Kushner, Ellen: Thomas the Rhymer
30. Le Guin: Tehanu
31. Lee & Miller: Crystal Soldier
32. Lem, Stanislaw: His Master’s Voice
33. Lynn: Dragon’s Treasure
34. Malan, Violette: The Mirror Prince
35. Martin, George R.R.: A Feast for Crows
36. McMahon: Dance of Knives
37. McMaster Bujold: Sharing Knife, Beguilement
38. Miller, Karen: Innocent Mage
39. Miller, Steve: Balance of Trade
40. Moon, Elizabeth: Against the Odds
41. Moon, Elizabeth: Change of Command
42. Moon, Elizabeth: Command Decision
43. Moon, Elizabeth: Engaging the Enemy
44. Moon, Elizabeth: Marque and Reprisal
45. Moon, Elizabeth: Trading in Danger
46. Moon: Winning Colors
47. Moriarty, Chris: Spin Control
48. Moriarty: Spin State
49. Nagata, Linda: Limit of Vision
50. Okora-Mbachu: Zahrah the Windseeker
51. Ore, Rebecca: Gaia’s Toys
52. Palwick, Susan: The Necessary Beggar
53. Park: A Princess of Roumania
54. Pratchett: A Hat Full of Sky
55. Renault: The Bull from the Sea
56. Resnick, Laura: In Legend Born
57. Robinson: Fifty Degrees Below
58. Rusch, Kristene Kathryn: Extremes
59. Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: Paloma
60. Rydill, Jessica: Children of the Shaman
61. Scott, Melissa: Trouble and Her Friends
62. Shelley: Frankenstein
63. Stroud: Amulet of Samarkand
64. Swanwick, Michael: The Iron Dragon’s Daughter
65. Tepper, Sheri S.: The Companions
66. Tuttle, Lisa: The Pillow Friend
67. Vaughn: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
68. Whitfield, Kit: Benighted
69. Wilkins: Giants of the Frost
70. Wilson: Spin
71. Wynne Jones, Diana: Hexwood
72. Young, Janine Ellen: The Bridge
73. Zimmer Bradley: The Shattered Chain

Looking at my tags by year, I can see that a lot of the books I read in earlier years are missing. I think I’ll try to add them as I remember them. Getting the years right will be almost impossible. Heh heh. “You couldn’t have read that book in 2002! It came out in 2005!”

1. Alexander, Alma: Changer of Days
2. Baird, Alison: The Stone of the Stars
3. Bear, Elizabeth: Hammered
4. Bear, Elizabeth: Scardown
5. Bear, Elizabeth: Worldwired
6. Bell, Hilari: Fall of a Kingdom
7. Bell, Hilari: Rise of a Hero
8. Betancourt, John Gregory: The Dragon Sorcerer
9. Bishop, K. J.: The Etched City
10. Black, Holly: Tithe

11. Black, Holly: Valiant
12. Brennan, Noel-Anne: The Sword of the Land
13. Briggs, Patricia: Raven’s Strike
14. Browne, N. M.: Basilisk
15. Browne, N. M.: The Story of Stone
16. Buckley, Fiona: To Shield the Queen
17. Bujold, Lois McMaster: The Spirit Ring
18. Bujold, Lois McMaster: The Hallowed Hunt
19. Bujold, Lois McMaster: Cordelia’s Honor
20. Bujold, Lois McMaster: Cetaganda
21. Bujold, Lois McMaster: A Civil Campaign
22. Bull, Emma: War for the Oaks
23. Butcher, Jim: Grave Peril
24. Butcher, Jim: Storm Front
25. Butcher, Jim: Furies of Calderon
26. Butler, Octavia E.: Wild Seed
27. Butler, Octavia E.: Mind of My Mind
28. Butler, Octavia E.: Patternmaster
29. Cadigan, Pat: Dervish Is Digital
30. Caine, Rachel: Chill Factor
31. Canavan, Trudi: The Magician’s Guild
32. Cather, Willa: My Antonia
33. Colfer, Eoin: Artemis Fowl
34. Cook, Dawn: First Truth
35. Cook, Glen: The Black Company
36. Czerneda, Julie: Beholder’s Eye
37. Czerneda, Julie: In the Company of Others
38. De Lint, Charles: The Little Country
39. de Lint, Charles: Forests of the Heart
40. Dick, Philip K.: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
41. Donati, Sara: Into the Wilderness
42. Duane, Diane: Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses
43. Duane, Diane: The Door into Shadow
44. Durgin, Doranna: Barrenlands
45. Edgerton, Teresa: Goblin Moon
46. Edgerton, Teresa: The Moon in Hiding
47. Edgerton, Teresa: The Work of the Sun
48. Farmer, Nancy: The House of the Scorpion
49. Flewelling, Lynn: Luck in the Shadows
50. Flewelling, Lynn: Stalking Darkness
51. Flewelling, Lynn: Traitor’s Moon
52. Frazier, Charles: Cold Mountain
53. Giardina, Denise: Fallam’s Secret
54. Gladney, Heather: Teot’s War
55. Godwin, Parke: The Tower of Beowulf
56. Goldman, William: The Princess Bride
57. Gould, Steven: Jumper
58. Heinlein, Robert: Starship Troopers
59. Hetley, James A.: The Winter Oak
60. Hobb, Robin: Shaman’s Crossing
61. Hobb, Robin: Assassin’s Quest
62. Jones, Tayari: Leaving Atlanta
63. Karr, Phyllis Ann: Frost Flower and Windbourne
64. Keck, David: In the Eye of Heaven
65. Kelleher, Anne: Silver’s Edge
66. Larbalestier, Justine: Magic Lessons
67. Larbalestier, Justine: Magic or Madness
68. Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Farthest Shore
69. Lee, Harper: To Kill a Mockingbird
70. Lickiss, Rebecca: Never After
71. Lisle, Holly: Talyn
72. Lynn, Elizabeth A.: The Northern Girl
73. Mieville, China: Iron Council
74. Moon, Elizabeth: The Deed of Paksenarrion
75. Moon, Elizabeth: The Speed of Dark
76. Morrison, Toni: The Bluest Eye
77. Nayes, Alan: Gargoyles
78. Nazarian, Vera: Lords of Rainbow
79. Nix, Garth: Abhorsen
80. Nix, Garth: Lirael
81. Palmatier, Joshua: The Skewed Throne
82. Powers, Tim: Earthquake Weather
83. Pratchett, Terry: Going Postal
84. Pratchett, Terry: Thief of Time
85. Randall, Marta: The Sword of Winter
86. Sabatini, Rafael: Captain Blood
87. Sanderson, Brandon: Elantris
88. Scott, Melissa: Shadow Man
89. Scott, Sir Walter: Ivanhoe
90. Shetterly, Will: Nevernever
91. Sinclair, Linnea: Finders Keepers
92. Smith, Kristine: Law of Survival
93. Stewart, Sean: Clouds End
94. Strauss, Victoria: The Awakened City
95. Stross, Charles: Iron Sunrise
96. Stross, Charles: The Family Trade
97. Tan, Amy: The Bonesetter’s Daughter
98. Thomson, Amy: The Color of Distance
99. Traviss, Karen: The World Before
100. Viehl, S. L.: Bio Rescue
101. Walton, Evangeline: Prince of Annwn
102. Walton, Evangeline: The Island of the Mighty
103. Wells, Martha: The Ships of Air
104. Wells, Martha: The Gate of Gods
105. Westerfeld, Scott: The Secret Hour
106. Westerfeld, Scott: Peeps
107. Wilkins, Kim: The Autumn Castle
108. Williams, Liz: Nine Layers of Sky
109. Williams, Liz: Snake Agent
110. Wilson, Robert Charles: Blind Lake
111. Wolfe, Thomas: You Can’t Go Home Again
112. Wood, N. Lee: Bloodrights
113. Woolf, Virginia: Orlando
114. Wrede, Patricia: Caught in Crystal

Seems like every time I go back to add books, I end up changing the number of stars of about the half the books. “Well, after reading this book that one isn’t so bad.”

And looking at the rankings, it looks like I don’t like any books at all. I am stingy with praise, not just for books. I expect everything to reach for perfection. So many of these books reach for just good enough, it seems.

I have to remind myself the authors are writing the best they can, and that a lot of people read for comfort; they don’t necessarily want a book that makes them think. I’m the same way — I put down Clouds End to read Elantris, even though Clouds End is a better book.

I don’t finish all the books I start, either. After several weeks I finally gave up on Anna Karenina. I got tired of her little white hands, etc., and was more than ready to have her jump in front of an oncoming train. I know lots of people love that book. Maybe they read a different translation.

I have nothing good to say about the books I didn’t finish, so I left them off the list. Ha. That’ll make it harder to figure out which books I’m talking about when I complain about their bad writing.

Here’s a list of the books I read last year, excluding nonfiction and short stories.

1. Anderson: The Broken Sword
2. Anderson: Three Hearts and Three Lions
3. Baker: The Anvil of the World
4. Beagle: The Last Unicorn
5. Bear: Songs of Earth and Power
6. Bear: Darwin’s Radio
7. Berg: Transformation
8. Berg: Revelation
9. Berg: Restoration
10. Berg: Son of Avonar

11. Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
12. Bray: Devlin’s Luck
13. Briggs: The Hob’s Bargain
14. Brooks: The Sword of Shannara
15. Brust and Bull: Freedom and Necessity
16. Butcher: Fool Moon
17. Carey: Banewreaker
18. Carmody: Obernewtyn
19. Carter: Heros and Villains
20. Carter: The Fortunate Fall
21. Coe: Rules of Ascension
22. Cook: The Tower of Fear
23. Cutter: Paper Mage
24. Dick: A Scanner Darkly
25. Dunkel: The Hollow Kingdom
26. Edgerton: Child of Saturn
27. Elliott: King’s Dragon
28. Fallon: The Lion of Sennet
29. Faulkner: As I Lay Dying
30. Ford: The Last Hot Time
31. Gaiman: Stardust
32. Gilligan: The Silken Shroud
33. Gilman: Staying Dead
34. Glass: Daughter of Exile
35. Haden Elgin: Native Tongue
36. Haden Elgin: The Ozark Trilogy
37. Hambly: Fever Season
38. Hambly: Bride of the Rat God
39. Hendee: Dhampir
40. Hetley: The Summer Country
41. Hobb: Royal Assassin
42. Holdstock: Mythago Wood
43. Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God
44. Karr: Frost Flower and Thorn
45. Keyes: The Briar King
46. Kirstein: The Steerswoman’s Road
47. Kirstein: The Lost Steersman
48. Kirstein: The Language of Power
49. Klasky: Season of Sacrifice
50. Kritzer: Turning the Storm
51. Kushner: Swordspoint
52. Le Guin: A Wizard of Earthsea
53. Le Guin: The Tombs of Atuan
54. Le Guin: The Word for World is Forest
55. Lisle: Vincalis the Agitator
56. Marks: Fire Logic
57. Marks: The Moonbane Mage
58. Marley: The Maquisarde
59. Martin: Dying of the Light
60. McGarry: Illumination
61. McHugh: China Mountain Zhang
62. McHugh: Mission Child
63. McIntyre: The Moon and the Sun
64. McKee Charnas: The Furies
65. McKee Charnas: The Conqueror’s Child
66. McKillip: Riddle of Stars (Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy)
67. McKillip: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
68. McKinley: Rose Daughter
69. McMaster Bujold: The Hallowed Hunt
70. Micklem: Firethorn
71. Mieville: The Scar
72. Morrison: Song of Solomon
73. Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress
74. Nix: Sabriel
75. Piercy: He, She, and It
76. Pratchett: Equal Rites
77. Pratchett: Lords and Ladies
78. Pratchett: Night Watch
79. Pratchett: The Fifth Element
80. Rasmussen: The Labyrinth Gate
81. Roberson: Sword Dancer
82. Robinson: Forty Signs of Rain
83. Salmonson: The Swordswoman
84. Scott: Dreaming Metal
85. Shetterly: Chimera
86. Spencer: Tainted Trail
87. Starhawk: The Fifth Sacred Thing
88. Stewart: Earth Abides
89. Stross: Singularity Sky
90. Sturgeon: Venus Plus X
91. Traviss: City of Pearl
92. Traviss: Crossing the Line
93. Van Vogt: Slan
94. Vance: Lyonesse
95. Vance: Madouc
96. Wade Wellman: The Hanging Stones
97. Wells: Death of the Necromancer
98. Wells: The Wizard Hunters
99. Welty: The Optimist’s Daughter
100. West: Hunter’s Oath
101. Wilhelm: The Dark Door
102. Wrede and Stevermer: Sorcery and Cecelia
103. Wrede: Snow White and Red Rose
104. Wrede: The Raven Ring
105. Wright: Native Son
106. Wynne Jones: A Sudden Wild Magic
107. Wynne Jones: Fire and Hemlock
108. Wynne Jones: Howl’s Moving Castle
109. Yolen: The Books of Great Alta

Thirty years ago I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. It does have some fun bits, especially the parts where it’s more like a RPG than a takeoff of Lord of the Rings, as in these sections:

The black-garbed figures were immobile at the edge of the furnace, statues frozen in place with the great strain of their battle, dark faces only inches apart, the lean arms of the giant Druid holding firm the claw-tipped limbs of the deadly spirit creature. The Skull Bearer was attempting to bring his razor-sharp hands close enough to the mystic’s unprotected throat to rip the life out of him and end the battle quickly. The black wings heaved with the exertion, flapping in fury to add momentum to the assault, the unmistakable rasp of its breathing cutting the heated air with ragged desperation. Then suddenly the Northland creature’s wiry leg shot out, tripping the Druid so that he fell backward onto the stone floor at the edge of the pit. Like a shot, the attacker was upon him, one clawed hand sweeping downward for the kill. But the victim was too quick, rolling deftly away from the deadly talons and free from the creature’s grasp. Nevertheless, Flick saw the blow catch a portion of the shoulder and heard the distinct rending of cloth as first blood was drawn. Flick gave a gasp of dismay, but a moment later the Druid was on his feet, showing no sign of injury. Twin bolts of blue flame shot out of the extended fingers of his hands, striking the rising Skull Bearer with shattering force, throwing the infuriated creature back against the railing. But while the mystic bolts had visibly hurt the serpent during the battle in the Hall of Kings, they did little more than slow the Northland creature for a few brief seconds. Roaring in fury, it counterattacked. Blazing red bolts shot from its burning eyes. Allanon brought his cloak up in a sweeping movement, and the bolts appeared to deflect into the stone walls of the chamber. For a moment, the creature hesitated, and the two opponents circled warily in the manner of two beasts of the forest, locked in a life-and-death struggle which only one could survive.

I couldn’t resist bolding my favorite lines. Two and a half similarly long paragraphs later:

The fire-red eyes burned with the fury of the furnace pit itself, shooting forth bolts of fire that tore into the stone walls, leaving gaping, blackened holes. … Twin bolts of flame shot out of the burning eyes, shattering the stone blocks of the staircase into deadly fragments which flew in all directions like little knives.

In the next paragraph, the Druid proves the flaming eyes are a long-range weapon only:

… somehow the dazed mystic was on his feet again, the blue bolts from the lean hands flashing fiercely as they struck the unprotected head of the attacker. Powerful fists rained resounding blows on both sides of the creature’s black head, turning the battered figure about once again as the great arms wound with crushing force about its chesting, pinning the wings and claw-tipped hands back against the writhing body. Holding the creature thus, the steel-eyed Druid gritted his gleaming teeth in fury and squeezed.

A few pages later we return to the rest of the party.

[Durin's and Dayel's] lithe Elven limbs carried them up the flight of stairs in gliding, bounding leaps, barely touching the stone as they ran. Hendel, Menion, and Balinor came in a rush behind, their progress partially impeded by their heavy weapons and greater weight, and partially by each other as they tried to avoid stumbling over one another in the narrow, winding staircase.

After battling Gnomes and climbing a[nother] winding staircase:

Then Menion sprang the first hidden trap. A series of long, barbed spikes shot out of the stone wall, triggered by the pressure of Menion’s foot on the stone stairway. Had Menion still been on the step, they would have cut into his unprotected legs, crippling him and forcing him over the edge of the open stairwell in the black abyss below. But Hendel had heard the click of the released spring an instant before the trap opened.

And more traps!

Quickly Hendel found a second trap of the same type and triggered it, breaking the spikes and moving on.

Dayel called out sharply. His keen Elven hearing had caught something that the others had missed, a small click that signaled the triggering of still another trap.

Doesn’t this sound like a terrific game?