ACK! There's a sequel?!?!?!?!?
...must...hunt...down...sequel!
The only reason I'd been wanting to read it forever was because I had read her cyberpunk novel, Catseye, which I loved (and was my first intro into the sub-genre). Somehow I got it into my head that The Snow Queen was the book that came before Catseye, which obviously isn't the case. Not the I regret reading it, though. It will be in my 'keep' shelf of novels I read and loved and won't part with. Everything else goes to the used bookstore (no point hanging on to something I didn't really care for, right?).
The name "Michelle West" doesn't sound familiar, but the title "Sun Sword" rings a bell. I must have seen it on the shelves. I'll look for it next time.
Since we're trading fantasy faves, I'd recommend the original Sunrunner triliogy by Melanie Rawn. I read them in high school (even let my teacher use it for one of my assignments!). In retrospect, I think it may run a wee bit into melodrama, but it was a desert based fantasy that really did some neat things. Never got into her next series, though they are on my shelf ... I should put them into my used pile!
You know, I used to read fantasy and sci-fi voraciously as a young adult, and then when University hit, it sort of went to the wayside because of all the school-based reading I had to do (and enjoyed, though). Then I hit this dry period during and afterwards, where I wasn't reading at all, not fiction, and not even RPGs! Now I seem to be getting back into the swing again, and I'm reading everything. I can't believe how much I missed something I had pushed aside but I'm glad I'm back into the habit again!
Edit: HEE! Seems like there are THREE sequels! World's End, The Summer Queen, and a brand new one, "Tangled up in Blue." Yippie! Off to the bookstore for me!