McKinley: All sorts of things...

Feliciations and salutations, all!

Wow, I came back from a little family vacation in Maine to find my mailbox
stuffed with mail from all of you! Not that I'm complaining- I have half a
page of authors to look up on my next library visit, now. Anyways, I have
lots of comments to male, so without further ado...

Someone mentioned a "Dragon Quartet". I found a book, perhaps a year ago,
whose name I've forgotten, but having to do with 'Earth' in some way. "The
Book of Earth", perhaps? The author, as I recall, was Margaret something.
(Sorry about the lack of detail- I think it's crammed in a storage box back
at school, awaiting my return.) It mentioned something about its being part
of a 'Dragon Quartet", with the remaining books (which I've never been able
to locate) having to do with Water, Air, and Spirit, I think. I really
enjoyed the one I've got, which had to do with a sort of early German
princess and- predictably- a dragon. Is this the series? If anyone knows
it, do you know if the other books have been written yet/ are still in print?

I want to add a loud cheer for Guy Gavriel Kay here. I've read his Fionavar
Tapestry, Tigana, and Lions of Al-Rassan, and loves them all. I read
Fionavar first, which was interesting, because it's mentioned in both the
other books (set one entirely different worlds) as 'Finavir' and 'Finar'.
Lions of Al-Rassan I read most recently, and was absolutely entranced by-
especially the end. He just loves to set you up to believe one thing is
going to happen, then smash that all to pieces with one sentance. The only
small regret I had about that book was that I was really intreagued by the
physician described a having an "unfortunate face". I'd have liked to know
more about him.

One author I don't recall having been mentioned before on this list is
Barbara Hambly. I'm not sure how available her books are in the States-
I've read six or seven, but they were borrowed from a classmate who'd
recently moved here from England. Anyways, I loved them. I'm trying to
recall the titles, which isn't working very well, but I suppose I'll just
have to look them up and report back. One series was part high fantasy and
part urban fantasy- very neat mix.

I might as well ass my two cents worth on the Robert Jordan issue. I read
the first seven books in a matter of a couple months, in a fit of extreme
boredom about a year ago. Don't bother. It's not the monumental size of
the books- the books in Tad Williams' 'Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn' series are
about as long, but in them, things happen. I started the eighth book (I
hate to give up on somehting I've already spent so much time on), but I gave
it back to the library unfinished. I gte the impression that by now (if not
several books sooner) Jordan's just beating a dead horse with a stick. Even
if he did figure out what he's doing, it's far too late to ressurect the
series now.

I was in Barnes & Nobles the other day, browsing through the hardcover
scifi/fantasy, when I noticed a new Orson Scott Card book by the name of, I
believe, "Enchantment". The jacket said it was a sort of 'Sleeping Beauty'
tale-anybody know anything about it?

And on the subject of fairy-tale retellings, Sheri S. Tepper has a book out
called "Beauty", which is supposedly a Beauty and the Beast story. I read
it, and while I found it sort of interesting, I did *not* like it. Anyone
else?

'Nother recommendation- George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones". I loved
it. After the style of "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn", it had chapters from
the viewpionts of several of the main- and not-so-main- characters. I
thought it was extremely well written, and very creative without being
unrealistic. (Insofar as fantasy is realistic...) Only bad thing is, it's
the first of a series, and ends very abruptly. The second is written, but
only in hardback so far as I know, and I haven't been able to track it down
at the library yet, so I'm getting frantic. (Hardback's not really an
option, sadly; just found out how much a lute's going to cost me...)
Anyways, try it- it's good.

One last quick comment- I did *not* like Terry Goodkind's work, either.
Juvenile, and the Sword of Truth series is into what, now? Four, five
books? He's looking like another Jordan, with a sick fascination for
torture.

Whew! I think that's it for now; I'l probably rememebr a million things as
soon as I send this off, but oh well. Good reading, everyone!

Vale,
Carolyn
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Received on Thu Aug 5 20:51:52 1999