The Girl in the Red Sweater

My favorite books, part 1: fantasy

Okay, instead of saying favorite fantasy books, I’m going to have to say my favorite fantasy book series — because all of these contain at least 3 books!

• The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. This series is set in modern-day America. For centuries, people with magic have been born with Stones in their hearts: stones that give them special powers, such as being wizards or warriors. The wizards rule the world and force the warriors to compete in battles to the death. This is a very well-written series, full of suspense and legends. It reminds me a bit of Harry Potter, but less on myth and more on history.
• The Magician: the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. Nicholas Flamel and his wife are immortals fighting dangerous dark forces called Elders, who want to enslave humans. They find twins who they believe will fulfill a prophecy: they will either save the world or destroy it. Flamel trains the twins in magic and the whole adventure is fast-paced. I highly recommend keeping the next book on hand, because each novel leaves you hanging! The series reminds me more of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” movie than Potter.
• The River of Dancing Gods by Jack Chalker. Another series about magic, but this one is set in a completely different world. Two humans are brought from our world into the fantasy world and undergo major changes and events. This series has a very quirky sense of humor, and although “strange” things often happen in fantasies, these ones are really out there. They’re pretty entertaining, and I enjoy the oddities because they really take you out of your everyday life and transport you to a different world.
• The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. The Shannara series has a very Renaissance atmosphere; Druids run about in cloaks, fairies and nymphs live in the rivers, and a demon is out to destroy the world. There are hints in the book that the world where all these creatures live is actually Earth, many centuries in the future, after it has been nearly destroyed by humanity (and in fact there are other series that connect our world to this new fantasy world). Be prepared to read many, many books, but these are comfortably set in trilogies or quartets, much like Anne McCaffrey’s books. It’s best to read them in the order they were written, because many events are interconnected. This was one of the first fantasy series I ever read, and to this day I still have my Sci-Fi Book Club trilogies.
• Acorna by Anne McCaffrey. This is a series set in space, on many different planets. A race of people called the Linyaari, who are a cross between unicorns and humans, has been nearly killed off by their nemesis. A Linyaari orphan grows up in the human world and learns of her horn’s healing powers by accident. This is a very fast-paced series, much more of a quick read than the others in the list, and I highly recommend them. There is a great deal of focus on being peaceful and doing good in the world, yet the way good overcomes evil is amazing — it doesn’t feel contrived or inevitable.
• Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce. After reading the Acorna series, I wanted more unicorn fantasy, and this series is absolutely stunning. The author has created an amazing world, complete with many species who have their own culture and traditions. The unicorns have been exiled from their home for centuries, and one headstrong leader emerges to try to take back his ancestral lands. I can humbly say that I helped get this previously unattainable series reprinted! There were so many fans out there that a single petition to the Sci-Fi Book Club got the complete trilogy reprinted, and after that a mass-market paperback version was printed too. Now you can own the books for regular price, instead of the $300-plus I was astonished to find common for the original printing.

To my friends and family, I hope the recommendations are enough to encourage you to read some of these wonderful books. I feel like these descriptions are woefully inadequate, but I am having trouble capturing the main essence of them without giving away any important aspects of the plots. I hope some of you will enjoy these books as much as I have.