Over on Facebook, I'm part of the Fantasy Faction Book Group. Today someone asked what our top ten favorite books of all time were. The author of the post encouraged us to post our favorites even if they weren't necessarily in the science fiction and fantasy genres. I was going to simply post mine but then I realized this is a bigger task than just providing a list. I want to explain why these are my favorites, why they stick with me in ways other books have not. That makes this blog the perfect place to blather on about this subject.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was the first post-apocalyptic novel I ever read. It was epic. It was more than just a tale of humanity's survival, though. This story addresses a more fundamental conflict. It pits Good against Evil and, although some may say this trope is overdone, I enjoyed it as a teenager. This cosmic and often religious theme is one I still find fascinating when done well.
I also appreciate the fact that the apocalypse is man-made. The US government's desire to weaponize the flu results in a super-flu that kills most of the nation's citizens, leaving a small percentage of those with natural immunity in its wake. While survivors pair up, creating an ever bigger group, a supernatural evil is revealed in the form of Randall Flagg. Situated opposite him in the narrative is Mother Abigail, who beckons to the survivors in their dreams. Oh, the biblical symbolism is strong in this one!
8. Harry Potter (the entire series).
I didn't expect to love these books as much as I do. I wasn't an adolescent or teenager when these books were released. In the summer of 1997 I was in my twenties and pregnant (just barely) with my first child. I was an adult and hadn't read a children's book in ages. Yet, when concerned parents everywhere started to accuse these books of promoting witchcraft, I figured I should read them. I picked them up expecting to be able to defend the books and call out the ridiculousness of the controversy. I didn't expect to adore them. But I do!
J.K. Rowling expertly wove a tale from adolescence into adulthood. The books matured right alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I can see why an entire generation of young readers became lifelong readers thanks to her talent.
7. Coldfire Trilogy
I love the premise of this trilogy. Gerald Tarrant is one of the most compelling anti-heroes I have ever encountered in science fiction and fantasy. Known as The Hunter, Gerald Tarrant, lives off the blood of the innocent. He is the thing of nightmares on a planet that literally gives form to man's most fearsome imaginings Yet, within Tarrant there is an unyielding honor that requires him to be a man of his word, even if his promises threaten his very soul. It is one such promise that forces him from his hunting grounds and into an alliance with a holy man that does not trust him.
This trilogy is more than a grand adventure. It's a philosophical, or perhaps more accurately, a theological debate in the guise of fiction.
6. Watership Down
I have a thing for animal protagonists. As a little kid, I would fantasize about being able to talk to animals. Okay, I may still fantasize a bit about how interesting it would be to be able to communicate telepathically with critters of every shape and size. I think it's this strange secret wish that tends to warm my little heart whenever animals take center stage in a book. In Watership Down, Hazel and the other rabbits are searching for a new warren. Their journey is long and perilous. They learn about themselves, each other, and strange others along the way. They seek the answer to the question of what they want in the community they hope to create.
For a bunch of rabbits, they sure do have some very human concerns.
5. The (Incomplete) Exiles Trilogy
I hesitated to add these to the list but, the fact of the matter is, if Melanie Rawn ever publishes The Captal's Tower, I will be first in line to buy it! The likelihood of her completing the trilogy, though, is slim to none. The Mageborn Traitor was released in 1997. That's twenty years of nothing. That's twenty years for people like me to come to terms with the fact that the conclusion to Cailet and Sarra's story will never be told.
Still, I hope....because there was something compelling and magical about these two sisters. About the husband to one and brother-in-law to the other.
Damn it, I really want my ending, Melanie Rawn!!
4. Ready Player One
This book is just plain fun, especially for those of us intimately familiar with the 1980s. The cultural references might annoy some but I found them delightful.
I also thought the premise resulted in an enjoyable plot line that made the pages turn fairly quickly. Let's just say I was never bored!
In the tradition of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wade's golden ticket is in solving a puzzle that's embedded in the virtual utopia of OASIS. In order to win it all, he must solve several clues, which are buried in 1980s music, television shows, movies, and video games.
3. Harriet the Spy
I was in Middle School when I read this book. What I remember most is finding a character that was just like me. Harriet's notebook with its maps, observations, suppositions, and opinions was a touchstone for the budding writer in me. I wanted Harriet to be my friend. Or I wanted to be Harriet. I'm not sure which is more true.
I really should give this one a re-read because I don't remember much beyond Harriet's notebook. I don't remember any of the other characters or even the plot that hinges on Harriet's notebook falling into the wrong hands.
2. The Malory-Anderson Family Series
This is the first book in the Malory-Anderson family series, which I believe is currently comprised of twelve books. This is the book that introduces two of the most memorable secondary characters I've ever run across. Luckily, Uncle Tony and Uncle James not only get their own love stories, they are pretty much guaranteed to make at least a cameo appearance in their nieces', nephews', and children's love stories, too.
I had to add this series to the list of all-time favorites because whenever life overwhelms me and I need a chuckle, I will go reacquaint myself with the Malory and Andersons. Not only are the characters familiar friends, the books are bubble gum reads that require no mental taxation. And sometimes that's just what I need.
1. The Black Jewels Trilogy
I loved this trilogy. As I said in my review, it made me laugh and cry as I read it. In this story I followed a young, lonely girl as she discovered that family is not determined by blood but by love. Of course, there was an interesting magic system, which is also something I adore.
Oh, I've decided that trilogies and series are going to count as one.
Also, I'm not sure I can truly order them so this list isn't necessarily moving from least favorite to most favorite even if it appears that way. These books appear in the order they occur to me, nothing more.
10. The Handmaid's Tale.
I've read other Margaret Atwood books that I enjoy but this one holds a special place in my heart and psyche. The first time read about Offred and her plight, I was equally horrified and fascinated. I wanted to believe such a future could never occur but I feared the possibility wasn't too outlandish because controlling women's body was (and still is) very much a thing in America.
For those who haven't read it and aren't familiar with this dystopian novel, Offred is a woman who has lost all her rights and privileges during a government coup. Led by the a zealous religious faction that is concerned with reclaiming and reasserting the power of white men over all others, the United States is remade into a country where women are categorized by their oppressors into three categories: wife, womb, or servant. Offred is a walking womb; should her body fail her she is replaced by another and sent off to a colony where other useless women toil.
9. The Stand.
I've read other Margaret Atwood books that I enjoy but this one holds a special place in my heart and psyche. The first time read about Offred and her plight, I was equally horrified and fascinated. I wanted to believe such a future could never occur but I feared the possibility wasn't too outlandish because controlling women's body was (and still is) very much a thing in America.
For those who haven't read it and aren't familiar with this dystopian novel, Offred is a woman who has lost all her rights and privileges during a government coup. Led by the a zealous religious faction that is concerned with reclaiming and reasserting the power of white men over all others, the United States is remade into a country where women are categorized by their oppressors into three categories: wife, womb, or servant. Offred is a walking womb; should her body fail her she is replaced by another and sent off to a colony where other useless women toil.
9. The Stand.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was the first post-apocalyptic novel I ever read. It was epic. It was more than just a tale of humanity's survival, though. This story addresses a more fundamental conflict. It pits Good against Evil and, although some may say this trope is overdone, I enjoyed it as a teenager. This cosmic and often religious theme is one I still find fascinating when done well.
I also appreciate the fact that the apocalypse is man-made. The US government's desire to weaponize the flu results in a super-flu that kills most of the nation's citizens, leaving a small percentage of those with natural immunity in its wake. While survivors pair up, creating an ever bigger group, a supernatural evil is revealed in the form of Randall Flagg. Situated opposite him in the narrative is Mother Abigail, who beckons to the survivors in their dreams. Oh, the biblical symbolism is strong in this one!
8. Harry Potter (the entire series).
I didn't expect to love these books as much as I do. I wasn't an adolescent or teenager when these books were released. In the summer of 1997 I was in my twenties and pregnant (just barely) with my first child. I was an adult and hadn't read a children's book in ages. Yet, when concerned parents everywhere started to accuse these books of promoting witchcraft, I figured I should read them. I picked them up expecting to be able to defend the books and call out the ridiculousness of the controversy. I didn't expect to adore them. But I do!
J.K. Rowling expertly wove a tale from adolescence into adulthood. The books matured right alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I can see why an entire generation of young readers became lifelong readers thanks to her talent.
7. Coldfire Trilogy
I love the premise of this trilogy. Gerald Tarrant is one of the most compelling anti-heroes I have ever encountered in science fiction and fantasy. Known as The Hunter, Gerald Tarrant, lives off the blood of the innocent. He is the thing of nightmares on a planet that literally gives form to man's most fearsome imaginings Yet, within Tarrant there is an unyielding honor that requires him to be a man of his word, even if his promises threaten his very soul. It is one such promise that forces him from his hunting grounds and into an alliance with a holy man that does not trust him.
This trilogy is more than a grand adventure. It's a philosophical, or perhaps more accurately, a theological debate in the guise of fiction.
6. Watership Down
I have a thing for animal protagonists. As a little kid, I would fantasize about being able to talk to animals. Okay, I may still fantasize a bit about how interesting it would be to be able to communicate telepathically with critters of every shape and size. I think it's this strange secret wish that tends to warm my little heart whenever animals take center stage in a book. In Watership Down, Hazel and the other rabbits are searching for a new warren. Their journey is long and perilous. They learn about themselves, each other, and strange others along the way. They seek the answer to the question of what they want in the community they hope to create.
For a bunch of rabbits, they sure do have some very human concerns.
5. The (Incomplete) Exiles Trilogy
I hesitated to add these to the list but, the fact of the matter is, if Melanie Rawn ever publishes The Captal's Tower, I will be first in line to buy it! The likelihood of her completing the trilogy, though, is slim to none. The Mageborn Traitor was released in 1997. That's twenty years of nothing. That's twenty years for people like me to come to terms with the fact that the conclusion to Cailet and Sarra's story will never be told.
Still, I hope....because there was something compelling and magical about these two sisters. About the husband to one and brother-in-law to the other.
Damn it, I really want my ending, Melanie Rawn!!
4. Ready Player One
This book is just plain fun, especially for those of us intimately familiar with the 1980s. The cultural references might annoy some but I found them delightful.
I also thought the premise resulted in an enjoyable plot line that made the pages turn fairly quickly. Let's just say I was never bored!
In the tradition of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wade's golden ticket is in solving a puzzle that's embedded in the virtual utopia of OASIS. In order to win it all, he must solve several clues, which are buried in 1980s music, television shows, movies, and video games.
3. Harriet the Spy
I was in Middle School when I read this book. What I remember most is finding a character that was just like me. Harriet's notebook with its maps, observations, suppositions, and opinions was a touchstone for the budding writer in me. I wanted Harriet to be my friend. Or I wanted to be Harriet. I'm not sure which is more true.
I really should give this one a re-read because I don't remember much beyond Harriet's notebook. I don't remember any of the other characters or even the plot that hinges on Harriet's notebook falling into the wrong hands.
2. The Malory-Anderson Family Series
This is the first book in the Malory-Anderson family series, which I believe is currently comprised of twelve books. This is the book that introduces two of the most memorable secondary characters I've ever run across. Luckily, Uncle Tony and Uncle James not only get their own love stories, they are pretty much guaranteed to make at least a cameo appearance in their nieces', nephews', and children's love stories, too.
I had to add this series to the list of all-time favorites because whenever life overwhelms me and I need a chuckle, I will go reacquaint myself with the Malory and Andersons. Not only are the characters familiar friends, the books are bubble gum reads that require no mental taxation. And sometimes that's just what I need.
1. The Black Jewels Trilogy
I loved this trilogy. As I said in my review, it made me laugh and cry as I read it. In this story I followed a young, lonely girl as she discovered that family is not determined by blood but by love. Of course, there was an interesting magic system, which is also something I adore.
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