Moving into high school, I was still reading books by some of the authors previously mentioned as they published additional installments of their various series. High school wasn't as nerve-wracking for me socially, either, so no more hiding in the library. I moved to just always carrying a novel with me as I could usually squeeze in a few minutes of reading while waiting for a class to start or if I finished a test early, etc. I did have to pick up the art of using brown paper grocery bags to cover some of the books - cover art back then could be quite lurid. Let's face it - this genre was still being marketed to men and teenage boys and the art reflected it. Often, I'd look at the cover after finishing the story and think "this scene/person isn't even in the book!" I got tired of the odd looks I'd get when people saw some of the anatomically imbalanced characters or weird aliens on the covers. I also perfected the following conversation:
Other Person: "What are you reading?"
Me: "Oh, just a book."
Because, invariably, if I actually answered the question, the other person would get strangely quiet, then sort of mumble "ummm...oh, okay", give me a weird look and then leave. Example:
Other Person: "What are you reading?"
Me: " It's called 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' and it's by Philip K. Dick"
You see the problem? (Side note: This is the book that the movie "Bladerunner" is very loosely based on)
Often later I would catch that person pointing at me while whispering about me to someone else...I'm sure something along the lines of "that girl is reading the weirdest book!"
So, brown paper bag covers and refusing to provide details became de rigueur. Nowadays, I've been saved all that bother because my books are on the Kindle app on my phone. No more trying to shove a hardback in my purse (paperbacks were small enough to not be a problem) and no more answering awkward questions! Although, it probably wouldn't be as much of an issue for me now - I find being over 55 and having gone through menopause means I give zero f***s what anyone thinks 😉
Here are some of the additional authors and series I ran through in high school:
The Xanth series by Piers Anthony
Fair warning - if you loathe puns, this is NOT the series for you. On the other hand, if puns are your thing - there are 42 books in the series! No, I'm not kidding. Now, I stopped reading somewhere about book 10 or so. The early books (first 3 in particular) are the best AND there are a lot of issues with the female characters and how they are described and dealt with. These books do NOT stand the test of time, but I did enjoy them at the age of 14.
While that issue runs through all of his books to a certain extent, I find it less obvious/bothersome in his other series and think they've stood the test of time better than the Xanth books. Also, they finished at a rational point (because no one needs 42 books of ANYTHING). I loved the Incarnations of Immortality series (major archetypes such as Death, Time, Nature, etc. are embodied in actual people. The first book centers around the archetype of Death and, in my opinion, is the best of series. The Time installment gets a bit hard to follow (as is almost always the case with any time-travel story).
Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey
Another series that I was really fond of in high school, but which also has not stood the test of time as well as I had hoped when I recently re-read them (or maybe just needs to be re-categorized as YA which, as I've mentioned, was not so much of a thing back in the pre-Harry Potter era) are the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey. It's not true across the board of the entire series. While all the books take place in the same "world", there are "mini" series within the whole scheme that are usually 2-3 book arcs following a particular set of characters and/or time of history in the world. The initial series that starts with Arrows of the Queen has a very young protagonist, which is likely a big part of the reason that I don't still connect with them as strongly.
I think the Vows & Honor (Tarma/Kethry) duology likely holds up better due to more serious subject matter and slightly older characters:
The Last Herald Mage series is some of her best work, but it can be a rough read (tears! many, many tears!). It probably also remains the most timely given the focus on an LGBTQ character. Gender-related issues and characters with different sexual identities crop up throughout Lackey's books to varying degrees so the advertent reader will want to judge their own tolerance levels (or the levels of those they might recommend the books to) judiciously:
If you like Valdemar as a world, but non-human characters are more appealing to you, then you can get your fill in the Mage Wars series (although I always think of it as the Gryphon series):
It probably seems like I was doing nothing but reading Mercedes Lackey during this time, but she had so many good books! Her Diana Tregarde books were my first intro to Urban Fantasy along with the Bedlam's Bards series. The Bardic Voices (not to be confused with the previously mentioned series - they are not related) were also great - music is definitely magic! Some of the later Valdemar books (starting around the Mage Winds series and later) slowly lost me and I haven't read any of the Collegium or Herald Spy series, but I did pick up the two most recent books having to do with the original founding of Valdemar and quite enjoyed them - they seem to be back closer to what I liked about the earlier books with slightly older protagonists and not so YA-seeming.
Amber by Roger Zelazny
It was also about this time that I discovered the amazing Roger Zelazny. He had a number of stand-alone books and volumes of short stories that I'll focus on in a later entry dedicated specifically to those non-series items. Let's talk Amber! From the moment the amnesiac Prince Corwin (as we later learn) wakes up on Earth in a "sanitarium", I was hooked! Part detective noir, part multi-plane fantasy, part political/dynastic struggle, these books have something for everyone! This series is a "Game of Thrones" with much more creativity and fantasy elements thrown in as everyone jockeys for power and your best friend (or brother) today could be your worst enemy tomorrow (and vice versa).
And if 5 Corwin books weren't enough time in Amber (and they weren't), you get the bonus series about Corwin's son, Merlin (no, not that Merlin)
I remember these books so fondly that even writing about them now is inspiring me to do a re-read!
Stay tuned for Part II of my high school era series list!
KJ
1 comment:
I did not realize just how weird I was in school until reading this post...those are the books I was reading too. I knew I was a little off, just not how much :) Namaste
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