Day 03 – Your favourite series

My favourite series…now that is a hard one! I have two series that there still books coming out for: In Death by J.D. Robb and Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Then there is The Belgariad and The Mallorean by David Eddings. And there is always the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery. Since I have already featured a book from The Belgariad and I will feature Anne later I am going to cheat a bit and talk about two series today: Clare and Russ and In Death.

The Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries will feature in some of the later categories like Anne but I simply cannot leave them out of my favourite series contention. These books weave relationship, romance, mystery and social issues together so very well. Each book focuses on a particular social issue as well as a continued focus on the issues that occur in small towns. As I live in a small town in an area not unlike upstate New York (an area that relied on the natural resources and one or two big employers) I find that many of the issues in the books are issues close to my heart. Apart from the different social issues Spencer-Fleming also experiments with the chronological structure in each book. In Out of the Deep we see a young Russ, and a backstory from a minor character, switching between three time periods. In To Darkness and To Death we get to follow the characters during a 24 hour period. This helps keep the story from becoming stale and predictable. This series could easily have been a winner on its own.

I want to feature the In Death series by J.D. Robb because I do wait for each book with baited breath but I do find that the books have become somewhat repetitive of late. Something new and fresh needs to happen. Despite this feeling I do love the characters and stories that Robb (or Roberts) tells. What I like about these books is actually that I like the supporting characters better than the main characters. I find Even and Roark somewhat removed from me. Although they each have problems they are not problems I have ever faced. I am more like Peabody. I come from a large family, although we are not always close (mainly due to geographical location) I know that I can show up on anyone’s doorstep and I will get a warm meal and a place to sleep. I know that if I have a problem someone will be there for me. Although I sometimes feel lonely I have never been truly alone.

I also like the books for the humour in them. They can be hysterically funny. Both with the different idiosyncrasies of the individual characters (whenever Eve sees cows you KNOW you are going be laughing out loud) and for the sometimes dark and deadpan comments from different characters.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

Again so very many to choose from. I am a re-reader. One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to start reading outside my comfort zone. Before blogging I was reading and re-reading the same books over and over and over again. I still re-read but not quite as much as before. So without further ado, my book that I have read more than 3 times is *drumroll please*

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

I could say any of the books in the series, and I will talk about the whole series but I figured I would feature the first book. Pawn of Prophecy was the first book in English from the grown up section of the bookstore I read, or actually had someone read to me. You see the book following this one was the last book my mother ever read out loud to me at bed time. Growing up my parents ALWAYS read to me at bed time. It was a really treasured time for me. I was about 11 when mom started reading Pawn of Prophecy to me and I was hooked. Absolutely hooked. So hooked that I would continue reading after mom had said good night, which was the reason why she stopped reading it out loud to me. I was reading to quickly.

Once I was hooked I re-read the whole series (at the time 10 books now 12) at least once a year, I still read them about once every other year. When I first started reading the books I really identified with the main character, Garion, but as I’ve gotten older I have come to identify more with Ce’Nedra and Polgara. It is a series of books I have been able to grow with.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Review: Belgarath the Sorcerer

Belgarath the Sorcerer by David and Leigh Eddings

Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher

Category: Fantasy

Synopsis: Belgarath tells the story of what happened before events of Pawn of Prophecy.

My Thoughts: As I’ve said in my previous posts on this series I find it difficult to review books that I have such an intimate relationship with. I’ve grown up with these books, they are old friends. But I shall try non the less.

What I like about this book is that the author speaks to the reader as if you really are an old friend. There is a feel about the book that Belgarath really is telling the story to someone he knows, and someone who was there for the events which follow the events in this book, and if you’ve read the other books in the series (which really you must in order to get anything out of this book) you are an old friend.

The “I must know what happened” part of me also really enjoyed getting the beginning of the story, as well as a little bit of how the characters live “now” through the start and end of the books.

This book, like the others in the series, does deal with the fight between good and evil, or as Belgarath prefers: them and us. But I can’t help but feel that to some extent it is much more superficial in its treatment of these aspects than some of the other books in the series, and certainly less so than the book that follows this one. It feels much more like a high school history survey book than a book that delves into the nitty gritty.

Even as a fan of the book I do have to admit that there are some parts of the book that drag and drag and drag. Which is probably why it took me two months to read the book. As I know what happens I didn’t have the compulsion to read the book that I do with other books.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

4 in 1 Book Review: King of the Murgos; Demon Lord of Karanda; Sorceress of Darshiva; The Seeress of Kell

King of the Murgos by David Eddings

Demon Lord of Karanda by David Eddings

Sorceress of Darshiva by David Eddings

The Seeress of Kell by David Eddings

Publisher: Corgi/Del Ray Books

Category: Fantasy

Synopsis: The age old struggle between the two prophesises is starting to draw to a close. Garion and his companions as well as Zandramas rush towards “The Place Which Is No More”, while dodging the increasing battles in the world. 

My Thoughts: As I said in my review of Guardians of the West for me reading these books is like meeting old friends. I know them well, and I am “in” on their inside jokes. For me reading these books are ultimate comfort reads.

In these books the characters continue the journey that starts at the end of Guardians of the West. Along the way they pick up new companions (most of who we met in some way in The Belgariad). These new companions add new dimensions to the established relationships allowing the characters to grow.

As with all fantasy this is a story about the struggle between good and evil, with all that entails. But the books do make very clear that really good and evil are perhaps not the right terms. At one point in one of the books Belgarath tells Garion that he prefers them and us rather than good or evil, because good and evil comes with baggage. I think this is an interesting philosophical and linguistic debate. What do we put into a word?

It is discussions like this along with the humour that for me make these books I loved in my early teens (I was 10 or 11 when my mum started to read the series to me) and still love today. The offer a little bit for everyone.

Purchase King of the Murgos from BookDepository

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Purchase The Seeress of Kell from BookDepository

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Review: Guardians of the West

Guardians of the West by David Eddings

Publisher: Corgi

Category: Fantasy

Synopsis: We once again meet Garion, Ce’Nedra, Polgara, Belgarath and all the others from The Belgariad. This time Garion is older and starting to settle in as a king when events once again draw him into the shadowy battles between the two Prophesies

My Thoughts: The previous books in this series have focused primarily on the character Garion, with the stories being told from his point of view. The books have only deviated from this perspective on a few occasions, when they focus on Ce’Nedra. Growing up I really liked this because I was of a similar age with the characters at the time and I really felt that I could relate to them. This book goes back to a younger narrator at first focusing on the “thief” Errand and his life with Polgara and Durnik in the Vale. This makes for a very clam and slow start to the series, if I hadn’t been emotionally invested in these characters I might not have continued reading, but as it is, if you get to this book you probably will be emotionally involved, it is like getting back in touch with old friends.

The second part of the book goes back to focus on Garion and his life with Ce’Nedra. Again this book feels quite slow and episodic. Timewise it jumps in leaps and bounds. But again meeting old friends is always nice.

It is in the final part of the book where the action is heightened with the murder of a character and the ensuing battles it causes (it is a fantasy book about kings and queens and magic, of course a murder leads to battles :D). It is also here that the intrigue that has been hinted on in some of the previous episodes starts to take on a more substantial form. You start to see where it is leading to.

As I mentioned above for me reading this book is like meeting up with old friends. Good friends whom I have missed. I chose to read the books now because school is really stressing me out and I felt that I needed something that was familiar and comforting and for me these books are all that. The books hold that feeling for me not just because I have read them several times but also because the story lines are familiar and the characters funny in a way I appreciate. There is a certain dry humour in them that I really appreciate. You do need to have read the books in The Belgariad before you read this book to really appreciate them but all the books in the series are so comforting I have to recommend them :D

Purchase The Guardians of the West from BookDepository

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.