A Drift of Quills adheres firmly to the adage that you can never have (or read) too many books. “I add ‘Read Books’ to my to-do list every day so I know I’ll get at least one thing done.”
Here we are again, reading and sharing our finds in another installment of Books We Love…
I really love chatting with my readers, and in a recent email exchange someone recommended a book for my Flinch-Free Fantasy list: The Dragon and the George, by Gordon R. Dickson.
Hey! I’ve read that!
About a million years ago…
I recall liking it, and the foggy memory tickled my brain until I had to pick up a copy and read it again. It didn’t disappoint. True, the style is dated and it took a little too long for the real action to start, but what a fun read.
A modern couple is transported into another version of our world. The kicker? Our hero ends up in the body of a dragon. The land is populated with knights, magicians, wolves, tough-but-fair maidens, crazy-inducing sandmirks, the mysterious Dark Powers, evil henchmen, a giant slug, an ogre—and don’t forget the Auditing Department, which keeps a careful ledger of the balance between those Dark Powers and those of the Light. (You can earn credits if you’re canny and brave.)
Jim (or Gorbash, depending on your point of view) must rescue his damsel, but to do so he must acquire some official Companions, figure out how a dragon body works, and come to terms with who he really is. Bouts of introspection are balanced with humor. How could anyone not laugh at the image of a dragon and his Companions (with a capital C) sitting around the table at an inn drinking jacks of ale while they plot?
Classic!
PATRICIA REDING
Author of the Oathtaker Series
Patricia’s website
Recently, I read Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders Trilogy, consisting of Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny. While I wouldn’t say I “love” these books, exactly, there are parts of this series that I very much enjoyed—so much so that I quickly read them one after the next.
I liked the set-up of the Bingtown’s oldest families and I loved the concept of the liveships. As for … (the rest of the story)
P.S. BROADDUS
Author of A Hero’s Curse (The Unseen Chronicles Book 1)
Parker’s website
The Hardy Boys series is formulaic and simple, and often plods into the cliche. I couldn’t help thinking however, how well they build their mysteries through the story. While bland, they get the formula right. I just finished a second one in as many weeks, and it was a good study in the structure of the genre. While I may not want to copy The Hardy Boys series when writing my own mystery, there’s value in internalizing the genre, the beats, and the structure on display. You’ve got to know the rules before you break them and I love that the series feels like a set of training wheels for writers. Fun, whimsical, dated training wheels.
But I didn’t come here to talk about The Hardy Boys. I’ve actually been ruminating on a story I just finished that involved an old man and a big fish…
Click on these links to find The Liveship Traders and The Old Man and the Sea on Amazon.
Photo by Anastasia Zhenina on Unsplash
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Have you read something you’ve just GOT to share? Tell us in the comments!
Great recommendation Robin! I’ll have to pick that one up now. Always a pleasure to see what you’ve been reading and add something to my list.