I thought I’d start by talking about a few authors I’ve been reading lately, and giving you my (unasked for) opinion. I’ve always loved reading, and for a long time I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Sometimes, I still do, even though I’m mostly a grown up now. I’m a big fan of sci-fi / fantasy, good kids books, funny books, and classic lit. It’s an odd combination, I know.
Recently I read the Death Gate cycle, by the aforementioned authors. 7 books long, in case you’re wondering, an average of probably 400 pages each. However, their writing style isn’t heavy or hard to get through, so the length isn’t painful. The premise of the books is that two powerful races of human-like magicians fought for control of the so-called lower races, and the “good guys” broke the world up into its 4 basic elements (stone, fire, water, and air), to prevent the “bad guys” from taking over. The books start by exploring each of these worlds in turn, and the variety of the worlds keeps life interesting for the reader. The characters are interesting, but there’s enough mystery about the backgrounds of certain people to keep you guessing the end of the series. The later books in the cycle have a strong undertone of commentary on racial / international relations, between both individuals and groups. While the books are a lot of fun to read, they also can offer a serious warning to all of us on the dangers of acting on our stereotypes of others. I like a book with a good moral, as long as it doesn’t feel the need to whack me over the head to get the point across, so I quite enjoyed this series.
