Inspired by Valentine's Day.
As a would-be author you hear it a lot, “Read in your genre.” I’ve been reading in my genre since finding Andre Norton and Madeline L’Engle in grade school. But now that I’m writing with a serious intention to publish, I’m learning more about the craft of writing, including understanding the style of writing that's popular now.
We’ve all been influenced, to various degrees, by film, social media, anime/comic books, and short-form writing of all kinds, and it’s informing our reading as well. It’s probably changed my preferences more than I realize, hardcore Tolkien fan that I am. Most readers now expect fiction books with an action-packed beginning and a brisk narrative, fewer scenes of character introspection and fewer world-building details.
Just the other day a friend was talking about re-reading some old Spec Fic favorites. He was surprised to find the things that resonated with him the first time are different now. And in some cases the story/writing wasn’t as good as he remembered. So I wondered, would I still love my all-time-favorite fantasy books? By all-time I mean the formative books, with moments that lingered in my head long after I finished, and influenced my reading choices going forward. So I made a list, and discovered my all-time favs are all pretty “old”, in the publishing trend sense.
What this tells me is I really have to read more fantasy published in the last 5-10 years. For one thing, I'll need recent titles for “comps” (comparison titles) when I start to query agents. But who knows, maybe I’ll find some new all-time favorites as well!
In no particular order, here’s my list. It’s entirely possible I’ll find ones I’ve forgotten when I look for these, and my list might change. But these are the titles I recalled easily.
Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
Antarctica, Kim Stanley Robinson
Always Coming Home, Ursula K. Le Guin
Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
Once & Future King, TH White
The Deeds of Paksennarion (series), Elizabeth Moon
Golden Witchbreed, Mary Gentle
Curse of Chalion (series), Lois McMaster Bujold
My plan is to hunt these down (all paperbacks I own) and either re-read in full, or skim through to help myself remember more. I’m curious to find out; will these books still feel as meaningful now as the first time? Which important things will be different? Will I find the writing as gripping now as it was then? And perhaps most importantly for a hopeful author, what qualities of the writing and plot made it such a good read?
To start with, I’ll talk about “Doomsday Book”, by Connie Willis, published in 1992. Willis received both a Hugo and a Nebula for this one.
The main character time-travels to England, mistakenly arriving in 1348, later than intended. For various reasons she can’t return to her own time right away. She’s a stranger in the village, but she forms friendships, helps to nurse people through the plague, and then loses many she cares about to the disease. In the 1300’s England lost approximately 40-50% of its population to plague, although the exact number isn’t known.
When I read this in 1994 I was living in England. British history was already an interest of mine, so the blend of science fiction and history caught my attention. The main character’s reactions to the chaos and pain of the plague years read as genuine and deeply felt. During the weeks I was reading the book we visited St Mary’s Church, Ashwell, Herts. Many old churches in the UK have bits and pieces from different eras. St. Mary’s is mostly 14th century, with many of its original features. It also has some significant 14thC. graffiti. One, scratched on the church tower’s wall during a plague epidemic in the reign of Edward III, struck me:
“MCT Espente miseranda ferox, violenta Superest plebs pessima testis, MCCCL”
The church information booklet translated this as:
“1350 Miserable, wild, distracted 1350. The dregs of the mob alone survive to witness.”
A real person wrote that, someone experiencing the same pain and loss as the book's main character. It was such a strong real-life echo that the experience of reading the book has stayed with me ever since. Willis did a wonderful job blending real history and science fiction, with strong characters I could relate to. Will I still feel that way if I re-read it? I’m going to find out.
What are your all-time favorite SF/F novels, the ones that affected you in a lasting way? Any suggestions for fantasy novels published in the last 5-10 years that I might want to try?
