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Jun. 25th, 2008 12:30 pmOkay, so everyone else in the world who knows of L.J. Smith seems to know her for some teen vampire romance books she wrote back in the day. But me, I was not much into vampire romance as a kid, and anyway my local library did not have those books, so I basically had no idea that they existed. However, I loved and adored her two first books, which have no vampires and no romance whatsoever: The Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor (and my goodness, those are hideous covers; the one my library had was much prettier.)
I remembered the existence of these books a few months back; I checked them out yesterday and have spent the time since then in a fit of nostalgic glee. The books are about four siblings who get tied up with the affairs of the Wildworld, a fantasyland next door that has been sealed off from Earth and is only accessible through the house owned by the sorceress next door (or, in the second book, the San Andreas Fault. It is complicated and there are earthquakes.)
( Surprisingly feminist-friendly things I noticed! Cut for length. )
See, stories involving siblings + the supernatural are really up there among my favorite things ever. "But, Becca!" you will say. "Why then does Supernatural not appeal to you, it fits that description exactly!" To this, I answer: not enough siblings! A well-written story with three or four siblings (cousins will do in a pinch) pretty much guarantees you a full set of complex interpersonal dynamics in an ensemble group that might not always like each other very much but have an innate underlying loyalty. You are also sure to have ordinary-person, who-gets-the-last-brownie kinds of squabbles and hilarity to make sure the story does not take itself too seriously. This kind of thing is my kryptonite. Also, the focus is almost certain not to shift to romance (unless you are reading manga, in which case all bets are off.) This is not to say that I don't enjoy a good fantasy romance, but interesting non-romantic relationships are often just as interesting or more, and much less overdone.
So! Again, I turn to my flist for help. Guys, please rec me fantasy books with siblings in! Obviously I already know about Narnia, but I cannot remember any of the other ones I read as a kid, and I know there must be more good ones out there . . . the more siblings the better, but sibling pairs are good as well (as long as they do not end up squabbling over boys. Or girls.)
I remembered the existence of these books a few months back; I checked them out yesterday and have spent the time since then in a fit of nostalgic glee. The books are about four siblings who get tied up with the affairs of the Wildworld, a fantasyland next door that has been sealed off from Earth and is only accessible through the house owned by the sorceress next door (or, in the second book, the San Andreas Fault. It is complicated and there are earthquakes.)
( Surprisingly feminist-friendly things I noticed! Cut for length. )See, stories involving siblings + the supernatural are really up there among my favorite things ever. "But, Becca!" you will say. "Why then does Supernatural not appeal to you, it fits that description exactly!" To this, I answer: not enough siblings! A well-written story with three or four siblings (cousins will do in a pinch) pretty much guarantees you a full set of complex interpersonal dynamics in an ensemble group that might not always like each other very much but have an innate underlying loyalty. You are also sure to have ordinary-person, who-gets-the-last-brownie kinds of squabbles and hilarity to make sure the story does not take itself too seriously. This kind of thing is my kryptonite. Also, the focus is almost certain not to shift to romance (unless you are reading manga, in which case all bets are off.) This is not to say that I don't enjoy a good fantasy romance, but interesting non-romantic relationships are often just as interesting or more, and much less overdone.
So! Again, I turn to my flist for help. Guys, please rec me fantasy books with siblings in! Obviously I already know about Narnia, but I cannot remember any of the other ones I read as a kid, and I know there must be more good ones out there . . . the more siblings the better, but sibling pairs are good as well (as long as they do not end up squabbling over boys. Or girls.)
