So the writers strike has got you down, huh? You checked out some of the shows that Riley suggested but you just weren’t into them. You sympathize with the writers and their plight. Well, what better way to pay tribute to writers and their craft than to read!! Here are few books that can take your mind away from the everyday. I’ve composed a list of 5 series that I’ve read that will do just that without you having to leave your lazy boy…except of course to drive to the local library. However, these are all ‘Must-Haves’ for your collection so you might just want to order them via the links below. In order to keep myself from revealing too much, I posted brief descriptions/reviews from people that get paid to do it. Also, some of the reviews have been shortened because they were just too long! I’ve tried to rank these by quickest reads, which for me translates to complexity of plot lines etc. Here we go.
1. Dragon Lance, The Chronicles Trilogy - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
This was one of the first fantasy series I ever read. In fact, second only to The Hobbit by Tolkien for my time line. The Chronicles Trilogy starts it all for Dragon Lance, leading to over 90+ titles! However, I’d stick with these three until you’ve tasted some of the other titles on my list. Weis and Hickman really are the heart and sole of Dragon Lance, though some of the others are not bad…just not as good.
Book 1: Dragons of Autumn Twilight
“Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.
No one expected them to be heroes.
Least of all, them.” — www.amazon.com
Book 2: Dragons of Winter Night
“Now the people know that the dragon minions of Takhisis, Queen of Dragons, have returned. The people of all nations prepare to fight to save their homes, their lives, and their freedom. But the races have long been divided by hatred and prejudice. Elven warriors and human knights fight among themselves. It seems the battle has been lost before it begins.
The companions are separated, torn apart by war. A full season will pass before they meet again–if they meet again. As the darkness deepens, a disgraced knight, a pampered elfmaiden, and a rattle-brained kender stand alone in the pale winter sunlight.
Not much in the way of heroes.” — www.amazon.com
Book 3: Dragons of Spring Dawning
“The war against the dragon minions of Queen Takhisis rages on. Armed with the mysterious, magical dragon orbs and the shining, silver dragonlance, the companions bring hope to the world. But now, in the dawn of a new day, the dark secrets that have long shadowed the hearts of the friends come to the light. Betrayal, treachery, frailty, and weakness will nearly destroy all that they have accomplished.
The greatest battle they have left to fight is within each of them.
Yet, in the end, they will be heroes.” — www.amazon.com
2. The Ender Wiggin Saga - Orson Scott Card
This isn’t the official name of course but if you’ve read them you know what I’m talking about. You can’t put these books down. And if you’ve seen the headlines about NASA looking to expand into the gaming world you’ll soon realize how close 2135 really is. Apparently there is some news that Card is planning writing a couple of more to merge the story lines but I haven’t seen anything official and my guy at the local B&N isn’t talking. Just in case I’ll hold on to that gift card I got for Christmas though. Man, it’ll be like Santa coming 10 months early! Oh, did I mention that the first two books, Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead, both won the Nebula and Hugo Awards? Card is the only author (as of 2007) that has won both awards in consecutive years.
Book 1: Ender’s Game 
Book 2: Speaker for the Dead
“Ender Wiggin, the hero and scapegoat of mass alien destruction in Ender’s Game, receives a chance at redemption in this novel. Ender, who proclaimed as a mistake his success in wiping out an alien race, wins the opportunity to cope better with a second race, discovered by Portuguese colonists on the planet Lusitania. Orson Scott Card infuses this long, ambitious tale with intellect by casting his characters in social, religious and cultural contexts. Like its predecessor, this book won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.” — www.amazon.com
Book 3: Xenocide
“Orson Scott Card’s Xenocide is a space opera with verve. In this continuation of Ender Wiggin’s story, the Starways Congress has sent a fleet to immolate the rebellious planet of Lusitania, home to the alien race of pequeninos, and home to Ender Wiggin and his family. Concealed on Lusitania is the only remaining Hive Queen, who holds a secret that may save or destroy humanity throughout the galaxy. Familiar characters from the previous novels continue to grapple with religious conflicts and family squabbles while inventing faster-than-light travel and miraculous virus treatments. Throw into the mix an entire planet of mad geniuses and a self-aware computer who wants to be a martyr, and it’s hard to guess who will topple the first domino.” — www.Amazon.com
Book 4: Children of the Mind
“Children of the Mind, fourth in the Ender series, is the conclusion of the story begun in the third book, Xenocide. The author unravels Ender’s life and reweaves the threads into unexpected new patterns, including an apparent reincarnation of his threatening older brother, Peter, not to mention another “sister” Valentine. Multiple storylines entwine, as the threat of the Lusitania-bound fleet looms ever nearer. The self-aware computer, Jane, who has always been more than she seemed, faces death at human hands even as she approaches godhood. At the same time, the characters hurry to investigate the origins of the descolada virus before they lose their ability to travel instantaneously between the stars. There is plenty of action and romance to season the text’s analyses of Japanese culture and the flux and ebb of civilizations.” — www.amazon.com
Book 5: Ender’s Shadow
“Ender’s Shadow is being dubbed as a parallel novel to Orson Scott Card’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender’s Game. By “parallel,” Card means that Shadow begins and ends at roughly the same time as Game, and it chronicles many of the same events. In fact, the two books tell an almost identical story of brilliant children being trained in the orbiting Battle School to lead humanity’s fleets in the final war against alien invaders known as the Buggers. The most brilliant of these young recruits is Ender Wiggin, an unparalleled commander and tactician who can surely defeat the Buggers if only he can overcome his own inner turmoil.
Second among the children is Bean, who becomes Ender’s lieutenant despite the fact that he is the smallest and youngest of the Battle School students. Bean is the central character of Shadow, and we pick up his story when he is just a 2-year-old starving on the streets of a future Rotterdam that has become a hell on earth. Bean is unnaturally intelligent for his age, which is the only thing that allows him to escape–though not unscathed–the streets and eventually end up in Battle School. Despite his brilliance, however, Bean is doomed to live his life as an also-ran to the more famous and in many ways more brilliant Ender. Nonetheless, Bean learns things that Ender cannot or will not understand, and it falls to this once pathetic street urchin to carry the weight of a terrible burden that Ender must not be allowed to know.” — www.amazon.com
Book 6: Shadow of the Hegemon
“Orson Scott Card finally explores what happened on earth after the war with the Buggers in the sixth book of his Ender series, Shadow of the Hegemon. This novel is the continuation of the story of Bean, which began with Ender’s Shadow, a parallel novel to Card’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender’s Game.
While Ender heads off to a faraway planet, Bean and the other brilliant children who helped Ender save the earth from alien invaders have become war heroes and have finally been sent home to live with their parents. While the children try to fit back in with the family and friends they haven’t known for nearly a decade, someone’s worried about their safety. Peter Wiggins, Ender’s brother, has foreseen that the talented children are in danger of being killed or kidnapped. His fears are quickly realized, and only Bean manages to escape. Bean knows he must save the others and protect humanity from a new evil that has arisen, an evil from his past. But just as he played second to Ender during the Bugger war, Bean must again step into the shadow of another, the one who will be Hegemon.” — www.amazon.com
Book 7: Shadow Puppets
“In Shadow Puppets, Orson Scott Card continues the storyline of Shadow of the Hegemon, following the exploits of the Battle School children, prodigies who have returned to an Earth thrown into chaos after the unifying force of the alien invasion they stopped in Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow has dissipated.
Foremost among these whiz kids is the brilliant Bean who, in Shadow of the Hegemon, rescued his comrades from his nemesis–the dastardly Achilles. Now, the down-but-not-out evil genius is again scheming towards global domination and vengeance against the irrepressible Bean. It’s up to Bean and his newfound love, Petra, to outwit the young psychopath and save the world. Meanwhile, the other Battle School children are called to serve again as an expansionist China threatens the stability of post-Bugger War Earth.” — www.amazon.com
Book 8: Shadow of the Giant
“The imminent death of Bean, a superhuman 20-something Battle School graduate who suffers from uncontrolled growth due to a genetic disorder, leaves little time for Peter the Hegemon, Ender’s older brother, to set up a single world government and for Bean and his wife and former classmate, Petra, to reclaim all their stolen children. When Card’s focus strays from his characters into pure politics, the story loses power, but it’s recharged as soon as he returns to the well-drawn interactions among Bean’s Battle School classmates whose decisions will determine Earth’s fate. They were trained to fight a (literally) single-minded alien enemy, but that war is over. Now, as young adults in command of human armies pitted against each other in messy conflicts with no clear solutions, Bean’s old cohorts must help create a peaceful future for Earth after they’re gone. Card makes the important point that there’s always more than one side to every issue. Fans will marvel at how subtly he has prepared for the clever resolution.” — www.amazon.com
Book 9: First Meetings in Ender’s Universe
“Grade 6 Up-Andrew “Ender” Wiggins, a brilliant leader and tactician and destined to save Earth by destroying an entire alien civilization at the age of 12, was first introduced in Card’s “Ender’s Game” in Analog magazine (1977). That novella, plus three other stories (including one never before published) make up this appealing and entertaining collection of tales, all dealing with first meetings that played significant roles in the life of Ender Wiggins. “The Polish Boy” introduces his extraordinary father, John Paul, who manages at the age of six to trick the Hegemony into bringing his entire family from Poland to the United States. “Teacher’s Pest” is the story of how John Paul meets and romances the equally brilliant graduate student Theresa Brown. Finally, in “The Investment Counselor,” a mysterious accounting program named Jane appears just when 20-year-old Andrew Wiggins needs help figuring out both his taxes and what to do with the rest of his life. All four stories use the future setting as a framework to explore various issues of religion, government control, population limits, education, and moral responsibility. Character, setting, plot-Card does them all right, and makes it look effortless. The graphic novelesque illustrations will appeal to teens. For newcomers to Ender’s universe and long-time fans, this book will hit the spot and whet the appetite for more.” — www.amazon.com
Book 10: A War of Gifts: An Ender Story
“Card returns to his Hugo and Nebula award-winning Enderverse saga (after 2005’s Shadow of the Giant) with a heartwarming novella for the holidays. When Zeck Morgan, the young son of a puritanical minister, qualifies for admission into the International Fleet’s Battle School, he is brought to the school against his will. Citing his pacifist religious beliefs, Zeck refuses to participate in any simulated war games, but when he sees a Dutch student give a friend a small present in celebration of Sinterklaas Day, he reports the violation of the school’s rules against open religious observation and sparks an uproar over religious freedom and the significance of cultural traditions. Meanwhile, Zeck becomes a pariah until series hero Ender Wiggin finds a way to show him the real meaning of the holidays. Exploring themes of tolerance and compassion, this story about stuffing stockings is, fittingly, a perfect stocking stuffer for science fiction fans of all ages.” — www.amazon.com
3. Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
Oh come on! You knew this was coming! Yes, it starts off a little childish but it picks up nicely and gets darker with each book. Besides, it does what we wanted it to! It takes you away from reality to a place where good things can happen to good people! You can even go here and place yourself in one of the four houses! Don’t do this at work but you know you’ll do it when you get home…if you haven’t already.
Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
“Say you’ve spent the first 10 years of your life sleeping under the stairs of a family who loathes you. Then, in an absurd, magical twist of fate you find yourself surrounded by wizards, a caged snowy owl, a phoenix-feather wand, and jellybeans that come in every flavor, including strawberry, curry, grass, and sardine. Not only that, but you discover that you are a wizard yourself! This is exactly what happens to young Harry Potter in J.K. Rowling’s enchanting, funny debut novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In the nonmagic human world–the world of “Muggles”–Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort. But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is famous as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him. He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities, and a host of mysterious powers to remind him that he’s quite, yes, altogether different from his aunt, uncle, and spoiled, piglike cousin Dudley. — Karin Snelson” — www.amazon.com
Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
“Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. Soon it’s not just Harry who is worried about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, “The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware.” But what exactly does it mean? Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible–including risking their own lives–to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery. This deliciously suspenseful novel is every bit as gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first; familiar student concerns–fierce rivalry, blush-inducing crushes, pedantic professors–seamlessly intertwine with the bizarre, horrific, fantastical, or just plain funny. Once again, Rowling writes with a combination of wit, whimsy, and a touch of the macabre that will leave readers young and old desperate for the next installment. (Ages 9 and older) –Karin Snelson” — www.amazon.com
Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
“For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who’s forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard “accidentally” causes the Dursleys’ dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.
As it turns out, Harry isn’t punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black–an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban–is on the loose. Not only that, but he’s after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry’s very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works. (Ages 9 and older) –Karin Snelson” — www.amazon.com
Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
“In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling offers up equal parts danger and delight–and any number of dragons, house-elves, and death-defying challenges. Now 14, her orphan hero has only two more weeks with his Muggle relatives before returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yet one night a vision harrowing enough to make his lightning-bolt-shaped scar burn has Harry on edge and contacting his godfather-in-hiding, Sirius Black. Happily, the prospect of attending the season’s premier sporting event, the Quidditch World Cup, is enough to make Harry momentarily forget that Lord Voldemort and his sinister familiars–the Death Eaters–are out for murder.
Readers, we will cast a giant invisibility cloak over any more plot and reveal only that You-Know-Who is very much after Harry and that this year there will be no Quidditch matches between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Instead, Hogwarts will vie with two other magicians’ schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders? — Kerry Fried” — www.amazon.com
Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
“As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It’s been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero’s non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief… or will it?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, more than any of the four previous novels in the series, is a coming-of-age story. Harry faces the thorny transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black-and-white suddenly come out in shades of gray. Gone is the wide-eyed innocent, the whiz kid of Sorcerer’s Stone. Here we have an adolescent who’s sometimes sullen, often confused (especially about girls), and always self-questioning. Confronting death again, as well as a startling prophecy, Harry ends his year at Hogwarts exhausted and pensive. Readers, on the other hand, will be energized as they enter yet again the long waiting period for the next title in the marvelous, magical series. (Ages 9 and older) — Emilie Coulter” — www.amazon.com
Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
“The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, “Is it worth the hype?” The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will blow you away. However, given that so much has gone into protecting the secrets of the book (including armored trucks and injunctions), don’t expect any spoilers in this review. It’s much more fun not knowing what’s coming–and in the case of Rowling’s delicious sixth book, you don’t want to know. Just sit tight, despite the earth-shattering revelations that will have your head in your hands as you hope the words will rearrange themselves into a different story. But take one warning to heart: do not open Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until you have first found a secluded spot, safe from curious eyes, where you can tuck in for a good long read. Because once you start, you won’t stop until you reach the very last page. — Daphne Durham” — www.amazon.com
Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
“Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling’s spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart–such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review–to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling’s fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry–bring plenty of tissues.
The heart of Book 7 is a hero’s mission–not just in Harry’s quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man–and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore’s warning about making the choice between “what is right and what is easy,” and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling’s skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.
A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix’s flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. — Daphne Durham” — www.amazon.com
4. The Dark Tower - Stephen King
Described as his Magnum Opus. Read it. Love it. Clint Eastwood meets Gandalf in this Sci-fi/Fantasy gone Western. The series was mostly inspired by the poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” by Robert Browning, but as it turns out, each book in the series inspires several of its own. The series also inspired a graphic novel by the same name that’s not bad either. These were a really good read but I’m glad I did start when he started, apparently it took quite some time for King to finish!
Book 1: The Gunslinger
“The opening chapter in the epic Dark Tower series. Roland, the last gunslinger, in a world where time has moved on, pursues his nemesis, The Man in Black, across a desert. Roland’s ultimate goal is the Dark Tower, the nexus of all universes. This mysterious icon’s power is failing, threatening everything in existence.” — www.stephenking.com/DarkTower
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three
“Part II of an epic saga. Roland, the last gunslinger, encounters three mysterious doorways on the beach. Each one enters into a different person living in New York. Through these doorways, Roland draws the companions who will assist him on his quest to save the Dark Tower.” — www.stephenking.com/DarkTower
Book 3: The Waste Lands
“Part III of an epic saga. Roland and his companions, Eddie and Susannah Dean, find the Path of the Beam that will lead them to the Dark Tower. Along the way, Roland adds two new members to his ka-tet (a group united for a specific purpose). In the decaying city of Lud, they encounter new dangers, including a sentient train that has gone insane.” — www.stephenking.com/DarkTower
Book 4: Wizard and Glass
“Part IV of an epic quest. Roland the Gunslinger and his followers have to contend with a sentient monorail intent on killing itself and taking them with it. While seeking to return to the Path of the Beam that will lead them to the Dark Tower, Roland tells his friends a story about the tragic loss of his first love, Susan Delgado.” — www.stephenking.com/DarkTower
Book 5: Wolves of the Calla
“After escaping the perilous wreckage of Blaine the insane Mono and eluding the evil clutches of the vindictive sorcerer Randall Flagg, Roland and his ka-tet find themselves back on the southeasterly path of the Beam. Here, in the borderlands that lie between Mid-World and End-World, Roland and his friends are approached by a frightened band of representatives from the nearby town of Calla Bryn Sturgis.
In less than a month, the Calla will be attacked by the Wolves - those masked riders taht gallop out of Thunderclap once a generation to steal the town’s children. The Calla folken need the kind of help that only gunslingers can give, and if the tet agrees to help, the town’s priest - Father Callahan, once of Salem’s Lot, Maine, - promises to give them Black Thirteen, the most potent and treacherous of Maerlyn’s magic balls. He used it to enter Mid-World, and now sleeps fitfully beneath the floorboards of his church.
Meanwhile, in New York of 1977, the Sombra Corporation plots to destroy the lot at Second Avenue and Forty-Sixth Street. How can Roaldn and his friends both save the rose and fight the Wolves? Only by using the magic of Black Thirteen, but how can anyone trust this sinister and treacherous object which is, in actuality, the eye of the Crimson King himself?
Time is running out on all levels of the Tower, but unless our ka-tet can defeat the minions of Thunderclap both in our world and in Mid-World, they will never reach that great lynchpin of the time/space continuum which, even now, begins to totter….” — www.stephenking.com/DarkTower
Book 6: Song of Susannah
“King’s epical Dark Tower hastens to a close, and its penultimate volume is one of the speediest. The gunslingers of Mid-World and other alternate Earths have defeated The Wolves of the Calla (2003) but lost one of their number. Susannah Dean, nee Odetta Holmes, lacking her lower legs after a minion of the Satan of Mid-World, the Crimson King, pushed her in front of a subway train, and whose personality is sometimes split between black bourgeoise Odetta and viciously paranoiac Detta Walker, has been taken over by the spirit Mia to be the body in which Mia will gestate a boy who will eventually kill head gunslinger Roland. The child is to be born in New York in 1999, which is where Susannah-Mia repairs through one of the doors between worlds. The other gunslingers pursue through the same door, but only 11-year-old Jake Chambers, accompanied by former ‘Salems’ Lot priest Don Callahan, get to New York. Roland and Susannah’s husband, Eddie Dean, tumble into an ambush in New England in 1977. Each chapter–called a stanza and ending with two songlike quatrains–advances one subset of gunslingers’ progress. King keeps us on tenterhooks throughout–and leaves us there. Before quite departing, he tacks on a clever coda about the gradual creation of the Dark Tower–but in which world? The series concludes with The Dark Tower in September. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved”
Book 7: The Dark Tower
“At one point in this final book of the Dark Tower series, the character Stephen King (added to the plot in Song of Susannah) looks back at the preceding pages and says “when this last book is published, the readers are going to be just wild.” And he’s not kidding.
After a journey through seven books and over 20 years, King’s Constant Readers finally have the conclusion they’ve been both eagerly awaiting and silently dreading. The tension in the Dark Tower series has built steadily from the beginning and, like in the best of King’s novels, explodes into a violent, heart-tugging climax as Roland and his ka-tet finally near their goal. The body count in The Dark Tower is high. The gunslingers come out shooting and face a host of enemies, including low men, mutants, vampires, Roland’s hideous quasi-offspring Mordred, and the fearsome Crimson King himself. King pushes the gross-out factor at times–Roland’s lesson on tanning (no, not sun tanning) is brutal–but the magic of the series remains strong and readers will feel the pull of the Tower as strongly as ever as the story draws to a close. During this sentimental journey, King ties up loose ends left hanging from the 15 non-series novels and stories that are deeply entwined in the fabric of Mid-World through characters like Randall Flagg (The Stand and others) or Father Callahan (’Salem’s Lot). When it finally arrives, the long awaited conclusion will leave King’s myriad fans satisfied but wishing there were still more to come.
In King’s memoir On Writing, he tells of an old woman who wrote him after reading the early books in the Dark Tower series. She was dying, she said, and didn’t expect to see the end of Roland’s quest. Could King tell her? Does he reach the Tower? Does he save it? Sadly, King said he did not know himself, that the story was creating itself as it went along. Wherever that woman is now (the clearing at the end of the path, perhaps?), let’s hope she has a copy of The Dark Tower. Surely she would agree it’s been worth the wait. –Benjamin Reese” — www.amazon.com
5. The Wheel Of Time Series - Robert Jordan
Yes, I know that’s not his real name but that’s what he published the books under and out of respect he will always be RJ to me. And yes, I know it’s not finished yet but it might be by the time you make through this list. Remember, this was not the beginning of a great list, but it was a beginning. The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, The Fires of Heaven, Lord of Chaos, A Crown of Swords, The Path of Daggers, Winter’s Heart, Crossroads of Twilight, Knife of Dreams, A Memory of Light (TBR fall 2009). New Spring was published in 2000 but is a prequel. You can read it first or whenever, I don’t think it matters. All of the reviews for the WoT books have come from Dragonmount out of respect for what they do there.
Prequel: New Spring
“New Spring was a “short” story that Robert Jordan wrote back in 1998. It was published in the Legends Anthology that was published by Tor Books and edited by Robert Silverburg.
In 2004, an expanded version of the short story was published as New Spring: The Novel. You can read Chapter 1 for free on Tor’s Website. The paperback version of this novel also contains an excerpt of the KNIFE OF DREAMS prologue.
It tells the story of a young Moiraine, and how she began her search for the baby boy destined to become the Dragon Reborn. It also follows a twenty-something Lan, and his battle with the Blight. The two of them are caught up together in different struggles and discover a dark plan being set into motion by the Black Ajah.” — Dragonmount
Book 1: The Eye of the World
“Welcome to the first book of The Wheel of Time saga! Robert Jordan introduces his world to us through intense action, as well as some breathtakingly powerful moments. The books opens with the doom of Lews Therin Telamon, known as the Dragon, and then fast-forwards three thousand years to begin the main story.
Strangers have come to the Two Rivers during the Bel Tine holiday. In this remote area three young boys, Rand al’Thor, Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara, look forward to the coming festival. With the mysterious outisders come strange stories of war and of a man named Logain, who claims to be the Dragon Reborn, the one prophesized to save the world, and also to destroy it in his madness. For it is known that no man can channel the One Power without going horribly insane.
On the night before Bel Tine, Trollocs come and ransack the village where the young men live. Together with the mysterious Moiraine and Lan, an even stranger man, the young men escape with a few other companions into the night and make their way toward Tar Valon. There they discover that they all have roles to play, and that evil seeks them out. They learn that this evil will search anywhere for them: even at the Eye of the World.” — Dragonmount
Book 2: The Great Hunt
“The second book of the series (originally designed to be a part of Book 1), begins in the north where some objects of great value are stolen by Darkfriends. Rand is forced to face the group he fears most: the Aes Sedai for fear of what they might do to him. Mat continues to slowly lose strength as an evil continues to grow inside of his body. Egwene and Nynaeve prepare to travel to Tar Valon to learn to be Aes Sedai, while Rand travels with Mat, Perrin, and the Lord Ingtar of Shienar in a quest to catch up with the thieves, and to save Mat.” — Dragonmount
Book 3: The Dragon Reborn
“In the 3rd book of the series, Perrin and Moiraine begin a long journey after Rand, who has run off to the city of Tear chasing his destiny. Along the way Perrin begins to see the major role he has yet to play. He meets Faile, a young mysterious Hunter of the Horn who is far more than she seems.
Meanwhile, Mat is taken to Tar Valon for the Healing that is the only way to save his life. Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve search out a deadly foe that is far more dangerous than they think. Which will take them away from Tar Valon and back out into a world being quickly consumed by war and turmoil.
The Aiel have crossed the Dragonwall, for the first time in twenty years, and have headed toward Tear. In the Heart of the Stone, the great Sword That Is Not A Sword, waits for the Dragon Reborn to draw it out and complete the ancient prophecy. All paths lead to Tear, on a great collision course of destiny.” — Dragonmount
Book 4: The Shadow Rising
“The fourth novel in the Wheel of Time is considered by many fans to one of the finest, if not the finest, book in the series.
In the Stone of Tear, Rand must make a decision of what to do and where to go next. The Forsaken, still in hiding, are plotting against him. The local nobles are grinding their teeth and planning his demise behind his back. His decision will take him to a strange and deadly land where he will learn about his past, and of where his future must take him.
In the meantime, Perrin returns to the Two Rivers after hearing rumors of the Children of the Light looking for him there. dangerous than they think. Which will take them away from Tar Valon and back out into a world being quickly consumed by war and turmoil. He decides to save the Two Rivers by traveling back to his home and turning himself in to the Children. But upon arriving home, Perrin discovers that the Trollocs have returned and the Two Rivers in great danger. Perrin must become a hunter of Trollocs in order to save the Two Rivers. But what will he do about the Whitecloaks?” — Dragonmount
Book 5: The Fires of Heaven
“In the 5th, and perhaps the most ambitious of all novels in the series, the characters face some incredible new challenges. Many fans applaud this novel for it’s rich characterization, exciting battle scenes, intimate love story, and fantastic ending.
Rand al’Thor, along with a reluctant Mat Cauthon, must lead the Aiel out of the Waste and back into the Wetlands. At the same time they must deal with the Shaido and others who refuse to follow the new Car’a'Carn.
The novel follows the amazing story of how two cultures are forced to work together, and how the Dragon Reborn must face enemies that are ever-growing.” — Dragonmount
Book 6: Lord of Chaos
“The sixth book in The Wheel of Time is without a doubt, the turning point in the series (and probably the longest book as well). It’s where all innocence is lost, all bonds are broken, and “the world is changed forever.”
Mazrim Taim, the false Dragon, is brought before Rand al’Thor. Rand gives him a task, something that has never been done before in this Age and something nobody would have ever expected.
Egwene is summoned away from the Wise Ones she is with, and must accept a new role which she is not sure she’s ready for.
Perrin also, feels the pull of ta’veren, and has to make a choice of where to go.
Everything in this book builds up to a climatic ending that changes every aspect of the story. The ending is considered by many to be Jordan’s best moment in the series.” — Dragonmount
Book 7: A Crown of Swords
“In this seventh volume of the series, it picks up right where Lord of Chaos left off. We finally watch as Rand goes and prepares to against Sammael, who is holding power in Illian. The taint on saidin is growing worse and worse for him, and slowly he can feel insanity creeping up (if it is not already there).
Meanwhile, Mat, Elyane, and Nyneave go to Ebou Dar to find the Bowl of the Winds, what they believe can fix the unnatural weather that the world has been experiencing. Readers who are fans of Mat Cauthon usually love this book as he gets himself into some unexpected trouble that some say “He had coming”.
In this book we also begin to learn more of some new threats from the Shadow. New Forsaken walk the world, and new enemies seem to spring up around the land. All of this culminates in an ending that is truly dark and mysterious.” — Dragonmount
Book 8: The Path of Daggers
“As the eighth book in The Wheel of Time series, The Path of Daggers carries the difficult task of being somewhere in the middle of this giant series. Instead of high-paced action, it focuses more on the in-depth politics surrounding the nations and the divided White Tower.
Egwene goes for broke in an all out attempt to unite the tower. Rand struggles with his sanity, while Cadsuane Sedai and the Wise Ones struggle to guide him. Elayne, Avihenda, and Nynaeve meanwhile flee Ebou Dar, which has fallen to the Seanchan. They head towards Andor, where Elayne will attempt to take back the Lion Throne.
Even though this book is not as much high adventure as the earlier books, it boasts an amazing battle scene spanning over 100 pages, contains hidden secrets and information for the die-hard fans, and sets you up for what will end up being one of the most amazing parts of the entire series: the seige of Tar Valon.” — Dragonmount
Book 9: Winter’s Heart
“The latest in The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. There is no need to describe how long fans of this series have waited for this volume to be released. With the cliffhanger ending of The Path of Daggers keeping us all in suspense, WoT fans waited oh-so-patiently for it to be released.
In this volume, Perrin begins a hunt that will certainly last a few more books. He is followed by Berelain, Morgase, and the Prophet.
Meanwhile, Elayne has returned to Andor in order to secure her claim to the throne. In this volume she has a few surprise visitors as well. (Read about one of them in the prologue.)
Mat Cauthon has arrived back on the scene! (Fans will remember he was absent in The Path of Daggers.) As he is recovering from an injury, and trying to avoid being killed by a gholam, he runs into somebody that he’s been dreading for a long time….
Lastly, Rand has finally left behind politics and seeks to find a way to shift the balance of the war into his favor. The result is a climax that many fans are calling the greatest scene in the books so far. Be prepared for an ending that will amaze you and make you want to read it again!” — Dragonmount
Book 10: Crossroads of Twilight
“In the tenth book of the Wheel of Time, from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Robert Jordan, the world and the characters stand at a crossroads, and the world approaches twilight, when the power of the shadow grows stronger.
Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.
Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand, and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.
At Tar Valon, Egwene Al’Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha’man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha’man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.
In Andor, Elayne Trakand fights for the Lion Throne that is hers by right, but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.
Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One’s taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared - even one prophesied to save the world. Now Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.” — Dragonmount
Book 11: Knife of Dreams
“The Wheel of Time turns, and Robert Jordan gives us the eleventh volume of his extraordinary masterwork of fantasy.
The dead are walking, men die impossible deaths, and it seems as though reality itself has become unstable: All are signs of the imminence of Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, when Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, must confront the Dark One as humanity’s only hope. But Rand dares not fight until he possesses all the surviving seals on the Dark One’s prison and has dealt with the Seanchan, who threaten to overrun all nations this side of the Aryth Ocean and increasingly seem too entrenched to be fought off. But his attempt to make a truce with the Seanchan is shadowed by treachery that may cost him everything. Whatever the price, though, he must have that truce. And he faces other dangers. There are those among the Forsaken who will go to any length to see him dead–and the Black Ajah is at his side…
Unbeknownst to Rand, Perrin has made his own truce with the Seanchan. It is a deal made with the Dark One, in his eyes, but he will do whatever is needed to rescue his wife, Faile, and destroy the Shaido who captured her. Among the Shaido, Faile works to free herself while hiding a secret that might give her her freedom or cause her destruction. And at a town called Malden, the Two Rivers longbow will be matched against Shaido spears.
Fleeing Ebou Dar through Seanchan-controlled Altara with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, Mat attempts to court the woman to whom he is half-married, knowing that she will complete that ceremony eventually. But Tuon coolly leads him on a merry chase as he learns that even a gift can have deep significance among the Seanchan Blood and what he thinks he knows of women is not enough to save him. For reasons of her own, which she will not reveal until a time of her choosing, she has pledged not to escape, but Mat still sweats whenever there are Seanchan soldiers near. Then he learns that Tuon herself is in deadly danger from those very soldiers. To get her to safety, he must do what he hates worse than In Caemlyn, Elayne fights to gain the Lion Throne while trying to avert what seems a certain civil war should she win the crown…
In the White Tower, Egwene struggles to undermine the sisters loyal to Elaida from within…
The winds of time have become a storm, and things that everyone believes are fixed in place forever are changing before their eyes. Even the White Tower itself is no longer a place of safety. Now Rand, Perrin and Mat, Egwene and Elayne, Nynaeve and Lan, and even Loial, must ride those storm winds, or the Dark One will triumph.” — Dragonmount
Book 12: A Memory of Light
No image available. To be published in Fall of 2009.
“As we all know, Robert Jordan passed away in September, 2007. A Memory of Light, the twelfth and final novel in The Wheel of Time series, was incomplete at the time of his passing. He left behind a staggering amount of notes on the world, as well as some written chapters for the final book. In addition, for the parts of the story he did not have documented in written form, he passed on in the good, old fashioned way: he told people the story.
In his last days he told the story to his friends and family, who recorded it onto tape. In the months that followed his death, Harriet, Robert Jordan’s beloved wife and editor, put together a comprehensive outline of this final book.
Brandon Sanderson, an up-and-coming fantasy writer (and long-time fan of Robert Jordans’s) was chosen by Harriet to bring the outline to life in the form of a published novel. Harriet will edit this book, just as she did the rest of the series.” — Dragonmount
I hope you liked the list. If you have other books or series that you think are good reads leave a comment. I know we’re all always on the look out for things that we might have missed due to lapses in judgment or things like the lack of a paycheck.
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