The Sword and Laser discussion

So I don't want to start a whole discussion thread on the series because it's not actually our pick this month. But for those who are finding Arrows of the Queen a little...uneven, might consider eventually reading Mercedes Lackey's newer series, The Five Hundred Kingdoms, starting with The Fairy Godmother. I'd hope that people don't give up on Lackey because they didn't like her debut novel.

She's gotten rid of quite a few of her problems by the time she started writing these. The prose is way less purple and the dialogue is more modern. I consider the characterization to be much better. There is still an overall theme of good people trying to do right in a world stacked against them, with some evil people in it. So a little on the rose-colored side, but frankly I at least need a steady diet of that to cut the modern focus on grimdark.

The biggest reason I recommend it is the concept of The Tradition. The Tradition makes things happen the way they do in stories and songs. It's a sort of like gravity to increase the status quo. It builds up magical potential around people whose lives can be fit into one of the old fairy tale patterns, like The Wicked Stepmother or The Relative Not Invited to the Christening. Certain people have noticed the pattern and have effectively become genre savvy. One of the major themes involves trying to tweak the story slightly, hoping to widen the option set available for the next person caught up in that tale like an ocean current.

I personally think it's one of the better deconstructive fantasy series out there, especially for a reader who's read quite a bit of fantasy and myth and is tired of the same old tropes. I was somewhat disappointed though with the latest book in the series, Beauty and the Werewolf, because the tone is darker and the scope was smaller, making it seem to me to be more like a paranormal romance that just happens to take place in the same universe.

Like I said, I don't want to hijack Arrows of the Queen's thunder, but I really think that this audience would like this series. I am also curious to hear of who's enjoyed them already, so if that's you, speak up! But please tag spoilers.

Joanna wrote: "So I don't want to start a whole discussion thread on the series because it's not actually our pick this month. But for those who are finding Arrows of the Queen a little...uneven, mig..."


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