Do you know who is three? My son! You know who else is three? Fantasy Literature! We celebrated our third birthday on Tuesday. As we were sitting around the FanLit (virtual) offices, we were chatting about what to do to incorporate our birthday into the Thoughtful Thursday post. Bill suggested we could do a list of series that stopped at a trilogy that should have continued, but then we realized that would be a short list. Like, two series short. Do authors stop at trilogies any more? Then, Bill offered a birthday toast, “may your pants remain free of firedrakes and your staff never warp.” And all of us knew exactly what we were going to do.
Here’s the plan, dear readers:
1. Come up with the most creative fantasy style birthday blessing, and we’ll let you pick the book of your choice from our stacks.
2. If you haven’t already taken your personality test from last week’s column, go do that. The results so far have been really interesting. We have every personality type represented except for one. I’ll present the findings in next week’s column.
3. If you can think of a series that ended up as a trilogy that you wish had been longer, go ahead and tell us that too. I’ll see if I can sneak another book out of the stacks for the best suggestion. I’ll distract Kat with a shiny new ARC if I have to.
Here’s to Fantasy Literature, the big 3 Congrats. My birthday blessing shall come from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 2, verses 9-21: “Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.”
-I can’t believe I beat Bill to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch reference…
Happy B-Day!
Ruth, he’s so cute!!
Firstly, happy birthday to your son as well as Fantasy Lit.
Secondly, in response to the trilogy I wished would have continued–I would have to say that has been the “Abhorsen” trilogy. I enjoyed Lirael best of the three, but I thought they were all quite special and unique. I have been searching for a book along those lines and if you think of one I would be most grateful. (I also loved The Hero and the Crown as well as The Blue Sword–I know, it’s not a trilogy).
From the librarian: “Many happy returns.”
From the author/publisher: “Many happy sequels.”
From the irascible wizard: “Never reveal your true name or age, dolts.”
From a hobbit (misquoted): “I know more than half of you, less than half as well as I should like.”
From the urban fantasy heroine: “Yeah, whatever. What. I’m supposed to get all excited about a birthday? It’s a freaking website for pity sake.”
From the steampunk protagonist trapped in our world:”A blog’s birthday, you say? Does your blog breathe fire to run this marvelous typesetting contraption upon which its visage appears? Or is it powered by that demon… Gates, I think you called him.”
Felicitations!
Trilogies I’d like to see continued: I’d love to see another Tiffany Aching book by Terry Pratchett, and I’d love to see another Nifft the Lean book by Michael Shea. (And as long as we’re dreaming, I’d be a very happy fellow if Michael Reaves ever went back and wrote a third Shattered World novel.)
may there be
“Three blogs for the readers under the spelll,
Seven for the Fantasy artists in the hugo hall of fame,
Nine for Authors who dream to make it,
One for the Neil Gaiman on his dark throne
In the Land of the Blogsphere where the reviews lie.
One Blog to rule them all, One Blog to find them,
One Blog to bring them all and in the geekness bind them”
Fantasylit that is
need to come up with something more original next time.
happy third!
Just had to stop and say Happy Birthday! And many more to come. :)