Promise in Merry Gentry?

[raging-muse.livejournal.com]

Hi guys!

The recent posts I've seen about the new Merry book Swallowing Darkness has got me thinking on an old disappointment.  I remember when i first read the first Merry book. I admit somewhat embaressingly now that I liked the first book, it had promise and I liked it alot better then the Anita series which I'd been reading through at the time.  I remember thinking that more then the ANita series, the Merry one had alot of promise and looked to be a really good series.

Back when I first read it there weren't any other books around about Faeries, bar a few young adult/teen aimed ones.  Not sure if any of you can remember any Faerie based books out at the same time but please advise me if you know of any. SO to me Laurell was the first author i got to to do Faeries in the way she's done them - the 2 courts and all. I keep thinking ot myself that under the hands of a different author that whole series could be been really well done. The idea of the 2 seperate courts  of Unseelie and Seelie wasn't new but 2 mad monarchs at the helm and the problem of a dying race due ot infertility was interesting. But alas like the Anita series it bombed and died a horrible death as all the sex and bad writing got in the way. Does anyone else think under a different author or if Laurell had done it right it could ahve gone on to be quite good? And does anyone know of any really good Faerie books? The ones i find these days are all the awful paranormal type ones and i find myself insulted to see powerful Faeries treated as sex toys.

 

Comments

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

You might try The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Faeries (the book spelling) show up in various degrees in the books (sometimes just visits from dewdrop faeries). However, in the third book, Grave Peril, Harry Dresden's faerie godmother figures prominently. (She's the Leanansidhe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leanan_s%C3%ADdhe). Think "vampiric fae who gives poets and artists inspiration in exchange for a short lifespan." Definitely NOT a fairy godmother as seen by Disney.) The fourth book, Summer Knight deals extensively with the politics and battles between the Summer and Winter Court. Oh, and there are three queens in each Court. The eighth book, Proven Guilty focuses on Faerie--a battle to get there and back--for the final third of the book. And in book ten, Small Favor, it's psychotics-possessed-by-fallen-angels vs. faeries vs. Harry and his friends/allies. There's also a short story called "Something Borrowed," which deals with a stolen bride.

Read all of them--and every book and story in between. You'll be glad that you did.

[easol.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Butcher really does well with that -- the fae spend time doing and thinking about other stuff than sex. They're actually kind of freaky and very inhuman, and extremely menacing regardless of gender or position. Even if they're stuck in a block of ice having psycho attacks! The Leanansidhe rocks.

I do love Toot and his little brigade of not-very-bright pizza-loving faeries, tho.

[pastygothchick.livejournal.com]

Honestly Mab could give lessons on how to be an evil Faerie Bitch Queen.

Tie someone up, torture them within an inch of their life and then kill them = done and over done.

Tie someone up, torture them within an inch of their lives, hang them up, pull them down, heal them until they look forward to the torture then kill them because you broke them = genius.

[estllechauvelin.livejournal.com]

I third this.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

Fourth this!

I wanna see Titania on screen dang it! She's the only Queen we haven't seen on camara speaking!

[beloved828.livejournal.com]

I um....5th this? (what number are we up to now?)Harry Dresden all the way! I really think you'll like him. I really used to like the Merry Gentry stuff, too. I admit it. I liked it for the faeries, the fluff, and the smut. After LKH got on her soapbox about monogamy being the debbil and things just happening because it's "magic"(read: plot device used to get LKH out of having to write), I began to feel like I was reading an Anita book set in Faerie Land. I know, I know. They weren't that much different to begin with. Now, the only thing that's different is the hair/eye color and the setting.