Brain Fertilizer

I love the English language. My appreciation for it has grown even stronger through blogging, and through mastering Chinese-Mandarin.

I just made an intentionally-vague comment in an email, eliciting laughter...could have easily elicited curses, but I made an educated judgment about the character and intelligence of the recipient and was right.

Anyway, I nearly asked her if she had read any Steven Brust, particularly the series written in the style of Alexander Dumas, starting with The Phoenix Guards. But then I thought, why not bring this up with everyone?

Because Mr. Brust recently came out with a complete trilogy in that same series. Unbelievable! Unbelievably good! It ties in both the historical and "modern" time periods of Drageara through a tale set in the Interregnum, and even features a character from a story set in modern-day Earth: Gypsy. ...makes me wonder if we'll see Cowboy Feng or Agyar drop in...

...but anyway, the language in the 'historical' books makes one love the intracacies of English, and makes one want to use it in conversation with the unknowing, regardless (and probably also because) of the consternation and puzzlement it may engender.

I don't often frequent bookstores. It's possible the books were published more than a year apart...but for me, all three are out at the same time from my viewpoint. Sure, the last is not yet in paperback, but probably will be soon. I couldn't ask for better timing.

If you enjoy fantasy or even merely don't mind fantasy but love good writing, go pick up something by Steven Brust. It might not be what you expect, but it will be excellent. I promise.