a question a day

[kindkit]

Today's question from the question-a-day meme:

1 Do you have a favorite book series?

Several. I like serial storytelling, which combines the comfort of familiarity (yay, I get to hang out with these characters again!) with the pleasure of a new plot. It's the same reason I like fanfic.

A few favorites:

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Mary Renault's Greek novels, which are a sort of loose series with recurring characters (not all of them historical)
Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford series
John Le Carré's George Smiley series

But if I had to pick one, it would be Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe series. These police procedural mysteries (with a decent dose of police-skepticism built in) offer inventive and varied mystery plots, excellent prose, and characters with growing depth and complexity (including the women, and also one of the first recurring gay characters--one of the detectives, not a killer or a victim--that I know of in any mystery series). The worldview is broadly leftist and always compassionate and thoughtful. I re-read these books a lot, which says something in itself, because not a lot of mysteries will bear re-reading.

Comments

[likeadeuce]

Oh yeah, I love Dalziel and Pascoe! Haven't revisited those in some time, I may need to raid my own bookshelves

[hagsrus]

Could never get into Le Carré but yes to the others - in fact I'm rereading Dalziel / Pascoe at the moment, and listening to Aubrey / Maturin.

Have you come across Hill's Joe Sixsmith series? Very different from D&P but fun.

[sovay]

and also one of the first recurring gay characters--one of the detectives, not a killer or a victim--that I know of in any mystery series

I never think of those books as Dalziel and Pascoe, because I happened to discover the series with Pictures of Perfection and in consequence I always think of them as Wield and Digweed and some other people.

Mary Renault and John le Carré are also favorites of mine. I love the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) but have never quite gotten into Aubrey and Maturin on the page, which makes no sense abstractly, but I keep trying. I read about half a dozen, own a couple, and am predictably fond of Stephen.

[mllesatine]

I answered the question for myself when I read it and first thought that I don't read book series but then you mentioned Discworld and I have read a lot of those.

Which Dalziel and Pascoe book would you recommend to a newbie?

[kindkit]

I'm about due for a re-read myself.

[kindkit]

I've read some of the Sixsmith books, but I never quite loved them as much as Dalziel and Pascoe.

[kindkit]

The Wield series, yes. I think I tend to read them as the "Wield and Pascoe" series; Dalziel becomes increasingly superfluous, for me, as the series progresses.

I found Aubrey and Maturin hard going at first, especially because the early books are the most naval-jargon-intense. It took me a while to find a workable balance, for me, between looking up a bunch of terminology to understand what was going on, and just gliding over it to get to the character stuff that most interested me. And somehow, eventually I even got to like the naval battles and stuff.

[sovay]

And somehow, eventually I even got to like the naval battles and stuff.

I even like naval battles! I think it may have been a prose thing. I shall give them another shot.

[kindkit]

What I think of as the core of the series is the run of books from Deadheads (1983) through Death's Jest-Book (2003), which are almost all excellent. The problem is that Deadheads, while great, is not really typical of the series. So maybe start with Child's Play (1987), which has both a powerful mystery plot and some major character development. If you like it, read on chronologically from there, and maybe loop back at some point to catch the earlier books.

[delphi]

I love Dalziel & Pascoe (or Dalziel & Pascoe & Wield & Edwin)! I really need to undertake a re-read.

[mllesatine]

I just ordered a used copy of Child's Play.

[kindkit]

Oh, cool, I hope you enjoy it!