BBC America recently made a t.v. series out of “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.” Though most people my age have heard of Douglas Adams’s more popular “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” it surprises me how few people know Dirk Gently. Maybe I shouldn’t call it a series, since there were only 2 books and the sequel was far better, but I got the impression that Adams intended it as a series. Either way, it had a few quirky, one-of-a-kind scenes that have always stayed with me. If ever a streetlight blinks out as I drive beneath it, I think of old Norse gods and their peculiarities.
I have a few other pet favorite fantasy series that never really went mainstream. It may take some work to find them in print, but seize them if you get the chance.
Moira J. Moore’s “Heroes” Series
Her publishers lost faith in the series before the end, so to read the final book you actually have to write to the author and have her e-mail you the PDF. It’s crazy, but worth it.
Dunleavy has trained her entire life for a specific kind of sorcery, knowing that her graduation entails being paired for life with a sorcerer from the opposite academy. Together they’ll be saving the world again and again, heroes to all.
Unfortunately, she gets paired with the infamous Lord Karish, a beautiful – and impossible to ignore – aristocrat. He’s as egotistical as she is naive. Oh, and did I mention that bonded pairs are forbidden from falling in love?
Book 1 of the series, “Resenting the Hero” was released in paperback and is still easy to get your hands on.
Nicole Peeler’s “Tempest” Series
Ah, Jane True, how I miss your strange fighting skills and your High-Top Sneakers. This love story between the daughter of a Selkie (half-seal, half woman), a vampire, and a Barghast (half-dog, half man) is spread over 5 books, each more involved than the last. The first one is a riot, interspersed with heavy sex scenes. After that, Peeler gets more interested in character development and action, action, action.
You have to start with Book 1, though. Look for “Tempest Rising” in paperback.
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