Dark Lord: the Early Years, by Jamie Thomson

I have April of Good Books and Good Wine to thank for adding Dark Lord: the Early Years, by Jamie Thomson (Walker, Oct. 2, 2012, middle grade) to my reading queue, and it turned out to be a fine choice for reading while snowed in--there wasn't anything about snow in it, but it was nicely diverting. 

The titular dark lord has fallen on hard times, and a hard pavement, as the book begins.   Thrust by the magic of a good wizard from the fantasy realm where he exerts evil power over thousands of minions, he finds himself inhabiting the body of a 12 year old boy, prone and disoriented on a shopping-center parking lot.   None of his evil magic works, and worse than that, no one takes the fact that he is a Dark Lord seriously, and without any power to curse them/blast them to smithereens/etc., there's nothing he can do about it.

Now he is simply a foster kid known as Dirk Lloyd, thrust into a perfectly ordinary middle school. 

But Dirk is undaunted, not so much clinging to his Dark Lord identity, but utterly owning it.  No measly principal will get the better of him!  And with his finely honed Dark Lord military mind, the dynamics of middle school are an easy challenge to master. It helps, of course, that his foster brother and his Goth girl class mate find him diverting as all get out, and, though it strains credulity, his unshakable belief in his true identity does make for interesting conversations....

But, trapped in human form, with real friends and affectionate parents for the first time, and with a large dollop of his wickedness left in the parking lot (in oil smear form), Dirk finds himself changing....how long can he really believe that he is a Dark Lord, when it's not at all clear if he'll ever get home to his orc-breeding pits again (if they even really existed....).

There is tons of kid appeal to this one. Dirk's twisted dark lord memories, though gruesome, are so over the top cliched and exuberantly written that they are entertaining rather than disturbing, and the juxtaposition of his Dark Lord persona with middle school is one that many readers will find amusing.  Up to a point, perhaps, for the adult reader, who might find it a bit of a one-note joke, even a tiresome one, but I think the intended audience will be more completely absorbed by it.

And Dirk himself actually works his way from being Bad Guy to being a sympathetic character.   It's kind of tricky to truly sympathize with him, of course, because he really did do bad things.   But the device of him having had a large part of his wickedness left on the parking lot allows readers to give him the chance to become a decent person, or at least, a decent friend (small steps....).   And perhaps at some point he will start admitting that Dark Lordness isn't all that nice for those who suffer under its bloody tyranny...

And yes, there is a sequel!  Good thing too, because this one ends on a cliffhanger.   This is a UK series, where it was published as Dark Lord: the Teenage Years, and  the sequel, Fiend in Need, came out last March, and which I really would like to read this week because the story of Dirk and his friends looks like it is about to really truly get going....

Recommended in particular to fans of fantasy war games, those who prefer black to pink, and those seeking tips on minion management.  It's also a natural one to give kids who enjoyed Vordak last year, but are ready to move on to meatier fare.

Here's Cory Doctorow's take on it at Boing Boing (enthusiastic), April's review, in case you missed the link above (which isn't enthusiastic, but which still made me seek out the book), and Pam's review at Bookalicious (she liked it).

Dark Lord: School's Out, by Jamie Thomson

Dark Lord: School's Out, by Jamie Thomson (Walker Childrens, Feb., 2014 in the US)

Give these books to any young fantasy gamers in your  life.  Give them to any Goth Girls you know who don't mind a bit of fun being poked at them.  Give them to any fantasy reading kid who wants a break from the serious side of the genre.  Give me the third book, even though it's not even out yet in the UK, let alone over here....

As was told in book 1, Dark Lord: the Early Years (my review),  the Dark Lord of the Dark Lands has been defeated by the power of Good, and sent into another realm--our world.   No longer a fearsome being with terrible powers, he's now a kid in foster care named Dirk Lloyd.  His powers are (for the most part) gone, and more importantly, much of the vile evil ichorosity inside him ended up spewing forth onto the parking lot where he landed.  But he still knows who he really is....and he won't let his foster brother, Chris, and the Goth girl Sooz, their good friend, forget either (and  happily all of Dirk's posturing and threats and Dark Lordliness stay this side of funny).

But in any even, an effort to restore Dirk to the Dark Lands at the end of Book 1 went wrong, and Sooz was the one who travelled there!  But fortunately, Sooz (thanks to her Goth proclivities) is undaunted (though with nicely contrasting moments of daunted homesickness and despair, which I liked--so often young heroes are just too brave for me to take).   And fortunately Sooz is in possession of Dirk's dark ring, which gives her magical powers.  She finds Dirk's  Dark Tower, gathers together his minions, and sets herself up as a Dark Queen.  Only, because she'd not actually evil, her rule is more benevolent than not.

(I really really loved this part of Sooz's story.  The exploring of the tower, the redecorating, the henchman befriending, the wardrobe choices she makes-- all delightful).

And in the meantime, Chris and Dirk are working on rescue plans, including the transformation of Chris' cell-phone into a dark phone that can call Sooz....

And also in the meantime, the "good" guys are trying to kill Dirk in our world, destroy Sooz in their world, and throw into prison anyone who disagrees with them...

So basically the tremendously fun premise  of book 1 (Dark Lord in kid's body) is now part of a richer, bigger story that is still tremendously fun, but with more depth to it.  There's a dash of serious-ness viz friendships, loyalty, and the blurriness between good and evil.   Dirk is one of those delightfully ambiguous anti-heroes, and the tension between Dirk the Friend and Dirk the Dark Lord is nicely tense. 

Magic Below Stairs, by Caroline Stevermer

Magic Below Stairs, by Caroline Stevermer (June 10, 2010, Dial, middle grade, 208 pages)

Life at the orphanage could have been worse for young Fredrick. True, the master of the place couldn't stand him, but at least the cook was fond of him. And then came the night that Billy Bly, a Brownie took such a liking to him that the course of Fredrick's life changed dramatically, and he found himself plucked from amongst his fellow orphans to serve in Lord Schofield's household. True, he's now on the lower rungs of the below-stairs hierarchy, but still, it's many steps up from the orphanage. And Billy Bly has come with him....

As Frederick learns the new duties required of him, he begins to attract Lord Schofield's attention. The lord is a magician, and there is something about the quality of Fredrick's work (his cravat tying in particular) that intrigues him mightily--it seems that there is more to Frederick than meets the eye. And when the household relocates to a cursed country residence, Frederick finds himself drawn into the world of magic. He and Billy find themselves up against a vicious curse, and unless they can stop it, all that Lord Schofield and his young wife hold dear might be lost....

This is a lovely book, reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones in its delightfully light and brisk writing (although it has more of a linear plot to it than much DWJ--I wasn't confused once). The magical adventure isn't all that harrowing (just enough so to add suspense, and give Frederick something to work against). Instead, it's the fun and detailed and utterly enjoyable story of Frederick's journey that makes the book sing. The supporting characters are great as well-- Bess, the servant girl who takes him under her wing, is a loyal and brave friend (and she gets quite a bit of screen time, adding to the book's appeal to girls), and Billy Bly, Lord Schofield, and all the rest of the manage added to my enjoyment as well.

People looking for fantasy with lots of action-packed build-up to the final confrontation, filled with whackings and plottings and escapes etc, might be disappointed. And I do think that Stevermer might have given us a few more pages of tension here. Goodness knows I feel that there is a surfeit of child-against-dark-lord-of-evil books, so this made for a refreshing change, but I wanted just a bit more of the dangerous part.

That being said, people looking for really good stories, really well told, in which character is central but magic is important, will probably enjoy it lots, just as I did (lots).

This is a companion book to the series written by Stevermer with Patricia Wrede--Sorcery and Cecilia, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician. Those who have read those books will enjoy meeting Lord Schofield and his wife Kate again, but Magic Below Stairs is completely stand-alonish. Which I know, because I haven't read any of the others. They are so going on my 48 Hour Reading Challenge Book Pile.

(disclaimer: my ARC of Magic Below Stairs was gratefully received/snatched from the publisher at ALA Midwinter)

New releases of science fiction and fantasy for children and teenagers--the (somewhat skimpy) first half of Dec. 2010 edition

Here are the new release of sci fi/fantasy for kids and teens from the first half of December; a short list, and a tricky one from my point of view because too many of the last few precious moments of my youth were spent looking for blurbs, and a picture, that I never found. Sigh.

Middle Grade

ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE SHATTERED LENS by Brandon Sanderson "Alcatraz Smedry is on a mission to save the day! In his final adventure in the series by bestselling adult fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson, Alcatraz has a lot to prove and, as always, little time in which to do it!"



ANOTHER WHOLE NOTHER STORY by Dr. Cuthbert Soup. ""The plan was simple. Ethan Cheeseman, along with his three smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children, would travel back in time to end an ancient family curse and save their mother. Now that the LVR (a super-secret time machine) is in working order, it should be easy peasy. Except they didn't account for one basic rule of science: Murphy's Law, where everything that possibly could go wrong, does. So the Cheeseman family finds themselves on another madcap adventure, this time through stormy seas and haunted castles. And though their narrator, Dr. Soup, has a ton of unsolicited advice to offer young readers, he doesn't have much to say to help the Cheesemans. Just this one thing: Good luck!"



ARTEMIS THE BRAVE: GODDESS GIRLS by Jean Holub & Suzanne Williams





THE DOG'S DINNER: GUNK ALIENS by Jonny Moon "What could be worse than fighting snot-stealing aliens? Here's a hint: it lurks in the cafeteria. The gang face their toughest challenge yet, as they go after a terrifying flying alien. In an epic confrontation, Jack's inventing skills will be tested to the limit, one of his new friends will fall, and all of his courage will be needed when he takes on the worst ordeal of all . . . eating a school meal."

REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS by Helene Boudreau. ""Freak of nature takes on a whole new meaning...If she hadn't been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail? Most. Embarrassing. Moment. Ever. Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But if Mom was a mermaid, how did she drown? Jade is determined to find out. So how does a plus-size, aqua-phobic mer-girl go about doing that exactly? And how will Jade ever be able to explain her secret to her best friend, Cori, and to her crush, Luke? This summer is about to get a lot more interesting..."

THE RISE AND FALL OF MOUNT MAJESTIC by Jennifer Trafton. "Ten-year-old Persimmony Smudge leads (much to her chagrin) a very dull life on the Island at the Center of Everything . . . until the night she overhears a life-changing secret. It seems that Mount Majestic, the rising and falling mountain in the center of the island, is not a mountain at all--it's the belly of a sleeping giant, moving as the giant breathes. Now Persimmony and her new friend Worvil the Worrier have to convince all the island's other quarreling inhabitants--including the silly Rumblebumps, the impeccably mannered Leafeaters, and the stubborn young king--that a giant is sleeping in their midst, and must not be woken."

THE SEWERS CRISIS: GUNK ALIENS by Jonny Moon. "They don't want our oil. They don't want our water. They don't want our brussels sprouts (actually, neither do we). They just want our snot.

Jack and his friends have only one alien left to capture. The best is always saved for last, though, so none of them should be surprised that this particular alien only loves one thing . . . poo! But once they've made a sickening descent into the sewers, the world should be finally safe. Shouldn't it?"

SHADOW: DRAGON ORB by Mark Robson "Pell and his night dragon Shadow must find the dark orb to help save the Oracle, leader of all dragonkind. But Segun, a power-hungry tyrant, stands in their way. Pell must use his flying skills, bravery, and resourcefulness to the limit, as Segun is determined to get the orb—even if it means killing the opposition."



Young Adult

ENTICE: NEED by Carrie Jones. "Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that's not quite how things have worked out. For starters, well, Nick is dead. Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla? And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't turned into just any pixie. . . She's Astley's queen."

THE GIFT: WITCH & WIZARD by James Patterson & Ned Rust. "When Whit & Wisty were imprisoned by the wicked forces of the totalitarian regime known as the New Order, they were barely able to escape with their lives. Now part of a hidden community of teens like themselves, Whit and Wisty have established themselves as leaders of the Resistance, willing to sacrifice anything to save kids kidnapped and brutally imprisoned by the New Order.

But the One has other plans in store for them: He needs Wisty, for she is "The One Who Has the Gift." While trying to figure out what that means, Whit and Wisty's suspenseful adventures through Overworld and Shadowland lead to a jaw-dropping climax and conclusion: the highly-anticipated fulfillment of the heart-pounding opening prologue of book one... The Execution of the Allgoods."

LAST SACRIFICE: VAMPIRE ACADEMY by Richelle Mead "The astonishing final novel in Richelle Mead's epic series!

Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them."

THE SWORD OF ARMAGEDDON: THE NEW KID by Temple Mathews. "Things have never been darker for sixteen-year-old Will Hunter. He's lost the girl he loves, been poisoned and abandoned by the new ally he thought he could trust, and has only hours to track down a cure before the toxin coursing through his veins ends his life. He's in no shape to stop the Dark Lord from finding and using the Sword of Armageddon -- but if he can't, he's not the only one who will die.

In the fight against the Dark Lord and his demon minions, the third book in the New Kid series takes Will and friends from a mysterious island in Puget Sound to the top of the Seattle Space Needle, and ends in a battle that proves that, while to err may be demonic, forgiveness is the true path to victory"

THE REVENGE OF LORD ODA: BLOOD NINJA by Nick Lake "The slashing sequel to Blood Ninja!"

What Came from the Stars, by Gary Schmidt--Waiting on Wednesday

I recently came across news of a forthcoming book that made me sqee (gently) and add it tout suite to my list of must haves--What Came from the Stars, by Gary Schmidt (Clarion Books, September 4, 2012).

Now, the blurb itself wasn't exactly what made me want the book--it doesn't, for instance, feature an orphanage, an old house, a plucky girl, or enchanted birds/foxes/horses, to name a few things I like in books. But it sounds reasonable enough (although any mention of a dark lord makes me feel a tad twitchy):

"The Valorim are about to fall to a dark lord when they send a necklace containing their planet across the cosmos, hurtling past a trillion starsall the way into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Mass. Mourning his late mother, Tommy doesn't notice much about the chain he found, but soon he is drawing the twin suns and humming the music of a hanorah. As Tommy absorbs the art and language of the Valorim, their enemies target him. When a creature begins ransacking Plymouth in search of the chain, Tommy learns he must protect his family from villains far worse than he's ever imagined."

No. It was not this blurb that made me want this ever so much. It is that GARY SCMIDT, author of my dearly beloved The Wednesday Wars (and Okay for Now), has written a middle grade fantasy! Which I call very thoughtful of him, because a. this is what I read most and b. I will read anything he writes.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs

Happy New Year!  Here's what I found this week in my blog reading; please let me know if I missed your post.

The Reviews

Cog, by Greg van Eekhout, at Raise Them Righteous

The Dark Lord Clementine, by Sarah Jean Horwitz, at Raise Them Righteous

The Darkdeep, by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, at Twirling Book Princess

The Door to the Lost, by Jaleigh Johnson, at Feed Your Fiction Addiction

Esme's Wish, by Elizabeth Foster, at Book Craic and Hasanthi's Book Blog

The Forgotten Girl, by India Hill Brown, at Charlotte's Library

The Healing Star, by A. Kidd, at Always in the Middle

The Key of Lost Things (Hotel Between #2), by Sean Easley, at Say What?

Jinxed, by Amy McCulloch, at Sharon the Librarian

Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8), by Shannon Messenger, at Carstairs Considers

Over the Moon, by Natalie Lloyd, at Raise Them Righteous

The Root of Magic, by Kathleen Benner Duble, at Not Acting My Age

Stoop Sale Treasure, by Corey Ann Haydu, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery, by Allison Rushby, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Winterhouse Mysteries, by Ben Guterson, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Other Good Stuff

My favorite time slip books from the past decade (Charlotte's Library)

The Cybils short list for elementary and middle grade speculative fiction was announced! (if you think being a Cybils panelist for emg sf sounds like fun, which it is, look for the call for panelists next August!) You can find all the shortlists here.

Cog, by Greg van Eekhout
The Dark Lord Clementine, by Sarah Jean Horwitz
Homerooms and Hall Passes, by Tom O'Donnell
Love Sugar Magic: A Sprinkle of Spirits, by Anna Meriano
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia
We're Not From Here, by Geoff Rodkey

It was sad that we could only have seven books on our Cybils shortlist

My eleven-year old was a bit sore at me last week--he felt that I should have been a stronger advocate for the books he wanted to see on the Cybils shortlist.   His own nominee--The Last Wild, by Piers Torday--wasn't there, and nor were two books he'd recently devoured in single sittings--Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, and The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier.  It's true that seeing your kid absolutely love a book to pieces does make you feel fondly toward it (unless it's a wretchedly awful book, in which case you start wondering where you went wrong), but it was also true that we only had places for seven books, and we had 155 from which to chose.  (It is like picking just one kitten at the animal shelter....)

So the book I myself nominated, Dark Lord-School's Out, by Jamie Thomson (so funny) isn't on the shortlist either.  Sigh.    And I wouldn't have minded Space Case myself, or another sci fi one, Ambassador, by William Alexander, which I liked lots, and anyone looking for a great book to give a nine year old girl should consider The Orphan and the Mouse, by Martha Freeman (but you might have trouble because of the cover, and there's a difficult Mouse Death right at the beginning) and The Whispering Skull  and The Magic Thief: Home, and Jinx's Magic and The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw were all great series continuations and Ninja Librarians was so much fun and I could go on and on..............

We had to make hard choices.  

But in any event, Space Case, Ambassador, and Dark Lord-School's Out are all 2014 personal favorites of mine.  And I just want to wave them a little bit at readers, because I think they deserve it....

And the eleven-year old would like me to do the same for The Last Wild and The Night Gardener.

And now I'm already starting to think about next year!!!!  Will we reach 200 nominated books???? Will it be even harder to pick just seven?????   Please do think about joining the fun--although it is true that there are more people who want to be panelists than there are slots, newcomers are welcomed and encouraged!  The call for panelists will go out in mid-August, 2015.

this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the web (10/20/19)

Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed your post!

(I changed my post title from "around the blogs" to "around the web" but do cool kids these days actually say "the web"?  Would "on-line" be more au currant?)

Book Reviews

Archimancy, by J.A. White, at Puss Reboots

The Battle, by Karuna Riazi, at Randomly Reading

The Beast (Darkdeep #2), by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Dark Lord Clementine, by Sarah Jean Horwitz, at Cracking the Cover and A Garden of Books

The Dragon Warrior, by Katie Zhao, at Endless Chapters, For Ever and Everly, and The Quiet Pond

Dual at Araluen (Royal Ranger #3), by John Flanagan, at Say What?

The Evil Wizard Smallbone, by Delia Sherman, at Kid Lit Geek

The Fire Keeper, by J.C. Cervantes, at Pamela Kramer

Guardians of Magic, by Chris Riddell, at Book Craic

The Jumbie God's Revenge, by Tracey Baptiste, at Sally's Bookshelf

The Key of Lost Things (Hotel Between #2), by Sean Easley, at Kid Lit Reviews

The Land of Roar, by Jenny McLachlan, at Thoughts by Tash

The Last Dragon (Revenge of Magic #2), by James Riley, at GeoLibrarian and Good Reads with Rona

The Little Grey Girl, by Celine Kiernan, at Pages Unbound

Malamander, by Thomas Taylor, at PidginPea's Book Nook

Master of the Phantom Isle (Dragonwatch #3) by Brandon Mull, at Read Love

The Missing Barbegazi, by H.S. Norup, at Log Cabin Library

Rebels with a Cause (Max Einstein #2), by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, at Say What?

The Revenge of Magic, by James Riley, at Boys and Literacy

The Shores Beyond Time, by Kevin Emerson, at Charlotte's Library

Skeleton Keys: the Unimaginary Friend, by Gus Bass, at Book Craic

Small Spaces, by Katherine Arden, at Imaginary Friends

Spark, by Sarah Beth Durst, at Dead Houseplants

Trace, by Pat Cummings, at Locus

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia, at  Paul's Picks, YA Books Central, Feed Your Fiction Addiction, Broadway World, Ashley and Company, and Charlotte's Library

Weird Little Robots, by Carolyn Crimi, at Always in the Middle

A Wolf Called Wander, by Roseanne Parry, at Redeemed Reader

Two at The Book Search--The Bootlace Magician, by Cassie Beasley, and The Revenge of Magic, by James Riley


Authors and Interviews

Katie Zhao (The Dragon Warrior) at the Barnes and Noble Kids Blog

Kwame Mbalia (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky) at the News & Observer

Adrianna Cuevas (The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez) at Middle Grade Book Village

Nicole Valentine (A Time-Traveller's Theory of Relativity) at the Lerner Podcast

Nick Tomlinson (The Ghouls of Howlfair) at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

Sarah Jean Horwitz (The Dark Lord Clementine) at Middle Grade Book Village

Paul Mason (The International Yeti Collective) at Alittlebutalot

J. de laVega (Peter Tulliver and the City of Monster) at Reading With Your Kids Podcast


Other Good Stuff

"Historical Fiction With a Touch of Fantasy" at Lyn Miller-Lachmann

at Tor--"The messy beautiful worldbuilding of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

Not exactly good stuff, but I'm looking for new middle grade dystopia, and would welcome suggestions!  Here's what I have so far.

From L-Space to E-Space, Part one--YA Books for fans of Terry Pratchett

This post is a written summary of the session that Tanita Davis, novelist and blogger (Finding Wonderland and tanitasdavis.com), Sheila Ruth, independent publisher and blogger (Wands and Worlds), Anne Hoppe (Terry Pratchett's YA editor in the US) and I presented at the North American Discworld Convention this Sunday (July 7, 2013). The presentation had two parts-the first was a quick run through of YA books we wanted to recommend to Pratchett fans that they might not have read, and the second offered links and advice on how to use the Internet to find more books!  I've split my recap posts into two-this first is about the books, the second post  has the links to more places to find books.

We couldn't, of course, find books that contained every single aspect of Pratchett's wonderfulness, but every book we suggest is well-written, with great characters and world building.  Some are funny, some are serious, but all are Good Reads.  Some are true Young Adult books, some were published for grown-ups, but have much YA appeal, and some were written for kids aged 9-12, but have much broader appeal (promise).

Tanita suggests:

The M.Y.T.H. Inc series, begun by Robert Asprin 1978, who was joined by Jodi Lynn Nye, who is now continuing the series, with Myth Quoted, published this year.

John Connolly is an Irish writer best known for his adult crime series, but his books for younger readers (The Book of Lost Things, The Gates, and The Infernals)  have much Pratchetty appeal!

Diana Wynne Jones demands mention; her more satirical books are our pick for best cross-over (Dark Lord of Derkholm, The Year of the Griffin, and Tough Guide To Fantasyland)

Sarah A. Hoyt--urban shape-shifting fun, published for the adult market, but good for YA.  (Start with Draw One in the Dark)

Another adult author whose books read like YA is Lawrence Watt-Evans--there are 12 Legends of Ethshar novels, and Tanita says they are all good (The Misenchanted Sword is the first)

The 500 Kingdoms Series, by Mercedes Lackey--stories within stories.

Jasper Fford's Nursery Crimes series--The Big Over Easy, and The Fourth Bear.

Sheila suggests:

The Bartimaeus Trilogy, and the Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud.  The smart-aleck demon Bartimaeus would be right at home in Discworld!

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman--a lovely one for those interested in the multi-species coexisting aspect of Discworld.  The UK cover is on the left, the original US cover is in the center, and the current US cover is on the right.

Lonely Werewolf Girl and Curse of the Wolf Girl, by Martin Millar-- a friend for Angua.   Not the best covers in the world, but good books!

The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey--rich and twisty and thought-provoking alien invasion.

Northlander, and The King Commands, by Meg Burden--intelligent,character-rich fantasy ftw!

Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking Series--this is dark, and emotional wrenching, but intelligent, powerful stuff.

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex.  Funny sci fi for the younger reader.

The Keys of the Kingdom Series, by Garth Nix.  Inventive and fun!

Charlotte suggests:

The Magic Thief series, by Sarah Prineas.   Not only is this series about a young thief and his journey into magic a good gateway  into Pratchett, but it's a good read for anyone.

I'm including Enchanted, and Hero (coming this fall) by Alethea Kontis because I wanted pretty dresses fun examples of fairy tale retellings--I love that aspect of Pratchett.

Vivian Vande Velde's virtual reality series--fun, geeky, and clever!

Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series.  The adventures of charismatic, crime-solving skeleton and the human girl who is his protegee.  Witty banter, much fun.

Tanita already mentioned Jasper Fforde, but I wanted to add The Last Dragon Slayer, and its forthcoming (in the US, already out in the UK) sequel, Song of the Quarkbeast.   They have a very English sort of insanity to them.

Seven Sorcerers and Shadow Spell, by Caro King--I love this fantasy series--it is creepy, funny, magical, etc.etc. and deserves more readers.

Soul Enchilada, by David Macinnis Gill.   I thought a book whose premise was the demon Beelzebub coming to reposes a teenage girl's Cadillac might appeal to Pratchett fans looking for magical insanity set in our world. 

Anne suggests:

Team Human, by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan--you can read it just for fun, or to appreciate its thoughtful depths.  Another good different species living together--in this case, vampires in Maine....

Garth Nix's Abhorsen series.  Classic YA fantasy

Frances Hardinge--Fly by Night and Fly Trap  (Twilight Robbery in the UK).   Tremendously intelligent writing, great characters and world building.

Here's what audience members added to the list:

•Diana Peterfreund
•Artemis Fow, by Eoin Colfer
•Sarah Beth Durst – Into the Wild, Out of the Wild
•Neil Gaiman
•His Dark Materials – Phillip Pullman
•Patricia C. Wrede – Enchanted Forest Chronicles

•Girl Genius – Kaya & Phil Foglio (online, free)
•China Mieville – Railsea, Un Lun Dun
•Tom Holt – The Flying Dutch
•Douglas Adams
•Cornelia Funke – Reckless & Inkheart
•Catherynne M. Valente
•Diane Duane – Young Wizards (she’s writing more!)
•Lloyd Alexander
•Kat, Incorrigable, by Stephanie Burgis
•Libba Bray’s Going Bovine
•Piers Anthony – Xanth (with the caveat from Tanita, Sheila and me that these have huge sexism issues, and we wouldn't recommend them)
•Jim C. Hines – Jig the Dragonslayer
•Morgan Keyes-- Darkbeast
•Tanita S. Davis. (because her books are very good)

Thank you Anne and Sheila and Tanita (and David, Tanita's husband, who was our Powerpoint mastermind, adding to the slides as we spoke)!