Xela of Xandra wrote:
Final-books-of-series make me sad. :'(
I know EXACTLY what you mean. I've talked to my friends about Harry Potter's last book, and how that will mean the end of a phenomenon. It has to end, and that will be the end of a series that defines our generation. I once said that our generation will be remembered for black Chucks and 9/11, but I should really include Harry Potter in that list.
My all-time favorite author is Robin McKinley, even though she's written a few books that are utter crap(like
Sunshine...that book was such a disappointment). The good stuff she's written includes
The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown(my all-time favorite book of hers), and
Deerskin, although that has a bit of unpleasantness in it, so I don't recommend that one to people under sixteen. Her short story collections are good, too.
The Weetzie Bat books, by Francesca Lia Block, are girly but they're pretty good. They're collected as
Dangerous Angels plus a sixth book that's not in the collection,
Necklace of Kisses. They're sort of unconventional, and some of the characters are homosexual, so this series might not be for everyone. Her other books are mostly really strange, and even though I consider myself an openminded person I just didn't like what she wrote about drugs and incest, but there are two other books by her that I like:
I Was a Teenage Fairy and
Girl Goddess #9. Her books are generally geared at high school girls.
Another author I like in the same vein is Holly Black. She writes stories with a modern-day setting, and then brings magic into them.
And most already know of him, but Neil Gaiman is a good author as well. He's another that combines reality with surreality, but unlike Block and Black, his books are appealing to a wide audience.
"Oh, better far to live and die/Under the brave black flag I fly/Than play a sanctimonious part/With a pirate head and a pirate heart."