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October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part Five: Long Series and How to Read Them

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Audio Available Here] This is the fifth and final entry in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth boo...
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The Andalite Chronicles by K. A. Applegate

The Andalite Chronicles is the story of Aximili's brother, Elfangor, how he fought, hid, lived/loved, and returned as a hero. We learn more about Taxxons, Alloran's fate, and why Visser Three hates Elfangor. A solid prequel/midquel at the same time, don't miss it.

I'm appreciating on this read-through how the story threads pick up from the Hork-Bajir Chronicles to the Andalite Chronicles to create the conditions in the background when the whole Animorphs series starts. These should definitely be read where I have placed them if it's your first readthrough, but it is possible to read this as a prequel to the entire series if it's not your first time.

I really like Elfangor's story and how much it communicates by what he does and does not assume is normal. There really is a different perspective to the story when the narrators are not human, and this one is very well done.

As a mix between a prequel and a midquel, this is difficult to discuss without spoiling major revelations in the main series, but if you really don't care about series spoilers this could be read on its own as a self-contained (and really great) story.

A blue centaur-like alien (Elfangor the Andalite) stands with a sun framed behind his head

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