On 1 May of this year I talked about “comfort reading” on the Supernatural Underground.

In that post, I discussed the comfort read in terms of ” … books that are like old friends. I can just pick them up, put my feet up and enjoy. I know I am going to be entertained—I have, after all, known and loved these particular friends for many years—and there is something deeply relaxing about spending quality time in company with a story like that. Sure, a new release or new-to-me book may be just as good. But then again, it may not. And when the going gets tough, I like to know I’m turning to friends I can rely on.”

But sometimes the comfort read category broadens out from particular books that you know and love, to authors themselves. These are the writers where you know, whenever you pick out one of their titles, that you are going to enjoy the ride. This particular book may not be your top read ever, or even the best story you’ve read by that particular author,  but you still know that whatever happens it won’t be bad, and far more likely you’re in for a good time.

In between the “grrgh-aarghing” of EQC forms and insurance claims (discussed yesterday) I have been sneaking in a read by one such author—Tamora Pierce.

Well, to be honest, several reads, because I was lucky enough to acquire the first three books in her “Protector of the Small” series recently: First Test, Page, and Squire.

I have been really enjoying them, for a number of reasons. First there’s a pleasant sense of homecoming, because the very first Tamora Pierce book I read was Alanna: the First Adventure, all about a girl, Alanna, who disguises herself as a boy in order to become a knight in the Fantasy kingdom of Tortall. The “Protector” series is also about a girl—Keladry—who wants to become a knight of Tortall—but Tamora Pierce is much too good a writer to just retell the same story over again. The Protector series is very much its own story and there is no sense in which Keladry is just Alanna with a change of name. For a start, Keladry is not disguised as a boy, but flying under her true colours as a girl trying to make it in a man’s world.

The rest of the story you will have to find out for yourself by reading the books, if you have not done so already. But one thing I have really appreciated in making my way through the three books, is just what very good stories they are. As the reader, I can just sit back, relax, and enjoy …

So what makes them such good stories—after all, the basic premise is ‘just-another-coming-of-age-tale’, right? Well, not quite … While to an extent the premise holds true, i.e. the “Protector” series is a coming-of-age tale, it also has the following Tamora Pierce hallmarks:

• an engaging plot;
• likeable interesting characters who “live and breathe” on the page;
• good pace, structure and continuity (so you’re never saying—“now, hold on a minute …”);
• although these are Junior/YA fiction, Ms Pierce never talks down to her readers, so her books are still enjoyable for an adult reader (I suspect this may make them more enjoyable for junior/YA readers as well);
• the books always appeal to me, because however adventurous—and I do love adventurous stories—there are always more serious issues to be traversed, which give the stories depth.

The simple truth, I believe, is that Tamora Pierce is a master storyteller, so that’s why, if I’m looking for the comfort of an assured good read, I never have any problem in picking up one of her titles. Even if I haven’t read it before, I know I’m in safe hands.