Bryan Davis

Bryan Davis is wonderful at taking an idea and running with it. A dream about a boy who could breathe fire became a book that introduced us into a world full of dragons and dragon slayers, demons, sorceresses, giants, and portals to different dimensions. Oh, and it all takes place in contemporary times. I've yet to see such a seamless blend of sword and dragon with middle school and modern day. Of course, a large chunk of the books are about things that happened long ago--King Arthur's day and pre-Flood times, for one. Yet they're so believable and so well-written, that when a Sunday School teacher asks the kids, "Who was on the Ark?" my reaction is "8 people, two dragons, one wraith, and if you're technical one baby giant." This series is Dragons in our Midst, followed by the sequel Oracles of Fire, then the sequel to that which is still being written, Children of the Bard.

And that's just one series. He has two other series that are so woven together and detailed, not to mention full of sub plots and plot twists and other things that just make your head spin in a delightful attempt to make sense of the puzzle and figure out what's going to happen in the next book. These are Dragons of Starlight, which is the young adult series, and Tales of Starlight, which is the adult series (but mostly because the main characters in that one are the adult characters, and it's a tad darker as a result. But if you compare it to even 'teen' fiction out there, I'd say it's a far better read.)

He didn't just 'try' sci-fi, either. He dove into it and wriggled around and created entire worlds and wove them together in a fascinating and complex trilogy of portals and time and ethics and morals. This trilogy is Echoes From the Edge.

Call it believable characterization or deliberate subterfuge on the part of the author, but he's made several characters with such complex and intertwined goals and morals that one of the greatest delights of reading his books is divining the characters' motivations.

All together, these series are a wonderful addition to your bookshelf, ones you'll want to read again and again. (So far I've re-read them about four times each.) These characters grow on you--and you cry with them when they hurt and you laugh with them when they rejoice.

Bryan Davis has had a huge influence on my life, not only because of a desire to be able to write like him--*cough as if cough*--but because of the true elements he's woven into his books. They are Christian, and good examples, even if they are fictional characters. =D