This is a very geeky topic.
I know, I know, I know. It's very geeky, and it will reveal my dreamy, out of touch with reality side that some may think is one of my more prominent sides. But it's part of me, and a part that I feel very nostalgic and sweet and tender about. So with no further ado, here is my attempt... not to list the "best" trilogies in any objective sense, but to list the ones that I have gotten attached to over the years - I'm sure there are plenty more good trilogies out there.
The Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
I cannot possibly leave this off, and I ought to include the Harper's Hall trilogy as well, as the second book in that series (Dragonsinger) was the first Anne McCaffrey book I read. To summarize - Anne did huge things with this series. She created a fully functioning world, with some fantasy trappings (dragons) that is in fact a science fiction series. As she illustrates in some of the later books, the dragons in question were a native species to Pern and were genetically altered by humans to achieve their large size and usefullness.
The Riddlemaster of Hed - Patricia McKillip
It occurs to me that I could easily make this "best SF trilogies by women", and have no shortage of candidates. This trilogy just does so many things that I find utterly admirable in SF. Patricia creates a world, a stunning, vibrant dangerous world in which the rulers of each of the kingdoms have a unique bond to their land - a sort of psychic connection with the land itself. This psychic "landbond" is passed from parent to child, or brother to sister. Each kingdom has a distinct character; she writes wonderfully of the nature of Hed, the small island nation where our protagonist, Morgon, has recently become the landruler. And she drops us into the story, into the plot, without a word of establishment but creating an instant bond with Morgon and his sister and brother... and then proceeds to run Morgon and the reader through the kingdoms and through Morgon's mind... Well, you may not appreciate this trilogy as much as I do if it's not your cup of tea, but it really is a classic of the genre.
The Fionavar Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay
I believe these were his first books, and admittedly they are not as polished as the works that came later and in fact start with such an incredibly overused and cliched fantasy "alternate worlds" setup that I almost didn't keep reading when I first picked them up many years ago. But there was something... something that really was unique despite every stereotype that rears its head in these works. He presents us with a alternate universe populated by warriors and kings, elves (albeit under a different name) and dwarves and orcs (again different name), and figures out of myth and legend... and then slathers on the melodrama... you might almost think I didn't like these books, although I love them and have reread them many a time! There's just something so utterly mythic and at the same time profoundly human about his characters and the times they are living in. Sweet.
The Deed of Paksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon
I should have listed this first, really, because I adore it so utterly much and worship at Elizabeth Moon's feet. Again, a work with many cliches of fantasy. It's got the elves and dwarves and orcs and such. It's got magical swords. It's got heroes and lost kings (well one, anyway). But, in Paksenarrion, it has a heroine who is far more than stereotype. Moon's military background allows her to infuse Paksenarrion's life as a mercenary soldier with excellent and gripping detail. Moon has a nice touch with dialog. The third book does unfortunately lose the immediacy of the first two - the details and care with which she set scenes and put breath in it - in the name of plot development. Big developments get set forth and wrapped up, and Paks becomes both more and less than she was. More heroic, less of a living, breathing human.
The Chronicles of Tornor - Elizabeth A. Lynn
I bought these when I was in high school, and I still remember writing to my cousin (something I did a lot in those days) about some things that disturbed me or left me unmoved. But these are books that I had to grow into, indeed books that the average reader of high fantasy is going to find strange, maybe disturbing. There are (gasp) homosexual relationships. Her writing is a study in clear, simple prose. Her imaginary world is a working world, one without dramatic creatures or magic, but one in which fascinating, complex characters move through their lives and learn new things about themselves. Each of the three books could really be seen as a story of initiation, a journey to a new self and a more full life. The books take place in the same country but many years apart, and reference characters from the previous books only in passing. Fine work, and the author wrote very little else.
I'm torn between including some of the cheesy fantasy stuff that I really love, and trying to keep a certain degree of "quality" about this. But what the heck - how many times does one get to lay one's secret indulgences out before an audience of... few?
The Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey
Almost her first published books (now she's got TONS) and definitely amateurish. But I got SO wrapped up in these when I first discovered them, and I do love them more than all her other books. They came to me at just the right time. I was a year or two out of college, figuring out what my life was about, and here came this detailed fantasy world with an imperfect, damaged heroine - shy, troubled, desperately shy, struggling with a new life, shy, etc. And despite the troubles that besiege her she is supported by deeply caring friends, has a job of great importance, AND has a psychic bond with a white horse with saphire blue eyes. Holy cats, what more could a fantasy loving woman want in a book? I know it sounds silly, and it probably IS, but omigod I loved this book.
In fact I joined the fan club, wrote fan fiction, got published in multiple fanzines (not an impressive accomplishment considering that they'll accept almost anything) and did loads of art for said fanzines. This all got me jumpstarted back into writing fiction - a hobby that had gotten waylaid during college - and got me drawing during any free moment at work. Actually did most of my fanfic at work, too; I spent a fair amount of time typing and answering phones, and generally people didn't even look to see WHAT I was typing. In my five years at the U I had people ask me only twice what I was writing just as I was in the midst of a story. Oddly enough, on both of those occasions the person was immediately distracted and didn't wait to hear my explanation. This was a time in which I also wrote to loads of penpals who I met through the Mercedes Lackey fanclub, and wrote fanfic jointly with a number of them. Some of it I'm not even too embarrassed about.
Now this is turning into a confessional about that particular time of my life, and the things that gave that time meaning. Things changed when I changed jobs; I was working at Leisure, Inc and sculpting for a living, but it was the end of the writing stories at work and doing illustrations, because my work day was completely filled with sculpting. At the same time my music activities really took off and being in a band became my primary creative expression. It was a new, great time, with new great friends, and unfortunately I shortly lost touch with all the penpals I had been writing devotedly to for years. I regret that because they were great, creative people, and they deserved better than to have me fall off the edge of the earth.
End of confessional! And end of this installment of "silly books that Kiri loves dearly"!
