Sam-Who-Likes-Some-Things - The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
How could I not? They’re wonderful books. Great story, great characters, great writing. If they’re not among my favorite books of all time, they’re close. The omnibus edition from Subterranean Press is a delight to own, though it could have used a bit of proofreading.
And I just had an odd experience reading them for the third time, which probably says more about my memory than the books. When I’ve talked about the books with folks over the last few years, I’ve always said that I thought the first was the best and the third the worst. And I think most of the people I’ve spoken with have agreed. But this time I thought just the opposite. I found myself chafing a bit at the repetition of the first book, and really enjoying the mystery of the third.
That’s something new. I’ve changed my mind about books or series as a whole on rereading them before, but I can’t remember ever changing my mind about books in a series. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair have been my favorite Narnia books for forty years, Tarzan of the Apes and Tarzan and the Ant Men my favorite Burroughs for even longer. Which makes me wonder if I did, in fact, prefer Huaghart’s stories in chronological order before. Or did my memory, when talking about them with other people, pull a switch on me somewhere in time so that I fell into line with everyone else?
Memory is so plastic.
How about the rest of you? Which Chronicle of Master Li and Number Ten Ox is your favorite?
