As with music, the characters of Broken Fate love all kinds of books across almost every genre. Classics, sci-fi, horror, romance, and comic books are just a few of the things they will read. Atropos has a broad appreciation for books because she’s lived a long time and read almost everything. Alex has always been a reader, but his illness has given him even more time to read and he’s used the time well to broaden his horizons. Reading is one of the things that initially draw them to each other because neither can quite believe that the other can keep up in terms of both volume and taste.
- The Complete Wizard of Oz, by Frank L. Baum. Alex owns every book in the original Oz series. The titles (in order) are: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz, Rinkitink in Oz, The Lost Princess of Oz, The Tin Woodman of Oz, The Magic of Oz, Glinda of Oz.
- Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy. Atropos has to read this (yet again) for her English class. Fortunately, it’s one of her favorites.
- The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. This is the first in the “Wheel of Time” series. Unfortunately, the author died before completing his epic masterpiece and the last books were written by Brandon Sanderson. While there are several prequels, novellas, and “half books,” in the series, the main novels are (in order): The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, The Fires of Heaven, Lord of Chaos, A Crown of Swords, The Path of Daggers, Winter’s Heart, Crossroads of Twilight, Knife of Dreams, The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, A Memory of Light.
- A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin. This is the epic fantasy series that inspired the HBO drama. While not yet complete, the current books in the series are: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons.
- A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Alex enjoys the classics and this is one that’s featured on his bookshelf in the scene where Atropos first visits his home.
- Marvel Comics. Alex is still a kid at heart and he enjoys his comic books. Marvel’s creations are among his favorites, although I’m pretty sure he has some D.C. Comics in there, too.
- Anything by Stephen King: Nyx enjoys anything by Stephen King. At the time I was writing this book, she was reading Mr. Mercedes.
(Photo courtesy of svklimkin)