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lived peacefully or at war with elves, dark elves (moredhel), and dwarves. As with many fantasy lands, magic abounded. Oh, and there were dragons and dragonlords, too.
    The Tsurani society had a Far East flavor while the Midkemians went the medieval Europe route. Other series followed such characters as Arutha and Pug beyond the Riftwar drama.
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    The World of the Wheel of Time
    Robert Jordan’s massive Wheel of Time series might seem like The Lord of the Rings upon first glance with its Emond’s Field, the Shire-like village from which Rand al’Thor and his friends (Mat, Egwene, Perrin) hailed. After all, we know we’re in the midst of a society like something out of a Renaissance fair. The world opened much wider as Rand traveled with his friends and the Aes Sedai—a female channeler or mage—and later went their separate ways (a breaking of the fellowship). With its Westlands, city states (Tar Valon), blighted areas, and seas, you feel as if you live there.

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    Terry Pratchett: Man of Mystery
    A CONVERSATION IN THREE ACTS
    Act I, Scene I: In Which the Players Are Discussed
    Setting: Your home or wherever you happen to be now.
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    Us: Take a street-smart detective/cop/medieval monk/nosy British aristocrat/bounty hunter/little old lady well versed in psychology and an impossible case, and what do you have? A definitive work of mystery fiction by the likes of Terry Pratchett, P. D. James, Ed McBain, J. A. Jance, Lawrence Block, Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, Agatha Christie, Lilian Jackson Braun, Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Wilkie Collins, Edgar Allan Poe, Ellis Peters, Dorothy Sayers, Sara Paretsky, Ross Macdonald, Ruth Rendell, Patricia Cornwell, Robert Parker, Ngaio Marsh, Ken Follett, Tony Hillerman, Margery Allingham, Georges Simenon, Donald Bain/Jessica Fletcher, and many others.

    You: Terry Pratchett ? Discworld Terry Pratchett?
    Us: Glad you asked.
    You: I really didn’t. I’m just reading this.
    Us: Since you asked, consider the mysteries solved by Commander Samuel Vimes and other members of the Watch.
    Every great work of mystery fiction needs at least two ingredients: (1) an intriguing mystery, many times involving a formidable adversary, and (2) someone to solve it. In a mystery subgenre such as police procedurals, a team of experts are put to the test. But many whodunit mysteries rest on the personality of the leading detective—amateur or professional.
    The City Watch miniseries has many of the elements of mystery subgenres (classic whodunits, private-eye novels, cozies, police procedurals, suspense, thrillers) and defies them all. 30 For that reason, we’d dub Pratchett’s main detective—Sam Vimes—the “Hardest-Working Crime Solver” in mystery fiction. Wondering why?
    You: Not really, no. But I’m sure you’ll tell me.
    Us: We will in the next scene. We have a lot of lines in that one.

    DISC-CLAIMER:
    Plot spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
    Act I, Scene II: In Which Mystery Subgenres Are Discussed
    Us: First, some handy definitions of mystery subgenres:

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    Whodunits
    Who took the countess’s priceless diamond bracelet? Who killed the blackmailer? With mysteries like these, the main question, naturally, is “Whodunit?” The whodunit subgenre is the largest of the mystery subgenres. In books of this ilk, “great ingenuity may be exercised in narrating the events of the crime, usually a homicide, and of the subsequent investigation in such a manner as to conceal the identity of the criminal from the reader until the end of the book, when the method and culprit are revealed.” 31 This group includes “ cozies ”, “locked room” mysteries, and “aristocop” 32 mysteries. (For more on “aristocop” mysteries, see “ The Titled Crime Solvers: It’s in the (Blue) Blood ”.)
    With classic whodunits such as The Woman in White and The Moonstone