Andrea Stewart’s Five Favourite Reads with Companion Animals

Andrea Stewart
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Andrea Stewart

Mephi is one of the best (read: our favourite) characters in Andrea Stewart’s debut,The Bone Shard Daughter. So, to celebrate the release of The Bone Shard Daughter in paperback, we asked Andrea to share her top five novels with awesome animal companions. Read on to find out what she picked! 

Andrea Stewart’s Five Favourite Reads with Companion Animals:

Is there anything more comforting than reading about a protagonist with a loyal animal companion? These stories reflect the bonds we have with the animals in our lives, make us fondly remember the ones who have passed on, and give us hope to find a similar bond in the future. Here are my five favorite reads with companion animals:

Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

When Menolly, musical outcast, gains an animal companion, she goes all out and obtains nine in one go. Nine fire lizards, aka miniature dragons, who follow her around, curl around her neck, and are just generally delightful as she strives to fulfill her dream of becoming one of Pern’s Harpers.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Is there any gooder boy than Talat, Aerin’s horse? When Aerin teaches herself to fight and to protect herself from fire–all along her quest to kill dragons–Talat is there with her every step of the way. Old, truehearted, steadfast Talat.

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

You have to read the second book in Hobb’s beloved Farseer trilogy to meet the wolf Nighteyes, but through his Wit-bond with Fitz he quickly feels like he has always been a part of the protagonist’s life. Nighteyes enhances Fitz’s senses and steadies his judgement. They would do anything for one another.

The Castle of Llyr by Loyd Alexander

Again, the second in a series, but the books in the Prydain Chronicles are quick reads, perfect for the kid in your life (or your own inner kid). Llyan is a fluffy orange cat made giant through some magical experimentation, and though she appears first as an antagonist, she becomes enamored with the harp music of one Fflewdur Fflam.

Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe

Okay, okay, maybe I’m cheating a little. But a sentient ship definitely has the same energy as a companion animal. When Sanda wakes up from stasis two hundred years after a battle, she is all alone on an empty ship–a ship governed by an AI. Bero’s dry sense of humor and intelligence, combined with an emotional immaturity that is very much not his fault meant I was rooting for him all through the series. I may not be able to have a magical unicorn as a pet but maybe someday…a spaceship?

 

Grab a copy of The Bone Shard Daughter here: