OT: good fantasy books

[Salamander8]

I love the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Especially Guards, Guards!; Mort; Pyramids: and: Moving Pictures. The Monty Python humor combined with the swords and sorcery (as well as sourcery ) make for some excellent reading.

[Saxon]

Harry Turtledove is mostly known for his alternative histories, but some of his early work is low fantasy. The Empire of Videssos series, particularly the Lost Legion books, drop a Republican period Roman Legion down in a fictional empire which is in the late Empire stage. As a professional historian, his writing is informed with quite some depth.

That said, I find his newer work is not as good as his early work, much like Raymond Feist. I suspect first books are often really worked on for a long time, as there is no publisher. Later books get pushed through quickly as publishing contacts and so forth dominate the author’s time. Could be wrong, just my impression. In any case, Turtledove’s newer works are all alternative history and not fantasy, so outside the bounds of this discussion.

Several writers really need aggressive editors. Terry Goodkind stands out as does Tad Williams who wrote Memory, Sorrow and Thorn guy. Far too much verbiage and not enough plot. War of the Flowers is Williams’ best book by far and it is a single fat book. Sometimes a trilogy is far too much. I also think Stephen King could do with some heavy editing, though I can not argue that his commercial success suggests I am wrong.

I recently re-read Zelazny’s Amber books, twenty years after the first reading. Still good books, but not really up to my adult expectations. There is one passage where he is discussing the recruiting of troops and finding impressionable, high school types. The author then speaks directly to the reader for a moment and apologizes, as if his expectation was that most readers were male high school students. He was right the first time, but as I aged, I found his books less satisfying. I think that is one reason I like Martin’s books, they are adult through and through. One poster noted they would not have their kids read Martin. I fully agree and think that is one of the strengths of these books. If we were to list kids fantasy books, we would have a very different list than the one we have here and still have some excellent writing.

As for Conan… Yes, it was great fun back in high school, but it has aged even worse than Zelazny. What was the term used earlier? Adolescent wet dreams? It is pulp fiction, the Jon Carter of Mars for the fantasy readers. Influential and fun, but nothing more.

[Teraswaerto]

If Conan is too aged for you, but you want to read some Sword and Sorcery, look up C.L. Moore. Her Jirel short stories, though written in the 1930s like Conan, have a distinctly different feel to them.

I already mentioned Moorcock, but he is worth mentioning again. Slightly more modern, but still within the Sword and Sorcery tradition, and everyone should read at least the Elric saga.

[PrinzMegaherz]

Moorcock was my favourite when I was young. The compelling thing about his books are the many subtle secrets and interlocks between the different books, giving new insights whenever you read one of the books again.

However, today I would say that more modern works like Song of ice and Fire and Nightwatch/Daywatch are more refined... it's a bit like evolution in writing.

[Xietor]

I am fairly deep in the JV Jones 1st book of the sword of shadow trilogy. I decided to skip the 1st series, for now, and go right in to the sos trilogy. It is extremely well written, with one glaring exception.

Maybe because the author is a woman, did not play rugby, box, wrestle, or play American football, but there is no way Reif could have taken a near death beating by 5 or 6 healthy men, who hated him with a passion, over the course of days, and then be in any shape to travel over a brutally cold frozen tundra a week later. He would needs many weeks of good care to recover.

Ignoring the fact that none of his wounds got infected in a filthy environment, and even allowing for youth healing quicker, the fact that he is relatively fit, and suffered no
broken bones that required months to heal, there is no way he can travel that soon after taking that kind of beating.

If some form of magical healing was done, ok, but none was.
Maybe his affinity with the old blood lets him heal at an much faster rate? Was that part of the 1st series that i skipped?

[HoneyBadger]

Yes, I agree-I've read fantasy since I was about 4 years old, but as I've aged-I'm turning 30 (scary!) in a week-my tastes have changed. I don't put up with books that don't grab me and compel me to read them. I simply don't have patience for them and lose interest. Right now I'm reading George Alec Effinger's Audran Marid trilogy. Really excellent stuff there. It's sci-fi though, but it's the style that I appreciate. It's written for adults, about real adults, and it's interesting *to* adults-atleast to me.

A great shame that he died, especially as young as he was.
His writing is a bit like Steven Brust, when he's at his best.

Has anyone else here read Little, Big? It really is the best fantasy book I've ever read-and it's really exceptional for me to admit something like that without atleast a token reservation.

It might speak more to me than to younger or very much older readers though-I realize that I'm not ancient, but I did grow up from the 70s through the 80s to the 90s and didn't really become an "adult" until the turn of the century, and I think the book speaks to that very directly and clearly. The writing's good, and different enough that it's interesting by itself. The setting itself starts out modern, but...I won't spoil it for you.

[Edi]

SWORD OF SHADOWS SPOILER



















Xietor, might have had something to do with Death refusing to let him die. Nothing about Old Blood in the first series the same way it is in the second.

[djo]

HoneyBadger said:
Has anyone else here read Little, Big? It really is the best fantasy book I've ever read-and it's really exceptional for me to admit something like that without atleast a token reservation.

I think it's been mentioned twice in this thread (once by me). I'd call it one of the finest fantasy books ever written. It's very well regarded within the genre.

It as the most American fantasy book I've read. Whereas fantasy in the currently dominant Tolkein vein is (understandably) deeply rooted in especially Northern European traditions, Little, Big is as purely and independently American as America herself is. That is, almost, but not quite. The book, like America, has strong European (especially British) roots but has then made its own way in the world to something new and different.

If you're still wondering abou it...it's set in something like the second half of the 20th century, in an America much like ours, yet abstracted to the specificity of myth. A young man marries into an old family with a house in the country and becomes a part of their ongoing Story. Along the way you will find the country, the city, love, strife, a depression, progress, conspiracies, soap operas, hippies, orreries, some magic, and beauty and sadness that will make you gasp. Yes, it's literary. No orcs, no swords. Elves? Maybe...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Xietor said:
I wanted to share a few series that I found pretty good that maybe are off the beaten path a bit. So I will avoid the usual and obvious references to Wheel of Time, Tolkien, Feist etc.

"Goblin Quest" by Jim C. Hines (first in a series. Trilogy?)
"Sir Apropos of Nothing" by Peter David (first in a series. Finished trilogy.)

"Goblin Quest" follows the typical adventuring party from the perspective of Jig, a goblin, who is kept busy trying to stay alive and save his home from invaders. Humorous and well written.

"Sir Apropos of Nothing" isn't for everyone. The series follows the 'anti-hero' who people either love or hate. It's also highly satirical in nature. Books in this series start off on humorous note, such as the parody of Lord of the Rings in the second book, but somehow manage to sneak a serious and moving plot in there when you're not paying attention.

Amazon.com has various, better written reviews. These books are off the beaten path.

[jutetrea]

For an interesting (if not very good)read, try out Grunts by Mary Gentle, a fantasy novel from the perspective of the bad guys. Heroes fighting a bunch of orcs a la Warcraft - from the side of the orcs.