"High Fantasy" recommendations?

[rickawakeman]

I have been primarily a reader of SF and only recently "discovered" Jack Vance's "Lyonesse" trilogy (which I found used in a complete hardcover edition), which has been described as a work of "High Fantasy". I must admit being unfamiliar with that term, but was so enthralled by "Lyonesse" that I have been seeking out similar works. I had read White's "Once and Future King" about ten years ago and this would seem to fall under the heading of "romantic heroism", another description I see for similar works. I am extremely fortunate to have a great used book store right here in the village of Florence MA (where I have been able to amass quite a collection of Vance's SF work as well as pretty much everything written by Fritz Leiber, whose Sword & Sorcery works I assume do not fall into this "category" but I loved nonetheless) and last week the owner, learning of my new passion, suggested the following (all of which I bought on the spot):

Three Hearts and Three Lions- Poul Anderson
Judgement Night-C.L. Moore (whose "Northwest of Earth-the Complete Northwest Smith" I just found in a cool used store in NYC, great stuff)
The Well of the Unicorn-Fletcher Pratt
The Mezentian Gate-E.R. Eddison (guess I should pick up the trilogy which precedes this...the Worm Ouroboros, Mistress of Mistresses and A Fish Dinner in Memison)

I also ordered up the two volumes comprising Gene Wolf's "New Sun" quadrilogy, though this is described by Neil Gaiman on the cover as "the best SF novel of the past century".

Right now, I'm several hundred pages into Vance's collected "Dying Earth" writings but am eager for recommendations for more "High Fantasy" or "Romantic heroism". Thanks!

[hippypants]

Have you read any of the Elric series (Storm Bringer) by Michael Moorcock several books in the series, Corum too.

The Gunslinger/Dark Tower--Stephen King

Neil Gaiman is good too.

[klothos]

Not High Fantasy but Stephen King's The Dark Tower series is probably my favorite although, granted, its a mix of fantasy and sci-fi.......If you read other King books, you will discover all kinds of references to The Dark Tower in most of the books and short stories as King's fictional universe entirely revolves around the Dark Tower....its fun finding these Easter Eggs

As far as High Fantasy that I have read and liked is Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series...its a chore to read aand, at times, long-winded ( he will often follow in the Stephen King tradition of spending three pages to describe one blade of grass), but they are overall a great epic.

Im also partial (although I havent read all of them) to R.A. Salvatore's "Forgotten Realms" (the central character, Drizzt, is an exceptional character. Salvatore develops the character extremely well)

As a side-note, there is a Juvenile Fiction series called the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. To be honest, Im not sure why its considered juvenile fiction....... Sure, The first book, Gregor The Overlander, is a little Mickey Mouse-ish to me and I almost stopped there as I thought it was kiddie fiction: Im glad I didn't. The second through fifth books got better and better and more serious and certainly adult. It culminates in Book 5 (Gregor and the Code of Claw) which was fantastic to say the least. There are excellent characters developed in the Series and I was sad to get to the last book (There may be a Book 6 coming out)

[rickawakeman]

I forgot to mention that I read and vastly enjoyed the two volumes (so far) of Patrick Rothfuss' "Kingkiller Chronicles" and have of course read Tolkien and George RR Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" series...

[wideopenears]

Gene Wolfe's stuff -the New Sun Books, as well as the Urth book. and the Long Sun books--are some of the best High Fantasy stuff out there....with some Sci Fi elements, as well. The prose is on par with Tolkien's, as well...something I can't say about Robert Jordan's work, or even that of George R R Martin, though I love the latter. I've read all of both....

Of course, you have to read Tolkien.

Eddison is also great, but that is some turgid prose. Beautiful, in it's way, but not a easy read.

Beagle's "Last Unicorn" is a quick read, and a good one.

[wideopenears]

Oh, and Alfred Lord Dunsany, the Grandpa of them all....

[klothos]

prose is on par with Tolkien's, as well...something I can't say about Robert Jordan's work

Yeah, I'll actually agree with that....Im not crazy about Jordan's writing......I still thought that "Wheel" (for the most part) was good

[markwoll]

The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafhrd_and_the_Gray_Mouser) stories by Fritz Leiber were entertaining, back in the day.

[Don Arnold]

I'd recommend Stephen Lawhead's "Song of Albion" 3 book series. At least I found the series to be highly captivating reading. Though for anyone trying this out, the first 70 odd pages of the first volume are a bit dry and devoid of action. But then it kicks into gear.

Another series of his that I enjoyed was "The Pendragon Cycle", based on King Arthur, Merlin and company.

[notallwhowander]

The Gormenghast Novels by Melvyn Peake are very worthy - though I should say I've only read the first one in the trilogy so far (Titus Groan) which was amazing, and worth the price of the collected books: intense, intelligent, humorous, and darkly byzantine in the best possible way. People put him up there with Tolkien and Wolfe, and I won't argue.

I'm a big Lord Dunsany fan too. The King of Elfland's Daughter is a excellent companion to Neil Gaiman's Stardust, as you can read them both taking stabs at traveling to and from fairyland. Any collection of his short stories will serve as a fine introduction to these delicious high-fantasy bon bons. He's old-timey wordy though, so be prepared for a style more akin to the King James Bible than anything else.

Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels are also essential reading - again I read the first three, written in the '70s, and not any of the follow-ups written much later. Le Guin set out to do a non-European world of dragons and magic, and did a superlative job.

Patricia McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a wonderful novel, written in a very spare style (the opposite of Dunsany's verbosity). It's worth reading just for the sheer breadth of vision in such an economy of words.

Other personal favorites & deep cuts:

A Rendezvous in Averoinge by Clark Ashton Smith is a collection of some of his short fiction by Arkham House. It may be released in paperback by another publisher as far as I know. It does contain his best fantasy stories though, which I immensely enjoy. If that is too costly to track down, it appears Penguin has a collection entitled The Dark Eidolon which looks pretty good.

The Elfin Ship & The Disappearing Dwarf by James P. Blaylock are two crackingly funny fantasies, though I think they are only available new on a POD site. Kick down for used copies (or e-copies) on Amazon. They are pure delight.

Also, if you like the straight-up heroic thing, I also enjoyed Tros of Samothrace by Talbot Mundy - adventure writer of a bygone era. I've only read the first of these, but it looks like the whole series is available electronically. A quick looks shows that the book I've read has found its way back into print too. Nice. Fritz Leiber got a lot of his vibe from these books, though Leiber was a much more inventive fantasy writer. These are straight-up adventure books set at the time of the Roman Empire.

I'm also a Terry Pratchett fan, but it is probably best that you read a bit more in high fantasy before reading the epic spoof that is the Discworld novels. Loads and loads of fun, though.

[Progbear]

Eddison is also great, but that is some turgid prose. Beautiful, in it's way, but not a easy read.

I am a huge fan of The Worm Ouroboros. Yes, the writing style is very dense and excessively stylized, plus there's a mess of "unfortunate implications" on account of Eddison's dated world view. But the writing is quite lovely once you get used to it, and if you like character-driven works, this book is loaded with extremely memorable ones. I find his other works get bogged down too much by navel-gazing, but if you liked TWO, you'll want to read the others anyway.


The Gormenghast Novels by Melvyn Peake are very worthy - though I should say I've only read the first one in the trilogy so far (Titus Groan) which was amazing, and worth the price of the collected books: intense, intelligent, humorous, and darkly byzantine in the best possible way. People put him up there with Tolkien and Wolfe, and I won't argue.

The first two are superb. The second had at least one scene that, quite literally, made me cry. Still can't bring myself to read Titus Alone, after all the horror stories.


Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels are also essential reading - again I read the first three, written in the '70s, and not any of the follow-ups written much later. Le Guin set out to do a non-European world of dragons and magic, and did a superlative job.

I agree, a good one, and I too only read the original novels (I understand the later books are some kind of attempt at retroactive continuity, rarely a good idea).


Patricia McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a wonderful novel, written in a very spare style (the opposite of Dunsany's verbosity). It's worth reading just for the sheer breadth of vision in such an economy of words.

Everything I've read by her is good. She's sort of the anti-Robert Jordan in that the bulk of her work consists of one-off short novels. I think the Riddle Master series was her only serial work.

If you like Vance (and I love his stuff), try Jo Clayton, she is another who operates in his "anything goes" writing style. Some science fiction elements creep into her work. The Blue Magic series is my personally most-liked, but much of it's good. Much of these are deeply weird, sometimes I get the feeling that she was "chemically enhanced" when coming up with ideas.

Speaking of which, Roger Zelazny likewise has that "anything goes" attitude in a lot of his writing. Lord of Light, a sort of sci-fi retelling of Hindu legend, is a good example.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Re: the later Earthsea novels - what's different about them is that they aren't YA books, they are adult novels with adult themes. I recommend them highly.

[rickawakeman]

I have read all of LeGuin's EarthSea works. Rothfuss' "The Name of the Wind" and the subsequent "A Wise man's Fears" seem heavily indebted to these...but i enjoyed them all. I have read anything and everything by Leiber I have been able to find and very much enjoyed the humor in the Farfhard/grey Mouser series. I explored some "humorous fantasy" after reading White's seminal "Once and Future King", including Peter David's trilogy of King Arthur in a modern setting, a few of Aspirin's "Myth-Adventures" series and yes,a couple of Discworld books as well. I'm intrigued by the recommendations for Dunsany, Blaylock, Clayton and Peake...

[hippypants]

Edgar Rice Burroughs--some don't care for him, but he was certainly influential. John Carter of Mars, and some of his others are more in the fantasy realm. I prefer his Tarzan stuff best though, or more to my taste. Some of this one shot stories are worthwhile as well, like The Mucker.

I guess the same could be said for R. E. Howard. I enjoy his Conan stuff, but some of his other stories are worthwhile. If you can find an anthology of his work, that would be a good starting point. His sailor Steve Corrigan stories are fun to read.

The above sort of folds in with the pulps and if you enjoy that sort of thing, you'd want to look at some Doc Savage, The Shadow, or The Spider. They're pretty high in action sequences, and fun reads, plus you can run across them sometimes in used book stores from time to time.

[Dana5140]

I would recommend the first trilogy of the Chronicles of Thomas Convenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. There is nothing like them in the fantasy realm. I also loved the work of Kathryn Kurtz and her Deryni series.

[notallwhowander]

I guess the same could be said for R. E. Howard. I enjoy his Conan stuff, but some of his other stories are worthwhile. If you can find an anthology of his work, that would be a good starting point. His sailor Steve Corrigan stories are fun to read.

I'm ambivalent about Howard. He's important, but very problematic. I read through all the Conan stories a few years ago, which turned into a kind of guilty pleasure. They are just as cheesy, misogynist, and racist as you would imagine them to be. On the other hand, the guy could write, had a good number of inventive premises, some great atmospheres, and I have yet to read his equal for a combat sequence. Still, any time a woman enters the story it is downright embarrassing, and I found the homo-eroticism around Conan and all the other manly men a bit much. Sometimes I just wanted to yell, "Put your pants back on Bob!" But his vision of the barbarian, embodied in Conan, is a compelling one for a blood-soaked fantasy adventure: made to purpose you might say.

[Yves]

I would recommend the first trilogy of the Chronicles of Thomas Convenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. There is nothing like them in the fantasy realm. .

I feel you have to read them in order to get the superior 2nd and 3rd Chronicles. But they are not your typical high fantasy for sure.

One series I never see get mentionned is Tad Williams "Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn". Sure, it borrows freely from the masters in the genre, but you'll find that most high fantasy basically tells the same tales of coming-of-age against an apocalyptic good-vs-evil backdrop. I think this is why I tired on the genre.

[BobM]

Trying not to repeat some of what was recommended above (I agree with most of it), so

Belgariad Series - David Eddings
Majipoor Cycle - Robert Silverberg
Amber Series - Roger Zalazny
Sword of Shannara Series - Terry Brooks (plus many extensions)
Dark Elf Trilogy - R.A. Salvatore (plus many extensions)
Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay (well, damn near everything this guy writes is awesome)

[the winter tree]

I would recommend Guy Gavriel Kay's "Fionavar Tapestry" trilogy as well as David Coe's "Winds of the Forelands" series.

One of my favorite SF/Fantasy novels is "Nightwings" by Robert Silverberg.

[Sputnik]

I really like Robin Hobb. I'd recommend her first trilogy, Assassin's Apprentice, and if you like that the others are also quite good.

Bill

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I cannot tell you seriously enough to avoid Terry Brooks and R.A. Salvatore.

Brooks began his career with The Sword of Shannara, which is a (nearly) scene-by-scene ripoff of The Lord of the Rings. I am told he has gotten better since, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Salvatore writes Dungeons And Dragons tie-in books. I guess they're OK for what they are, but they are in no wise "high" fantasy.

Re: Stephen R. Donaldson. The main character, Thomas Covenant, starts the series as an utter prick. By chapter four he does something completely loathsome. Yet I hold that the whole "Covenant" series (ten books in all) are the most important work of true high fantasy since Tolkien.

Re: Gene Wolfe and The Book of the New Sun. You really can't go wrong with anything by Wolfe, but he has written very little high fantasy (the exception being the duology The Wizard Knight). New Sun is science fiction with a fantasy feel, or "science fantasy." It is also possibly the best science fiction series of the twentieth century.

A number of things mentioned (Burroughs, Howard, Leiber's "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" stories) are not high fantasy but sword and sorcery, a very different genre.

Re: Mervyn Peake. The first two books of the "Gormenghast" series are high points in high fantasy. The third falls a bit in quality, largely because Peake was dying a very painful death as he wrote it. There's a fourth book written from his notes by his wife; I have yet to read it.

Silverberg's "Majipoor" series is another science-fantasy series, but very good light reading.

Yes, Robin Hobb is good. The narrator of the "Assassin's Apprentice" trilogy has a voice that sucked me right in and kept me reading to the last page.

[notallwhowander]

A number of things mentioned (Burroughs, Howard, Leiber's "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" stories) are not high fantasy but sword and sorcery, a very different genre.

Point well made.

On that note, Clark Ashton Smith is mainly categorized as weird fiction (à la H.P. Lovecraft), and his fantasies are dark fantasies. Still, "The Dark Eidolon" and a few others stories do really hit a high fantasy note for me, even if they aren't in a strict sense.

Re: E. R. Eddison
I really enjoyed The Worm Ouroboros too. My suggestion is that if you like Dunsany, then try some Eddison. If you think Dunsany is too overwrought, Eddison will be quite frustrating. I like the challenge, and the reward, of reading these guys.

[wideopenears]

Count me as a fan of overwrought.

[Dana5140]

Leper, outcast, unclean!

What happens when you find you can feel again?

[BobM]

Granted, some of the authors and books mentioned are fall into the "adult" fantasy category, while others are more appropriate for a younger reader. That doesn't make them any less viable, but more a soft vs hard read on the genre. For example, you are probably not going to let your 13 year old daughter read Joe Abercrombie or many others who are taking George Martin's gristly style to new levels. But the Shannara or Belgariad series or even Jordan are very appropriate reads.

[rickawakeman]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I love haunting used book stores searching this stuff out...

[Jerjo]

Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy is very good, especially at upsetting every fantasy stereotype and trope with utter malice and forethought. It is not for those who like their fantasy free of grit and wretchedness however.

Daniel Abraham has one completed series, the Long Price Quartet (available in two omnibus editions). Far more character driven than most fantasies and is set in a pseudo-Asia, as opposed to the usual pseudo-medieval Europe and has a very unique system of magic. Some may feel it moves too slow but the conclusion is so very satisfying. Now he's three books into another series, The Dagger and the Coin that is far more traditional in its setting but no less well written. One of his main characters is building into a Dark Lord but his insight into how that character stumbled into this and continues down this path is fascinating.

Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series is another unique vision. Picture conmen working in a fantastical version of 16th century Italy. I think the best synopsis of it I read as "a fantasy Ocean's Eleven meeting Pirates of the Caribbean with much darker stakes". As it stands, the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora, is the best. Between the second and the third the author went into a spiral of clinical depression, managed to stagger to the finish line with the third book and is now ready to pursue this with a vengeance. The third book seemed to suffer from a lack of serious consequences but everything our heroes gained in the end got lost, a serious nemesis has arisen, nothing is as it once seemed, and war is brewing. So I am taking the third book as a transition piece to set it all into place and now the real fun begins.

Ditto on Robin Hobb - her books are real wicked reads.

[Progbear]

Brooks began his career with The Sword of Shannara, which is a (nearly) scene-by-scene ripoff of The Lord of the Rings. I am told he has gotten better since, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Meh. Sometimes you just want “junk food” fantasy, just like sometimes you just want “junk food” sympho-prog. Mind you, you can do way better than the mega-predictable and derivative Shannara series. Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, mentioned up-thread, for example. Hardly original, but well-written and featuring vibrant, memorable characters. Sometimes, that’s all you want, or need, really.

You can also do far, far worse. Terry Goodkind, anyone?

[Yves]

Meh. Sometimes you just want “junk food” fantasy, just like sometimes you just want “junk food” sympho-prog. Mind you, you can do way better than the mega-predictable and derivative Shannara series. Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, mentioned up-thread, for example. Hardly original, but well-written and featuring vibrant, memorable characters. Sometimes, that’s all you want, or need, really.

You can also do far, far worse. Terry Goodkind, anyone?

Another one I'd lump into that category is J.V. Jones' "The Baker's Boy" (not sure if that's the name of the series or just book 1 of it). It had some interesting political back-stabbing in a Martin vein...

[BobM]

Mark Lawrence's "Pince of Thorns" & "King of Thorns" & "Emperor of Thorns" is very reminiscent of Joe Abercrombie's gritty/gruesome style of fantasy. An enjoyable quick read if you've embraced that style.

[bill g]

Pamela Dean's 'The Secret Country' trilogy can be a young adult, or older adult read and are unique and quite interesting. Cleverly written with subtle humor throughout.

1. The Secret Country
2. The Hidden Land
3. The Whim of the Dragon

[Progbear]

Another one I'd lump into that category is J.V. Jones' "The Baker's Boy" (not sure if that's the name of the series or just book 1 of it). It had some interesting political back-stabbing in a Martin vein...

I’ve seen some nice words for this one and its follow-ups. Supposedly her more recent work is better, though.

After all the glowing praise for Rothfuss (mentioned up-thread), I think I’ll need to finally break down and get The Name of the Wind. Here’s hoping it lives up to the hype.

[Paulrus]

My "wife" Marcia (together for 20 years but haven't done the deed) is more of a high fantasy fan than myself, being more of an SF reader and having been brought up on the joys of Lieber, Moorcock, etc. Oh, and if anyone thinks RE Howard was a mysogynist then they obviously never read any of John Norman's "Gor" books. Whoo-eee!

But anyways, she likes David Eddings and reads it as comfort food. And since he has about a bazillion books in the same series that takes quite a while.

Tad Williams is a bit of the same, but his stuff is superior IMO. She also turned me onto the Guy Gavriel Kay stuff and it's even better, though less high fantasy and bordering on historical fiction. She's also a big fan of the "Pern" books by Anne McCaffrey.

I've read the Stephen R Donaldson books. They're intense and hard to get into at first but ultimately rewarding.

I'd also recommend the Robert Silverberg "Majipoor Chronicles" books, at least the first couple. Lots of fun (but beware of his other books).

I never could get into the Robert Jordan stuff (like chewing on a tree root), or the Earthsea books (a bit too fey for moi).

Happy reading!

NP: Neil Gaiman -- "American Gods"

[WHORG]

The kids got out of school on June 12th.

Got my daughter (now 9 years old) - "The Chronicles of Narnia" as a gift for her good grades . . . she was a bit intimidated at first: this is the gigantic (750 page) version where all the separate volumes are contained in one. She hunkered down and just finished it yesterday - - - loved it.

[BobM]

Here's a few others that are great reads:

Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind, Wise Man's Fear (3rd book in the Kingkiller Chronicles is not out yet)
Scott Lynch - Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard Series)
Mark Lawrence - Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire series) - this is one of those gritty ones

[rickawakeman]

To update my progress, based on the recommendation so kindly offered in this thread:

I have read both volumes of the Rothfuss series and eagerly anticipate the third ( read these before starting this thread, found them reminiscent of LeGuin's EarthSea series, which is a great thing!)

I read as recommended here Gene Wolfe's New Sun (original) series, which I enjoyed tremendously as it seemed to take place in the same realm as Vance's Dying Sun books (which I loved). I also found a used copy of Wolfe's "the Wizard Knight" (two volumes in one nice sized book!) which looks great.

I picked up Fletcher Pratt's "Well of the Unicorn", enjoyed it but found it a bit heavy on philosophy.

I am delightedly devouring Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels (found used in one volume) and have the posthumous 4th work waiting for me.

I have Robin Hobbs' Assassin's Apprentice series waiting (found two used), as are Blaylock's Disappearing Dwarf and Elvin Ship (both found used).

I picked up some Jo Clayton and C.M. Moore, which I look forward to (still reading Moore's "Northwest of Earth" collected compilation, but that's SF)

I'm loving my forays into this genre so thanks again!

[simon moon]

Re: Stephen R. Donaldson. The main character, Thomas Covenant, starts the series as an utter prick. By chapter four he does something completely loathsome. Yet I hold that the whole "Covenant" series (ten books in all) are the most important work of true high fantasy since Tolkien.


I agree with this.

A hero that is hard to root for.



Re: Gene Wolfe and The Book of the New Sun. You really can't go wrong with anything by Wolfe, but he has written very little high fantasy (the exception being the duology The Wizard Knight). New Sun is science fiction with a fantasy feel, or "science fantasy." It is also possibly the best science fiction series of the twentieth century.

Mostly agree.

The best science fiction series of the 20th century is Dan Simmons' "Hyperion Cantos".


Hyperion (1989) – Hugo and Locus Awards winner, BSFA nominee, 1990; Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1992
The Fall of Hyperion (1990) – Nebula Award nominee, 1990; BSFA and Locus Awards winner, Hugo Award nominee, 1991
Endymion (1996) – Locus Award shortlist, 1997
The Rise of Endymion (1997) – Locus Award winner, Hugo Award nominee 1998

[Paulrus]

The best science fiction series of the 20th century is Dan Simmons' "Hyperion Cantos".


We're getting off topic but I had to also put in a plug for the "Hyperion" series. Like all series, the later books aren't always as tight but they still hold up. Interested readers should be aware, though, that Simmons' background is in horror and there's a strong undercurrent of this running through the series (which makes it even better, IMO).

[Dana5140]

Kathryn Kurtz- her Deryni series is excellent.

[rickawakeman]

I'm sure many here (since we are the intelligentsia) read the interview with George RR Martin in a recent (6/15/14) New York Times Arts & Leisure Sunday section. Here's a link to the sidebar article on other current, recommended High Fantasy. I've read none of these works or authors. Sounds like some of you like the Abercrombie, but would love to hear your thoughts on these.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/arts/television/more-lands-of-fantasy.html?action=click&contentCollection=Television&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

[Yves]

Though I swore I was through with this genre with the exception of Martin's series, I find myself currently reading Book 3 of Daniel Abraham's "The Coin & The Dagger" series. Mr Abraham (one half of the writing team known as James S.A. Corey) was savvy enough to include the entire first book of this series as a freebie with book 1 of the James S.A. Corey "The Expanse" series (Leviathan Wakes). I thought this SF series was decent enough to continue on with, but when a lull in books appeared and I was left with nothing to read, I decided to start "The Coin & The Dagger". Now, book 4 of The Expanse is available but I'm too wrapped up in The Coin & The Dagger to download it!

TC&TD is similar to Martin in writing style but has it's own unique world history. There is very sparse magic in it, and the power itself is nuanced. Book 4 is about to be released and the author has promised that the story ends at Book 5.

[Jerjo]

I'm sure many here (since we are the intelligentsia) read the interview with George RR Martin in a recent (6/15/14) New York Times Arts & Leisure Sunday section. Here's a link to the sidebar article on other current, recommended High Fantasy. I've read none of these works or authors. Sounds like some of you like the Abercrombie, but would love to hear your thoughts on these.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/arts/television/more-lands-of-fantasy.html?action=click&contentCollection=Television&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article

The only one I haven't read is Sanderson but he is well respected among genre fans. He's a Mormon, so you won't find the sex and swearing you would in any of Abercrombie or Martin's work but some might find that a relief.

Richard K Morgan came over from science fiction where he wrote the devastating Takeshi Kovacs series. The fantasy series is utterly bizarre and at times I have a hard time following where the fuck this is all going. But Morgan writes an action scene as well as anyone and his characters are fantastic. Some might be put off by the gay lead character and his penchant for the buttsecks, but Morgan could give a fuck.

I love Lynch but the last book, Republic of Thieves, suffered as a transition between the first two books and the coming war that will take up the rest of the series. Lynch had a severe bout of depression that delayed publication by a few years but he's back to writing furiously and has a better handle on things. I expect this series will be finished in grand style.

Abercrombie is a dark wicked soul. That first trilogy takes every major trope in fantasy and by the end cruelly twists them into something beastly. The rest of his books are standalone but set in the same universe. At times he makes Martin look like Pollyanna.

Daniel Abraham is one of the best things in fantasy right now - I'm just plowing through the third book in The Dagger and the Coin right now. A unique vision.

[JKL2000]

Edgar Rice Burroughs--some don't care for him, but he was certainly influential. John Carter of Mars, and some of his others are more in the fantasy realm. I prefer his Tarzan stuff best though, or more to my taste. Some of this one shot stories are worthwhile as well, like The Mucker.

I guess the same could be said for R. E. Howard. I enjoy his Conan stuff, but some of his other stories are worthwhile. If you can find an anthology of his work, that would be a good starting point. His sailor Steve Corrigan stories are fun to read.

The above sort of folds in with the pulps and if you enjoy that sort of thing, you'd want to look at some Doc Savage, The Shadow, or The Spider. They're pretty high in action sequences, and fun reads, plus you can run across them sometimes in used book stores from time to time.

We like a lot of the same stuff! I loved the Elric and Corum books, and also Burrough' Mars books, loved the Earths ' Core trilogy. And I've also read a lot of Doc Savage.

[Azol]

I have been primarily a reader of SF and only recently "discovered" Jack Vance's "Lyonesse" trilogy (which I found used in a complete hardcover edition), which has been described as a work of "High Fantasy". I must admit being unfamiliar with that term, but was so enthralled by "Lyonesse" that I have been seeking out similar works.

I have finished reading Lyonesse earlier this year (thanks to this Forum recommendation) and now I ordered the single-volume edition for my library. Also looking for more in the same vein.


I would recommend Guy Gavriel Kay's "Fionavar Tapestry" trilogy

I tried but could not get through more than ~50 pages... not sure if I want to give it a second chance... maybe Kay's books are not for me.


Re: Stephen R. Donaldson. The main character, Thomas Covenant, starts the series as an utter prick. By chapter four he does something completely loathsome. Yet I hold that the whole "Covenant" series (ten books in all) are the most important work of true high fantasy since Tolkien.

I am halfway through the 1st book now - you are right, the main character is not very sympathetic, and I definitely could live without some "dirty" scenes (same could be applied to Lyonesse as well, but the humor of Vance is truly redeeming). But the world is highly detailed and original so I enjoy the book in spite of the protagonist.

Also, Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight cycle caught my attention, so this is what I am planning to read next.

[Yves]

You have to read through the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant in order to get to the best in the series: The Second Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant. One of the best I have ever read!

I'm currently reading The Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch. About a third of the way through the first book and so far I am enjoying it. It borrows almost as much from Dickens as it does from the fantasy genre.

[Spiral]

Meh. Sometimes you just want “junk food” fantasy ... Mind you, you can do way better than the mega-predictable and derivative Shannara series. Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, mentioned up-thread, for example. Hardly original, but well-written and featuring vibrant, memorable characters.
I wouldn't call MS&T junk food by any means. Even paint-by-numbers plots can avoid that label if the writing & characters are done well enough, and I'd argue that even if some of the framework is timeworn, that series has enough detail and twists and turns that it doesn't feel like paint-by-numbers at all. His Shadowmarch series is even better (and less obviously conventional where story tropes are concerned).

Agree about Terry Goodkind also; a decent premise ruined by cartoony convolutions and soap-opera melodrama. I enjoyed him and David Eddings in middle/high school, but they became downright embarrassing once I learned what good writing was. I suppose Eddings could be good for breezy mindless cotton candy if it fits the right mood. (It doesn't matter if you pick up the Belgariad or the Malloreon; they're carbon copies of the same story.)

Gene Wolfe's New Sun may be the most frustrating read I've ever slogged through in the genre. If I squint I can almost sort-of maybe get a vague glimmer of why they're so highly praised, but holy shit, is it ever a chore. I spent the whole time wondering if the characters were even human beings. They go through the most bizarre unimaginable things and have no believable or emotional reactions whatsoever. I remember it having all the impenetrability of any Samuel R. Delany book but with even less sense.

Ok, enough negatives for now. Stephen Donaldson and Thomas Covenant do indeed deserve every bit of praise they've gotten in this thread. Dennis McKiernan has done some very good things in the genre, well worth looking into if you ignore his early Tolkien rehashes and the later fairy-tale adaptions. Robert Jordan may have spent five whole books of his series to move the plot barely an inch, but I'll praise his world-building, picturesque language and feel for speech as among the finest I've read.

Thanks to everyone that mentioned Daniel Abraham. He looks mighty interesting--think I have to go dig further.

[Progbear]

After all the glowing praise for Rothfuss (mentioned up-thread), I think I’ll need to finally break down and get The Name of the Wind. Here’s hoping it lives up to the hype.

Glad someone took the time to bump up this thread! I have now read both of the books in this series, and can happily say that they do indeed live up to the hype! I anxiously await further developments in this series (yes, I know about the novella about a tangential character).

[BobM]

I'm taking a break from the fantasy style and catching up on Arthur C Clark's "Rama" series. Never read them before and enjoying it. Currently on the 3rd one.

[rickawakeman]

I'm the OP....What I've been devouring:

Robin Hobbs' second Fitz/Fool trilogy, since I already have the first of the newest triology waiting...
Gavriel Guy Kay's "Tigana" (really loved this, also enjoyed his Fianavar Tapestry trilogy); to Azal- if you liked Lyonesse, you might like Kay's Tigana. It's a single but dense volume.
China Mieville's (sp?) "Perdido Street Station" (loved this modern high fantasy, will explore this universe further...)

Taking a break right now from the High Fantasy to read Jack Vance's Arminata Station, first of his Cadwal trilogy. It was Vance's high fantasy masterpiece Lyonesse that started my now 1.5 year foray into High Fantasy. I've got quite a stack waiting, having found many of the works recommended in this thread used. Looking forward to Lawhead's Arthurian series, Moorecock's Gloriana...

[Sputnik]

I'm the OP....What I've been devouring:

Robin Hobbs' second Fitz/Fool trilogy, since I already have the first of the newest triology waiting...Cool, glad you liked the Hobb! I recommended the first Farseer trilogy eariler in the thread, which it appears you read and must have enjoyed. Coincidentally I just finished Book III of her Rain Wilds series, and I really liked the first three of those. The pacing is a bit slower, but I really like the characters and how things develop organically. I'm taking a break before jumping into Book IV of that series, but I'm really looking forward to it.



China Mieville's (sp?) "Perdido Street Station" (loved this modern high fantasy, will explore this universe further...)Another of my modern favorites, I actually got turned onto him here and now have all his stuff. My highest recommendations go to City and the City, Embassytown, and Kraken. Railsea and King Rat I also really liked. The two follow-ups to Perdido Street Station, Iron Council and The Scar, I was a bit less fond of, though each have strong moments. If you like his other stuff, I'd say go for these, you may well like them more than I did - and I probably need to give The Scar another shot. Actually, looks like he has a new one out called This Census-Taker... autobuy for me.

I assume you caught the Yes reference in Perdido Street Station? :)

Lot's of other cool suggestions in this thread. I've backed away from Sci-Fi/Fantasy a bit and have been reading a lot of history and anthropology of late. But it's always good to hear what folks are enjoying, and like I say, I discovered Meiville in a thread like this and he's one I now follow consistently.

Bill

[Progbear]

Really glad to see all this praise for Lyonesse. I discovered it some years ago and just devoured it. Devoured all the Vance I could after that, but little of it moved me the way Lyonesse did.

[rickawakeman]

Same here, and I love Vance's writing in general.

[Jerjo]

Just started reading Sebastien de Castell's Traitor's Blade. Not quite the standard medieval setting, move it up a few centuries, but damn, this book gets up and moves.

[Yves]

I'm on Book 2 of The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch and it's throroughly enjoyable so far! It's like a high fantasy mafia story, taking palce in the seemier parts of the world the author creates. No dealings with nobility; only criminal types.

[PeterG]

Hello!!! Aren't you all forgetting someone rather important to the genre? ;)
Robert E. Howard:

Conan
Cormac mac Art
Bran mac Morn

All fantastic stuff.

Fred Saberhagen also wrote some amazing fantasy novels.

[BaldFriede]

"The Lyremouth Chronicles" by Jane Fletcher

Part 1: "The Exile and the Sorcerer"
Part 2: "The Traitor and the Chalice"
Part 3: "The Empress and the Acolyte"
Part 4: "The High Priest and the Idol"

This is, however, lesbian fantasy, so maybe not up your alley. But Jean and I liked it.

[dropforge]

Hello!!! Aren't you all forgetting someone rather important to the genre? ;)
Robert E. Howard:

Conan
Cormac mac Art
Bran mac Morn

All fantastic stuff.

Fred Saberhagen also wrote some amazing fantasy novels.

Yes, REH is THE MAN. However, I wouldn't categorize his trendsetting sword & sorcery works as "high fantasy," which is a label reserved for stories that involve elves, gnomes, dwarves, pixies, unicorns and the sort.

[The Dark Elf]

Tolkien, of course, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And the ten volume History of Middle-earth along with The Children of Húrin.

Then there is the great The Once and Future King by T.H. White. One of the funniest and at the same time saddest fantasies ever written.

Watership Down by Richard Adams. If I tell you it's a book about rabbits, you'd miss the point.

Dune by Frank Herbert, for all its sci-fi trappings, is high-fantasy at its best, particularly the internecine battles of wit between feudal houses.

[BaldJean]

How about the Redwall series by Brian Jacques? Some say the series is children's stuff, but it is in my opinion much too gory for that (deaths galore, and not only the bad guys).

The series has 26 books, so lots of stuff to read. I only read three of them, but I liked what I read.

[PeterG]

Yes, REH is THE MAN. However, I wouldn't categorize his trendsetting sword & sorcery works as "high fantasy," which is a label reserved for stories that involve elves, gnomes, dwarves, pixies, unicorns and the sort.

Okay, thanks I wasn't really sure. So basically high fantasy is all the sissy stuff from Tolkein? ;)

I wonder could we equate Martin with REH, as Game of Thrones has all those different kingdoms as well as various supernatural types?

[BaldJean]

Oh, and one of the best books I ever read, outside of fantasy as well: "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. Settled in England of early 19th century, but a slightly altered England in which magic still exists. Highly amusing, with lots of footnotes that you definitely have to read; some of them are absolutely hilarious. The prose is early 19th century as well, like Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, but I love early 19th century literature. I haven't laughed that much while reading for a long time. The paperback edition has 1100 pages. Lots of illustrations as well. BBC made a TV-series of the book.

[notallwhowander]

R.E. Howard's Conan is pretty much the definition of sword & sorcery.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Yes, REH is THE MAN. However, I wouldn't categorize his trendsetting sword & sorcery works as "high fantasy," which is a label reserved for stories that involve elves, gnomes, dwarves, pixies, unicorns and the sort.

Not exactly; none of those elements is required. For example, Robin Hobb's excellent Farseer trilogy has no non-human races in it (except dragons, and only at the end), but is definitely HF.

High Fantasy is fantasy where the author has created a self-consistent alternate world -- usually with magic and/or fantastic critters, but not always. The world is the thing.

Probably the first real practitioner of HF was William Morris (The Well at the World's End, e.g.).

[dropforge]

Watership Down by Richard Adams. If I tell you it's a book about rabbits, you'd miss the point.

:up:up:up:up

Adams' The Plague Dogs is one of my favorite books.

[dropforge]

Okay, thanks I wasn't really sure. So basically high fantasy is all the sissy stuff from Tolkein? ;)

Oh, it's sissy now, is it? ;)


Not exactly; none of those elements is required. For example, Robin Hobb's excellent Farseer trilogy has no non-human races in it (except dragons, and only at the end), but is definitely HF.

High Fantasy is fantasy where the author has created a self-consistent alternate world -- usually with magic and/or fantastic critters, but not always. The world is the thing.

I don't disagree with that, save that high fantasy, as it's recognized today, features significantly more magic use than low fantasy — what REH's works fall under by default (I prefer the label sword & sorcery) — wherein exhibition of magical abilities is comparably less common. REH's characters are usually underdogs and the stories take place on this Earth, not an alternate Earth or other realm. Those qualities don't always apply to high fantasy.

[Yves]

The Farseer Trilogy (both the first and second trilogies) were indeed excellent! I am awaiting the 3rd book of the third trilogy before starting in on it.

I don't recall other series I may have mentioned here an am too lazy to go back and look, but I would strongly recommend Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy. Dark and violent with a cast of very flawed characters...

On the lighter side is Michael J. Sullivan's "The Riyria Revelations"...

[wideopenears]

Oh, and one of the best books I ever read, outside of fantasy as well: "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. Settled in England of early 19th century, but a slightly altered England in which magic still exists. Highly amusing, with lots of footnotes that you definitely have to read; some of them are absolutely hilarious. The prose is early 19th century as well, like Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, but I love early 19th century literature. I haven't laughed that much while reading for a long time. The paperback edition has 1100 pages. Lots of illustrations as well. BBC made a TV-series of the book.

I really enjoyed this one, as well. Worth a re-read, in fact!

[notallwhowander]

I don't disagree with that, save that high fantasy, as it's recognized today, features significantly more magic use than low fantasy — what REH's works fall under by default (I prefer the label sword & sorcery) — wherein exhibition of magical abilities is comparably less common. REH's characters are usually underdogs and the stories take place on this Earth, not an alternate Earth or other realm. Those qualities don't always apply to high fantasy.

I think there is a tone and emphasis quality to high fantasy as well. REH wrote gritty, id-gratifying stories with the emphasis on action. High fantasy is usually some kind of conventional morality play, an unashamed reinterpretation of the monomyth, with an attempt to evoke tragic emotions. High fantasy leans heavily on classical and pre-modern European literary traditions, whereas sword-and-sorcery raids ancient and medieval traditions for images and tropes, but is decidedly modern, often trying to subvert the monomyth, and throws over a conventional morality play in favor of an anti-hero.

Oh, and I always understood REH's Hyborean Age to be an alternative Earth past, not unlike Tolkien's Middle Earth.

[Azol]

You have to read through the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant in order to get to the best in the series: The Second Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant. One of the best I have ever read!

By now I have finished reading both the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, a very intense reading. In fact, I enjoyed the 1st trilogy more than the 2nd one, as it offered more action less reflexion (two main characters of 2nd trilogy requiring twice as many words to describe their psychological complications). And Donaldson was very serious throughout, dead serious.

[BobM]

Then there's all the Shannara books, in all their guises. Plus the new TV show based on them.

[Spiral]

there's all the Shannara books, in all their guises. Plus the new TV show based on them.
But the thread was supposed to be about things worth recommending.

[Yves]

By now I have finished reading both the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, a very intense reading. In fact, I enjoyed the 1st trilogy more than the 2nd one, as it offered more action less reflexion (two main characters of 2nd trilogy requiring twice as many words to describe their psychological complications). And Donaldson was very serious throughout, dead serious.

The Third Chronicles move at an even slower pace with a lot more psychological reflexion going on. Beware...

[BobM]

But the thread was supposed to be about things worth recommending.

Yeah, but I haven't read these since high school, so I thought I would catch up a bit. I made it through the 1st 3 (Word and Void) but agree that they are hugely predictable and suitable for high schoolers. Time to move on now. Maybe I will re-read Covenant or Jonathan Strange.

[Progbear]

But the thread was supposed to be about things worth recommending.

a) I already made that joke well up-thread, pre-TV series.

b) Multiple people have recommended the Thomas Covenant series, which I find absolutely unbearable (as opposed to Shannara, which is merely lame and plagiaristic), so I guess anything’s fair game. :p

[Azol]

b) Multiple people have recommended the Thomas Covenant series, which I find absolutely unbearable (as opposed to Shannara, which is merely lame and plagiaristic), so I guess anything’s fair game. :p

Vance-Vance-Vance!!! A best of two worlds: not too dead serious and depressing and yet not too sugary-sweet or predictable. But 1st Covenant trilogy is worth all the praise it receives. Really.

By the way, I wonder why no one mentioned The Dark Tower series yet. I didn't like the 1st volume (The Gunslinger) and won't bother to read the rest, but many people believe it's great. Try to dissuade me :)

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

If you didn't like the first volume of The Dark Tower, you probably won't like the rest. It gets weirder as it goes along and ends with a huge ... well, I won't say what it is, but a lot of people found it frustrating/disappointing after seven thick volumes. (Well, one thin volume and six thick ones.)

[Spiral]

Yeah, but I haven't read these since high school, so I thought I would catch up a bit. I made it through the 1st 3 (Word and Void) but agree that they are hugely predictable and suitable for high schoolers. Time to move on now.
I'd forgotten those were mentioned back early in the thread (it's been a while). I guess I just had a reflex reaction since I still regret all the time I spent on them and Terry Goodkind.


I wonder why no one mentioned The Dark Tower series yet. I didn't like the 1st volume (The Gunslinger) and won't bother to read the rest ... Try to dissuade me
No thanks.

[JKL2000]

If you didn't like the first volume of The Dark Tower, you probably won't like the rest. It gets weirder as it goes along and ends with a huge ... well, I won't say what it is, but a lot of people found it frustrating/disappointing after seven thick volumes. (Well, one thin volume and six thick ones.)

Does it turn out that the gunslinger or whatever he's called is God? Or is "Evil" incarnate?

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

None of the above. More "meta" than that.

[moecurlythanu]

The Elfin Ship & The Disappearing Dwarf by James P. Blaylock are two crackingly funny fantasies, though I think they are only available new on a POD site. Kick down for used copies (or e-copies) on Amazon. They are pure delight.




I just started The Elfin Ship a little while back. Does your omission of the 3rd in the series, The Stone Giant, indicate that the series ends unsatisfactorily, or just was omitted for other reasons?

[notallwhowander]

I got hold of the The Stone Giant years later, so it doesn't completely group in my mind. While it is the same world, it isn't about the same group of characters. It's own story arc, really. Not a Master Cheeser or Squire to be had, if memory serves.

But tell me what you think about The Elfin Ship, its been a long time since I've had anyone to talk Blaylock with outside my wife.

[moecurlythanu]

I got hold of the The Stone Giant years later, so it doesn't completely group in my mind. While it is the same world, it isn't about the same group of characters. It's own story arc, really. Not a Master Cheeser or Squire to be had, if memory serves.

But tell me what you think about The Elfin Ship, its been a long time since I've had anyone to talk Blaylock with outside my wife.

I could be wrong. I was under the impression that The Stone Giant was the conclusion of the series. I'm not a voracious reader, so most of my Fantasy titles (well, most period,) were bought in the past with the idea of "I'll get to them someday."

My view of The Elfin Ship...I'm in to the point where their raft is destroyed and they are regrouping. I'd say that the story is good enough, but I'm not so fond of the writing style. It's an affected prose, overly wordy,..dare I say bloated and ostentatious, reminding me of late 19th century writers. He strikes me as someone who would sit down in a pub to tell a story, and add much wordiness that doesn't actually advance the story, in order to allow more time for the listeners to refill his pint glass.

Then again, maybe I'm just not far enough in.

[notallwhowander]

No. It is an affected style which he drops after finishing this series. It is very much a kind of Wind in the Willows thing. I found it charming, but if it isn't your slice of pie, I could see where it would garner little esteem.

Now that I think about it, he goes back to the Victorian well with his Steampunk stories, but not to the same extent.

[rickawakeman]

I have some Blaylock waiting for me. I've enjoyed the style of some of the early writers like Eddison as well.

[Jerjo]

I have just begun the second book in Django Wexler's The Shadow Campaigns series. This is musket fantasy, the technology level is approximate to Europe/America in the late 1700s. I found the first book fascinating, there's a lot of strategy and maneuvering in the big battle scenes. The characters continue to evolve through the book, everyone has their own agendas and no one is quite what they seem. I thought it seemed a little light on the fantastical end but the last fifty-sixty pages were all about the endgame and the magic was um, explosive. Now I've started the second book and I realize how much of a larger world is in play here. I'm going to stick with this series to the end.

[rickawakeman]

Just finished Jack Vance's Cadwal Trilogy ( I found "Throy" at my local library), which I found a real page-turner, so now back to Robin Hobb's Fitz and the Fool universe, about to start "Fool's Fate" (914 pages!) before launching into the subsequent trilogy.

[Azol]

Now I have both Rothfuss and Hobb on my 'to-read' list of epic fantasy genre, thanks for recommendations, keep 'em comin'!

Meanwhile, I made several attempts at Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" and abandoned it, as it would not "click" with me or so it seemed. But I feel as if I only scratched the surface, so I really mean to come back to this mighty volume someday.

[Jerjo]

I just finished the last book in Daniel Abraham's The Dagger and the Coin series: The Spider's War. I was so moved I sent him a message on Twitter. Sonovabitch! He stuck the goddamn landing. Here's a guy who knows how to wrap up a series (and leave just a little bit dangling). I've got such a huge smile on my face.

And now of course comes the book hangover where I decide what to pick up next and nothing else will quite do until I get lost in it.

[BobM]

That was a good series Jerjo. I enjoyed them too. For a followup recommendation ...

Try Scott Lynch's "Gentleman Bastard" series.

Or Patrick Rothfuss "Kingkiller Chronicles" (though unfortunately the last book has not yet been published yet, and it's been a long time coming.)

[Jerjo]

I have read Lynch's books. Lynch and I go back a ways. I tried Rothfuss and found his stuff to be a little too "young adult". I realize Kvothe is supposed to be an unreliable narrator but I found his character to be a little precocious. This might be a problem for just me. I need to switch gears now. I've got some music books sitting on the iPad. That might be a way to cleanse the palate before I read another fantasy or SF.

[BobM]

I know what you mean. I've been reading some things that are also fantasy/sci fi but not so much D&D like, just to break away a bit.

Have you read "The Magicians" series. Decent, thought the audience is also probably YA.

I just finished "The Library at Mount Char" by Scott Hawkins, and really liked it. Very different.

Started "Signal to Noise" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and it is OK so far. It has a music theme so may be of particular interest to people here.

[Spiral]

Have you read "The Magicians" series. Decent, thought the audience is also probably YA.
Sure you're not confusing that with something else? It's pretty adult--not just the grimness and sex, but the themes (which is one key reason I loved it so much). I'd rate it much better than decent.

[Grimjack]

Just finished Sanderson's 'Way of Kings'. Glad I stuck with it. Now hooked. His Mistborn series is also worthy.

[rickawakeman]

Just finished Joe Abercrombie's "Before They Are Hanged", the second of his acclaimed "First Law" trilogy. I'm hooked, so I picked up (used) the first of his "Shattered Sea" trilogy. It joins a large pile of "waiting to be read".

[Bungalow Bill]

I think I agree with the poster who equated "high fantasy" with world building or a legendarium (Tolkien's words).

I read through all the posts and, to comment on what others have suggested that I've actually read:

Stephen R. Donaldson - avoid.
Michael Moorcock - Hit-or-miss. It's sword-and-sorcery more than high fantasy. I liked the first Elric book and the first Corum trilogy.
Mervyn Peake - I don't consider any of the Gormenghast books to be fantasy but the first two are excellent reads. If you don't like Charles Dickens, though, you might want to skip them - MP writes similarly.
Tolkien - These days I prefer The Silmarillion. But LotR is still classic.
Narnia - L,W&W is decent. I don't care for anything else and I'd rather read Roald Dahl...
Earthsea - First two and the collection of short stories are brilliant.
Guy Gavriel Kay - avoid.
The Dark Tower - I enjoyed the series. I liked The Eyes of the Dragon, too.
Harry Potter - Much better than I was expecting.
Robert Jordan, Steven Erikson, George R. R. Martin - I know people eat this stuff up but it just seems like hackneyed drivel to me.

Fantasy but not "high":

Stroud/The Bartimaeus Trilogy
China Mieville
Paolo Bacigalupi
Neal Stephenson/Anathem
David Mitchell/The Bone Clocks and Slade House
Lev Grossman/Magicians trilogy
Helene Wicker/The Golem and the Jinni
The Handmaid's Tale (if it counts)
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Erin Morgenstern/The Night Circus
Avram Davidson

Then you have things like the Mabinogion, the Kalevala, the Prose Edda, Homer, etc.

[notallwhowander]

There's a little book called, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip which is excellent. She nails the spare, evocative prose style and still manages high fantasy with it. It isn't a series though.

Was Roger Zelazny's original Amber series mentioned? That original cycle featuring Corwin is good, but I couldn't get through follow-up Merlin cycle.

[Progbear]

There's a little book called, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip which is excellent. She nails the spare, evocative prose style and still manages high fantasy with it. It isn't a series though.

She has the Riddle Master trilogy, which is. Though I think I liked Forgotten Beasts better. She’s still writing last I checked, and has decided that the bloated multi-volume fantasy tomes are not for her, continuing to write “little” standalone novels. And good for her. She apparently lives just up the coast from me.


Was Roger Zelazny's original Amber series mentioned? That original cycle featuring Corwin is good, but I couldn't get through follow-up Merlin cycle.

I read the Corwin books and found them quirky and fun, but I was a mite disappointed by them. They weren’t bad, but after all the gushing I was expecting something more. Maybe if they’d been the first Zelazny books I’d read...but he has much better stuff.

[yoyiceu]

My "wife" Marcia (together for 20 years but haven't done the deed) is more of a high fantasy fan than myself, being more of an SF reader and having been brought up on the joys of Lieber, Moorcock, etc. Oh, and if anyone thinks RE Howard was a mysogynist then they obviously never read any of John Norman's "Gor" books. Whoo-eee!

But anyways, she likes David Eddings and reads it as comfort food. And since he has about a bazillion books in the same series that takes quite a while.

Tad Williams is a bit of the same, but his stuff is superior IMO. She also turned me onto the Guy Gavriel Kay stuff and it's even better, though less high fantasy and bordering on historical fiction. She's also a big fan of the "Pern" books by Anne McCaffrey.

I've read the Stephen R Donaldson books. They're intense and hard to get into at first but ultimately rewarding.

I'd also recommend the Robert Silverberg "Majipoor Chronicles" books, at least the first couple. Lots of fun (but beware of his other books).

I never could get into the Robert Jordan stuff (like chewing on a tree root), or the Earthsea books (a bit too fey for moi).

Happy reading!

NP: Neil Gaiman -- "American Gods"

Regarding Robert Silverberg: he's much more than a 'fantasy' novelist. In fact, he's a wonderful sci fi writer, very literary, and with lots of depth in characterization as well. Try, among many, Dying Inside, about a telepath who thinks he has lived a terrible life because of his inability to stop reading the thoughts of others, but then begins to lose his powers...

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

She has the Riddle Master trilogy, which is. Though I think I liked Forgotten Beasts better. She’s still writing last I checked, and has decided that the bloated multi-volume fantasy tomes are not for her, continuing to write “little” standalone novels. And good for her. She apparently lives just up the coast from me.

And she's a really nice human being into the bargain. The "Riddle Master" books are actually quite good. And the third book has a wonderful, terrible pun in the title...


I read the Corwin books and found them quirky and fun, but I was a mite disappointed by them. They weren’t bad, but after all the gushing I was expecting something more. Maybe if they’d been the first Zelazny books I’d read...but he has much better stuff.

He does indeed. He was a master of the short story, and wrote some pretty good novels, including the Hugo/Nebula Award winning Lord of Light, the brilliant companion volume (NOT a sequel!) Creatures of Light and Darkness, and much more.

He also had a habit of writing an entire chapter that builds up to a horrendous stinkeroo pun, but that's another story for another day...

[dropforge]

Regarding Robert Silverberg: he's much more than a 'fantasy' novelist. In fact, he's a wonderful sci fi writer, very literary, and with lots of depth in characterization as well. Try, among many, Dying Inside, about a telepath who thinks he has lived a terrible life because of his inability to stop reading the thoughts of others, but then begins to lose his powers...

Seconded. Great novel. Silverberg's also published nonfiction.

[Jerjo]

I read Zelazny's Lord of Light every couple years. The opening paragraph and the closing page are just brilliant.

[rickawakeman]

I have both Patricia McKillip's "Forgotten Beasts" and the "Riddle Master" trilogy in my reading pile...again thanks to recommendations here.

[Azol]

I read Zelazny's Lord of Light every couple years. The opening paragraph and the closing page are just brilliant.

But do you skip all that is inbetween? :)

P.S. Ordered myself a paperback copies of Pat Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles Book 1 and Book 2. Damn, is he going to finally publish the third book? I only hope I live long enough to finally read it :)

[Progbear]

He does indeed. He was a master of the short story, and wrote some pretty good novels, including the Hugo/Nebula Award winning Lord of Light, the brilliant companion volume (NOT a sequel!) Creatures of Light and Darkness, and much more.

Throw in The Dream Master and you have a month’s worth of great reading right there! I guess that Creatures was an attempt at writing another LOL with a different historical pantheon, only denser (it’s actually a shorter book than LOL, but reads like a book twice as thick) and weirder. I remember this one bit with two characters in a battle going into a “fugue state” so a whole bunch of copies of them were on the field of battle which might well have been the weirdest thing I have ever read. And you’re talking to someone who has also read Brian Aldiss’ Report on Probability A.


He also had a habit of writing an entire chapter that builds up to a horrendous stinkeroo pun, but that's another story for another day...

I don’t know about that, but “Kentucki Fried Lizard Parts” will always make me giggle.

[klothos]

Sharing a bong with all the Playmates at Hugh Hefner's place...........thats my High Fantasy :up

[moecurlythanu]

Agreed, but by all means stick to his SF stuff. My impression was that he was pressured into writing a fantasy epic by his publisher, thus he set out to make the Thomas Covenant series as off-putting and bitter as possible; he seems to have utter contempt for anyone who would enjoy that kind of literature.

:huh Silverberg didn't write the Thomas Covenant series, Donaldson did. I didn't find them off-putting in the slightest. I thought they were brilliant, especially the first 3. My only criticism is the generic names such as "Lord Foul."

As for Silverberg, the only thing I have in my library by him is Kingdoms of the Wall, which I don't think I've read yet.

[rickawakeman]

Picked up the second volume of Hobbs' Fitz and Fool Trilogy last night...but haven't read the first of the new trilogy yet!

[Yves]

Picked up the second volume of Hobbs' Fitz and Fool Trilogy last night...but haven't read the first of the new trilogy yet!

Is the 3rd trilogy completed? Have you ever read her Liveship Traders Trilogy?

[Progbear]

:huh Silverberg didn't write the Thomas Covenant series, Donaldson did. I didn't find them off-putting in the slightest. I thought they were brilliant, especially the first 3. My only criticism is the generic names such as "Lord Foul."

As for Silverberg, the only thing I have in my library by him is Kingdoms of the Wall, which I don't think I've read yet.

Edited. Oops!

[rickawakeman]

Is the 3rd trilogy completed? Have you ever read her Liveship Traders Trilogy?

Hey Yves, I don't think the third has been released yet. I have not read her Liveship Traders Trilogy but am intrigued since it takes place in the same "realms". Do you recommend them to those enjoying the Fitz/Fool works?

[Sputnik]

Hey Yves, I don't think the third has been released yet. I have not read her Liveship Traders Trilogy but am intrigued since it takes place in the same "realms". Do you recommend them to those enjoying the Fitz/Fool works?I'll chime in again. All Hobb's books are pretty much of a type, and I think if you liked the Farseer trilogy, it's a good bet you'd basically like her other stuff. I don't think she ever bettered the Farseer trilogy, but I love all her stuff and some of it is easily the equal of the Farseer books.

The Liveship Traders pairs well with the Rain Wilds Chronicles, as they occur in basically the same area of her world. I'd definitely recommend Liveship Traders, and if you like it, just plow through the four books of Rain Wilds too. Soldier Son is sort of the outlier, but I thought that was really good too.

Like you, I haven't read the most recent Fitz and the Fool. I'll probably wait for the last book then binge on them, as I'm prone to do with Hobb's work.

Bill

[Yves]

Hey Yves, I don't think the third has been released yet. I have not read her Liveship Traders Trilogy but am intrigued since it takes place in the same "realms". Do you recommend them to those enjoying the Fitz/Fool works?

I was going to ask you the same question! I have a sample downloaded on my iPad. Once I finish the mammoth Bernard Cronwell historical fiction 6-volume "The Last Kingdom" series ( I hear there are 4 more books added on but not sure if I have the stamina) I will start on that sampler. Love her style, and it's set in a different part of the Fitz world, so I am thinking it should be good.

EDIT: I see we have our answer in the post above mine!

[Jerjo]

I just finished Ken Liu's "The Grace of Kings". Such a strange and wonderful book. It is definitely different from just about any other fantasy book out there. The setting is rather Asian, with a technology level of 14th-15th century China but with airships (and a nice trick on how they pull that off). The fantasy portion is mostly confined to the gods of this world, who are actively interfering with events. The story stretches over decades and portions of the tale read more like short stories. It is epic in scope yet often deeply focused on a handful of characters. Here are tales of sacrifice and bravery, of cruelty and betrayal. We often deal in fantasy of over-throwing the Evil Empire but at least half of this book concerns itself with what happens when the empire falls.

It's not for everyone. The voice and style of this book takes a bit to get used to and because of the scope we sometimes wander (but always for a reason). I had to read well into it before it really took hold. But I've thought about it for days and that's a good thing.

[BobM]

I heard a rumor that Patrick Rothfuss is finally going to be releasing the 3rd book in the Kingkiller Chronicles. Does anyone have any info to confirm this? His blog said nothing and I don;t see anything in the news.

The first 2 books were awesome, and are destined to become fantasy classics, but there was 4 years between book 1 and 2, and it's been 5 years waiting for book 3 now.

[rickawakeman]

Looking forward to that, loved the first two books but with my swiss cheese memory I doubt I'll be able to recall what came before, so will probably have to re-read the first two. I remember likening them to LeGuin's EarthSea books (which I loved well before my past two years' foray deep into High fantasy)

[Yves]

Has anyone read the Kingkiller series by Patrick Rothfuss? It seems to be getting high praise so I downloaded a sample of the first book.

[Grimjack]

Has anyone read the Kingkiller series by Patrick Rothfuss? It seems to be getting high praise so I downloaded a sample of the first book.

Top shelf. Highly, highly, recommended.

[Yves]

Top shelf. Highly, highly, recommended.

Thanks! I look forward to diving into it! I haven't lost myself in an epic in a while now!

[rickawakeman]

Agreed. Very much enjoyed the first two books.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jerjo]

I'm about two-thirds of the way through The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. It's quite unlike any fantasy I've read and that's a good thing.


Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together.

There are a handful of gods in Sky, trapped in human form by one of their own. Yeine's cousins are a couple of cruel, vindictive shits (oh, and Grandpa is a real piece of fucking work). And the gods have made Yeine a pawn in their own game. It is extremely well written and I cannot put it down. I have no idea what is going to happen and given how many genre books I've read, that is a major plus.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

I found " The Songs of Earth and Power" series by Greg Bear very good. Plus, there's a music connection! I think there's only two books in the series, so it's not a huge time committment.

I'm now reading "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams. It took a hundred pages or so to get going and is somewhat derivative, but I like it!

Robert Holdstock's "Mythago Wood" series is also great, but I guess these fall more into the Urban Fantasy category with authors like Charles DeLint.

[Progbear]

I found " The Songs of Earth and Power" series by Greg Bear very good. Plus, there's a music connection! I think there's only two books in the series, so it's not a huge time committment.

Have these, haven’t read them in a while but I always liked them. Unusual for Bear, whose usual stuff is hard SF. The term “the blasted plain” enters the vernacular.


I'm now reading "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams. It took a hundred pages or so to get going and is somewhat derivative, but I like it!

That’s my take on that series. Somewhat derivative and predictable but well-written and enjoyable. Worthwhile if you like this kind of stuff.

[Azol]

With 3rd book of Kingkiller Trilogy by Pat Rothfuss delaying indefinitely (yeah, no release date, as confirmed by the author at the recent Q&A) I have run out of fantasy books to read :(
Does the second Fitz&Fool trilogy work for you, @rickawakeman? How would you compare it to the first three books?

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Azol: I've really enjoyed the current (third) Fitz-and-The-Fool trilogy, more than the second one actually, but it's not complete yet so we'll see...

If you've not read Steven Erikson's "Malazan Book of the Fallen" dekalogy, it's worth your time (and it'll take a lot of it; that sucker's over 3M words).

[Yves]

With 3rd book of Kingkiller Trilogy by Pat Rothfuss delaying indefinitely (yeah, no release date, as confirmed by the author at the recent Q&A) I have run out of fantasy books to read :(
Does the second Fitz&Fool trilogy work for you, @rickawakeman? How would you compare it to the first three books?

I liked it. I read it right after the first one. I haven't started the third one because I am waiting for the third book to be written... I, too, am awaiting the 3rd Kingkiller book so I have jumped into Robin Hobb's The Liveship Traders series, which I am finding almost on par with The Farseer Trilogy. She has a way of writing characters that are both likeable and flawed which I appreciate.

[Jerjo]

I started Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. Sanderson eschews sex and swearing in his books so it's almost like a trip back to the days before grim fantasy set in.

[Spiral]

I started Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. Sanderson eschews sex and swearing in his books so it's almost like a trip back to the days before grim fantasy set in.
I don't know. Mistborn does get pretty grim (in premise and gore if not language). Sanderson's got a great way with interesting worlds & magic systems. I just usually wish he didn't have such a tin ear for dialogue. That series has too many scenes consisting of conversations that are pure plot mechanics, and everyone from different backgrounds still talks the same way. Plus, if your world has preindustrial technology and a medieval understanding of medicine, the characters should never use words like "inoculate" and "paraplegic." (Granted, it's a far lesser sin there than it was in the final Wheel of Time books.)

Re Tad Williams, as I said somewhere else earlier in the thread (page two apparently), Memory/Sorrow/Thorn is much better than "derivative but enjoyable." The world, characters and details make those tropes wonderfully fresh.

[Yves]

My favorite Tad Williams is Otherworld, but it's not really high fantasy since it takes place in a virtual reality world.

[Azol]

Thanks for all recommendations and opinions, I have finally decided to embark on a Robin Hobb's Liveship Trilogy journey, to keep the saga evolving in chronological order for me.

[Yves]

Thanks for all recommendations and opinions, I have finally decided to embark on a Robin Hobb's Liveship Trilogy journey, to keep the saga evolving in chronological order for me.

I am quite enjoying it. There is more conflict in it than the Farseer Trilogy.

[Yves]

Halfway through the Liveship Traders Trilogy and I am totally engrossed. Hobb is an under-appreciated author imo. Her characters leap off the pages. The story is being told through various characters and all of their stories are interesting. No wading through boring storylines to return to the interesting ones... Even some of the best in the business rarely achieve this feat.

[rickawakeman]

Now reading China Mieville's "The Scar", because I loved "Perdido Street Station". Modern dark high fantasy. Yeah, that's the ticket. I'm sure I'll pick up the remaining book of his Bas-lag trilogy, which I believe is Iron Council? Great stuff. I also have his Embassytown waiting for me.

[Sputnik]

Halfway through the Liveship Traders Trilogy and I am totally engrossed. Hobb is an under-appreciated author imo. Her characters leap off the pages. The story is being told through various characters and all of their stories are interesting. No wading through boring storylines to return to the interesting ones... Even some of the best in the business rarely achieve this feat.Glad you're enjoying Liveship. As I mentioned earlier, Hobb is one of my favorite fantasy writers. I recommend all her stuff. The four book Dragon series picks up where Liveship leaves off and wouldn't be a bad set to tackle next.


Now reading China Mieville's "The Scar", because I loved "Perdido Street Station". Modern dark high fantasy. Yeah, that's the ticket. I'm sure I'll pick up the remaining book of his Bas-lag trilogy, which I believe is Iron Council? Great stuff. I also have his Embassytown waiting for me.Meiville is my other favorite current fantasy-style writer. He is definitely cut from a different cloth, and his stuff is refreshing and often really astonishing. The first I read of his was Perdido Street Station, and I was hooked. I didn't love either The Scar or Iron Council, though I liked aspects of both of them. However, I loved Embassytown, The City and the City, Railsea, and Kraken. And even his first, King Rat, I thought was quite good.

If you like The Scar, then I'd say read Iron Council. I felt it got a big bogged down, but you might like it. And as I say, I didn't hate it, there are some great things in all his books.

Bill

[Jerjo]

Anyone here familiar with Max Gladstone's The Craft Series? This is definitely fantasy but not high medieval-based yet not exactly traditional urban fantasy either. It's modern in certain aspects but there this complex system of magic, monsters, and gods. Another odd and intriguing aspect is that is takes place after what would be the climax of most series, a war in which the gods were deposed by human magicians. All the books are in the same setting but all are separate sagas except for one. Entry point is probably Three Parts Dead, which gives the most background. It takes a few chapters to get going but once it does you're in for a trip. Damn near as weird as Meiville but a little bit more accessible with some truly great characters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUG3DLM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2L103VY1CZPBQ&coliid=I1H4AYAUXHPMGE

[Yves]

Glad you're enjoying Liveship. As I mentioned earlier, Hobb is one of my favorite fantasy writers. I recommend all her stuff. The four book Dragon series picks up where Liveship leaves off and wouldn't be a bad set to tackle next.



I was thinking along those lines...

[Spiral]

Now reading China Mieville's "The Scar", because I loved "Perdido Street Station". Modern dark high fantasy. Yeah, that's the ticket. I'm sure I'll pick up the remaining book of his Bas-lag trilogy, which I believe is Iron Council?

Sort of. The first two were only vaguely related since The Scar's plot sort of started on the periphery of Perdido. IIRC, Iron Council has no connection to the others apart from being set in the same world.

People have mixed opinions, but I found Iron Council a slog. Interesting premise and an inventive ending, but I had a real hard time getting there. Part of it may be Mieville's goal of switching styles every time. The rebel train gang could have worked fine in a steampunk book... not so much when moved into a cowboy Western. For me, The Scar is the best of the lot.

[rickawakeman]

I may have to pick up more Robin Hobbs after the Fitz/Fool Trilogy finishes with the last book due this Spring, yes?

And thanks for the thoughts on Mieville, Spiral. I'll read Embassytown after finishing "The Scar" and see if I'm still enamored.

[JKL2000]

Was just reading a newsletter sent out by Harper/Penguin or something, an it included this distinction between Epic fantasy and High fantasy. Not sure this makes any sense to me:

"First, a definition of high fantasy and an important distinction with epic fantasy. When The Sword of Shannara published in 1977, many considered it epic fantasy. But since that time, the sub-genre has split and evolved. High fantasy tends to be focused on a lone protagonist who makes his/her way through a secondary world on a Hero’s Journey and who is pulled into a larger battle with a main antagonist. Epic fantasy is similar but features a much larger cast of characters with multiple points of view telling the story."

I just consider all of that to be Fantasy anyway.

[JKL2000]

I'm pretty sure there was a thread that was just for Fantasy. Can someone post a link? I can't find it now.

[Sputnik]

"First, a definition of high fantasy and an important distinction with epic fantasy. When The Sword of Shannara published in 1977, many considered it epic fantasy. But since that time, the sub-genre has split and evolved. High fantasy tends to be focused on a lone protagonist who makes his/her way through a secondary world on a Hero’s Journey and who is pulled into a larger battle with a main antagonist. Epic fantasy is similar but features a much larger cast of characters with multiple points of view telling the story."Yeesh. And we fret about the subdivisions in Prog Rock? I guess stuff like this means something to someone, but it smacks of meaningless nitpicking to me. I'm not close enough to any "genre" or "style" of books to worry about stuff like this. I'll try anything if it sounds interesting, let the uber fans and the publishers worry about these "important distinctions."

Bill

[Jerjo]

Speculative fiction suffers from the same genre/sub-genre fixation as music and can get just as bogged down. For me, the line between epic fantasy and high fantasy is pretty blurred. The operative questions, like music, are: isn't any good and does it break new ground?

[dropforge]

I prefer sword & sorcery. Robert E. Howard, Karl Edward Wagner, Charles Saunders, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock. You guys can have all the epic-high-fairy-gnome fantasy.

[JKL2000]

The person who wrote the above also says the writer Lloyd Alexander coined the term "high fantasy" in 1971.

[BobM]

Just finished re-reading The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Well, the 2 books that have been published anyway. Been waiting for the third book for a long time now. These are so damn good, it's the third time I've done that re-read. Why can't the best authors ever finish their series?

Reading The Circle by Dave Eggers now. It's a futuristic example of how the internet and a Google-like company changes the world, and enhances ultimate transparency in our lives, and it is frightening.

[rickawakeman]

Been waiting for the new Rothfuss for way too long. I barely remember the first two books, seems like I read them years ago.

Delved into Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, finished the first book(Taliesen) a couple of weeks ago. Good stuff. Have his Song of Albion series waiting as well.

[Jerjo]

Rothfuss came out with the second book in 2011, same year as Martin released Dance with Dragons. I gather from sources inside the genre that both are close to completion but who knows. Scott Lynch is another one who seems to take forever.

[Azol]

Been waiting for the new Rothfuss for way too long. I barely remember the first two books, seems like I read them years ago.

Rothfuss announced The Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will be out this October, I preordered it already (hate myself for that :))), but I wonder what would come next: Wise Man's Fear 10th Anniversary or Book 3?

Anyway, I am glad I followed the advice to pick up Robin Hobb's trilogy The Liveship Traders - very, very impressive! World/characters building takes up the first half of Book 1 (very slow), but then the ride becomes breathtaking. Very much recommended.

[Sputnik]

I am glad I followed the advice to pick up Robin Hobb's trilogy The Liveship Traders - very, very impressive! World/characters building takes up the first half of Book 1 (very slow), but then the ride becomes breathtaking. Very much recommended.Glad you enjoyed those! The four volume Rain Wild Chronicles picks up basically from where Liveship Traders leaves off, so that may be a good logical next step. But I love all her stuff.

I'm waiting for the last book of Fitz and the Fool to come out (which should be soon) before cracking into those. When I start with Hobb's stuff, I get very obsessive about it and have to read everything in the series, so I want them all in hand before starting one.

Bill

[rickawakeman]

Out in hardcover. saw it last week

[Sputnik]

Cool, just added it to my Amazon queue. Thanks.

Bill

[Yves]

Glad you enjoyed those! The four volume Rain Wild Chronicles picks up basically from where Liveship Traders leaves off, so that may be a good logical next step. But I love all her stuff.

I'm waiting for the last book of Fitz and the Fool to come out (which should be soon) before cracking into those. When I start with Hobb's stuff, I get very obsessive about it and have to read everything in the series, so I want them all in hand before starting one.

Bill

I just finished Liveship Traders. Currently taking a break from the genre but will be picking up the Rain Wild Chronicles when I return !

[NeonKnight]

Malazan Book of the Fallen

Probably been mentioned already, but just in case it has not....

I don't know if Erikson writes "high fantasy" or not but this is deep, brutal and great world building.

My favorite in the series:

http://fantasy-faction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2013-August-Battle-Deadhouse-Gates-cover.jpg

Also, please chime in and join our group for those who may not be aware: http://www.progressiveears.org/forum/group.php?groupid=27

[Jerjo]

Malazan Book of the Fallen

Probably been mentioned already, but just in case it has not....

I don't know if Erikson writes "high fantasy" or not but this is deep, brutal and great world building.

My favorite in the series:

http://fantasy-faction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2013-August-Battle-Deadhouse-Gates-cover.jpg

Also, please chime in and join our group for those who may not be aware: http://www.progressiveears.org/forum/group.php?groupid=27

Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are my favorites in that series. So many great moments in those two books. That series took a turn I didn't care for in the next few books but I'll give Erikson credit for sticking the landing with the last two books.

[Azol]

I just finished Liveship Traders. Currently taking a break from the genre but will be picking up the Rain Wild Chronicles when I return !

I believe The Tawny Man Trilogy is what comes next:


Fool's Errand (2001)
The Golden Fool (2002)
Fool's Fate (2003)


and The Rain Wild Chronicles follow it.

[Yves]

I believe The Tawny Man Trilogy is what comes next:


Fool's Errand (2001)
The Golden Fool (2002)
Fool's Fate (2003)


and The Rain Wild Chronicles follow it.

I read both the Farseer Trilogy and The Tawny Man trilogy. I believe they take place at the same time as the Liveship Trilogy as Amber makes an appearance in one of those series, as she is of the same species as The Fool.

[Jerjo]

10717

[notallwhowander]

You are going to the City. There is only one City. It is only said with a capital C. No one needs bother saying the name of the City. It is the City.

San Francisco?

[Sputnik]

San Francisco?No, that's a PK Dick novel. Technically Berkeley, but close enough. ;)

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

The problem with that list is that I *do* have an apostrophe (and a hyphen, for that matter...) in my full name. Where's my f***ing magical MacGuffin?

[rickawakeman]

Halfway through Ship of Magic, thanks for the recommendation.

[rickawakeman]

Forgot to thank the group for the recommendation for "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" by Patricia McKillip, a delightful stand-alone read which prompted me to buy her "Riddle-Master" Trilogy (found used in one volume).

[Progbear]

Forgot to thank the group for the recommendation for "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" by Patricia McKillip, a delightful stand-alone read which prompted me to buy her "Riddle-Master" Trilogy (found used in one volume).

She’s a wonderful writer, continuing to write her little short-form standalone novellas in the era of bloated door-stopper epics. I have a soft spot for her because she lives just up the coast from me.

[Azol]

Halfway through Ship of Magic, thanks for the recommendation.

That's about when world building and stage setting shifts into action! You won't regret starting the series!

P.S. Halfway through the 1st book of the Tawny Man Trilogy. Can't get enough of Robin Hobb's books!

[JKL2000]

Halfway through Ship of Magic, thanks for the recommendation.

I took that recommendation too, and am a little more than half way through. I'm keeping with it but finding it kind of slow going. Let's discuss it when we're done.

[rickawakeman]

I thought I'd take a brief fantasy break (which means reading some SF) but was compelled to return to Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle with Merlin (Book Two), which I started this weekend. I have a soft spot for Arthurian literature, loved "Once and Future King" some years ago...

[Jerjo]

I thought I'd take a brief fantasy break (which means reading some SF) but was compelled to return to Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle with Merlin (Book Two), which I started this weekend. I have a soft spot for Arthurian literature, loved "Once and Future King" some years ago...

Have you read the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell? I loved that take on Arthur.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warlord_Chronicles

In an appendix in the last book, Cornwell writes that in Saxon written history, for two generations their progress across England/Wales was stopped dead in its tracks by one Brit warlord. They hated this guy so much that they refused to write his name. And that gave Cornwell an idea...

[Jerjo]

Just finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, first in the Broken Empire series. Oh my, this puts the grim into grimdark. The setting is somewhere in Europe, far in the future and everything is reduced back to medieval tech with little knowledge of the past. The protagonist, Prince Jorg, witnessed his mother and brother killed when he was ten and now he's a teenager, reckless and amoral, bent on vengeance. There's some feuding sorcerers playing some great game and Jorg becomes a pawn. But when a pawn becomes aware the body count sky-rockets. Jorg commits an atrocious war crime and yet, you're kinda rooting for the young psychopath. I'd recommend it but like I said before, it is a very dark ride.

[Yves]

Sounds intruiging.. Is the entire series already finished? I don't read anything where the last book isn't already available...

I took a break from fantasy for a while but recently started The Soldier's Son trilogy by Robin Hobb. Not rated as highly as some of her other works, but I am totally engrossed so far. Once again, her characters pop off the pages, warts and all... Truly one of the more mature and philosophical fantasy writers.

[Jerjo]

Yep, the series is completed.

Robin Hobb is a marvel and I need to pick up more of her books.

[Yves]

Mark Lawrence- Broken Empire ... NOTED!

[Painter]

Don't know if this has been mentioned:

The Stormlight Chronicles by Brandon Sanderson. Three books so far: The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and Oathbringer. All three are VERY long. First two are excellent, but the third has been a slight drop in quality but still very good.

Mistborn series also by Sanderson. Ever so slightly less awesome than the above. I have only listened to the first book so far (I listen to audiobooks in the car to and from work or trips, etc.)

The magics described in both books are very original.

And while I don't know if this qualifies as "high fantasy" (don't really know nor care about the 'distinctions' of the different sorts of fantasies) but my fave fantasy book of all time is Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. I have read this several times and listened to the audiobook numerous times as well. The rich characters and the subtle details of world building are phenomenal.

One other series as I think of it. The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik imagines the Napoleonic wars with sentient dragons added into the mix. Absolutely zero magic and a very realistic depiction of the mores and language of the time. The first three books are excellent, the fourth passable and the last five decent.

[Yves]

I actually bought my mom the Mistborn series, which I will borrow off her once she is finished with it. Thanks for the other recommendations!

[NeonKnight]

Don't know if this has been mentioned:

The Stormlight Chronicles by Brandon Sanderson. Three books so far: The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and Oathbringer. All three are VERY long. First two are excellent, but the third has been a slight drop in quality but still very good.


I have been eagerly awaiting Oathbringer since book 2. Heard the same about the drop in quality, but hoping I don't notice. Also heard that he has as many as ten books planned for the series, which doesn't sound promising to be honest. We don't need another Wheel of Time, which, just like it's name, just goes on and on and on.....

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Long series can be good; just look at the Malazan Book of the Damned...

[NeonKnight]

Long series can be good; just look at the Malazan Book of the Damned...

The Malazan is the exception to the rule. Besides, Sanderson was not involved with the Malazan, but Sanderson finished what Jordan started long after it should have been ended. :D

[Jerjo]

I remember when Jordan was still alive and churning out filler books you could always raise the ire of an apologist by saying "Tolkien did it in three".

Erikson had a few books in the Malazan series that seemed a waste but like I said before, books nine and ten were pretty textbook examples of tying up loose ends including a jaw-dropping appearance by a barbarian character beloved by fans. Don't get me started on the mire that Rothfuss and Martin are in (though rumors from New Mexico are that Martin is indeed done and the announcement is pending - file under believe it when I see it). Then there's poor Scott Lynch, whose onset of depression and anxiety have crippled what was a promising series (Gentlemen Bastards) and left us crossing our fingers on seeing book four.

[Yves]

I never read book 3 of the Lynch series. I'm not holding my breath on Martin or Rothfuss. My rule now is I will only start a series that I know has already been completed.

[moecurlythanu]

I started with The Wheel Of Time when the first book came out in paperback. Kept buying the new ones in hardback when they came out, and loved them. When I got online around the turn of the century, I found out how many volumes he envisaged the series would be. Knowing how old he was, I said to myself "this guy ain't gonna live long enough to finish it." Wasn't a terribly difficult call.

[Painter]

Just remembered a great one. "Red Country" by Joe Abercrombie. It's actually like a gritty Clint Eastwood western, but knives instead of guns. The character of Lamb, once he becomes what he "once was" in a prior life (so to speak) is fricking awesome.

Every character is unique, interesting and defined from other characters. Very gritty.

This would make an excellent movie.

This is a follow-up to The First Law trilogy that Abercrombie wrote but I haven't read that series yet.

[Jerjo]

The character of Lamb, once he becomes what he "once was" in a prior life (so to speak) is fricking awesome.

Definitely the biggest "fuck yeah!" moment of the book although the appearance of "the Empire" comes close. I (and I assume most of those following Abercrombie's books) suspected who Lamb was but that chapter was incredible.

The First Law trilogy is great. Abercrombie takes every single ancient fantasy trope and one by one turns them upside down.

[Yves]

Loved The First Law Trilogy , so maybe I should check out more of his writings.

[rickawakeman]

About to check out his "Half a..." series after enjoying the First law trilogy

[NeonKnight]

I have been eagerly awaiting Oathbringer since book 2. Heard the same about the drop in quality, but hoping I don't notice. Also heard that he has as many as ten books planned for the series, which doesn't sound promising to be honest. We don't need another Wheel of Time, which, just like it's name, just goes on and on and on.....

I think I figured out why he named this one Oathbringer. He must have dropped this 10 pound, 1200 page slog of a book on his head.....

After I did start the damn thing naturally, I was no longer so eager. :D If anything, while reading it I could not wait for it to be over.

He's got great ideas and superb world building skills. But he seriously needs an editor to take a Shardblade and slice this thing up by about 60%...

The climax was well done, but the buildup is so seriously not worth it: I just don't really care what happens to these characters at all. The lines are seriously blurred and to think he has got what, 6 or 7 more of these huge Shards of books that he can sell me? (ha)

Two out of five Heralds of the Desolations.

[aith01]

I think I figured out why he named this one Oathbringer. He must have dropped this 10 pound, 1200 page slog of a book on his head.....

After I did start the damn thing naturally, I was no longer so eager. :D If anything, while reading it I could not wait for it to be over.

He's got great ideas and superb world building skills. But he seriously needs an editor to take a Shardblade and slice this thing up by about 60%...

The climax was well done, but the buildup is so seriously not worth it: I just don't really care what happens to these characters at all. The lines are seriously blurred and to think he has got what, 6 or 7 more of these huge Shards of books that he can sell me? (ha)

Two out of five Heralds of the Desolations.

Huh... I loved Oathbringer. The unusual structure of the book really held my interest, where it felt more like a lot of smaller serialized adventures/missions leading up to the climax. About the only thing I didn't care for were some of the flashback chapters, as they weren't always as interesting.

But if you don't care about the characters, no story is going to be very enjoyable. Personally I love the characters, and the world he has set up, and the concepts he's working with in this story. It's also much more interesting now that things are not as cut-and-dry in terms of the two "sides" and why they're at war with each other. Each book has been better than the last, IMO.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "lines are seriously blurred" though. :huh

[NeonKnight]

Huh... I loved Oathbringer. The unusual structure of the book really held my interest, where it felt more like a lot of smaller serialized adventures/missions leading up to the climax. About the only thing I didn't care for were some of the flashback chapters, as they weren't always as interesting.

But if you don't care about the characters, no story is going to be very enjoyable. Personally I love the characters, and the world he has set up, and the concepts he's working with in this story. It's also much more interesting now that things are not as cut-and-dry in terms of the two "sides" and why they're at war with each other. Each book has been better than the last, IMO.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "lines are seriously blurred" though. :huh

Basically what you just said, "now that things are not as cut-and-dry in terms of the two "sides" and why they're at war with each other..."

I prefer the lines in this case to be stark and muddying the waters makes this story less compelling. The dull flashbacks just made things worse, IMHO of course.

Too much to read and too little time to waste with more Stormlight for me.

[aith01]

Basically what you just said, "now that things are not as cut-and-dry in terms of the two "sides" and why they're at war with each other..."

I prefer the lines in this case to be stark and muddying the waters makes this story less compelling. The dull flashbacks just made things worse, IMHO of course.

Interesting, it has just the opposite effect for me. More realistic that way.

[Yves]

Just started Book 3 of Robin Hobb's "The Soldier's Son" Trilogy. I had heard it wasn't as good as her other works but I find it better than the Liveship Trilogy.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Just started Book 3 of Robin Hobb's "The Soldier's Son" Trilogy. I had heard it wasn't as good as her other works but I find it better than the Liveship Trilogy.

Chacun á son gout, but I found the Liveship series to be the best of those I've read (haven't read Soldier's Son or Rain Wilds).

[Yves]

Liveship was good for sure, but this one got some negative reviews and the first two books were really good. Very little "fantasy elements" and her usual flair for creating a tragic, flawed protagonist. Book 3 is a bit of a drop off so far, but since the story will come to a conclusion in this one, I know she'll start pulling all the strings together. I was going to read the dragon series (name escapes me, is that the Rain Wilds?) but picked this one up instead cause I'm kinda all dragoned out...

[rickawakeman]

Just picked up all four volumes of the Rain Wilds, having enjoyedthe Liveship trilogy and while I was waiting for the paparback of the new Fitz and Fool

[Yves]

Just picked up all four volumes of the Rain Wilds, having enjoyedthe Liveship trilogy and while I was waiting for the paparback of the new Fitz and Fool
Might be my next read also, after I finish The Soldier's Son trilogy.

[rickawakeman]

150 pages into Assassin's Fate. Starting to think I should have read the Dragon Keepers series first?

[Sputnik]

150 pages into Assassin's Fate. Starting to think I should have read the Dragon Keepers series first?

I'm finally getting to the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. I just finished Book II and see that there is a tie-in with the Dragon Keepers books. I'm not sure where it will go in Book III, but there probably is a lot of backstory in Dragon Keepers that would help you understand better. That said, Hobb usually does a pretty good job of making the trilogies stand on their own, so I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary. You can always go back.

So far, I think Fitz and the Fool is some of Hobb's best work, and I'm a big fan. She's starting to tie a lot of things together and is delving deeper in some old familiar characters. I'm amazed at the emotional depth she is able to capture. Maybe it's because I'm at about the same point in life as Fitz, but she presents situations and feelings that are remarkably familiar and gives great insight into ways people perceive and deal with them. These books have a lot of elements of 19th Century literature, which for me can be a mixed bag, but I think Hobb successfully navigates the pitfalls of that approach and keeps things interesting while still giving one the depth of detail that really makes you "inhabit" the books.

So, big thumbs up from me on this trilogy... wish there were three more still waiting on my shelf. :D

Bill

[Yves]

I read the first two Fitz Trilogies, The Liveship trilogy, but when I started the Dragon Keepers one, I just couldn`t get into it. I really enjoyed the Solider`s Son Trilogy (not set in the same world).

Right now I'm into book 2 of the Mistborn Trilogy by Sanderson. Very enjoyable!

[Sputnik]

I read the first two Fitz Trilogies, The Liveship trilogy, but when I started the Dragon Keepers one, I just couldn`t get into it.

Yeah, I can see that. It's not her best, thought I think I really liked Book II a lot. Uncharacteristically, she ties things up a in a somewhat too neat bow that left me a bit dissatisfied. Fitz and the Fool is much better!


I really enjoyed the Solider`s Son Trilogy (not set in the same world).Not a different world, there is at least one character in Soldier's Son that appears in Rain Wilds (whose story is picked up in Dragon Keepers), albeit in a very minor way. The area in which this story is set, however, is far away from the area in which the other books take place.

Bill

[rickawakeman]

After finishing Assassin's Fate, realized how many hours (enjoyed 'em all) I invested in this realm. I'm so glad I read the Rainwilds and Liveship series, really added to my enjoyment of the end of the Fitz/Fool saga.

I'd like to read more about Bee's future. Any chance?

300 pages into Rules of Ascension, book 1 of David Coe's Forelands saga youz guys recommended. Liking it a lot, fast-paced. I've got the other 4 waiting.

[moecurlythanu]

Maybe it was mentioned earlier, but I haven't followed this thread closely. Anyway, much to my surprise, I found out this past weekend that Tad Williams has written a sequel trilogy to Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. It's called The Last King of Osten Ard, and the first 2 volumes have already been published. I ordered hardcovers, and will begin reading when the first volume arrives. Essential reading for me.

Anyway, info for any who may not know and would be interested.

[Yves]

I saw that... Have not decided if I want to plunge into it or not....

Stephen R Donaldson is also writing a new series. Not set in "The Land", but a new world. Thinking about going there next. I am still finishing up the "Broken Empire" series by Lawrence. Each book got better.

[Baribrotzer]

Anybody read N. K. Jemisen's The Broken Earth series?

I finished it several days ago. Very good, although how much it qualifies as fantasy and how much as SF is an open question: The story contains magic - two types, one called "orogeny" and the other called, uh, "magic" - but it's also an open question whether either or both are extreme examples of Clarke's Law. It appears to be set far in the future; humanity is divided into a dozen or so specialized castes, of whom at least several are artificially created. The technology is mostly medieval, although higher tech (which Jemisen doesn't dwell on much) exists in some cities. The Earth of the story is very geologically active, and almost becomes a character in itself; the plot has to do with various characters trying to mitigate natural disasters and conflicts between the castes, or to profit from exacerbating them.

The series consists of three volumes, and I strongly advise reading them in order:

The Fifth Season
The Obelisk Gate
The Stone Sky

They're a single story, like LotR, and won't make much sense if you don't.

It's also worth mentioning that although they're not quite conventional fantasy, they're very well written, contain some fascinating characters and ideas, and are absolutely worth reading. Indeed, the three volumes each won the Hugo for the year they were published. If you ask me, they earned it with sheer quality - but the awards also occasioned a petty, Gamergate-like political controversy: Jemisen is black and a feminist, a significant proportion of her characters are women, minorities, or gay, her plots often involve societal oppression of one kind or another, and some SF traditionalists got their jockstraps badly in a twist over that.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

^^^

Not only did the three volumes each win a Hugo, which is a first; they won the author a best-novel Hugo three years in a row, which is also a first; and the first one was the first novel Hugo ever handed to a Black woman. So it's pretty ground-breaking (ha, see what I did there?) in that sense.

It's also one helluva story.

[Yves]

I asked about that series in the other reading thread. I think I'll check it out after finishing my current series.

[Painter]

Anybody read N. K. Jemisen's The Broken Earth series?

I finished it several days ago. Very good, although how much it qualifies as fantasy and how much as SF is an open question: The story contains magic - two types, one called "orogeny" and the other called, uh, "magic" - but it's also an open question whether either or both are extreme examples of Clarke's Law. It appears to be set far in the future; humanity is divided into a dozen or so specialized castes, of whom at least several are artificially created. The technology is mostly medieval, although higher tech (which Jemisen doesn't dwell on much) exists in some cities. The Earth of the story is very geologically active, and almost becomes a character in itself; the plot has to do with various characters trying to mitigate natural disasters and conflicts between the castes, or to profit from exacerbating them.

The series consists of three volumes, and I strongly advise reading them in order:

The Fifth Season
The Obelisk Gate
The Stone Sky

They're a single story, like LotR, and won't make much sense if you don't.

It's also worth mentioning that although they're not quite conventional fantasy, they're very well written, contain some fascinating characters and ideas, and are absolutely worth reading. Indeed, the three volumes each won the Hugo for the year they were published. If you ask me, they earned it with sheer quality - but the awards also occasioned a petty, Gamergate-like political controversy: Jemisen is black and a feminist, a significant proportion of her characters are women, minorities, or gay, her plots often involve societal oppression of one kind or another, and some SF traditionalists got their jockstraps badly in a twist over that.

Wow guys, thanks for the great suggestion. This series sounds awesome. And it is even better that this was written by a black woman. So now I am thinking that for me to say "I am going to read this BECAUSE it was written by a black woman" is almost as bad as me saying "I'm NOT going to read this BECAUSE it was written by a black woman". I am sure Ms Jemison doesn't want anyone reading this becuase she is black, female or otherwise. She just wants to known as an accomplished author. Period.

Regardless, the world she built is so intriguing and the names she chose for their unique powers are great. I told my daughter about this series and she researched it and is awestruck by the acclaim it has gotten and how incredibly novel the setting is.

This is next on my "listen to" list right after I am done with Tchaikovsky's "Children of Ruin".

[Baribrotzer]

Wow guys, thanks for the great suggestion. This series sounds awesome. And it is even better that this was written by a black woman. So now I am thinking that for me to say "I am going to read this BECAUSE it was written by a black woman" is almost as bad as me saying "I'm NOT going to read this BECAUSE it was written by a black woman". I am sure Ms Jemison doesn't want anyone reading this becuase she is black, female or otherwise. She just wants to known as an accomplished author. Period.
The point of reading it because she is a black woman is that she's likely to have a different and unusual take on fantasy (she does), and is unlikely to fall for many or any of these tired cliches:


10717

It's funny - that almost reads as a to-do list for getting a following among the "Sad Puppies", the instigators of the political kerfluffle surrounding her winning of the Hugo, and her opponents in that kerfluffle.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Wow guys, thanks for the great suggestion. This series sounds awesome. And it is even better that this was written by a black woman. So now I am thinking that for me to say "I am going to read this BECAUSE it was written by a black woman" is almost as bad as me saying "I'm NOT going to read this BECAUSE it was written by a black woman". I am sure Ms Jemison doesn't want anyone reading this becuase she is black, female or otherwise. She just wants to known as an accomplished author. Period.

Ummm. You're missing the point. The point is that the books are good enough to set new records in several areas, only one of which had to do with her being an African-American woman.

And, because she was a black woman, a number of people (notably the "sad puppies" Baribrotzer references, as well as the "Mad Puppies" and several other people who want to take "sci-fi" back to the glory days when it was the WHITE MAN's fiction, tried very hard to sabotage her chances of winning the awards. Ms. Jemisin referenced this in her acceptance speech for the third novel, suggesting that the phallic Hugo award would make an excellent phallic symbol with which to give them the finger.

Not to correct him, but he said:


It's funny - that almost reads as a to-do list for getting a following among the "Sad Puppies", the instigators of the political kerfluffle surrounding her winning of the Hugo, and her opponents in that kerfluffle.

If you mean the stuff before the award, you are right, it was the "puppies" (and their followers) who tried to stop it with slate voting and such. But the kerfuffle after the award was given is down to highly-respected SF writer Robert Silverberg, who wrote in a private but quickly-publicized forum that he objected to the Hugo acceptance speech being "politicized," and got roundly beat about the head and shoulders for it. He didn't actually mean what it appeared he meant; in the original and in his later comments it is clear that he simply feels that the Hugo ceremony should be a celebration of the best SF has to offer. The problem with this is that such a celebration has political questions built into it: what does and does not qualify as SF? what are the standards for "best"ness? And so on...

[Painter]

Maybe I am missing the point. I thought that the setting and the concept were incredible. Didn't give it a second thought what her race and sex was/were. (I am sure in my mind, I would imagine N.K. Jemison as a white man).

Then I found out that she was a black woman, winning a Hugo for three straight years. Even more impressive. Made me want to support her even more. Then I wondered out loud if she would want to be "patronized" (for the lack of a better word) in such a way.

I regret voicing this out loud

[rickawakeman]

Just finished Book 3 of David B.Coe’s Winds of the Forelands, Bonds of Vengeance. Really enjoying this series so again thanks for the recommendation!

[Baribrotzer]

I regret voicing this out loud I get the impression that she feels it's better to talk about these issues than not talk about them - to confront the "zombie attitudes" stumbling around in your own head, to publicly say, "This was my first reaction, and I know it's wrong", rather than pretending they doesn't exist and you'd never think that.

[Painter]

I get the impression that she feels it's better to talk about these issues than not talk about them - to confront the "zombie attitudes" stumbling around in your own head, to publicly say, "This was my first reaction, and I know it's wrong", rather than pretending they doesn't exist and you'd never think that.

My concern was that, if I support her simply BECAUSE she is a black woman writing in the SFF field, wouldn't that be patronizing? And in it's own way, isn't that nearly as racist in an inverse way as refusing to support her simply because she is a black woman?

First and foremost, the concept sounds fantastic. I only hope the execution doesn't end up being a soapbox, much as many other titles I've read have become. Peter Hamilton's Salvation comes to mind. And to me, Atlas Shrugged is unreadable for that reason (endless proselytizing).

The plot and setting should come first. Her race and sex should be incidental. I should want to support a good yarn regardless of the author's human form.

Just my two cents.

[BobM]

Making my way back into the Dresden files series. Enjoyable diversion but not sure that I can just keep plowing through it. I think reading 2 or 3 books then moving on to something else before I come back in 6-12 months is the way to go with this.

[Jerjo]

Late last night I didn't want to read from the books I'd been reading because they were all on paper and the light necessary would disturb my princess. So I turned to the iPad. Just out of curiosity I re-started Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. I tried reading his Mistborn a few years ago and found it a bit tame. But this e-copy of Way of Kings was on sale and I've heard the series is the real deal. The opening prologue is a little daunting because he has this difficult magic system and the reader is thrown in without a lot of explanation. But then I hit the first chapter, the second, the third...damn, it was midnight. So I am going to have to get the other books and hope/pray that he finishes the series.

[aith01]

^^ All three of the Stormlight books so far are excellent, IMO. I’m generally not even a fan of fantasy books, so this was a pleasant surprise for me. Each book actually improves upon the last, I think.

Hope the fourth one comes out soon-ish. :lol

[Magic Mountain]

Hope the fourth one comes out soon-ish. :lol

The thing that I like about Brandon Sanderson, is that you go to his website, and at the top right, he lets you know his progress on his current projects. I wish that George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss would do the same.

[Painter]

The thing that I like about Brandon Sanderson, is that you go to his website, and at the top right, he lets you know his progress on his current projects. I wish that George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss would do the same.

In the case of GRRM, I don't think you would.

[Yves]

On the strength of his "Broken Empire" series, I started a new one from Mark Lawrence called "The Ancestor". This one seems more aimed at young adults. There is some action but nothing as gritty as the previously mentioned series. Still pretty good though. I'll see how strongly book 1 ends before deciding if I want to pursue it further.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Just read N.K. Jemison's "Inheritance" trilogy, in a single 1400-page volume, with an extra novella. For those not inclined to carry such a doorstop around, the volumes (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods) are available individually, though the novella ("The Awakened Kingdom") is only available as a stand-alone on Kindle.

Awesome. Glorious. A trilogy about different kinds of freedom and bondage and morality and mortality, as experienced humans and gods. The story begins 2000 years after "The Gods' War", in which some of the losing gods were enslaved to this one human family, the Arameri. During those years the Arameri have enforced a rule of peace and prosperity over the whole world, by brutal means backed up with god-power. The plot is, more or less, a chronicle of the end of their rule over a period of three hundred years or so.

[Baribrotzer]

Just read N.K. Jemison's "Inheritance" trilogy, in a single 1400-page volume, with an extra novella. For those not inclined to carry such a doorstop around, the volumes (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods) are available individually, though the novella ("The Awakened Kingdom") is only available as a stand-alone on Kindle.

Awesome. Glorious. A trilogy about different kinds of freedom and bondage and morality and mortality, as experienced humans and gods. The story begins 2000 years after "The Gods' War", in which some of the losing gods were enslaved to this one human family, the Arameri. During those years the Arameri have enforced a rule of peace and prosperity over the whole world, by brutal means backed up with god-power. The plot is, more or less, a chronicle of the end of their rule over a period of three hundred years or so.It's good. I read it, but out of sequence - I had to put The Broken Kingdoms on hold at the library, and it took a while to come in. However, each of those works as a stand-alone, so you can read them in any sequence, although in-order is best. But I do think The Broken Earth is even better.

[Azol]

I have finished reading the whole Realm of the Elderlings mammoth of a series by Robin Hobb and I can tell you - it was so great it blew my head off. Cried a couple of times, too. Man, really become softer as my age advances :) The writing is of such high quality I'd venture to say it's the most important thing written since Middle-Earth. Highly recommended. Now I plan to get Soldier's Son trilogy (sic?) next, going to read *every* book she wrote. A fan for life.

I also read all of the Covenant series by Donaldson and the first 6 were damn good but the last cycle seemed forced and drawn out to the point I got disinterested in how it would end. Luckily, you can read the two trilogies and forget about last 4 books at all.

Could not get into Sanderson at all.

P.S. Damnit, Rothfuss, I already bought the 10th Anniversary edition of the "Name of the Wind", without even a hope for the closing 3rd volume to be produced. Should we wait for 25th Anniversary maybe? Damnit.

P.P.S. Hardcover Illustrated edition of Assassin's Apprentice (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/198481785X/) by Robin Hobb is due this October. Already pre-ordered!

[Sputnik]

I have finished reading the whole Realm of the Elderlings mammoth of a series by Robin Hobb and I can tell you - it was so great it blew my head off. Cried a couple of times, too. Man, really become softer as my age advances :) The writing is of such high quality I'd venture to say it's the most important thing written since Middle-Earth. Highly recommended. Now I plan to get Soldier's Son trilogy (sic?) next, going to read *every* book she wrote. A fan for life.

If you read the entire Realm of the Elderlings, you've covered just about everything she wrote, save the Soldier Son trilogy. I think she did a couple of collaborations, and maybe something under another name, but I've focused strictly on her Robin Hobb work, and I think I've read everything under that moniker. Definitely read Soldier Son, it's excellent. If you hit on anything outside of these books that is good, please let us know!

Couldn't agree more with your assessment of her writing. I've never been affected by fantasy/sci-fi work like I have been by hers, and that includes Tolkien. Incredible stories and fully developed characters. A truly amazing journey reading all those books, you almost feel like you've lived another life. Glad to hear others have the same reaction to her work that I have.

Bill

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

As Megan Lindholm, she wrote some pretty good books. I recommend The Reindeer People.

[Jerjo]

I was so gutted at the end of the third Assassin's book, I couldn't go on. But depending on my progress on the fall/winter reading list, I'll start in on the Liveships this spring.

[moecurlythanu]

I have finished reading the whole Realm of the Elderlings mammoth of a series by Robin Hobb and I can tell you - it was so great it blew my head off.

I tried to find this series on Amazon, and found the author, but not the series. Looks like she has 2 or 3 series/trilogies that are well represented.

[Magic Mountain]

I tried to find this series on Amazon, and found the author, but not the series. Looks like she has 2 or 3 series/trilogies that are well represented.

Go to Robin Hobbs' website for a complete listing. The Realm of the Elderlings encompasses an amalgamation of many series.

[moecurlythanu]

Go to Robin Hobbs' website for a complete listing. The Realm of the Elderlings encompasses an amalgamation of many series.

Thanks for the pointer. It seems that most of her work as Robin Hobb fits under that heading. Everything but The Soldier's Son trilogy and some short works. I also noticed that she used to write under the nom de plume of Megan Lindholm. Looking at the titles under that name, I recognized 2 that I had read a long time ago, but can't find amongst my books now. They were Harpy's Flight and The Windsingers. I recall them as good, not great.

[Azol]

Got the Illustrated Edition of Assassin's Apprentice today, those pictures are sweet! A hefty volume, too.
2nd installment is planned for June 16, 2020

[Sputnik]

Got the Illustrated Edition of Assassin's Apprentice today, those pictures are sweet! A hefty volume, too.
2nd installment is planned for June 16, 2020Damn, would not mind having this at all! Just added to Amazon queue!

:cool

[rickawakeman]

Wanted to thank members here for the recommendation for James Blaylock's "The Elvin Ship" and "The Disappearing Dwarf"! I really enjoyed the healthy dose of humor in these two books so will seek out the third and perhaps some of his later Steampunk works. Any other recommendations for humorous fantasy? I remember enjoying Peter David's " Sir Appropos of Nothing" series years ago.

[Jerjo]

Any other recommendations for humorous fantasy?

Terry Pratchett!

[rickawakeman]

I read the first couple Discworld books (and the graphic novel based on the first book iirc) but didn't feel compelled to stay on board the Turtle. Particular recommendations?

[BobM]

Any other recommendations for humorous fantasy? .

I always thought Steven Brust and his Vlad Taltos series (Jhereg) had some good humor in them and a good set of stories to boot.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I read the first couple Discworld books (and the graphic novel based on the first book iirc) but didn't feel compelled to stay on board the Turtle. Particular recommendations?

The first couple of books are straightforward parodies of standard swords'n'sorcery tropes (and characters). He began to tackle slightly more serious matters in books 3 (Equal Rites) and 4(Mort), but only really hit his stride with #10 (Moving Pictures). After that almost everything is good, though some find the last few a bit weak as a rare form of Alzheimer's slowly ate his brain.

A really good, stand-alone, book to try his mature style would be Small Gods.

He was never what I would call "High" fantasy, though.

Some more recommendations for funny fantasy:

I cannot recommend highly enough Pratchett's collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, the funniest book about Armageddon ever written.

If you've not read it, The Princess Bride is every bit as good as the movie based on it (and why not? the same person wrote both).

Christopher Moore has written a lot of very funny things. My favorites are Practical Demonkeeping, The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (but not if you're a conservative Christian).

Then there's Tom Holt. He's become something of an industry, and while his later books are good (and funny), none that I've read come up to Expecting Someone Taller and Who's Afraid of Beowulf?

L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt on their own are kind of hit-and-miss, but together they wrote a series of five brilliant novellas collected in (IF I'm remembering correctly - there have been a variety of collections!) The Compleat Compleat Enchanter.

For contemporary fantasy based in the same kind of b-movie schtick as Indiana Jones, but much funnier (and more cynical) you should try Mike Resnick's "Lucifer Jones" series, beginning with Adventures.

Then there's Peter David, who can't seem to write anything unfunny, whose medievalish series beginning with Sir Apropos of Nothing is worth a look.

Not exactly a novel, but quite funny: Diana Wynne Jones's A Tough Guide to Fantasyland is filled with all the tropes you could ever want.

Older stuff: James Branch Cabell wrote a long conceptual series called "The Biography of the Life of Manuel". I can highly recommend Jurgen and Figures of Earth, probably in the reverse order. And, from the same period, Thorne Smith's Topper and The Night Life of the Gods. Both were considered bawdy in their day :)

Mark E. Rogers is responsible for The Adventures of Samurai Cat, the story of Meowara Tomokato, out for revenge for the death of his feudal lord. Be sure to get an illustrated copy - Rogers is a fine painter.

Finally, if you like stuff based in gaming, there's Greg Costikiyan's "Cups and Sorcery" books, Another Day, Another Dungeon and One Quest, Hold the Dragons. Sadly, he hasn't finished this series.

[Jerjo]

Yeah, what Dan'l said. Start further in on the series and ye shall be rewarded.

I've heard good things about Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne but I have yet to read it. The notion of the title amuses the hell out of me.

[Baribrotzer]

Wanted to thank members here for the recommendation for James Blaylock's "The Elvin Ship" and "The Disappearing Dwarf"!

Blaylock's friend Tim Powers is also excellent, and less jokey. His stuff isn't quite high fantasy as it might usually be defined, though - it's more magic-realist historical novels, if that can be imagined. He sets his stories within real-world historical circumstances, then invents magical reasons for real, yet inexplicable occurrences. The Anubis Gates is an excellent standalone, about time travel, the Romantic poets, ancient Egypt, and more. For something longer, Last Call and its two sequels Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather concern the Fisher King, Las Vegas and its gamblers, Bugsy Seigel, Thomas Edison's ghost, and many other things.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

^^^ You can't go wrong with Powers, except maybe his first two books (originally published by LASER books in the '70s; now available de-edited and somewhat better in the omnibus volume Powers of Two). At his best - try DECLARE for a great standalone novel - he's as good as Gene Wolfe.

[rickawakeman]

Thanks for the recommendations! Forgot to mention how much I enjoyed Peter David's "Modern Arthur" series (which I read after "discovering TM White's "Once and Future King" a few years back). I had long known Peter's work from comics. I also enjoyed Lawhead's Arthur series thanks to the recommendation here.

I have read "Good Omens". Great read.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

If you like David's stuff, get his Howling Mad, about a wolf who gets bitten by a werewolf and turns into a man under the full moon.

[Painter]

Not really high fantasy, but I like Tom Holt's humorous take on fantasy in present-day. Three of my faves are The Better Mousetrap: an insurance agent is sent to kill a dragon before it burns up valuable insurance policies, Blonde Bombshell: an alien civilization send a smart bomb to Earth to destroy it but it ends up becoming a high-powered executive, Barking: a law firm of old school friends who are all now werewolves.



Barking

[Painter]

And I want to put another plug in for Barbara Hambly's Dragonsbane. It is really a richly detailed, naturalistic fantasy. The dragon and John Aversin are two great fully-fleshed characters

[Baribrotzer]

And I want to put another plug in for Barbara Hambly's Dragonsbane. It is really a richly detailed, naturalistic fantasy. The dragon and John Aversin are two great fully-fleshed charactersHer early fantasy work is really good. She's now writing historical mysteries, set in (mostly) the complex and morally troublesome society of 1830s New Orleans, and featuring a black detective who is trained as a surgeon, but makes his living as a pianist.

[BobM]

Reading Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy. Finishing book 2 and I am really engrossed in the story. It's a fairly typical story line of the underclass trying to break into the upper class and realign the world to make things balance out (people are people regardless of class), but it's a little space opera and a little fantasy and battle and such. A slightly different spin and a fun read.

[rickawakeman]

Reading Guy Gavriel Kay’s “The Last Light of the Sun” and am engrossed after the first few chapters. I had (thanks to recommendations here) read his Fionavar Trilogy, followed by Tigana and Song for Arbonne, and will be reading more by this wonderful author. Can I say thanks again?

[moecurlythanu]

^They're all excellent, but Tigana is a masterpiece.

[Jerjo]

Anyone familiar with Brent Weeks and his Lightbringer series? Any good?

[Yves]

Posted about this in the other book thread, but it is better suited for here... I have started re-reading The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant. I am getting so much more out of it now, and I am understanding the Covenant character so much better. Aside from his one unforgivable act (which ends up being one of the biggest catalysts to the storyline) I can understand his reaction to The Land at first... I think I'll read the first 2 Chronicles and stop there. I recently read the last one when it was released and I struggled with it.

[MudShark22]

I read the first book in Last Chronicles but did not finish series (yet). Did read first two series.

Reading any Donaldson book is like repeatedly getting kicked in the gut until its either over and your relieved or one has metaphorically and neurologically passed out

[Yves]

The Last Chronicles were really dense, and given the time elapsed between the previous ones, I wasn't getting into them fully. Right now I am planning on re-reading the first and the second, but not sure I will re-read the third. It's nice to revisit the beauty of The Land before he totally destroys it! ;)

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I actually loved the "Final Chronicles" or whatever it was called - it played with the concepts of the series at a much deeper and, yes, more dense level: plus, Donaldson had learned to write pretty well in the interim. (The first trilogy in particular is atrociously written. Do you know the "Clench Game"?) Back in the day I used to say that Donaldson was a conscious stylist with a tin ear. By the time of the last series, he had very much developed that ear.

Also: it finally gives our heroes a reasonably-happy ending, which they earned the fuck out of.

[Yves]

I may read straight through also, so I can have the whole story fresh from cover to cover. We'll see how it goes. I am not finding the first series as clunky as I remember it. This first book is much better written than the first one in The Gap series, for example... That was one where I did not think I'd continue with the series.

[Jerjo]

I read the original series back in the day but man, it was a tiresome slog with Thomas whining like a toddler the whole way. I can take antiheroes but whining? Please. I just cannot go back. The tedious pacing alone made Robert Jordan read like Mark Lawrence.

[BobM]

Finished the first volume of S.A Chakraborty's The Daevabad Trilogy. Starting the second book now, but if you are a lover of heavy magic fantasy books then this one's for you.

On one note it's highly entertaining, but on the other hand a book written with this much magic in it means that the author can work their way into a complete twaddle of a corner and then pull some over the top magic out of their hat and resolve the whole thing. In a way I think it's almost cheating.

[Yves]

I read the original series back in the day but man, it was a tiresome slog with Thomas whining like a toddler the whole way. I can take antiheroes but whining? Please. I just cannot go back. The tedious pacing alone made Robert Jordan read like Mark Lawrence.

See now, I get Covenant this time around. The Land is the ultimate seduction to a leper. He's not whining so much as refusing to be seduced. Our world basically f***ed him in the ass without lube and The Land is too alluring on the one hand, and too demanding on the other. He is seen as all-powerful but is in fact impotent. As for the pacing,once again I am enjoying it this time around. I remember just skimming the early parts in "our world", but this time I read thoroughly. It's what gives me a better appreciation for his character going forward.

The Land is also, imo, one of the greatest fantasy worlds I have ever read about. The Second Chronicles might be my favorite fantasy series of all time. YMMV I guess....