# Fantasy authors worth the reading.



## DrunkonDuty (Aug 10, 2008)

Forked from: Why hate onthe drow? (Forked Thread: How is FR changing with 4E?) 



			
				DrunkonDuty said:
			
		

> Sitting here waiting for the undercoat on my minis to dry. Thought I'd chime in.
> 
> On Drow hate: I hate them for all the reasons that have been given above about fanboys (and girls, I'm looking at you Rachel!) and the whole Mary Sue-ness of Drizzt. But I will join in with Drizzt in hoping for their redemption. That is, back to being hard core evil SOBs. With or without the bondage theme. (just remember though, when Drow do bondage there is no safety word.)
> 
> ...




Have forked the thread for those who might want to have an argument, er discussion, about who are good fantasy authors and who aren't.


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## Aus_Snow (Aug 10, 2008)

Might wanna try the media forum. 

How _was_ GenCon OZ, by the way? Did you ever post about that, like you said you would?! 

Ahem. I'll see what I can come up with to add to the list. . .


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## DrunkonDuty (Aug 10, 2008)

There's a media forum? I'll have to ask a Mod to move this I think.

I did post a review of Gencon OZ. I'll try my search-fu.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=235410&highlight=gencon

hopefully this link works.


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## Rhiarion (Aug 10, 2008)

I find myself influenced by the works of Terry Prachett, Elaine Cunningham
and the Dragonlance books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Honorable mention to Richard Knack.

note - when i say 'influenced' I'm not saying they do not draw from other sources, I'm just saying some of my favorite and most-read novels are from these authors, among others.


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## Aus_Snow (Aug 10, 2008)

DrunkonDuty said:


> There's a media forum? I'll have to ask a Mod to move this I think.
> 
> I did post a review of Gencon OZ. I'll try my search-fu.
> 
> ...



Heh, yeah. I was kidding, well, figured I'd missed it. Thanks for the link.


Anyway, I think George R. R. Martin should get a mention, for writing some really enjoyable fantasy.


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## Krug (Aug 10, 2008)

George RR Martin and Pratchett, of course. Former for turning the genre on it's head. Latter for having fun with the tropes and just making fantasy fun.


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## Hussar (Aug 10, 2008)

Steven Erikson for me these days.


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## Asmo (Aug 10, 2008)

Robin Hobb, as always.

Asmo


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## DrunkonDuty (Aug 10, 2008)

Aus Snow: No worries mate. When I posted my Gencon review there was a LOT of traffic on the boards. I get the impression it was only on the front page for a few minutes before getting slowly bumped back. Maybe I should give it a bump. Or would that be poor forum ettiquette?

George R. R. Martin is a great writer. His characters are just brilliant. They are very believable, very human. I will say Song of Ice and Fire is going on a bit long. But it's still good, even if the plot has gone and wandered off into soap. I just hope Mr. Martin doesn't do a Robert Jordan before finishing it. I'd like to bring up Wildcards here, just to remind people how good his stuff can be. He didn't write much of it of course, there were many contributors but his and Melinda Snodgrass's contributions stick strongly in my mind as the best bits. Must re-read the series.

Can folks tell me what it is that they like about Steven Erikson? I've had a couple of friends rave about the Malazan stuff. But I just can't get into it.

I don't know Elaine Cunningham or Richard KNack. What have they written?

EDIT: oh yes, I like Robin Hobb. Have only read the Live Ship ones but they were very good.
And Jennifer Fallon. Love the Hythrun Chronicles.


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## Kingbreaker (Aug 10, 2008)

DrunkonDuty said:


> George R. R. Martin is a great writer. His characters are just brilliant. They are very believable, very human. I will say Song of Ice and Fire is going on a bit long. But it's still good, even if the plot has gone and wandered off into soap. I just hope Mr. Martin doesn't do a Robert Jordan before finishing it. I'd like to bring up Wildcards here, just to remind people how good his stuff can be. He didn't write much of it of course, there were many contributors but his and Melinda Snodgrass's contributions stick strongly in my mind as the best bits. Must re-read the series.





George Martin may be a great writer (As he showed in the first 3 books of Song) but he needs a superhuman EDITOR. The last book (Feast for Crows) accomplished in one volume what it took Jordan six to do - slide into pointless blathering in the name of "epic."


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## SSquirrel (Aug 10, 2008)

I've loved Raymond Feist's books for years and I have to pipe up w/a vote for Robert Asprin's work.  The MYTH series especially, but the Pfule series is pretty great and his new series Dragons Wild was interesting, but then he died so I doubt I'll get a 2nd book in that series.


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## DrunkonDuty (Aug 10, 2008)

LOL. Yeah, Song of Ice and Fire could use a more stringent editor. I love the series but I honestly don't care what happens to the Onion Knight. ANd quite a few other supporting characters. Someone needs to remind him that supporting characters are there to do just that: support.

As I see it the main plot is: what happens to the Stark children and the return of the Dragons and the dragon queen. Everything else is secondary and should be kept brief.


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## cignus_pfaccari (Aug 10, 2008)

I'll chime in with my usual support of David Gemmell and Glen Cook.

I recently read the first book of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

Second Terry Pratchett.

And the Anita Blake books are really good modern dark fantasy monster-hunting books about through Obsidian Butterfly, but after that it gets a bit more, um, focused on the erotica aspects of the series.

Oh, Charles de Lint has very good modern fantasy as well, and he's had a bit of a storyline to the last few.

Brad


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## Rackhir (Aug 10, 2008)

Glen Cook is almost always good. 

His Garret Novels are always a fun read, basically they are fantasy Noir stories. Hardboiled detective fiction in a fantasy world.

The Black Company books are excellent. True classics of the genre, though some of the later books of the South do drag out a bit.

His Dread Empire books are very good as well. Both they and the Black Company have gotten recent omnibus book releases.

The first two books of David Webber's fantasy series "Oath of Swords" and "The Sword God's Own" are excellent. Third book not so much, but isn't awful. 

He also has a new series in colaboration with Linda Evans, technological society and fantasy society wind up in a war. I'm not so thrilled with it, but you might like it.

Steven Brust's Vlad Talos series is pretty good as well, though it does go down hill somewhat after he goes on the run. Also has omnibus volumes available.


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## Darth Shoju (Aug 11, 2008)

Kingbreaker said:


> George Martin may be a great writer (As he showed in the first 3 books of Song) but he needs a superhuman EDITOR. The last book (Feast for Crows) accomplished in one volume what it took Jordan six to do - slide into pointless blathering in the name of "epic."




I've met her. She was nice, though not super-human.  Her husband is a fantasy author named David Keck who is pretty good. 

Other authors of note:

Leiber, Tolkien, and Howard, of course.
I love Tad Williams.
Susanna Clarke's _Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_ was quite good.
Thumbs up for Charles de Lint.
Feist is alright. 
Guy Gavriel Kay isn't too shabby.

I refuse to start reading GRRM's series until he finishes it. I started on Wheel of Time and got halfway through when Robert Jordan died. I know that series is being finished off anyway, but who knows if the same can be done for ASoIF if GRRM kicks before finishing. As far as Robert Jordan is concerned, he is certainly a decent writer, but the majority of his work is that bloated monstrosity of a series, so it is tough to say how good he is overall. Has anyone read any of his Conan work?


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## Eosin the Red (Aug 11, 2008)

David Gemmell reads like John Wayne movies. The plot is basically the same as are the characters but man it is a rollicking time.

Martin - nuff said.

New Guys
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Elenium by Brandon Sanderson (who is taking over for Jordan)
The Gods of War (Caesar & Brutus) series by Conn Iggulden
Bernard Cromwell's Arthurian Stuff is worth a spin as well though he isn't new.


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Aug 11, 2008)

Rackhir said:


> Glen Cook is almost always good.



 I'd like to add that my favorite Glen Cook book is _The Tower of Fear_. I've heard that Glen places this story at the top of his list of his own writing.

I've enjoyed Glen's _Instrumentalities of the Night_ series lately. It's not for the meek however, the world Glen had built is a massive analogue of the historical real Europe/Middle East. The cast of characters and nations is immense and sometimes overwhelming to keep track of because Glen doesn't like to give a roster of characters or even provide maps.


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## DrunkonDuty (Aug 11, 2008)

I hear good things about _Black Company._ And the writer is my namesake so I should give them a try.

I like Gemmel's stuff, _Legend_ and _Heroes of Dark Reknown_ are my faves. But they do all stick to a formula. Even more than most fantasy.

Wasn't that keen on Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian stuff. Just didn't go the way I think Arthurian stuff should. But that's just me. I've read other stuff by him that I enjoyed.


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## arcanaman (Aug 11, 2008)

Eric Anondson said:


> I'd like to add that my favorite Glen Cook book is _The Tower of Fear_. I've heard that Glen places this story at the top of his list of his own writing.
> 
> I've enjoyed Glen's _Instrumentalities of the Night_ series lately. It's not for the meek however, the world Glen had built is a massive analogue of the historical real Europe/Middle East. The cast of characters and nations is immense and sometimes overwhelming to keep track of because Glen doesn't like to give a roster of characters or even provide maps.



is there a book after lord of the silent kingdom I have not yet finished in fact  iam almost 30 pages through


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## Mark (Aug 11, 2008)

Here's an old thread on a similar subject (note the attached AD&D list, too) -

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=129684


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Aug 11, 2008)

arcanaman said:


> is there a book after lord of the silent kingdom I have not yet finished in fact  iam almost 30 pages through



Not _yet_.


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## Particle_Man (Aug 11, 2008)

Gene Wolfe is good (His Wizard-Knight series counts as fantasy, right?).

As is Lois McMaster Bujold (loved The Curse of Chalion).


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## Thanee (Aug 11, 2008)

Roger Zelazny.

Bye
Thanee


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## Mallus (Aug 11, 2008)

Particle_Man said:


> Gene Wolfe is good (His Wizard-Knight series counts as fantasy, right?).



Don't forget Wolfe's Book of the New Sun...

Shadow of the Torturer
Claw of the Conciliator
Sword of the Lictor
Citadel of the Autarch

They are fine, fine books.


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## Dioltach (Aug 12, 2008)

I'd like to recommend the Goblin series by Jim C. Hines: the first, _Goblin Quest_, starts out like a parody: it's very much a dungeon crawl from the point of view of the weakest monster in the dungeon, but it doesn't fall into cliches. The next two books, _Goblin Hero_ and _Goblin War_, carry on where the first left off, but are more like true adventure stories than parodies.

I recently read _The Name of the Wind_ by Patrick Rothfuss, and I enjoyed it tremendously.


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## Fallen Seraph (Aug 12, 2008)

Not really classic fantasy but... I quite enjoy the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.


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## WayneLigon (Aug 12, 2008)

Naomi Novik, definately.

Scott Lynch, for the Lie of Locke Lamora and it's sequel; his website says he has about a dozen of the Gentleman Bastard books planned.

Charles de Lint, especially the Newford books.

Patricia Briggs. She tends to do 2-book series, save for her Mercy modern fantasy books. I think right now I've read everything she's done except for The Hob's Bargain and I've liked them all.

Lynn Flewelling: the Nightrunner series and the related Tamir trilogy.

Lawrence Watt-Evans, still going strong with the Ethshar books; good mostly light-hearted fantasy. His Wizard Lord series is also good.

Peter F Hamilton - Best space opera I've read in years and years. Huge, galaxy-spanning events, titanic planet-scale engineering, etc.

Jim Butcher - The Codex Alera is fantasy but D&Ders will get just as much good from his Harry Dresden series.

Simon R Green - The Nightside books and his new Shaman Bond series. Quick, frothy books that resemble each other a great deal but the _concepts _ and _names _he just tosses out there should keep you in plot hooks for several months or longer. He really, _really _loves the word 'Appalling', just to warn you.

Charlaine Harries - The Southern Vampire books (and soon a TV series from HBO). Good treatment of the undead and lycanthropes; set in an alternate modern day, but plenty of info and hooks for D&D.

Greg Keyes, especially his Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series that should be wrapping up pretty soon, here.

Kate Elliot - Spirit Gate and Shadow Gate, Crossroads books 1 and 2. Good fantasy setting. She takes a long time setting up characters, delving into their backgrounds and motivations, and still manages to tell a good adventure story. Especially good for templates of power groups and how they interact, different culture's approaches to the same problems, superstitions, etc. Her previous series, Crown of Stars, is also worth checking out but I like this series much better.

Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind, Kingkiller book #1. Excellent fantasy world, with some very nice variations on certain themes (especially dragons and alchemy).


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## Wombat (Aug 12, 2008)

It's funny -- I tell people that I like fantasy ... but there are not a lot of fantasy authors that I really like.

Tolkein, yes; Gene Wolfe, Guy Gavriel Kay, Charles de Lint, Ursula LeGuin, very definitely, Jim Butcher, but not his most recent Harry Dresden books (I was good up through about book 6); a lot of classical Arthurian material (Chretien de Troyes, Mallory, von Eschenbach, Marie de France, etc.).  

Moorcock?  Liked him as a teen, but he wears thin for me quickly.  Fritz Lieber is still fun, but Zelazny is now off my library shelves.  Pratchett can be a lot of fun, but easy for me to overload on.  Salvatore?  No thanks.  Martin & Jordan?  Ditto.  Hobb?  Never tried, but I feel like I should.  KJ Parker?  Hit & miss.  Cook and Howard?  Not to my tastes.

So, as you can see, I am a very mixed bag in these tastes, but prefer the thoughtful over the bloody & gory ... though I dearly love Edward Gorey


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## Welverin (Aug 12, 2008)

Steven Brust, particularly the Vlad Taltos novels.


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## Pants (Aug 13, 2008)

DrunkonDuty said:


> Can folks tell me what it is that they like about Steven Erikson? I've had a couple of friends rave about the Malazan stuff. But I just can't get into it.



Well... I kinda look at Malazan as a big, Micheal Bay-ish style fantasy. Cool, superpowered fights with lots of explosions, kinda cool, paper thin characters built up out of pretty cliche archetypes and lots of stuff that, generally, doesn't make much sense but is cool to look at. 

I also dig the sense of history in his books, the fact that he reveals it bit by bit, just enough to keep you interested, but not enough to overload you.

He's certainly not perfect and I'm not surprised that many are put off by his style, but I'm with him till the end... unless he REALLY starts sucking or something.

I also dig:
*Martin *- Writes slow as all hell, but he also has some of the best characters ever.
*R. Scott Bakker *- The Prince of Nothing - He strikes me as a cross between Erikson and Martin, with Martin's character styles, grittiness, and politicking mixed with Erikson's over-the-top superhuman abilities. Really good stuff.
*Scott Lynch *- The Gentlemen Bastard's Sequence - Lynch may not have the best characters or the most innovative plots, but he can sure write some witty dialogue, great escapades, and thrilling adventure. Everyone I've introduced the books to has loved them. 
*Joe Abercrombie *- The First Law - I've only read the first book (all three are currently out) and it was fun, with some good characters and some interesting twists on the standard fantasy formula. I've got the second one waiting for me.


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## DrunkonDuty (Aug 13, 2008)

> Pants wrote:
> Well... I kinda look at Malazan as a big, Micheal Bay-ish style fantasy. Cool, superpowered fights with lots of explosions, kinda cool, paper thin characters built up out of pretty cliche archetypes and lots of stuff that, generally, doesn't make much sense but is cool to look at.




It's the not making much sense thing that has done it for me. I've given up on tyring to find a plot among all the anecdotes, asides, hints, etc etc. But thanks for the reply, I think I know I can skip him now.



> Wayne Ligon wrote:
> Simon R Green - The Nightside books and his new Shaman Bond series. Quick, frothy books that resemble each other a great deal but the _concepts _and _names _he just tosses out there should keep you in plot hooks for several months or longer. He really, _really _loves the word 'Appalling', just to warn you.




LOL when I read this. He IS an appalling writer. I read one of his books. Hated it. But the ideas in the story, the mythology behind it if you will, was great and could easily be mined for fantasy world creation.

ANother vote (it's not really a poll but hey) for Naomi Naovik and Temeraire. 

And how could I have forgotten Le Guin? She's been one of my all time faves since I was a kid.

Joe Abercrombie: I've read _The Blade Itself, _and really enjoyed it. Waiting eagerly for the next ones.


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## Grog (Aug 13, 2008)

Someone who hasn't been mentioned yet - Neil Gaiman. _American Gods_ is well worth a read if you're looking for something unusual - it's a fantasy story set in modern-day America.


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## DarkKestral (Aug 15, 2008)

Grog said:


> Someone who hasn't been mentioned yet - Neil Gaiman. _American Gods_ is well worth a read if you're looking for something unusual - it's a fantasy story set in modern-day America.




I was just about to mention Gaiman. Given that he's not only written some of the best modern fantasy in novel form, but some of the best in TV, comic, and movie form, he certainly should qualify, as his comics and scripts are also fairly readable. Plus, _Good Omens_ is him and Pratchett combining their styles into one book that shows off the things they are individually good at while being something that is recognizably written by them together if you are familiar with both of their styles. Oh yeah, and it's an awesome parody of first The Omen film. American Gods is a great example of his work, and I'd recommend it, Stardust, or Mirrormask as starters, if only because American Gods is his best known novel, while Stardust and Mirrormask are excellent movies, and you can get a easy sense of his style, though Stardust the movie is a slightly inferior adaptation (though with DeNiro as a campy gay pirate captain, which is interesting) and Mirrormask is only in movie form. Neverwhere's also been done as another medium (it was a TV series first though) but as it likely a bit harder to find the DVDs, I'd skip it as the first. (It's interesting comparing American Gods to Neverwhere and Good Omens though, as he seems to really know how to make things feel more like what they are there. American Gods's fictional USA feels more American than the real world USA, and I wouldn't be surprised if Neverwhere and Good Omen's England feels more British than the real world England.)


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## RangerWickett (Aug 15, 2008)

I enjoyed American Gods until the last quarter of the book. The ending felt decidedly non-American.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 15, 2008)

I generally don't like 'epic fantasy' novels. Not because I dislike epic tales per se, but because most epic storytellers take things too seriously. I want some fun in my fiction. Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Grey Mouser are great for this, and I much prefer that style to something like George R. R. Martin's books. I mean, he's great, but isn't my cup of tea.

So everyone has been listing tons of fantasy authors, but which ones are more light-hearted?


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## Asmo (Aug 15, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> So everyone has been listing tons of fantasy authors, but which ones are more light-hearted?





Eddings is the sum of light-hearted fantasy, at least in my book.

Asmo


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## Rackhir (Aug 15, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> So everyone has been listing tons of fantasy authors, but which ones are more light-hearted?




Cook's Garret Novels are generally pretty light hearted.

There's Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth-XXXX books. If you've never read it, Phil Foglio did a comic book adaptation of the first novel that is even better than the original book, which was already terrific.


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## YourSwordIsMine (Aug 15, 2008)

David Eddings (at least the Belgariad/Malloreon and Elenium/Tamuli series; later stuff not so great...)

Terry Goodkind 

Terry Pratchett

Barry Hughart

Steven Brust


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## PieAndDragon (Aug 16, 2008)

*David Gemmell *- No one does heroic fantasy quite like him, and loved Lion of Macedon.
*Robin Hobb / Megan Lindholm* - Some of the best characterisation I've seen. Powerful stuff
*Jacqueline Carey* - Loved her Kushiel's series, very different viewpoint.
*Neil Gaiman *- American Gods, Good Omens, his short story collection, love them all.
*Guy Gavriel Kay* - Tigana, Sarantium Mosaic and other stuff is very well put together.
*George RR Martin* - Good characters, politics and setting, and not afraid to give his characters a hard time.


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## Rl'Halsinor (Aug 16, 2008)

Jack Vance - The Lyonesse Trilogy (excellent) as well as his Dying Earth offerings.  The man is a wordsmith.

Roger Zelazny - The Amber Series (superb) as well as his fine grasp of the short story.

Ursala K. LeGuin - The Earthsea Trilogy ( just never get her much later 4th book because it has very little to do with the Earthsea in style or scope; it is terrible).

Robert Silverberg - The Majipoor Chronicles (Fantasy Sci)

Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood; I've never read anything like this before or since.  This is a very, very unique concept.

John Bellairs - The Face in the Frost; I picked up my copy years ago on a Dime Store rack -- boy, talk about a extremely pleasant suprise.

M.R.R. Baker - The Man of Gold (set in a sci-fi world and yet it has tons of fantasy).

Tim Powers - The Anubis Gate and On Stranger Tides.


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## Sethvir (Aug 16, 2008)

Someone above mentioned the Empire series written by Feist and Janny Wurts.  You ought to try her solo stuff.  www.jannywurts.com

The Cycle of Fire (Available as an omnibus edition) probably out of print.
- Stormwarden
- Keeper of the Keys 
- Shadowfane

Wars of Light and Shadow series thus far:
- Curse of the Mistwraith
- The Ships of Merior
- The Warhost of Vastmark
- Fugitive Prince
- Grand Conspiracy
- Peril's Gate
- Traitor's Knot 
- Stormed Fortress

She has about 3-4 more to go in the series.  The hard part is that the last one has only been published in the UK.  But well worth the time.

Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages 
Naomi Novik's Temeraire
Leiber's Fafrd and Grey Mouser (which I just saw tonight back in trade paperback format at the bookstore)
Guy Kay - anything, in my opinion although I have yet to fiinish "Last Light of the Sun"
Charles Stross
- The Atrocity Archives
- The Merchant Prince's series
Moorcock is still about my all time favorite.  
Glen Cook - The Black Company novels and the Garret PI stuff.

I'll give another enthusiastic vote for Patrick Rothfuss as well.

That's all I can think of for the moment.


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## cignus_pfaccari (Aug 16, 2008)

Wombat said:


> Moorcock?  Liked him as a teen, but he wears thin for me quickly.




That's something I noticed a while back when I picked up one of his newer novels.

I have vaguely fond memories of the old Stormbringer novels, and ordinarily I try to be nice, and The Dreamthief's Daughter one started okay, but about halfway through it turned bad.  Real bad.  Like "stomp any and all suspension of disbelief and sympathy for the protagonist into a pulp, defecate on it, and throw it out the window" bad.

Brad


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## Celtavian (Aug 17, 2008)

I don't read as much fantasy as I probably should. But I'll list what I enjoy.

Tolkien: My all time favorite author. His books do it for me. The most engrossing and believable fantasy world I've yet read even with the unbelievable social mores that seem to permeate the entire book such as almost every decent group of people being perfectly, unbelievably decent and honorable unlike any real world analogues you might look to for inspiration for the peoples of Middle Earth. 

It's high, honorable, good guy fantasy executed perfectly.

Martin: Much more realistic, gritty fantasy with some of the best characters I've ever read. _Feast for Crows_ fell a bit flat. I hope he is taking so much time with the next books so that they don't fall flat. But the first three books are some of the best fantasy books I've read.

Moorcock: I read these because they are popular amongst DnDers. The books seem too brief. Elric is an interesting character as is the world in which he lives.

Howard: Some of the most lovely fantasy prose I've read. The man makes Conan read like some epic fantasy novel.

Tad Williams: _Otherland_ was great. A bit overlong, but a very good read worth the few periods of meandering by the author.

Terry Brooks: He is a Tolkien clone. But he still has his own voice. When I read _Sword of Shannara_, I felt as though I was reading a Tolkien fan paying homage to the master while still having his own unique take on the elements he drew from Tolkien's work.


Guy Gavriel Kay: I liked _Tigana_. The only criticism I had was too much gratuitous sex. Otherwise _Tigana_ was one of the more unique novels I have read. I liked that it wasn't epic fantasy about saving the world. It was more of a fantasy revolution against dictators, one of which wasn't particularly evil. I highly recommend _Tigana_ to anyone that wants to read a novel about a small scale epic event that has to do with rebels retaking their nation.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 17, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> I enjoyed American Gods until the last quarter of the book. The ending felt decidedly non-American.




Well, ya know.. (Grumpy looks bothways, leans forwards) Gaiman is... Brittish.

Mostly, I wanted more story.


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## arcanaman (Aug 17, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> I enjoyed American Gods until the last quarter of the book. The ending felt decidedly non-American.



 The title sounds intresting whos it by?


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Aug 17, 2008)

The Grumpy Celt said:


> Well, ya know.. (Grumpy looks bothways, leans forwards) Gaiman is... Brittish.



From Britain at least. I've heard he's lived many years now (since '92) near Minneapolis in America.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 17, 2008)

Eric Anondson said:


> From Britain at least. I've heard he's lived many years now (since '92) near Minneapolis in America.




And he wrote American God's something like 7 years ago, when he had been in America 9 years rather than almost 17 years. Anyhow, I liked it.


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## Pielorinho (Aug 31, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> So everyone has been listing tons of fantasy authors, but which ones are more light-hearted?



_The Lies of Locke Lamora_ definitely has a lot of funny bits in it.  Did you laugh at Pulp Fiction?  If so, you'll probably find this one funny (like Reservoir Dogs, though, it has one scene of almost unwatchable brutality, at least for me).  It's not straight-up Terry Pratchett humor, but the adventures of a con artist carry a lot of moments of humor with them.

I found it a lot funnier than Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, albeit fairly similar in mood.

Daniel


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## Cor Azer (Sep 2, 2008)

Has anyone else read Brian Ruckley? Fairly new author, I guess, but I recently gave the first two books in his Godless World series a go (Winterbirth, Bloodheir, and the third is forthcoming). I quite enjoyed it - seemed a good blend of political intrigue with a side of adventuring of a sort. Its building towards an epic tale of ancient magics reawakening in the world, but under the unintended cover of exiled nobles attempting to reclaim their lost lands.

Very Martin-esque as my friends use the word - there's a very real sense of tension for his characters, because he does kill off several through the books - some secondary, but several are as close to main characters as you can get. 

Ruckley does try for more than one-dimensional characters, and arguably the three most primary characters are decently fleshed out, although a few do sneak their way in (but those are most secondary, or even tertiary, characters).


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## Atlatl Jones (Sep 4, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> I generally don't like 'epic fantasy' novels. Not because I dislike epic tales per se, but because most epic storytellers take things too seriously. I want some fun in my fiction. Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Grey Mouser are great for this, and I much prefer that style to something like George R. R. Martin's books. I mean, he's great, but isn't my cup of tea.



I also generally don't like 'epic fantasy' novels, but for a completely different reason, since I love serious, depressing works. I don't like most epic fantasy because most authors writing it seem to equate "epic fantasy" with "bloated, meandering overcomplicated multi-novel series' that are twice as long as War and Peace."  I'm sure that A Song of Ice and Fire is excellent, but I have no desire to read a half-finished story that's already about 5,000 pages, when I could read two dozen excellent single novels in the same time.



Celtavian said:


> Guy Gavriel Kay: I liked _Tigana_. The only criticism I had was too much gratuitous sex. Otherwise _Tigana_ was one of the more unique novels I have read. I liked that it wasn't epic fantasy about saving the world. It was more of a fantasy revolution against dictators, one of which wasn't particularly evil. I highly recommend _Tigana_ to anyone that wants to read a novel about a small scale epic event that has to do with rebels retaking their nation.



Tigana is probably my favorite fantasy novel, for the reasons you described, as well as the compelling characterizations of the characters, especially the main tyrant.  It does have a fair amount of sex in it, by fantasy novel standards, but it's not gratuitous (or, at least, it wasn't intended to be gratuitous).  Kay tends to write 'serious novels', the sort that explore themes, and Tigana is largely about the nature of power - political, religious, and sexual - and about identity in a conquered people.


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## S. Baldrick (Sep 5, 2008)

Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

David Gemmell
Robert E. Howard
Jim Butcher
Micheal Moorcock
J.R.R Tolkien
Fritz Lieber
Roger Zelazny
George R. R. Martin
Raymond Feist
Robert Jordan
Patrica Briggs


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## arcanaman (Sep 5, 2008)

Karen Miller I just read Empress and while it was harsh it was beautiful


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## pathfinderq1 (Sep 5, 2008)

Yet another recommendation for Guy Gavriel Kay- Tigana was quite good, but The Lions of Al-Rassan was better, I think (though it is more 'historical fantasy' than traditional, as there is no actual magic).

Also another recommendation for Steven Brust- both set of Dragaera novels were very enjoyable, though the styles are quite different.

China Mieville's Bas-Lag books are universally excellent, though there are some bits of truly brain-bending weirdness, and the books skip across a number of genre lines (steampunk, horror, pirates, etc.).  Perdido Street Station even has a bit involving a very traditional fantasy/gaming party (though they don't have a good ending).

I'll also add a recommendation for some of Judith Tarr's fantasy work- particularly the Avaryan books, and the Hound and the Falcon trilogy.


Dennis McKiernan also has some good stuff out, once you get past the first few shameless Tolkien riffs, but tends to more of a high fantasy, less gritty flavor than some of the things I usually prefer.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Sep 7, 2008)

William Sanders


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## Jakar (Sep 7, 2008)

Pants said:


> *Joe Abercrombie *- The First Law - I've only read the first book (all three are currently out) and it was fun, with some good characters and some interesting twists on the standard fantasy formula. I've got the second one waiting for me.



I have read all three books and I must say he writes some damn good characters.  If you love shades of grey, these are the books for you.  The crippled inquisitor character just cries out to be made into a PC of some sort.


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## Desdichado (Sep 8, 2008)

I mostly agree with the OP in terms of what's good and what's not, but there's a few notable exceptions.  Moorcock being the most notable.

I don't think the guy's any good.  I read at least three of the Elric books, the three Mars books and several others, and I have yet to see anything of his that was well-written.  The idea that he was innovative is laughable; all he did was reversed nearly every quality of Conan and the Hyborian Age and called it Elric.  

To me, he's the most over-rated of the fantasy "classics" and a classic example of the concept that in a situation of limited supply, even crappy, crappy product can sell like hotcakes.  He was lucky to come along at a time when fantasy was getting off the ground, there was more demand for it than writers and publishers could keep up with, so he was able to crank out (and sell) a rather remarkable number of books that today, nobody would even pick up to publish in the first place.


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## Rackhir (Sep 8, 2008)

Hobo said:


> I don't think the guy's any good.  I read at least three of the Elric books, the three Mars books and several others, and I have yet to see anything of his that was well-written.  The idea that he was innovative is laughable; all he did was reversed nearly every quality of Conan and the Hyborian Age and called it Elric.




The three mars books are certainly among the most "blah" of  Moorcock, novels, but it's not like he ever pretended they were anything other pastiches of the John Carter of Mars books.

The Elric books might not strike you as innovative 30-35 years after they were written, but they were at the time and he's more than simply the Anti-Conan. A character description is not the same thing as a character or characterization. There still aren't many characters like Elric in fantasy even today AFAIK. Perhaps his style just rubs you the wrong way. 



Hobo said:


> To me, he's the most over-rated of the fantasy "classics" and a classic example of the concept that in a situation of limited supply, even crappy, crappy product can sell like hotcakes.  He was lucky to come along at a time when fantasy was getting off the ground, there was more demand for it than writers and publishers could keep up with, so he was able to crank out (and sell) a rather remarkable number of books that today, nobody would even pick up to publish in the first place.




Moorcock has a large number of books yes, but they are also generally much shorter than most current fantasy novels. The page count for the entire original Elric series is no more than 1.5 to 2 Robert Jordan novels for example. In any case accusing him of being a hack writer based simply on the number of novels doesn't make sense. Nor is 6 short books a basis for completely writing off the author as a hack. You might not like them, but that isn't the same thing as them being bad stories.


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## Kunimatyu (Sep 8, 2008)

Leiber may be light-hearted, but he's also probably one of the best *writers* in terms of quality of prose.

Highly recommended.

Hobo, I'd be curious what you think of Moorcock's Corum trilogies - IMO, they're a little more complex and cool than the Elric or Mars books(and the Hawkmoon ones, while we're at it).


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## Staffan (Sep 9, 2008)

RangerWickett said:


> So everyone has been listing tons of fantasy authors, but which ones are more light-hearted?



Jim Butcher's _The Dresden Files_ is pretty light reading - kinda downerish in parts (especially around book 3-4), but it's not the super-heavy/epic stuff of GRR Martin or Tolkien. Harry Dresden is a modern-day wizard/private investigator who does a bit of consulting work for the Chicago PD as well as deal with his own problems. So far in the books he has encountered (as friends or foes) demons, faeries, holy knights, fallen angels, ghosts, evil wizards, necromancers, zombies, vampires (of three different types), werewolves (of four different types), and the mob.

The books are kind of like Buffy meets Philip Marlowe. Buffy supplies the supernatural, some angst, and pop culture references, while Marlowe provides noir and investigative stuff.

As an example regarding the tone of the books, one of them starts with Our Hero running through a burning building, carrying a crate full of puppies, while dodging the attacks of flying demon monkeys throwing burning feces.

The author has also written a more traditional fantasy series called Codex Aldera, which is only up to four books as of now (instead of 10 like the Dresden books).


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## arcanaman (Sep 9, 2008)

The Necromancer CHronicles good read


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## Banshee16 (Sep 9, 2008)

Pants said:


> *R. Scott Bakker *- The Prince of Nothing - He strikes me as a cross between Erikson and Martin, with Martin's character styles, grittiness, and politicking mixed with Erikson's over-the-top superhuman abilities. Really good stuff.




The final battle in the Thousandfold Thought was just awesome.....

Can't wait for the next trilogy.

I'm a Feist fan, but some of his books are better than others.  One of my favourites wasn't even part of the Riftwar series....."Faerie Tale".

I enjoyed Sarah Ash's trilogy about Gavril the Drakaon...I can't remember the name of the series..something about Snow and Ash.

Banshee


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## Desdichado (Sep 9, 2008)

Rackhir said:


> The Elric books might not strike you as innovative 30-35 years after they were written, but they were at the time and he's more than simply the Anti-Conan. A character description is not the same thing as a character or characterization. There still aren't many characters like Elric in fantasy even today AFAIK. Perhaps his style just rubs you the wrong way.



It's not like I just read them yesterday; I read them twenty years ago.  And no, they really aren't that innovative.  They were only innovative in the sense that _nothing_ much had been done yet, not in the sense that they really stretched the envelope in any significant fashion.  Even Moorcock himself admits that he was merely reversing stereotypes and wrote Elric as a kind of photographic negative of Conan.


			
				Rackhir said:
			
		

> Moorcock has a large number of books yes, but they are also generally much shorter than most current fantasy novels. The page count for the entire original Elric series is no more than 1.5 to 2 Robert Jordan novels for example. In any case accusing him of being a hack writer based simply on the number of novels doesn't make sense. Nor is 6 short books a basis for completely writing off the author as a hack. You might not like them, but that isn't the same thing as them being bad stories.



I'm not even sure what this is about.  At absolutely no point did I accuse Moorcock of being a hack because of the size of his output.  I didn't even hint at such a thing, or imply it, or otherwise say anything that I can see that would lead you to believe that I believed that.


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## Desdichado (Sep 9, 2008)

Couple more comments on the OP: I too thought that Terry Brooks' first book wasn't bad when I read it 25 years ago (or however long ago it was--mid to late 80s sometime), but I never could go on from there without losing interest, and I also remember being completely unable to re-read that book without getting very quickly bored.  I'm going to have to relegate him to another one of the rather poorer fantasy writers.

David Eddings is another one that mystifies me.  I actually find the first series decent (if not good) in a breezy, almost satirical way, but anything beyond that is just plain embarrassing.  Unfortunately, he's not embarrassed at all; he pretty much admitted in an essay he put in _The Rivan Codex_ that he feels little but contempt for fantasy readers and he is purposefully shovelling out formulaic drivel because it's his belief that that's exactly what the market wants.

Sadly, given his sales figures, he may well be right.  I can't stomach him, though.  Terrible stuff once you get past the Belgariad itself.  And even that's only OK at best, if you don't have anything better to do.

Given time, I could knock down a lot more popular writers: Steven Erikson is, sadly, lacking in the craft of writing, at least in his early work.  I'm hoping (and I've been told) that he improves, so I'm holding my nose and taking the plunge.  Robert Jordan's flaws are fairly obvious and well-hashed out, but he's definately more of a soap opera writer than a fantasy novelist.  It's certainly possible--maybe even likely, that the conclusion by Sanderson will be significantly better than the last several Jordan novels.  Terry Goodkind I also can't stand.  George R. R. Martin I kinda like, but I think he's a bit overwritten, to say the least.  Glen Cook I like quite a bit, but his voice actually turned me off for a time.

Who do I like?  I recently quite enjoyed _Scar Night_ by Alan Campbell.  I've also been reading a lot of "vintage" fantasy; Howard, Leiber, Burroughs, even Lin Carter, and while it's faults are fairly obvious, so are their strengths.

I haven't read all of Feist's material by any means, but I really like the first half dozen books or so.  Pretty good stuff.  I've also really been enjoying the Dresden Files novels, but that's not "traditional" fantasy.  Still fantasy, but non-traditional.

I can think of some more a little later.


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## Celtavian (Sep 10, 2008)

*re*

I have to admit I don't see the allure of Terry Brook's either. I enjoyed his _Sword of Shannara_ as a one time read, but it doesn't stand out as memorable. Fantasy doesn't seem to have alot of what I'm looking for in a book. Too many predictable characters in predictable situations reacting in a predictable way.

I imagine part of the reason is that there are too many fantasy series carried on through endless iterations. I'm pretty sure _Lord of the Rings_ would have become uninteresting if Tolkien kept on writing in the same world.

I want to get in and get out of a world. I don't want to wander endlessly in it until it becomes as mundane as the real world. So many fantasy authors end doing just what I don't want to read. I read a ton of Conan stories and they were great, but after a while you can only take so much of the same thing over and over again. Some of these fantasy authors don't know when to stop, and we have only fantasy readers to blame for buying the most recent work of such and such author set in such and such world.

I'm just glad there are discussions like this to fliter through the dirt and find the gems. I don't like sifting through dirt to find a gem.


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## Calico_Jack73 (Sep 10, 2008)

Okay so it may not be "Fantasy" but as it is based on a game setting I have to reccomend The Horus Heresy series published by Black Library.  Each book is written by a different author and I haven't been able to put any of them down.  Right now I am reading "Flight of the Eisenstein" and so far I think I like it best because it picks up at the half way point of the previous book "Galaxy in Flames" but continues telling the story from a different character's experiences and point of view.  It is like having multiple cameras getting footage of a history making event and being able to see it from several angles.  The second half of the book takes the story further but from what I understand this is the last that is tied to the core timeline since I don't believe that a book has been released that covers the siege on Terra... I believe the others are snapshots during the Warhammer 40K Horus Heresy timeline.

Absolutley AWESOME!!!


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## The Grumpy Celt (Sep 11, 2008)

Rl'Halsinor said:


> Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood...




I'm listening to "Of Sorcerers and Men" and the narrator, Tolkeen scholar Michael Drout, recommends the book as an heir and departure from Tolkeen and his style.

So, I've been thinking about it.

Care to expand on what you've written about the book?


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## cignus_pfaccari (Sep 11, 2008)

Calico_Jack73 said:


> Absolutley AWESOME!!!




BTW, anything by Dan Abnett rocks on toast.

Brad


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## Errandir (Sep 11, 2008)

Ah, where to start? 

Tolkien is great, obviously. The world building is incredible (I taught myself to read and write elvish, heh), and I especially like the literary aspect to it. Most modern fantasy seems to be written for children, and as such the quality of the writing in most of it is awful. As an English professor, Tolkien took his writing seriously.

Garth Nix and Phillip Pullman are two that haven't been mentioned before. Their books are aimed at a younger audience, but it's still good fantasy.

After, Tolkien, my favorite is probably Ursula le Guin - surprisingly, another who hasn't been mentioned. Her Earthsea cycle is phenomenal, and most of her other books (some are sci-fi) are well worth reading too. Another somewhat similar writer is Patricia McKillip (the Riddle of Stars trilogy was incredible, but I haven't read much else by her).

Oh, and Jacqueline Carey. She hasn't written much, but I've thoroughly enjoyed what books of hers I've been able to find.

Anyways, I tried to stick to mentioning authors that nobody's brought up yet (well, besides Tolkien), just to get something new in here. Has anyone else read these?

And one last thing. I've used the list at Best Fantasy Books to find some really neat fantasy on occasion, though there's also a lot on the list I don't agree with. Anyone else seen the site?


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## Desdichado (Sep 11, 2008)

Never seen it before.  The fawning fanboi-ism over Martin and Erikson is almost embarrasing, and that page has been up for four years (!) without any of those typos being corrected?!  How does he live with himself?  

Still, taking it for what it's worth (just some random guy on the internet's opinion on fantasy books) it's not bad.  It's got a few titles on it that I haven't heard of yet.

Hm... I'm tempted to write up my own now after reading it.  Without pretending to be objective, like he does (Martin is _universally_ agreed to be the best fantasy author today?  Really?) and just throwing my own rather biased opinions out there on what to read.

Sounds fun.


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## arcanaman (Sep 12, 2008)

The Grumpy Celt said:


> I'm listening to "Of Sorcerers and Men" and the narrator, Tolkeen scholar Michael Drout, recommends the book as an heir and departure from Tolkeen and his style.
> 
> So, I've been thinking about it.
> 
> Care to expand on what you've written about the book?



must read


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## WayneLigon (Sep 12, 2008)

Errandir said:


> And one last thing. I've used the list at Best Fantasy Books to find some really neat fantasy on occasion, though there's also a lot on the list I don't agree with. Anyone else seen the site?




Never heard of it, and no wonder  It's pretty poorly done 

Of his choices, though: 

*Patrick Ruthrus -- The Name of the Wind*
Excellent choice. I enjoyed the first book immensely. 

*Garth Nix’s “Abhorson Trilogy”*
Very good. Some very cool stuff in here, and how to be a Good necromancer.

*JV Jones -- A Sword of Shadows*
I've read the first book. Excellent resource for a character from a cold barbaric environment. I felt like I was going to freeze to death reading it.

*Sean Russell’s The Swan’s War trilogy*
Pretty much anything Sean Russell does is good. 

*Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori*
Very good. I've read all but the last one


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## Desdichado (Sep 12, 2008)

Here's another interesting list.  Built solely by voters, although it groups science fiction together with fantasy.

Although that's the same as most libraries and bookstores anyway.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/6113/t100256.txt


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## Silverblade The Ench (Sep 13, 2008)

"The Boats of the Glen Carrig" by William Hope Hodgson is my suggestion, if it doesn't give you D&D ideas, you _suck_! 

also scares crap out of you.
Most of the rest of his stuff is just meh, oddly weird, not so good  at all though. Carnaki's not bad at times. 
Except one book of Hodgson...
+5 rept to first who knows what book I mean


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## Errandir (Sep 13, 2008)

Hmm... on the topic of George R.R. Martin, I read the first book in his long series and liked it, but wasn't overly impressed (never got any further because I couldn't find the other books in my library - odd, given their popularity). But I recently came across a short story / novella of his called A Song for Lya (it was in an anthology somewhere), and it did a lot more to convince me of his merit as a writer. It was really excellently done.


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## Knightfall (Sep 13, 2008)

I must give my vote to the following authors: Hobb, Knaak, Leiber, Vance, and Weis/Hickman.

I just started reading "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson. It's very good, IMO.


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## garyh (Sep 13, 2008)

Knightfall1972 said:


> I just started reading "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson. It's very good, IMO.




I just started reading that series myself.  Halfway through book two, and I'm really enjoying it.  Also, the makers of SpyCraft announced this week they're doing an RPG of Mistborn in 2009, so that's really cool.


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## Knightfall (Sep 13, 2008)

garyh said:


> I just started reading that series myself.  Halfway through book two, and I'm really enjoying it.  Also, the makers of SpyCraft announced this week they're doing an RPG of Mistborn in 2009, so that's really cool.



Yeah, it was reading about that RPG that made me start reading the book. Mistborn was one of the free e-books that Tor gave away a while ago.


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## garyh (Sep 14, 2008)

Knightfall1972 said:


> Yeah, it was reading about that RPG that made me start reading the book. Mistborn was one of the free e-books that Tor gave away a while ago.




I decided to give it a try because I'm a Jordan fan, and was curious if the guy I had never heard of who's doing _A Memory of Light_ was any good.  Luckily, he is! 

I have to wonder how many more books Sanderson has moved since he was named to finish Jordan's last book.  You can't buy that kind of exposure.


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## drothgery (Sep 14, 2008)

garyh said:


> I decided to give it a try because I'm a Jordan fan, and was curious if the guy I had never heard of who's doing _A Memory of Light_ was any good.  Luckily, he is!
> 
> I have to wonder how many more books Sanderson has moved since he was named to finish Jordan's last book.  You can't buy that kind of exposure.




That's why I picked up _Elantris_ (and since it was pretty good, the first two _Mistborn_ paperbacks).


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## garyh (Sep 14, 2008)

I plan to read _Elantris _after I finish the Mistborn trilogy.  Kinda wanted to read the first two Mistborn in time to read the third when it comes out, so I could be up on it, despite being new to the series.

Mistborn's magic system sounds like it'd be fun in an RPG.  But I'm wondering how they'll make it so mistborn, mistings, and regular folks can all be in a crew together and all be useful.  That's been problematic in other fiction-to-RPG adaptations (channelers in the _Wheel of Time_ rpg, Jedi in various _Star Wars_ RPGs, etc.).


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## The Grumpy Celt (Sep 14, 2008)

To expand on my earlier naming of William Sanders; 

(from the wikipedia entry)

William Sanders (born April 28, 1942) is an American science fiction writer, primarily of short fiction, and is the senior editor of the online science fiction magazine Helix SF.

Sanders has written several novels, including Journey to Fusang (1988), The Wild Blue and the Gray (1991) and The Ballad of Billy Badass & the Rose of Turkestan (1999). The first two are alternate histories with a humorous bent while the last is a more serious work of science fiction.

He has also written a number of mystery novels, including a series featuring Western writer Taggert Roper beginning with The Next Victim (St. Martin's Press 1993), as well as novels marketed by the publisher as Action/Adventure, beginning with Hardball (Berkley Jove 1992).

Sanders, a former powwow dancer, is best known for his use of Native American (although he prefers the term American Indian, see Native American name controversy) themes and his dry, often cynical sense of humor. His most-anthologized and perhaps best known work is "The Undiscovered", an alternate history in which Shakespeare is transported to Virginia and writes "Hamlet" for the Cherokee tribe. The story won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 1997. Sanders won a second Sidewise Award for his story "Empire" in 2002. Sanders has said that he considers his best story to be "Dry Bones."

A stickler for detail and accuracy, Sanders has studied history, which led to the publication in 2003 of Conquest: Hernando de Soto and the Indians, 1539-1543, a book begun some two decades earlier and researched by travelling extensively in the southeastern quarter of the US, by motorcycle and small boat and on foot, retracing Soto's probable routes.

As a non-fiction writer, he has written numerous articles on the martial arts and outdoor sports, as well as books on bicycle racing, kayaking, and backpacking.

Since 2006, Sanders has taken on the role of editor and publisher with the launch of the online quarterly magazine Helix SF.

Sanders and his wife live in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.


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## amethal (Sep 15, 2008)

Hobo said:


> I mostly agree with the OP in terms of what's good and what's not, but there's a few notable exceptions.  Moorcock being the most notable.
> 
> I don't think the guy's any good.  I read at least three of the Elric books, the three Mars books and several others, and I have yet to see anything of his that was well-written.  The idea that he was innovative is laughable; all he did was reversed nearly every quality of Conan and the Hyborian Age and called it Elric.
> 
> To me, he's the most over-rated of the fantasy "classics" and a classic example of the concept that in a situation of limited supply, even crappy, crappy product can sell like hotcakes.  He was lucky to come along at a time when fantasy was getting off the ground, there was more demand for it than writers and publishers could keep up with, so he was able to crank out (and sell) a rather remarkable number of books that today, nobody would even pick up to publish in the first place.



I used to really like Michael Moorcock when I was younger, but now I find his books very hard to read. 

However, I don't think he's anywhere near as bad as you make him out to be, and I get the impression those books of his I really don't like (pretty much anything with Jerry Cornelius centre stage, for example) are others' favourites. 

The Corum books are probably my favourites.

Overrated - definitely.

Crappy - no.

I think his impressive sales figures come from Gary Gygax recommending him in the AD&D DMG.


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## amethal (Sep 15, 2008)

I once gave in to Amazon and bought 3 of my recommended items at the same time.

I had the pleasure of reading Brian Ruckley's _Winterbirth_, Joe Abercrombie's _The Blade Itself_ and Scott Lynch's _The Lies of Locke Lamora_ one after the other.

They were all excellent, and each one was better than the last. Thank you Amazon!


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## Switchblade (Sep 17, 2008)

I'm suprised no one has mentioned Steph Swainston, (appologies to anyone who has mentioned her already if I missed their comments). "Year of Our War", "No Present Like Time" and "The Modern World" are a fantastic and very different read than many fantasy books. They also demonstrate an interesting take on social and technological stagnation caused by the existence of near immortals and how they warp the fashions of the lands.

Already mentioned are:

Pratchett. Which reminds me, his latest release has been out almost a week in hardback and I still haven't got it yet. Must remedy that!
China Mieville, wasn't quite so enamoured with Iron Council but the rest has been outstanding. Only problem with his books is they take a bit of commitment getting through the first half of the book before they pick up steam and get interesting but worth the effort. 
Patrick Ruthrus. I'm not sure after only one book he can be called a great writer but a very promissing start. The Name of the wind seems rather generic fantasty but an easy and entertaining read. 
Robin Hobb. Assassins, Liveship Traders and the Tawny Man trilogies were some of the best books I've ever read. The latest trilogy (Soldiers son?) was one I have no desire to finish, I just didn't get interested in it and have given up. Anyone who has only read this trilogy of hers I'd advise you not to let that bias you and try some of her earlier work.
Jim Butcher. Good stories, his writing skills need a little more polish but that hasn't stopped me getting hooked on both the Codex and Dresden books. His codex books especially as they are written about the only person in the land without magical powers.
Scott Lynch. Only two books so far but the series shows a lot of promise and the two books really have been difficult to put down.
Regarding George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire it started well but the sheer amount of character has began to drown out the story. While I can keep track of that many plots I don't really want to, it's just diluting pages which could be spent on my favourite characters. Though it is always fun guessing which character dies next, like 24 without Jack Bauer.
 


cignus_pfaccari said:


> And the Anita Blake books are really good modern dark fantasy monster-hunting books about through Obsidian Butterfly, but after that it gets a bit more, um, focused on the erotica aspects of the series.




Obs Butterfly was where I started to lose interest as well.  Best of the series but after that it quickly turned into Vampire/WereX erotica.  I tried rereading some of the later books, skipping scenes where Anita was getting intimate.  They were very short books if you do that.  Here's hoping Edward turns up, kills all of Anitas parters and the series gets good again.


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## Errandir (Sep 18, 2008)

> Robin Hobb. Assassins, Liveship Traders and the Tawny Man trilogies were some of the best books I've ever read.





I've heard those recommended a number of times. I looked at the first of her Assassin books once, though, and reading the back cover really made me lose interest. To be more specific, it was the character names - King Shrewd, someone Chivalry, Prince Verity, someone Regal, etc. It sounded like a picture book where the characters are given names that describe them (Prince Charming, for example). 

That's really all I know about the series, though. Can anyone tell me anything else about them? All the praise for them has made me a bit curious.


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## amethal (Sep 19, 2008)

Errandir said:


> I've heard those recommended a number of times. I looked at the first of her Assassin books once, though, and reading the back cover really made me lose interest. To be more specific, it was the character names - King Shrewd, someone Chivalry, Prince Verity, someone Regal, etc. It sounded like a picture book where the characters are given names that describe them (Prince Charming, for example).



That's exactly right, but only applies to the royal family (I think - its been years since I read the books).

Don't let the names put you off. The story is well worth reading.


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## arcanaman (Sep 19, 2008)

garyh said:


> I plan to read _Elantris _after I finish the Mistborn trilogy. Kinda wanted to read the first two Mistborn in time to read the third when it comes out, so I could be up on it, despite being new to the series.
> 
> Mistborn's magic system sounds like it'd be fun in an RPG. But I'm wondering how they'll make it so mistborn, mistings, and regular folks can all be in a crew together and all be useful. That's been problematic in other fiction-to-RPG adaptations (channelers in the _Wheel of Time_ rpg, Jedi in various _Star Wars_ RPGs, etc.).



Elantris was all shiny and stuff have to say one of the best books I have ever read


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## Desdichado (Sep 19, 2008)

I've bumped Elantris pretty high up on my "list of things to read."

Plus, Sanderson says there's a good chance we're related, even though he doesn't think it likely we're closer than third or fourth cousin at best.  So now I feel like I *have* to know what he's all about.


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## Shade (Sep 19, 2008)

Sanderson is great.  The fact that he's writing the final Wheel of Time novel might mean I'll actually enjoy a WoT book for the first time in many years.


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## drothgery (Sep 19, 2008)

Shade said:


> Sanderson is great.  The fact that he's writing the final Wheel of Time novel might mean I'll actually enjoy a WoT book for the first time in many years.




Eh. _Winter's Heart_ and _Knife of Dreams_ were not bad at all. _The Path of Daggers_ and _Crossroads of Twilight_, on the other hand...


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## ShadowDenizen (Sep 24, 2008)

As a rabid bilbiophile,  I'll put aside the obligatory classics like Zelaznys' "AMber", Leibers "Grey Mouser" stuff, RObert E. Howards "Conan", Moorcocks "ELric", etc.

The authors I (try to) keep up with currently?

In no particular order:
1) Tad Williams
2) Janny Wurts (her "Wars of Light and Shadow" is simply brilliant.)
3) Gene Wolfe (just ordered his new book, which is said to be a mix of scifi/detective fiction/Lovecraft.)
4) Naomi Novik-  Not a fan of "alternate history" in general, but the Temeraire series really grabbed me.
5) Brandon Sanderson
6) David Farland: Still digging the Runelords series after 7 books.
7) Jim Butcher: The Dresden files also still captivate me.
8) Steven Erikson: Yes I know the "Malazan" series has it's detractors, but I've loved the series to date (haven't read Book 8 yet, though.)
9) EE Knight: THe Vampire Earth series is quite enjoyable, in a "popcorn" kinda way.

I used to like Laurell Hamilton, but both her "Merideth Gentry" and "Anita Blake" series became too much like reading soft-core porn for me to continue.

I read the first few "Sword of Truth" books, but those went downhill quicker than the "Wheel of Time", so I gave up on that, too.


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## scitadel (Sep 24, 2008)

So. Lots of authors here I agree with, lots I don't or haven't gotten into.  China Melville I keep hearing good things about, but I couldn't even get past the first chapter.  I'll have to try him again since there's so much good things.

From those already mentioned:
- Jim Butcher.  Both Dresden and Codex Alera are fun, fun, fun. And the characters are pretty interesting and they change.  And he's managed to keep Dresden growing but not over-powered
- Pratchet & Gaiman - my favourite two British authors. 
- Steven Erikson - long and hard to finish his books, but they really do come out even more when you re-read them and start going "oh, so that's how he ties this and that's what he meant here and...". I can see why he's not for everyone though
- Gemmel - someone I'd get books from the library from. Light heroic fantasy. 'Nuff said.
- Peter David - again, another light read. His Sir Apropos of Nothing series was a bit strange. Sort of like Pratchett turned dark, on good drugs.
- Robert Asprin - library author. Fun to read, but not someone I'd buy.

Authors who haven't been mentioned :
- Lorna Freeman - the Covenant and the King's Own. Very good first book. Second book seemed a bit more disjoined, and certainly shorter. We'll have to see about 3rd but certainly interesting so far and worth a read.
- Michelle Sagara - her "Cast in..." are pretty good.  A bit of a romance sub-plot, but it's really, really, really sub.  Interesting world and the first book was very well written.
- Gail Z. Martin - the Blood King has been the only novel I picked up. Relatively formulaic fantasy, but good read.
- Anne Bishop (was she mentioned) - her Black Jewels trilogy was very good. Very interesting magic system. Have not tried anything else as yet.

And lastly, I'm surprised no one mentioned her more:
- Lois McMaster Bujold.  Probably one of THE top writers alive right now. Though I'll admit her fantasy books aren't as good as her Miles series. Her focus is mostly characters and politics and interaction, but the interaction between her heroes and the Gods in the Curse of Chalion series is really well done.

I'm not sure if this is straying too far since we're going into graphic novels but two series that I should add that do fantasy really well:
- Lucifer (complete series. Perfect for creating a real bastard character)
- Fables (on-going series)


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## ShadowDenizen (Sep 24, 2008)

scitadel said:


> - Gail Z. Martin - the Blood King has been the only novel I picked up. Relatively formulaic fantasy, but good read.




The Summoner is Book One of that series; a decent fantasy tale, worth reading.



> I'm not sure if this is straying too far since we're going into graphic novels but two series that I should add that do fantasy really well:
> - Lucifer (complete series. Perfect for creating a real bastard character)
> - Fables (on-going series)




If we're talking comics, my list more than doubles!!  8)
[I'd support both those choices, and I'd add:

1) Thieves and Kings (Interesting mix of prose and art.)- Ongoing
2) A Distant Soil-  Nearly complete (first 4 volumes available inTPB)
3) Wandering Star  (Complete; 3 TPB set availble.)
4) Preacher  (Complete; 9 volume TPB set out.)
5) The Walking Dead (Ongoing; 8 TPB's available)
6) Invincible (Ongoing; 8 TPB's out.)
7) Y: The Last Man (Complete; 10 TPB set available.)
8) Sandman (Complete;10 TPB set out
9) Jack of Fables ("Fables" spin-off, ongoing)

I'm sure there's tons of stuff I'm forgetting...


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## Desdichado (Sep 24, 2008)

drothgery said:


> Eh. _Winter's Heart_ and _Knife of Dreams_ were not bad at all. _The Path of Daggers_ and _Crossroads of Twilight_, on the other hand...



And _Crown of Swords_.  And _Lord of Chaos_ (with the exception of the last few dozen pages).  And _Fire in the Sky_.  And _The Shadow Rising_.  And even _The Dragon Reborn_.

It's hard to even _get_ to _Winter's Heart_ and _Knife of Dreams_ on the hope that they're good when you have to slog through all those other books first.


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## drothgery (Sep 24, 2008)

Hobo said:


> And _Crown of Swords_.  And _Lord of Chaos_ (with the exception of the last few dozen pages).




Okay, the bizarre thing to me about so many people who followed the series is they think this. The end of _Lord of Chaos_ was the worst part, and the after-effects created most of the mess in the aftermath. And despite that, _Crown of Swords_ was one of the strongest books in the series.


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## Desdichado (Sep 24, 2008)

drothgery said:


> Okay, the bizarre thing to me about so many people who followed the series is they think this. The end of _Lord of Chaos_ was the worst part, and the after-effects created most of the mess in the aftermath. And despite that, _Crown of Swords_ was one of the strongest books in the series.



Not seeing that at all.  To me, the end of the Lord of Chaos was the best single sequence in the entire series (granted, I haven't read the last two.)  Crown of Swords was the worst book in the series up to that point.


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## drothgery (Sep 24, 2008)

Hobo said:


> Not seeing that at all.  To me, the end of the Lord of Chaos was the best single sequence in the entire series (granted, I haven't read the last two.)  Crown of Swords was the worst book in the series up to that point.




_A Crown of Swords_ wrapped up more dangling plot threads than any book before or since. If it wasn't also one of the best-written in the series, it'd be one of the best in the series on that alone.


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## CCamfield (Oct 1, 2008)

The Grumpy Celt said:


> To expand on my earlier naming of William Sanders...




I really would like to read some of Sanders' works but I just haven't been able to FIND any of them.

The one story of his that I've read was in Lord of the Fantastic, the tribute volume in honor of Roger Zelazny.  I thought his story there was great, and quite funny.

On that note, I want to mention Roger Zelazny, but NOT for his Amber books.  Sure, the first series was fantastic.  But I think some of his other books are even greater for their blending of mythology and science fiction - chiefly Lord of Light, and Creatures of Light and Darkness.

Anyway, I want to mention some of my favorite authors who haven't been mentioned, maybe it's surprising, maybe not...

*Mary Gentle*  Some here will remember _Ash: A Secret History_ probably, which was a great alternate-reality story of medieval mercenaries and alchemy.  

I just finished reading her _1610: A Sundial in a Grave_.  Really excellent.  It's really something of a swashbuckler, with the main character... well.  It's a younger Rochefort.  As in, the villain from The Three Musketeers.  That man!  Anyway, the fantasy in it is that there is a mathematician who is able to predict the future based on probabilities.  And based on these predictions, a conspiracy is hatched, and Rochefort is being blackmailed into... assassinating a king.

*Patricia McKillip* - almost every book of hers I've read has stunned me in some way.  She's amazing.  But, most of her stories involve a more mythic/fairy tale feel than many.  e.g. _The Tower At Stony Wood_, in which a knight discovers his king has unknowingly married a witch, and goes on a quest to find the real queen.  While at the same time, a prince of the northerners they conquered sets out to slay a dragon, and use its hoard to launch a new war of independence.


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## Pants (Oct 1, 2008)

Hobo said:


> Crown of Swords was the worst book in the series up to that point.



I'd give that 'award' to _The Fires of Heaven _which was an awful book the last time I read it. The only thing redeeming the book was it's good ending, but then _Lord of Chaos _had the same problem.


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## amethal (Oct 2, 2008)

CCamfield said:


> *Mary Gentle*  Some here will remember _Ash: A Secret History_ probably, which was a great alternate-reality story of medieval mercenaries and alchemy.
> 
> I just finished reading her _1610: A Sundial in a Grave_.  Really excellent.  It's really something of a swashbuckler, with the main character... well.  It's a younger Rochefort.  As in, the villain from The Three Musketeers.  That man!  Anyway, the fantasy in it is that there is a mathematician who is able to predict the future based on probabilities.  And based on these predictions, a conspiracy is hatched, and Rochefort is being blackmailed into... assassinating a king.



I really like her Golden Witchbreed. Technically its sci-fi but its similar to fantasy in many ways.

Ash left me feeling a bit underwhelmed but I'll have to give 1610 a go.


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## jdsivyer (Oct 10, 2008)

*The Sea Beggars*

There's hundreds of responses on this topic, and I've looked through most of them, but has anyone mentioned Paul Kearney?

His "Sea Beggars" series (2 books at the moment) is excellent:

1) The Mark of Ran
2) The Forsaken Earth

This is tightly edited stuff, my friends.  Each book is about 400-odd pages, the chapters speed by, interesting characters (for the most part) and some of the best land and sea battles read in fiction for a while.

Highly recommended!


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