Fantasy Recommendations - for the unenlightened

[GOLLUM]

Master and Gollum named almost all my reads, but I will have to add Marion Zimmer Bradley to the list:
Avalon Series:
The Mists of Avalon (1979)
The Forest House (1993) (with Diana L Paxson)
Lady of Avalon (1997) (with Diana L Paxson)
The Forests of Avalon (1998)
Priestess of Avalon (2000) (with Diana L Paxson)
The Ancestors of Avalon (2004) (with Diana L Paxson)

Nice one "lit goddess"....

 

[rune]

Some of my favourites that I would recommend have already been listed See there is method in my madness, I waited for others to do most the hard work for me

Here are some recommendations that I like that I dont think has been mentioned in this thread yet . In the end it's probably done to taste, however, I'm sure there would be something in my list for most tastes


Banned and the Bannished - James Clemens

Keeper Chronicles - Tanya Huff

Orces First Blood - Stan Nicholls

Spellsinger - Alan Dean Foster

Tales of the Otori - Lian Hearn

The Black Jewels - Anne Bishop

The Darkweaver Legacy - Mark Robson

The Farseer Trilogy & Tawny Man Trilogy - Robin Hobb

Time Master Trilogy - Louise Cooper

Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

Keys to the Kingdom - Garth Nix

Merry Gentry - Laurell K Hamilton

Pellinor - Alison Croggon

The Bartimeaus Trilogy - Jonathan Stroud

The Tamir Triad - Lynn Flewelling

Women of the Otherworld - Kelley Armstrong

 

[Ailanna]

Reading through this thread makes me realize how little mainstream fantasy I actually read. I don't think I've ever finished (or even been current with) a series by Feist, Goodkind, Jordan, or Martin...

My top fantasy authors, more or less off the top of my head:

Lloyd Alexander, esp. The Chronicles of Prydain. The simplicity, wisdom, and humor with which he writes consistently blows me away. It also helps that Prydain was my first major foray into fantasy.
Dunsany. His writing is amazing, poetic and measured and graceful. And he has a sense of humor! I like his short stories best, but Don Rodriguez, The King of Elfland's Daughter, and The Charwoman's Shadow are all wonderful.
Teresa Edgerton. Creator of one of my favorite fictional heroes ever, several well-realized worlds, and most quotable bits of dialogue.
Neil Gaiman. In a word, brilliant. It was amazing watching different elements come together throughout Sandman, and the world he and the various artists created felt so real that it was almost a shock to finish the series and think, "So, wait, Death isn't actually a perky, wise, compassionate Goth girl?" Amazing.
Diana Wynne Jones. I've loved almost everything I've read by her. Zany, funny, unpredictable, and with great characters and plots. Hexwood, Fire and Hemlock, and Howl's Moving Castle are my current favorites by her. I think I read that Gaiman's Stardust was actually partly inspired by Howl's Moving Castle.
Patricia McKillip. Art-house, literate, lyrical fantasy with a somnambulistic feel and lingering images. Song for the Basilisk, The Changeling Sea, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld are my favorites, though many prefer her Riddlemaster Trilogy.
Robin McKinley. Somewhat more accessible than McKillip; best known for her fairy tale retellings and the YA fantasy classic duet, The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword.
Mervyn Peake. I think BBC described his writing as "Dickens on crack," which is pretty apt. Incredibly atmospheric and bizarre. I get a bit claustrophic just reading Titus Groan.
Paula Volsky. My favorite author for big fantasy epics. She's incredible at world building.

Then there are the authors who have written one or two books I really love, but I haven't read much else of, for one reason or another: James Thurber's The 13 Clocks, Willam Goldman's The Princess Bride, Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October, Barbara Hambly's Stranger at the Wedding, A. S. Byatt's Possession, Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan.

 

[Culhwch]

Wow. Reading through these posts I've never felt like such a fantasy lightweight. It's gonna take me a looooong time to catch up, but I'll endevour to do my best. Already got a list of books to chase.

Again most of my top picks have been prieviously listed, but I'd like to mention Neil Gaiman's Stardust, which is my absolute all-time favourite work of fantasy. A beautiful, lyrical, twisted little dark romantic fairytale for adults.

Right. I'm off to the library, then.

 

[Jay]

Argh. I forgot M John Harrison's Viriconium sequence. Rarely has a set of tales deconstructed itself - and the genre it belongs to - with so much verve and style. There's everything from Moorcockian swords and sorcery to passages whch would nto be out of place in a Borges book. And Harrison's prose is among the very finest.

Which is arguably IMHO the genre's greatest sequence bar none post-Peake.

 

[Rosemary]

Most of my favourite books have already been mentioned in previous
lists.

However I would like to add Jennifer Fallon's 'The Demon Child Trilogy'.

Anne McCaffrey is another good author, especially if you like dragons!

Maggie Furey wrote two very good series. 'The Shadow League'
and 'The Artefacts of Power'.

Kate Jacoby is another author not mentioned very often.
Her 'Elita Sagas' are very well written.

 

[Brys]

Which is arguably IMHO the genre's greatest sequence bar none post-Peake.

I have a question about Viriconium - I've got the fantasy masterworks series, but it doesn't seem as clearly divided as I've heard. It is often said that the later two books were much better, but I really don't know where the books in this divide, because there seems to be loads of other sections in there as well - is it like Leiber, with basically a lot of short stories, or are they designed to be read as novels?

I have to add Michael Moorcock's Elric series to my recommendations now - I've just finished one of the collections of the stories (Elric of Melinbone, The Fortress of the Pearl, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, the Dreaming City, While the Gods Laugh, the Singing Citadel) which was excellent.

 

[Ailanna]

Stardust is fantastic-- especially the original version with beautiful color illustrations by Charles Vess!

 

[Culhwch]

Unfortunately I've only got the paperback sans illustrations copy. Haven't been able to find an illustrated edition here. Might have to try online.

 

[The Master™]

I put this on the Sci-Fi recommendations thread, but thought I'd ask on here too:

Would anyone consider A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain to be classic Sci-Fi or Classic Fantasy??? In fact, has anyone ever read it, or just watched the two movies, like me???

 

[GOLLUM]

YES I read it some years ago and have always considered it to be more fantasy than Sci-Fi set within an historical context. Almost an historical/fantasy hybrid.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Funny how these things go. I'd actively recommend against drivel like NoGoodkind, and paint-by-numbers fare like Eddings and the likes.

Hang on. Goodkind was mentioned? In that case, I whole-heartedly retract my agreement with those above my post. Well, for him anyway...

 

[The Master™]

Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series is good, for the first 5 books, then goes sharply goes down hill... Just seems to revolve around a "hack 'n' slash" storyline and everybody suffering for some reason...

Though I hear Chainfire is a good book, but not been tempted to get it...

 

[don sky]

i have missed this place and all of you greatly. I've sorta had my hands full. I highly recommend Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy. I was absolutely captivated.
did I say HOW glad I was to be here again?

 

[Tikal]

Robin Hobb is a MUST read, the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy (personally i'm not too keen on the Liveship Trader books). She also writes as Megan Lindholm, these books are not nearly as good as the others (but mind you the others are GREAT! ), but if you want to read a bit of her early work there good.

If you like heroic fantasy I recommend David Gemmel as a good starter, I can never get enough of his books.

Fritz Leiber is really good too, one of you guys on here recommended him and im REALLY enjoying the book, I think it was Brys since every time I see the name Brys I also see the name Leiber- so thanks- i'm lovin 'em!

 

[Brys]

Argh. I forgot M John Harrison's Viriconium sequence. Rarely has a set of tales deconstructed itself - and the genre it belongs to - with so much verve and style. There's everything from Moorcockian swords and sorcery to passages whch would nto be out of place in a Borges book. And Harrison's prose is among the very finest.

I'm reading it at the moment. It's amazing. I've just started A Storm of Wings, and it's even better than the Pastel City. I think he's better at writing the urban style fantasy then when he was trying to do the Moorcockian style. His prose is the best I've ever read in any fiction. Simply amazing.

 

[GOLLUM]

Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series is good, for the first 5 books, then goes sharply goes down hill... Just seems to revolve around a "hack 'n' slash" storyline and everybody suffering for some reason...

Though I hear Chainfire is a good book, but not been tempted to get it...

HMMM.. couldn't get past the first few hundred pages of Goodkind's first book Wizard's Rule, truly bad writing IMO then again must be something in it if my Master says so.....

 

[jsmp01]

Stumble across your site through google and definitely seems full of people who know there stuff. Ive read a lot of Pratchett (possibly every single book, except the discworld science ones) have read all of Feist's series and have just started on Jordan's (read the 1st three, got the 4th but think that nothing really happens till the last 150 pages) but am getting fed up of author's thinking up great idea's (1st three of Feist's for example) and then just dragging it out with eternal evil god's that will never die etc to make money and not really adding to the plots anymore, Jordan's series seems to be going that way as well. Which of the series listed above do not go that way and are still good reads? I will get hold of Erikson's series as everyone appears to recommend it but which others.

 

[The Master™]

You might want to try The Last Rune Series by Mark Anthony...

 

[rune]

You might want to try The Last Rune Series by Mark Anthony...

I'll 2nd that recommendation