Fantasy Masterworks: What do you think?

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Members in the US may not be aware of this series, but the Fantasy Masterworks is a series of genre classics, often long out of print, issued on a monthly basis by Millenium, which is an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, a UK publisher, whose other imprints include Dolphin, Orion Media, Phoenix and Victor Gollancz.

Here's the list; I'd like to know what you think about it. See something that should be here but isn't? Want to contest an inclusion? Is there an obscure favourite in here that you'd like to add your own endorsement to? Let us know!

I'd like to thank Foxbat for taking the trouble to compile this list for us. There is also a Science Fiction Masterworks series, which I'll also put up a topic on, shortly.




1. Shadow And Claw Gene Wolfe
2. Time And Gods Lord Dunsany
3. The Worm Ouroboros E R Eddison
4. Tales of the Dying Earth Jack Vance
5. Little Big John Crowley
6. The Chronicles Of Amber Roger Zelazney
7. Virconium M John Harrison
8. The People of the Black Circle Robert E Howard
9. The Land Of Laughs Johnathan Carroll
10. The Compleat Enchanter L Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt
11. Lud-in-the-mist Hope Mirlees
12. Sword And Citadel Gene Wolfe
13. Fevre Dream George R R Martin
14. Beauty Sheri S Tepper
15. The King of Elfland’s Daughter Lord Dunsany
16. The Hour Of The Dragon Robert E Howard
17. Elric Michael Moorcock
18. The First Book Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber
19. Riddle-Master Patricia A McKillip
20. Time And Again Jack Finney
21. Mistress of Mistresses E R Eddison
22. Gloriana or The Unfulfilled Queen Michael Moorcock
23. The Well Of The Unicorn Fletcher Pratt
24. The Second Book Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber
25. Voice Of Our Shadow Johnathan Carroll
26. The Emperor Of Dreams Clark Ashton Smith
27. Lyoness: Suldrun’s Garden Jack Vance
28. Peace Gene Wolfe
29. The Dragon Waiting John M Ford
30. The Chronicles Of Corum Michael Moorcock
31. Black Gods And Scarlet Dreams C L Moore
32. The Broken Sword Poul Anderson
33. The House On The Borderland & Other Novels William Hope Hodgson
34. The Drawing Of The Dark Tim Powers
35. Lyoness II: The Green Pearl and Madouc Jack Vance
36. The History of the Runestaff Michael Moorcock
37. A Voyage To Arcturus David Lindsay
38. Darker Than You Think & Other Novels Jack Williamson
39. The Mabinogion Evangeline Walton
40. Three Hearts And Three Lions Poul Anderson
41. The Call Of The Cthulhu & Other Eldritch Horrors H P Lovecraft
42. Grendel John Gardner
43. Replay Ken Grimwood
44. The Iron Dragon’s Daughter Michael Swanwick

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Here are the ones I've read and what I think:


3. The Worm Ouroboros E R Eddison

Quite brilliant. It is loosely linked with the other Eddison book in the series: 21. Mistress of Mistresses E R Eddison and is a flawed if very significant early masterpeice of the genre. Written by a conteporary of Tolkien, it takes a very different approach to fantasy, eschewing painstaking world-building and basic moral themes to focus on sheer aesthetic delight and the discussion of some rather abstruse philosophical points. Rather dense and archaic style, it certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, but one wonders how the fantasy genre would have evolved if this had been as central a text as Tolkien's.

4. Tales of the Dying Earth Jack Vance

Absolute magic. Comprises The Dying Earth, The Eyes of The Overword, Cugels' Saga and Rhialto The Magnificent. Set in a far-future earth that fades in the stultifying light of a moribund sun, these are chronicles of the Last Days. Plots are episodic, protagonists are gloriously wicked and self-serving, and the highlights of the books are Vance's gorgeous prose, as well the journey through the strange and bizarre lands and peoples of the Dying Earth. A feast for the senses, more than anything else.


6. The Chronicles Of Amber Roger Zelazney

I know this is a central part of the fantasy canon, and won't contest its inclusion, but what I've read of the series has failed to captivate me.

7. Virconium M John Harrison

Another favourite. Harrison places in a fantasy setting that seems a little similar to the Dying Earth in some ways, takes us through stories that appear like standard quests at first, and then leans in with the killer blow, deconstructing all that has gone before. Brilliant.

8. The People of the Black Circle Robert E Howard

Oh, come on! You know you want to read it!!!

17. Elric Michael Moorcock

Moorcock's anti-hero Elric goes against the Conanesque mould, but manages to romp (or at least stride sollemnly) through settings and adventures as gloriously pulpy, if shot through with a certain sense of melancholy, as anything Howard wrote.

18. The First Book Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber and 24. The Second Book Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber

Individual stories vary, but then, these two omnibuses (omnibii?) bring together short stories, tiny stories and novellas written over a long perioid of time. They deal with the sword-and-sorcery adventures of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser, fantasy's greatest odd-couple. The setting dominates - the city of Lankhmar and the strange, strange world of Nehwon, bubble on the waters of eternity. These stories are urbane, witty and yet utterly without irony in their depiction of wonderfuly pulpy adventures. Great fun, and hugely influential on the likes of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Raymond Feist and more.

26. The Emperor Of Dreams Clark Ashton Smith

Smith weaves together strands of fantasy and horror to create some of the most marvellously weird tales ever. His themes are similar to, but broader than those of contemporary HP Lovecraft; if you like one, you ought to try the other.

27. Lyoness: Suldrun’s Garden Jack Vance

Vance draws on pre-Arthurian Celtic myth in this gorgeously written fantasy that melds the odd storylines of the original mythic material with Vance's own predeliction for episodic plots, high strangeness and great beauty and charm, shot through with darkness and light. I have not read the sequel: 35. Lyoness II: The Green Pearl and Madouc Jack Vance, but that's only because I haven't found a copy!

33. The House On The Borderland & Other Novels William Hope Hodgson

My friend Ravenus recommends this highly, and his even gifted me a copy which I intend to read soon.

34. The Drawing Of The Dark Tim Powers

There are more important books by Powers, but it is right and fitting this his unique brand of fantasy is represented in this series.

36. The History of the Runestaff Michael Moorcock

Hey! More Moorcock. Yay!!!

41. The Call Of The Cthulhu & Other Eldritch Horrors H P Lovecraft

I am a huge fan of Lovecraft. I believe he is central to horror, sf and fantasy and no list of masterworks is complete without him.


That's it from me.

 

[dwndrgn]

I've only read two of these! Boy am I behind...

Elric, M. Moorecock
I read this recently on recommendation by others here and enjoyed the story though I felt that it left a lot to be desired. Mostly I felt that it was written to be read as a legend or a myth but the story itself doesn't support that. Anyway, it is a short and enjoyable read but nothing earthshattering.

The Compleat Enchanter
I read this a long time ago and can't remember a thing about it other than I was really excited when I found it but wasn't overwhelmed once I read it. I do recall enjoying it but being a tad disappointed.

 

[Rane Longfox]

I have only read one of them - Fevre Dream - but that is certainly a masterwork

 

[Foxbat]

I was wondering if anybody knows much about Lord Dunsany. I've just started reading some Lovecraft and his name popped up in the foreword. I've never heard of him before.

As for list additions - Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever is certainly my favourite fantasy work

 

[Foxbat]

I forgot to mention - thanks for the nod knivesout. It was a pleasure (and an education - so many new titles to seek)

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

FOxbat, here's a write-up on Dunsany from his family's site: http://www.dunsany.net/18th.htm

I've read a few of his stories, and it's clear that he's influenced a lot of horror writers, including Poe and Lovecraft. I really should get a hold of the Dunsany volume in the Masterworks series.

Another horror author whom I enjoyed but don't hear much of anymore was Algernon Blackwood.

I'd agree that the Thomas Covenant books would fit well on the list - among other things, I think the inclusion of such an unsynpathetic lead character really broke ground for epic fantasy.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I'm thinking that we could perhaps set up the science fiction and fantasy mastworks as an additional reading club. Rather than all together every month, simply reading at our own pace, then posting our notes of how they affected us, might be an idea. Just a thought.

 

[Foxbat]

Thanks for the link knivesout. It makes interesting reading. It seems ironic that somebody touted as a major influence in fantasy seems to go largely unheard of. I will certainly make a point of looking at some of his work.

I'm thinking that we could perhaps set up the science fiction and fantasy mastworks as an additional reading club. Rather than all together every month, simply reading at our own pace, then posting our notes of how they affected us, might be an idea. Just a thought.

This definitely seems like the most practical way to go.

 

[ravenus]

The Land of Laughs is a pretty good book for a one-time read. It's about a guy who goe to interview the daughter of his favorite childhood author and then finds that the place is goes to is more than your run of the mill small town, the residents not the normal everyday people that they try to appear.

 

[ravenus]

Is that HPL book available in India?

 

[littlemissattitude]

Honestly, I haven't read most of the books on this list - only "Elric" and Finney's "Time and Again". Then again, I came to fantasy rather late, as opposed to having read science fiction pretty much forever.

I would suggest, based on my own preference, that Tim Powers should really be represented by "Last Call" and the other two books in that trilogy, "Expiration Date" and "Earthquake Weather". I don't know how much urban fantasy is on the list, but there should be some and these three books are wonderful examples of it.

I would also second (or is it third) having Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books on the list. They are a tour de force, and groundbreaking in any number of ways.

And, maybe most of all, I'm not really sure why there is no Poe on the list. Surely some of his work can be seen as fantasy just as much as it is horror.

 

[TGirlPaula]

I can appreciate Poe's working being both fantasy and horror but perhaps there's an overlap between these genres. I cannot think of a horror story that was not a fantasy, however macabre or mode noir.

I don't remember the authors of these short stories but I remember them as examples of the fantasy/horror type: The Telltale Heart, The Luck of Roaring Camp, Young Goodman Brown. Authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Brett Harte, not hardly a large list but what can I expect? I'm blonde, left-handed, and 53.

As for Poe, my favorite short story is A Cask of Amontillado.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

ravenus: Oddly, haven't seen the HPL volume volume, although everything else seems to be available.

Poe is quite widely in-print, at least as far as I can make out, and I sppose that's a reason why he isn't in this series. I suspect the same reasoning applies to the choice from Tim Powers' works - I remember reading in an interview that he was quite happy with this edition of Drawing of the Dark, since it brought the book back into print after a hiatus.

 

[littlemissattitude]

As for Poe, my favorite short story is A Cask of Amontillado.

And mine as well, Paula.

And JP, you have good points about both Powers and Poe. I'd still like to see the trilogy there, because it is such a departure from the usual fantasy fare. I don't see why they couldn't have two Powers entries - they've got four from Michael Moorcock, after all. And, while they may not be out of print, I've not run into that many people who have heard of these books - even among fans of the genre. My goodness, I'm starting to proselytize, aren't I? Well, I did like those three books a lot.

 

[Brian G Turner]

There are various HP Lovercraft reprints around - I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find out which actual stories are included on that particular edition.

 

[Princess Ivy]

i've read beauty by sherri s tepper, fantastic. i loved it. the story flowed together so beautifully, and the complex time continum and phillosopical issues were ingrated so skillfully that they didn't grate on the mind

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

(Be gentle with me, please. This is my first ever post in these forums.)

I've read almost half the books mentioned, most of them a long time ago, so that I have only the vaguest memory of some of them.

"The Worm Ouroborous" I've read several times -- didn't much care for it until the second time through, and now it's a favorite. It seems to have more plot and less philosophy than "Mistress of Mistresses," though the language in all Eddison's books is both wonderful and infuriating.

"Lud-in-the-Mists" is an exquisite book. It's a sort of fable about the pleasures and dangers and necessity of fantasy, but at the same time it's just a charming, quirky story, poetically told.

Tepper's "Beauty" I also love, for reasons similar to Princess Ivy's.

"The King of Elfland's Daughter," difficult to love, but it has some stunning passages.

"The Riddle Master" for years and years this was my very favorite book. Suspenseful, wonderful characters, beautifully written. In my opinion, it is the perfect fantasy novel.

"The Broken Sword", a very fierce book, full of blood and thunder, but also poetry.

Walton's "Mabinogion" -- the best retelling of these old Welsh Tales that I've ever read. (Others are more scholarly, but this fleshes out the characters and is in many ways a more satisfying read.)

Books missing from the list that ought to be there (but probably they can't get the rights): LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy. "Lord of the Rings", of course.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Hello, Kelpie! It won't be very hard to be gentle on someonewho hasread - and gradually appreciated - Eddisson! I'd say your description of his books as both wonderful and infuriating is spot-on.


Thanks for the inputs on other titles - I'm particularly interested in Lud-in-the-Mists, among other things I recall a reference to it in Tim Powers' Last Call.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

One of the problems with Eddison is that the reader may be constantly tempted to reach out and smite some of his heroes athwart the braincase (particularly Brandoch Daha!), because they are just so Full of Themselves. But his settings and language are so gorgeous (if somewhat overdone), the stories are full of high heroics, and a large part of the fun in a book like "Worm" is watching the characters act IN character.

If you can make it through Eddison, Knivesout, you can surely make it through Lud-in-the-Mist. It is a much gentler book, and much more whimsical -- although rather more tough-minded than it appears at first -- and while the language is modern it is just as beautiful (I think) as Eddison's. Maybe more so.