Your Favorite Fantasy Book(s)

[rune]

When you have had enough of traditional fantasy, I'd suggest that you give "Last Call", by Tim Powers, a try. It is urban fantasy, which means it takes place in more or less the present day, but pulls its themes from mythology and legend, including the legend of the Fisher King. Then, when you've read that, read his "Expiration Date", which will not seem like it has anything to do with "Last Call". Then, after that, read "Earthquake Weather", which pulls the first two books together and completes the trilogy.

Just my two cents' worth.

I've not heard of this series or this author before. Sounds interesting. Are they very detailed?

 

[hodor]

I only read one book in the Liveship Traders series and it didnt appeal to me. I didnt feel I missed out much by going onto the Tawny Man trilogy and could follow that last trilogy quite easily.

You did miss out on quite a bit (IMO)... specially in the last book of the series. I felt that the entire series, as a whole, was better than the first series she wrote. I would definitely recommend you give it another go. If not, well I can understand as alot of other ppl feel her connecting her books together was rather odd. I am one of those, I felt she should have connected the second series more addamantly to the last if she was going to make any connection at all. You can read the first and the third but, as I have been through all nine I must say that there are sooo many things that you would want to have read, given hindsight of course.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I've not heard of this series or this author before. Sounds interesting. Are they very detailed?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by detailed. I would say that they have all the detail that they need, and that they are fairly intricately plotted - but not in a bad way of being too convoluted.

I've written reviews of all three books, which you can find here:

Last Call

Expiration Date

Earthquake Weather

Maybe these will help. And, yes, they are interesting books.

 

[Leto]

My two cents : Tim Powers is brilliant. This serie is quite dark but very well written and quite detailed yes. Some of his stand-alone novels are a good mix of dark and comedy as : On stranger Tides, The Stress or her regards, or The Drawing of the Dark (still related to the Fisher king but not to the Last call serie). Personnally, I would start by a stand-alone then got on Last call.

 

[littlemissattitude]

My two cents : Tim Powers is brilliant. This serie is quite dark but very well written and quite detailed yes. Some of his stand-alone novels are a good mix of dark and comedy as : On stranger Tides, The Stress or her regards, or The Drawing of the Dark (still related to the Fisher king but not to the Last call serie). Personnally, I would start by a stand-alone then got on Last call.

Also, if you happen to like spy/espionage/cold war stories with a distinct fantasy take, try another Tim Powers stand-alone: "Declare". I think it is the most recent of his novels. It is the first book of his I read, and it was amazing - it sent me off in search for more of his work. Unfortunately, I haven't read much of his other work - my library system doesn't stock much of his work. Have to set them straight on that matter, I guess.

 

[dwndrgn]

Feeble excuse!!! You are forgiven, dwndrgn...

Many thanks Master! It's always nice to find that feeble excuses work

I agree with hodor here on Hobb's Liveship Traders series - definitely with hindsight quite a bit about the Tawny Man is learned there, as well as stuff having to do with the dragon's origins and whatnot. I was put off a bit by the long descriptions of their travel and such but looking back they contain important clues to the rest of the story. I'd think that you'd want to go back and see them with new eyes, rune.

 

[Lidora]

what i enjoyed about the liveship traders series was the change of setting. it was so interesting to read about the battles at sea and the lives of sailors/pirates on a ship. also, the idea of a "liveship" is a very creative use of magic.


perhaps i loved this series so much, possibly even more than the farseer and tawny man one, was because there were more strong female characters to relate to. the farseer and tawny man series have kettricken, but she does not play a central role, the novel focusing more so on fitz. in the liveship trader series we had althea, malta, ronica, and a few others. it made me easer to pretend i was a part of the group. ;-)

 

[Rane Longfox]

This "Last Call" book looks really good, lma I think I'll give it a try. It sounds like it's based on a similar principle to Gaiman's "American Gods"... is it?

 

[The Master™]

Well, SilentEagle, if that little list of recommedations don't bankrupt you, nothing will!!!

And that is from only a small selection of the boards members...

See what I meant about rune... One REALLY dedicated reader...

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Take a look on this thread about the Gollancz Fantasy Masterwork thread: http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3495

(Incidentally, anyone who's read any of those books and hasn't yet commented on that thread, feel free to add your 2c now).

 

[Leto]

This "Last Call" book looks really good, lma I think I'll give it a try. It sounds like it's based on a similar principle to Gaiman's "American Gods"... is it?

Not exactly even if there's similarities. Gods are not so present in "Last call".

 

[Neon]

As an aside to Robin Hobb .... while Hobb has written 9 books they're composed of 3 trilogies (I believe?). So you should start with the series The Farseer and see if you like the writing style, although I've never heard any particular complaints about.

 

[littlemissattitude]

This "Last Call" book looks really good, lma I think I'll give it a try. It sounds like it's based on a similar principle to Gaiman's "American Gods"... is it?

What Leto said. I didn't get to finish reading "American Gods" due to family emergency when we were reading it for the Book Club last year (and I've got to go back to it), but from the part that I did read, there are significant differences in approach between the two books.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I am not usually a huge fan of contemporary urban fantasy, but I thought 'Last Call" was really a wonderful book, it was so entertaining and suspenseful, and it made ordinary, familiar things magical without making them any less familiar.

Someone who is even better at that (and who I am surprised doesn't have lots of fans on these boards, as Powers has so many) is James Blaylock. He wrote a couple of cute, whimsical things (in parts too whimsical even for me, and I have a relatively large appetite for that sort of thing) early in his career, but for several years now he's been writing contemporary stories, mostly set up and down the California coast, which are weird and wonderful and rather spooky.

Anyone who loved "Last Call" would probably really enjoy "The Paper Grail," or "The Last Coin."

 

[littlemissattitude]

Anyone who loved "Last Call" would probably really enjoy "The Paper Grail," or "The Last Coin."

You know, I picked up "The Paper Grail" at a library sale a year or two ago, but I've never gotten around to reading it. I guess I'll have to do so now. Thanks for the heads up, Kelpie.

 

[Rane Longfox]

I didn't so much mean as in the gods, but mixing myth with modern day america, basically... I wouldn't want it to be too similar

 

[Grawgos]

I don't know how the others feel about these but my suggestions would be-
The Myth series by Robert asprin, the first book is Another Fine Myth
The Xanth novels by Piers Anthony- start with a spell for Chameleon
Iron Tower trilogy by Dennis L. McKiernan- it's out in omnibus format
Dragondoom by McKiernan
the Elenium trilogy by David Eddings, first book is The Diamond Throne
The new Theives World series by Lynn Abbey, first book is Sanctuary

 

[Ashen Shugar]

Lots of advice given here - for me, I'll just say I hated the Shannara series. I'm going to add Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman Dragonlance Chronicles as a good light read.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Well, I may as well chip in.


As far as multi-volume epic fantasy goes, I don't think there's anything out there that comes close to Steven Erikson's Malazan Books of the Fallen.

But I don't really read a lot of series. I prefer books that tell an entire story in a single volume, and what I really love are short stories. Having said that, most of my favourite fantasy is in the long form, largely because the fantasy genre seems to encourage length. Here are some of my favorites:

Viriconium by M John Harrison. You could make a case for calling this sf, but only in the sense that it is a far-future fantasy.

Elric by Michael Moorcock. Dark and exciting swords & sorcery tales about one of the most remarkable anti-heroes in fantasy.

Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance. Vastly influential, and great fun. I am referring here to the omnibus edition which includes The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga and Rhialto.

Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber. A witty swords & sorcery tale that tells us how Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, the greatest buddy act in fantasy, first met.

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. A dark, urban fantasy that moves away from traditional mediaevalist settings to explore fantastic new territory.

Veniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer. It could just as well be sf, or horror, but I think of it as one of the most technically accomplished and vivdly creative fantasy novels in recent years

Grimbold's Other World by Nicholas Stuart Gray. Simply the best work of fantasy written for children that I have ever read.

The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll. A fantasy tale set in the real world. Whimsically charming and utterly chilling in equal parts.

The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford. Actually the first of trilogy, the book is structured to stand on its own. A remarkably slim work for the genre, and one of the most inventive and thought-provoking fantasy works I have read in recent years.

Last Call by Tim Powers. This one has already been commented on at some length in this thread.

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Cryptic, multi-layered, episodic and utterly unique. A real masterpiece, I think.

 

[Halloween Jack]

i can't believe it!!! (yes, 3 !s were necessary)

has no-one recommended the thomas covernent books by stephen donaldson?
to my mind, and i thought many others, these are the best fantasy since (or apart from) tolkien.

the world itself is in typical tolkienesque form, but it has dark and philosophical tones as the main character is a leper, outcast from his comunity in our real world. he enters a land which is a parallel for his own mind trying to find it's way through his desease. his disbelief in this fantasy enviroment gives rise to many ethical battles which give these books a real edge. it's fantasy but it really makes you question. top top stuff.