Which epic fantasy writer writes the best prose, in your opinion?

[hamsterking]

Which epic fantasy writer writes the best prose, in your opinion?

 

[DeepThought]

George RR Martin

 

[dustinzgirl]

I'd have to go with Robert Jordan.

Martin's better at action sequences though IMO.

But, I could be wrong. I usually am.

 

[soulsinging]

George RR Martin

I second that. Even when I was struggling with Martin and trying to adjust to his narrative structure, the writing always kept me coming back. He's a very smooth writer and is able to conjure a vivid picture of a scene in a fraction of the words it takes many other authors to get the same effect. His clarity is something to be admired.

As a counterexample, I feel like Tad Williams, for all the words and elaborate language, writes poor prose. He drowns each sentence with an overabundance of similes and descriptors that end up obscuring the scene rather than creating it.

 

[vurtomatic]

CJ Cherryh

 

[Clansman]

Tough choice. Janny Wurts and GRRM are at the top of my list, though I think Janny edges GRRM. She is more efficient, despite writing books of a similar size, and there are no wasted passages. The prose is complex, but beautiful. I love prose that challenges me, instead of leading me down a path like a child.

 

[dask]

Jack Vance. Nuff said.

 

[j d worthington]

Very tough choice. I don't know if I could actualy pick a single writer who writes "the best prose" -- as what constitutes good prose also depends in part on what that prose is intended to convey (though bad prose may be bad across the board).

I think I'd have to go for one of the older writers, and among those high up would be Dunsany, Eddison, Smith, and Lovecraft. I'd also say Ellison often writes damn' fine prose, as does Ligotti... and then there's always Bradbury, of course.....

 

[Fried Egg]

I think I would tend to agree with j.d.worthington; I don't think many modern fantasy writers have much on the likes of Dunsany and Eddison. Clark Ashton Smith's prose must be my favourite, it is so rich, so evokative that you draw so much pleasure from his writing even when the story itself is somewhat thin.

Somewhat more modern, I do think that Jack Vance and Patricia McKillip also write beautifully.

 

[The Procrastinator]

I must read more of the old stuff, I do like good prose (Austen freak).

Its an interesting question, because prose quality can be considered separately from the overall story, or as part of it. There are as many approaches as there are authors.

I wouldn't rank GRRM as a "best" based on prose alone, personally. His appeal takes other factors into account (like suspense, as in who will he kill next? We must know!!) (Not that there's anything wrong with his prose, but I don't think its his genius.)
Janny Wurts has her moments, she really does. On the whole there's too much thesaurus-picking for me (and if cloaks do any more wicking I will scream), but having said that she has her moments of sublime immersion, where a combination of intense description, accurate and nuanced word choice, and artistically chosen sentence structure come together to make a thing of beauty.
Cecilia Dart-Thornton has her moments along the same lines.
McKillip is a beautiful writer in a much sparer style, allowing the reader space to dream, imagine and wonder. Le Guin does this too, and her early works hold endless fascination for me (not that I should be mentioning her in an epic fantasy thread).

My problem is, although I've read a lot over the years, I forget so much, so unless I own something and reread it, I won't really remember it. All the above I've either read fairly recently, or reread many times.

I'm going to be boring though and plump for Tolkien. I've reread LOTR I don't know how many times, and yes I know a lot of people find him boring, but I find his writing style a lovely balance of art, history, whimsy and grit, expression and restraint. I love that his prose style varies so much between the Hobbit, LOTR, and the Silmarillion - that functional mastery he displays still captivates me. Stopping now, I'm tired and liable to start waxing paeanically...

 

[Fried Egg]

Le Guin does this too, and her early works hold endless fascination for me (not that I should be mentioning her in an epic fantasy thread).

"Earthsea"? I think that alone qualifies her.

 

[Connavar]

Jack Vance's prose is my favorite over any writer i have read in any lit field.

He is the reason i became a prose fantast and went along to read Lord Dunsany and co.

Does Robert E. Howard count in this ? If Vance,Lord Dunsany is then why not Howard?

Other favs outside Vance is Lord Dunsany,David Gemmell,Tanith Lee.

Havent read enough of Clark Ashton Smith,Eddison. Havent read the more modern ones like Mckillip,CJ Cherryh(not her fantasy).

 

[HareBrain]

In terms of writers of epic fantasy whose books I go back to just to read a particular line, there is only one: Tolkien. Small excerpts of his description are so evocative, either in terms of beauty (eg the countryside of the Shire, or Ithilien) or horror (the slag-heaps outside Mordor's Black Gate), they beat anything within the well-crafted-but-functional prose of Martin, for example.

 

[DeepThought]

Which epic fantasy writer writes the best prose, in your opinion?

If he hadn't used the term "epic fantasy", I would have definitely gone for another author.

 

[Fried Egg]

Does Robert E. Howard count in this ? If Vance,Lord Dunsany is then why not Howard?

I don't know if I would put Howard's writing style in the same class. His prose leads to an excellent delivery of the story. But I don't think it can be appreciated in and of itself, in the way that one might do with Dunsany or Smith. With these authors, it almost doesn't matter what they're talking about, it's simply a pleasure to read their words. Howard is an excellent story teller, no doubt. But his style is heavilly bound up in the story he is trying to tell. At least that's my take anyway; there's still a lot of his work I haven't read.

 

[Connavar]

I don't know if I would put Howard's writing style in the same class. His prose leads to an excellent delivery of the story. But I don't think it can be appreciated in and of itself, in the way that one might do with Dunsany or Smith. With these authors, it almost doesn't matter what they're talking about, it's simply a pleasure to read their words. Howard is an excellent story teller, no doubt. But his style is heavilly bound up in the story he is trying to tell. At least that's my take anyway; there's still a lot of his work I haven't read.

Of course at times his prose is limited by a simple story type he wrote. But what i rate high of his prose is the ability to write a prose that flows so well as his poetry and at the same time keep it strong,tough to fit his kind of fantasy. When you have read his better Conan stories and other famous stories you might see. His early works are not as mature in prose.

Overall prose level im talking about and not just being pretty prose. Thats why i like Vance of other prose masters. Its not about just writing beautifual prose. I think great prose in fantasy must be used well to make the story richer. Thats why REH,Vance are my favs in fantasy fiction.

I read Smith alittle interesting prose but it felt alot more dated than similar authors like Dunsany and co. Of course i cant decide since i have read alittle story of his that was more like generic pulp of Wierd Tales.

 

[Fried Egg]

Do you recall which story of Smith's you read?

 

[Clansman]

I think I must step back a little after reading the comments of my friends herein. "The Best Prose of Epic Fantasy" is such a broad qualifier so as to make it almost pointless. It really depends on how you are feeling. Do you want Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding and the rest of the meal, or do you just feel like a light salad? Sometimes you want a rich dessert, or a fine cheese with wine, or some candy and coca cola. It depends on what you need to read at the particular moment.

The best prose is necessarily subjective. My love for Wurts' prose is stated, but the Procrastinator has made an excellent case for Tolkien (I actually find Wurts to be a throwback to that earlier period of literature, with an almost updated Victorian style). It, for me, really depends on how I am feeling. But Wurts, Tolkien and GRRM all do the same thing: they succeed in taking me to another place, no matter where I am reading. That, for me, is the real standard of successful fiction writing.

 

[dustinzgirl]

I think I must step back a little after reading the comments of my friends herein. "The Best Prose of Epic Fantasy" is such a broad qualifier so as to make it almost pointless. It really depends on how you are feeling.

I totally agree. I think I like Jordan's the best because he is (er, was) so involved with the history and culture, but I guess then its not really so much prose-y.

ARGH! This is confusing.

 

[Connavar]

I dont think taking the reader into another place has anything to with prose. I have favorite writers that are great with that but i would never think their prose is great.

Great prose is for example when you can read an author no matter what he is writing about. Few authors i think i can read their writing even if they wrote something much more uninteresting to me than SFF story.