Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library discussion

Greetings, thanks for stopping in.

Here's what I have in mind; I tell you what I have read, you tell me what fits my tastes. Juv.Fic. and Young Adult is fair game as well as more mature works, as they might be useful to me in teaching.

1) Harry Potter Series - loved the Characters more than the plots.

2) The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings - Loved the level of magic in the setting, plot had pace issues, characters where hit and miss, but more vibrant than the characters his son penned for him posthumously.

3) Working through Narnia right as we speak. Characters are getting better as they go, but not good, and the Christian Parallelism isn't interesting to a Taoist. It has its charms though.

4) His Dark Materials - Normally don't like modernish settings, but the characters were so good that I didn't mind it, and it was a bit of fun to reason out what they named things in our universe by the description of similar objects in the alternate realities.

5) Salvatore's Crimson Shadow series. The setting and plots were Meh, but Oliver de Burroughs may be my favorite character anywhere. So funny.

6) Salvatore's Forgotten Realms Drizzit or Artemis novels. I get some D&D going around here sometimes. I like how he writes hand-to-hand scenes. I don't like that he back references events so often. I like that the characters have internal conflicts. I don't like that some of these conflicts can be trite or cliched.

7) George RR Martin - Some characters I love, some I want to choke with my own hands, and over all the last book forgot everyone I like to read about except for Arya. If anyone is nearby, kick George in the fanny and get him to finish drafting.

Also, I should warn that I'm not going to tackle Robert Jordan. Friends of mine have spoiled all the books to date, and shared their copious disappointments in their assessment of the series' progressive decline.

I also mean to tackle some Arthurian Legends and Knights of the Round Table tales in the coming months. It was enriching to read Ivanhoe lately, but with the old courtly mode of speach, I wasn't enjoying it a whole lot along the way.

So, I like Knights, swords, and horses, and enough magic that the world shouldn't be in much danger from one person alone, no matter how much of it they command. If magic is absent, that's not the worst thing.

What should I be looking for in fantasy?

First of all, there's plenty of good advice here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show_g...

I will recommend Covenants again. ^_^ For sprawling epic fantasy my favorites are Eddings' Belgariad and Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, with Rawn's Dragon Prince (warning: series goes downhill after the first--massive--book) and Elliot's Crown of Stars being good 'dynastic' fantasy--more politically motivated, like Song of Fire and Ice.

If you want to see some more Forgotten Realms, I recommend Azure Bonds and Spellfire (the latter by the setting's creator, Ed Greenwood).

There's also a lot of good Andre Norton out there, I recommend starting with The Crystal Gryphon.

Check out a new book series called "Strange Town Volume One; The Woods Behind Trevor Malone's House", I think you might like it.

I second the Belgariad (but not the followup series the Mallorean, and just totally avoid the Belgarath and Polgara biographies), and Melanie Rawn--although unlike Rindis I liked all the series, not just the first book.

I wish you much luck with your book, Joseph, but you'll forgive me if I'm not seeking a UFO-ish story.

I demand swords in my fantasy reading, at the very least.

Cloak of Magic has good characters, swords and magic. And dragons.

Yes, to Tad Williams trilogy of Memory Sorrow and Thorn. If you don't mind YA I would tackle the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (The Book of Three, Taran Wanderer, etc) as well as Susan Cooper's series that starts with The Dark is Rising (she always gets classed as YA but I just reread the series recently at the ripe old age of 42 and can vouch for it still being fabulous). Also, not Arthurian but definitely excellent fantasy is Garth Nix's Lirael,Sabriel, and Abhorsen.

And of course for swords and magic and Arthuriana I firmly believe nothing beats Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar trilogy (starts with The Summer Tree. Kay worked with Tolkien's son on The Silmarillion; the Fionavar books are as grounded in "real" mythology but far more lively and contemporary than LOTR.

(Jeez, I hope I got all these links to books and authors correct!)

Michele

Much obliged, folks. If you think of more, it helps.

And double thanks to Michele for the effort of Linking everything. Good formatting helps this fella sort your ideas!

I would check a library or book store for the following:
The below books are some of my favorites, and I think would appeal to you:


Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff
The Dragon and the George by Gordon Dickson Azure Bonds
In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck
Magic Kingdom Sold by Terry Brooks
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony
The Source of Magic by Piers Anthony (this is not a plug for the other books but the first two are very inventive fantasy

If you want to go a little dark you can try

Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman

If you hunt old book stores you can locate three books by Brian Daley called A Tapestry of Magics
, The Starfollowers of Coramonde and the Doomfarers of Coramonde. All three are epic sword and sorcery novels

As far as Arthurian, one of my favorites for 15 years or so has been Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, Taliesin, Merlin, and Arthur-- though just the first three books (after that it feels like he's just milking the characters for more money). He is also a "Christian author", so if the Christian parallelism in Lewis bugs you this might too, but these are written as historical/fantasy fiction, so the effect would be different. Been a while since I read them. I also like his other work later than the Pendragon cycle, though I haven't read it all.

With Lewis I enjoyed his Till We Have Faces. You won't escape the "Christian" element, of course, but as long as you are willing to take it as an interesting part of the author's perspective, I say go for it. I had the impression reading this that he had gotten less belligerent about his faith in his old age (I think it was written after the Narnia books?), but it is still very much a Christian book. Just a more adult one.

I didn't get into George RR Martin when I first tried him, but everyone tells me to try again. I am working through (slowly because also working on my dissertation) Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, the first in another series of the dynastic/political sort that I understand Jordan and Martin as being a part of. It seems really interesting, and I would think those people who like this sort of thing would really get into it-- I'm not as huge a fan of this sort, but I would like to eventually finish the series.

Though not entirely Tolkienian, my second favorite after Tolkien for the last 20 years has been Michael Scott Rohan's Winter of the World Trilogy, starting with the Anvil of Ice. Tons of references to Norse and Finnish myth/folklore, and probably to lots of other cultures that I'm not familiar with, and a very interesting take on magic and smithcraft, plus a fantastically built setting during one of the Ice Ages.

I want to recommend Hans Bemman's Stone and Flute to you, an 800 page monster translated from the German, but I'm not sure it really fits the ideas you put above. I second the recommendation of David Eddings' Belgariad, though I would suggest you take it as written for a young adult audience.

Sorry I haven't posted links to the books-- I don't really know how, and am supposed to be writing a conference paper right now in any case, so I'd better say good bye. Hope some of these rec's help!

Carl, I'm one of the few who complains about Martin. For me, he's a wonderful author who's bitten off more than I can chew.

I think his characters, politics and plots are well done, I can ignore certain problems with the setting for the sake of the story. But I find his sprawling epic too sprawling for me to enjoy. I'd rather have the three main areas of his story be in separate books, so that I'm not switching major plotlines every time I get myself hooked on the current one.

On Martin, I can see why he moves you from perspective to perspective, but it can be jarring. Just when you get used to a POV, the chapter ends and you're readjusting. I can imagine it turns some people off.

I think I would be a lot more forgiving of the current delay between novels with him if he didn't announce that the last one was basically half of a whole novel that he wrote, and there's been nothing moving since. Frustrating.

Anyways, thanks for the suggestions folks, I'll get cracking on these. If you think of others, well, i doubt I could stop you from adding them, so you might just as well ;-)

Sorry for coming late to the table Redbeard, but I just joined the group. Have you tried Lloyd Alexander's series that begins with The Book of Three? Lots of swords with a heavy dose of Celtic myth. It's already got one thumbs up here so I thought I'd add another.

You might also like the first trilogy of Dragonlance. I've never read the others in that series/franchise, but the authors certainly deliver in the first three. Truly epic.

The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks also are great adventure. And if you want something challenging, go for the first Thomas Covenant trilogy that begins with Lord Foul's Bane.

A recently published fantasy that's really great: The Lies of Loch Lamora by Scott Lynch.

And I can't leave without a plug for T.H. White's The Once and Future King. I have much love for that one.

Happy reading!

Late, early, now, then, it still works.

I'm still trying to find time to track down books suggested in this thread. You can imagine I got a bit overwhelmed. I'm working through Doug Adams at the minute just to do something different.

I haven't gotten to anything suggested yet, so what you see of my bookshelves or the list above is what I've gotten my hands on.

I'm only 31, so I hope I have some years ahead of me to tackle most or all of these prospects.

Thanks for throwing your ideas in.

Though mentioned earlier, I would like to throw my support behind The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson, which starts with Gardens of the Moon. It's epic fantasy largely centered--at least at first--around soldiers in the army of the Malazan Empire. Great characters, well-written stories, and all in all pretty substantive intellectually--which is to say, Erikson deals with important human concerns in his novels. The novels in the series do get progressively longer and the series isn't finished yet, though Erikson seems to be moving along at a reasonable pace.

Sean Russell's Swan's War trilogy, which starts with The One Kingdom was good. It's got your political and personal intrigue, rather like Martin, but I read this a few years before I read Martin and can't make a good comparison.

Robin Hobb has done some excellent stuff. I'd start with her Farseer Trilogy, which begins with Assassin's Apprentice.

On the massively epic side of things, you might also check out R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series, which begins with The Darkness That Comes Before. It was a little hard to get into at first, and it shows that he was working on a PhD in Philosophy, but it's an incredibly rich world and well worth reading. Three massive tomes comprise the entire series... but there's a follow-up series on its way (though it's been "on its way" for a few years now). I should mention that it's a fairly dark, brutal world (though, for that matter, so is George R.R. Martin's).

Thanks, John! I appreciate your efforts for my benefit.

I never imagined I would have so many books to dig through. I'm excited, but I never thought I'd be researching so many authors. I have a bookmarks folder bursting with stuff to look over. Nice problem to have, I think.

Redbeard

Coming back here after massive distractions...

Inky, I recommend you pick up the second Dragonlance trilogy. You can skip anything after that if you want, but if you enjoyed Chronicles, Legends is better, and does a nice job giving a sense of closure to a few things.

Arthurian: My dad recommends Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff, but I've never gotten around to it. I can recommend Paxson's Hawk of May. Also, you may be interested in Isle of Ghosts, one of my favorite historical novels, set in 3rd-century Roman Briton.

Are you looking for the 4th book named 'The Way Between the Worlds', or are you looking for other series by the same author; The Song of Tears series or The Well of Echoes series?
Anyway, I found a lot of his books on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Definitely try C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy - the first book, Black Sun Rising, I saw recommended in another GoodReads thread somewhere, for people who liked George R. R. Martin. I'm devouring it at the moment, even more quickly and intensely than I did the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Highly recommended. It has swords, horses, xandu (like horses only BETTER!), magic, oh god, it's awesome.

If you like grittier epic fantasy, a little less unicorns and a little more of the everyman battling for his homeland/comrades, may I humbly suggest the following:

- Go with Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry - the best I've ever read
- Lies of Locke Lamore by Scott Lynch - can't put it down!
- Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - one of the best I've read in a long while
- Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie - you're going to love the characters, especially Glotka
- Winterbirth and Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley - vivid battle sequences
- Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert Redick - fantasy with a little swashbuckling piracy

Hope you enjoy!

Someone you definitely need to check out if you want a little magic, alot of battles, and great characters is David Gemmel. Start with Legend. I promise you won't be dissapointed.

I have heard amazing things about the Red Wolf Conspiracy, though it is only out in the UK right now. Coming to he states next summer according to my sources, they are planning a BIG launch. I am looking forward to it!

It's not fantasy, exactly, but i enjoyed Bullfinch's Mythology. Apart from all the classic Greek and Roman myths, it also includes some Arthurian legends and tales of Charlemagne's paladins, as well as a few odds and ends of other tales.

Only thing I can add that others haven't noted (although I definitely concur with Coldfire Trilogy & MBotF suggestions).

The Cleric Quintet. You're a Salvatore fan, so this should be a no brainer.

Magician Apprentice By Raymond Feist is good. The plot is intricate (not like Jordan who I suggest you read despite your friends, but still intricate), the world is detailed and there's the right mix of character v/s magic in the story at least in the first four books.

I haven't been all that enamored with Feist. He can write, but the middle part of his main series really annoyed me. I definitely recommend Daughter of the Empire by him and Janny Wurtz, which is in part the 'other side' of his main series, I really enjoyed it.

Bullfinch is decidedly worthwhile reading.

RE Arthurian sagas,

IMO, there are 2 great series of books re-telling the Arthurian myth or legend in modern fiction.

1. Mary Stewart's Autherian Saga starting with The Crystal Cave and 4 more books

2. Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle starting with Taliesin and 4 more books.

There are many many more and I have read most. These are the best, IMO.

Bill

@Rindis

I agree that Daughter of the Empire was brilliant. It reminded me of a Cherryh world. But I did like the original trilogy and some of the later stand-alone novels. Feist is OK.

Hesiod is decidedly worthwhile reading

There is my book of course. =)

Dreamsbane of Tamalor

Since you like Martin, I'd like to suggest Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" trilogy, if it hasn't already been mentioned. It's a fairly new series, but the characters remind me a little of the ones from "A Song of Ice and Fire". The action is also very intense.

Carmen wrote: "A good read without a lot of commitment is Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. If you like that you can go on to his Mistborn trilogy. Good writing, clever plotting and his insights into character are ..."

Yes, Brandon Sanderson is awesome! I can't wait to see how he handles the 12th of Jordan's WOT.

For Arthurian re-tellings, my favorites are:
MZB's The Mists of Avalon - if you love it, there are more to read in the 'series', but it was originally published as a stand-alone and does quite well at it.
Gillian Bradshaw's trilogy Down the Long Wind "Hawk of May", "Kingdom of Summer" and "In Winter's Shadow"
T.H. White's The Once and Future King
Mary Stewart's classic series beginning with Crystal Cave the Legend of Merlyn

Redbeard, after a careful review of your list, seriously, check out David Gemmell. His series books sometimes stand alone, aren't massively deep, read well, and he has a good sense of the heroic.

For the most bent look at an Arthurian, ever, tryDragon Lord by David Drake.

Robin Hobb is always good. Check out her Farseer trilogy. There's plenty of action, internal struggle, and an interesting magical system.

Seriously...after reading your post, if I were you, I'd give up on fantasy altogether and go for sci-fi. I think you'd be happier :-T

That aside...Jack Whyte's Arthurian retelling "The Camelud Chronicles" as it is called in the US: The Skystone, Singing Sword, Eagle's Brood, The Saxon Shore, The Fort at River's Bend, The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis, Uther, Lance Thrower and The Eagle was for me a delight. Low magic and plausible interpretation. Reminded me of Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Sword at Sunset"--another good retelling.

Check out Jack Whytes site at http://www.camulod.com

Cheers,
Andre'

I forgot about Jack Whyte's Camelod Chronicles. The 7 books is a wonderful historical fantasy released between 1996 and 2005. I gave them all 4-stars (I rarely give 5). I must re-read these! They go along well with Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon series and Mary Stewart's Merlin series.The Brits do it best. Thanks for the reminder.

Opps, just amazoned hom and there are 9 books now!

For Arthurian stories, the best I've ever read were by Richard Monaco. The first book was called 'Parsival,' and there were at least 3 more. Mary Stewart's Merlin series was good also.
For Fantasy, I'd go with Poul Anderson, Ursula Le Guin, and Michael Moorcook (the Corum and Elric books). I'm sure there are several more I'd love to mention, but my wife is waiting for me to do chores.

Thanks for the recent activity, folks.

Updating,

Tackled Beowulf. Made me feel almost academic minded for the exercise.

Currently working my way through the Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind. More than halfway. I'll stick with it, but I've been through better.

Greg Keyes' Kingdom of Thorn and Bone series also missed a lot of good opportunities, but there are some good characters. 70% skip it.

I was floored by Patrick Rothfuss's first book "The Name of the Wind", like many were. Can't wait for more.

Enjoyed Paolini's Inheritance cycle so far. It can be a little cliche, but I like it. Spent a lot of time Wishing the pace would increase, but things are reasonably close to where I had expected things to reach.

So that's where I am lately. Waiting for Martin, Pullman, Paolini, Salvatore, and Rothfuss to drop more works in their respective series. Untill then, plugging through Goodkind.

Thanks for keeping up with the suggestions after I long forgot about this thread.

Redbeard in 84

I hope you'll give some unknowns a go and try mine, The Flame in the Bowl Unbinding the Stone, followed by A Warrior Made.

I third Brandon Sanderson.

Also, Belgariad, Mallorean, Belgarath the Sorcerer. These are what got me started reading.

@Ryan Don't forget Polgara one of the memorable characters of all time, IMO.

Kernos wrote: "@Ryan Don't forget Polgara one of the memorable characters of all time, IMO."

@Kernos

of course, I do love her too!

how bout eric flint's ring of fire series it is very good and terry pratchett's discworld both series are very easy to read. Robert asprian's myth and phule series are also nice

There are some terrific fantasy books that are going completely under the radar and unless you're the kind of reader who like me reads everything you might miss out on some wonderful books. Here's a few that I highly recommend:

Max and the Gatekeeper

The Wayfarer Redemption

Legends in Time The Contrived Senator

The Book of Nonsense

Elfhunter A Tale Of Alterra, The World That Is

I recently read the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb (Assassin's Apprentice is the first book) and enjoyed them very much.
Personally, I didn't care for the Fionvar Tapestry books by Kay -- I actually set the third book down and didn't finish it. However, I did enjoy Kay's Sarantine Mosaic books, starting with Sailing to Sarantium. It doesn't have a typical fantasy-type setting; instead it is more like "I, Claudius" in the Ottoman Empire.

Ok so no swords in it but Diane Daune's your wizard novels are rather entertaining.

A really good series, which mixes modern times with medieval magic, is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Its fast paced, action packed, full of surprising twists and turns, and all of that is tempered with some lol funny moments.

Dresden, the main character, is compellingly real. He is the only known wizard practicing in Chicago. He's a black sheep, frowned upon by the general magical community because of his unwillingness to hide what he is from the non-magical world. In fact, he advertises it, right in the yellow book!

Surrounding him is a cast of unique and unforgettable characters, the knigth of God Michael, his half-vampire exgirlfriend Susan, Murphy the policewoman in charge of 'Unusual cases' that crop up from time to time, the Faerie Queens of Summer and Winter, Trolls, Mob bosses...the list goes on and on.

The books are easy, quick reads, that pull you along...every page a reminder that though Dresden is a wizard, he is also a fragile human that can die at any moment. Amazingly, he manages to survive from book to book. I can't wait to read more!

I think the Codex Alera series is better work, if a bit predictable in some spots.

You know, I haven't read the Codex Alera yet...I keep looking at it, wondering if I should buy it...should I? Are they books a person would re-read?

I got them out of the library, but while I had them I would often re-read the sections I liked. The focus is more on the character development here than in the Dresden books, which helps.