Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library discussion

I've alway shad a passion for speculative fiction, but recently I've been working on building up my collection and experiencing everything I can. I've already got several under my belt:
The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
The once and Future King - T.H. White
The Wheel of Time - Jordan
Thomas Covenant Series - Donaldson
A Song of Ice and Fire (unread, but bought) - Martin
The Ender series - Card
Dune - Herbert

What I need are any suggestion for well written literate fantasy (no D&D) that I won't find plastered all over Amazon and the like. I've heard good things about The Saga of Recluce and The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Thanks!

Just fantasy, no sci-fi?

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Prince of Nothing trilogy by R. Scott Bakker
Tigana and The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Iron Dragon's Daughter by by Michael Swanwick
The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Last Call by Tim Powers
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
The Scar by China Miéville
Territory by Emma Bull
The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson
The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories of Fritz Leiber
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Thanks Greyweather, I'll put these on my list. I've heard great things about some of these, especially Tigana, and some are totally new. I'm concentrating on fantasy for now, but I've enjoyed some sci-fi like Orson Scott Card and Heinlein and I'm always up for something good.

Mercedes Lackey has a series called "Elemental Masters". They call it a series because the books share a theme, Elemental magic, but they are all standalone stories. My favorites in the series are The Serpent's Shadow and The Fire Rose. They both have very strong female characters.

Try The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr.. Tremendous work, literate, multilayered and brilliantly written.

Paul wrote: "Try The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr.. Tremendous work, literate, multilayered and brilliantly written."

I second that suggestion!

For the literary end you should try Peakes 'Gormenghast' or for something a little more pulpy (but no less fun)try Joe Abercrombie's 'Best Served Cold'

The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl is an unusual fantasy set in Santa Cruz, with both Wstern and comic books influences.

Two novels that have less standard "fantasy" elements but lots of food for thought are Freedom and Necessity (historical with lots of philosophy) and The Raw Shark Texts (contemporary with lots of linguistics and theory).

Pat Murphy's Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell has interesting quantum physics stuff but I wouldn't call it literary.

The Raw Shark Texts was a very good book.

Freedom and Necessity is written by two authors who are independently excellent and so it doesn't surprise me to hear that their coproduction is great as well.

Gene Wolfe's fantasy is among the most masterful writing of the 20th (and now 21st) century. Check out his Book of the New Sun Tetralogy, or Latro in the Mist/Soldier of Sidon, or Pirate Freedom, or Wizard Knight. Each is narrated from a unique voice, and none are like the other.

Wolfe satisfies those looking for masterful fantasy and those looking for masterful writing and literary depth.

As an AP Literature and Composition teacher, I make it my business to find great writing--this is great writing for any genre.

I hope you'll try my own books:

The Flame in the Bowl Unbinding the Stone
A Warrior Made

Shipwreck1969 wrote: "Gene Wolfe's fantasy is among the most masterful writing of the 20th (and now 21st) century. Check out his Book of the New Sun Tetralogy, or Latro in the Mist/Soldier of Sidon, or Pirate Freedom, ..."

Wolfe is definitely one of the best, and I second the suggestion of his Book of the New Sun.

I recommend Roger Zelazny's Chronicle of Amber series. It has some really interesting concepts/characters. I'm recommending only the first chronicles of amber, though, the second aren't so great.

Hi-
I'm a huge fan of sci-fi, and love to read it. My favorite sci-fi authors so far are: Isaac Asimov (Foundation series) and Frank Herbert(Dune chronicles). Have any of you read them?

I heartily second book of the Dun Cow, any Gene Wolfe (Wizard-Knight duology is the most clearly Fantasy), Mervyn Peak, and Last Unicorn-- I don't think I've read any of the others recommended.

Others I love:
Til We Have Faces, CS Lewis
Wizard of Earth Sea, Ursula LeGuin (young adult fiction, but one of my faves)
Stone and Flute, by Hans Bemman (really really long, but I loved it)
Taliesin, Merlin and Arthur (Pendragon Cycle, first three books ONLY) by Stephen Lawhead-- I may have over-fond memories of these books, which I read in Jr Hi and Hi School, but they stood up to several rereadings through college for me.
Anvil of Ice (and the rest of the Winter of the World trilogy) by Michael Scott Rohan-- another Childhood fave, but I just got a student hooked on them, and still consider these my all time faves, under Tolkien.
Orson Scott Card's alternate history set in America (Seventh Son, Red Prophet, etc) would probably fit, but I never get around to finishing the series, and it was so long ago I don't know how much to vouch for it.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

For an interesting change of pace, I recommend the Stephen R. Donaldson "Covenant" books. They can be dark and sometimes Donaldson uses five dollar words when he should stick with words that are more easily understood, but I love this series. After checking your original post, I see that you do to.:) One I've read recently is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. The first in a trilogy, I believe, but very good.

Other than that, I have many great books that have been suggested to me and that I have on my list. Though my list is still a work in progress, and I need to go back through and categorize many of them, I have a lot of highly recommended fantasy books on it. Check it out.

Give Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series a try. Everybody has heard of "Mists of Avalon", but there is a number of books that were written after its publication, as prequels to Mists. The later ones were co - authored by Diana L Paxson and she has now taken over the complete series.

And then there is Darkover - 1970s style scifi and as I just found out highly readable and addictive.

I liked The Darkover much more than the Avalon ones.

Second the Bujold! (There are two other books in that series as well: Paladin of Souls and The Hallowed Hunt. Both are excellent.)

Second LeGuin's Earthsea series!

Some classic fantasy that hasn't been mentioned yet:
The King of Elfland's Daughter, by Lord Dunsany
Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees (if you can find it)

Some newer writers (as in still living) that I think are excellent:
Little, Big, by John Crowley (superb prose)
Anything by Patricia McKillip, but especially Alphabet of Thorn, Ombria in Shadow, the Cygnet duology, or The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. (superb prose and she really captures the feel of fairy tales without actually retelling them)
Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series (if you like well-written, complex epics and won't immediately shut the book because it portrays sado-masochistic sex, homosexuality or prostitution as sacred)
Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton (essentially a Jane Austen novel where all the characters are dragons and all the Victorian mores are dictated by dragon biology -- it's brilliant)
A Companion to Wolves, by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette (adult companion animal fantasy)
The Ladies of Mandrigyn (and sequels), by Barbara Hambly (excellent sword-and-sorcery with shockingly 3-D characters)
The Anvil of the World and The House of the Stag, by Kage Baker (wonderful subversions of traditional high/epic fantasy -- though she actually just died, lessening the SF/Fantasy field immeasurably)
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman (prose is only serviceable, but the world is fantastic)
Nobody's Son, by Sean Stewart (a fantasy coming-of-age story with a fantastic sense of personal history)

And you will see this posted all over Amazon, but Stephen King's Dark Tower series is pretty darn good. The Gunslinger is especially good, and not at all King's normal style -- it's very spare, almost elegant.

I most definitely agree on Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind and Steven Erikson's Malzan books.

Tad Williams - Dragonbone series ( I think this is the best of all of his series)
Misty Massey- Mad Kestrel (pirate flair)
Sherwood Smith -Inda Series (also some pirate influence)
Gail Z Martin -Necromancer Series (not your usual necromancy and will hook you quickly)
Naomi Novik- Temeraire series (historical fiction of the Napoleonic wars with dragons added)

I have so many more series in my "library" that I haven't even gotten around to adding to my Goodreads library....

I totally recommend the Recluse Saga. It is one of my all time favorites. One of the things I like most about the series is that each book is a complete story for the characters involved, but every books tells a little bit more about the story of the Recluse world with some surprising details revealed in later books.

I highly recommend Fallen by Tim Lebbon

I second the Tigana recommendation as well as American Gods. I'd add, also, Jacqueline Carey's Books of the Sundering (two-part series) Banewreaker and Godslayer. She inverts the epic fantasy blueprint and makes the antagonists the protagonists. It's been described as Lord of the Rings in reverse, but I thought it had some really great tragic elements as well (almost a fantasy Shakespearean tragedy).

Hi Everyone,

My name is John Cicero and I am a fantasy / adventure author. My passion for writing is driven from the joy I receive from reading my stories to my children.

Watching the expressions on their face as I take them on a journey through the magical pages of my imagination is what drives me to find the time to write.

My recently released novels are in the Rainbow's Shadow Trilogy. They are Rainbow’s Shadow and the Tablets of Fate and Rainbow’s Shadow and the Covenant of Wisdom.

As a passionate writer in Northeast, Ohio I have been fortunate to hit the Best Sellers list with 'Tablets of Fate' and am on track currently with the 'Covenant of Wisdom'.

The final novel in my trilogy is Rainbow’s Shadow and the Other Side of Paradise which is currently in development.

If you have a moment check out my website and my Rainbow's Shadow Trilogy today at... www.RainbowsShadow.com

Take care, John

Here are a few sci-fi/fantasy books and authors that have been outsahadowed by books like Harry Potter and Twilight but are eqaully good or better!
Horns and Wrinkles- Joseph Helgerson
Lloyd Alexander
Dinosaur Planet and its sequel- Anne McCaffery
T.A. Barron
Dr. Franklin's Island- Ann Halem
Atherton trilogy- Patrick Carmen
The Valley of Secrets- Charmian Hussey
The House With a Clock in Its Walls- John Bellair
Janet Taylor Lisle
The Stravaganza series- Mary Hoffman
Redwork- Michael Bedard
Jonathon Stroud

Malazan book of the Fallen.
Dragonriders of Pern.
Memorry, Sorrow and Thorn. THis series often slips under the radar but is incredibly good.
The Hunger Games. This book is YA but I think it is still one of the best out there.
2001: A Space Oddyssy.
Foundation.
Name of the Wind.
The Farseer trilogy.
Sabriel. Same thing as Hunger Games, YA but very good.