Fantasy Book Club discussion

What are your favorite fantasy novels/series that most people have never heard of?
Mine is Wrath of Ashar by Angus Wells.

"Crispin Magicker" by Mark Lowenthal. I couldn't even find it here & while it is listed on Amazon, I didn't find any copies available. I haven't read it in years - maybe 2 or 3 decades - but I recall that Patricia A. McKillip's writing reminded me of it when I read her books years later.

Thanks for starting this, Chris. I should get that old paperback out & read it again. I haven't even thought of it in too long. Hopefully it won't disappoint after all these years.

Laura Resnick's Sirkara series and Tom Dietz's David Sullivan series.

Only read the first book in this series so far (Tales of Lanen Kaelar) Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner. I really love it and I think it's not well known. I'm on the second book and I'm in love with that one too. :)

Silverlock by John Myers Myers is another oldy, but goody. (No, his name really is John Myers Myers, it's not a mistake.) I see he has other books he's written, but I never knew.

Merlin's Ring was another old favorite by H. Warner Munn. I read several other books & stories by him over the years, but it's been a long time.

Anyone else read either of these?

Jim wrote: "Silverlock by John Myers Myers is another oldy, but goody. (No, his name really is John Myers Myers, it's not a mistake.) I see he has other books he's written, but ..."

Silverlock - good choice! Though, that has not always been an 'unknown' title...sigh. Wonder why it dropped into obscurity now?

I read Silverlock years ago, though the book itself is long gone. I can't run down a copy of Crispin Magicker. I'll have to keep my eyes open for it.

I've read Silverlock too. Am I allowed to put my own mostly unknown books on that list, or this a list of books written by other people? I'm pretty certain most of us unknown authors would list our own books among our favorites.

I like Elizabeth Willey's books which are hard to find now and also Elizabeth Boyer's books that aren't seen that often anymore.

I love Kipling's old stories of English history and mythology. Dan and Una are educated by Hill Spirit in Puck of Pook's Hill and in Rewards and Fairies.Puck of Pook's Hill (Apparently Rewards is out of print?)

Jennifer Roberson's "Chronicles of the Cheysuli" series. Also the "Gandalara Cycle" by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron.

Andre Norton's "Breed to Come". This book was the one that moved me into the realm of fantasy/science fiction (this one is both). Another of hers, even more obscure, is "Yurth Burden".

Kate wrote: "Jennifer Roberson's "Chronicles of the Cheysuli" series. Also the "Gandalara Cycle" by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron."

I concur. This was a really great series, and although it has been a long time since I read them I see the impact in some of my thinking, especially when it comes to accepting differences.

Doris wrote: "Andre Norton's "Breed to Come". This book was the one that moved me into the realm of fantasy/science fiction (this one is both). Another of hers, even more obscure, is "Yurth Burden"."

Andre Norton's " My Dread Companion" was the book that introduced me to the fantasy genre when I was a kid in 1972, a lifelong love of fantasy lit followed. One of the images in this little simple book changed the way I looked at supermarket floors forever.

Dread Companion is one my favorites written by Andre Norton. It's been years since I last read it... I may need to move it up the list.

Myrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh
God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell
A Paler Shade of Blue by Heather N. Hunt

And Scorpian Shards by Neal Shusterman, though this one is more science fiction I think. I've actually heard of a couple of the books on this post so I was proud of myself.

Master of Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy. Great for those that like the details behind the various kinds of magic. At least that is what I remember from a book I read a couple of times in the 80's.

Mike wrote: "Master of Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy. Great for those that like the details behind the various kinds of magic. At least that is what I remember from a book I read a couple of times in the 80's. [..."

Great book, Mike! I approve.

I think my comment would be most appropriate on this thread. For those who enjoy George R.R. Martin's "fire and ice" series the long awaited 5th book of the series has been published. I do plan to read it once I read the three books before it.

Jim wrote: ""Crispin Magicker" by Mark Lowenthal. I couldn't even find it here & while it is listed on Amazon, I didn't find any copies available. I haven't read it in years - maybe 2 or 3 decades - but I re..."

Here's the GR link - Crispan Magicker.

I reread it several years ago and unfortunately it didn't hold up well compared to my fond memories of it :-(

Two mostly fantasy, largely unknown novels that I love are CJ Cherryh's The Paladin and Jessica Amanda Salmonson's The Swordswoman.

Terence wrote: "Two mostly fantasy, largely unknown novels that I love are CJ Cherryh's The Paladin and Jessica Amanda Salmondson's The Swordswoman.
..."

Have you Salmondson's Tomoe Gozen series? They're good, too. And The Paladin is one of those comfort reads for me every now and then. Love it.

Kate wrote: "Terence wrote: "Two mostly fantasy, largely unknown novels that I love are CJ Cherryh's The Paladin and Jessica Amanda Salmondson's The Swordswoman.
..."

Have you Salmondson's Tomoe Gozen series? ..."

Thanks for reminding me about Tomoe. I read those soon after my first reading of The Swordswoman. I was trying to read as much Salmonson as I could at the time. I was always disappointed that she never (to my knowledge) returned to Erin's story in The Swordswoman.

Brian wrote: "I think my comment would be most appropriate on this thread. For those who enjoy George R.R. Martin's "fire and ice" series the long awaited 5th book of the series has been published. I do plan to ..."

Maybe I'm missing something... but are you trying to say GRRM's book 5 (DwD) has been published? Because if that's what you're saying your are mistaken.. Not even close yet. If that's not what you meant, then sorry... Yeah. I'm confused.

I stand corrected Dawn. How disappointing! The women at the bookstore was mistaken when I was talking about his "fire and ice" series. He writes many youth books and by the release date she gave me it is one of those. Release date tentatively set for December 2012.

Shadow Castle: Expanded Edition by Marian Cockrell. It's more at the fairy tale end of fantasy, written for grade schoolers. I loved it as a kid and when I found a reprinted copy years later, I loved it just as much.

Hi all would like to recommend this author and his series of books, they are really great!

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Great thread. Thank you, Gustav, I've checked out your author and managed to find a copy of The Stormcaller online. It looks interesting. :)

I followed Traveller's comments to this forum. This is a good thread.
My favorite lesser known author is Michelle Sagara West. She has 3 series published. The Sunsword comprises 6 books and a duology prequel ( the Sacred Hunt). A current trilogy, House War, follows one of the main characters. What I like about this epic is the strong women characters , even in the harems and on the battlefields. There is so much richness in the detail and the story that I was almost put off at first because there were so many characters to keep track of. The Sacred Hunt is a prequel (Hunter's Oath, Hunter's Death) and gives you some groundwork as to how the magic and gods work into society. You don't have to read it first, but I think it helps.
The Sundered is another series of 4 books. They have more of a romantic twist to them.
Her last series is the Cast in .... books, of which there are currently 6. They are more urban fantasy, but not set in a modern city. Each book tells it's own story, but they are all connected and need to be read in sequence.

..so Elvet, if one wanted to try out M.S. West, which series would you recommend that one should start with?

Traveller wrote: "..so Elvet, if one wanted to try out M.S. West, which series would you recommend that one should start with?"
Starting with Hunter's Oath would give you a good basis for the first Sunsword book, The Broken Crown. However, I do think that the Sunsword series is marginally better than The Sacred Hunt, so if you didn't like Hunter's Oath I would still suggest you try The Broken Crown. Have I confused you?

I agree, her Sun Sword series is great.

Heh, you have confused me slightly, but what I'll do is start with the first Sun sword book... :D


Thanks!

Er.. - or rather, Hunter's Oath - but that is a Sacred Hunt book..
Hmm, I'll start with the one that I manage to find first of those two. :P

No, this whole thread is just wrong! I totally have a pile of books taller than my house to read already! :P

I really enjoyed Joanne Bertin's The Last Dragonlord and its sequal Dragon and Phoenix.

I am not sure why, but it seemed it was meant to be a trilogy but ive never heard of or found a 3rd book. So im disappointed this series stopped.

I also really enjoyed Raymond E Feist's Faerie Tale - it is a lesser known book of his that not many people seem to have read or heard of and is a fave of mine.

It is a strange book and i love all books that have Fae as the mysterious, unnerving and inhuman beings they were meant to be. (On that note if anyone knows of any Fae related fantasy's that feature the Fae close to their real nature I'd love to hear the names)

Cobalt_Cin wrote: "I really enjoyed Joanne Bertin's The Last Dragonlord and its sequal Dragon and Phoenix.

I am not sure why, but it seemed it was meant to be a trilogy but ive never heard of or found a 3rd book..."

Try Anne Bishop's Tir Alainn trilogy, starting with The Pillars of the World. The Fae and their nature don't feature as obviously in the first book, but play a large role in #2Shadows and Light (Tir Alainn, #2) and in #3The House of Gaian.

Hope you enjoy them!

(I) Lindsay - Try Anne Bishop's Tir Alainn trilogy, starting with The Pillars of the World.

I'll try that, I like her Black Jewel series, so I'll give it a go :). Thanks for the suggestion!

Viktoria, yes but how "wide" is it? If you can still fit the volumes inside and have a small amount of room left for you, any other humans and pets...and a small amount of food, your good. If it's only ONE pile, you've still got places to start others!

Joanne Bertin's The Last Dragonlord was a good one. I agree. Can't think of another. Hard to keep up with my reading these days though.

Kevin wrote: "Joanne Bertin's The Last Dragonlord was a good one. I agree."
Cobalt_Cin wrote: "I really enjoyed Joanne Bertin's The Last Dragonlord and its sequal Dragon and Phoenix.

I am not sure why, but it seemed it was meant to be a trilogy but ive never heard of or found a 3rd book..."

So I dug a bit because things like this always interest me. According to her website, there was supposed to be a 3rd book, which she has not turned out in the 10+ years since she signed the contract. So I guess there's still hope that you might get a conclusion to the story, but not much.

To Lindsey -
Thanks for looking that up, every now and again I do a web or library search to see if the 3rd book has appeared. But no luck yet, I still have some hope I'll get an ending. I really get disappointed when series stop dead like this.

To Kevin - good to see someone else enjoyed these books, very few people seem to have discovered them or read them.

Across the Face of the World
Acacia: The War with the Mein

Books that I wish were more popular:

The Shattered World by Michael Reaves
The Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker
The High House by James Stoddard

I'm sure there are others, of course, but those are one that spring to mind, and that I like to lend to people who might enjoy them.

Thank you, Joseph, for reminding me about M.A.R. Barker. I read Man of Gold and Flamesong years ago, when I was playing a lot of role playing games, including Empire of the Petal Throne.

There have actually been three more Tekumel novels in the past ten years or so -- one of Professor Barker's players put together a small/self-publishing outfit to get them in print.

Lords of Tsamra
Prince of Skulls
A Death Of Kings

I don't think they're quite as good as Man of Gold and Flamesong but they're still well worth seeking out.

Not sure how "unknown" these books are but here are a few classics that I like that I don't often see:
1.Three Hearts and Three Lions
2.The Broken Sword
3.The Dark World
And I'd also like to mention Abraham Merritt. Fans of HP Lovecraft especially should check him out.

Ones that I know a few have read but wish more would:

1. Bazil Broketail series by Christopher Rowley (starting with Bazil Broketail )
2. Wizard in Rhyme series by Christopher Stasheff (starting with Her Majesty's Wizard )
3. Book of Swords and the Lost Triads by Fred Saberhagen (starting with The Complete Book of Swords )
4.Jennifer Fallon works.

Great thread!

Here are a few I wish more people knew of and read:

1. The Hearing Trumpet - Leonora Carrington
2. Stone Junction - Jim Dodge
3. Ariadne - June Rachuy Brindel
4. Sharp Teeth - Toby Barlow
5. Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls - Matt Ruff (also: his Fool on the Hill, which was loved by everyone I know but wasn't up my alley subject-wise due to the involvement of tiny fae...I know, I know. I'm a bad fantasy fan.)

...and a few more I haven't read yet, admittedly, but which I own and plan to read and which are considered under-known gems according to several sources and reviewers:

1. Spirit: The Princess of Bois Dormant - Gwyneth Jones
2. two by Larissa Lai: When Fox is a Thousand & Salt Fish Girl
3. The Book of Flying - Keith Miller

As for series, well...I don't read a lot of series. However, the Tomoe Gozen series (already mentioned by Kate Mc. above) is very good.

I agree with Sherri about The Chronicles of Tornor. When the librarian grew weary of me continuously checking out all the Narnia books and the Earthsea trilogy, she recommended Tornor. Loved it then, love it now.

Another fantasy series that I like and have never heard anyone mention is Indigo by Louise Cooper. (Nemesis is the first book in the series.) I would be at the bookstore, waiting, on the day the next book in the series was scheduled to be released.

Wow, too many of these aren't out in ebook yet, sigh... My bookshelves have no. more. space.

Louise Cooper's Time Master trilogy The Initiate, The Outcast and The Master is also excellent -- a very different take on the whole Law vs. Chaos thing. She did two additional trilogies set in the same world; they didn't quite have the unique perspective of the first trilogy, but they were fun reads nonetheless.