# Are there any good fantasy novels set in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923 "2009-05-01T02:24:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/41 "2009-05-01T19:52:20Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Madeline L’Engle, while bringing a global approach to her fiction, is classic American YA lit. Yes, the first thing that popped into my mind was _A Wrinkle in Time_ and its sequels. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/42 "2009-05-01T20:06:48Z")
I can’t believe no one’s mentioned Piers Anthony’s _Xanth_ series, which takes place in a magical, alternate-reality Florida. (Well, I guess the OP did say _good_ fantasy novels. But they weren’t bad books for the adolescent set.) Also, Terry Brooks’ _Magic Kingdom For Sale—SOLD!_ It’s another pocket-universe type setup (like Xanth), whose entry point is in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/43 "2009-05-01T20:07:35Z")
I saw mention of Stephen King’s The Stand and the Dark Tower books, but I think **The Talisman** , written with Peter Straub, is easily classified as fantasy, and is much more bound to the U.S. than the Dark Tower is. (All right, technically, it was drawn in to the Dark Tower universe, but you know what I mean.) Perhaps it’s just because Lenny Henry read the audio book, but I was sure that **Anansi Boys** was set primarily in Britain, with the final action in the Caribbean. It might be more horror (though I think Clive deserves his own category of “fucked up fantasy”) but Barker’s **Coldheart Canyon: A Hollywood Ghost Story** and **The Great and Secret Show** are set unequivocally in America. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/44 "2009-05-01T20:57:40Z")
As noted above, most of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror-fantasy is set in America, specifically in [Lovecraft Country.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LovecraftCountry) The British-or-otherwise-non-American equivalent is [Campbell Country.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CampbellCountry) The distinction between them illustrates the difference between the Old and New Worlds as fantasy settings. From the latter link: > [@](#): > > Lovecraft Country is typically set in New England, home of horror writers Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Stephen King, and their respective followers/imitators. This makes it a difficult place for writers of Lovecraftian Fiction who do not have a Yankee background to write about. > > The solution was suggested to British writer Ramsey Campbell by Lovecraft follower August Derleth: Create your own equivalent in a place you know, either your home country or a place you have visited. This has led to the creation of variant Lovecraftian settings appropriate to other locales. > > Shifting the setting of a Cosmic Horror Story to, for instance, England presents problems. As the old saying goes, “An Englishman thinks a hundred miles is a long way while an American thinks a hundred years is a long time.” In other words, England is a much smaller country with a much longer history. It’s much easier to believe that an English village was the site of some dreadful secret dating back to medieval, Roman or Pagan times. (No matter how “ancient” and “witch-haunted” HPL thought Arkham was, no US town is much more than 400 years old. This problem is sometimes avoided by stating that the natives were doing unspeakable things before colonisation - however, this merely carries the increased risk of Unfortunate Implications.) However, it’s much harder to believe that cosmic events could happen in little ol’ England and nobody would notice — whereas in a big place like the United States (even in a single region like New England), isolation comes relatively cheap. (Essentially, in Lovecraft Country, the old secrets are _very secret,_ whereas in Campbell Country the old secrets are _very old.)_ > > By contrast, small European and British settings are far better for simpler horror stories, such as haunted house tales, as there are so many old houses, castles and abbeys around the place. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/45 "2009-05-01T21:05:18Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Apologies beforehand: I can’t cite the title or author but maybe someone else has heard of it? Also, not fantasy as such but an alternate-history America with feudalism and nobility. > > “Somewhere” I read an alternate-history story where Europeans first started settling North America during the middle ages. Because firearms hadn’t been invented yet, the Europeans were under much greater threat from native counterattack, and so maintained a feudal society with castles and fortified settlements. Might or might not be the one you’re thinking of: [_King of the Wood,_](http://www.amazon.com/King-Wood-John-Maddox-Roberts/dp/0812552067) by John Maddox Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/46 "2009-05-01T21:11:44Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It’s worth repeating. What a great series. And there’s a [new one out!](http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Coat-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/0451462564) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/47 "2009-05-01T21:21:41Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > Doesn’t the _Shannara_ series by **Terry Brooks** have it’s genesis in near-future America? Yup. And the **The Word and The Void** trilogy that preceeds it is set now. ---
**Author:** ![Alastair\_Moonsong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@Alastair\_Moonsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alastair_Moonsong)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/48 "2009-05-01T21:26:09Z")
This far in and nobody’s mentioned Stephenie Meyer’s excellent _Twilight_ books? Shame on you all! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/49 "2009-05-01T21:34:33Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > . . . > Perhaps it’s just because Lenny Henry read the audio book, but I was sure that **Anansi Boys** was set primarily in Britain, with the final action in the Caribbean. > . . . Florida was in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/50 "2009-05-01T21:35:28Z")
Most Urban Fantasy is set in the States. But I had the impression that the OP was looking for more traditional fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/51 "2009-05-01T21:35:54Z")
> [@Alastair\_Moonsong](#): > > This far in and nobody’s mentioned Stephenie Meyer’s excellent _Twilight_ books? Shame on you all! The OP asked for novels; not kindling. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/52 "2009-05-01T21:37:28Z")
> [@Alastair\_Moonsong](#): > > This far in and nobody’s mentioned Stephenie Meyer’s excellent _Twilight_ books? Shame on you all! Mentioned in post 12, and please, God, tell me you were being ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Anaptyxis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anaptyxis/32/3171_2.png) [@Anaptyxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaptyxis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/53 "2009-05-01T21:39:13Z")
I recently read the Pelbar Cycle by [Paul O. Williams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_O._Williams) and I thought they were excellent. All of them are sent in North America and are well worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/54 "2009-05-01T21:40:13Z")
> [@Alastair\_Moonsong](#): > > This far in and nobody’s mentioned Stephenie Meyer’s excellent _Twilight_ books? Shame on you all! From [THE BEAST 50 MOST LOATHSOME PEOPLE IN AMERICA, 2008:](http://buffalobeast.com/134/50mostloathsome2008-full.html) > [@](#): > > **31. Stephenie Meyer** > > Charges: She’s the unforgivably perky Mormon mom who wrote the Twilight Series of books, currently draining IQ points from Western Civilization. This silly wank-off vampire fantasy for teenage girls has been embraced by legions of sad, middle-aged women who fight for access to their daughters’ sticky copies of the books. It’s an embarrassing spectacle for all Americans who aren’t actively participating in it. Meyer admits she can’t handle the better class of vampires and has never watched a whole vampire movie, even the more anemic kind: “I’ve seen little pieces of Interview with a Vampire when it was on TV, but I kind of always go YUCK! I don’t watch R-rated movies, so that really cuts down on a lot of the horror. And I think I’ve seen a couple of pieces of The Lost Boys, which my husband liked, and he wanted me to watch it once, but I was like, ‘It’s creepy!’” > > Exhibit A: The hit movie version of Twilight, featuring Meyer’s dreary characters, a tiresome teenage girl and the pathetic “vegetarian” vampire who loves her, mooning around on first base for two hours and giving vampires everywhere a bad name. > > Sentence: Meyer encounters a non-vegetarian vampire, who kills her immediately and gruesomely in front of an appreciative audience of horror film fans. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/55 "2009-05-01T21:41:17Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It’s worth repeating. What a great series. Agreed. I’m ashamed to admit that I only recently discovered the Dresden Files, but Amazon is very happy that I have! And I’ll throw in my kudos for Garret, P.I. as well! ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/56 "2009-05-01T21:54:07Z")
Definitely Oz, and by extension, _Wicked_, etc. L’Engle’s Time Quintet… or Quartet… or whatever. _Eragon_, etc. was influenced by American geography, but it is crap and not recommended. Parts of the _The Prestige_ are in America. Simak’s _City_–more sci fi than fantasy, but straddles the line. Talking dogs and robots. _Charlotte’s Web._ \* Time Traveler’s Wife\* (not everyone’s cup of tea). _Tuck Everlasting._ ---
**Author:** ![Alastair\_Moonsong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@Alastair\_Moonsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alastair_Moonsong)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/57 "2009-05-01T23:18:51Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Mentioned in post 12, and please, God, tell me you were being ironic. Awww, someone else posted it? I read the whole thread, too! I thought I’d be first. And yes, I was being ironic. My mom read me Tolkein as bedtime stories when I was 5 or 6, and I’ve been reading good high-fantasy ever since. Meyers’ tripe is remarkable only in the attention it has garnered from raving-mad fangirls, nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923/58 "2009-05-02T01:40:09Z")
Here are a few more (I haven’t read the thread thoroughly, so there are probably some repeats). James P. Blaylock - several books Philip Wylie - _Gladiator_ L. Ron Hubbard - _Slaves of Sleep_, _Typewriter in the Sky_ James Branch Cabell - I think a couple books are set in America, but I haven’t read the whole _Biography_ Francis Stevens - several books/stories Charles G. Finney - _The Circus of Dr, Lao_ Fritz Leiber - several books/stories Robert W. Chambers - _The Maker of Moons_ A. Merritt - _Dwellers in the Mirage_, _Seven Footprints to Satan_ Sanders Laubenthal - _Excalibur_ Peter S. Beagle - _A Fine and Private Place_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-fantasy-novels-set-in-the-usa/494923.md?page=2)