# Best Stand Alone Fantasy Novel? (no spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494 "2013-11-22T03:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/1 "2013-11-22T03:25:48Z")
I do not see a thread like this in our book recommendation threads and searching did not bring it up. I’m looking for what everyone thinks are the best stand alone fantasy books. Books that begin and end between two covers. I would guess that **Lord of the Rings** is an automatic since I consider it one book and read it as one book when I was younger. I request no spoilers since this will probably be used as a recommendation thread for many. I will leave it to us to decide what constitutes a spoiler. I don’t think explaining the basic setup of a book is usually a spoiler, but yelling out key events is. Anyway, I am not the massive reader that many of our fellow Dopers, but I will put my two cents in. **[Bones of the Moon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bones_of_the_moon)** by Jonathan Carroll - an amazing book about a lady who dreams of another world, is sent on quest to help a mystery child there collect the mystical “bones of the moon”. I’m aware there are some other Carroll books that reuse one or two characters, but there is no series and this is definitely a stand alone. I’m reading a book called **Tigana** by Guy Gavriel Kay right now and I’ve heard rave reviews about it, but I will hold my final review of it later. It is really good, but I don’t know where it ranks yet. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/2 "2013-11-22T03:31:37Z")
For the best _single_ book, I would go with _Black Sun Rising_ by CS Friedman. I know it’s part of a trilogy and the final book was kinda meh, but, it, by itself was great. The fae, Erna, the characters, all of it, a terrific book. ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/3 "2013-11-22T04:16:19Z")
Never read it but I’ve heard that Little, Big by John Crowley is the greatest fantasy novel of the 20th century ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/4 "2013-11-22T04:26:29Z")
The very first Tad Williams novel I ever read, and the one that hooked me on the author, was the standalone, “[The War of the Flowers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Flowers)”. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/5 "2013-11-22T04:31:00Z")
I submit _Bridge of Birds_, by Barry Hughart. It has a wonderful story set in a fantastical ancient China, and it is hysterically funny, with a sprinkling of extremely poignant moments. There are two other books about the same characters, but each is an independent story, and _Bridge_ is the first and best of them. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/6 "2013-11-22T04:36:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m reading a book called **Tigana** by Guy Gavriel Kay right now and I’ve heard rave reviews about it, but I will hold my final review of it later. It is really good, but I don’t know where it ranks yet. That was my pick, as soon as I saw the thread title. Didn’t even have to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/7 "2013-11-22T04:52:20Z")
The Kalevala, so good Tolkien ripped it off…(Silmarillion) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/8 "2013-11-22T06:15:56Z")
Jack Vance’s “The Dying Earth” is a collection of stories, not a novel… But it is remarkably good… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/9 "2013-11-22T07:28:23Z")
> [@GovernmentMan](#): > > Never read it but I’ve heard that Little, Big by John Crowley is the greatest fantasy novel of the 20th century I have read it, and it is great, but not _the_ best, IMO. > [@Balance](#): > > I submit _Bridge of Birds_, by Barry Hughart. I _love_ that book. But personally, I’d be torn between _Perdido Street Station_ and _Stardust_. I think I’ll go with the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/10 "2013-11-22T09:04:04Z")
I have read “Little, Big,” and it was the first thing I thought of when I read the thread title. It is DEFINITELY the best stand alone fantasy novel, and also, the best fantasy novel ever written, period. However, if “Little, Big” were not around, I’d probably be nominating “Declare” by Tim Powers. It does one of the finest jobs I’ve ever encountered of creating a sense of the _alienness_ of a supernatural race of beings (the djinn), and of integrating them into a story of Cold War spying in the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/11 "2013-11-22T09:05:27Z")
_Good Omens_, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/12 "2013-11-22T09:12:23Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I have read “Little, Big,” and it was the first thing I thought of when I read the thread title. It is DEFINITELY the best stand alone fantasy novel, and also, the best fantasy novel ever written, period. > > However, if “Little, Big” were not around, I’d probably be nominating “Declare” by Tim Powers. It does one of the finest jobs I’ve ever encountered of creating a sense of the _alienness_ of a supernatural race of beings (the djinn), and of integrating them into a story of Cold War spying in the Middle East. Let me amend that post a bit, explaining WHY I think so highly of “Little, Big”: I have read “Little, Big,” and it was the first thing I thought of when I read the thread title. It is DEFINITELY the best stand alone fantasy novel, and also, the best fantasy novel ever written, period. It’s a story about the immortal fae, but it has an awful lot to say about what it is to be mortal, and human. It’s a story in which the fae are almost never directly seen, or directly manifest themselves, but in which there’s a more palpable sense of a magical world lurking around every corner, glimpsed out of the corner of the eye, than in any other fantasy novel I’ve ever read. However, if “Little, Big” were not around, I’d probably be nominating “Declare” by Tim Powers. It does one of the finest jobs I’ve ever encountered of creating a sense of the _alienness_ of a supernatural race of beings (the djinn), and of integrating them into a story of Cold War spying in the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/13 "2013-11-22T09:17:27Z")
If we’re not to mention _The Lord of the Rings_, there’s _The Last Unicorn_ by Peter Beagle. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/14 "2013-11-22T09:28:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m reading a book called **Tigana** by Guy Gavriel Kay right now and I’ve heard rave reviews about it, but I will hold my final review of it later. It is really good, but I don’t know where it ranks yet. Yes. It’s pretty good. - Alessan. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/15 "2013-11-22T09:58:51Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Let me amend that post a bit, explaining WHY I think so highly of “Little, Big”: > > I have read “Little, Big,” and it was the first thing I thought of when I read the thread title. It is DEFINITELY the best stand alone fantasy novel, and also, the best fantasy novel ever written, period. It’s a story about the immortal fae, but it has an awful lot to say about what it is to be mortal, and human. It’s a story in which the fae are almost never directly seen, or directly manifest themselves, but in which there’s a more palpable sense of a magical world lurking around every corner, glimpsed out of the corner of the eye, than in any other fantasy novel I’ve ever read. Problem I had with it was that it dragged in places (for me) especially around halfway. I acknowledge this is just me, but I prefer a leeetle more action in a book that thick. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/16 "2013-11-22T10:26:08Z")
Although it was a set-up for a long running series of uneven, (generally poor) work, Raymond Feist’s _Magician_ remains one of my favourite novels. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/17 "2013-11-22T10:28:12Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Although it was a set-up for a long running series of uneven, (generally poor) work, Raymond Feist’s _Magician_ remains one of my favourite novels. Which reminds me - _Faerie Tale_ is quite good, and quite creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/18 "2013-11-22T10:39:21Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > The Kalevala, so good Tolkien ripped it off…(Silmarillion) Many of the individual stories within the Kalevala are terrific, but they don’t hold together as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/19 "2013-11-22T10:50:30Z")
If we are looking for second best, (Tolkien is always first), I nominate Greg Bear’s **Songs of Earth and Power.** Yes, I know, it was originally published as two separate novels, but now they are together as one under the above title, just as LotR is actually 6 books, originally published as three, in one. Greg Bear has the feel and mechanics of world creating just right, and uses world myth wonderfully well. By the same logic, I also nominate Sean Russell’s **The Initiate Brother** duology. Best use of Asian lore I’ve seen. Wait, no, now Yangsze Choo’s **The Ghost Bride is** is out and is terrific in that respect, specifically Malay Chinese lore, but it’s too new to be considered one of the greats yet. A good read and a genuine stand alone, though, and I recommend it. Agreed with the nominations of John Crowley’s and Guy Gavriel Kay’s work. I love them both. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494/20 "2013-11-22T10:53:12Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m reading a book called **Tigana** by Guy Gavriel Kay right now and I’ve heard rave reviews about it, but I will hold my final review of it later. It is really good, but I don’t know where it ranks yet. I’d go with _Under Heaven_ by him, but I haven’t yet read _Tigana_. Though there is a sequel (_River of Stars_) it has little to do with UH and can be ignored (and kinda should be). For something more recent/urban fantasy, I like _The Rook_. It’s a stand-alone, though the author is apparently writing a sequel. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-alone-fantasy-novel-no-spoilers/674494.md?page=2)