I need more info before I recommend anything. What do you like about Narnia, Earthsea, and LotR? What didn’t you like about the books you didn’t like? Fantasy covers a wide spectrum, from “realists” like Martin to utter fluff.
“Otter Fluff”?
That’s Redwall, yes?
Also by Guy Gavriel Kay:
Tiganna
A Song for Arbonne
The Lions of al-Rassan
Also by Patricia A. McKillip
Winter Rose
Alphabet of Thorn
Ombria in Shadow
In the Forests of Serre
The Book of Atrix Wolf …
also Story of the Stone.
Don’t remember the details, but it was mostly just ill-natured personal sniping at other writers in the field, all delivered in a tone and style that made me want to take a bath. Dude makes Harlan Ellison look like Henry Winkler.
Actually, now that I think about it, I did once read one of Adams’ stories in an anthology, or at any right I started to. It was plodding and boring and tedious despite the violent action, and Adams and the concept of characterization have never been even briefly introduced. I still don’t understand how he ever got published.
If you like Earthsea so much, have you read Le Guin’s other books? Though most of them are classified as science fiction rather than fantasy, some of them, like The Left Hand of Darkness or Rocannon’s World, have a fantasy-ey enough feel to them that you might find them worth reading when you’re in the mood for a good fantasy novel.
Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I posted a similar thread years ago for humorous books. I got some great ideas then and I know I won’t be disappointed now.
What I really like about LoTR is the richness and depth of Middle Earth – the races, languages, lore, history, etc. What draws me to Earthsea is the realism, particularily the flaws, of the characters. I like the fact that the characters have weaknesses and fears, especially as the series draws on. I also think the world is really original. LoTR gets copied so much, that the creativity sometimes gets lost among its copies. However, Earthsea is not only unique because it is mostly water, but the magic, sources of power, and gods/religion are very creative too.
Great minds think alike. I had a copy of TLHoD in my hand at the bookstore based on the exact same reasoning, but then I decided to just get it from the library. Funny, but TLHoD always reminds me of Daniel for some reason.
Then I’d recommend Lois McMaster Bujold’s Chalion books, beginning with The Curse of Chalion. Her religion/gods feel very authentic and possible, and GRR Martin if you can handle the grit (I can’t).
I like Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s Death Gate Cycle which consists of seven books, starting with Dragon Wing. Great stuff!
You will probably like Barbara Hambly. Do NOT pick up Dragonshadow or Knight of the Demon Queen. She wrote those books while she was grieving for the death of her exhusband and soulmate, George Effinger. Dragonsbane, while a part of that setting, is an excellent standalone book, and a good introduction to her books.
Some of us even named our dog after Alfred!
-Joe