If you like reading older fantasy novels, the English SF critic David Pringle wrote a nice book on his 100 best fantasy novels in the English Language. It’s a good book to pick up second hand, as he writes excellent two page reviews of each book. In any case the list is here and includes a lot of standalone books that are maybe not as well known nowadays (list covers 1947 -1987). I’ve never been disappointed with anything I’ve picked out of there, some real masterpieces on it.
I’m a big fan of illustrated fantasy books. These usually get shoved into the YA section, but often that’s just a convention (they’re often short and illustrated). It seems to be more of a European than US thing, the illustrations. I’d recommend:
The Zamonia stories of Walter Moers - Captain Bluebear, Rumo, City of Dreaming Books. These are all in translation. Dark tone sometimes.
The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Lovely worldbuilding. Can be quite dark. Doesn’t stint on death, but my favourite as far as the art goes.
Right now, I’m starting Dragonworld by Preiss and Reaves & illos by Zucker, which looks like being generic but well-done.
Leiber invented the phrase Swords & Sorcery. But Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories were, in some ways, parodying the almost-brand-new genre. Classics–but they might be new to some younger readers.
Add me to the list of Greg Bear admirers. His Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series may have ended oddly; I’ll need to re-read it. But all his series are truly original.
I admire both Greg Bear and Greg Keyes, but Greg *Keyes *wrote the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series. (And I agree that it seemed more compelling in the first two books than in the latter, but I thought that was just me!)
Glass Soup is A) not representative of the bulk of his work and B) awful (IMO).
I’d suggest you might want to try Land of Laughs or Sleeping in the Flame if you want to see if you’d like to give Carroll another try. As a general rule, the earlier book was written, the better it is.
A completely forgotten book is Esbe: A Winter’s Tale by Linda Haldeman. It’s been out of print since the '70s but it’s available cheaply used. Very quiet story about magic on a college campus.
Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber is another urban fantasy set on a college campus, but this one’s much closer to horror–faculty wives use magic to advance their husband’s careers. Keep in mind that the story was written in the '40s so you have to accept the then-current attitudes about women.
Prince Ombra-Rodrick MacLeish (probably misspelled). Joseph Campbell’s “Hero of a Thousand Faces” comes back but his eternal opponent decides to start this generation’s battle when the hero is like 8 years old. Again, out of print, but pretty easy to find used. For some reason it always ends up in the horror section of a used book store.
Can’t imagine why. I loved Orphans of Chaos, but I couldn’t stand the Everness books.
Heh. Before reading the thread I was going to post to say Bujold (who in my opinion is the best underrated SF/F writer out there) but I see you’ve already read her.
You (and everyone else) MUST read Bridge of Birds (Barry Hughart) which is also an extremely wonderful and incomprehensibly underrated book. There are two sequels which are hard to find and not nearly as good.
Diana Wynne Jones is a YA fantasist whom I really like, but you have to be in a YA kind of mood. I agree with everyone else about Brust. Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin is quite enjoyable, though it is only subtly fantasy (is more a novel about college). I personally love Patricia McKillip, particularly the Riddlemaster trilogy, but people vary a LOT on her. In the same vein of maybe-maybe-not, a lot of people who like Bujold also like Cherryh, who writes both SF and fantasy. I am not one of those people, but you might give it a shot.
I assume Robin McKinley is a well-known-enough writer that you’ve read her? If not, Hero and the Crown is a fantasy classic (though I read it as a pretty small child, so don’t know how it stands up over time).
Ahhh! Thanks–Greg Bear is not a particular favorite of mine. Anyway, he’s more of a Hard SF guy.
I do wish that Greg Keyes (also writing as J Gregory Keyes) would start a new project. Even when his stuff is not perfect, he definitely has a gift.
The High House, by James Stoddard, is my absolute number one pick for obscure fantasy. It’s the story of a boy raised in a Victorian mansion where magic is always just around the corner. There’s a dinosaur inhabiting the attic and tigers in the basement and… well, no need for spoilers. Read it yourself. There’s also a sequel called The False House, which is almost as good. As an additional benefit, both books have some of the most mind-blowing cover art ever made.
Another one that I’d highly recommend is Prospero’s Children, by Jan Siegel. It’s about a modern-day English girl who learns that she’s the long-lost heir to the Kingdom of Atlantis. Sounds cheesy, I know, but the author pulls it off with excellent writing, settings, and deep character development. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Well I must be the only person here who’s read and like them, but I’m recommending the 5-volume (so far) Obernewtyn Chronicles.
Information here http://http://www.amazon.com/Obernewtyn-Chronicles-Isobelle-Carmody/dp/0312869584 and here http://http://obernewtyn.net/e107/news.php to start.
from Publisher’s Weekly, quoted at Amazon: On an Earth nearly wiped out by radiation and chemicals that have whitened the sky and poisoned the land, surviving humans have built a semi-agrarian culture. Though their own religious leaders, the Herders, have paranormal powers, they persecute the mutated Misfits, whose psychic abilities they view as a form of subversion. Thus, Elspeth Gordie, an orphan, conceals her exceptional abilities (prophetic visions, the ability to communicate with animals) from the other workers around her. Nonetheless, she is discovered and taken to the legendary Obernewtyn, an isolated town reputedly full of horrors. But instead of the tortures she expects, Elspeth finds friends and learns of the harmful experiments performed elsewhere upon talented Misfits and of the destructive powers that may have survived the Age of Chaos that ruined Earth. Though most of Carmody’s characters are clearly bad or good, she avoids blatant stereotyping by imbuing many with conflicting interests. She also presents the Herders’ primitive culture in considerable and vivid detail, from Elspeth’s arduous ride through the Western Mountains to a farmer’s daily life of toil and gossip. Despite their abilities, the Misfits are at the mercy of their superstitious culture and those who run ObernewtynAa plight that generates convincing plot turns."
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Otherwise, the OP probably knows about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. And also about Gormenghast.
So many YA fantasies have come out after the success of Harry Potter, it’s hard to sift through and find the good ones. There’s the Time Travelers series, and the Nicholas Flamel series, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Septimus Heap series, though it’s geared for the young, as was the Pure Dead Magic series. Older YA fantasies I liked include Wise Child, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.
Gotta run. (What a fun thread. I’m gonna look into some of the recommendations here.)
I cannot help but recommend Zod Wallop and te Lovecraftian pastiche Resume with Monsters, both by William Browning Spenser. I dunno if they are in print, but they are well worth hunting down if you are interested in non-standard fantasy …
They’ve been on my to-read list for a little while. I’ll bump 'em up so I can (I hope) join you in recommending them. 
Just popping in again to say I think Evangeline Walton’s retelling of the Welsh Mabinogion myths should be better known. http://http://www.amazon.com/Mabinogion-Tetralogy-Evangeline-Walton/dp/1585675040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244492327&sr=1-1
ITR Champion and Thudlow Boink, thanks for recommending this! I’m reading it now and enjoying it immensely. It’s magical. I keep imagining it as a movie. It’d be awesome.
I also bought a John Morressy based on asterion’s recommendation. It’s up next.
Thanks for adding more suggestions. I’m still working through the first few posts, but it’s a long summer. And even if I don’t finish the list by fall, I’ll still have something to read in the dorm.
I just realized I didn’t include the name of the book 2 posts up – it’s The High House by James Stoddard.
May I suggest the CHRONICLES OF THE KENCYRATH by PC Hodgell? Excellent writer, excellent story teller—http://kencyr.wikia.com/wiki/Kencyr_Wiki
Not sure if it counts as “lesser-known,” but Lynn Flewelling’s Tamir trilogy (begins with The Bone Doll’s Twin) is the best fantasy series I’ve read in the past few years. I highly recommend it!
Get a copy of The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, by Alberto Manguel. If any of those places sounds interesting, check the bibliography to see where Manguel got it from.
Seconded.