And needing my mind washed out with soap, or something stronger, for the horrors contained therein, my poor brain needs a thread about non-derivative, good fantasy books.
One very different, and very, very good, book that I have re-read recently is “Zod Wallop” by William Browning Spenser. It takes the elements of high fantasy and does something quite good with them. Anyone else read it? Anyone know of others like it?
Good point. I have moved back into hard science fiction to get away from the dreck that is being passed off on the bookstore fantasy shelves these days. I think some of the series are to blame for this. With Dragon Lance and Forgotten Realms and even the Star Wars / Trek fiction they pump out like sausage I think the minimum quality people demand from fantasy has sunk about to the same depths as that expeted by the readers of romance novels.
The last thing I read that I could recommend is actually several years old now. That is the The Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman. Especially book one. Not sure it fits your criteria because it is supposedly set on a different planet settled by human space travelers. The story is pure fantasy though.
I have read Martin’s series, and it is very good. I haven’t checked out the others - maybe I will. [Updates list]
I fully agree with the “ocean of mediocrity” statement, which is why I need help … I like good fantasy, but I am unwilling to risk/don’t have the patience to search for good stuff anymore - there is so much crapola out there (of which the other thread provides a notable example. ).
If you have a chance, do read “Zod Wallop”. It is well worth it.
Not having read “Zod Wallop” I cannot compare and contrast. I assume you have read the George R R Martin Series that the SDMB is so wild about? If not, pick it up immediately. Lots of real stuff, with an element of fantasy thrown in.
I have indeed - I see we posted at more-or-less the same time. I am sure that it has been noted in great detail before by others, but his series reminded me very much of the (historical) Wars of the Roses - with fantasy thrown in.
Okay, what about the Robin Hobb “Assassin” Series and the “Mad Ship” Series? Also there is “Kushiel’s Dart” and “Kushiel’s Avatar” which, while pretty good, can get a bit wordy, Jack Chalker’s “Well of the Souls” series - although it has been quite some time since I read them, I did love them at the time.
I use to go years without throwing a book against a wall in disgust, but it seems that’s all I have been doing lately.
So much drivel, so little time.
For contemporary fantasy that’s a little different, I’d recommend K.J Parker. Dry humour, somewhat disturbing plot twists and not an elf, orc or magic sword in sight.
I posted a thread on this very subject some time back. I’ll link it as soon as the search engine finishes crawling.
I have all the suggestions from that thread in my Palm Pilot, and I keep an eye out for them whenever I go to a used bookstore. I’d recommend the Stephen Brust series’s (serieii?). They’re light reading, but fun and well written.
Just waiting on that search engine now…
Ah, screw it. It was entitled “I have a hankering” (or possibly hankerin’) “for some GOOD fantasy.” I think I posted it last year sometime. Search for it yourself.
So far, Parker has written two trilogies. The Fencer Trilogy, consisting of Colours in the Steel, The Belly of the Bow and The Proof House, and the Scavenger Trilogy; Shadow, Pattern and Memory.
They’re both excellent, but the Scavenger Trilogy, IMO, has the edge; it’s got a very complex and ingenious plot and raises some genuinely interesting philosophical questions.
Both trilogies are rather strange, and the style takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s well worth it. I think they’re available from Amazon.
Susan Cooper, The Dark Is Rising and its series. What starts off as normal surburban life is swept up into something grand, ancient, fascinating, utterly real. I can’t really do it justice in a short description. It’s the only fantasy series that captures me besides LoTR, Narnia and Madeleine L’Engle.
rumraisin beat me to Susan Cooper. Fantastic books.
Another which I don’t see mentioned around here much is Little, Big by John Crowley.
Sort of a Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” meets Lewis Carroll’s “Sylvie and Bruno” meets Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”. A truly beautiful, poetic book.
William Morris**
These are the people who broke their backs making it possible for so many other hacks to churn out drek and sell it under the name of fantasy. I’ll come back with some titles later.
I’ve read many of the Forgotten Realms books, mostly during junior high and high school, and I agree that most of them are poorly written. I think I mostly got stuck reading them was because I was addicted to the world and it was nice not to need any set-up into the fantasy world; the world, magic system, etc. has already been fleshed out and it is only the particular locale of a story that needs some background. I remember one book I really liked was Homeland by R. A. Salvatore, which takes place in a ridiculously horrendous underground society of dark elves where evil plots between its inhabitants and noble houses are commonplace–even expected–though there are some accepted boundaries for this. I can’t remember how well written it was, but it was a fascinating read. The other two books (Exile and Sojourn) in the trilogy I remember being OK, but then the author follows the exploits of the redemptive main character too far in following books (too many to count), and it gets extremely tedious very fast. As I think about it, the original book was probably not well written (in terms of style, efficiency, and originality in prose and dialogue), but it was highly enjoyable nonetheless.
It’s been a while since I’ve read much fantasy with the exception of the Discworld books. Going back though, I can recommend Sherri Tepper’s works. The True Game series is kind of a fantasy/sci-fi mix. There are 3 trilogys, the Peter books, the Mavin books and the Jinian books. The best are the Peter books.
She also wrote a book called Revenants that is really kind of creepy.
-Diana Wynne Jones. Anything of hers, really, but I rather liked the Chrestomanci Chronicles. Jones has a great wry sense of humor, combined with wonderfully odd characters that are just odd enough to make you think, “Hey, I know people like that…” In the “Things That Make You Go ‘Huh’?” category, we have Hexwood. Oh, and dog people (and non-dog people, too) should definitely check out Dogstar! Good stuff.
-Cecilia Dart-Thornton, The Ill-Made Mute. Thornton has a lovely, lyrical style that is a pleasure to read. Her world is fascinating; a Southern Hemisphere continent (how often do you see that?) inhabited by creatures from folktales of the British Isles, like kelpies and redcaps. The heroine is a strong, well-drawn character as well.
-Patricia Wrede. Again, I like all of her work; however, she can be hard to find. Her YA-oriented Enchanted Forest Chronicles are great fun, with some rather skewed fairy-tale conventions. Her Lyra series (adult-oriented) is harder to find but worth the hunt. Hmm… need to get my copy of Shadows Over Lyra back from my aunt.
).