Thread: Any Good Fantasy?

When I was younger I loved the Dragonlance books. I gobbled them up like chocolate icecream. But, now when I look at one I can only think: God, someone got paid to write this crap?

This sucks, because I like the whole idea of fantasy. I really want to read a good sword and sorcery story. Every time I try, though, I nearly throw up (exaggeration) at all the feeble attempts at new languages and names that are simply three or four syllables pulled randomly from a hat and tossed on the page.

Are there any solid fantasy books out there?

And, before you ask, I didn't like the Lord of the Rings (the books). Well, that's not entirely true; I did like the series, except when Tolkien would go off on a tangest every two pages describing all the blades of grass and the trees and the hills and the lake, and where the waters of the lake flowed too, and what the Dwarves were doing and how they so enjoyed their picnicks with their bologna sandwiches and their flag-football games against the trolls. By the time he'd finished I had already forgotten what the hell was going on.

I have the book for you;

The Malacian Tapestry by Brian Aldiss. It takes the familiar fantasy elements but uses them to tell a real story. Literate fantasy. It's so damn good that if you lived nearby I'd be on your doorstep shouting through the letterbox at you, offering to lend my copy. Possibly (definitley in my own humble opinion) the best fantasy novel ever written.

Second on the list is Gloriana, by Michael Moorcock. Taking Elizabeth 1 as a starting point and weaving the faery queen into the mix he comes up with a tale of suspense, intrigue and political machinations that is totally awesome. Not quite historical fiction, not standard fantasy, it's totally unique.

I was thinking about this yesterday, fantasy book standards are very very low There's Tolkien, there's Moorcock (elrick is fantastic) and afaik, that's pretty much it. I've read a multitude of other fantasy books ,(the list ending with The Wheel of Time, which is SO very bad) and I must say that I'm quite disapointed.

I'm looking forward to see recomendations...

That's all,
MG

Originally Posted by Mike C

Second on the list is Gloriana, by Michael Moorcock. Taking Elizabeth 1 as a starting point and weaving the faery queen into the mix he comes up with a tale of suspense, intrigue and political machinations that is totally awesome. Not quite historical fiction, not standard fantasy, it's totally unique.

Although I've never read it, I don't know about it being unique. Umberto Eco's Baudolino mixed the history of the Holy Roman Empire with the myth of Prester John. The story brought in all manner of fantasy creatures, as written by such historical figures as Sir John Mandeville: blemmyae, cynocephaloids, giants, satyrs, and more. For some reason, many seem to think it's Eco's worst, but they are usually the ones who expect it to be some serious piece of historical fiction with contemporary leanings. They also are the ones who rarely read it to the end. It's a great work.

Bel, while not my cup of tea, have you tried China Mieville?

Well, there's the Earthsea books by Le Guin, Mieville's steam-industrial fantasy, Leiber's books about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, "The Once and Future King" by White, Howard's sword and sorcery books (Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane), Zelazny's Amber books (at least the earliest), Beagle's "The Last Unicorn", Lewis' Narnia books, Gavriel Kay's "Tigana" and Theis' "The Eye of Argon" (I'm kidding, I'm kidding!). Not everything is likely to be to your liking, but you should find something there you like.

Personally, I'm partial to Cherryh's Morgaine books and Glen Cook's Garret books and the first half of his Black Company series.

There's always the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson, starting with Gardens of the Moon. Complex, but mostly believable and very well written.

Here is many, many choices for you to choose from:

Fantasy

Shade's Children- Is my absolute fantasy book. It's by Garth Nix. Everyone should read it.

Dephere's link is a good point of call. To recap what I almost certainly said there:

George R. R. Martin spins an excellent epic. Grander in scale than the God forsaken Wheel of Time and solidly, if not luminously, written. Robin Hobb is, of the many fantasy authors I have sampled, the best writer. Her stories are character driven, as well constructed and written as any work of common fiction, set in a unique fantasy environment.

Oh, yes, I second George R.R. Martin....His books are thoroughly fantastic, definitely one of the best....!!!! His character development is simply sublime!

Try something by George RR. Martin, China Mieville, or Robin Hobb.

I recommend very highly Steven Erikson..of course if you don't like epic fantasy that uses very complex language and is over a thousand pages per book then you won't like him. If you're into that sort of stuff, then start with Gardens Of The Moon

Raymond E. Feist is a personal favourite of mine...awesome writer, one of the best fantasy worlds out there. Start with Magician.

Originally Posted by Rory

Raymond E. Feist is a personal favourite of mine...awesome writer, one of the best fantasy worlds out there. Start with Magician.

I'd hardly describe him as an 'awesome writer'. His books are more plain good fun.

Originally Posted by Pawn

I'd hardly describe him as an 'awesome writer'. His books are more plain good fun.

He's one of my personal favourites, and yes, while he is not the greatest technical writer, his books are, as you said, fun, but he's also created an excellent world. I don't know, I just really like him. To me he's awesome.