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Fantasy Books

I was glad I stuck with the books but I am not sure that I would recommend them to everyone, including some friends with very high-brow tastes. Nor do I think they serve as a good intro to fantasy. The genre is largely, if you will, cheeseburgers, satisfying, enjoyable, etc and suited for certain times and tastes. Work like Covenants are a full-blown sit-down dinner.<<<<

I couldn't agree more.
 
Enjoyed this thread. Since no one have mentioned them (as far as I could see):

Stephen Erikson - "Gardens of the Moon" must be among the best fantasy books I've read... Well, ever. And that includes RR Martin, Donaldson, etc., etc.

Susan Clarke - "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel". Brilliant stuff.

And then I'll second China Mieville ("Perdido Street Station"), Gene Wolfe ("Boook of the New Sun") and Gaiman ("American Gods"). All good.

Fiests "Magician" is a classic and I loved it when I read it the first time, but stay away from the rest. Oh, but you can read "Daughter of the Empire" which he wrote with Janny Wurst, that one was enjoyable (and yes, it is set in Kelewan).

McCaffrey, Goodkind, Brooks? No thank you, I want meat with my fantasy. And Eddings is the closest I've ever been throwing away books.
 
The next installment of George R R Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" ("A Feast for Crows") has been out a couple weeks now. Go thou hence and get it NOW!
I can't remember the last time an author had me in raptures like this. The handling of characters is just brilliant. Gritty, realistic, remorseless. Taking one of the main villains after a thousand pages and making you care for him and cheer him on... wow.

Regarding Donaldson - I recommend this essay for an extremely funny read and the origin of "clench hunting" as mentioned by epepke.

And while I'm about it I'll propose a new definition of magic, account for the existence of Lionel Fanthorpe, and show you a way to derive pleasure from Stephen Donaldson books. (Needless to say, it doesn't involve reading them. But neither does it involve burying them under six foot of badger manure and napalming the lot, which you might think the obvious answer.)
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:D
 
Floyt said:
The next installment of George R R Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" ("A Feast for Crows") has been out a couple weeks now. Go thou hence and get it NOW!
Click to expand...

I don't what cool time machine you have, but it's not out yet. He finished writing it, yeah. But it won't be published til November, sez the publisher.
 
Floyt said:
Rats. Just had a look this morning and failed to notice the proviso.

*sigh* There goes my plan for summer poolside reading in August...
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But the good news is that if you preorder from Amazon, it'll only cost $18, whereas buying it fresh and in person in November will be $30-ish.
 
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