Fantasy Recommendations for the Unenlightened 2

[breesicle]

Wow. There's a lot to read in this thread. But first I'd like to ask a question:

What are some recommended fantasy books where the author includes humor? I just finished re-reading Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and now I'd like to move on to some more adult material, but I'd still like to have some humor and light-heartedness in there. Maybe once I get some of that out of my system, I'll move on to some of the heavier, serious fantasy and scifi. Thanks

[GOLLUM]

Welcome..

Well firstly, some books with humour from the previous lists I've put up would inlcude Fletcher Pratt and L Sprague De Camp's Compleat Enchanter series, which deals with time travel gone wrong. Very amusing.

Of course there's The First & Second Books Of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber, a sword and sorcery duo who are constantly in and out of very amusing scrapes. Think Lethal Weapon duo Gibson and Glover in a magical setting.

I know that Terry Pratchett is a major figure with his DiscWorld series, never appealed to me but I'm not a huge fan of comedic fantasy.

Hope this helps.

[Nesacat]

breesicle ... I liked Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

The Discworld Books by Terry Pratchett ... I personally am fond of Death so tend to read the books in which he is featured but all of them are a pretty good read.

Jasper Fforde's books are wonderful. Had me laughing from beginning to end. The ones I have read are The Big Over Easy as well the the Thursday Next novels, of which there are four.

[Cloud]

If you like puns, Piers Anthony's Xanth books and Robert Lynn Aprin's books.

[j. d. worthington]

Welcome to the Chronicles! Jump in and let us hear your thoughts!

My one caution where Leiber is concerned is that the stories really do cover a wide range, from near-slapstick to extremely somber ... with some stories having that entire range within a single story ("Adept's Gambit", for instance). So yes, there is plenty of humor in the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories... but there's also some tragedy and pathos, too ... as well as some of the finest use of the language one will encounter in modern fantasy.

Also James Branch Cabell's Poictesme novels are full of sly humor, innuendo, wordplay, and irony ... again with a masterful use of the language; and a comic cosmology that is a labyrinthine delight. (If you find yourself interested, PM me and I'll send you a list of the entire "Biography of the Life of Manuel", of which the Poictesme books are a part.)

There is also a fair amount of wry humor in Lord Dunsany's short stories, as well, most of which (I believe, though Gollum could correct me on this if I'm wrong) have been brought together in a volume of the Fantasy Masterworks series. Again, though, the range of tone within these is greatly varied; and as far as writing goes, Dunsany remains a high-water mark recognized by nearly all fantasy writers who have followed.

[Brys]

Gollum gave a good selection there. Pratchett is one of the best comedic authors in fantasy and one of the few authors who almost exclusively write this. Be careful where you start though - some of his earlier novels weren't very good and he has a tendency to draw out a story slightly beyond its natural length. The Colour of Magic, despite being the first book, isn't a good starting place. Try instead perhaps Guards! Guards!, which is hilarious.

Fritz Leiber and de Camp+Pratt are very good humourists as well. Another I would add is Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth. The first book, the Dying Earth, is a collection of quite serious, quite dark short stories. But the next two books are some of the best comedy in fantasy there is - the Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga.

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

My one caution where Leiber is concerned is that the stories really do cover a wide range, from near-slapstick to extremely somber ... with some stories having that entire range within a single story ("Adept's Gambit", for instance). So yes, there is plenty of humor in the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories... but there's also some tragedy and pathos, too ... as well as some of the finest use of the language one will encounter in modern fantasy.

There is also a fair amount of wry humor in Lord Dunsany's short stories, as well, most of which (I believe, though Gollum could correct me on this if I'm wrong) have been brought together in a volume of the Fantasy Masterworks series.

Agreed about Leiber but having some humour mixed in with more "serious" pieces with excellent prose is a good way for Breesicle who wanted to transition from more light hearted to serious themes whilst being exposed to some of the best writing the Genre has to offer was the main thrust behind that particular recommendation...

The Dunsany collection you're referirng to is called Time and The Gods. I've got it with me now. Approx 120 stories covering Faerie, Dreamworlds, Magic and the entire contents of Time and the Gods, The Book Of Wonder, The Last Book Of Wonder and The Sword Of Welleran. A pretty decent collection really.

There'll be more rest assured but this along with the other suggestions put forward should be a good starting point for you Breesicle, hope that helps.

[j. d. worthington]

On the Vance -- I heartily agree. Odd that I should have glitched there, having recently sent a copy of Eyes of the Overworld to someone... Even in the darker pieces, there's more than a touch of humor... And for fantasy that has a nice blend of darker humor (with occasionally light satirical pieces, as well), to stark horror, there's the stories of Clark Ashton Smith. There's the Fantasy Masterworks volume, which samples from his entire career, and there's also a new printing of the original Arkham House collections being released by Bison Books (taken from the Neville Spearman plates, I believe) or, if you're really wanting to do it up fancy, Night Shade Books is releasing a 5-volume corrected and annotated edition of his complete fantasy work; the first volume should be out later this year.

[breesicle]

Thanks so much for all of your recommendations and welcomes! I will get started on this list ASAP. I think I'm going to like it here...

[Kettricken]

Nesacat already gave the recommendation of "Good Omens" by Pratchett and Gaiman, but some novels by Gaiman have also very funny elements in it. For example, his last novel "Anansi boys".

[Cloud]

I'd like to add, or reiterate, Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series, starting with "Luck in the Shadows." Sort of a fantasy picaresque tale with a strong, and unusually overt slash theme, if you like that sort of thing. One of my favorites!

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by Cloud

I'd like to add, or reiterate, Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series, starting with "Luck in the Shadows." Sort of a fantasy picaresque tale with a strong, and unusually overt slash theme, if you like that sort of thing. One of my favorites!

I didn't mind the Nightrunner series but for me it wasn't one of my favourites in terms of plot, prose or characterization....

[GOLLUM]

Try Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.

[Ozymandias]

I don't know if it's been mentioned (and shame if it hasn't) but the Gormenghast novels are brilliant. The author, Mervyn Peake, ranks right alongside Tolkien as the twentieth century's greatest fantasy writer. And his prose is absolutely gorgeous.

[j. d. worthington]

As a matter of fact, Peake's Gormenghast books have quite a few supporters on this site, myself included. But I think the recommendation for them was in the original Fantasy Recommendations thread rather than Vol. 2 (as it were).

Anyway, welcome to the Chronicles. I cordially invite you to join in and share your thoughts; and in general partake of the sometimes kooky but quite friendly camaraderie to be met with here. I look forward to seeing you around.