Another newbie seeking recommendations!

[Knowmyplace]

First of all - Hi to everyone on the forum!
I know it is very frustrating to provide answers to the same question over and over, so allow me to reassure you that I have read all of the answers to similar questions posted in the past. I look forward to reading the authors that you have suggested.
While my tastes are very eclectic I find myself drawn to authors who play with "power exchange", strong feminine themes and darker fantasy. For example Anne Bishop's "Blood trilogy", Jacqueline Carey's "kushiel" series and more recently elements of Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth". Can anyone recommend any other authors who stray in this direction?
For balance I should also point out that I have thoroughly enjoyed David Eddings, Neil Gaiman, James Clemens and Fiona McIntosh, to name a few. Perhaps I am too indiscriminate in my tastes but whatever does it for you on the day!!
Great forum - I hope that i can contribute something wortwhile.

[j. d. worthington]

I'll refrain from making suggestions at this point, as most of my preferences lie with the older writers, but I wish to extend a hearty welcome to the Forums, and hope you enjoy your stay. You'll find an enormous number of people here who will be more than happy to help you find new writers to explore.... And I may even join in the fun once I get to know your tastes better....

[Knowmyplace]

Thanks for the warm and swift welcome. Please do not hesitate to recommend an "older writer" if you believe that they have something to offer. In truth, I am relatively new to the genre and find myself enthusing about authors among friends who think that the genre is childish and silly. It can be very frustrating at times, particularly when many authors within the genre compare more than favourably with authors in more established, main stream genres. So please - you recommend and I will endeavour to read. Thanks again.

[Winters_Sorrow]

Hi & welcome to the forums
I've got some friends who live near Vienna and they're quite into the re-enactment scene so there is a crowd down there who think Fantasy is not childish.
I can't immediately think of many dark fantasy books to recommend to you (not really my cup of tea) and I'm not sure what you mean by "power exchange" either. Anne Rice's vampire books might be up your street.

[Dianora]

Try "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay. Canadian author, amazing. Get it.

I hadn't read much fantasy at all when I read it. It was completely different from anything I'd ever read before, and it opened a whole new world of reading material for me. I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to get it.

[pyan]

Have you tried the "Hawk and Fisher" books by Simon R. Green? Try Swords of Haven, Blue Moon Rising, or Beyond the Blue Moon. Darkness, equality and strength to spare.

[Hile Troy]

Michael Rohan's Anvil of Ice series. If you can find it.
C.S. Friedman - Coldfire Trilogy

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Knowmyplace

While my tastes are very eclectic I find myself drawn to authors who play with "power exchange", strong feminine themes and darker fantasy.

Well, at risk of getting some very odd expressions, when it comes to older writers who dealt with such themes, I'd suggest looking at some of the Witch World books by Andre Norton. This has become quite an extensive series (some 20+ books in all, though several are shorter ones that have since been collected into 3-book volumes) and Ms. Norton was one of the important voices in getting women established in modern fantasy. She builds good strong characters of both sexes, deals frequently with the themes you suggest (though often in subtle and surprising ways), and many of the books are both literate, understated, and quite mature in their handling of the material (meaning she tends to eschew sensationalism, not that she leans toward so-called "adult" themes). There is also a very dark strain running throughout even the lighter of these books, and some of them are downright grim. The first of the books (as published) is titled simply Witch World. If you'd like a list, either I or someone else on the forums, I am sure, would be happy to provide one for you.


I'd also suggest, though on a somewhat different level, Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books, which were again one of the formative influences on what we now call "dark fantasy"; Kane being, it is hinted, the original Cain, in an alternate world; cursed for his slaying of his brother to immortality and therefore being a perpetual outsider as everything he grows to care for dies, he becomes both more and less human as he seeks power as a substitute for normal relationships, but cannot avoid his human feelings (both strengths and failings) from influencing his actions. He is an antihero of epic proportions, and a very memorable character in a world that is among the darkest in all fantasy. (It is also difficult to best the title of the first story in Death Angel's Shadow: "Reflections for the Winter of My Soul".) There are two collections of stories in the original paperback editions, and three novels; these have since been collected together with some additional material as The Midnight Sun and Gods in Darkness, but these were limited editions and are quite expensive, so it would be best to take the time to track down the original paperback set:

Death Angel's Shadow
Bloodstone
Darkness Weaves
Night Winds
Dark Crusade

There's also a Kane story in Tales of the White Wolf, a book of stories of Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone written by Moorcock and other authors, in which Kane and Elric confront each other ... a much more successful story than the majority of such attempts, as it retains the dark atmosphere and characters quite well.

I'll have more suggestions as we go along, but these should be a good start.

[Crisspin]

Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, but you might also enjoy the Laurel K. Hamilton Anita Blake Novels. Although not pure fantasy, it is full of power exchange, dynamic strong female characters and kick ass male characters.

Just so you know getting into them, Anita Blake is basically a necromancer in a current day world that is populated by Vampires and Lycanthropes, as well as the poor little humans (vampirism and lycanthropy are legal, killing is not). She hunts down the bad ones, and falls in love with vampires, werewolves etc. in a succubus kind of way.

They are quick, easy reads and its always good to read all genre's of fiction. You might want to give one of her books a try, at the very least they are a just a guilty pleasure for a few days.