Great Fantasy authors?
 

It's too easy to have a generalised idae that the fantasy genre is too stuck in cheap commercialism and pseudo-Tolkien imitation.

So I would like to devote this thread to nominating the [i]great[/i] fantasy authors, and also the reason for the nominations.

:)

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

Melanie Rawn - The Golden Key (collaboration with two other authors) This is a fascinating story of magic through art, secret societies, family loyalties and political plotting. The Dragon Prince - An interesting world in which greed, family loyalty, growing older and watching your children make their own choices and mistakes, magic, forensic discovery and innovation all compete to be the theme.

Robin Hobb - Begin with the Farseer trilogy, a story of how one person can give up his life to a cause, learn to live with it, learn to love it and then learn to regret it. Great insights, introduces The Fool, the interesting subject of political assasination and the vagaries of genetics.

Elizabeth Hayden - Rhapsody is a fully realized world with new and unusual races, the paths your life can take from small and seemingly insignificant choices...

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

I am obviously far too much the cultural recluse. I haven't heard of either of the female authors listed above. :(

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

This is what is fun about a bookstore or library..you can just wander around and find a million cool things to look at. I admit this makes it hard to make a decision in the end, but it sure makes for a fun hour or two in your own head.

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

Actually, going around the books physically is much more fun than virtually. Being able to hold and view the books from different angles, seeing the light reflect on the cover - being able to open any up and read a passage or two at choice - the opening sentence...checking out the POV style...

Definitely agree with you there. :)

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

Oh yeah, even the smell of a bookstore is great! My husband refuses to go with me anymore because he gets bored after an hour or so...

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

LOL! MY kids [i]love[/i] it though - a bit too much sometimes. :) Can't get that on Amazon.

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

If you're looking for a non-Tolkien fantasy author, I suggest you read C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy.

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

For my own part, I'll add the following to the list:

Ursula LeGuin
Gene Wolfe
George RR Martin

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

All fantasy is different. It's a wide wide genre with lots of little niches. It's not all Tolkien and that's just a part. Fantasy comes in all shapes and sizes and every reader demands something different. Those authors with most fame have captured more of the elements that a wider base prefers to read.

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

Brian - I've edited my earlier post about the female authors, just in case you decide to come out of your cultural 'reclusion' ;)

I've no idea why so many of the fantasies I've read in the past year are written by women. I've never picked a book by an author (unless I've already read the author and liked their stories) but lately everything I've read (ok, most everything) has been by females. I can't imagine it is really a female point of view. For the most part the protagonists are evenly split between women and men.

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

Tim Powers. He sets his fantasy very much in a real setting. I like that sort of combination. And he does his research. One of his books partially takes place in an area where I used to live, and as far as I can tell, he got the landscape just right, all the way down to street names. Very cool.

Re:Great Fantasy authors?
 

I bet no one writes a fantasy story set in Hull, Yorkshire, where I am. Even I won't write that! :)

And thanks for the warning about the edit. :)

George R R Martin hands down, though I'm not very well read.

The name of George R R Martin keeps coming up - I erally should get around to reading "Song of Ice and Fire" when I'm done with the current writing.

I'd recommend "The Hedge Knight" for those who would like to try George R R Martin but haven't yet the time for a four volume masterpiece. There's a graphic novel version, though I haven't seen that yet.

Another favorite...
Rheingold by Stephen Grundy

Book 4: A Feast For Crows is due out at the end of the year, with another 2 books to go. Also, The Hedge Knight can be found in "Legends" and the sequel in "Legends II."

Keep in mind that Martin takes on average 3 years to write each brilliant book, so it's a long wait.

Anyone an Outer Limits fan? The first episode I saw back in 95 was The Sandkings, based on a Martin screenplay.

I'm afraid I only ever saw a couple of episodes. Which one was the "Sandkings"?

The very first episode. (excluding the 60's series of course)


Sandkings - March 26, 1995

A scientist has his project on Martain life scuttled by the
Government after one of the alien critters almost escapes. Unwilling
to abandon his research, he smuggles a sample of Martian sand
containing eggs out of the lab and incubates them. What hatches
is intelligent, fast - and hungry.

[viewer warnings] [V AL]
[Guest Starring]
Beau Bridges {Dr. Simon Kress}
Helen Shaver {Cathy Kress}
Dylan Bridges {Josh Kress}
Kim Coates {Dave Stockley}
Special Guest Appearance by:
Lloyd Bridges {Col. Kress}
Based on the Novella by George R.R. Martin
Teleplay by Melinda Snodgrass
Directed by Stuart Gillard
Featuring:
Patricia Harras Debbie
Nathaniel Deveaux Security Captain
Deryl Hayes Policeman
Mark Saunders Lab Assistant
J.B. Bivens Mover
David Cameron Technician #1
Special Vocal Effects by Frank Welker

Notes: This episode featured three generations of Bridges - Lloyd,
son Beau, and grandson Dylan who made his professional acting
debut. One scene in the episode had over 200 live scorpions.

Let me see,

Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Robert Heinlein
Terry Pratchett
L.Ron Hubbard (for his run-away best scfi novel, [i]Dianetics[/i])
Mercedes Lackey
Isaac Asimov
Arthur C. Clarke
H.P. Lovecraft

and a few more

Kiwimac

Darn it, I don;t think I remember that episode. I'm sure I saw it advertised, though. All those Bridges...definitely familiar.

And glad to see that someone else recognises the name of HP Lovecraft. :)

hi.
 

New here so I thought i'd introduce myself, hope you don't mind.

More than with you on the Terry Pratchett, but best DS9 quote has to be:
Q: Picard nevber hit me
Sisco: I'm not Picard

Oops!
 

Learn to spell woman!
* never

Welcom, Dark1Grace! Who needs corect speling? [img]http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Welcome, Dark1Grace.

[QUOTE]
...but best DS9 quote has to be:
Q: Picard nevber hit me
Sisco: I'm not Picard
[/QUOTE]
That is [i]way[/i] too funny. I never watched DS9 much...maybe I need to catch up on the reruns. Of course, the fact that Picard never did hit Q probably qualifies him for sainthood.[img]http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

So here I claim high and loud again: EDDING now and forever, I know 12 will go nuts.
But I reassure everyone, that I also like Terry Goodkind, Maggie Furey, Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey
I tried to force myself to read the Ring Trilogy by Tolkien until the bitter end, I stopped when I woke up an hour later to find the book on the floor, my glasses somewhere in the bed and the lamp still burning. I really prefer the movies they made out of these books, sometimes talking about something in too many details, unfortunately gives a very boring trait to the whole thing. Right now I am re-reading the Elenium trilogy by David Eddings (although his wife writes with him he gets all the glory) nevertheless I really do like his work, I mean their work.
I am glad that I could pick some new names of worthy fantasy authors, it's so unnerving when you've read all the books written by one author, who you know is good, then you buy a new book and there DISAPPOINTMENT... My daughter is anxious to learn english because all my fantasy books are in english, I always have to tell her the story I am just reading, she's already contaminated by fantasy (luckily). She's 8 years old and she keeps asking me the same question: mummy do fairies exist?? Tell me what you would tell her, then I will let you have my answer which is very satisfying to her.[img]http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

My other half is from the Isle of Man, which lies in the middle of the sea between England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. It still has a very rich folklore - it is an accepted fact of life on the Isle of Man that faeries exist - especially when things go wrong!

Of course faeries exist...we just aren't allowed to see them. [img]http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Very private faeries are...keep to themselves they do.

I'm not sure what I would say to an 8 year-old but I would hate to curb the inquisitiveness by saying they didn't exist. Besides, who are we to say they don't? I have to believe in faeries, otherwise the world is a much less magical place.

Thanks for your answers. Well here's what I tell to my daughter: "you know, of course I do believe in faeries, I just never saw one, it isn't because you can't see something that it isn't there, but there are people who will think I'm bizarre and this I am ready to accept (I just think they're gray and boring)"
it's very difficult because my daughter thinks everything her parents and her teachers say has to be true and she will stand up for her ideas, although she's very sensitive, every so often she comes home and I can see that she's been crying, when I ask her why, she tells me that other kids made fun of her because she still believes in Santa and faeries. What can you do in such a case, you just hold her and tell her that what she knows in her heart is important, and certainly not the things other people will say. Anyhow my husband also thinks that I'm a little crazy to believe in faeries (he's a very earth-earth realistic person) well I've got fantasy for both that solves this problem.

*sigh* I remember those innocent days when everything anyone told me was absolute truth. I really like your answer - what you believe in your heart is important. True all the way through life. Maybe she'll realize that those kids who have made fun of her for believing in faeries and Santa have a much poorer life for that, as I said earlier I need magic in my life and I firmly believe that children do as well. Life just wouldn't be the same without them.

[b]thank you dwndrgn I try my best (not to become colourless) it's not always easy to stand for what you believe in but I stopped long ago to pay too much attention to what people don't like in me. well I guess it must show, sometimes I get the feeling that my uncomplicated and yes childish behaviour - believing in faeries and all that gives us dreams, this behaviour well it is a glance for the other people in a really strange world; a little fresh air, I just hope that I can transmit all this to my daughter if she wants it, but I think she's following my footsteps. I can't wait how my 3 year old boy will become (right now he is totally crazy about dinosaures so there is some hope). I am afraid that I really got carried away here.... have a nice evening[/b]

[QUOTE=jerchar][b]thank you dwndrgn I try my best (not to become colourless) it's not always easy to stand for what you believe in but I stopped long ago to pay too much attention to what people don't like in me. well I guess it must show, sometimes I get the feeling that my uncomplicated and yes childish behaviour - believing in faeries and all that gives us dreams, this behaviour well it is a glance for the other people in a really strange world; a little fresh air, I just hope that I can transmit all this to my daughter if she wants it, but I think she's following my footsteps. I can't wait how my 3 year old boy will become (right now he is totally crazy about dinosaures so there is some hope). I am afraid that I really got carried away here.... have a nice evening[/b][/QUOTE]I'm with your 3-year-old - I love dinosaurs, too. Perhaps he will grow up to be a paleontologist? I am glad you are encouraging your children to believe in themselves and to have dreams. I know too many children who don't have that - their parents encourage them to be minature adults, to be serious all the time, and not to have hopes and dreams. While it is important for people to mature as the grow, I believe it is also important to be able to access that part of themselves that dreams and hopes and imagines what the world can be rather than just accepting it for what it is all the time.

Yes, I can see my son digging in the dirt looking for dinosaur bones...., actually he's already digging in the dirt!!!!
Explain things that relate to fairy tales, magic, dreams...is even more difficult with a 3 year old than an 8 year old; while my daughter knows that a halloween mask is just a mask, my little son thinks it's real.
On Halloween we're going to an amusement parc in Germany (Europa Park), something like Disneyland/Disneyworld; for Halloween they decorate the whole parc with pumpkins, witches, bats, it's just awesome. last year Jérémy (my son) wasn't allowed to come with us, but this year... I can already hear all the "aaahh, oohhh", "look a witch" and "Jérémy a pas peur" that means "Jérémy is not afraid", this is what he says but he's not very convincing because every time he says it he climbs up to mumy. I'll let you know by then how it went.

It is important to me too that there is a healthy balance between the realistic world and fantasy and I'm glad that other people think like me, over here they mostly think I'm overdoing things regarding fairies and all their little friends. So glad I finally met people who share my thoughts, or who don't share them.[img]http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Great Fantasy authors?
 

Awesome Posts i have so many possible things to read now thanks. You should do the same thing for sci fi

Re: Great Fantasy authors?
 

I nominate the classic fantasy author George MacDonald, who wrote Lilith and Phantastes. I would also like to nominate David Lindsay for his novel A Voyage to Arcturus.

Re: Great Fantasy authors?
 

i really like the way marion zimmer bradley ("mists of avalon") writes. robert jordan's books are also good, even though the first one in the series has way too many resemblances to tolkien.

Re: Great Fantasy authors?
 

I am unsure what great fantasy author might lean towards. So I am thinking Epic fantasy :)


Sara Ash is not a well known author but she is very good. Lord of Snow and Shadows is the first book in The Tears of Artamon. It's a well developed and interesting world she has created in this first book. The 2nd book has just recently been released in paperback.

China Mieville is what I would call a cross genre story teller and I feel a very good one too. I have only read The Scar from New Crobuzon series, which is actually the 2nd book. But there are three out so far and I've heard they are also very good. He is very clever with words and I find his scenes really jump out of the pages at you. Some of his characters are mesmorising.

Deborah Chester has a good series out called The Sword,The Ring and the Chalice, I have bk 1 and 2 of this series and have found the story improves with each book. It has a traditional feel with slightly different types of characters. She's very good at developing her world and her characters are interesting too.

Greg Keyes I think he has written a few YA's books. But the series I am thinking of is The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. I only have bk 1 so far and I think bk 2 comes out next month (but not 100% on that). I very indepth story, big world, large characters, interesting magic. A bit political at times for me but apart from that the first book was very good.

James Clemens his The Banned and the Banished seems to be an aquired taste. I personally enjoyed this series, which has the added advantage of being complete now and all books published. There are 5 in the series, and some are better than others. But I really got involved with some of his main characters, they were colourful, mysterious and interesting.

Mark Anthony his Last Rune series is probably one of the best I have read in some time. The last book is being published in August (6 in total) and I will be really sad to come to the end of the characters tales that I have so enjoyed reading about these past couple of years. I feel Anthony is one of those authors that gets passed over, which is a shame because this series is really good and has some interesting twists.

Someone has already mentioned Robin Hobb, and I would 2nd that. She's a really good author and I loved the Tawny Man series.

I am surprised no one mentioned Terry Brooks. He has written some very entertaining epic series. The Word, is one that I think some people have missed, it's very different from his Shannara series and I feel one of his better stories.

These are my favourite Epic fantasy authors, not many really because I tend to shy away from very detailed series. :)

Re: Great Fantasy authors?
 

Personally, never been into [b]Terry Brooks[/b] or [b]Robert Jordan[/b] or [b]David Gemmell[/b]...

Much prefer [b]Raymond E Feist[/b], [b]Terry Goodkind[/b] (if a little longwinded sometimes), [b]Mark Anthony[/b], [b]L E Modesitt Jnr[/b], [b]James Barclay[/b] and [b]Terry Pratchett[/b] (though his last couple of books have been below par)...

Re: Great Fantasy authors?
 

Modessit Jr's Recluce books are conceptually very cool, starting out with what seems a standard good vs. evil scenario which is soon reversed, deconstructed, with the point being a balance between chaor and order, neither emerging as the one true path. But individual storylines got pretty standard, there was aalways this young visionary who would travel about and turn things around.


I haven't yet read any Feist - what sort of themes and settings does he deal in? What makes him stand out, for you?