ilweran on 9/4/2006 at 17:29
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
Slaughterhouse 5 (one of the few pieces of sci-fi that literary circles will respect, thus leading some to classify it as something other then sci-fi)
Somewhere on the internet I read an argument between Margaret Atwood fans over whether 'Oryx and Crake' was sci-fi or speculative fiction. The latter being the more acceptable choice :rolleyes:
I love J G Ballard, and all his work is usually found under 'fiction' unless it's in the 'sci-fi masterworks' series.
Shoshin on 9/4/2006 at 17:42
Steven Erickson's series The Malazan Book of the Fallen is excellent fantasy that I've been enjoying quite a bit. China Mieville's Perdido Street Station was also excellent. Neither of them do the cliche'd fantasy setting that we're all getting so tired of.
I started reading sci-fi when I was a kid, and I still love the genre, but it seems like right now there is nothing there that I'm interested in. So I switched to fantasy & have been exploring that genre. Some good stuff, some OK stuff, and a lot of utter crap. But then again, that describes most everything, doesn't it?
Jennie&Tim on 9/4/2006 at 20:32
Quote Posted by Dia
You're obviously taking the wrong meds, dear. ;)
Tolkien created fantasy. End of discussion.:p
:cheeky:
<i>Silently points to Amazon</i>
"All fantasy and horror fans owe it to themselves to read Lord Dunsany (1878-1957). The sword & sorcery genre was born in his early stories, and high fantasy was indelibly transformed by his novels. His profound influence on 20th-century fantastic fiction is visible in authors as dissimilar as Neil Gaiman, H.P. Lovecraft, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Lord Dunsany's best-known novel is The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924), wherein the men of Erl desire to be "ruled by a magic lord," and the lord's heir, Alveric, ventures into Elfland to win the king's daughter, Lirazel. Their story does not progress as a reader weaned on the diluted milk of formulaic fantasy would expect; and the novel's unique journeys and events are matched by Dunsany's rich and lyrical prose and by his contagious intoxication with the magic and marvels of both Elfland and our own world." --Cynthia Ward
Zygoptera on 10/4/2006 at 00:16
I particularly enjoy Stephen Donaldson, both his fantasy and sci-fi offerings. Not, of course, to everyone's taste, particularly for his penchant for, er, flawed heroes.
I used to really like Discworld, but now they leave me feeling like I've had a McDonald's. Pratchett, unfortunately, has lost his variation and now seems to write every single main character of every single book as a variation of Sam Vimes. And it's a real shame, because most of his books (Small Gods, Feet of Clay and Interesting Times especially) were extremely good.
Quote Posted by Random_Taffer
I'm currently on
The Fire's of Heaven (Book 5). I hope I'm not in for a big disappointment...:(
So did you actually read them all? Just get boring for you? Or was this just what you've heard?
I've read them all, for my sins. Basically, 1-4, 6 and the last one were either OK, good or even excellent in parts- of their type- the rest were almost entirely... overinflated, waffly and gave the distinct impression that RJ had no idea how to get where he wanted to go. Too many new characters with points of view, too little movement or action.
And bear in mind that there is a realistic chance the series will not get finished as the author has a (likely) terminal illness.
bassmanret on 10/4/2006 at 01:07
(In alphabetical order, cuz that's how I see them on my shelves)
Best of my Sci-Fi:
Isaac Asimov ; Foundation Trilogy, The Gods Themselves: OMG, sooo good!
Ray Bradbury ; Dandelion Wine, Farenheit 451, Martian Chronicles: The guy is F-ing great!!!
Michael Bishop ; No Enemy But Time: Surprisingly awesome!
Orson Scott Card : All Ender Stuff. (His "non-Ender" stuff is not so good IMO)
Arthur C. Clarke : Anything and Everything.... but specifically, "Childhood's End", "2001", "Fountains of Paradise", and "Rendesvous With Rama".
Hal Clement ; Mission Of Gravity: PLEASE READ THIS!!!
Spraque De Camp : Lest Darkness Fall: FANTASTIC MUST-READ!
L. Ron Hubbard : I know, he's a Scientology-founding lunatic, but ; The Mission Earth series (Ten-count'em-TEN) is one of my best-loved reads in my life. Also, Battlefield Earth is awesome (despite the moronic movie version).
Daniel Keyes ; Flowers For Algernon: Classic.
Ursula Le Guin ; The Dispossessed.
Walter Miller ; A Canticle For Leibowitz: Another Classic.
Larry Niven ; Mote In God's Eye, Ringworld (and it's sequels): How can you not know these?
Frederik Pohl ; Gateway
Dan Simmons ; The Hyperion series (and just about anything else he does): Wow, ...just wow! Complex, but riveting!
Robert Silverburg ; Dying Inside: Great, great, great!
Kurt Vonnegut ; Sirens of Titan, and others.
Gene Wolfe ; The "Claw of the Conciliator" series is fantastic: 4 books.
Best of my Fantasy List:
Terry Brooks ; Majic Kingdom of Landover series: love them, and wish there were more. Intending to start the Shannara series soon. The "controversy" surrounding it's similarity to LOTR is what has held me back. Yes, LOTR is one of my favorites, but I thought it obvious, and so did not include it.
David Eddings ; The Belgariad series, The Mallorean series, and the Elenium series: Very Addictive.
Ann Rice ; Is this Fantasy?? I think so. If so, Almost EVERYTHING She's done is fantastic! From Lestat to Merrick. I'm a huge fan, and love it immensely!
Tad Williams ; Otherland series: I've only read the first, but the rest look most promising (and are already purchased). (he sets his endings up for sequels, which is not really cool).
I guess that's all for now....:) These are my most recommended.
Strangeblue on 10/4/2006 at 01:44
Quote Posted by Jennie&Tim
<i>Silently points to Amazon</i>
"All fantasy and horror fans owe it to themselves to read Lord Dunsany (1878-1957). The sword & sorcery genre was born in his early stories, and high fantasy was indelibly transformed by his novels. His profound influence on 20th-century fantastic fiction is visible in authors as dissimilar as Neil Gaiman, H.P. Lovecraft, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Lord Dunsany's best-known novel is The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924), wherein the men of Erl desire to be "ruled by a magic lord," and the lord's heir, Alveric, ventures into Elfland to win the king's daughter, Lirazel. Their story does not progress as a reader weaned on the diluted milk of formulaic fantasy would expect; and the novel's unique journeys and events are matched by Dunsany's rich and lyrical prose and by his contagious intoxication with the magic and marvels of both Elfland and our own world." --Cynthia Ward
Thank you, Jennie! Lord Dunsany's first fantasy was published in 1905, so he far precedes Tolkein. Sorry, Naartjie and Dia.
And for those of you who think fantasy is only about mythic quests and wizards and that sort of muck, you've missed
a lot. I direct you to Nina Kiriki Hoffman, the late Octavia Butler, Jim Butcher, and Stephanie Swainston.
PigLick on 10/4/2006 at 05:05
I'd like to pipe in here with my favorite fantasy author that hardly anyone seems to have heard of, Hugh Cook. He wrote a 10 book series called 'Chronicles of an Age of Darkness', the first being titled 'The Wizards and the Warriors', which sounds like utter cliched fantasy tripe. They are not however, deep, rich plotlines, amongst seemingly random violence and debauchery, fucking great books. They are out of print so you would have to get them secondhand these days I guess.
If you are a fan of Jack Vance and Fritz Lieber, then I cannot recommend these books enough.
Naartjie on 10/4/2006 at 09:17
Quote:
Originally posted by StrangeblueThank you, Jennie! Lord Dunsany's first fantasy was published in 1905, so he far precedes Tolkein. Sorry, Naartjie and Dia.
I didn't argue at any point that Tolkein was the founder of fantasy. He wrote one of the definitive works of epic fantasy in the modern period (although whether any of the subsequent material it has 'defined' has been any good is up to the individual), but the whole genre finds its roots in the great medieval epics and sagas, and before that, in ancient works such as the
Odyssey etc. Characters like Dunsay have helped sharpen the whole literature into subgenres like swords & sorcery (though I don't think that's a particularly good definition).
Anyone who thinks Tolkein is some kind of father figure of fantastic literature only needs to look into a bit of Michael Moorcock or Robert E. Howard to see how much good stuff they're missing.
Random_Taffer on 10/4/2006 at 15:12
And all Sci-Fi fans must tip their hats to Mary Shelley (Frankenstein 1818). The true mother of Science Fiction.
