Ta Da! The Fantasy List!
I've been reading off this list from The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List and did a post on the Romance List--which is my least favorite genre. Now I just finished the list of my favorite genre, the Fantasy List. Naturally I'd read a lot more of these to begin with and I liked a lot more. I tried to rate the below on something of
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Surprisingly so. I don't tend to have a high opinion of romance and turning to this list I expected almost everything to be fives and fours--and granted, that is over a third of the list--but a good third of what's on a rec list is mediocre to awful. Including some so-called classics of the genre like Brooks and Jordan.
Of the ones I've read... I would list Mists of Avalon as a favourite, but I first read it when I was 12 and obsessed with Arthurian legend, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. I never could get into any other MZB, though.
A lot of MZB turns out not to be MZB. *points up at list* For instances, none of the Avalon sequels and quite a few Darkovers. And early on I think she was still getting her legs and just churning them out--so it depends a lot on what you read I think. On the other hand, I imprinted young--about 13. So that might have something to do with my love of the Darkover books.
Neil Gaiman is the literary love of my life, even if Neverwhere isn't my favourite of his books.
I currently am reading him with the other literary love of your life, in the guise of Good Omens. Even though I did wind up loving Pratchett's Small Gods, I never had a laugh out loud moment. That occurred on page 35 of Good Omens. By and by reading through this I never realized how often religion is a subject in fantasy--but its often a major thread. I guess that makes sense given the origins of myth but--you have a whole lot of serious pagans like Bradley and Lackey, Christians like Lewis and Lawhead, and preachy atheists like Pullman and Goodkind--and supposedly a Taoist in Le Guin...
I haven't read any Robert Jordan, although Hunkatude has all of the books in hardcover and really enjoys them-I think he started reading them at a fairly young age, so I think at this point he's too invested to stop reading.
So we can attribute it to early imprinting?
The Chronicles of Narnia were favourites of mine when I was growing up, but I haven't reread them in years. You know my thoughts on Susan. *mutters darkly*
*pats* I'll have to look up Gaiman's "The Problem of Susan" I did give A Horse and His Boy a try. This time I can't detect a whiff of allegory, and I'm wondering now if Lackey got the talking horsies from Lewis. I did find it annoying when we reencounter the brothers and sisters and they're all doing royal speak.
A friend has been threatening to buy my a copy of A Game of Thrones to force me to read it, so maybe one day...
After reading Williams and Jordan just before I was hysterically grateful to read someone who could write, characters that weren't cardboard cutouts, and most of all--a epic high fantasy that didn't read anything like Tolkien. I have my own reservations though and not everyone likes them *points up to Shiv's comments* I liked just the first book, but didn't want to read more cuz its unfinished and depressing--those who have read the other books in reviews do say its amazing how something brief in the first book gets connected with events in others--that its very intricate. On first read I found the rotating point of views rather frustrating--on second read I found I rather preferred it to the ubiquitous omniscient in fantasy.
I tried Mary Stewart ages ago, but that was after binging on ten billion Arthurian romances so I was a bit sick of it. I may try her again some day, though.
While I think she might have been my first--that might make a difference.
And I'll add your recs to my growing neverending-list. I have heard good things about Funke and Marillier by others.
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