My Top Ten Super-Solo-Unsequelled-Standalone Fantasy Novels

[cassiphone]

Originally published at tansyrr.com. You can comment here or there.

After yesterday, I’ve been thinking about how many fantasy novels are truly standalone. Girlie Jones declared on Twitter that she doesn’t read fantasy because she’s not interested in waiting for volumes to be written. It’s a fair cop - if the concept of a journey through an

Comments

[jo1967]

Not stand alones by your definition here, but I love what Charles DeLint has done by creating the city of Newford and peopling it with his characters. Each story is a new one, but we meet old friends in each one.

[cassiphone]

I might have to blog something about the other kind of standalone pretty soon

[jo1967]

Yes, I think it is your duty to do so...

*grin*

[julietvalcouer]

I would have "Sunshine" over "Deerskin", myself (though it pains me to think that's the only one she'll write in that world.) I consider it THE best modern vampire novel. It's a brilliant plot, brilliant writing, brilliant characterizations, totally convincting worldbuilding--like the perfect storm of vampire story elements. Given that most of what else is out there in the vampire fantasy subgenre is gothy romance, with various positions on the sliding humorous scale, not to mention the warped crap that is "Twilight" (I am not by any stretch a feminist scholar or even overly concerned with women in general but even I am completely squicked by the twisted misogyny.) "Sunshine" is just...SO GOOD. Even though I would love a sequel, it leaves me satisfied at the end.

[cassiphone]

I think part of what makes Sunshine so awesome and memorable is that it does exist on its own and not as the first of a long line of sequels.

[julietvalcouer]

For me, she could do a sequel, or a prequel, or about someone else in the world--heck, ideally that would be best as I'm not sure I want answers about things like who is Sunshine's boyfriend REALLY. The world is both so bizarre and so convincing I don't feel like there's just one story (whereas with some of the neverending serials there probably wasn't one whole story to start.) On the other hand, that's part of the appeal--I read it and the whole world exists beyond the characters and I never get answers about it, which is deliciously frustrating

[transcendancing]

This was awesome to read - thanks!

[ashamel]

I would put Imajica over Weaveworld. Though, like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, it's probably as long as some series (and has been released as two volumes in some places). I'd put King and Straub's The Talisman up too (but only because I'd recommend ignoring the sequel :-)

K suggests the Scar over Perdido St.

The Etched City by Kirsten Bishop, the Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans, and possibly Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist come to mind as well.

[ashamel]

I missed your mention of Jonathan Strange above. Though on such grounds, China Mieville's stuff would be excluded too, it seems to me.

[cassiphone]

Heh well I have still to read a Mieville book so it was never going to make my own top 10! Thanks for the other recs.

[ashamel]

THE ETCHED CITY!!

:D

Ursula's Lathe of Heaven.

Sheri S Tepper's Beauty.

Thoraiya

(I'll come back with more of a list later, as I am a huge standalone hog, but the Small One has just brought me yet ANOTHER Dr Seuss Book that she's ripped and is snivelling, "Mummy fix fix!")

[anonymous]

Blah, apparently there is a sequel to "Lovelock" coming out.

So scratch that and insert "The Hounds of the Morrigan" by Pat O'Shea. And (tragically enough), she's dead so that puts paid to any sequels.