Great Works of Fantasy

[harmony_bites]

I was discussing with silburygirl the works of fantasy we've read and loved, she was wondering what she'd missed out, and that caused me to pull out my (literally) falling apart copy of A Reader's Guide to Fantasy, Searles, Meachem and Franklin, eds (1982) long out of print and thus out of date. Nevertheless, I thought I'd share with you, and her, it's "Seven

Comments

[silburygirl]

I didn't know The Last Unicorn was a book! I watched the movie about a million times when I was tiny-if I had known about the book, I probably would have died of happiness.

Nesbit was the sort of writer who primed me for Harry Potter-children having adventures.

I'll have to think about my fantasy list long and hard, but I will get back to you on this!

[harmony_bites]

Never read Nesbit--now with Beagle, the book I know, and somehow missed the movie!

Knowing you, I think you'd really love CL Moore's Jirel of Joiry. CL Moore was one of the earliest female sci-fi/fantasy writers and Jirel pretty much the first swashbuckling heroine.

Not on the list because written too late which are favorites I'd try are Jacqueline's Kushiel series and anything pretty much Lois Bujold writes.

[silburygirl]

I have added CL Moore to my ever-growing list! She sounds beyond awesome, and I can't wait to get my hands on her.

I'm actually a bit ashamed that I haven't read Jacqueline Carey and Lois Bujold, as I've heard so much about them... Kushiel's Dart is the first in Carey's series, right? I will get my hands on it ASAP.

[harmony_bites]

*nods* Kushiel's Dart is the first--and I've had good luck in my recommending of it--I rec'd it to both bambu345 and wonderfulwrites and both loved it. I'd rec it to renitaleandra but it's *gasp* first person so....

Carey did another series right after the first series--I didn't much like it at all, then she went back to that world and the magic was still there...

[duniazade]

Excellent idea! I should try to delve in my bookshelves.

I find it often difficult to distinguish between fantasy proper, horror and sci-fi. I was thinking in particular of Jack Vance's "Cycle of Tschai": it's situated on another planet but it has a distinct fantasy feeling.

And then there's what the French call "le fantastique", which has a quite distinct feel - it's the intrusion of the inexplicable (and unexplained) into a very realistic setting.

I love CL Moore.

[harmony_bites]

There's what is often called "speculative fiction" which can take in everything from "magical realism" popular in South American literature to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror--and I agree with you--it can be hard to separate out the genres. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series "feel" like sci-fi to me, but the later books (in terms of the world's chronology rather then when written) deal with the clash of this traditional culture with psychic powers and a technological galaxy-spanning culture from Earth reminiscent of Star Trek's "Federation" McCaffrey's Pern stories with its dragons feel more fantasy than sci-fi too, and you only really get more than hints of the sci-fi underpinnings in the later books. And where do you put Pullman's Dark Materials? Tanith Lee too.

I think it's partly a matter of setting, and part of where the overlying premises come from--science or mythological?

I love CL Moore.

Me too. And she bends genres too.

[imhilien]

A great meme I shall snaffle. :)

I actually finished the latest (and last?) 'Kuschiel' book today, which was a real page-turner. A good if sometimes dark series.

[harmony_bites]

Yeah, it sure isn't PG is it? I should warn there's a lot of BDSM in there--entwined right in the premise--and prostitution--themes I usually find off-putting but I wound up loving the characters and the world Carey created.

[imhilien]

I did notice the non-PG stuff throughout the two series, erm, yes. But Carey had created an amazing alternate Earth (and some great characters, I agree) and that kept me coming back.

[harmony_bites]

Goodkind is a hard-core Ayn Randite. That didn't show in the first books much, which I remember as really good action-adventure--but the books just got worst and worst as they went along. The only reason I kept reading is a kind of horrified train-wreck fascination and because once I've invested in a series like that I tend to keep going. I find that with a lot of successful series btw--they either become self-indulgently ... well, stupid like Goodkind or Hamilton or succumb to a kind of "tired blood" where they feed off themeselves--like imo McCaffrey's Pern or Lackey's Valdemar

[closetravenclaw]

I barely made it through Guilty Pleasures (years ago), so after reading this, I may give the 2nd book a try, just to see if I can make it through that one. I enjoyed LKH's fairy series until the last 2 books.

[harmony_bites]

I did increasingly rather like the world-building in the books, and until about the 8th book, they made rather speedy to read coherent mystery/thrillers. But then after Obsidian Butterfly they become WTF of the kind that--well of the kind that gets squeed at in SSHG...

And they're somewhat squicky even before that.