Fantasy Reading List - M
Fantasy books I recommend, sorted by author's last name in alphabetical order.
- The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory
- The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
- Dragonriders of Pern Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey
- The Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey
- Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip
- The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip
- The Damar series by Robin McKinley
- The Bas-Lag Series by China Mieville
- The Saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt
- The Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris
I actually really like this partnership. I've read some Mercedes Lackey books and they read a certain way so it's a refreshing change to see some of the differences when Mallory is added to the mix. I believe Mallory comes from a scholarly bent, more specifically of the historical kind and I notice that the world building is a lot stronger in this series than it seems for Lackey's usual stories. Not to knock Lackey but she tends to focus more on individuals whereas in the Obsidian Trilogy, there is also a lot of detail filled in on the locales, cultures and society in general. It's very neat. What I do like is their original take on Tolkien's long-lived elven race. Although the concept of the race has been rehashed multiple times to become a fantasy staple (and cliche), Lackey & Mallory actually fill in the details on the elven society. The elven world that is built is very enriching and grounded so the elves themselves don't turn into the ethereal, ever wise creatures that everyone worships, but they actually become a people. I think that's the part I enjoyed the most. Plus, the main character is kinda kick-ass. He's human with special abilities but it doesn't make him special. It's a bit complicated to go into. I also like the system of magic that's set up because THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES. Even, life threatening ones. It's done very well. I'm even intrigued to see what sort of fantasy Mallory can write by himself. Amazingly enough, all three books pull their weight. So, yeah, totally recommend this series.
A trilogy based on a fairytale, which involves seven brothers and a curse, this is a series based in ancient Celtic culture. Although usually, stuff like that annoys me since New Age stuff strikes me as wishy-washy, this is a surprisingly realistic and gritty series. It's not morbid but it is very grounded in reality. Each book is stand-alone but builds on the previous book and I must say that the trilogy is wrapped up pretty well. I was surprised that I liked all three main characters featured in each book (they all represent a different generation) and it was interesting to see how the aftereffects of the initial curse reverberated through time.
Although I have only read the first book of this series, I'm still recommending it. It does have great word of mouth buzz going about it but that's not the reason why I'm recommending it. I'm recommending this series because despite its huge cast of characters, they are all important. And Martin is not afraid of having life happen to those characters. Sometimes, death. And when stuff happens, YOU CARE. There was even this annoying girl in the book and she was so realistically annoying (because she was just so naive and DUMB) that I couldn't help but throw the book in frustration. I just wanted to be able to shake her and yell, "WHY ARE YOU SO DUMB? THINK DAMMIT!" But that frustration was born out of great characterization because she was realistic, so her annoying naivete was real too. The only thing that actually gives me pause is that this is almost non-stop political intrigue with some magic. But for the most part this is a no-hold-barred game of politics. Machiavellian tactics rule here. It will be a grim reality where not all of the characters you know and love will survive the end of the tale. But that's life, dammit. Basically, Martin sure can write.
The original Dragonriders series-I believe that the concept wasn't even in anyone's heads until McCaffrey came and published this trilogy. Has a science fiction basis to the fantasy but since to the perspective of the characters, it is fantasy, I include it as a fantasy series. It's one of those rare series that can be grouped in either sci-fi or fantasy. Anyway, the quick summary here is dragonriders must fight spore called Thread that would destroy all life on the world of Pern if it is allowed to fall to earth. I don't recommend any of the other books besides these. Mostly because a large majority of them are just a rehash of the same plot template after a while and would ruin whatever initial enjoyment the first books gave. So really, to get the full story, just read these books. And be happy that you read only these books. Trust me.
Also set on the same world of Pern, the focus of this trilogy isn't so much on the dragonriders but on the Harper Hall musicians. Of course, dragonriders do figure into it so there might be some overlap of events covered in the Dragonrider trilogy. It's probably better to read this trilogy concurrently with the Dragonrider trilogy though since the plot overlaps enough to possibly contain spoilers. One perk of this series is that it fills in the details on one of the more kick-ass characters in the Pern world, the Master Harper.
A stand-alone novel that's surreal but engrossing about a girl who was found on the doorsteps of the Royal Library and raised there to be a Librarian. She finds a book written in a strange thorny alphabet that she grows to obsess over. I really like the poetic quality of the plot and it all works very well although frankly speaking, the characters can be a bit airy. But still a good read.
One of McKillip's earlier works-it's very imaginative and secretive at the same time. I actually can't really summarize it very well as it defies categorization. Just read it.
I've actually only read the second and last book, which is one of my absolute favorites. So I have no idea if the first book is even more kick-ass or not. I just know that Robin McKinley rules and Harimad Sol (Harry) is the best reason for why female warriors kick ass.
I've only read the one book out of this series but it was AWESOME. It was the Scar and it has a FLOATING PIRATE CITY MADE OUT OF SHIPS. Does that not sound absolutely FABULOUS?!? Why didn't anyone think of this? China Mieville is also one of those grim authors though but I would say he's probably the closest in print to recreate the atmosphere of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. All of the books are actually stand-alones and the only relation they seem to have with each other is that they're all set in the universe of Bas-Lag. But man, it's quite a creative universe.
This series actually is a long list of books but these two are the ones that I REALLY enjoyed. The rest, I was a bit apathetic about, to tell the truth. I can't really summarize them too much without spoiling it although I can say that the magic system plays with opposites as it is based on order and chaos. It's a bit philosophical but I'm really in it for the character. It's a bit of a mindgame to read these two books for me. I find something new each time I re-read it.
This dude deserves kudos for writing his stories in such a way that I see the King Arthur tales from a completely different light. It's obvious that it's a labor of love for him as some of this stuff, you know that only someone who's read the source material a million times could produce it. I actually have only read the second book of the series but have been meaning to read the whole series. It's a pretty neat series because it's an almost satiric look at the King Arthur stories-like a "what if time just erased all the realities away" kinda thing. Of course, magic and specifically, the Faerie realm, do exist to allow for the quests that occur.
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Currently Reading
The Book of Atrix Wolfe
By Patricia A. McKillip