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[randomways]

Also, in addition to my brief tale of conversational gaffes and soul-sucking awkwardness in my last post, I meant to direct a question to my f-list:

On the heels of KdS's analysis of spec-fic, I've been thinking about my on-going struggle to update my personal canon of sci-fi and fantasy. My dilemma has been to avoid the "pulp" stuff (if, while

Comments

[ginsu]

I can't believe nobody has recommended George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series in this post. It's obviously the best epic fantasy in many, many years.

A few notable innovations:

• No teen male orphan hero
• No hero, in fact, at all
• No elves
• No evil force threatening the kingdoms of Men from the East
• Damn little magic of any kind
• Sick-fuck bad guys that somehow turn out to be well-rounded characters

Four long books in, it's a fairly black tale -- medieval English history made even more fascinating, played out on an island the size of a continent. No cream, no sugar. Lots of back-room politics. Don't get too attached to the characters and don't expect Martin to bring the cozy. The man has no cozy in him.

Don't bother with the prologue of the first book, either; my guess is his publishers forced him to tack it on due to an insufficient cheese element in the text proper.

[surexit]

Hi!

I have. Um. No idea how I got to your journal? I went to work and it was open in tabs when I got back, and I'm still confused. But I friended you, because you seem cool.

Also, a rec these many moons later, although I'm not sure if this would jibe with your tastes at all: Ash: A History by Mary Gentle. It's this massive, bizarre, pseudo-historical thing, and it's one of those things that either fits your niche or it doesn't, you know? I adore it, but you might throw it violently across the room.