Favorite fantasy author
 

The first question is an unscientific poll to determine which fantasy author Dominions players like the most.

The second question is a cheap shot at the (im)famous Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. (Hey, who says the pollster has to be unbiased?)

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Missing anyone in that little list of yours? Hmm?

Just ponder for awhile...
It'll come to you...


HOW ABOUT FREAKING J.R.R. TOLKIEN?

Ring a bell? Hm? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Sheesh!

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Guy Gavriel Kay and Glen Cook were also notably missing, IMHO.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

As are CS Friedman and CS Lewis (though Tolkein gets my vote http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

~Aldin

[ January 22, 2004, 04:15: Message edited by: aldin ]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Friedman, while excellent, is predominantly considered SF (well, so are Drake and Weber, truth to tell). Note I didn't include C.J. Cherryh either. Or many other quite good cross-genre authors. It's not meant to be a comprehensive list. I did say something about it being, ah, non-scientific? That's a weasel word for "inaccurate" or "non-comprehensive".

I didn't include authors like Lewis and Tolkien deliberately. They aren't currently writing. That in no way lessens the merit of their works. Perhaps I should have mentioned why I chose the list I did. But, hey, it's my list. heh


Cheers!

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

how about Roger Zelazny?

The Great book of Amber is probably my favorite fantasy novel after Tolkien and Lewis. He died a couple of years ago. That disqualifies him i guess

[ January 22, 2004, 07:10: Message edited by: ExitJudas ]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

At the moment Steven Erikson with his Malazan Empire serie. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Michael Moorcock

His eternal champion series are each for itself fun to read. However, if you have read all of them and start finding out how the different characters, even those that never met, influence each other, it gets even more fun.

Great work!

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Terry Pratchet. His books always find a good home on my bookshelves. I'm no big fan of fantasy but this guy writes in a way I can identify with. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

You missed Ursula LeGuin... or whatever her name was. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif You know, Earthsea. Famous and suchlike.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I voted for Martin and "other", which includes Steven Erikson and J.R.R. Tolkien.

I also like Le Guin and Moorcock a lot, but a bit less than those three.

[ January 22, 2004, 13:29: Message edited by: Teraswaerto ]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

David Farland. I hope the Runelords movie is good.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I am rather surprised thus far to see a hack like Robert Jordan get as many votes as he has and a fine author like Katherine Kurtz get zilch ...

However it comes as no surprise that Martin and Feist rank at the top. Or that the majority of 'other' votes are for Tolkien.

Keep those votes coming! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Robert Jordan's books wouldn't be half as boring if they were translated as whole books, instead of halves or even three parts! In Finland, there already are more parts of the Ajan Pyörä than there ever will be in the Wheel of Time! There are 17 books already, and 18th (coming this spring) and 19th (maybe next autumn) will have the Path of Daggers.

I haven't read many of the writers mentioned here, but I hope I will get a chance... The first book of George R. R. Martin has been translated, and I'm waiting for it to come to local library... I have read one of his novels and liked it very much.

I voted for Eddings, Hobb and Other. Other includes Tolkien and Diana Wynne Jones. Hobb is just great. Atleast his Assasin trilogy is, I'm not sure about this new series of him that is being translated. Lord Golden or something like that in English.

I noticed that many here dislike Eddings. I personally liked all his books, and didn't find the talking parts (too) boring. They added a lot to the characters, and I'm don't know would I have enjoyed his books without all that talk. In the negative, I think I would have enjoyed his books even if they weren't fantasy (although not as much), so he might not be that great fantasy writer.
If you are starting to think I'm a madman for liking Eddings, remember that although I have read fantasy for many years, I am not very old (born -87) and the local library doesn't have most of the writers mentioned here. So I have read only newer fantasy, and I don't have much to compare DE to.
BTW, I have always thought I write too long Posts/ essays because I have read too much Eddings.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Sorry to say, but Eddings is quite possibly the worst fantasy writer in existence (though I've heard that Mercedes Lackey is even worse, I've not had the displeasure of reading her stuff myself). The same (not particularly good & horribly cliched to boot) plot and identical characters only with new names in book after another.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Endoperez,

It just goes to show you how plodding and relatively disorganized Jordan's books are that you can cut one in half or a third and not notice that the book has ended abruptly at a point where it shouldn't. Most of his books just end as if the publisher decided that it had enough chapters to go to print and any more must wait until the next installment. If I had written stories in college (for my creative writing classes) as Jordan does, I'd have failed. Not for the substance of the writing, but for the lack of plotline advancement. Jordan simply fails to grasp the (related) concepts of "getting to the point" and "too much of a good thing".

With regards to Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy (sequel to the Assassin trilogy), it's excellent writing but probably not quite as enjoyable for the simple reason that (I at least) found the story of the main character growing up (and being trained) to be fascinating. I think the sequel trilogy (which is quite good, Hobb is incapable of mediocre writing) would have been better if it had been written from the point of view of a student of Fitz, placing Fitz into role-reversal from that of the first trilogy. But I suppose that two trilogies of assassin training would probably have been too much.

I love the Eddings characters. They're memorable. But Eddings also suffers from a (much) milder case of the disease that afflicts Jordan: not getting to the point quickly enough, and too much of a good thing. At least, unlike Jordan, he does get there. Eventually. Eddings' books also have more action in them, so while they do ramble, it's not as tedious as reading Jordan.

[ January 22, 2004, 14:32: Message edited by: Arryn ]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">He was one of the first fantasy writers I read, so I didn't know the clices. Besides, I would say he has come up with atleast 4 plots for his 20+ books. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif One for Belgariad/Mallorean, one for Elenium/Tamul and one for Althalus, and I counted Belgarath/ Polgara as fourth because so much new happens in them. The characters between the stories also change quite a lot. I'm not saying they would be very good, but atleast they are different... Sparhawk has little common with /Bel)Garion, and the closest thing I can think of is Talen/ Silk. But I haven't thought about that, so I jsut might not have noticed...

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">You do have valid points about Eddings. The Sparhawk novels, while decent, would have been better if I'd never read the Belgariad and Mallorien. And while I think the Redemption of Athalus is great, the characters are, indeed, cliched, and the plot is a condensation of the same thing as in his multi-volume series. It's still a fun read though.

Lackey is awful. 'Nuff said.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I voted for other - Robert E Howard

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hear! Hear!

Fionavar was the best ever and The Black Company is still strangely addictive.

(Bring back the Limper!)

Also various Authors named Ian and one with the Last name of Zelazny. And Ursula LeGuin. Duh. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

For a certain demographic Rowling might also have been included. Andre Norton anyone?

Oh and technically McCaffrey, though none for me thanks!


Rabe the Increasingly Curmudgeonly and Adverbially Momentous (whew!) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

It's really impossible to name them all... who is this Martin everyone has a shrine to?

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I like Guy Kay's historical fantasy best, but definitely agree about The Black Company books -- like the game Myth, only better.

I'd somehow forgot Ursula LeGuin (Earthsea) and Michael Moorcock (Elric), two more of my Favorites! A quick scan over my books also finds Lord Dunsany (King of Elfland's Daughter), Robert Holdstock (Mythago Wood), and Barry Hughart (Bridge of Birds).

I've also a shine for several "graphic novel" authors, notably Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Stardust), Jim Fitzpatrick (Book of Conquests), and Mark Smylie (Artesia).

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Are these UK authors? Because I've never seen/heard of them before and I'm pretty darn well read.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Are these UK authors? Because I've never seen/heard of them before and I'm pretty darn well read. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">If you've never heard of Dunsany, Kay or Holdstock, perhaps you're not quite as well read as you thougth. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">They might be a bit hard to find... I suggest you try Powell's, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or perhaps the library. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Seriously though, they're well known mainstream authors who's books you'll find in any reasonable sized bookstore, at least as far as I've seen in the US.

[soapbox]
They're just not the standard run of the mill formula fantasy retread that is so common amongst the most "popular" fantasy authors. Jordan? Feist? Eddings? Better fiction exists.
[/soapbox]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">How about a somewhat more useful reply?

Of course I could blame it on the fact that Barnes and Noble's storefront outlets only seem to carry popular authors ...

A quick check of Dunsany with B&N Online shows that his works do not seem to be available in mass-market editions. That's one problem right there. I cannot afford large-format volumes.

Holdstock's Mythago Wood came out in August of Last year and I must have just overlooked it. His other works are long out of print it seems. As are about half of Kay's. Kay's stuff that is still in print does not appear to be normal stock items in the B&N stores. And I don't buy books I cannot thumb through and get a feel for.

By the way, as a personal note, you might want to think twice about recommending books that are hard to get. It's one reason (besides simply forgetting about him) that I didn't recommend a good author like Michael Moorcock. Most of his stuff is out of print. And worse, hard to find used. (Luckily for me, I got his books many years ago when they could still be found, new and/or used.) Ditto for Andre Norton.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Totally different from me then. I look at recommendations in different places, and perhaps try to get something by the author from the library, and then order Online based on that. I never buy from bookstores.

Quote:

By the way, as a personal note, you might want to think twice about recommending books that are hard to get. It's one reason (besides simply forgetting about him) that I didn't recommend a good author like Michael Moorcock.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Why? A good book is a good book even if it's hard to get your hands on. All the more reason to recommend it, since it's less likely that one would pick up the book by accident.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I found Robert Jordan's earlier books to be rather good, but they quickly degraded in quality, probably around the third book or so. Honestly, Eye of the World itself was a very good book however.

And although I didn't find Eddings to be too impressive an author, he is by no means the worst. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
Reading L.E. Modesitt's (sp) books (the Recluse ones) which my brother had read, I realized that every book involves an absolutely identical plot in which some powerful order mage that is simple at heart and works as a carpender or something must fight off chaos in the Last chapter, beating the odds and going temporarily blind by overuse of order magic. From what I've read he gets my worst author prize. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

By the way, would anyone advise reading any of Fred Saberhagen's stuff? I have some of his books that I bought used sitting around in my line of books to read.

But I'm really more of a SF person anyway. As such I give you Greg Egan's webpage for those who dare read his short stories Online...or try to play quantum soccer. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">'The King of Elfland's daughter' has been reprint as part of the Fantasy Masterworks compilation, I bought it in London a year or two ago (look for 'Murder One' or somesuch store in Tottenham Cour Rd, has an excellent offer in Fantasy, SciFi & Crime literature).

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I've had no trouble finding the books I mentioned at the two Barnes and Noble storefronts I've visited recently.
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I bought my Dunsany books at a B&N several months ago.
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Mythago Wood I believe is Robert Holdstocks first book published, and I've been seeing it in stores for years. Most of Guy Kay's books are still in print as well.
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Try the library. If you have trouble getting any of these authors, you simply haven't tried.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I've picked up his "The Lost Swords" in the library about a week ago and now I'm at page 100 something. I guess I can not recommend him. So far we've got a set of god-forged swords with specific characteristics (like in Dominions), but nothing other of interest has happened.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I'm amazed that noone here has read the amber series by roger zelazny. That has got to be one of _the_ best fantasy series ever. Too bad he died so young.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Not mentioned doesn't equal not read...for more Zelazny you might check 'Lord of Light' if you haven't yet.

On the matter of Kay, he gets a lot of praise from educated readership, yet what I have read of him left me cold. Tried 'Tigana' first and finished the book without liking the characters nor the plot. Tried 'Lions' afterwards and was not impressed either, as the most interesting character is a rip-off of 'El Cid', someone I am already familiar with because of my origins. Not tried a third time.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Zelazny has written a few good books, but the Amber saga certainly isn't one of them.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I read them all. I don't know that I would say they were the best, but there were some decent moments. Sort of petered out at the end, IMHO.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

i agree that the beginning was the best, actually it might be the concept i really fell for, since it was somehow different from contemporary fantasy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

i liked it a lot though. not my favourite, but in my top 10 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Well, on the recommendations from various people on this forum I went out to the nearest B&N and found a lone copy of Steven Erikson's Memories of Ice. Nearly 1200 pages of paperback. Hope it's as good as you folks say it is. Unfortunately, if I'm not mistaken, it's the third volume in the Malazan series. I'm also hoping that jumping in with the third book won't be a bad thing, which is a definite no-no for some other author's series. Interesting side note: this copy is a UK edition that wasn't even supposed to be in the store. It took 2 cashiers 5 minutes on their computer to come up with a price in US dollars.

As for Holdstock and the other authors that Jasper has been giving me so much flak about, they were nowhere to be found. I asked, specifically, and was told that the stock that B&N stores carry varies from locale to locale. So just because you found it in your city doesn't mean someone else will where they live. Please try to be a little more understanding before you post insulting lines like
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Also try to consider that some of us have real lives and we do not have unlimited amounts of time to spend on chasing down obscure books.

And, as I said before, I like to be able to thumb through a book before I buy it. If it's not on the shelf, that's sort of hard to do.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

It's a bad idea to start with the third book, as the story is very much ongoing. The third book happens parallel to the second, so it'll work somewhat okay to read the third before the second (but both 2. and 3. absolutely NEED to be read before House of Chains), but you really should read Gardens of the Moon first to understand what's going on. If you bought it already, surely you can deviate from your principle this once and order the the first book Online if it's not available otherwise.

[ January 23, 2004, 17:49: Message edited by: Teraswaerto ]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I was hoping this wouldn't be the case. Sigh. But seeing as I cannot find the other volumes, and I already have #3, I suppose ordering the others Online makes sense. What really irks is having this nice fat juicy tome of a book sitting here now and having to wait before I can read it. Sigh.

Thanks for the warning.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Of the authors in the poll the only one I've read is David Gemmell. But that's cos I just don't read much anymore.

When I was younger I read, as I say, Gemmell and also Ursula Le Guin, Mary Stewart (I think anyway) and Terry Pratchett. There may be others that I've read one book by and forgotten.

Pratchett's the only one I've kept reading, and I've read almost everything he's written (passed over a couple of his children's books). I could probably read books by the others and find them enjoyable enough, but they were a bit too fantasy-by-numbers (esp. Gemmell, I don't remember the other two so much) for me to get excited about.

I've also become a big fan of Neil Gaiman - both his comics/graphic novels (Sandman being the main one) and his "regular" novels and short stories (30 odd short stories from Smoke & Mirrors, along with Neverwhere, Coraline, American Gods).

So it's Pratchett and Gaiman that I am thinking of when I tick "Other" in the poll http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

FYI, in case anyone's curious, Steven Erikson's books are not in stock at either Amazon or B&N. Getting them shipped might take 2-3 weeks. Ick. Guess I'll have to make some time this weekend to try a few of the larger used bookstores locally.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

I voted Martin and Hobb. Those are the two best authors I have read, hands down.

I started reading the WoT books when they were on book 7 or so, so I got the first one, liked it, then picked up the next 5. And read em all in a relatively short period of timeMistake. I would say books 1-3 were good, or at least worth reading. After that though...it became like the Everquest of fantasy literature. Incredibly diminishing returns with more and more demands on the reader. Also like EQ, I continued to buy the books even after I realized I wasnt enjoying them, just kind of hoping it would get better. It hasnt. I stopped reading at book 8, but I think I have 9 and 10 somewhere.

Another series that started out promising, for me anyway, but ended up crappy was the Sword of Truth books. Kind of corny from the get go, but very much a page turning experience for me. Then the series just got weird, with all of the domination/sex innuendo. Not too mention boring as **** in the recent books.

I want to pick up the Malazan books, but I am having a hard time finding a decent hardback copy of the first one here in the US. I despise reading paperbacks, especially the mass market small ones.

I hadnt heard about a Runelords movie. Thats cool. The books were just ok though, IMO. I liked the first one a lot, but then the series just kind of got corny to me. Still, more fantasy books into movies is a good thing. I would kill to see some of my Favorites adapted to the big screen.

olaf

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

No mention of The Worm Oroborus by ER Edison?

While not 'good' per say. It's an original gangsta.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

And then there's the grandfather of Sword And Sorcery Tales, Fritz Leiber.

I just ran across a new edition of his four Swords Of Lankhmar collected books, which means they're avaiable.

If you ever wanted to know where Pratchett got his initial ideas from (read Colours Of Magic after that, and you'll see what I mean), what the codeword "Fafhrd" in Baldur's Gate II meant and why every serious author mentions Leiber in a foreword of his books, well, here's the time. They're great, light read.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Also try to consider that some of us have real lives and we do not have unlimited amounts of time to spend on chasing down obscure books.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Obscure books?! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif It took me all of _TWO_SECONDS_ to search for and find his books on amazon.com, where I found Mythago Wood used for $.99. It took me about a minute to determine my local small town library has Mythago Wood on the shelf.

If you're having trouble, you haven't tried -- this isn't an insult, it's the truth. Let me guess, you didn't even try looking in the library? The public library in Houston even claims to have it...

[ January 24, 2004, 00:47: Message edited by: Jasper ]

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

hi everybody, not a real big fantasy fan here, but im wondering why no one has mentioned Gene Wolfe/Book of the New Sun?
also, wouldnt Lovecraft fit into this discussion, considering Dominions 2 has an entire race based on his work?

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Steven Brust is also very good.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

Lovecraft is more horror than fantasy, though what the difference between the two is I don't know.

One other that hasn't been mentioned, possibly for the same reason, is Stephen King with his The Dark Tower series. Best books King has written, and that makes them pretty damn good.

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I didn't mention them in my post for the possibly same reason, despite having read a couple of them in the Last month or so.

Wasn't sure if they'd be considered fantasy, horror, or sci-fi.

Also read a Clive Barker book not too long ago that was almost certainly fantasy, but I forget what it was called. And it felt like it was maybe aimed more at children (though it was still an enjoyable read).

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I rather enjoyed the Belgariad (I didn't have the courage to go through much of the rest of their writing, though - he does write in tandem with his wife). It was rather fun, in a parodic, ultra-stereotyped way. Kind of like Pratchett, only I'm not too sure it's intended in the Eddings' case.

Voted for Martin; would have added more if I had noticed one could go "more than one" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Favorite fantasy author
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I didn't know Egan had a home page, but of course I should have guessed.

He's clearly my current favorite SF writer, though I don't know whether his works can really appeal much to someone with no or little scientific education... some of his ideas are pretty weird developments on interesting scientific facts or theories. Fortunately, both I and my girlfriend are scientists, so we can enjoy his books http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif