OT: good fantasy books

[HoneyBadger]

Yeah, I mentioned it before, but I didn't know if anyone else had read it, Have you read John Crowley's "Aegypt"? If so, no spoilers, please! I've been trying to track down a copy.

[djo]

I haven't read it. I'd been waiting for the fourth (and final) book in the series to come out before starting. And lo, after a search prompted by your question, I see that it is out! I would think that would prompt a reprint of all of them, if they aren't in print now.

[HoneyBadger]

Once they come out, I'll happily buy a set-providing I can find one.

[hoo]

The Black Company triology is just solid. The books of the south aren't as good but better than I remembered. I just reread them and they had some interesting aspects. The Ten Taken are some of the coolest fantasy wizards ever made.

Cook's stand alone Tower of Fear is solid as well.

I enjoy Guy Gabrial Kay's work. Enjoy his characters and storytelling.

Like the tips like Bakker and J. Jones.

[Xietor]

I just finished Black Company White Rose Trilogy.

Very good stuff. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Mr_Matt]

Me and my brother just finished writing our first fantasy novel a few months ago. Been shopping it around to publishers but haven't gotten anything yet. It's not typical fantasy however, because we're not usually fantasy writers.

Out of curiosity what do you look for in a fantasy? I find it impossible to find a good original fantasy these days. Everything is Orcs, Elves and wizards(BORING). Dominions is like the only fantasy game without those and I absolutely praise it because of that. Although, it has dwarves... grr

MrMatt

[jutetrea]

Song of Ice and Fire were great for low magic books, lots of combat, intrigue and a good "world". Valyrian steel, minor dragons, and nebulous evil bits.

Personally I like the dragonlance model, group of friends turn hero, get powerful, save world. Unfortunately its been done to death so its the rare version that sticks out.

Discworld model is nice, build a "world" and just tell stories in it. If the concept is good enough, the stories can be hit or miss but still positive re: forgotten realms/sanctuary.

My take on fantasy is that by being unreal it opens up a lot of options. It can combine elements of all the major genres without being pigeonholed: Love, sex, intrigue, murder, mystery, horror, military, government, coming of age, politics, "save the world", one hero/multiple hero, etc. Whatever those 7 great themes that find themselves repeated through history are, one fantasy book can encompass them all.

"Magic" can be construed in whatever way floats your boat. High magic, no problem. Low magic, you bet. Forgotten magic, ancient technology, magic vs technology, magic and technology, even stories lacking magic but referring to old magic are feasible.

Most fantasy books are just kludges of other plotlines, with fantastical characters or plot devices. A good portion of them could be easily set in the real world, they'd just be boring.

[djo]

Mr_Matt said:
Out of curiosity what do you look for in a fantasy? I find it impossible to find a good original fantasy these days. Everything is Orcs, Elves and wizards(BORING). Dominions is like the only fantasy game without those and I absolutely praise it because of that. Although, it has dwarves... grr

Writing is tough (I've tried). Good luck with that.

What do I look for? Tough to answer, because it's tough to generalize about writing. No sooner do you swear off adolescent coming-of-age fantasies with magic and swords than Gene Wolfe writes The Wizard Knight and you have to take it all back and admit there's something left in the subgenre.

So I'll answer twice but maybe it's the same answer, twice. First, it shouldn't be derivative. It should be its own thing. Erikson's massive Malazan series isn't like anything that came before it, not really. Brust writes about elves, but they ain't Tokein's, or D&D's, or anyone else's. And when you pick up China Mieville, you probably haven't seen anything like it, ever. So, for fantasy, originality is key. (I mean, look at Patricia McKillip. Every darn book, she uses wizards, elves, dragons, forests, castles, and somehow she turns each one into a work of art, because she puts them together like no one else. Plus, her prose is absolutely beautiful.)

The other way to say that answer is to paraphrase a quote from Wolfe as related by Brust (I can't find the reference): the key to writing is to show the reader something cool, over and over. Skip the parts that aren't cool.

OK, and a third, less philosophical answer: as I get older, I find that characterization matters more and more. Doesn't have to be "realistic", just richely detailed, interesting, and believable within the story.