View Full Version : favorite fantasy book/author ?
wizard of gore
11-01-2012, 11:51 PM
favorite fantasy book/author ?
havn't read much, so would like to hear yours.iv found Tim lebbon .caitlin r kernin to be good,a few of clive barkers fantasy's to be alright too.
apart from horror authors ''kind of side projects'' though, i dont really know of fuck all.
neverending
11-02-2012, 12:22 AM
Well, I know you said you found Tolkien "boring" so we won't go into that...
Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser series are great favorites of mine. They were written as a reaction to the big dumb barbarian fantasies of Conan and the like, and are quite clever and the world he creates is richly detailed.
I've only read a few of Mercedes Lackey's books, but I really liked them.
Alan Garner's Weirdstone of Brisingamen is a children's novel, but it's really good.
Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy is really wonderful. It's like a fantasy series with no fantasy in it. There's no elves, dwarves, wizards or magic of any kind, but the books still read like fantasy. Highly recommended.
And then there's Michael Moorcock, who stands in a category all his own.
Angra
11-02-2012, 12:43 AM
I'd recommend Lloyd alexander's first two books in the "Taran" series and Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere".
And have you heard of "Harry Potter"? Yea, you don't need to read those books.
sfear
11-02-2012, 02:03 PM
Jack Vance, who also wrote sf, science fantasy and mysteries. Try a little book called THE DYING EARTH and see what you think.
Atraxi
11-02-2012, 06:52 PM
I like Jeff VanderMeer and China Miéville but I don't think you'd really like them.
Another vote for Neil Gaiman. Maybe Terry Pratchett. Maybe Poppy Z. Brite.
wizard of gore
11-02-2012, 09:13 PM
Well, I know you said you found Tolkien "boring" so we won't go into that...
im actually still reading LOR,i must admit, it took along time but it is starting to get better
Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser series are great favorites of mine. They were written as a reaction to the big dumb barbarian fantasies of Conan and the like, and are quite clever and the world he creates is richly detailed.
I've only read a few of Mercedes Lackey's books, but I really liked them.
Alan Garner's Weirdstone of Brisingamen is a children's novel, but it's really good.
Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy is really wonderful. It's like a fantasy series with no fantasy in it. There's no elves, dwarves, wizards or magic of any kind, but the books still read like fantasy. Highly recommended.
And then there's Michael Moorcock, who stands in a category all his own.
cheers, they all sound pretty interesting,especially Gormenghast
wizard of gore
11-02-2012, 09:17 PM
Another vote for Neil Gaiman.
i read Neil Gaiman's ''Smoke and mirrors'' and though all the storys were mostly shit,i did really feel the potential of him writing a really good novel
JudgeU
11-04-2012, 07:16 AM
Fantasy is pretty broad genre.
If you're talking modern fantasy, I love Clive Barkers short stories and novellas, but most of his novels never really connected with me.
If you're talking Sword and Sorcery type fantasy then:
George R. R. Martin and his Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series are amazing. A must read in my opinion.
Andrzej Sapkowski has two books that have been translated over to english called The Last Wish and Blood of Elves. They are both marvelous. If you are a video game fan, then you'll know of these books by the game The Witcher which is based on his writings.
Atraxi
11-04-2012, 07:50 PM
You might prefer Poppy Z. Brite because her fantasy writing is closer to horror. As mentioned above, fantasy is a broad genre so more details of which elements you like best would be helpful.
Alternatively, if you're on GoodReads, you can always look up recommendations based on your shelves.
wizard of gore
11-04-2012, 09:09 PM
You might prefer Poppy Z. Brite because her fantasy writing is closer to horror. As mentioned above, fantasy is a broad genre so more details of which elements you like best would be helpful.
Alternatively, if you're on GoodReads, you can always look up recommendations based on your shelves.
Wasn't really asking for recommendations ,just wanted to see what everybody else on this forum likes.
if i was, id say dark (very dark fantasy.At the moment though i have a huge 'lord of the rings' to get through,and will dive straight into a richard laymon i have lined up,for some straight out splatter punk gore!
Atraxi
11-05-2012, 10:34 AM
Ah, I see. In that case, Jeff VanderMeer and China Miéville.
Clockworkedorange
11-05-2012, 05:53 PM
George RR Martin - A Song of Fire and Ice
Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive)
Stephen King - The Dark Tower / The Eyes of the Dragon - Anything with Flagg.
Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Chronicles
Glen Cook - The Black Company
wizard of gore
11-05-2012, 07:25 PM
George RR Martin - A Song of Fire and Ice
Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive)
Stephen King - The Dark Tower / The Eyes of the Dragon - Anything with Flagg.
Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Chronicles
Glen Cook - The Black Company
flagg in the dark tower too is he
Bob Gray
11-06-2012, 06:13 AM
Wasn't really asking for recommendations ,just wanted to see what everybody else on this forum likes.
if i was, id say dark (very dark fantasy.At the moment though i have a huge 'lord of the rings' to get through,and will dive straight into a richard laymon i have lined up,for some straight out splatter punk gore!
As far as fantasy goes, I like King's The Dark Tower series, Brian Lumley's Dreamlands series, Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series, Butcher's Dresden Files, Mervin Peake's Gormenghast series, and Jordan's Wheel of Time series