Author Topic: Nominations for best fantasy poll (Read 11194 times)

Ocicat · **on:** March 08, 2010, 07:58:56 PM

After the SF novel poll finishes up, I'm going to run a poll of fantasy books. Due to the nature of the beast, it's going to count entire book series as one entry. The definition of fantasy will be as wide as the one Podcastle uses, so we'll not only see "The Lord of the Rings", but also "Alice in Wonderland", "Pern", Zelazny's "Amber" series, "Good Omens", and "Dirk Gently".

Though fear not, the high points of swords and sorcery (Conan, Elric, Fafard & Grey Mouser) will be included, along with modern magical classics (Harry Potter, Wheel of Time, Dark Tower, Song of Ice and Fire, Diskworld).

...and about two dozen other works that I have jotted down after just a quick think. But what do you want to see on the poll? Post about a novel or a series, and it will in all probability end up in the poll.

lowky · **Reply #1 on:** March 08, 2010, 08:37:25 PM

Stephen R. Donaldson The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Talia · **Reply #2 on:** March 08, 2010, 08:45:00 PM

The Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson

Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series, Tad Williams

Anarkey · **Reply #3 on:** March 08, 2010, 11:13:43 PM

I'm going to assume from the appearance of Alice in Wonderland that YA is not excluded, so I'd like to see Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising Series, the Narnia series, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy, Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series and Neil Gaiman's Coraline and The Graveyard Book for starters.

Jeff VanderMeer's Ambergris stories (not really a series, and you could break it out by books).

Perdido Street Station & The Scar by China Miéville.

Though I didn't love them myself, I think it would be an omission to leave off Hal Duncan's brilliant duology Vellum and Ink.

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link, though this is short stories. Does it have to be a novel? Because Kelly Link should totally be represented and she doesn't have any novels out there.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Graphic novels? Bone, Sandman, Colonia.

That's off the top of my head. I'm sure I can come up with more, given another few minutes, but I'll let others chime in.

DKT · **Reply #4 on:** March 08, 2010, 11:37:50 PM

In addition to what everyone else has mentioned:

I'd also suggest Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Neverwhere.

China Mieville's The City and the City

For comics: Maybe Hellboy (which I suppose you could also single out)?

Ocicat · **Reply #5 on:** March 09, 2010, 12:35:08 AM

Great stuff, keep 'em coming...

And I'm very much including YA literature. Sometimes it seems that the majority of Fantasy is written for kids, I'd even say the majority of good fantasy works are. And I'm sure they'll do well in the polls, since more people have read The Golden Compass than Tim Power's The Stress of Her Regard.

I am however excluding works that are primarily comics/graphic novels. I think Hellboy has a novel or two, as does Sandman, and so does the excellent Fables series - but if those were included people would vote based on the strength of the comics and that's a different medium.

lowky · **Reply #6 on:** March 09, 2010, 01:53:10 PM

Andre Norton's Magic sequence.

gelee · **Reply #7 on:** March 12, 2010, 02:12:47 PM

Hah! I finally thought of something no one else has already nominated: Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Really brilliant stuff. Probably the best new fantasy I've seen in 20+ years.

Poppydragon · **Reply #8 on:** March 14, 2010, 10:42:34 PM

Mary Stewart - Merlin Series

Stephen Lawhead - Pendragon Cycle

Julian May - Saga of the Exiles

Raymond Feist - Faerie Tale

Not sure if it counts but Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince as well

CryptoMe · **Reply #9 on:** March 15, 2010, 05:48:30 AM

Here are some of my ideas, off the top of my head.

Marion Zimmer Bradley - Darkover Series
Piers Anthony - Xanth Series
Piers Anthony - Incarnations of Immortality Series
Storm Constantine - Wraeththu Chronicles
John Christopher - Prince in Waiting Series

kibitzer · **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2010, 04:45:09 AM

Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins.

kibitzer · **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2010, 04:47:45 AM

To be slightly more helpful:

Garth Nix's "Old Kingdom" series.
Keith Roberts' "Pavane" would be a wonderful inclusion

kibitzer · **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2010, 03:11:30 PM

Also:

Jack Vance -- just about anything, really. Dying Earth (including the Cugel stories) and/or Lyonesse trilogy

Gene Wolfe -- Book of the New Sun

Moorcock has to figure in there somewhere

Poul Anderson wrote quite a bit of fantasy.

The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake.

DKT · **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2010, 04:55:40 PM

Quote from: kibitzer on March 16, 2010, 03:11:30 PM

Gene Wolfe -- Book of the New Sun

You know, I *almost* suggested this one, but I wasn't sure because although it feels very fantasy, it's just as much SF. But I'd be happy to see it on the poll

If that's the case, I'd also nominate M. John Harrison's Viriconium series.

kibitzer · **Reply #14 on:** March 17, 2010, 05:43:02 AM

Quote from: DKT on March 16, 2010, 04:55:40 PM

Quote from: kibitzer on March 16, 2010, 03:11:30 PM

Gene Wolfe -- Book of the New Sun

You know, I *almost* suggested this one, but I wasn't sure because although it feels very fantasy, it's just as much SF. But I'd be happy to see it on the poll

It's one of those that cuts both ways, for mine. I always felt the fantasy elements were stronger than the sci-fi, but both are undoubtedly there.

Scattercat · **Reply #15 on:** March 17, 2010, 06:26:31 AM

Seconding "Last Unicorn" and "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn." Beagle and Williams are two of my favorite authors.

I do have to suggest R.A. Salvatore; he has a shelf all to himself at Borders, and I am ashamed to admit that he was one of the first fantasy authors I really got into. (In my defense, I preferred his Spearwielder books to the endlessly emo Drizzt, and primarily because they had Mickey the Leprechaun and a sarcastic asshole of a magic weapon. You don't see a lot of leprechauns in fantasy books.) He is definitely a presence in the fantasy world, even if a mercantile and potboiler-y one.

Talia · **Reply #16 on:** March 17, 2010, 12:24:00 PM

Also I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest a series I think fewer people might have read:

Katharine Kerr's 'Deverry' series.

Its an absolutely amazing series that I think's slipped beneath most people's radars, which is a shame. The root of the series is themed around reincarnation, but its done in a way I've never seen in any other books: not just one or two reincarnations, but at least 5 or six, and not just for one character, but for the ENTIRE SET of characters, hopping around between incarnations several times in each book, which you think would be confusing, but in fact is done just brilliantly. Man I love this series so much.

DKT · **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2010, 03:15:23 PM

Quote from: kibitzer on March 17, 2010, 05:43:02 AM

Quote from: DKT on March 16, 2010, 04:55:40 PM
Quote from: kibitzer on March 16, 2010, 03:11:30 PM

Gene Wolfe -- Book of the New Sun

You know, I *almost* suggested this one, but I wasn't sure because although it feels very fantasy, it's just as much SF. But I'd be happy to see it on the poll

It's one of those that cuts both ways, for mine. I always felt the fantasy elements were stronger than the sci-fi, but both are undoubtedly there.

Totally, which is part of why I loved it.

Poppydragon · **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2010, 04:56:32 PM

Quote from: Talia on March 17, 2010, 12:24:00 PM

Also I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest a series I think fewer people might have read:

Katharine Kerr's 'Deverry' series.

Its an absolutely amazing series that I think's slipped beneath most people's radars, which is a shame. The root of the series is themed around reincarnation, but its done in a way I've never seen in any other books: not just one or two reincarnations, but at least 5 or six, and not just for one character, but for the ENTIRE SET of characters, hopping around between incarnations several times in each book, which you think would be confusing, but in fact is done just brilliantly. Man I love this series so much.

I'm on "The Shadow Isle" at the moment (the penultimate book of 15) and I'll second Talia's enthusiasm. There is a lot of celtic mythology woven into it, along with a smattering of Tolkien and a few other ideas too. The whole series has been good but the first four books are some of the best I've read. (Thinks, why didn't I put this forward too?

)

kibitzer · **Reply #19 on:** March 19, 2010, 04:13:15 AM

Another Katherine then...

The excellent Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz

(you have enough yet Ocicat? 'cause it seems we can go on and on...)

Fenrix · **Reply #20 on:** March 23, 2010, 04:39:18 AM

To go along with the YA nominations, we should probably add the Wizard of Oz series (only the stuff actually written by L Frank Baum), The Phantom Tollbooth, the Narnia books.

I tried rereading Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality again, and they did not do for me what they did 20 years ago. The Apprentice Adept series held up better for me.

Since we're going to have Pratchett and Adams humor, we should also include Robert Aspirin's Myth books (at least the first few) Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger books. I like Craig Shaw Gardner's Ebenezum/Wuntvor books but I don't think they're as strong as either Aspirin or Foster.

Saberhagen's Book of Swords.

George R R Martin since it hasn't been said (but is surely on Ocicat's hidden list).

I assume classic classics are included like Sir Thomas Mallory and Homer?

Watership Down?

Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis?

Does Jim Butcher's Dresden Files count as fantasy?

I'm with Scattercat and we should probably include R A Salvatore, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, and Richard A Knaak. But then again, their stuff doesn't hold up as well over time. I read them a lot, enjoyed their stuff, but I wouldn't personally put them on a "best fantasy" list. Along with Terry Brooks and Eddings and...yeah I'm conflicted.

lowky · **Reply #21 on:** March 23, 2010, 12:45:57 PM

Don't forget that Robert Aspirin was also responsible for the Thieves World anthologies. Some were true anthologies with shorts by many authors, some were single author novels using the setting. God I miss the Thieves World books. Someone resurrect that series.

Poppydragon · **Reply #22 on:** March 23, 2010, 05:02:50 PM

Can I add the Robert Holdstock "Mythago" books too

kibitzer · **Reply #23 on:** March 23, 2010, 10:17:40 PM

Quote from: lowky on March 23, 2010, 12:45:57 PM

God I miss the Thieves World books. Someone resurrect that series.

They were good, weren't they? I think I made it through 6 of the anthologies and in general ,they were invetive, high-quality stuff. There's a couple stick out in my mind, especially MZB's Lythande story.

lowky · **Reply #24 on:** March 23, 2010, 10:51:48 PM

Quote from: kibitzer on March 23, 2010, 10:17:40 PM

Quote from: lowky on March 23, 2010, 12:45:57 PM
God I miss the Thieves World books. Someone resurrect that series.

They were good, weren't they? I think I made it through 6 of the anthologies and in general ,they were invetive, high-quality stuff. There's a couple stick out in my mind, especially MZB's Lythande story.

I think there was one new one in the last 5-10 years but I didn't pick it up.

I stand Corrected

Quote from: wikipedia.com

In 2002, Lynn Abbey, who co-edited several of the original anthologies, revitalized the series with the novel Sanctuary. It was followed by the anthologies Turning Points and Enemies of Fortune, which contain some returning authors and several new ones. Abbey also oversaw the republication of the original anthologies in omnibus editions and has plans for future anthologies.