Fantasy authors you (and I) should read

[nomesque]

Katharine Kerr (the odd spelling is correct) - her Deverry series is one I've read and reread for decades... I've gone through multiple copies of some pbooks in it.

Mercedes Lackey - haven't read many of hers, but I've always enjoyed them when I did.

[WillAdams]

A few other series, Ace Fantasy's ``Fairy Tales'' books:

_Jack the Giant Killer_, Charles de Lint (most of his stuff is good, esp. if one is interested in urban fantasy)

_Briar Rose_, Jane Yolen --- one of those books which makes the world a better place

which reminds me I forgot to mention Susan Cooper's _The Dark is Rising_ pentalogy

and Robin McKinley --- I was always fond of her Robin Hood re-telling.

William

[Slite]

I would not put Robert Jordan under "should read". I tink he is seriously overrated as a writer.

I found the whole Wheel of Time series campy, slowpaced and unimaginative.

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by Slite

I would not put Robert Jordan under "should read". I tink he is seriously overrated as a writer. I found the whole Wheel of Time series campy, slowpaced and unimaginative.

Well, it is marginally better than Eddings with his cardboard characters but.. yeah. You're right.

[BlackVoid]

Joe Abercrombie - the best fantasy I have ever read by far
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn trilogy is great
Brent Weeks - Way of Shadows trilogy is excellent

Avoid - overrated, slow paced, pointless:
Robin Hobb
China Mieville
R. Scott Bakker

[Slite]

Originally Posted by acidzebra

Well, it is marginally better than Eddings with his cardboard characters but.. yeah. You're right.

True, but Eddings has some good one-liners.

With Jordan you get the same experience as watching paint dry...

[dougbiss]

Originally Posted by Timoleon

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. Eight books so far, with ten planned in all, and they've all been wildly successful.

I read the first six of these and I have to say that by the time I was through with the first two, I continued only out of a sense of misguided obligation. Based on my recollection, flawed as it probably is, I have never met a main character who appealed to me less.

Still, you're right... despite my opinions, he probably belongs on the list. I put Terry Brooks there and I wasn't even able to get through his Shanara stuff back in my early teens.

[dougbiss]

Thanks again to everyone for all the suggestions. I'm not sure where to go with this now, but a few of the more impassioned responses have definitely gave me some serious contenders.

[ErwinOtten]

I'll second George R.R. Martin for "Song of Ice and Fire", best series ever written (although not finished yet).

I also like Carol Berg al lot. Not an easy read, but very good world building and strong characters.

[Penforhire]

Opinions vary. I found China Mieville took some effort for me to read but his books are stunning and unique. Highly worth reading to me. But opinions do vary.

[Greg Anos]

Here's one that should be on the list.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers. Available at fictionwise for around 6 dollars (multiformat, no DRM). it's a fantasy about reading, for lack of a better word.

Here's the great opening line.

"If I had wanted to live, I would have died."


Another is the Lord Darcy series by Randall Garrett. Available at Baen for 6 bucks. The perfect conjunction between Fantasy, Science Fiction and Mystery.

[Jack Tingle]

By coincidence, I usually post these midmonth on rec.art.sf.written, but these two were worth noting here.

Recently Read - Nov. 2009

Baker, Kage, "The Hotel Under the Sand" p *****
This is the delightful story of Emma Rose, who survives a storm (of some kind), and winds up alone on a beach, near the Dunes. She discovers a ghost, named Winston, who's a Bell Captain for the Grand Wenlocke Hotel, lost many years ago nearby in a Storm of the Equinox. Another, more common sort of storm, uncovers the Grand Wenlocke. With Winston, Mrs. Beet, the Cook who was held frozen in time in the buried hotel, and a growing list of guests and interlopers, Emma Rose makes a place for herself, to take the place of what she lost in the storm.

Henderson, Zenna, "Ingathering" p ****
This is NESFA's collection of all of Henderson's "The People" stories. I loved these stories when I was a teenager. I still like them a lot. I also recommend NESFA's excellent series of collections and volumes of significant sf works.
_______________

My stars:
***** A classic, read it immediately.
**** Very good, you might even buy it in hardback.
*** Good, well worth your time.
** Readable, but I'd wait for a cheap copy.
* A book with at least one redeeming value, even if it's nice cover art.
Not rated - noted, but not rated because it's an anthology, or I couldn't finish it, or it's obviously good but not to my taste.
No stars (zero, zip, zilch, nada, none, goose-egg) - don't read this book.

e: electronic book; p: paper book

YMMV - seek other opinions, and don't blame me.

Happy Reading,
Jack Tingle

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Timoleon

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. Eight books so far, with ten planned in all, and they've all been wildly successful.

Are these available as E-books?

I'd love to go back and re-read them all in order.

[Crowl]

Trudi Canavan is one that I would highly recommend, two very enjoyable trilogies and a standalone novel so far from her.

[Athryn]

Originally Posted by nomesque

Katharine Kerr (the odd spelling is correct) - her Deverry series is one I've read and reread for decades... I've gone through multiple copies of some pbooks in it.

I came here to make this same recommendation. Kerr's books are great, once you get down the whole idea of people with different incarnations, and multiple stories running parallel.