Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce
Many of the above books are older as well. I'm hoping for something more contemporary. I'm also vaguely wondering if there are any STAND ALONE novels of high fantasy anymore, as nearly everything is the start of a series, and I don't want to get drawn into a series I don't have time to finish right now. But I welcome all suggestions, even if they are part of a series.
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Well, I see you already started the Belgariad, so I'm not sure more recommendations are useful but I'm going to give you one anyways
But before we get to that, I'm surprised that you found the Belgariad old fashioned. Its been a while since I read it, but it felt fairly modern to me. Meaning the language is pretty pared down. The attitude of the main character seems typical of a modern American teenager. Magic is treated almost like a technology or skill instead of something mysterious and mystical.
Of course, contemporary to mean means written since the latter half of the last century, and maybe to you it means written since the latter half of the decade so
If you need more of a break from writing, you can try
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (comprising
The Book of Three,
The Black Cauldron,
The Castle of Llyr,
Taran Wanderer, and
The High King).
It doesn't exactly fit your specification, being first published in the mid-1960's, being a series instead of a single novel, and being juveniles instead of adult fantasy.
On the other hand, they are inspired by Welsh mythology, so the stories definitely have a high fantasy feeling. Since they are juveniles, and published a while ago, they are shorter than todays novels so reading a series isn't necessarily as onerous as it might seem. Also, since they are juveniles, you get the whole coming of age and mysterious mentors thing.
If you read it with a totally modern eye, you may find it a bit cliched (haughty princess, rogueish friend, loyal but goofy sidekick, wizard mentor, magic sword etc.) but the writing is good, the pacing is exciting, and the characters are sympathetic. Definitely worth a look.