Finding new Fantasy

thinkpad · 08-28-2011, 12:53 PM

Where do you turn to find new Fantasy books that might catch your interest?

I know I follow what others read here on MR (especially the: what are you reading right now thread) and the book club has previously come up with some great books.

Scanning through the Nebula and Hugo award books might give some tips, but why mix SciFi and Fantasy? I would have wanted two separate categories.

Since I'm more of an Epic Fantasy book reader I find it useful when the books are categorized like Macmilland has done: http://us.macmillan.com/torforge/cat...tionandFantasy

They've categorized it into the following sections: (any other publishers that does it like this?)

birdbrainbb · 08-28-2011, 03:19 PM

I have a couple of friends who read a lot of fantasy (and blog about it), so I get recs from them. I also check out award lists, those recs Amazon gives you, and "newly released" book lists from publishers.

alansplace · 08-28-2011, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdbrainbb

I have a couple of friends who read a lot of fantasy (and blog about it), so I get recs from them. I also check out award lists, those recs Amazon gives you, and "newly released" book lists from publishers.

why did you leave out a link to the blog mentioned in your post?

birdbrainbb · 08-28-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

why did you leave out a link to the blog mentioned in your post?

Because it's just not one blog, but a lot? And it would have taken a lot of time to format links, etc? But here's one blog in particular that I like, if that's what you're looking for: Fantasy Book Cafe.

alansplace · 08-28-2011, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdbrainbb

Because it's just not one blog, but a lot? And it would have taken a lot of time to format links, etc? But here's one blog in particular that I like, if that's what you're looking for: Fantasy Book Cafe.

i'll check it out.

that's quite nice.

thinkpad · 09-02-2011, 01:10 PM

I found a new site that gave me some inspiration on what to read:
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/

The site has a lot of top 10 books in different sub-genres like:
* Historical fantasy
* High/Epic fantasy
* Contemporary/Urban
* Steampunk
* Young adult
* Science Fantasy
* Comic fantasy

I like the fact that each sub-genre comes with a definition.

Each entry also comes with a short intro. Here's the Top 10 Heroic/Sword & Sorcery fantasy:

A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Once Walked With Gods by James Barclay
The Macht by Paul Kearney
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham
The Lightbringer Trilogy by Brent Weeks
The Ascendants of Estorea by James Barclay
The Tawny Man by Robin Hobb
Chronicles of the Raven by James Barclay
Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook

DiapDealer · 09-02-2011, 01:55 PM

You should also consider:

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
A Dribble of Ink
Fantasy Book Critic
A Fantasy Reader
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

You'll find Blogrolls on many of those sites to similar blogs, as well.

Kiwimick · 09-02-2011, 02:32 PM

you can also perhaps find authors who are similar to one you already like by using the website Literature map

http://www.literature-map.com/

thinkpad · 09-03-2011, 04:15 AM

Another approach to finding new books that's different is through the site: AllReaders.com that lets you choose:
* Plot
* Main Character
* Main Adversary
* Setting
* Style

It will choose books that match your criteria based on the information you feed it. This doesn't just work for Fantasy. They've also got the same setup for:
* Romance
* Literature
* Mystery/Thriller
* Biography
* History

fantasyISbetter · 09-04-2011, 02:15 PM

I use all the following sites at some point, and a lot of others, in addition to THIS site and Goodreads.
Amazon.com (I trust their reviews more than other sites since their readership is so broad)
http://darquereviews.blogspot.com/
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ne...h&month=201109
http://fantasyscifibookreview.blogsp...Book%20Reviews
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/new.php?p=87
http://www.literaryescapism.com/info/releases.html
http://www.lovereading.co.uk/genre/p...l-Fiction.html
http://www.scifiguy.ca/2009/04/speci...test-with.html
http://www.sfreviews.net/4.5_star_list.html
http://www.sfreader.com/bbgenre_resu...Dark%20Fantasy
http://www.strangehorizons.com/revie...fe_of_ne.shtml
http://www.sfsite.com/revlist2.htm
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi
http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/review-index/

remcdonald · 09-04-2011, 04:18 PM

I'll throw out one of my favorite ones just because the author doesn't stick to just fantasy but also urban fantasy, scifi, and steampunk as well which I enjoy all of in moderation and his reviews tend to be close to my own views on most books. http://booktionary.blogspot.com/. As well he tends to be a cover art whore and I can totally relate to that having bought more than one book for the pretty cover art.

Nancy Fulda · 09-09-2011, 04:29 PM

You could also keep an eye on World Fantasy Award nominees. Like the Hugos, but with a distinctively more fantastical bent.

N K Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has been getting some good buzz, by the way, and is currently on my TBR list.

mikaelalind · 09-12-2011, 05:59 AM

My path to finding new authors is a bit vague. Often it involves reading about how awesome an author is on different blogs, and if I stumble upon it and the price is right I buy it. Right now, I am broke so I mostly browse through Baen CDs at The Fifth Imperium. I primarly get books I have in paper ( somewhere), or books I have been curious about for awhile

. Paraphrasing one of my teachers from high school: " All books are new if I haven't read them before."

alansplace · 09-12-2011, 01:28 PM

to find new authors i google for cover art and when i find a cover that interests me i try to find out who the book author is and/or what the name of the book/series is (as well as the name of the cover artist of course). i also peruse the online galleries of cover artists like henning ludvigsen, dan dos santos and christian mcgrath.

Bricorn · 09-12-2011, 03:28 PM

When I'm passing through an airport and have time to spare, I browse the bookshops and make notes of books/authors that look good. Later I can research them on-line and, if they still look good, download them. It gives the best of both worlds; see the cover, read the jacket, then get the background, find out more about the author/series/etc. It's fun too.

08-28-2011, 12:53 PM	#1
thinkpad David Posts: 1,808 Karma: 8916183 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Norway Device: Kindle, E.Edge (sold), Irex Iliad (retired)	Finding new Fantasy Where do you turn to find new Fantasy books that might catch your interest? I know I follow what others read here on MR (especially the: what are you reading right now thread) and the book club has previously come up with some great books. Scanning through the Nebula and Hugo award books might give some tips, but why mix SciFi and Fantasy? I would have wanted two separate categories. Since I'm more of an Epic Fantasy book reader I find it useful when the books are categorized like Macmilland has done: http://us.macmillan.com/torforge/cat...tionandFantasy They've categorized it into the following sections: (any other publishers that does it like this?) Adventure Contemporary Fantasy Epic Fantasy General Fantasy General Science Fiction High Tech Historical Fantasy Short stories Space Opera

09-02-2011, 01:10 PM	#6
thinkpad David Posts: 1,808 Karma: 8916183 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Norway Device: Kindle, E.Edge (sold), Irex Iliad (retired)	I found a new site that gave me some inspiration on what to read: http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/ The site has a lot of top 10 books in different sub-genres like: * Historical fantasy * High/Epic fantasy * Contemporary/Urban * Steampunk * Young adult * Science Fantasy * Comic fantasy I like the fact that each sub-genre comes with a definition. Each entry also comes with a short intro. Here's the Top 10 Heroic/Sword & Sorcery fantasy: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson Once Walked With Gods by James Barclay The Macht by Paul Kearney The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham The Lightbringer Trilogy by Brent Weeks The Ascendants of Estorea by James Barclay The Tawny Man by Robin Hobb Chronicles of the Raven by James Barclay Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook Last edited by thinkpad; 09-02-2011 at 01:24 PM.

09-12-2011, 01:28 PM	#14
alansplace Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,895 Karma: 464403178 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: 33.9388° N, 117.2716° W Device: Kindles K-2, K-KB, PW 1 & 2, Voyage, Fire 2, 5 & HD 8, Surface 3, iPad	cover art to find new authors i google for cover art and when i find a cover that interests me i try to find out who the book author is and/or what the name of the book/series is (as well as the name of the cover artist of course). i also peruse the online galleries of cover artists like henning ludvigsen, dan dos santos and christian mcgrath.

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08-28-2011, 03:19 PM	#2
birdbrainbb Addict Posts: 287 Karma: 2191035 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Anaheim, CA Device: Kindle Oasis, Kindle Paperwhite 5	I have a couple of friends who read a lot of fantasy (and blog about it), so I get recs from them. I also check out award lists, those recs Amazon gives you, and "newly released" book lists from publishers.

09-02-2011, 01:55 PM	#7
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,362 Karma: 203720150 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	You should also consider: Pat's Fantasy Hotlist A Dribble of Ink Fantasy Book Critic A Fantasy Reader Graeme's Fantasy Book Review You'll find Blogrolls on many of those sites to similar blogs, as well.

09-02-2011, 02:32 PM	#8
Kiwimick Addict Posts: 211 Karma: 37308 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: London UK Device: Sony PRS650	you can also perhaps find authors who are similar to one you already like by using the website Literature map http://www.literature-map.com/

09-03-2011, 04:15 AM	#9
thinkpad David Posts: 1,808 Karma: 8916183 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Norway Device: Kindle, E.Edge (sold), Irex Iliad (retired)	Another approach to finding new books that's different is through the site: AllReaders.com that lets you choose: * Plot * Main Character * Main Adversary * Setting * Style It will choose books that match your criteria based on the information you feed it. This doesn't just work for Fantasy. They've also got the same setup for: * Romance * Literature * Mystery/Thriller * Biography * History

09-04-2011, 02:15 PM	#10
fantasyISbetter FantasyisBetter Posts: 66 Karma: 1221124 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: none	I use all the following sites at some point, and a lot of others, in addition to THIS site and Goodreads. Amazon.com (I trust their reviews more than other sites since their readership is so broad) http://darquereviews.blogspot.com/ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ne...h&month=201109 http://fantasyscifibookreview.blogsp...Book%20Reviews http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/ http://www.fantasyliterature.com/new.php?p=87 http://www.literaryescapism.com/info/releases.html http://www.lovereading.co.uk/genre/p...l-Fiction.html http://www.scifiguy.ca/2009/04/speci...test-with.html http://www.sfreviews.net/4.5_star_list.html http://www.sfreader.com/bbgenre_resu...Dark%20Fantasy http://www.strangehorizons.com/revie...fe_of_ne.shtml http://www.sfsite.com/revlist2.htm http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/review-index/

09-04-2011, 04:18 PM	#11
remcdonald Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 49376 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo, Kobo Touch	I'll throw out one of my favorite ones just because the author doesn't stick to just fantasy but also urban fantasy, scifi, and steampunk as well which I enjoy all of in moderation and his reviews tend to be close to my own views on most books. http://booktionary.blogspot.com/. As well he tends to be a cover art whore and I can totally relate to that having bought more than one book for the pretty cover art.

09-09-2011, 04:29 PM	#12
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	You could also keep an eye on World Fantasy Award nominees. Like the Hugos, but with a distinctively more fantastical bent. N K Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has been getting some good buzz, by the way, and is currently on my TBR list.

09-12-2011, 05:59 AM	#13
mikaelalind Fanatic Posts: 590 Karma: 788068 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Sony PRS 505, Cybook Odessey	My path to finding new authors is a bit vague. Often it involves reading about how awesome an author is on different blogs, and if I stumble upon it and the price is right I buy it. Right now, I am broke so I mostly browse through Baen CDs at The Fifth Imperium. I primarly get books I have in paper ( somewhere), or books I have been curious about for awhile . Paraphrasing one of my teachers from high school: " All books are new if I haven't read them before."

09-12-2011, 03:28 PM	#15
Bricorn Addict Posts: 289 Karma: 7788748 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Fun Town, Thailand Device: Kindle DXG	When I'm passing through an airport and have time to spare, I browse the bookshops and make notes of books/authors that look good. Later I can research them on-line and, if they still look good, download them. It gives the best of both worlds; see the cover, read the jacket, then get the background, find out more about the author/series/etc. It's fun too.