Non Western High Fantasy Recommendations?

[rakulos]

Originally Posted by owly

The Empire trilogy starting with "Daughter of the Empire" by Janny Wurtz.

Seconded - also any of M.A.R. Barkers 'Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne' books - written before The Empire trilogy (and which I always felt had a lot of close similarities). The only problem is some of his books are a pain to get hold of at a reasonable price.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by owly

The Empire trilogy starting with "Daughter of the Empire" by Janny Wurtz. The world is a mix of Japanese/Aztecish.

Excellent books, but are they "High Fantasy"? I'm not at all sure what "High Fantasy" is, but I have a vague idea in my mind that it's something like "The Silmarillion"?

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Excellent books, but are they "High Fantasy"? I'm not at all sure what "High Fantasy" is, but I have a vague idea in my mind that it's something like "The Silmarillion"?

I mostly don't like sub-genres. They tend to only be in the eye of the beholder. A quick google search on the phrase brings up a number of definitions that are basically the same:

High fantasy (also referred to as epic fantasy) is a sub-genre of fantasy fiction, defined either by its taking place in an imaginary world distinct from our own or by the epic stature of its characters, themes and plot. Quintessential works of high fantasy, such as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Worm Ouroboros, have both of these attributes. Accordingly, works where the fantasy world impinges on our world, or where the characters are concerned only with adventure or personal goals (as in sword and sorcery fiction) are less likely to be classed as high fantasy.

According to that definition, most of the recommendations (including all of mine) couldn't be classed as High Fantasy since they exist in the primary world. Guess it's up to the OP to decide if we've met his requirements.

[HarryT]

Thanks. By that definition the "Empire" books probably do count as High Fantasy.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thanks. By that definition the "Empire" books probably do count as High Fantasy.

Yep - I thought this was a fantastic suggestion too. I'm not sure I would recommend them without the first three Riftwar books though. Are they fine without having that basis? I'm possibly blinded by the fact that I read the initial trilogy first.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You'll never take me alive, copper!

But seriously, to find someone guilty of first-degree subgenre misrepresentation, you must prove there was a wanton intent to decieve. I see no evidence of that here. Besides... I've never found the term 'high' fantasy to be a very useful classification, myself. It tends to dissolve/blur upon close scrutiny.

Haha

I dont think anyone is intent on first-degree subgenre misrepresentation. I think people are just eager to give recommendations without paying much attention to the requirements, because they want more people to read the books they read and maybe liked.
Now, in this case High Fantasy wasn't as important for OP as he said. That's fine. I on the other hand usually give very specific requirements when looking for a recommendation usually because I'm in a mood for something specific.

As far as sub-genre blur....I dont quite agree. Ofc, there will always be books that transcend genres but usually I wont confuse High fantasy with Low fantasy.

[TheLongshot]

Someone already recommended Twelve Kingdoms (And now that TokyoPop has gone under, I now need to track down the fan translations of the remaining novels.), so I'll add another Japanese series: Guin Saga by Kaoru Kurimoto. Only five of the 130(!) books have been translated into English and it definitely feels like heroic fantasy along the lines of Conan The Barbarian. The five books are pretty much a self-contained story, so you won't be left hanging much on that.

[Istvan diVega]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Yep - I thought this was a fantastic suggestion too. I'm not sure I would recommend them without the first three Riftwar books though. Are they fine without having that basis? I'm possibly blinded by the fact that I read the initial trilogy first.

I think they'd be perfectly fine without having read the Riftwar Saga, but I also think they'd be better if you had.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Istvan diVega

I think they'd be perfectly fine without having read the Riftwar Saga, but I also think they'd be better if you had.

Unnecessary to read the whole thing. "Magician" would be sufficient (plus of course it's a fantasy classic in itself).

[LovesMacs]

Elizabeth Scarborough's The Harem of Aman Akbar is a lighthearted, funny take on fantasy set in a Middle East-inspired world. It may not be high fantasy but it's not Western.

Description from Amazon:

By his genie's standards, Aman Akbar was a pervert. He was not content to marry his cousin, the beauteous Hyaganoosh, as custom demanded. Instead he chose three ugly foreign wives--a pale skinned barbarian Rasa, a sharp-tongued Chinese acrobat, Lady Aster, and the tall ebony skinned 100th daughter of the Great Elephant, Amollia. Just about the time the women were sorting out the whole polygamy thing and dealing with their new mother-in-law, Um Aman, Aman Akbar lost control of the genie and got turned into a white ass (it happens a lot in the Arabian Nights) at the wish of none other than Hyaganoosh. What's a foreign wife to do? The three women and Aman Akbar's mother have no choice but to seek a way to undo the spell and restore the fellow to his former shape and state but along the way they have some hair raising adventures involving monkeys, shape shifters called peris, the dangerous divs who make the djinn look jolly, and a rather nice elephant.
"Delightful reading! Shades of Scheherazade and Sinbad in the sort of Scarboroughian treat that one is beginning to expect of this beguiling writer." Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough is the winner of the 1989 Nebula Award for Best novel.

[Istvan diVega]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Unnecessary to read the whole thing. "Magician" would be sufficient (plus of course it's a fantasy classic in itself).

True enough I guess, but whyever would you read Magician without reading Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Istvan diVega

True enough I guess, but whyever would you read Magician without reading Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon?

They're excellent books, to be sure, but I believe that they take place after the events in the "Empire" trilogy, and are therefore not directly relevant to it.

[GeoffR]

C. J. Cherryh's Russian Stories, especially the first: Rusalka.

[Milanya]

Mersedes Lackey "Fortune's Fool (novel)"
Fortune’s Fools is a story involving Ekaterina (Katya), youngest daughter of the Sea King and Prince Sasha of Led Belarus, seventh son of King Pieter.

Loosely based on the Eastern Slavic Folklore.

[owly]

They're separate enough. I read them before the Riftwar books and I didn't notice the lack.

Originally Posted by caleb72

Yep - I thought this was a fantastic suggestion too. I'm not sure I would recommend them without the first three Riftwar books though. Are they fine without having that basis? I'm possibly blinded by the fact that I read the initial trilogy first.