A Fantasy Novel YOU would recommend

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've made a summary of the recommendations so far, as I wanted to take advantage of the fictionwise 9th Anniversary sale (30% to 50% discount or rebate on everything). Links provided for those books I found at Fictionwise or webscriptions.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
Lucy's Blade by John Lambshead
The Odyssey by Homer
A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth Series) by Piers Anthony
Tigana by Guy Guvriel Kay
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Guvriel Kay
The Way of Ecben, by James Branch Cabell
Black God's Shadow by Catherine L Moore
Beowulf
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
The Lies of the Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony
The Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings
Dragonworld by Byron Preiss
Mordant's Need by Stephen Donaldson
Glory Road - Robert A. Heinlein
The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Elfhunter by C. S. Marks
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Nicely done! This is very useful for our readers here.

Thank you,
Don

[tompe]

I like Steph Swainston. And her books seems to be available as ebooks. Here is the first one:

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9...War/index.aspx

Different fantasy and as one reviewer wrote:

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfic...rofourwar2.htm

This is a bizarre, baffling, baroque fantasy which has been highly acclaimed as the first novel by British author Steph Swainston.

This is fantasy on a completely different planet from those cover scanseemingly endless young people's heroic questing coming-of-age trilogies which stretch into 10 or 11 books. Instead of a medieval-type world, the setting of The Year of Our War is an odd, unclear mixture. The characters wear jeans and T-shirts, read newspapers and paperback novels, enjoy Marathon races. However, they also wear armour and fight with swords, bows and arrows, rule Manors and are ruled in turn from the Emperor's Castle.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've made a summary of the recommendations so far, as I wanted to take advantage of the fictionwise 9th Anniversary sale (30% to 50% discount or rebate on everything). Links provided for those books I found at Fictionwise or webscriptions.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
Lucy's Blade by John Lambshead
The Odyssey by Homer
A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth Series) by Piers Anthony
Tigana by Guy Guvriel Kay
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Guvriel Kay
The Way of Ecben, by James Branch Cabell
Black God's Shadow by Catherine L Moore
Beowulf
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
The Lies of the Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony
The Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings
Dragonworld by Byron Preiss
Mordant's Need by Stephen Donaldson
Glory Road - Robert A. Heinlein
The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Elfhunter by C. S. Marks
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

useful - can you link those that are available from MR - just for those who may not realise .....

[Margrete]

I'd recommend the Black Jewels Triliogy by Anne Bishop. It starts with "The Daughter of the Blood"

The prophecy of a coming Queen destined to shake the foundations of the Dark Kingdom heralds a war of intrigue and Machiavellian politics as three rivals seek control over the innocent young girl fated to ascend to greatness. Lavishly sensual and overtly erotic, Bishop's fantasy debut features a richly detailed world based on a reversal of standard genre cliches of light and darkness. Fans of Tanith Lee's Flat Earth series may appreciate this adults-only series opener.

and also The Ancient Future trilogy by Traci Harding, starts with the Ancient Future

Late one evening, en route to visit a relative, an accident leaves Tory – the attractive, twenty-something daughter of a prominent history professor – stranded near a ring of stones in Britain. Tory resolves to spend the night at the stone circle and seek help in the morning . . .But across the vortex of time and space, she is taken back to the Dark Age. There she meets Prince Maelgwn of Gwynedd and his band of warriors. Initially her 'strange' appearance frightens them and they believe she is the notorious witch fabled to frequent the site. But she overcomes their fear and soon the tales of her adventures, brave deeds and beauty spread across the land.

two of my favorite series

[Mrgauth]

Originally Posted by KevisHendrickson

Anyone looking for a great fantasy book should check out Elfhunter by C.S. Marks. It's the first installment in a trilogy of award-winning fantasy books. Best part is, it's only 99 cents right now. Don't think it will be that way for long.

For the record, I've read Elfhunter and its sequel Fire-heart and found them both to be exceptional books. I just got the final book Ravenshade and will begin to read it sometime this week. Just thought I should spread the word.

Where can you get this Elf Hunter book. I can't find it anywhere. Oh, and I don't buy from Amazon. Anywhere other than there available?

[taosaur]

Greg Bear's lone fantasy work, Songs of Earth and Power, is a great read.

I haven't read it since I was a kid, but I have fond memories of Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman.

[Dr. Drib]

Another Fantasy novel I would recommend is "Gloriana," by Michael Moorcock. This is VERY much in the mold of Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" trilogy which is also very Dickensian.


OT:

The Gormenghast books are incredible, but do not fit into this thread.


Don

[BenG]

I would recommend John Collier's collection of short stories Fancies and Goodnights which won the International Fantasy Award in 1952. Colliers short stories are often humorous and often contain fantastic charaters and devices, such as angels, demons, djinn, gorilla authors, mannequins, and matinée idol fleas. Most are told with a satiric wit.

There are a few stories that aren't fantasy and some of these were produced as episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The best known story is the much anthologized Evening Primrose which was made into a musical for TV by Stephen Sondheim.

A word of warning, some editions contain fewer stories than others. The one I have has around 50.

If you'd rather read a novel than a collection of short stories, I would recommend Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees.
http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/cur9907.htm

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by BenG

I would recommend John Collier's collection of short stories Fancies and Goodnights which won the International Fantasy Award in 1952. Colliers short stories are often humorous and often contain fantastic charaters and devices, such as angels, demons, djinn, gorilla authors, mannequins, and matinée idol fleas. Most are told with a satiric wit.

There are a few stories that aren't fantasy and some of these were produced as episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The best known story is the much anthologized Evening Primrose which was made into a musical for TV by Stephen Sondheim.

A word of warning, some editions contain fewer stories than others. The one I have has around 50.

If you'd rather read a novel than a collection of short stories, I would recommend Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirlees.
http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/cur9907.htm

I aggee: Lud-in-the-Mist is a wonderful fantasy novel, one that Lin Carter made available in his Adult Fantasy Series in the late 60s and early 70s.

Your link goes to F&SF, by the way.


Don

[BenG]

The link goes to a review of the book by Neil Gaiman at F&SF.

It was written in 1926 and Michael Swanwick indicates that the book is in the public domain. Apparently she never renewed the copyright, so perhaps I could post the text here.

So thoroughly was Mirrlees forgotten that when, decades later, a friend recommended her book to him, Lin Carter, a lifelong fantasy reader, was astonished to learn of its existence. Carter was then editor of the Ballantine Fantasy line, second in importance to the development of modern fantasy only to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. After an unsuccessful (and probably perfunctory) attempt to locate Mirrlees, he published Lud-in-the-Mist in 1970 without her permission, since by the laws of the time, it was in the public domain. Though Mirrlees lived until 1978, there is no record that she ever learned her book had come back into print.

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/introduces/mirrlees.htm

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by BenG

The link goes to a review of the book by Neil Gaiman at F&SF.

It was written in 1926 and Michael Swanwick indicates that the book is in the public domain. Apparently she never renewed the copyright, so perhaps I could post the text here.


http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/introduces/mirrlees.htm

Another book on the locate and scan list......

[BenG]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Another book on the locate and scan list......

I have the electronic text (in addition to 2 paperbacks) which was posted on a website back in 2000. The website said it was in the public domain as far as they knew, but everybody says that, so I've never posted it.

The book itself seems to have been inspired by Christina Rosetti's poem, The Goblin Market:
"We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?"

[pdurrant]

It might have (possibly) been in the US public domain in 1970. It isn't now.

It was first published in 1926 in the UK. It was published in the US in 1927. Hope Mirrless was not a US citizen. It was still in copyright in the UK on 1 January 1996

So, looking at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/

It seems to me that in US law it's in copyright until 95 years after publication - that's until 1st Janury 2022

In the UK it's in copyright until 1st January 2049
In Canada it's in copyright until 1st January 2029

Originally Posted by BenG

I have the electronic text (in addition to 2 paperbacks) which was posted on a website back in 2000. The website said it was in the public domain as far as they knew, but everybody says that, so I've never posted it.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It might have (possibly) been in the US public domain in 1970. It isn't now.

It was first published in 1926 in the UK. It was published in the US in 1927. Hope Mirrless was not a US citizen. It was still in copyright in the UK on 1 January 1996

So, looking at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/

It seems to me that in US law it's in copyright until 95 years after publication - that's until 1st Janury 2022

In the UK it's in copyright until 1st January 2049
In Canada it's in copyright until 1st January 2029

it's a gray zone here in the US. If the copyright was pre 1964 and not properly renewed, then the book should be in the public domain. There was a thread a few months ago here about the US court ruling that foreign copyrights existence doesn't force the US copyright back into existence for such cases. But I think it was an appellate and not Supreme court ruling.

Project Gutenberg won't touch foreign authors with unrenewed US copyrights. Several Eric Frank Russell books fall under that category...


Here's the link https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44346

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by BenG

The link goes to a review of the book by Neil Gaiman at F&SF.

It was written in 1926 and Michael Swanwick indicates that the book is in the public domain. Apparently she never renewed the copyright, so perhaps I could post the text here.


http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/introduces/mirrlees.htm

I have the text right now (in lrf) and it's ready to go, if it indeed is in the public domain...However, if you would rather post it, please let me know and I'll defer.

I see your link, as you point out, does indeed go the short comment by Gaiman. My apologies.


Don