Fantasy Sucks

[Tooker]

Sadness - David Eddings died this week.  His books were maybe the most formulaic ever, but I love them all anyway.

[Dade]

From what I understand, despite being a male author, Martin's female characters are exceptionally well-written.

Oh man, you guys have no idea. Half of Martin's main characters are female, and they're ALL really well done. It's kinda creepy actually.

[Leo]

I enjoy a lot of the Expanded Universe Star Wars novels, especially all of what happens post-Empire.

[Tooker]

I recommended this somewhere else, I think, but as a fantasy reader, I have really enjoyed Ashok Banker's Ramayana series.  Plus, if you work with/know anyone from India, it seems to earn major brownie points with them that you've read it. :)

[Killy]

Hmm I would just go back & look for older stuff if there are no recent writers up to your standards, sometimes I find unexpected gems in the dollar pile at the Strand.  Like Tanith Lee's Birthgrave, it was published in the 70's & I picked it up by chance; it was not bad at all, leaps & bounds better than most of the new stuff I see in bookstores.  Umm I also re-read Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall & Dragonriders trilogies for the tenth times =P Still good.  Nothing's really epic on Martin's scale though.. I think Zelazny kinda reaches high with his Amber Chronicles, and the first few books definitely didn't disappoint, but personally I thought the later books fell short.

Umm and... You know Brian Jacques?  The one with the mice & furry little creatures on his covers.  Yeah I didn't touch his books for a long time bc I'm not really into animal fiction, but I finally caved & picked up Redwall.  It's really very good u know.  If u wanna give that a shot.

[LillianRed]

Hey, I actually like all that female Vampire tripe. Especially Laurel K. Hamilton's work. Call me a sucker, but sex, vampires, and more sex is right up my alley.

As to newer authors who do great work, I have a few suggestions. Top of that list, especially if you like epic fantasy, try out S.M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire". It is the first book in a great series. Very original. Also, E. E. Knight's "The Vampire Earth" series is pretty good. Definitely not your average "female Vampire" faire.

[Hidoshi]

Hey, I actually like all that female Vampire tripe. Especially Laurel K. Hamilton's work. Call me a sucker, but sex, vampires, and more sex is right up my alley.

As to newer authors who do great work, I have a few suggestions. Top of that list, especially if you like epic fantasy, try out S.M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire". It is the first book in a great series. Very original. Also, E. E. Knight's "The Vampire Earth" series is pretty good. Definitely not your average "female Vampire" faire.

I think the problem with vampire fiction is that there is a) way too much of it, and b) the actual mythology is rather... shaky. It makes it hard to swallow at any rate.

[D-Rider]

George Martin seems to be the only heavy hitter that currently has a series going that is worth a damn, and he's taking his SWEET TIME

I just really wanted to point out how hilarious this is:  a year and a half later, and absolutely nothing has changed. :P

The last Ice and Fire book that featured the entire cast was A Storm of Swords.  I think it came out in 2000.  In that time, I've graduated from college...three times. :P

[Dade]

George Martin seems to be the only heavy hitter that currently has a series going that is worth a damn, and he's taking his SWEET TIME

I just really wanted to point out how hilarious this is:  a year and a half later, and absolutely nothing has changed. :P

The last Ice and Fire book that featured the entire cast was A Storm of Swords.  I think it came out in 2000.  In that time, I've graduated from college...three times. :P

I know, right? It's so infuriating because I love his work, and I'm excited for the HBO series, but....COME ON.

 When a Feast for Crows came out....I hadnt even met Evelyn yet. Here I am getting married to her next year. I swear to God, if the next book isnt out by the time I have a ring on my finger, he's totally getting a horse head delivered.

Oh and I totally just reread this entire thread (why does that sound and read so weird?) and none of us mentioned The Name of the Wind. If you havent read it yet, give it a shot. It's pretty damned good. And thankfully Pat Rothfuss has at least given us a solid time frame on the next book. It's somethin at least!

[Starmongoose]

Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" is an awesome read if you are into mythology and an artfully done, intriguing murder-mystery novel.

I discovered him by accident whilst randomly checking out books in Borders (I have a weird compulsive habit to buy books all the time even if i'm not going to read them - I think I just like the look of my flat head to toe in books in every nook and cranny.) and was shocked by how much I ended up enjoying it.

I instantly picked up another one of his books "Anansi Boys" but was a little disappointed with it compared to American Gods. Most of his other books seem to be dark childrens fairytales such as "Stardust" and "Coraline". I've not read them, not because they are children's books (See: Philip Pullman) just because I'm immersed in another book just now.

Thank brings me onto Gene Wolfe, my new favourite author writes books that bend your fucking mind. He doesn't write in excruciating detail which most High Fantasy writers do, so the story moves along much quicker. But at the same time almost every one of his sentences hold another meaning, you might miss some because they are not central to the story, but if for instance you were knowledgeable about engineering or botany or physics, there would be a hidden joke, or moral that fits perfectly with that moment in the story.

I would check out his Book of the New Sun series (and all after it) and The Wizard Knight

[Daggerstrike]

Weren't you reading those Gene Wolfe books at one point, Dade?

[Eusis]

I would check out his Book of the New Sun series (and all after it) and The Wizard Knight

It's been a few years since I've first read Book of the New Sun, it's probably a good time to give the whole thing a re-read. I should get Wizard Knight sometime too, though I have a few books of his I still need to read through.

Anyways, this was something I was thinking of but didn't post, but now that it's doubly topical I may as well: After seeing how A Song of Ice and Fire's turning out (and similarly Wheel of Time) it seems to me like Gene Wolfe's approach of getting (I think) the rough drafts for the whole series done before the first book is published works much nicer. Then it's only about a year between books with little risk of being trapped in writing hell.

[GrimReality]

George Martin seems to be the only heavy hitter that currently has a series going that is worth a damn, and he's taking his SWEET TIME

I just really wanted to point out how hilarious this is:  a year and a half later, and absolutely nothing has changed. :P

The last Ice and Fire book that featured the entire cast was A Storm of Swords.  I think it came out in 2000.  In that time, I've graduated from college...three times. :P

I know, right? It's so infuriating because I love his work, and I'm excited for the HBO series, but....COME ON.

 When a Feast for Crows came out....I hadnt even met Evelyn yet. Here I am getting married to her next year. I swear to God, if the next book isnt out by the time I have a ring on my finger, he's totally getting a horse head delivered.

Oh and I totally just reread this entire thread (why does that sound and read so weird?) and none of us mentioned The Name of the Wind. If you havent read it yet, give it a shot. It's pretty damned good. And thankfully Pat Rothfuss has at least given us a solid time frame on the next book. It's somethin at least!

Have you guys read his blog? He actually talks about how difficult it is to write and re-write chapters, and get everything in sync. He also yaps about all sorts of other crap(aka football) that I don't care about, so I don't check it all that often. He seems to spend far too much time traveling and working on other projects. The man needs to focus!
http://grrm.livejournal.com/
As for my reading...
I just finished the fantastic Gap series by Donaldson and am now reading the first Temeraire book.

[Dade]

Good call on the Gap series, Grim. I have the Real Story and actually reread it recently (was on a space opera kick). I picked up a signed copy of Forbidden Knowledge at the local Half-Price Books. I never read it, maybe should give a shot. I like the writing, it's just kinda painful with some of the shit that goes on with Morn. Like....some of it's kinda messed up.

Maybe my heart has grown to one thrice the size of a normal Grinch!

[D-Rider]

Any of you douches read many of the Discworld books?  This is one series that everyone constantly talks about, yet I haven't read a single one of them.  I'm thinking of picking up a few, but I hear the quality of these books tends to be like playing STD roulette with a cheap hooker:  you never really know what you're going to get until after you're finished.

Can anybody recommend a place to start, or should I just start from the top? :P