jester47
First Post
Other suggestions than what you have read:
Lord Dunsany: The King of Elfland's Daughter, The Book of Wonders
H.P. Lovecraft: (not really fantasy but...) Good collections:
The Dunwich horror and Others (Arkham House)
Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre (Del Ray)
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Classics)
Are all good to start off on.
Robert E. Howard: Conan and Kull (beware Carter and DeCamp)
Peter S. Beagle: The Last Unicorn and Giant Bones
Fritz Leiber: Lankhmar (Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser)
Shakespere: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, MacBeth
Beowulf - we don't know who wrote it down. The Seamus Heany translation (known to anglo saxon scholars as Heanywolf) is probably the most readable version.
A note on Carter, DeCamp and Jordan:
I cannot fogive these guys for the literary gang bang that they brought onto the conan stories. Thus, I refuse to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps when they die (if they are not dead already) I can take some of their more beloved characters and completely change them to be contrary to what was intended and try to make money off of them.
Things to avoid:
Robert Jordan: The Wheel of Time. Just what the title says, it takes time and it is a constant cycle that will not end until he is dead.
Mists of Avalon: She will say stufff several times so you dont miss it. Again she will tell you what is happening so you do not miss it. Usually it goes in threes, just so she can say what is happening agian just to be sure you do not miss it. This book would be a third of the size and much better if this lady did not repeat herself all the time. The story is not bad but you will be imagining the crowed from Montey Python's holy grail yelling "GET ON WITH IT" many a time. This book barely survived strange repetitive attractions to the nearest wall.
The stroy of King arthur redone for the umpteeth time. Stick to Mary Stewart, Pyle, T.H. White, and especially mallory.
One thing I would highly suggest. Read other genres. The fantasy folk don't think of everything. In fact more often then not they get into a big collective rut. One of these is arthuriana, another is epic imitation. Mysteries (especially the brother cadfael series) westerns, and just general literature. Fight club was a book before it was a movie. Ever read the things they carried? Check out. Hiroshima is a great account of what happens after an atomic bomb hits. Hemmingway is good too. Check out some of the stuff written by William S. Burroghs in the late 80's early 90's. Jack Kerouac's On the road will give you ideas... Don't limit yourself to fantasy... Read history, fiction whatever. You will get more and better ideas from that.
Aaron.
Lord Dunsany: The King of Elfland's Daughter, The Book of Wonders
H.P. Lovecraft: (not really fantasy but...) Good collections:
The Dunwich horror and Others (Arkham House)
Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre (Del Ray)
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Classics)
Are all good to start off on.
Robert E. Howard: Conan and Kull (beware Carter and DeCamp)
Peter S. Beagle: The Last Unicorn and Giant Bones
Fritz Leiber: Lankhmar (Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser)
Shakespere: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, MacBeth
Beowulf - we don't know who wrote it down. The Seamus Heany translation (known to anglo saxon scholars as Heanywolf) is probably the most readable version.
A note on Carter, DeCamp and Jordan:
I cannot fogive these guys for the literary gang bang that they brought onto the conan stories. Thus, I refuse to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps when they die (if they are not dead already) I can take some of their more beloved characters and completely change them to be contrary to what was intended and try to make money off of them.
Things to avoid:
Robert Jordan: The Wheel of Time. Just what the title says, it takes time and it is a constant cycle that will not end until he is dead.
Mists of Avalon: She will say stufff several times so you dont miss it. Again she will tell you what is happening so you do not miss it. Usually it goes in threes, just so she can say what is happening agian just to be sure you do not miss it. This book would be a third of the size and much better if this lady did not repeat herself all the time. The story is not bad but you will be imagining the crowed from Montey Python's holy grail yelling "GET ON WITH IT" many a time. This book barely survived strange repetitive attractions to the nearest wall.
The stroy of King arthur redone for the umpteeth time. Stick to Mary Stewart, Pyle, T.H. White, and especially mallory.
One thing I would highly suggest. Read other genres. The fantasy folk don't think of everything. In fact more often then not they get into a big collective rut. One of these is arthuriana, another is epic imitation. Mysteries (especially the brother cadfael series) westerns, and just general literature. Fight club was a book before it was a movie. Ever read the things they carried? Check out. Hiroshima is a great account of what happens after an atomic bomb hits. Hemmingway is good too. Check out some of the stuff written by William S. Burroghs in the late 80's early 90's. Jack Kerouac's On the road will give you ideas... Don't limit yourself to fantasy... Read history, fiction whatever. You will get more and better ideas from that.
Aaron.
