What is the single best fantasy novel of all time?

[Cadence]

• The Valley - I have no idea - help?

From Jeff Smith's Bone series, showing the waterfall and the Barrelhaven Tavern. Vess did the art for the prequel Rose. (I got some of the issues back when it came out in 91, and my son really likes the series).

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/boneville/images/9/9e/TheValley.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20201103020524

It just came across twitter the other day that he cancelled the remainder of his book tour as he recovers from a heart attack.

 

[Von Corellon]

Is it?

View attachment 293018

"Although often called a trilogy, the work was intended by Tolkien to be one volume in a two-volume set along with The Silmarillion. For economic reasons, The Lord of the Rings was first published over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955 in three volumes rather than one under the titles The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King; The Silmarillion appeared only after the author's death. The work is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of background material. These three volumes were later published as a boxed set, and even finally as a single volume, following the author's original intent."

(I mean, not that I'd be surprised by Wikipedia - source of that quote - being wrong. I have the version in the picture on my shelf, but it isn't the picture of mine).

I had no idea it was ever published as seven volumes until just checking now...

View attachment 293020View attachment 293022

It’s the “Book of the Century” - Millennium Edition, on my shelf since it was published and the seventh book is not a gimmick, it’s the appendices. Not overpriced and worth every cent

 

[Eyes of Nine]

From Jeff Smith's Bone series, showing the waterfall and the Barrelhaven Tavern. Vess did the art for the prequel Rose. (I got some of the issues back when it came out in 91, and my son really likes the series).

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/boneville/images/9/9e/TheValley.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20201103020524

It just came across twitter the other day that he cancelled the remainder of his book tour as he recovers from a heart attack.

Ah, wonderful, another one I have read and enjoyed and would call a top 10 Fantasy series... Although no one volume stands out, except maybe the first, "out from boneville".

Wish I hadn't sold my #1 first print back in late 90's... Maybe one of my first eBay sales. Actually, I needed the money then more than I need the comic now, so I'm fine

 

[Cadence]

Ah, wonderful, another one I have read and enjoyed and would call a top 10 Fantasy series... Although no one volume stands out, except maybe the first, "out from boneville".

Wish I hadn't sold my #1 first print back in late 90's... Maybe one of my first eBay sales. Actually, I needed the money then more than I need the comic now, so I'm fine

Please, let's pretend things sold on ebay when money was needed is one of those things stricken out in the EN session zero....

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I'm going with it as a single novel. Since it was broken up for economic reasons rather than content, I'm not going to consider it a true trilogy any more than I'd consider a lot of unitary 19th century works as trilogies simply because they appeared in multiple volumes due to the printing and binding expenses. It's really a resurrection of that three-volume single novel model of printing rather than 3 novels.

Yep, exactly: one book, forced by a publisher into smaller pieces due to length and printing expense. Available today as one book.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Yep, exactly: one book, forced by a publisher into smaller pieces due to length and printing expense. Available today as one book.

Then we suddenly have to look at every other book where something similar might have happened, I would suggest.

That would require quite a lot of annoying research like, The Book of the New Sun is available in a single volume, and it's unclear why it was published as four volumes - but their spacing is very similar to that of Tolkien's.

 

[billd91]

Then we suddenly have to look at every other book where something similar might have happened, I would suggest.

That would require quite a lot of annoying research like, The Book of the New Sun is available in a single volume, and it's unclear why it was published as four volumes - but their spacing is very similar to that of Tolkien's.

I submit that it's better to do that than require people to pick their favorite single book in the Pride and Prejudice trilogy.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I submit that it's better to do that than require people to pick their favorite single book in the Pride and Prejudice trilogy.
View attachment 293121

Then let's go dude, Book of the New Sun is my new best book and nobody is allowed to argue with it!

 

[Cadence]

Then let's go dude, Book of the New Sun is my new best book and nobody is allowed to argue with it!

I mean, the wikipedia article says it "is a four-volume science fantasy novel" and "In a 1998 poll of its subscribers, Locus magazine ranked the tetralogy number three among 36 all-time best fantasy novels before 1990." and "It was published as a single volume titled The Book of the New Sun in 1998 by Science Fiction Book Club and again in 2007 under the title Severian of the Guild, published by Orion Publishing Group".

So, seems fair?

Although the various award judges should feel bad for awarding it prizes based only on a 1/4 of it at a time.

The Book of the New Sun - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

[No, seriously. Did you just recently edit the Wikipedia article to make it say all those things? ;-) ]

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Late to the argument but: Many popular novels in the 19th century were published in serial form. We can't honestly declare that most(all?) of Dickens' novels aren't novels because of that, can we?