Good standalone fantasy fiction

[Lady Mer]

Memory and Dream, by Charles de Lint
The Little Country, by Charles de Lint
Moonheart, by Charles de Lint (There is a sequel to this one. But you don't need to read it.)

I come from a family of de Lint fans.

Villians by Necessity, by Eve Forward

Not a work of art, but it's a fun read. How can you not like something that pokes fun of Dragonlance in places?

Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
Impossible Odds, by Dave Duncan

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

uhhh...

Now that I think of it I've read a ton of solo Sci-fi books, but almost no solo fantasy novels! So much stuff is part of a chain or trilogy in fantasy.

 

[Alzrius]

Captains Outrageous and its sequel Yor's Revenge by Roy V. Young.

Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, If at Faust You Don't Succeed, and A Farce to Be Reckoned With (a trilogy) by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley.

(Yeah, I know, none of these are stand-alone, but they're still really good. We don't see enough fantasy humor! )

 

[Michael Tree]

I'd call Lord of Light science fiction, actually, or science fantasy. But both are really good books (I prefer LoL myself).

Still, I think people would be better starting with The Phoenix Guards rather than Five Hundred Years After.

Oops, I meant to write The Phoneix Guards. I edited my post above.

Zelazny's books often defy easy classification, so I included Lord of Light because it's excellent and might be fantasy.

 

[replicant2]

Hello all, it's my very first post on the boards. Figured I'd start by throwing in a couple of stand-alone novel suggestions, as my gaming was launched by reading.

Someone here mentioned Poul Anderson. He's one of my all-time favorites. You could do worse than read The Broken Sword, Hrolf Kraki's Saga or War of the Gods.

The Broken Sword is my absolute favorite by Anderson, a fantastic Norse tale of tragedy and fate, faerie races getting driven out by encroaching mankind, Christiany vs. Paganism. All wrapped up in a fast-paced, bloodthirsty saga.

E.R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros. An epic tale of fantastic warfare, in the vein of the Iliad. Incredible, vivid, poetic language, peopled with memorable characters and creatures. And great battle scenes, some of the best around.

Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead. Strange that a popular SF guy would deliver this tale of bloody viking culture, including death duels, human sacrifice, and the warrior's code ("A hero's great challenge is in the heart, and not in the adversary.") Great stuff. Inspired the film the 13th Warrior.

T.H. White's The Once and Future King is an absolutely amazing book. It's a modern retelling of the Arthur myth, but with an even greater emphasis on the philosophical and moral implications of the tale. The characters, especially Arthur and Launcelot, are depicted as normal, down to earth people and are very accessible.

I hope these suggestions help.

 

[jester47]

The Hobbit, and the Last Unicorn

 

[jester47]

Oh and The Neverending Story...

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Lord Dunsany: The Charwoman's Shadow and The King of Elfland's Daughter

 

[Pielorinho]

By standalone, can we mean "books that don't require reading any other books to be appreciated"? Some books take place in a world common with other books, even with the same characters, but are self-contained stories with their own beginning, middle, and end. For example, you needn't read any other Earthsea book to enjoy Le Guin's classic A Wizard of Earthsea.

And that's my best recommendation for classic fantasy.

For modern-day fantasy, I've got two recommendations: Sean Stewart's Mockingbird, a lyrical story about a modern world in which magic has returned and it is NOT a positive or exciting or fun thing, but is rather like having the line between waking and uneasy dreaming blurred. And Tim Powers' Last Call, a thrilling romp of a book about secret societies, magical rituals, and freakish bad guys (including the world's scariest Elvis impersonator -- Hail to the King, baby!)

For weird fantasy standalones, I'll recommend Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. I can't guarantee you'll like it, but I can guarantee that you'll feel strongly about it; it's a love-or-hate book, and I loved it. Maybe it depends on how closely the book mimics your worst nightmares. When I read it, it was like Mieville tapped straight into my dream aesthetic and told the scariest possible story while I slept.

For fun pseudohistorical fantasy, I'd recommend The Lions of Al-Rassan, already mentioned, and The Grand Ellipse, by Paula Volsky. Fun stuff!
Daniel

 

[Particle_Man]

The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold (I heard that there was a sequel somewhere, but CoC stands alone. Boy does it ever. I am thinking of using its religious system in a campaign of mine. But then I like Bujold's stuff. Except for The Spirit Ring. That was cr@p).