[OT] Which do you think are the best fantasy novels/authors?

[darkbard]

i'll throw in my vote with the obvious choices [that i've read]: tolkien, robert howard, h.p. lovecraft. i'll also give hearty approval for katherine kurtz's various deryni series--reading them was among the brightest points of my adolescence [and they're still great as an adult].

now, two authors who have not yet been mentioned but who definitely bear checking out if you like the aforementioned writers are j. gregory keyes and thomas harlan. harlan is a game designer as well as author and his "oath of empire" series is an alternate early medieval earth where rome didn't fall, with divine and arcane magic, necromancy, heroic warriors, etc. keyes tells an epic tale in "the waterborn" and "the black god" about two young heroes [and a supporting cast] in an intricately detailed mythologically-oriented fantasy world that draws on asian, native american, and various other real-world cultures and mythos for inspiration. and yet it works surprisingly well from a d&d perspective too. if you're the type who likes a writer who developes alternate languages for his world [and that kind of detail] and sprinkles these elements into his books, you'll love him.

both authors have had several stories in dragon magazine in the past few years.

 

[ajanders]

Other Obscure Authors

Manly Wade Wellman wrote mostly horrific fantasy, but I still love him.
James Blaylock's Elfin Ship, Stone Giants, and Disappearing Dwarf. Any adventuring party led by a cheesemaker is worth a read for the comedy value alone.
For you Urban Arcana fans, check out "Who's Afraid of Beowulf?"

 

[Broken Fang]

Dang most of my favorites have all been mentioned:

Tolkien
Brust
Cook
Eddings
Morcock

Not sure if anyone has mentioned Robert Howard yet...Conan.

Also most of the Black Library (GW) Warhammer books are really good. I'd reccomend:
Brian Craig - Zaragoz, Plague Daemon, and Storm Warriors (not sure if its in print anymore)
Jack Yeovil - Drachenfels and Genevieve Undead
William King - the Felix and Gotrek series (Trollslayer, etc.)
Plus any of the antholgies of short stories.

 

[CCamfield]

3) Cook. The Black Company books are more obscure than they should be. These are military fantasy, something there isn't a lot of, and probably will never be any as good as these.

I heartily recommend tracking down Gardens of the Moon, the first Malazan Empire book by Steven Erikson (who drothgery mentioned) The series is mostly military fantasy, and Erikson weaves a more complex world than Cook. The "Chain of Dogs" plot in the second book is just great. (Barbarian clans working for the Empire has to try to get thousands of refugees fleeing a rebellion to safety, while being attacked by rebel armies. Not a pretty story.)

In the really greatest authors category I'd also agree with drothgery in singling out G. G. Kay. Lots of authors mentioned here that I like but find hard to call Truly Great. LeGuin, Leiber, Moorcock definitely are. Ok, I don't want to just repeat everyone else...

(Re Kurtz, I did enjoy the Deryni books but when she kept writing about the early history they just got more and more depressing. Pass, thanks.)

I will mention one book which I do think is worthy of the title that hasn't been mentioned: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. It's a story set in an "ancient China that never was" about a big dumb peasant and an ancient drunken homicidal scholar (yes, you read that right) on a quest to save some children from a incurable slow poison. Draws on Chinese fairy tales, the book has a lot of travelling and adventures, some really hilarious "cons" and other episodes, and there are other bits which are very touching... it hits all the right notes.

In the urban fantasy sub-genre I think Charles de Lint has some written some books which are really, really good. Moonheart and Someplace to be Flying come particularly to mind. For a more traditional fantasy-in-urban-environment, Jack the Giant Killer is just plain fun. I bet it would be a good fit for d20 Modern.

 

[kenjib]

My favorites have already been mentioned with the exception of Clark Ashton Smith. He's almost already lost to the caprices of history, but worth the read and his stuff is all available for free in the public domain:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/wri/short/index.html

The Zothique Cycle is a good starting point. Hyperborea is a good followup.

Should I also assume that you aren't looking for older fantasy authors like Thomas Mallory, Snorri Sturlson, Richard Burton, Homer, etc., or are those types applicable as well? Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner is one of my all time favorites.

 

[Celtavian]

Re

I don't read alot of fantasy books. I pretty much read LOTR over and over again and think it is the ultimate fantasy book of all time and will never be bested.

I read some FR, not because I think they are great literature, but I like to keep up on the history of the Realms since I use FR as a campaign setting.

I love knights. Any books that tell stories of knights in ancient times will get big bonus points from me.

My favorite fantasy books:
1. Lord of the Rings: It will never be beat as the most influential fantasy book of all time. This book pretty much inspired D&D, and even moreso the FR.

2. The Arthurian Legends: I mostly read either Sir Mallory L'morte D'Arthur. (I think that is it.) or T.H. White The Once and Future King.


I haven't read much else besides these two books. I will immediately discard any book that uses a language style equivalent to modern day English. As soon as it seems like I am reading two modern day people speaking, I feel like I am watching an episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journies. The book immediately is cast aside.

 

[Berk]

It's an astonishing accomplishment, though most people judge it on modern novel-writing merits, which is like juding Pink Floyd's The Wall based on how good a book it makes

Knowing what Pink Floyd's The Wall stands for and the entire story behind it and being a die hard fan of theirs and knowing everything about them, it would actually make a kick arse book. Now I'm not talking a book that will be like the movie or anything, but a book that will actually be what The Wall is about. Each song would be a different chapter since each song tells a distinctly different and powerful story.

 

[jdavis]

Just looking for stuff nobody has mentioned yet.

L.E. Modesitt, jr. The saga of Recluse series is pretty good.

I'd never call any writer a hack as they are getting paid to write and I am not, but there are several writers that I don't care for.

 

[Kanegrundar]

My favorite authors are:
Chris Claremont (The Shadow War series...I would love to see Lucas continue Willow by turning those books into movies!)
Steven King (The Dark Tower series is a great experience, too bad he may never finish it.)
Terry Cook
JRR Tolkien
Frank Herbert
HP Lovecraft
RA Salvatore

Adios,
Kane

 

[Omega Lord]

Good fantasy books/authors? Dear lord, I can only think of a few dozen off of the top of my head.

Toliken- da man

George R.R. Martin- Good books but as someone mentioned dont, i repeat, DO NOT get attached to any character. The main character mortality rate rivals Hamlet.

Robert Jordan- I like his books. Good huge fantasy epics.

Terry Goodkind- I love his sword of truth series.

Stephen King- worry not my friends, the 7th(and final) dark tower book is being written as we speak, all of the other books are alredy written and will soon be out (thank god, i was worried that he might die before finishing those).

H. P. Lovecraft- not my personal favorite, but has some definite talent.

There are many, many other fantasy authors that i have enjoyed but these few are my favorites (off of the top of my head).