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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 2930299" data-attributes="member: 32164">Agreed. I hold fantasy to the same standard as any other literature I read. However, like barsoomcore, I too enjoy reading books about swords and sorcery and fighting monsters. Most of them are crap. They're entertaining crap, in many cases, but still crap. Recently, I've found few authors who wrote what I found to be good fiction. Usually it's a case of me enjoying an author's narrative style, his/her take on the genre, or both.The best stuff I've found lately are anything by George Martin and Tad Williams, neither of whom have gone wrong. So far, I put Glen Cook and Steven Eriksen in that category as well. I say so far because every writer has off moments (see below). Unlike many people, I found Stephen Donaldson preachy garbage and couldn't even get through his first Thomas Covenant book. But that's probably because I was raised Catholic and I can recognize heavy-handed religious writing when I come across it.Most even good authors are hit and miss. Robert Jordan, for example, when he's good is GOOD. But a lot of his stuff is...umm...not so good. He probably should have wrapped the Wheel of Time up faster, as it was really good for about 6 books. It's still better than most fantasy, but not always stellar quality. Same with Raymond Feist and Piers Anthony. Very good when they're good, and mediocre to crappy when they're not.In another category, I put authors like Michael Stackpole and Jim Butcher, who write good fantasy that doesn't have any pretentions to being "literature" but is damn entertaining nonetheless. I don't usually think most great works of fantasy come out of their authors trying to be "significant" so much as just, as Mark Twain put it, "trying to tell a good story in an entertaining way" and letting the rest take care of itself.For the record, I've enjoyed (Eberron-creator) Keith Baker's books as well. Not great lit, but an entertaining narrative with engaging characters. Which is all I really ask.</blockquote>

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