Downers' Famous Fantasy Five

[Aganzir]

I don't read very much fantasy nowadays, and many of the books I've read recently have been by some unknown Finnish authors. Apart from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and Robin Hobb books which didn't make it into my top5, I suppose these are all the fantasy books (or, to be more accurate, authors) I could recommend to someone... And I must admit it was a little surprising to notice there were so few of them.

1. The Silmarillion - Tolkien
It was hard to decide whether to place the Silmarillion or the Lord of the Rings on top. But of all Tolkien's works, I love the Silmarillion most. I'm not going to compare the stories of the Lotr and Sil with each other, but the way the Silmarillion is written is something amazingly beautiful.
Another, though quite vague a reason to choose the Silmarillion: Lotr is a book that has to be read through (and I don't know if any others have the same problem, but I've read it so many times that nowadays it takes ages to read it again), but of the Silmarillion it is possible to read only one or a couple of chapters, whatever I feel like at the moment, without reading the whole book, and without the stories losing their grip. That's sometimes more comfortable than reading the whole book.

2. City of Saints and Madmen - Jeff VanderMeer
Again, a problem. Veniss Underground by the same author is a wonderful novel also, but I've grown to love the intensity and the extraordinary ideas of the stories in City of Saints and Madmen. That man is a genius.

3. Earthsea - Ursula LeGuin
It's a while since I read them... And I have only read the first three books; I liked them a lot and don't want to risk losing the image I have by reading the newer ones. Especially as my little brother complained they weren't as good as the original thrilogy.
Generally, I like LeGuin's scifi stories more than fantasy, but Earthsea is an exception. Simple but ah so subtle and beautiful.

4. The Wolf's Bride - Aino Kallas
A werewolf story by a 20th century Finnish author. I'm not sure if this should be classified as fantasy or rather a folktale, but I think I can include it, as there definitely are fantastical elements. I was 8 when I read it for the first time, and fell in love immediately.

5. The Moomin books - Tove Jansson
I've loved them since I was a child of 3 or 4- my mother used to read them to me, and I read them also myself when I learned to read. It's peculiar (but not surprising) how many layers and different aspects I can now see in the same books I read and enjoyed even as a child. And they don't feel childish at all.