What other fantasy books do YOU read?

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Sorry to double post, but I've been considering reading Dune and Mists of Avalon, and I was thinking - could anyone give me opinions on them? What are they like? Are they worth the read? Are they something a busy student could read, or do they require more time and devotion?

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Mists of Avalon does have slow parts, but it's also tremendously atmospheric - and if you are interested in reading Arthurian stories, it's good to read one from a wholly different perspective even if you end up not liking it! Though I'm sure you will like it.

It's especially evocative if you know the locations used, the West Country and the Vale of Avalon.

Not wishing to sound like a chauvinist, but I found Mists of Avalon dreadfully boring and devoid of humor. I prefer T.H. White's retelling of the Arthurian cycle in The Once and Future King. Mary Stewart's Merlin series (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, etc.) is interesting in parts, but is rather somber, and tends to meander later on in the series.

The Dune series is excellent, an intriguing tale straddling fantasy and science fiction with a depth both politically and religiously which transcends most everything in the genre (save for maybe Asimov's Foundation trilogy). Read Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune, but go nae further. It gets silly afterwards, particularly since the original author died and the story was taken up by his not-so-talented son and a ghost writer. The amount of time the story spans is reminiscent of Tolkien, chronologically speaking.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

[And it's very Pagan and feminist - I like that as someone who's tackled Women Who Run With The Wolves

My significant other (who is glaring at me rather wolfishly at the moment), is an advocate of Clarissa Estes; therefore, rather than imperilling my very soul, I won't comment any further.

[Kitanna]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Not wishing to sound like a chauvinist, but I found Mists of Avalon dreadfully boring and devoid of humor. I prefer T.H. White's retelling of the Arthurian cycle in The Once and Future King. Mary Stewart's Merlin series (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, etc.) is interesting in parts, but is rather somber, and tends to meander later on in the series.

Didn't Mary Stewart write The Wicked Day as well? Another book that gives a different perspective, this time from Mordred's view. I never finished it because my mom stole it from my shelf when I put it aside for school work. But from the little I was able to read of Mary Stewart's other works they were fantastic. If Bradley had cut Mists of Avalon down it would be a much better book. I do love how she makes Morgan Le Fay less a witch and more a person who's been used poorly by those around her.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Not wishing to sound like a chauvinist, but I found Mists of Avalon dreadfully boring and devoid of humor. I prefer T.H. White's retelling of the Arthurian cycle in The Once and Future King. Mary Stewart's Merlin series (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, etc.) is interesting in parts, but is rather somber, and tends to meander later on in the series.

It's going to be impossible to express without it coming out all wrong, but Mists of Avalon seemed to have that hippy Glastonbury feel about it. Maybe the best way I can describe it is that it was a bit 'trippy'

I'd forgotten about the Mary Stewart ones - I read those not long after reading LotR for the first time and they stood up to the incredibly fussy taste I'd developed!

I've got Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book here, so I'm about to see what that's like...

I got The Lost Girls for Christmas - it's very good, and very, very, very adult.....Oh, and one I have to thank Pio for is The Fables - I finally read the first one last year and it was amazing! I'm trying to find the second one now...

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I got The Lost Girls for Christmas - it's very good, and very, very, very adult.....

Define "good."

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Gwathagor

Define "good."

Good as in good Art. It's basically an adult imagining of the adult lives and 'adventures' of Alice, Wendy and Dorothy - approach with caution if easily (or even averagely) shocked (and short of cash - they're rightly not cheap, mass market books).

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Good as in good Art. It's basically an adult imagining of the adult lives and 'adventures' of Alice, Wendy and Dorothy - approach with caution if easily (or even averagely) shocked (and short of cash - they're rightly not cheap, mass market books).

It's pornography, essentially.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Gwathagor

It's pornography, essentially.

I wouldn't say so, as it's not created with the same intent in mind.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I wouldn't say so, as it's not created with the same intent in mind.

Bethberry bites her tongue to avoid saying anything about the difficulties with authorial intention.

Originally Posted by Morth

Not wishing to sound like a chauvinist, but I found Mists of Avalon dreadfully boring and devoid of humor. I prefer T.H. White's retelling of the Arthurian cycle in The Once and Future King. Mary Stewart's Merlin series (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, etc.) is interesting in parts, but is rather somber, and tends to meander later on in the series.

Since this has been quoted liberally by several Downers, I might as well chime in to see if we can set a Downs record for most quoted post comment.

Also, not wanting to sound like a chauvinist, I too found MoA heavy going, in much the same way I dislike most of Atwood. The dogmatics are just too, well, dogmatic and I can take only so much knocking on my skull before my reading skills are numbed senseless.

Have never read Mary Stewarts' Merlin series so I'll take a look at them and maybe even a relook at TH White, as it's been years and years. . .

But for new current fantasy, I found The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss quite fascinating, especially from the perspective of a Tolkien read. The debt is there, but this is no mere pale imitation.

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I wouldn't say so, as it's not created with the same intent in mind.

Not according to Alan Moore.

[Guinevere]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Not wishing to sound like a chauvinist, but I found Mists of Avalon dreadfully boring and devoid of humor. I prefer T.H. White's retelling of the Arthurian cycle in The Once and Future King. Mary Stewart's Merlin series (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, etc.) is interesting in parts, but is rather somber, and tends to meander later on in the series.

Oh, I love Mary Stewart's Merlin series (and most of her other books) too. I read those in the seventies when I had no idea about Tolkien yet.
Speaking of Arthurian fiction (if that is fantasy?), I am very fond of Gillian Bradshaw's trilogy "Hawk of May", "Kingdom of Summer", "In Winter's Shadow".
I guess that's why I never tried reading the much praised "Mists of Avalon". I am so fond of the characters portrayed in Bradshaw's novels, I didn't wish to see them portrayed quite differently.

I started reading T.H.White's "The Once and Future King", but found it rather strange - it was just not my cup of tea.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Guinevere

I started reading T.H.White's "The Once and Future King", but found it rather strange - it was just not my cup of tea.

That's why there's camomile, Earl Grey, oolong, etc. -- there's a cup of tea for everyone.

For me, it was an extremely funny book which turns very sad, and it's that juxtaposition of humor and melancholy which got me. And the profound nature of T.h. White's pacificism is imbued in the very fabric of the tale. One literally cries when Arthur, old and tired and wiser, raises his hands to stop the charge of his men and Mordred's, but his effort is as futile as trying to hold back a tidal wave, and he falls in the cataclym. One of my all-time favorites, right up there with LotR.

[Morsul the Dark]

The Black Company Series from Glen Cook

Starting with an original Trilogy

The Black Company
The Shadow of fear (I thinks it's called just drew a blank)
The White Rose

those three books were amazing! great narrative and the "Baddies" are really scary and evil.... and then they show you the Other side of themselves like "The Lady"(that's what she's called) suddenly bursts into tears because she's afraid of death and why she protects herself and her empire so strongly, Cook makes the baddies human. also there is magic but in measured amount like Tolkien it's there but not over the top.

then there are the Books of the south:

A second trilogy about the Black Company;

These continue on the story and delve into the Company's history as well as making an extremely interesting plot leading right into the third set of books which contains four volumes......

and those four volumes are.... out of print! I stumbled across the first three the second trilogy I got in a newly printed compilation book, and the third sett I'm hoping will be coming out in such a way as well...

[Boo Radley]

Right now (Well... not RIGHT now. Right now I'm typing this post) I'm reading Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett, Very, very funny. It's one of the DiscWorld series.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Boo Radley

Right now (Well... not RIGHT now. Right now I'm typing this post) I'm reading Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett, Very, very funny. It's one of the DiscWorld series.

Is that the one where they all turn out to be women?

[Boo Radley]

Yes, indeedy-do.

The first time I read the DiscWorld series, a few years ago, I read them out of order. For the most part, they were written to be stand alone books, but now I'm reading them in chronological order... just because.

[Nessa Telrunya]

-The Obsidian Trilogy
-Tales of the Kings Blades

Not very well known, but they are both phenomenal. It's worth spending an hour in the public library to find them.

[alatar]

We were preparing a disaster recovery plan for the office, and so decided to do some research on zombies (it's an odd place to work). A coworker pointed me to the works of Max Brooks (son of Mel Brooks), who wrote the 'Zombie Survival Guide' and 'World War Z.' The former is a tongue-in-cheek guide that helps you prepare for various zombie outbreaks, from a few here and there to a full-blown end-of-the-world pandemic. I found it helpful, though WWZ was more entertaining. It's written ten years *after* zombies take over the world, where the author of the book interviews various people around the world in order to describe the war against the zombies. Some parts are great; others get a little silly - then again, it's about zombies.

I found both to be entertaining and worth the read. Plus, practically, should zombies attack the office, I have an escape plan at the ready (hint: identify slower coworkers who can be used to *distract* the zombies long enough for you to get away ).

[Nazgûl-king]

I am currently reading "The Sword of Shannara".

[Galadriel]

Hmm. I'm not THAT much into fantasy. I've read Tolkien's stuff and A Song of Ice and Fire by George Martin and a bit of Terry Pratchett (the man's a genius), but nothing else. And this may sound strange, but I could never get into Harry Potter. I wanted to, because I enjoyed the concept and all the funny little words, but Rowling's style...just irritated me. I tried the Sorcerer's Stone at least 5 times but I nearly fell asleep at each go.

Anyone else got the same problem?