===============================================================================
Date: 01-24-97 Time: 05:29a Number: 54405
From: Amy Sheldon Refer:
To: All Board ID: FIX Reply:
Subject: Recommended Fantasy Autho 448: news.en.rec. Status: Public
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From: Amy Sheldon
Date: 23 Jan 1997 18:52:38 GMT
Message-ID:
Archive-name: fantasy/recommended-authors/part1
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1997/01/06
URL: http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Version: 2.5
THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 2.5
Part 1 of 5
REPOST of January posting (the original had the end of each of
the first four parts chopped off)
CONTENTS:
Introduction Part 1
THE LIST (A-C) Part 1
THE LIST (D-I) Part 2
THE LIST (J-R) Part 3
THE LIST (S-Z) Part 4
Total Recommendation Counts Part 5
Book News Part 5
Changes Since Last Posting Part 5
Finding These Books Part 5
About the List Part 5
Downloading the List Part 5
Credits Part 5
INTRODUCTION
The Recommended Fantasy Author List originated in April 1994 in
the alt.fan.eddings newsgroup. It was intended to be a quick
compilation of a few favorite fantasy authors of some a.f.e.
regulars. After more than 130 recommendation lists, it ended up
being a bit more than that. The List has maintained ONE of its
original attributes - all of the participants share a fondness
for the fantasy of David Eddings. Other than that, recommended
authors run the gamut from Stephen Donaldson to Terry Pratchett,
Mervyn Peake to Lloyd Alexander, and Peter Beagle to Piers
Anthony (the last pair is my "sublime to the ridiculous"
combination).
The list is alphabetic by author. In the case of authors with
multiple series, I've attempted to list their works in order of
publication. Note that the operative word in the preceding
sentence is "attempted." Series are listed with a series title
followed by the individual books in the series. The listing will
indicate if the titles are part of an on-going series or a
limited series (trilogies, tetralogies, and the like), and if
the books within the series stand alone. If the series has gone
beyond 10 books, the first several books will be listed, and
maybe a few others of particular interest.
THIS LISTING DOES NOT PRETEND TO LIST EVERY WORK BY EVERY AUTHOR
LISTED, nor is it intended to do so. In several cases, only
specific books by an author are recommended (although that is
generally noted in the comments). Authors who write both science
fiction AND fantasy (or books in other genres) only have their
fantasy titles listed.
You can find many _complete_ author lists, created by the
indomitable John Wenn, at the following ftp site:
sflovers.rutgers.edu
in the directory: /pub/sf-lovers/bibliographies/authorlists
On the other hand, if you are looking for a list of virtually
every modern fantasy author and all their titles, check out
Finn's Fantasy BookList, located at:
http://www.mcs.com/~finn/home.html
The value-enhanced html version of this list resides at:
http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
It includes everything found in the posted plus the list of
authors who never got that all-important second recommendation
and links to individual author sites.
Series titles are enclosed within quotation marks, and book
titles within series are separated a semicolon. Comments, if
any, follow the listing. Authors/series listed by 10% of the
recommenders are marked with an "*". Two "**" means that 20% or
more have endorsed the author. The total number of
recommendations per author follows the List.
Peter Ackroyd (b. 1949)
Hawksmoor
_A literary thriller set in 17th century & present-
day London. An architect is rebuilding London after
the Great Fire, but he's secretly performing satanic
rituals in each of the rebuilt churches. These
involve murders, which are also occurring our time.
The chapters alternate between past and present.
"It's weird" says Stevie._
First Light
_A literary fantasy. The excavation of a neolithic
grave causes the ancient night sky to reappear,
along with other strange happenings._
The House of Doctor Dee
_Another Ackroyd involving alchemy and magic, and a
London both ancient and modern. David enjoys
Ackroyd's work, but warns that the pace can be
slow._
Lloyd Alexander (b. 1924)
"Prydain Chronicles" - The Book of Three; The Black
Cauldron; The Castle of Llyr; Taran Wanderer; The High
King
_Who cares if you have to get them from the
children's section of your library - these are
great. A young boy of unknown heritage becomes
involved in a clash between the forces of good and
evil. Loosely based on the Welsh Mabinogin. There
are also two or three short story collections out
featuring tales about the characters from the
Chronicles. Classic series, the concluding volume
won the Newbery medal._
"Westmark Trilogy" - Westmark; The Kestrel; The Beggar
Queen
_Less fantasy than the Prydain Chronicles. _The
Kestrel_ in particular brings up the issue of
personal morality in war situations, and it doesn't
give any easy answers._
"Vesper Holly series" - The Illyrian Adventure; The El
Dorado Adventure; The Drackenberg Adventure; The Jedera
Adventure; The Philadelphia Adventure
_Young adult adventure series set in an alternate
world during Victorian times. The hero is a teen-
aged female version of Indiana Jones, and the series
is great fun._
Poul Anderson (b. 1926)
The Broken Sword
_One of Anderson's earliest novels, the story of a
changeling stolen by an elven lord. _Locus_ calls
this 'a fine Norse saga'. It's been reprinted fairly
recently, so you should be able to find it._
Three Hearts and Three Lions
_A modern man is swept back in time to take his
place in a great combat between the gods._
Hrolf Kraki's Saga
_Retelling of one of the earliest surviving Norse
sagas._
The Merman's Children
_Stand-alone taking place in the thirteenth century,
when magic is fading away. Four half-human, half-mer
children seek their people, torn between their
mortal and immortal heritages._
"The King of Ys" - Roma Mater; Gallicenae; Dahut; The Dog
and the Wolf
_A Roman centurion becomes king of a magical city.
The entire tetralogy was reprinted as a omnibus
trade paperback from Baen Books in July '96._
"The Last Viking Trilogy" - The Golden Horn; The Road of
the Sea Horse; The Sign of the Raven
_This trilogy is extremely difficult to find.
Anderson is a great SF writer, too. His attention to
historical detail comes through in his fantasy
offerings (try _The High Crusade_ - it's SF, but one
I think even the most adamant fantasy fan would
like). The major influence on his fantasy is Nordic
myth and legend._
*Piers Anthony (b. 1934)
"Kelvin of Rud" - Dragon's Gold; Serpent's Silver;
Chimaera's Copper; Orc's Opal; Mouvar's Magic
_Straight adventure-fantasy._
"Xanth" - A Spell for Chameleon; The Source of Magic;
Castle Roogna; etc. etc. etc.
_Humorous. First couple of books are recommended,
but it has descended into terminal cuteness and
virtual unreadability. Denis managed to enjoy the
first 15, but even he admits that it's getting
pretty bad now. Series is nearing the 20-book mark._
"Apprentice Adept" - Split Infinity; The Blue Adept;
Juxtaposition
_Takes place in two different universes, one magic
and one not. Anthony returned to this world with a
second trilogy that is NOT recommended._
"Incarnations of Immortality" - On a Pale Horse; Bearing an
Hourglass; With a Tangled Skein; Wielding a Red Sword;
Being a Green Mother; For Love of Evil; And Eternity
_There is a general, overall theme, but each book
does stand on its own. NOT humorous. Recommenders
agree that the first book, _On a Pale Horse,_ is the
best (the usual state of affairs in a series written
by Piers Anthony)._
*Robert Asprin (b. 1946)
"Myth series" - Another Fine Myth; Myth Conceptions; Myth
Directions; Hit or Myth; Myth-ing Persons; Little Myth
Marker; M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link; Myth-nomers and
Impervections; M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action; Sweet Myth-tery
of Life; Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. (forthcoming someday,
but don't expect it any time soon)
_Humorous. Lotsa puns, lotsa slapstick. Like most
long-running series, the recent offerings have been
pretty weak. He also has an SF series, "Phule's
Company," which runs along the punny/humor line._
"Thieves World" - Thieves World; Tales From the Vulgar
Unicorn; Shadows of Sanctuary; Storm Season; The Face
of Chaos; Wings of Omen; many others
_Shared World series with various authors, Asprin is
originator. Notable as the first series created
specifically to be a Shared World. Most of the
stories aim for a feeling of gritty realism
(translation: dark and depressing). The series seems
to have topped out at 12 books._
Robin Wayne Bailey (b. 1952)
"Frost Trilogy" - Frost; Skull Gate; Bloodsongs
_The warrior and ex-witch Frost wanders in exile
with both her daemonic dagger and her mother's dying
curse. It's a standard set-up (Tough Female Warrior
who is Just As Good As the Boys), but it has some
nice twists. Bailey's first fantasy effort, out of
print and darn near impossible to find, but Steve
likes it much better than Bailey's later work._
"Brothers of the Dragon" - Brothers of the Dragon; Flames
of the Dragon; Triumph of the Dragon
_A pair of brothers end up in a world of magic,
where their martial arts skills are put to the test.
Note that the final two books of the trilogy were
originally published under the titles _Straight on
Til Mourning_ and _The Palace of Souls_._
Shadowdance
_A crippled young man is magically given the ability
to walk by a witch, but the cost may be greater than
he can bear._
Clive Barker (b. 1952)
"The Books of the Art" - The Great and Secret Show;
Everville
_These involve 'the dream-sea of Quiddity', and move
away from the strictly horror content of Barker's
"Books of Blood" series (although David points out
that they still would "not be recommended for
juveniles or the faint of heart due to their
explicit sex and violence"). Each book does stand
alone._
Imagica
_Dark fantasy about three people trying to save the
world from eternal darkness._
The Thief of Always
_Now, this one IS for juveniles, and involves a ten-
year-old who gets more than he bargains for when a
mysterious stranger offers him an escape from
boredom at the Holiday House._
Gael Baudino (b. 1955)
Gossamer Axe
_An early work, and at least one recommender
considers it her best. A musician's lover is
kidnapped by the Sidhe, and she must fight to get
her back (and yes, the pronouns are correct. The
lovers are lesbian, and if that bothers you, you
should avoid Baudino's work)._
"Dragonsword series" - Dragonsword; Duel of Dragons; Dragon
Death
_Another mingling of magic and contemporary folks
who end up in an enchanted world._
"The Natil series" - Strands of Starlight; Maze of
Moonlight; Shroud of Shadow; Strands of Sunlight
_Most of Baudino's work takes place in a modern
world touched by magic. Note that her view of life
is fairly grim - the humor quotient is flat at zero,
and the general happiness quotient isn't much
higher._
"The Water! trilogy" - O Greenest Branch; The Dove Looked
In; Branch and Crown
_Not recommended. One reader remarked 'this book
reads like someone told her she should have more
humor in her books, so she grimly sat down to write
something funny.'_
Spires of Spirit (forthcoming Feb. '97)
_I've no idea if this fits into any of her current
series._
L. Frank Baum (1856-1919)
"Oz" - The Wizard of Oz; The Land of Oz; Ozma of Oz;
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz; and so on
__The Wizard of Oz_ first saw print in 1900, and
Baum wrote 13 more Oz stories before his death.
There are currently more than 40 books about Oz, and
the land is getting a bit overpopulated. I've only
read Baum's novels, and they are fun. Dorothy is
quite competent and tough-minded (far more so then
Judy Garland was in the film version), and some of
the ancillary characters are hilarious (I love Mr.
H.M. Woggle-Bug T.E., and Scraps, and General
Jinjur)._
Peter S. Beagle (b. 1939)
A Fine and Private Place
_An early work. It's a love story with (and between)
ghosts. Jim says "it is well worth reading" and your
FAQmaker agrees._
The Last Unicorn
_One of the top ten fantasies of all time. Read
this. Bittersweet story of the last unicorn's quest
to find out what happened to her fellow unicorns._
The Folk of the Air
_Published in the mid 80s, contemporary fantasy set
in a city resembling Berkeley, California and
featuring a group very like the Society for Creative
Anachronism. One of his weaker works. Still, even
weak Beagle is worth reading._
The Innkeeper's Song
_Beagle returns to fantasy after far too long an
absence. Story told through multiple viewpoints,
grittier and a bit darker than his early work._
The Unicorn Sonata
_25 years after _The Last Unicorn_, Beagle returns
with a new fantasy that is initially set in
contemporary Los Angeles before moving on to a
faerie land of Shei'rah. This is really only a
novelette, but the pictures are pretty..._
Greg Bear (b. 1951)
"Songs of Earth and Power" - The Infinity Concerto; The
Serpent Mage
_Before Greg Bear went totally over to SF of the
hardest variety, he wrote this fantasy duology. It
was recently released as a single volume under the
title of _Songs of Earth and Power_ in both the U.S.
and U.K._
John Bellairs (1938-1991)
The Face in the Frost
_Another one of your FAQmaker's personal favorites.
Funny, scary, well-written, and fast-paced. The
author also has quite a few children's fantasies in
print. If you liked _The Last Unicorn,_ you'll like
this._
James Blish (1921-1975)
"After Such Knowledge" - Doctor Mirabilis; Black Easter;
The Day After Judgement; A Case of Conscience
_The famous SF author brings us the end of the
world. _Black Easter_ and _The Day After Judgement_
form a separate magic/horror duology - _Doctor
Mirabilis_ is a historical novel about Roger Bacon,
and _A Case of Conscience_ is straight SF. As a
whole, the series explores whether the search for
secular knowledge is inherently evil. _Black Easter_
is by far the strongest book of the group, and can
very easily be read as a stand-alone._
Elizabeth Boyer
"The World of the Alfar series" - The Elves and the
Otterskin; The Sword and the Satchel; The Wizard and the
Warlord; The Thrall and the Dragon's Heart
_The world in this series is heavily influenced by
Nordic myth. I'm told that these are all stand-alone
novels._
"Wizard's War" - The Troll's Grindstone; The Curse of
Slagfid; The Dragon's Carbuncle; Lord of Chaos
_I've been told that these also take place in Alfar,
and that the books are NOT standalones._
"Clan of the Warlord series" - The Clan of the Warlord; The
Black Lynx
_A new open-ended series (at least, that's what I
gather from the back cover blurbs)._
Keeper of Cats
_A new standalone, taking place in Boyer's usual
mythical-Scandanavian setting._
Ray Bradbury (b. 1920)
Something Wicked This Way Comes
_Everything Bradbury writes is Wonderful (do we
detect a teeny bit of bias on the part of our
FAQmaker here?) Most of his fantasy is in short
story form, but this novel features an unusual (and
nasty) carnival that comes to town._
*Marion Zimmer Bradley (b. 1930)
"Avalon books" - The Mists of Avalon; The Forest House; The
Lady of Avalon (co-author Diana Paxson, forthcoming)
_Each of these stands alone. _Mists_ was one of the
first books to tell the Arthur story from the female
characters' points of view, and, boy, was it
successful. _Forest House_ is a prequel to _Mists_,
taking place during the Roman invasion of Britain.
I haven't heard what the latest book will cover._
The Firebrand
_Cassandra of Troy gets her turn in the spotlight._
"Witchlight series" - Ghostlight; Witchlight; Heartlight
(forthcoming); Gravelight (forthcoming)
_New series featuring psychic heroine Truth
Jourdemayne. Eluki Bes Shahar will be co-authoring
the forthcoming books._
"Darkover series" - Stormqueen; Hawkmistress; The Forbidden
Tower; The Heirs of Hammerfell; many many others
_THIS IS SF, NOT FANTASY. But, hey, McCaffrey's Pern
books made it onto the list, so why not MZB's
Darkover? Generally, the books that take place after
the lost colony of Darkover has been rediscovered by
Earth are more SF in tone, the ones that take place
during Darkover's long isolation have a more
'fantasy' feel. I've listed a few of the titles I'm
personally familiar with, and consider fantasy-ish
in tone. The books all tend to be standalones,
although familiarity with Darkover tends to make
even the lesser offerings more enjoyable._
Gillian Bradshaw (b. 1956)
"Down the Long Wind Trilogy" - Hawk of May; Kingdom of
Summer; In Winter's Shadow
_Michael liked the first book quite a lot, but he
adds 'then the story continues int the more or less
standard Arthurian tale, and I'm not very fond of
tragic love stories.'_
Mayer Alan Brenner (b. 1956)
"Dance of the Gods" - Catastrophe's Spell; Spell of
Intrigue; Spell of Fate; Spell of Apocalypse
_Ya gotta love a series with a hero named
'Maximillian the Vaguely Disreputable'. READ THIS
SERIES, shouts your FAQmaker, it's fast and furious,
and fun, and I want the author to make enough money
that he keeps getting published._
David Brin (b. 1950)
The Practice Effect
_A lone fantasy from an SF master. This is
definitely Brin-lite, but even minor Brin is
enjoyable. A light-hearted adventure in a parallel
world where magic takes a strange form (the title
pretty much gives it away). The book is a stand
alone. It came out a while ago, but was reprinted in
1994, so you should be able to track it down._
C. Dale Brittain (b. 1948)
"Tales of Daimbert" - A Bad Spell in Yurt; The Wood Nymph
and the Cranky Saint; Mage Quest; The Witch and the
Cathedral; Daughter of Magic
_Open ended series featuring Daimbert, the Royal
Wizard of Yurt. Basically light-hearted adventure,
although it is far less dependent on puns and
general silliness than the cover art (and titles)
would indicate. The most representative adjective
for this series would be "charming."_
Voima
_A standalone. Pretty much standard adventure/quest,
but it has some nice twists, and a trio of likable
protagonists. More serious than the Daimbert books._
**Terry Brooks (b. 1944)
"Shannara" - Sword of Shannara; Elfstones of Shannara;
Wishsong of Shannara
_The fantasy genre owes Brooks a lot - whether that
debt is good or bad depends upon how you feel about
the current state of the market. These books were
bestsellers when they came out in the early 80's,
and they finally proved that Tolkien's popularity
wasn't just an aberration, and that fantasy could be
much more than a niche market. This is an enjoyable
group of books, although the Tolkienesque borrowings
of the first book of the first trilogy are even more
blatant than most._
"Heritage of Shannara" - Scions of Shannara; Druid of
Shannara; Elf Queen of Shannara; Talismans of Shannara
_Onward ever onward with the world of Shannara. This
group of books is straightforward fantasy
quest/adventure._
"Yet Another Shannara Book" - First King of Shannara
_Prequel set 500 years before the events of _Sword
of Shannara_._
"Kingdom of Landover" - Magic Kingdom For Sale-Sold; The
Black Unicorn; Wizard At Large; The Tangle Box; Witches
Brew
_Open-ended adventure/humor series. Not connected to
the Shannara books. Brooks has delivered the first
book in a new series that is unrelated to either
Shannara or Landover, and it should be appearing
sometime in 1997._
*Steven Brust (b. 1955)
"Vlad Taltos series" - Jhereg; Yendi; Teckla; Taltos;
Phoenix; Athyra; Orca; Dragon (won't be appearing for
quite some time)
_Featuring the assassin Vlad Taltos. Open-ended
action/adventure series taking place in a well-
defined, interesting world. Each book is a stand-
alone, and the published order (listed above) does
NOT follow the internal chronology (despite that,
you should try to read them in the published
order)._
"Khaavren Romances" - The Phoenix Guards; Five Hundred
Years After; The Paths of the Dead (coming sometime in
1997 maybe); The Enchantress of Dzur Mountain
(forthcoming); The Lord of Castle Black (forthcoming)
_Set in the same world as the Vlad Taltos books,
just earlier in its history. These are written in
the style of Dumas (remember _The Three
Musketeers_?) and are quite enjoyable._
Brokedown Palace
_A standalone that takes place in the eastern
(human) region of Vlad Taltos' world. It was
reprinted by Ace in August, 1996._
Agyar
_Dark fantasy told from the title character's point
of view. Kate sez, 'Part of the fun is figuring out
who and what he is.'_
The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars
_Part of the Ace 'Fairy Tale' series (now being
published by Tor), which invited various authors to
retell a fairy tale for a contemporary adult
audience. Very well-regarded, books from the series
by Wrede, de Lint & Dean are also on this list. It
came back into print in May '96 from Tor._
Freedom and Necessity (co-author Emma Bull, forthcoming
Feb '97)
_This is an epistolary fantasy (i.e., the story is
told in the form of letters) that is unrelated to
any series by either of the co-authors. It is set in
1849._
Lois McMaster Bujold (b. 1949)
The Spirit Ring
_A lone fantasy from the creator of Miles
Vorkosigan. A well-written adventure taking place in
Renaissance Italy, featuring a plucky heroine and a
likeable hero._
Emma Bull (b. 1954)
The War For the Oaks
_Standalone (gosh, it's nice to run into a recent
book that doesn't have 900 sequels). Wars in the
fairylands spilling over into our world. You can
tell Bull is a musician - the band scenes feel
*right*. Good book, and well worth looking up._
Finder
_Although this is part of the 'Borderlands' shared-
world series, it IS a standalone. Very well done,
and both Kate and I recommend it highly._
Silver or Gold
_Young adult standalone._
Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950)
"Barsoom series" - A Princess of Mars; The Gods of Mars;
The Warlord of Mars; Thuvia, Maid of Mars; The Chessman
of Mars; The Master Mind of Mars; and so much more
_Join John Carter as he travels the wilds of the
Martian landscape! The Tarzan books are lots of fun,
too._
Octavia Butler (b. 1947)
Wild Seed
_Fantasy from the Nebula-award-winning SF author.
Steve says "It's an alternative history story, with
magic thrown in."_
A.S. Byatt (b. 1936)
Possession
_Standalone. Kate says it 'uses fantasy
extensively.' Those of you with a background in
English Literature will love this one._
James Branch Cabell (1879-1958)
"Biography of the Life of Manuel" - Beyond Life; Figures of
Earth; The Silver Stallion; The Music From Behind the
Moon; The White Robe; The Way of Ecben; The Soul of
Melicent; Chivalry; Jurgen; The Line of Love; The High
Place; Gallantry; Something About Eve; The Certain Hour;
The Cords of Vanity; From the Hidden Way; The Jewel
Merchants; The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck; The Eagle's
Shadow; The Cream of the Jest; The Lineage of Lichfield;
Straws and Prayer-Books
_The imaginary kingdom of Poictesme ties all of
these together. Alternate world fantasies. They all
stand alone, and the one you are most likely to find
is _Jurgen_._
Orson Scott Card (b. 1951)
Hart's Hope
_Early stand-alone fantasy_
"Alvin Maker" - Seventh Son; Red Prophet; Prentice Alvin;
Alvin Journeyman
_I believe this is meant to be a 7-book series. The
majority of Card's writing falls firmly into SF, but
this is an interesting alternate-history fantasy,
taking place in the 19th century U.S._
Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
"The Alice Duology" - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland;
Through the Looking Glass
_Human from the "real world" crosses over into a
fantasy land...Sound familiar? The first and still
the best, you should read the Alice books as a fine
source of sig quotes if nothing else._
Angela Carter (1940-1992)
The Magic Toyshop
_"Not exactly fantasy, but it's close enough,"
reports Wardley the Wizzy._
The Bloody Chamber
_Collection of stories reworking familiar fairy
tales. Definitely NOT for children. Maria describes
Carter as "a fabulous stylist: lush without
verbiage."_
Jack Chalker (b. 1944)
And the Devil Will Drag You Under
_Humorous. Stand-alone fantasy novel by a very
prolific SF author. His other fantasy series (the
"Dancing Gods") is NOT recommended_
Joy Chant (b. 1945)
"The World of Vandarei" - Red Moon and Black Mountain; The
Grey Mane of Morning; When Voiha Wakes
_A recommendation from Denis. These are all stand-
alones (and a good thing, too, since Chant produces
only about one book a decade, and hasn't had
anything new come out since 1984) set in varying
times in the world of Vandarei._
The High Kings
_Early legends of Britain retold._
C.J. Cherryh (b. 1942)
"Morgaine" - Gate of Ivrel; Well of Shiun; Fires of
Azeroth; Exile's Gate
_Early work from Cherryh (except for _Exile's Gate_,
which was published a decade after the others).
Dark, moody science fantasy. Open-ended_
"Arafel's Saga" - The Dreamstone; The Tree of Swords and
Jewels
_Out of print (although they still turn up in
bookstores occasionally). Fantasy in the
Celtic/Welsh vein._
"Russian series" - Rusalka; Chernevog; Yvgenie
_Dark fairy tale using Russian traditions. Cherryh
is a very highly regarded SF author, and if you like
her fantasy, you should check out her other works._
The Paladin
_Good stand-alone story with a samurai flavor_
The Goblin Mirror
_Stand-alone fantasy with an Eastern European
background._
Faery in Shadow
_Stand-alone celtic fantasy about a young man who
makes a bargain with the Sidhe._
Fortress in the Eye of Time
_The first book in a new series, this isn't one of
Cherryh's best. Tristen's quest is governed far too
heavily by happenstance (and goes on far too long),
and the maneuverings that lead to the final battle
are pretty routine. Still, even substandard Cherryh
is worthwhile, just don't let this be the first of
her books that you try._
Molly Cochran & Warren Murphy (b. 1933)
The Forever King
_Standalone described as an Arthurian romance._
World Without End
_Another standalone, this one involves Atlantis._
Adrian Cole (b. 1949)
"The Omaran Saga" - A Place Among the Fallen; Throne of
Fools; The King of Light and Shadows; The Gods in Anger
_I wish one of the folks who recommended this would
give me some type of description for this tetralogy,
because I haven't even be able to find a capsule
description in the library card catalog._
Allan Cole (b. 1943)
"Antero series (co-author Chris Bunch)" - The Far Kingdoms;
The Warrior's Tale; Kingdoms of the Night; The Warrior
Returns (by Allan Cole alone)
_The first two books of this series are loosely
related, and can easily be read as standalones.
However the third book is a fairly direct sequel to
the first, and after looking over a sample chapter
of the forthcoming book (which is written by Cole on
his own), it sure looks like you need to have read
the first three to really enjoy it. Straightforward
adventure/quest fantasy, reasonably well written._
"Timura Trilogy" - Wizard of the Winds (forthcoming July
'97); Wolves of the Gods; The Gods Awaken
_A new trilogy based on _The Rubayyat of Omar
Khayam_. Allan Cole has a neat homepage at
http://www.acole.com Nice graphics, sample
chapters, and some interesting links - check it
out._
Glen Cook (b. 1944)
"The Chronicles of the Black Company" - The Black Company;
Shadows Linger; The White Rose
_Fantasy from the foot soldier's point of view.
Gritty and hard-edged, these are not Fantasy Lite_
The Silver Spike
_Takes place in the world of the Black Company. It's
not about them, but some familiar characters
appear._
"Book of the South" - Shadow Games; Dreams of Steel
_More of the chronicles of the Black Company_
"The Glittering Stone Trilogy" - Bleak Seasons; She Is The
Darkness (forthcoming)
_The long-awaited (since 1985!) continuation of the
adventures of the Black Company._
"Garrett, P.I. series" - Sweet Silver Blues; Bitter Gold
Hearts; Cold Copper Tears; Old Tin Sorrows; Dread Brass
Shadows; Red Iron Nights; Deadly Quicksilver Lies; Petty
Pewter Gods
_The hard-boiled detective in a world full of elves,
trolls, and magic. Raymond Chandler fans take note.
Open-ended series. There is some slight reference to
events that take place in previous books, but all
books are basically stand-alone. Roc publishing
recently bought 2 more in this series from Cook.
This is beginning to suffer from Continuing Series
Syndrome, but the books haven't fallen off badly
enough to make me stop buying._
"The Dread Empire series" - A Shadow of All Night Falling;
October's Baby; All Darkness Met; The Fire in His Hands;
With Mercy Toward None; Reap the East Wind; An Ill Fate
Marshalling
_Listed for completists - none of the recommenders
mentioned this series. The darkest (and least
commercially popular) of Cook's three continuing
series._
Hugh Cook (b. 1956)
"Chronicles of an Age of Darkness" - The Wizards and the
Warriors; The Wordsmiths and Warguild; The Woman and the
Warlords; The Walrus and the Warwolf; The Wicked and the
Witless; The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers; The Wazir
and the Witch; The Werewolf and the Wormlord; The
Worshippers and Way; The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster
_These are the titles from the English editions.
Only the first couple have been published in the
U.S., and they were released under different titles.
Excellent series! Books vary radically in tone,
ranging from your standard heroes on a fantasy quest
to humor/adventure to great events seen through
ordinary (or seemingly ordinary) eyes._
Louise Cooper (b. 1952)
"Time Master Trilogy" - Initiate; Outcast; Master
_The forces of Order and Chaos face off again.
However, in Cooper's universe, neither side is
unrelievedly good or evil - Chaos and Order are "two
sides of the same coin," in the words of the
author._
"Chaos Gate Trilogy" - The Pretender; The Deceiver; The
Avenger
_Set in the same world as the "Time Master" trilogy.
It takes place about 60-80 years after the events of
the first trilogy._
"Indigo series" - Nemesis; Inferno; Infanta; Nocturne;
Troika; Avatar; Revenant; Aisling
_The recommender of the "Indigo" series would like
to point out that the quality of the books in the
series is uneven - some are much better than others_
"Star Shadow trilogy" - Star Ascendant; Eclipse; Moonset
(forthcoming)
__Moonset_ is already out in the U.K. This is a
prequel to the Time Master Trilogy_
*Susan Cooper (b. 1935)
"The Dark is Rising" - Over Sea and Under Stone; The Dark
is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree
_Another one that you'll find in the children's
section. Arthurian elements, and very good. _Grey
King_ took the Newbery Award._
Roberta Cray (b. 1944)
The Sword and the Lion
_Cray is a pseudonym of Ru Emerson. See her listing
for more details._
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Sheldon ais3@po.cwru.edu
Benefits Specialist (216) 368-6693
Case Western Reserve University
===============================================================================
Date: 01-24-97 Time: 05:29a Number: 54409
From: Amy Sheldon Refer:
To: All Board ID: FIX Reply:
Subject: Recommended Fantasy Autho 448: news.en.rec. Status: Public
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Amy Sheldon
Date: 23 Jan 1997 18:53:04 GMT
Message-ID:
Archive-name: fantasy/recommended-authors/part2
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1997/01/06
URL: http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Version: 2.5
THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 2.5
Part 2 of 5
Brian Daley (1947-1996)
"Coramonde" - The Doomfarers of Coramonde; The
Starfollowers of Coramonde
_US soldier in Vietnam is transported into a magical
world. Good mix of modern military equipment in a
fantasy world, says Jim Lahue._
A Tapestry of Magics
_A wandering minstrel is involved in a series of
adventures. Most famous for his 'Han Solo' books,
Daley also co-wrote (with James Luceno) 'Robotech'
books under the pen-name Jack McKinney._
Pamela Dean (b. 1953)
"The Secret Country" - The Secret Country; The Hidden Land;
The Whim of the Dragon
_Another series usually found in the children's
section of your library._
The Dubious Hills
_Set in the same world as _The Secret Country_, but
featuring different characters. An unusual book,
this one is not geared toward children._
Tam-Lin
_The college setting of this one makes it quite
popular with the academic crowd. Stand-alone
contemporary retelling of the Tam-Lin legend. Part
of the 'Fairy Tale' series._
Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary (forthcoming July '97)
L. Sprague de Camp (b. 1907)
"The Reluctant King" - Goblin Tower; The Clocks of Iraz;
The Unbeheaded King; The Honorable Barbarian
_Classic. Fast-paced heroic adventure with an added
dash of humor_
The Complete Compleat Enchanter (co-author Fletcher
Pratt)
_Great series of novelettes! Published in a variety
of configurations, the above title is the U.S.
edition that contains all the stories. In the U.K.,
look for _The Intrepid Enchanter_. Harold Shea
travels to a variety of magical worlds, finding
love, adventure, and poetry._
The Exotic Enchanter (co-author Christopher Stasheff)
_de Camp continues Harold Shea's adventures with a
new co-author. There has also been at least one
collection of short stories in this series_
John DeChancie (b. 1946)
"Castle Perilous sequence" - Castle Perilous; Castle for
Rent; Castle Kidnapped; Castle War; Castle Murders;
Castle Dreams; Castle Spellbound; Bride of the Castle
_Humorous series of books about a castle that
contains gateways to different worlds. Adams says
that it's 'always good for some laughs.'_
Magicnet
_Standalone humorous fantasy about an English
professor and a witch fighting an evil
hacker/warlock._
Tom Deitz (b. 1952)
The Gryphon King
_Stand-alone set in Georgia and similar in style to
the "David Sullivan" books (although it is NOT part
of that series)_
"David Sullivan series" - Windmaster's Bane; Fireshaper's
Doom; Darkthunder's Way; Sunshaker's War; Stoneskin's
Revenge; Ghostcountry's Wrath; Dreamseeker's Road;
Landslayer's Law (forthcoming July '97)
_Open-ended series. Celtic myth in rural Georgia. I
understand that the recent volumes have also thrown
American Indian mysticism into the pot._
"The Soulsmith Trilogy" - Soulsmith; Dreamweaver;
Wordwright
_Not connected to the David Sullivan series._
Above the Lower Sky; Demons in the Green
_Regarding the first book, _Publishers Weekly_ said
"War between Orcas and humans, a dolphin-selkie-
human alliance and mystical Native American magic
are the elements of this fantasy." The second book
takes place in the same world._
Charles de Lint (b. 1951)
"Jack of Kinrowen" - Jack the Giant Killer; Drink Down the
Moon (Omnibus edition with JoK title available from Tor)
__Jack the Giant Killer_ was originally published as
part of the 'Fairy Tale' series._
"Newford series" - Our Lady of the Harbor; Paperjack; The
Wishing Well; Memory and Dream
_Standalones taking place in the fictional town of
Newford. Most (if not all) of the short stories in
the two collections mentioned below take place in
Newford also._
"Short story collections" - Dreams Underfoot; The Ivory and
the Horn
_de Lint's short story collections are a good
introduction to the author - if you don't like
these, you won't like his novels._
Greenmantle
The Little Country
Trader
_He's written many books, with a fair number only
available in small press editions. Most are
stand-alone (although related to each other), all
are good. The best-known and most productive author
in the 'urban fantasy' sub-genre. Often difficult to
find in U.S. (this is changing - Tor, his publisher,
is showing their good taste and really pushing his
work), readily available in Canada & U.K._
Susan Dexter (b. 1955)
"Winter King's War" - Ring of Allaire; The Sword Of
Calandra; The Mountains of Channadran
_Her first work. Out of print, but seems to be
fairly easy to find._
"The Warhorse of Esdragon" - The Prince of Ill-Luck; The
Wind Witch; The True Knight
_Light-hearted adventure. The books are
stand-alones, with the warhorse Valadan as the
connecting character._
The Wizard's Shadow
_Stand-alone (although the ending is left wide open
for sequels) about a peddler who makes a bargain
with the shadow of murdered wizard. It appears to be
set in the same world as the Winter King trilogy._
Gordon Dickson (b. 1923)
"The Dragon and the George" - The Dragon and the George;
Dragon Knight; The Dragon on the Border; The Dragon at
War; The Dragon, the Earl, and the Troll; The Dragon and
the Djinn; The Dragon and the Gnarly King (forthcoming
August '97)
_Open-ended humorous adventure series. If you like
him, he also has a ton of SF available. The first
book of the series is by far the best, and the only
one I can personally recommend in good conscience._
**Stephen Donaldson (b. 1947)
"Thomas Covenant - First Chronicles" - Lord Foul's Bane;
The Illearth War; The Power That Preserves
_VERY highly recommended. This is a powerful
trilogy, and you should read it._
"Thomas Covenant - Second Chronicles" - The Wounded Land;
The One Tree; White Gold Wielder
_The Covenant books can be *quite* grim &
depressing, but they are well written and worth your
time. Those who love Donaldson's work describe
Covenant as a flawed but decent human struggling to
come to terms with both his illness and his power.
Others with less charity in their souls consider
Covenant to be whiny, self-pitying, and a poor
excuse for a hero. Give the Chronicles a try & see
which category you fall into._
"Thomas Covenant - Third Chronicles" - ?? (forthcoming)
_Yep, you read that right. According to the gossip
column in _Publishers Weekly_ magazine, Donaldson is
working on a third set of Thomas Covenant books.
This is still very much in the 'rumored' category,
so don't get your hopes up yet. He just finished up
a five-book SF series with characters that make the
folks in the Covenant books look cheerful and
well-adjusted._
"Mordant's Need" - The Mirror of Her Dreams; A Man Rides
Through
_Several people have remarked that, although the
Covenant books weren't their cup of tea, *this*
duology was very enjoyable, and nowhere near as
gloomy as his usual (although the heroine has more
than her share of self-image problems...)_
Diane Duane (b. 1952)
"The Tales of the Five tetralogy" - The Door Into Fire; The
Door Into Shadow; The Door Into Sunset; The Door Into
Starlight (forthcoming)
_Mercedes Lackey fans should give this series a try,
as most of the folks who recommended this were also
big Valdemar fans._
"Young Wizards series" - So You Want To Be a Wizard?; Deep
Wizardry; High Wizardry; A Wizard Abroad (U.S. edition
due out in '97)
_Open-ended young adult series. Humorous. They are
in the process of being reprinted by Harcourt Brace
under their Magic Carpet imprint._
*Dave Duncan (b. 1933)
"Seventh Sword" - The Reluctant Swordsman; The Coming of
Wisdom; The Destiny of the Sword
_His first work. Has some ragged edges, but moves
right along._
"A Man of His Word" - The Magic Casement; Faery Lands
Forlorn; Perilous Seas; Emperor and Clown
_A stableboy sets forth on a quest, and ends up with
a (need I say it?) great destiny._
"A Handful of Men" - The Cutting Edge; Upland Outlaws; The
Stricken Field; The Living God
_Follows the same characters as 'A Man of His Word'
series._
"Omar the Storyteller" - The Reaver's Road; The Hunter's
Haunt
_Described as being 'a little lighter' than Duncan's
epic fantasies, this on-going series features Omar
the storyteller. The books are completely self-
contained, and stand alone._
The Cursed
_Stand-alone about a land afflicted by changes
brought about by the baleful influence of certain
stars. Duncan also has a new book out under the
pseudonym Ken Hood titled _Demon Sword_._
"The Great Game" - Past Imperative; Present Tense; Future
Indefinite (forthcoming August '97)
_This looks interesting - in 1914, a young man
suffering from amnesia and accused of murder ends up
at Stonehenge, where he is transported to an
alternate reality._
Lord Dunsany (1879-1957)
The King of Elfland's Daughter
_Early fantasy. Dunsany was very influential in the
field. The above is probably his most accessible
book for modern readers (although I like _The
Charwoman's Shadow_ too, but then, I've got a
definite fondness for early fantasy). It should be
available at most larger libraries_
**David Eddings (b. 1931)
"The Belgariad" - Pawn of Prophecy; Queen of Sorcery;
Magician's Gambit; Castle of Wizardry; Enchanter's End
Game
_Eddings' fantasy debut, and, my, was it successful.
The forces of dark and light are rushing toward a
climatic confrontation, and young farm boy Garion is
swept into the battle._
"The Malloreon" - Guardians of the West; King of the
Murgos; The Demon Lord of Karanda; The Sorceress of
Darshiva; The Seeress of Kell
_Continuing the adventures of Garion and Company._
"The Prequels" - Belgarath the Sorcerer; Polgara the
Sorceress (forthcoming Fall 1997)
_Yep, two more books about our favorite sorcerer and
his daughter. These are both prequels to the events
of the Belgariad, and should finally answer such
burning questions as: Why did Poledra have to
pretend she'd died? and How exactly DID the orb get
onto the shield?_
"The Elenium" - The Diamond Throne; The Ruby Knight; The
Sapphire Rose
_Eddings creates a new world and characters. The
hero Sparhawk sets off to save his queen and
country._
"The Tamuli" - Domes of Fire; The Shining Ones; The Hidden
City
_More adventures of Sparhawk (Eddings does like to
get a lot of use out of his characters).
Eddings is by far the most highly recommended author
on the List (hardly surprising, as the list
originated in the alt.fan.eddings newsgroup)._
E.R. Eddison (1882-1945)
The Worm Ouroboros
_I've hesitated to add this to the list, since it is
an early work in the field (1922), and quite
different from what most people expect from fantasy
now, but since *Corinne* brought it up...Read it.
It's different._
"The Zimiamvian Trilogy" - The Mezentian Gate; A Fish
Dinner in Memison; Mistress of Mistresses
_Eddison gets a LOT more into philosophy with these.
_Mezentian Gate_ is unfinished - the published book
contains the chapters he completed and his notes on
the ending._
Teresa Edgerton (b. 1949)
"The Green Lion Trilogy" - Child of Saturn; The Moon in
Hiding; The Work of the Sun
_Celtic-inspired fantasy in a complex, well-realized
world._
"Kingdom of Celydonn trilogy" - The Castle of the Silver
Wheel; The Grail and the Ring; The Moon and the Thorn
_More about the world of the "Green Lion" trilogy.
Dwayne says the two books he's read are excellent,
and I agree, although _Castle_ is a trifle slow-
moving in spots. The final book was recently
released, and it is a satisfying conclusion to the
trilogy._
Goblin Moon; The Gnome's Engine
_Jonathan says these are "just awesome - full of
intrigue and suspense." Not part of the Celydonn
series, the world of these books is built more along
Victorian lines._
Phyllis Eisenstein (b. 1946)
"Cray the Sorcerer" - Sorcerer's Son; The Crystal Palace
_Stand-alones about Cray, a sorcerer._
"Tales of Alaric the Minstrel" - Born to Exile; In the Red
Lord's Reach
_Two books so far, the first is episodic and has the
feel of a short story collection, second is a novel.
Alaric is gifted with the magical ability of
teleportation._
Ru Emerson (b. 1944)
The Princess of Flames
_Her first book, and by far her best. Out of print,
and hard to find. She's currently doing Shared World
stuff._
The Sword and the Lion
_Emerson recently published this fantasy under the
pen name Roberta Cray. Lengthy stand-alone story
taking place in an area reminiscent of the ancient
Middle East (Babylon, Sumeria - you know, deserts
and lion gods, and dusty walled cities baking under
the hot sun). Lots of battles and a young heroine
who grows into a great destiny_
Michael Ende (1929-1995)
The Neverending Story
_Don't judge it by the movies, please, says the
recommender._
Jane Fancher (b. 1952)
"Dance of the Rings" - Ring of Power; Ring of Intrigue
(forthcoming Feb. '97)
_Fancher has several SF novels, but this appears to
be her first fantasy. Doug thought the first book
was killer, and hopes she writes fast._
**Raymond Feist (b. 1945)
"Riftwar Saga" - Magician: Apprentice; Magician: Master;
Silverthorn; A Darkness at Sethanon
_Fast-paced adventure, and full of action. The first
two books were originally published in one volume
under the title _Magician_._
"Midkemia series" - Prince of the Blood; The King's
Buccaneer
_Technically, these two are stand-alone books,
although they feature characters and situations
introduced in the Riftwar Saga, and set up
situations that are due to be resolved in the
Serpentwar saga._
"The Serpentwar Saga" - Shadow of a Dark Queen; Rise of a
Merchant Prince; Rage of a Demon King (forthcoming April
'97); Shards of a Broken Crown (title originally
announced as 'The Honor of a Bastard Knight',
forthcoming Spring '98)
_A new Midkemia series._
Faerie Tale
_NOT a Midkemia book. A dark, modern fairy tale.
"Krondor series" - The Trail of Krondor (forthcoming);
Return to Krondor (forthcoming)
_Novelizations of Feist's 'Krondor' CD-ROM game.
Feist is the second most highly recommended author
on this list (after Eddings, of course) - his work
definitely strikes a chord with most Eddings fans._
Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts
"Daughter of the Empire trilogy" - Daughter of the Empire;
Servant of the Empire; Mistress of the Empire
_Loosely related to Riftwar saga (they take place on
the other side of the Rift)._
Alan Dean Foster (b. 1946)
"Spellsinger" - Spellsinger; The Hour of the Gate
_These are the initial duology. A young man ends up
in a world where music has magic. It has become an
open-ended series. Foster is an entertaining and
competent writer (I've enjoyed his SF books about
Flinx and Humanx Commonwealth), however, I've
received reports that the later books in this series
have fallen off quite a bit in quality._
C.S. Friedman (b. 1955)
"The Coldfire Trilogy" - Black Sun Rising; When True Night
Falls; Crown of Shadows
_Sorta SF, but it takes place on a world where magic
works, and it's not a really pleasant place for
humans...."Extremely well written, interesting, and
a lot different than the typical "sword & sorcery"
type book...I would recommend this series to
anyone." Her sf novel _In Conquest Born_ has also
been mentioned by several recommenders. Doug would
like to add the warning that Friedman makes Stephen
Donaldson look like a comedy writer, and that
depressed persons should avoid these books._
Esther Friesner (b. 1951)
Druid's Blood
_Alternate world Sherlock Holmes/fantasy pastiche.
It gets a bit ragged in places, but on the whole is
quite enjoyable. Came out in 1988 as a paperback
original and will probably be hard to find._
"Demon series" - Here Be Demons; Demon Blues; Hooray for
Hellywood
_Open-ended humorous fantasy series. Relies less on
horrendous puns then some of the other humorous
fantasy authors. Her 'Majyk' series is NOT
recommended._
The Sherwood Game
_New fantasy. Nathan liked it enough to give
Friesner a recommendation, returning her to the list
after a six month absence._
Maggie Furey
"The Artifacts of Power" - Aurian; Harp of Winds; The Sword
of Flame; Dhiamarra (forthcoming April '97 in U.K.,
Sept. '97 in the U.S.)
_I've been waiting for this to get recommended. New
tetralogy that's been getting pretty decent reviews.
Jonathan says that it is very good fantasy._
Craig Shaw Gardner (b. 1949)
"The Cineverse Cycle" - Slaves of the Volcano God; Bride of
the Slime Monster; The Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies
_humorous (it's quite punny *ouch*) trilogy set in
a parallel universe based on 'B' movies_
"Ebenezum/Wuntvor series" - A Malady of Magicks; A
Multitude of Monsters; A Night in the Netherhells; A
Difficulty with Dwarves; An Excess of Enchantments; A
Disagreement with Death
_Standalone humor novels about an incompetent
magician and his apprentice_
"Arabian Nights" - The Other Sinbad; The Last Arabian
Knight
_More humor (do I sense a trend here?)_
"The Dragon Circle" - Dragon Sleeping; Dragon Waking;
Dragon Burning
_A storm transplants a suburban community into a
magical world. Nick is "thrust into a dire sorcerous
conflict" that involves the control of an immortal,
all-powerful dragon. This trilogy is SERIOUS, folks.
Jonathan notes that he was a little nervous about
trying this one because it was Gardner's first
attempt at an epic, but "I liked it a lot."_
Alan Garner (b. 1934)
"Alderley stories" - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen; The
Moon of Gomrath
_Marvelous author. These are his some of his
earliest work, you'll find them in the children's
section of your library._
Elidor
_Four children must save an alternate world through
the use of four symbols of power._
The Owl Service
_Echoes of the Mabinogion in a moody and intense
novel that totally bewildered me when I was 12, but
that I love now._
Randall Garrett (1927-1987)
"Lord Darcy" - Murder and Magic; Too Many Magicians; Lord
Darcy Investigates
_Open-ended series of detective stories set in an
alternate England where magic works. Michael Kurland
has continued this series with the books _Ten Little
Wizards_ and _A Study in Sorcery_._
Randall Garrett and Vicky Heydron (b. 1945)
"The Gandalara Cycle" - The Steel of Raithskar; The Glass
of Dyskornis; The Bronze of Eddarta; The Well of
Darkness; The Search for Ka; Return to Eddarta; The
River Wall
_Randall developed this series with his wife Vicky,
but he did not actually write any of the books due
to the effects of his eventually fatal illness_
*David Gemmell (b. 1948)
"The Drenai" - Legend; King Beyond the Gate; Quest For Lost
Heroes; Waylander; Waylander II; The First Chronicles of
Druss the Legend; Second Chronicles of Druss the Legend;
The Legend of Deathwalker
_The Drenai books are good, solid standalone fantasy
adventures that take place in the same world.
Gemmell is a retailing phenomenon in England, with
a publishing imprint named after his first book.
Only the first four Drenai books have been published
in the U.S. - the final four won't start appearing
in the U.S. until late 1998._
"The Lion of Macedon" - Lion of Macedon; Dark Prince
_Fantasy version of the life of Alexander the Great.
History purists be warned - Gemmell plays fast and
loose with Greek history and mythology. Only
available in trade paperback in the U.S._
"The Stones of Power" - Ghost King; Last Sword of Power;
Wolf in Shadow (1st U.S. edition Feb. '97); The Last
Guardian (1st U.S. edition July '97); Bloodstone (1st
U.S. edition June, '98)
_The second first two books take place in a vaguely
Arthurian past, and the others feature Jon Shannow,
and take place in the far future. The connecting
feature of the two eras are the Sipstrassi, the
stones of power._
Knights of Dark Renown
_A stand-alone. It is out in the U.S._
Morningstar
_Another stand-alone._
"The Hawk Queen" - Ironhand's Daughter; Hawk Eternal (both
are only out in the U.K.)
_The Gemmellites don't seem to be particularly
enthusiastic about this particular duology
(commentary has ranged from the lukewarm to the
tepid). Gemmell's work has just started coming out
in the U.S. He IS worth looking up - an entertaining
author who tells a fast-paced story. Fairly
traditional fantasy, with heroic heroes (who have
flaws, but overcome them when the chips are down)
and dastardly villains._
Dark Moon (forthcoming Oct '96 in the U.K.)
The Winter Warriors (forthcoming April '97 in the U.K.)
Mary Gentle (b. 1956)
"The White Crow sequence" - Rats and Gargoyles; The
Architecture of Desire
_Gothic fantasy. These books are very loosely
related, and definitely stand alone. I haven't read
them yet, and I should, because I really enjoy her
SF. Thanks to Ray for suggesting these_
Grunts!
_I've heard a lot about this one - I understand it
has a lot of black humor. It's been out in Britain
for a while, but just appeared in the U.S._
William Goldman (b. 1931)
The Princess Bride
_A fast-paced, funny romp through every fantasy
cliche you can think of (watch out for the rodents
of unusual size). Written by an author best known
for his screenplays (think _Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid_), which may be why the movie actually
does a good job of capturing the tone of the book._
Terry Goodkind
"The Sword of Truth" - Wizard's First Rule; Stone of Tears;
Blood of the Fold; Temple of the Winds (forthcoming
Sept. '97)
_Goodkind's debut novel made a big splash, and he
quickly followed it up. Mikey REALLY likes _First
Rule_ and highly recommends it. Goodkind has sold
five books in the series to Tor, so there's at least
two more in the pipeline._
Simon Green (b. 1955)
Blue Moon Rising
_"My favorite new book this year....standard fantasy
with enough of a twist to keep me interested,"
reports Nathan. Your FAQMaster agrees - it moves
quickly, the characters are standard types but still
manage to be interesting, and it kept me reading
straight through to the end._
Down Among the Dead Men; Blood and Honor
_Both set in the same world as _Blue Moon,_ but
they're not really sequels. "Down" takes place years
after, and features a totally different set of
characters, while "Blood" is about an actor who must
play the double of a prince during a crisis.
Action-packed adventure._
"Hawke and Fisher series" - Guard Against Dishonor; Hawke
and Fisher; The Bones of Haven; The God Killer; Winner
Take All; Wolf In the Fold
_Apparently the characters of Hawke and Fisher are
VERY similar to the two main characters of _Blue
Moon Rising_. This is early Green, and not readily
available in the U.S._
Shadows Fall
_Simon Green Gets Ambitious. Shadows Fall is the
town where legends go to die, and where the
apocalypse is about to occur. Not completely
successful, but worth reading, and it is always nice
to see an author trying to stretch his repertoire.
Green is currently in the midst of a galaxy-sweeping
space opera._
Twilight of the Empire (forthcoming August '97)
_Well, this might be science fiction, but I'm kinda
hoping it'll be fantasy. There just aren't that many
authors who can be counted on to produce a good
blood-and-guts fantasy adventure..._
Gayle Greeno (b. 1949)
"The Ghatti's Tale trilogy" - The Ghatti's Tale;
Mindspeakers' Call; Exiles' Return
_KDR said that this is "like Lackey's Valdemar with
cats."_
H. Rider Haggard (1856-1925)
"Allan Quartermain books" - King Solomon's Mines; Allan
Quartermain; Maiwa's Revenge; Child of Storm; She and
Allan; Allan's Wife; Marie; Finished; several others
_Allan Quartermain did a lot of traveling before he
went to King Solomon's Mines. The novels range from
straight adventure to outright fantasy and if you're
in the mood for a ripping good yarn, give 'em a
try._
*Barbara Hambly (b. 1951)
"Darwath Trilogy" - The Time of the Dark; The Walls of Air;
The Armies of Daylight
_Another 'folks from our world cross into fantastic
realm,' but quite well done (especially considering
that this was Hambly's first fantasy) with
intelligent characters and some interesting twists._
Dragonsbane
_Standalone about a witch and hero, and a kingdom
that's in a lot of trouble. A good introduction to
Hambly's work._
"Windrose Chronicles" - The Silent Tower; The Silicon Mage;
Dog Wizard
_The first two are basically one book that got split
in two due to size. _Dog Wizard_ continues the plot,
and leaves a fair amount of dangling threads at the
end. This may be turning into an open-ended series_
Stranger at the Wedding (U.K. title - Sorcerer's Ward)
_A standalone set in same world as "Windrose
Chronicles," but featuring different characters. One
of Hambly's weaker offerings._
"Sun Cross duology" - Rainbow Abyss; The Magicians of Night
_Wizards cross from their world into ours, and end
up in Nazi Germany._
"Sun Wolf/Starhawk" - The Ladies of Madrigyn; The Witches
of Wenshar; The Dark Hand of Magic
_Although each of these is a separate, self-
contained story, they are best enjoyed in order, and
_Dark Hand of Magic_ does bring the series to a
fairly definite close._
"James Asher Chronicles" - Those Who Hunt the Night;
Traveling With the Dead
_Hambly does the vampire routine. And she does it
quite well - in fact, _TWHtN_ took the _Locus_
fantasy novel award the year it came out._
Bride of the Rat God
_Lots of fun - 1920's Hollywood and Chinese magic._
Mother of Winter
_Hambly returns to the world of Darwath, the setting
of her first fantasy trilogy._
Lyndon Hardy (b. 1941)
"Magics series" - The Master of Five Magics; The Secret of
the Sixth Magic; The Riddle of the Seven Realms
_It was recently reported that Hardy has left off
novel writing and gone back to doctoring, so fans of
this series will have to be content with these
three._
Deborah Turner Harris (b. 1951)
"Mages of Garillon series" - The Burning Stone; The
Gauntlet of Malice; Spiral of Fire
_Appeared in the late eighties, and not easy to
find. Dan says that _The Burning Stone_ is "one of
the best fantasy world creations that I've come
across."_
"Caledon series" - Caledon of the Mists; Queen of Ashes;
The City of Exile (forthcoming August '97)
_Harris is co-author (with Katherine Kurtz) of the
Adept series._
Harry Harrison (b. 1925)
"The Hammer and the Cross trilogy" - The Hammer and the
Cross; One King's Way; King and Emperor
_Mystical visions of Norse and Christian mythologies
are combined with an alternative history of the
ninth century in this new fantasy trilogy by SF
stalwart Harrison. It's getting very good press, and
our very own Donal recommends it highly._
Simon Hawke (b. 1951)
"Wizard of 4th Street" - Wizard of 4th Street; Wizard of
Whitechapel; Wizard of Sunset Strip; Wizard of the Rue
Morgue; Samurai Wizard; Wizard of Santa Fe; Wizard of
Camelot; Wizard of Lovecraft's Cafe
_Open-ended partly-humorous series of loosely
related books. His other series, "The Reluctant
Wizard," was noted as being 'humorous, but not so
great' He also has a series set in the Dark Sun AD&D
Campaign World._
Robin Hobb (b. 1952)
"The Farseer Trilogy" - Assassin's Apprentice; Royal
Assassin; Assassin's Quest (forthcoming April '97)
_This is very good. A royal bastard is being trained
as an assassin, and is drawn deeply into court
politics and intrigue. It's being advertised as the
first work of a new author, but if you really like
it, you won't have to wait to try more of her work.
Hobb is a pseudonym for Megan Lindholm, and she has
a fair number of works out under her own name._
P.C. Hodgell (b. 1951)
"Chronicles of the Kencyrath" - God Stalk; Dark of the
Moon; Seeker's Mask
_First two were published in mass-market paperback.
Current works are only available through Hypatia
Press, a small press in Oregon (they also have the
first two books available - call them at 1-800-738-
2660). They also have several of her shorter stories
(set in the same world) available as chapbooks.
Hodgell is a cult favorite over on r.a.sf.w., and is
reportedly at work on a fourth book._
Robert Holdstock (b. 1948)
"Mythago Wood Cycle" - Mythago Wood; Llavondys; The
Hollowing; The Bone Forest; Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn
(forthcoming)
_Different. Those of you interested in mythology and
archetypes should enjoy these. All standalone,
although you really should read _Mythago Wood_ to
understand what is going on._
Ancient Echoes
_Holdstock describes this as "a cross between an
altered-state situation and _Mythago Wood_, plus
some magical realism, some very Old Testament
and...some wonderful special effects."_
Tom Holt (b. 1961)
"Duology" - Goatsong; The Walled Orchard
_Michael describes these as being a bit more serious
than Holt's other works, and a bit less erratic._
Expecting Someone Taller
_Uh oh, here comes Gotterdammerung..._
Flying Dutch
_These two were specifically mentioned, but he's
written a fair number of books now, mostly humorous,
all taking a myth/legend and putting an odd spin on
it. He's a lot more popular in England than he is in
the U.S._
William Horwood (b. 1944)
"The Duncton Chronicles" - Duncton Wood; Duncton Quest;
Duncton Found; Duncton Tales
_Well, it's about moles....but Stevie says "it's
also about good vs. evil, religion and self-
discovery." The first was published almost a decade
before the final three, and general consensus is
that it is the best of the lot._
"Willows sequels" - The Willows in Winter; Toad Triumphant
_Sequels to Kenneth Grahame's _Wind in the Willows_.
These are receiving good notices, so those with fond
memories of Grahame's work should feel safe in
trying these out._
Robert E. Howard (1906-1936)
"Conan the Barbarian" - Conan; Conan of Cimmeria; Conan the
Freebooter; Conan the Wanderer; and so on
_Back from Cimmeria, the *Original* Barbarian
Swordsman! Howard had only published 2 novels & a
pile of short stories about Conan when he committed
suicide at the age of 31, but he left behind a trunk
full of material that has been compiled, combined,
reconfigured, and added to by various authors and
editors (including L. Sprague deCamp and Robert
Jordan)._
Tanya Huff (b. 1957)
"The Novels of Crystal" - Child of the Grove; The Last
Wizard
_Huff's earliest work, about the last wizard in a
world that fears and despises her._
The Fire's Stone
_Competent stand-alone about a thief, a swordsman
and a wizard. There's a love triangle that isn't
resolved quite as you might expect._
Sing the Four Quarters; Fifth Quarter; No Quarter
_Krista really enjoyed first novel of this series,
and is looking forward to _Fifth Quarter_. _Sing_
stands alone, but books two and three tell a
continuing story, and must be read in order. Huff
also has a horror/mystery series, all with "Blood"
in the title._
Barry Hughart (b. 1934)
"Master Li and Number Ten Ox series" - The Bridge of Birds;
The Story of the Stone; Eight Skilled Gentlemen
_Open-ended series set in ancient China. HIGHLY
recommended by your FAQ maker (especially the first
one). Alas, the final book is just about impossible
to find (believe me, I've been looking - anyone got
an extra copy they want to peddle?)._
Robert Don Hughes (b. 1949)
"Pelman the Powershaper" - Prophet of Lamath; The Wizard in
Waiting; The Power and the Prophet
_Trilogy about a land that has been divided by a
two-headed dragon. Jim's read these, too, and he
liked them._
"Wizard and Dragon" - The Forging of the Dragon; The
Faithful Traitor; 1 more yet to come
_Continuing the story of the land introduced in the
first trilogy. Hughes is back in the States and
writing Christian fantasies (he was in Africa doing
missionary work), but there is no word on when or if
he plans to complete the "Wizard and Dragon"
trilogy._
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Sheldon ais3@po.cwru.edu
Benefits Specialist (216) 368-6693
Case Western Reserve University
===============================================================================
Date: 01-24-97 Time: 05:29a Number: 54404
From: Amy Sheldon Refer:
To: All Board ID: FIX Reply:
Subject: Recommended Fantasy Autho 448: news.en.rec. Status: Public
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Amy Sheldon
Date: 23 Jan 1997 18:53:29 GMT
Message-ID:
Archive-name: fantasy/recommended-authors/part3
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1997/01/06
URL: http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Version: 2.5
THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 2.5
Part 3 of 5
Brian Jacques (b. 1939)
"Redwall series" - Redwall; Mossflower; Mattimeo; Mariel of
Redwall; Salamandastron; Martin the Warrior; The
Bellmaker; The Outcasts of Redwall; The Pearls of Lutra
(forthcoming Feb. '97)
_These are fun. I buy them for my niece, and always
read them myself before I give them to her. Redwall
is an Abbey run by a group of mice, and this series
of standalone books details their adventures. They
are geared toward the children's market (and are
incredibly popular - ask your local children's
librarian about how quickly they fly off the
shelves)._
Michael Jeffries
"Loremasters of Elundium trilogy" - The Road to Underfall;
Palace of Kings; Shadowlight
_Written in a consciously mythic style with minimal
characterization (you can pretty much tell the what
each individual's personality will be by their name;
yeah, 'Proudpurse' is the venal and villainous
chancellor), this series turned out to be a lot more
interesting than I thought it would be. Give it a
try._
The Knights of Cawdor
_Standalone set in the world of Elundium._
"Heirs to Gnarlsmyre" - Glitterspike Hall; Hall of Whispers
_New series, unrelated to the Elundium books._
Diana Wynne Jones (b. 1934)
"The Dalemark Sequence" - Drowned Ammet; Cart and Cwidder;
The Spellcoats; The Crown of Dalemark
_Young adult standalone novels all taking place in
Dalemark. The first three books all stand alone, and
can be read in any order, but the final book ties
them all together, and will be best enjoyed if
you've read all of the others._
"Crestomanci books" - The Lives of Christopher Chant;
Charmed Life; Witch Week; The Magicians of Caprona
_Stand-alones that all have the magician Crestomanci
involved somehow._
"The Magician Howl series" - Howl's Moving Castle; Castle
in the Air
_The second book of this one is hard to find in the
U.S. - Books of Wonder in New York stocks most of
Jones' work, and they are good place to look if you
can't find a fix anywhere else._
The Homeward Bounders
_Standalone about a boy doomed to wander between
worlds._
Archer's Goon
A Sudden Wild Magic
_This one is fairly recent and is being marketed as
an adult book, making it the most widely available
book of hers in the U.S. Alas, it is also one of her
weakest offerings, so look up any of her other books
before you decide on her abilities._
Time of the Ghost (published Sept. '96 in the U.S, but
it's been out for more than a decade in Britain)
_Most of Jones' work is geared toward the Young
Adult market, but don't let that stop you. I
particularly liked _Archer's Goon_, _The Homeward
Bounders_ and _Howl's Moving Castle_, Eriond likes
_Dogsbody_ the best, but he reads everything of hers
he can find (so do I)._
J.V. Jones (b. 1963)
"The Book of Words trilogy" - The Baker's Boy; A Man
Betrayed; Master and Fool
_Denis thought this was the best new trilogy he'd
read in 1996._
The Barbed Coil (forthcoming Fall '97)
_A stand alone that looks like it will be set in a
world similar to that of the Book of Words._
**Robert Jordan (b. 1948)
"The Wheel of Time" - The Eye of the World; The Great Hunt;
The Dragon Reborn; The Shadow Rising; The Fires of
Heaven; Lord of Chaos; A Crown of Swords; plus at least
three more
_Jordan recently stated that he thinks it should
take about three more books to complete the series,
but he isn't making any promises. Many a.f.e.
regulars are passionately devoted to this series.
Huge (all the books are 500+ pages), sprawling, and
madly complex._
The Conan Chronicles
_For the Joradanites who need a fix while awaiting
the next volume of The Wheel of Time, this omnibus
edition collects Jordan's Conan novels._
**Guy Gavriel Kay (b. 1954)
"The Fionavar Tapestry" - The Summer Tree; The Wandering
Fire; The Darkest Road
_Bad Things Can Happen To Good People in Kay's
books. Be forewarned, but read them anyway. This is
yet another take on Arthurian legend._
Tigana
_A standalone about a land under a particularly
nasty curse, and the inhabitants' fight to end it.
Complex, very well written. Your FAQmaker tried it
after receiving numerous glowing recommendations,
and now adds her voice to the chorus_
A Song for Arbonne
_Another excellent standalone from Kay. The fantasy
world is loosely based on medieval France
(specifically Eleanor of Aquitaine's Court of
Love)._
The Lions of Al-Rassan
_Kay's latest, set in a time and place reminiscent
of Moorish Spain. Wow, do I like his stuff - great
characters, marvelous story, vivid world. He just
gets better and better. The fantasy content of Kay's
work is shrinking, and it is virtually non-existent
here. Kay has just started on a new book (no details
on the content as yet) which should see print
sometime in late '97, early '98._
Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (b. 1946)
"Keltiad series (a.k.a. The Tale of Aeron)" - The Silver
Branch; The Copper Crown; The Throne of Scone
_What would have happened if the Celts had escaped
from Atlantis to Ireland, and then on to outer
space?_
"The Tale of Arthur" - The Hawk's Gray Feather; The Oak
Above the Kings; The Hedge of Mist
_Her earlier books were (and still are) published
under the name "Patricia Kennealy". She is deeply
interested in Celtic myth, and, yes, 'The Tale of
Arthur' is about THAT Arthur. Trivia buffs will be
fascinated to know that Patricia Kennealy was kinda
sorta married to late Jim Morrison of The Doors
(there is some quibbling about the validity of the
marriage ceremony they went through)._
*Katharine Kerr (b. 1944)
"Deverry" - Daggerspell; Darkspell; The Bristling Wood
('Dawnspell' in the U.K.); The Dragon Revenant
('Dragonspell' in the U.K.)
__Daggerspell_ has recently been re-released in the
U.S. The new edition has been re-edited by the
author, however this consisted mainly of tightening
some passages and some grammatical cleanup. NO
scenes were added or taken out. _Darkspell_ has also
been reissued by Bantam Spectra, and it too has been
re-edited by the author, and, according to Katharine
Kerr, "...there are 5 or 6 changes to the action
along the way..." Sarcyn's character undergoes the
most significant changes. A *fine* author - her
readers (and that includes the FAQmaster) recommend
her highly._
"The Westland Cycle" - A Time of Exile; A Time of Omens;
Days of Blood and Fire ('A Time of War' in the U.K.);
Days of Air and Darkness ('A Time of Justice' in the
U.K.)
_More about Deverry._
"??" - The Red Wyvern (forthcoming '97); The Black Raven
(forthcoming); 2 more
_The final tetralogy that will complete the story of
Deverry. Currently, Kerr is aiming at an October '96
completion date for the manuscript of _Red Wyvern_.
She intersperses SF novels with her fantasy output,
and they're worth reading, too._
Stephen King (b. 1946)
The Eyes of the Dragon
_Good standalone fantasy (there are so few of those
out there these days...) I enjoyed it, and I am
*not* a Stephen King fan._
"Dark Tower series" - The Gunslinger; The Drawing of the
Three; The Waste Lands; Wizard and Glass (forthcoming
late '97, maybe)
_Eriond says this is a great series that is
improving as it goes along. "It's about a gunslinger
who's seeking his father's murderer, picks up an
"adopted" son and three companions, and is slowly
losing his mind." Eriond also says to skip _The
Gunslinger_ - "it's wretched! You don't really need
to read it to understand [the series]" (although
another recommender strongly disagrees with him).
The fourth book is tentatively scheduled for late
'97, but I wouldn't expect it until '98._
Richard Knaak (b. 1961)
"The Dragonrealm" - Firedrake; Ice Dragon; Wolfhelm; Shadow
Steed; The Shrouded Realm; Children of the Drake; Dragon
Tome; The Crystal Dragon; The Dragon Crown
_Light reading of the 'Dragonlance' variety (in
fact, Knaak has three DragonLance novels under his
belt), but it is a totally separate series._
Frostwing
_Standalone about an immortal sorcerer haunted in
his dreams by the gargoyle Frostwing, who knows the
truth about him. (Corrected capsule description
courtesy of the author, who presumably has a better
idea than Paul on what the book is about)._
King of the Grey
The Janus Mask
_Two more fantasy standalones._
Dutchman
_A new variation on the Flying Dutchman, taking
place in Chicago._
The Horse King (forthcoming March '97)
*Katherine Kurtz (b. 1944)
"Deryni Chronicles" - Deryni Rising; Deryni Checkmate; High
Deryni
_The first published Deryni books. Although these
are not first in the internal chronology of the
series, Kurtz herself has recommended that new
readers start with these. Takes place in a
Wales-like alternate world where a portion of the
population (the Deryni) have magical abilities_
"Camber of Culdi" - Camber of Culdi; Saint Camber; Camber
the Heretic
_Jumps back in time to examine the history that lead
to the world of the "Deryni Chronicles."_
"The Histories of King Kelson" - The Bishop's Heir; The
King's Justice; The Quest for Saint Camber
_Picks up where the "Chronicles" left off._
"Heirs of Saint Camber" - The Harrowing of Gwynedd; King
Javan's Year; The Bastard Prince
_Apparently, Bad Things *Regularly* Happen to Good
People in the later books of Katherine Kurtz. Her
fans are quite dedicated, and she has a newsgroup at
alt.books.deryni._
King Kelson's Bride (forthcoming June, 1997)
_A standalone continuation of the Deryni saga. Kurtz
is reportedly hard at work on it, but at this point
the "Fall 1997" publication date stills falls into
the realm of wishful thinking._
Two Crowns for America
_A non-Deryni book. This one takes place in an
alternate history colonial America._
Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris (b. 1951)
"The Adept series" - The Adept; The Lodge of the Lynx; The
Templar Treasure; Dagger Magic; Death of an Adept
_Set in modern day Scotland, Kheldar says "I
recommend them to everybody, not just readers of
Sci-Fi/Fantasy." Harris also has several books of
her own out, listed under her name._
Ellen Kushner (b. 1955)
Swordspoint
_She is reported to be working on a sequel to this
one._
Thomas the Rhymer
_A stand-alone based on the Scottish ballad. Kushner
has also edited several excellent fantasy short
story collections_
**Mercedes Lackey (b. 1950)
"The Valdemar Books" - titles follow
_Each of the following is a separate series, but
they all take place at various points in the history
of the world of Velgarth (which contains the country
of Valdemar). There is also at least one stand-alone
(_By the Sword_) about Valdemar. Her fans are as
dedicated as the Jordanites and they have their own
newsgroup at alt.books.m-lackey_
"The Last Herald-Mage" - Magic's Pawn; Magic's Promise;
Magic's Price
_Introduces the Herald-Mages and their equine
Companions._
"Vows and Honor" - The Oathbound; Oathbreakers
_A sorceress and a swordswoman are bound together
with a blood oath that may be impossible to
fulfill._
"Queen's Own" - Arrows of the Queen; Arrow's Flight;
Arrow's Fall
_The story of Talia, the herald to the Queen._
"Mage Winds Trilogy" - Winds of Fate; Winds of Change;
Winds of Fury
_Princess Elspeth of Valdemar becomes caught up in
the Tayledras' war against an evil mage._
"Mage Wars Trilogy (co-authored by Larry Dixon)" - The
Black Gryphon; The White Gryphon; The Silver Gryphon
_The early history of the land of Valdemar._
"Mage Storm Trilogy" - Storm Warning; Storm Rising; Storm
Breaking
_The most recent series. Valdemar and Karse are old
enemies, but they are forced into an alliance when
they are both threatened by a greater foe._
"Diana Tregard Investigations" - Burning Water; Children of
the Night; Jinx High
_Supernatural mysteries, featuring Diana Tregard._
"Bardic Voices" - The Lark and the Wren; The Robin and the
Kestrel; The Eagle and the Nightingale
_The books in this series do stand alone. NOT part
of the Valdemar series._
"Bardic Choices" - A Cast of Corbies (co-author Josepha
Sherman)
_A new series in the Bardic Voices world._
The Fire Rose
_A standalone. A 'Beauty and the Beast' style tale
set in pre-earthquake San Francisco._
Firebird
_A standalone, based on Russian folktales. As you
can see, Lackey is a wildly prolific author, co-
authoring books with everyone under the sun._
Stephen Lawhead (b. 1950)
"The Pendragon Cycle" - Taliesin; Merlin; Arthur; Pendragon
_Once again, we return to Camelot..."The quality
disintegrated after the first two books - _Arthur_
was disappointing..." according to one recommender._
"The Dragon King Trilogy" - In the Hall of the Dragon King;
The Warlords of Nin; The Sword and the Flame
"The Paradise War" - The Song of Albion; The Silver Hand;
The Endless Knot
_Doug noted that even though he isn't particularly
a fan of celtic fantasy, these books really appealed
to him._
Byzantium
_'Joining a select band of monks to present a book
to the Holy Roman Emperor himself, Aidan jouneys to
the farthest reaches of the known world,' sez the
advertising released by HarperPrism publishing._
Grail (forthcoming July '97)
_I don't know yet if this will be a standalone, or
if it is part of a series._
*Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)
"Earthsea" - A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The
Farthest Shore; Tehanu
_Your FAQmaker says: Read these. _Tehanu_ was
written 15 years after _The Farthest Shore_ - it's
very different in tone from the first three, and
several recommenders specifically DIDN'T recommend
it (But I do. I'll tell you what to do - wait until
you are at least 25 before reading _Tehanu_. Age
seems to be the real separating factor between those
who like it and those who don't). These books are
true classics of the genre, beautifully written,
tightly plotted, and engrossing._
Fritz Leiber (1910-1992)
"Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" - Swords and Deviltry; Swords
Against Death; Swords in the Mist; Swords Against
Wizardry; Swords Against Lankhmar; Swords and Ice Magic;
Knight and Knave of Swords
_Ya wanna know who _invented_ the term 'Sword &
Sorcery'? This is the guy. The series is made up of
short stories, novellas, novelettes, and one novel
(the final book). The above-listed 7 books contain
all the stories, arranged in chronological order,
with _Swords and Deviltry_ featuring the Hugo-award
winning "Ill Met in Lankhmar." Note that the final
two books (_Swords & Ice Magic_ & _Knight & Knave of
Swords_) show, IMHO of course, a real drop in
quality. There's a Leiber homepage with all sorts of
neat stuff at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/
square/ed08/fritz.htm _
Madeleine L'Engle (b. 1918)
"The Time Trilogy" - A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door;
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
_The first book stands alone (and won all kinds of
awards - it deserved them). L'Engle has added
another book to the trilogy titled _Many Waters_ (it
features the twins), and some of the characters have
also made cameo appearances in her other books.
They're in the young adult section of your library._
*C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)
"Chronicles of Narnia" - The Magician's Nephew; The Lion,
the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage
of the Dawn Treader; The Horse and His Boy; The Silver
Chair; The Last Battle
_Classic! Look for them in the children's sections.
Most bookstores will have boxed sets available. Note
that _The Magician's Nephew_ was actually the 6th
book written, and for many years in the U.S. the
series was printed with it as book six. However,
Lewis preferred that the books be read in the above
order, and recent reprints have respected his
wishes._
"The Space Trilogy" - Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra;
That Hideous Strength
_Lewis' adult version of a Christian-allegory
fantasy._
Astrid Lindgren (b. 1907)
Ronia Robber's Daughter
_Well, she didn't ONLY write about Pippi
Longstocking. Denis says this is an enjoyable young
adult fantasy._
The Lionheart Brothers
_Two young brothers become involved in a struggle to
free two beautiful valleys from a tyrant and his
dragon._
Mio, My Mio
_A young prince tries to free children that are
kidnapped by an evil knight with an iron claw
instead of a hand. Christina informs me that
Lindgren is loved by children from ages 5 to 95._
Holly Lisle
"Arhel Novels" - Fire in the Mist; Bones of the Past; Mind
of Magic
_Standalone novels all set in the same world and
featuring the same protagonists._
Minerva Wakes
_Standalone with a heroine from our world that must
travel to a magic world to save her family._
Sympathy for the Devil; The Devil and Dan Cooley (with
Walter Spence)
_Standalones that take place in contemporary North
Carolina where the denizens of hell have literally
be let loose. These satires are described as
'rollicking fun'._
R.A. MacAvoy (b. 1949)
Tea With the Black Dragon
_Out of print, but worth looking up. This was her
first book - its sequel (_Twisting the Rope_) is
nowhere near as good._
"Damiano trilogy" - Damiano; Damiano's Lute; Raphael
_Fantasy in Renaissance Italy_
"Lens of the World trilogy" - Lens of the World; King of
the Dead; Belly of the Wolf
_MacAvoy is fond of creating heroes who remain
stubbornly innocent to the point of idiocy. Some
readers find this annoying (yeah, I'm one of them),
but she is a good writer, and always tells an
interesting story._
George R.R. Martin (b. 1948)
"Song of Ice and Fire trilogy" - A Game of Thrones; A Clash
of Kings (forthcoming late '97)
_I don't normally touch a trilogy until all the
pieces are published, but I broke my rule on this
one. Martin is a veteran of the SF field, and this
is an excellent fantasy with complex characters and
a magnificently baroque setting._
*Julian May (b. 1931)
"The Saga of the Pliocene Exiles" - The Many-Colored Land;
The Golden Torc; The Nonborn King; The Adversary
_Set six million years in the past. I'm told this is
kinda like 'elves and dinosaurs.' It is related to
May's SF series, "The Galactic Milieu," so if you
like her you've got more books to look for._
**Anne McCaffrey (b. 1926)
"Dragonriders of Pern" - Dragonflight; Dragonquest; The
White Dragon
_Yeah, they're SF, but they're included here by
popular request. Lots more have been published since
the first trilogy, and they've gotten more and more
SFnal as they've gone along._
"Harper's Hall trilogy" - Dragonsong; Dragonsinger;
Dragondrums
_Geared more toward the Young Adult market, your
FAQmaker considers this trilogy to be the most
fantasy-based of the Pern books._
Dan McGirt (b. 1967)
"Jason Cosmo" - Jason Cosmo; Royal Chaos; Dirty Work
_Open-ended humorous adventure series featuring a
woodcutter turned hero through a case of mistaken
identity. Kalten really really likes this series._
Nancy McKenzie
"Guinevere duology" - The Child Queen; The High Queen
_A new world's record! This first novel just showed
up in bookstores in July '94, and immediately got 2
recommendations (and a couple more rolled in since).
Yeah, it's Guinevere and Arthur AGAIN, but it looks
like it may be worth reading anyway_
Dennis McKiernan (b. 1932)
"The Iron Tower Trilogy" - The Dark Tide; Shadows of Doom;
The Darkest Day
_Well, McKiernan wanted to write a sequel to 'Lord
of the Rings', but the Tolkien estate refused
permission. So he recreated Middle Earth in "The
Iron Tower Trilogy" with just enough differences to
keep from violating copyright and has continued from
there. A decent writer, and his later books about
the world of Mithgar are much more original and
quite enjoyable_
"Silver Call duology" - Trek to Kraggen-Cor; The Brega Path
_This was intended to be one book, so you definitely
don't want to read it unless you have both parts in
hand._
Tales of Mithgar
_11 short stories set in Mithgar._
Dragondoom
The Eye of the Hunter
Voyage of the Fox Rider
The Dragonstone
Into the Forge (forthcoming Sept. '97)
_These books stand alone, but take place in Mithgar,
the world of the "Iron Tower" trilogy. McKiernan's
latest book, _The Caverns of Socrates,_ is SF_
Patricia McKillip (b. 1948)
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
_Received the World Fantasy Award when it was
published in 1975. A marvelous novel and highly
recommended. It recently (July '96) was returned to
print in the U.S. by Harcourt Brace under their
"Magic Carpet" imprint. Hooray!_
The Throme of the Erril of Sherill
_Her first published fantasy, and it's hard to find,
but well worth looking for. A revised edition came
out in the mid-80's._
"The Riddlemaster of Hed" - The Riddlemaster of Hed; Heir
of Sea and Fire; Harpist in the Wind
_Excellent trilogy. Your FAQmaker sez: Get these and
read them. Beautifully written._
The Changeling Sea
_A young-adult standalone, with a young peasant girl
saving a prince. Lyrical and moving._
Something Rich and Strange
_A standalone, part of Brian Froud's Faerielands
series of novels based on his illustrations. Very
atmospheric, quite short, involving a contemporary
couple living on the western seacoast and their
encounter with magic._
The Book of Atrix Wolfe
_Standalone about a powerful wizard whose attempt to
stop a war has unexpected (and disastrous) results._
"Cygnet" - Sorceress and Cygnet; Cygnet and Firebird
_The first book in this series is well equipped with
McKillip's usual lyric prose, but the plot is a bit,
um, obscure. Enjoyable, but not her best work._
Winter Rose
_Another small gem from McKillip. Faerie and reality
meet, with results that may be fatal for Rois
Melior's sister Laurel._
Robin McKinley (b. 1952)
Beauty
_Charming retelling of Beauty & the Beast. Her first
novel-it's out of print now, but worth looking for.
Do NOT confuse it with Sherri Tepper's _Beauty_ -
they are VERY different books._
"Damar series" - The Blue Sword; The Hero and the Crown
_She only wrote two books set in Damar (and they are
standalones), and has since gone on to other
subjects._
The Outlaws of Sherwood
_Guess who this one's about._
Deerskin
_I like McKinley, but most of her work is fairly
lightweight. This isn't. Based on the uncensored
version of Perrault's classic fairytale
'Donkeyskin', it tackles the subject of incest_
A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories
_Short story collection. Two of the five stories in
the book mention Damar._
L.E. Modesitt Jr. (b. 1943)
"Recluce" - The Magic of Recluce; The Towers of the Sunset;
The Magic Engineer; The Order War; The Death of Chaos;
Fall of Angels; The Chaos Balance (forthcoming '98)
_This is open-ended - books are listed above in the
order they were published, and does NOT follow the
internal chronology of the series. You should try to
read _The Magic of Recluce_ first (some of the plot
twists are more effective if you aren't aware of how
magic works in Recluce), and _The Death of Chaos_ is
a direct sequel to _tMoR_. However the other books
all stand alone and can be read in any order._
"Dutch Republic series" - Of Tangible Ghosts; The Ghost of
the Revelator (tentative title, forthcoming '98?)
_Fantasy taking place in alternate universe that
features ghosts and an East India Company that
stayed the dominant economic power in the world._
"Song and Magic" - The Soprano Sorceress (forthcoming Feb.
'97); The Spellsong War (working title, forthcoming)
_A trilogy that will introduce a world where magic
is accessed through music._
Elizabeth Moon (b. 1945)
"The Deed of Paksenarrion" - Sheepfarmer's Daughter;
Divided Allegiance; Oath of Gold
_Rousing adventure about the soldier and hero
Paksenarrion. Moon has said that among the themes
she worked on in the books was "the cost of courage,
the cost of being a hero." She has written two
prequels to the trilogy, _Surrender None_ and
_Liar's Oath_, which are quite a bit darker in tone,
and several of the recommenders have advised against
reading them. Lately Moon has been mainly producing
SF._
*Michael Moorcock (b. 1939)
"Elric" - Elric of Melnibone; The Fortress of the Pearl; A
Sailor on the Seas of Fate; The Weird of the White Wolf;
The Vanishing Tower; The Revenge of the Rose; The Bane
of the Black Sword; Stormbringer
_There is also at least one book of short stories
about Elric (I'm taking the word of one
correspondent about where the two later books -
tFotP and tRotR - fit in the cycle. I've only read
the original sextet)._
"Runestaff (Hawkmoon)" - The Jewel in the Skull; The Mad
God's Amulet; The Sword of the Dawn; The Runestaff
_If you don't like the way this tetralogy ends, be
sure and track down the 'Count Brass' trilogy, which
brings all the characters back for another go
'round._
"Count Brass" - Count Brass; Champion of Garathorn; The
Quest for Tanelorn
_The Runestaff/Count Brass books are my favorites in
the Eternal Champion cycle. Dorian Hawkmoon suffers
less from angst than the Moorcock's usual Tortured
Hero._
"Corum" - The Knight of Swords; The Queen of Swords; The
King of Swords; The Bull and the Spear; The Oak and the
Ram; The Sword and the Stallion
_Moorcock's entire (well, just about entire - there
are a few bits & pieces that the rights weren't
available) Eternal Champion cycle is being reprinted
in 14 omnibus volumes by White Wolf Publishing_
"John Daker (Erekose)" - The Eternal Champion; Phoenix in
Obsidian ('The Silver Warriors' in earlier U.S.
editions); The Dragon in the Sword
_All of these books -plus others- comprise the
'Eternal Champion' cycle. Quality varies, and hard
core fantasy fans won't like some of the liberties
Moorcock takes with the genre, but if you like 'em,
there sure are a LOT of 'em to keep you busy._
The War Hound & The World's Pain
_Takes place in the 30-Years War time frame. Jim
considers it to Moorcock's best non-Eternal Champion
book (although, if you ask Moorcock, he'll tell you
that ALL of his books are part of the Eternal
Champion cycle)._
C.L. Moore (b. 1911)
Jirel of Joiry
_Series of short stories from the 30's and 40's.
Jirel was the first of the Barbarian Swordswomen.
Moore's Northwest Smith stories are fun, too._
John Morressy (b. 1930)
"Iron Angel series" - Greymantle; Ironbrand; Kingsbane; The
Annihilator
_Early work of his, and hard to find. Eric says the
Kedrigern books pale in comparison to these - they
are much more in the epic fantasy vein. _The
Annihilator_ is a prequel to the first three._
"Kedrigern" - A Voice for Princess; The Questing of
Kedrigern; Kedrigern in Wanderland; Kedrigern and the
Charming Couple; A Remembrance for Kedrigern
_Humorous series about the wizard Kedrigern and his
wife Princess. The books do stand alone, but the
story follows a definite progression, with the final
book bringing the series to a close._
William Morris (1834-1896)
Well at the World's End
The Wood Beyond the World
The Water of the Wondrous Isles
_For the historically minded among you. VERY early
fantasy (we're talking late 1800's here). None are
currently in print, but the first two were reprinted
as part of Ballantine's Adult Fantasy series in the
70's, and so they do turn up at used book stores.
You can also try the library._
Talbot Mundy (1879-1940)
"Tros of Samothrace" - Tros of Samothrace; Avenging
Liafail; The Praetor's Dungeon; Queen Cleopatra; The
Purple Pirate
_Takes place in the Roman Republic. Mundy died in
1940, and unfortunately, this series hadn't been
completed at the time. Out of print for a good many
years, you may be able to find these at the library
or used book stores. I've read some of his other
fantasy/adventure series (the "Jimgrim" books -
there's 11 of those), and they're quite a lot of
fun, too._
John Myers Myers (1906-1988)
Silverlock
_Cult favorite. Chock full of allusions to history,
literature, and popular culture, plus lots of songs.
There is a thematic sequel, _The Moon's Fire-Eating
Daughter_, of which the general consensus of opinion
is that it is deservedly obscure._
Andre Norton (b. 1912)
"Simon Tregarth" - Witch World; Web of the Witch World
_The duology that started the Witch World. Readers
who were introduced to Witch World through the later
books are often surprised by the SF trappings of
these books. The villains use high-tech weapons, the
witches' powers are treated as psi rather than
magic, and Simon arrives via a machine that opens
doors to parallel worlds._
"The Children of Simon Tregarth" - Three Against the Witch
World; Warlock of the Witch World; Sorceress of the
Witch World
_Simon Tregarth's kids get a trilogy of their own,
and the Witch World is thoroughly launched. It was
also with these books that Norton made the choice to
move the Witch World strictly into the fantasy
genre._
"Witch World series" - Year of the Unicorn; The Crystal
Gryphon; Gryphon in Glory; The Jargoon Pard; Zarsthor's
Bane; The Warding of Witch World; many more
_It went from an Open-Ended Series to a Shared
World, but the first 20 or so books are all Andre
Norton's. And they're good, too. Most are stand-
alones. Particular favorites that were specifically
mentioned are _Year of the Unicorn_ and _The Crystal
Gryphon_, and Stephen casts his vote for _The
Jargoon Pard_._
"The Halfblood Chronicles (with Mercedes Lackey)" -
Elvenbane; Elvenblood
_Unrelated to the Witch World books, these involve
a world where humans are enslaved by elves, and a
prophecy about a half-breed who will lead the humans
to freedom. At least two more books are due in this
series._
Mirror of Destiny
_A non-Witch World standalone about a wise woman's
apprentice seeking to avert a war between humans and
the inhabitants of a mystical forest._
Mervyn Peake (1911-1968)
"The Gormenghast Trilogy" - Titus Groan; Gormenghast; Titus
Alone
_A classic. Bizarre and hypnotic, Peake creates an
astonishing world in the first two books. The third
book should be avoided. It was written after Peake
became ill, and it is very different in tone (and
ability) than the first two._
Meredith Ann Pierce (b. 1958)
"The Darkangel Trilogy" - The Darkangel; A Gathering of
Gargoyles; The Pearl of the Soul of the World
_Excellent fantasy that is unfortunately hard to
find. U.S. readers can purchase it as a single
volume from the Science Fiction Book Club. Fans of
Patricia McKillip may want to make a special effort
to track this down._
"The Firebringer Trilogy" - The Birth of the Firebringer;
Dark Moon; Son of the Summer Stars
_Very good young adult series about unicorns. In
_Firebringer_ "...the unicorn society is well-
developed for the length and reader-age of the
books: they have their own mythology/historical
songs, religion, enemies..." says Heather_
Richard Pini (b. 1950) & Wendy Pini (b. 1951)
"Elfquest series" - Elfquest: The Quest Begins; Elfquest:
Journey to Sorrow's End; many others
_Graphic novels (you know - comic books for adults
who don't want to admit they still read comic
books). This has turned into a shared world series._
Tim Powers (b. 1952)
The Drawing of the Dark
_Powers' earliest fantasy, and I'm told that it is
back in print. A different look at the Arthur legend
(in 16th century Vienna, of all places)._
The Anubis Gate
_All of Powers' books are great, but this is my
favorite. The book that made his reputation. A wild
romp through time with gypsies, Dog Faced Joe, a
hideously evil clown, Egyptian gods, dopplegangers,
a disguised heroine, Samuel Coleridge and oh so much
more. Try it._
On Stranger Tides
_Blackbeard and voodoo - oh my!_
The Stress of Her Regard
_Those muses certainly are jealous mistresses..._
Last Call
_The Fisher King in Las Vegas._
Expiration Date
_Yet Another Neat Book. This takes place in a modern
Los Angeles much like our own, except that ghosts
exist there._
Earthquake Weather (originally listed as 'Extreme
Unction' forthcoming August '97)
_Characters from both _Last Call_ and _Expiration
Date_ will appear in this novel. According to his
editor, Powers "begs to inform the world [that this]
is the only time anyone will ever see anything
remotely resembling a series from him."_
**Terry Pratchett (b. 1948)
"Discworld" - titles follow
_Your FAQmaker loves these books, and so do enough
other a.f.e. readers to make him an official Highly
Recommended Author. Humorous series, over 15 books
now, and recent books are as good as the first. The
books divide up based on their main characters, but
can all standalone (except the original Rincewind
duology)._
"Rincewind" - The Color of Magic; The Light Fantastic;
Sourcery; Eric; Interesting Times (out in U.K., first
U.S. edition April '97)
_The first two are the duology that introduced
Discworld. Rincewind is an incredibly incompetent
wizard who gets mixed up with Discworld's first
tourist._
"Granny Weatherwax" - Equal Rites; Wyrd Sisters; Witches
Abroad; Lords and Ladies; Maskerade (1st U.S. ed. ?)
_Granny and her fellow witches are the favorites of
many Pratchett fans. Unlike Rincewind, Granny is
FRIGHTENINGLY competent._
"Death" - Mort; Reaper Man; Soul Music; Hogfather
(forthcoming Nov. '96 in U.K.)
_Yes, Death is a regularly appearing character, with
a horse named Binky and taste for curry._
"Carrot" - Guards, Guards; Men At Arms; Feet of Clay
_And then there's Carrot, the six-foot-tall dwarf
(he's adopted), who's come to Ankh-Morpork to make
his fortune..._
Moving Pictures; Pyramids; Small Gods
_These are all standalones about Discworld, and all
good._
Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman)
_NOT a Discworld book, this one is about the End Of
The World. It is due to be reprinted in the U.S. in
1996._
Byron Preiss (b. 1953) and J. Michael Reaves (b. 1950)
Dragonworld
_Preiss is best known as an editor and publisher,
but he produced a fantasy in the late 70's that
Keith really likes. Apparently there is also a game
based on this book, so it may be more readily
available than its 1979 publication would indicate._
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
_Classic retelling of Arthur by the famous
illustrator. Despite being 90 years old, this book
is readily available in libraries, and in the U.S.
Dover Publications has a lovely trade paperback
edition with Pyle's original illustrations. He wrote
several other books covering further tales, and he
also has a great retelling of the Robin Hood story._
**Melanie Rawn (b. 1954)
"The Dragon Prince Trilogy" - Dragon Prince; Star Scroll;
Sunrunner's Fire
_This and the following trilogy take place on the
same world._
"Dragon Star Trilogy" - Stronghold; The Dragon Token;
Skybowl
_Doug sez, "When I finished this series I felt a
real sense of loss. Her description of some of the
female characters in the series made me almost fall
in love with them, and the use of magic as she
describes it is new and innovative."_
"Exiles Trilogy" - The Ruins of Ambrai; The Mageborn
Traitor (forthcoming March 1997); The Captal's Tower
(forthcoming)
_New trilogy set in a different world from the
"Dragon" books._
Mickey Zucker Reichert (b. 1962)
"The Last of the Renshai" - The Last of the Renshai; The
Western Wizard; Child of Thunder
_This is a trilogy, so you'll want to have all the
books in hand before you start reading._
"The Bifrost Guardians" - Godslayer; Shadow Climber;
Dragonrank Master; Shadow's Realm; By Chaos Cursed
_Loosely based on Norse mythology._
The Legend of Nightfall
_Standalone fantasy. Sorcerers are a wicked bunch in
this world, and they obtain more power in a
particularly nasty way._
"The Renshai Chronicles" - Beyond Ragnarok; Prince of
Demons; final book forthcoming
_Start of a new trilogy that continues the Renshai
story. The balance between Law and Chaos hinges on
the finding of an heir to the Bearnian throne._
Anne Rice (b. 1941)
"Vampire Chronicles" - Interview with the Vampire; The
Vampire Lestat; Queen of the Damned; Tale of the Body
Thief; Memnoch the Devil
_Horror/fantasy series. "Vampire" books are mainly
about the bisexual vampire Lestat and his lover
Louis who are struggling with their vampirism and
their apparent immortality. Be warned - they're
fairly graphic, both sexually and violently
(although nowhere near the latest splatterpunk
offerings from Poppy Z. Brite & her ilk.) These are
usually classified as horror, but Rice is popular
enough that I'm forced to give them a mention on the
list._
"Chronicles of the Mayfair Family" - Witching Hour; Lasher;
Taltos
_More of Rice's usual mixture of dark fantasy, sex
(kinky and otherwise), and pseudo-intellectual
conversation between shallow (but fashionable!)
immortals. Your faqmaster does not particularly care
for this author._
Jennifer Roberson (b. 1953)
"Chronicles of the Cheysuli" - Shapechangers; The Song of
Homona; Legacy of the Sword; Track of the White Wolf; A
Pride of Princes; Daughter of the Lion; Flight of the
Raven; A Tapestry of Lions
_The Cheysuli are shapechangers, and I believe that
the books in this series can stand alone._
"Tiger and Del series" - Sword Dancer; Sword Singer; Sword
Maker; Sword Breaker; Sword Born (forthcoming); Sword
Sworn (forthcoming)
_These were all reprinted in Jan. '96 by Daw
Publishing (except for the two that haven't been
published yet), so if you're missing any of them,
keep your eyes open_
Lady of the Forest
_Robin Hood, from Maid Marian's point of view_
Lady of the Glen (forthcoming)
Michael Scott Rohan (b. 1951)
"Winter of the World trilogy" - The Anvil of Ice; The Forge
in the Forest; The Hammer of the Sun
_A blacksmith gets to save the world._
"Spiral series" - Chase the Morning; The Gates of Noon;
Cloud Castles
_We're living in the Core, but if you look at the
world just the right way, you can sail out into the
Spiral, where all times and places mingle._
Lord of the Middle Air (forthcoming)
_Stand-alone historical fantasy, taking place in the
Scottish borderlands in the 13th century. It's out
already in the U.K., but I don't have a date yet for
the U.S. release._
Maxie's Demon (forthcoming April '97 in U.K.)
_Another standalone, but no details beyond that
yet._
A Spell of Empire (with Allan Scott)
_The young wizard Volker joins three other travelers
on a dangerous journey._
Joel Rosenberg (b. 1954)
"Guardians of the Flame (1st series)" - The Sleeping
Dragon; The Sword and the Chain; The Silver Crown
_One of the first of the 'Gamers jump for real into
a fantasy world' series, and one of the best._
"Guardians of the Flame (2nd series)" - The Heir Apparent;
The Warrior Lives
_Continuing the first series with a new generation._
The Road to Ehvenor; The Road Home
_Set in the world of "The Guardians of the Flame"
and featuring many familiar characters - this story
features Walter Slovotsky_
"D'shai" - D'Shai; Hour of the Octopus
_Open-ended fantasy/detective series. In the same
vein as Glen Cook's 'Garrett' books, only more of an
homage to Rex Stout rather than Raymond Chandler_
"Keepers of the Hidden Ways" - The Fire Duke; The Silver
Stone
_A new series from Rosenberg, once again involving
people from our world crossing over into another.
This world is Norse-based, with lots of daring deeds
and sword fighting._
Sean Russell
"Asian duology" - The Initiate Brother; Gatherer of Clouds
_Oriental mysticism in a strong first novel (and
this is very definitely one book, split in two only
because 1,000+ page novels are hard to hold.)_
"Moontide and Magic Rise duology" - World Without End; Sea
Without a Shore
_Marvelous books. Sean Russell is tremendously
talented. I'm looking forward to more of his work.
This is fantasy of the 'lush verbiage and
magnificently realized world' variety - sword and
sorcery fans might not be quite as enthusiastic._
Beneath the Vaulted Hills (forthcoming August '97)
_Oh goody, something new on the horizon from Mr.
Russell._
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Sheldon ais3@po.cwru.edu
Benefits Specialist (216) 368-6693
Case Western Reserve University
===============================================================================
Date: 01-24-97 Time: 05:29a Number: 54378
From: Amy Sheldon Refer:
To: All Board ID: FIX Reply:
Subject: Recommended Fantasy Autho 448: news.en.rec. Status: Public
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Amy Sheldon
Date: 23 Jan 1997 18:56:48 GMT
Message-ID:
Archive-name: fantasy/recommended-authors/part4
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1997/01/06
URL: http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Version: 2.5
THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 2.5
Part 4 of 5
Fred Saberhagen (b. 1930)
"The Books of the Swords" - The First Book of Swords; The
Second Book of Swords; The Third Book of Swords
"The Books of the Lost Swords" - Woundhealer's Story;
Sightblinder's Story; Stonecutter's Story; Farslayer's
Story; Coinspinner's Story; Mindsword's Story;
Wayfinder's Story; Shieldbreaker's Story
_Each of the "Lost Swords" titles is actually
preceded by 'The First Book of Lost Swords:', 'The
Second Book...' etc. I believe that most of the
"swords" books can be read as stand-alones_
"Empire of the East" - The Broken Lands; The Black
Mountains; Changeling Earth
_A prequel to the 'Swords' books, taking place in
the same world_
"Dracula books" - The Dracula Tapes; The Holmes-Dracula
File; An Old Friend of the Family; Thorn
_More tales of Dracula_
Merlin's Bones
_Yet Another Version of Arthur and Company_
*R.A. Salvatore (b. 1959)
"Icewind Dale" - The Crystal Shard; Streams of Silver; The
Halfling's Gem
_Introduces Drizzt Do'Urben, a dark elf who has
turned his back on his bloody heritage._
"Dark Elf Trilogy" - Homeland; Exile; Sojourn
_Continues Drizzt's story._
"Dark Elf Trilogy II" - Legacy; Starless Night; Siege of
Darkness
_"Icewind Dale" & "Dark Elf" and "Dark Elf II" take
place in the TSR Forgotten Realms setting. I've had
several people mention that 'Dark Elf II' shows a
real drop in quality, although several others loved
it as much as the first two trilogies._
Passage to Dawn
_A final Drizzt story from Salvatore, as he finishes
out his contract with TSR._
"The Cleric Quintet" - Canticle; In Sylvan Shadows; Night
Masks; The Fallen Fortress; The Chaos Curse
_Another TSR series - this one follows a young man
as he grows from a raw acolyte to a powerful
priest._
"The Spearwielder's Tales" - The Woods Out Back; The
Dragon's Dagger; Dragonslayer Returns
_Open-ended fantasy series that ISN'T part of any of
the TSR gaming worlds._
"The Crimson Shadow Trilogy" - The Sword of Bedwyr;
Luthien's Gamble; The Dragon King
_New series about a young lord and a halfling
battling to free Eriador from the grip of the
tyrannical Wizard-King Greensparrow._
The Demon Awakens (forthcoming May '97)
_Presumably this will start a new series._
Elizabeth Scarborough (b. 1947)
Song of Sorcery; The Unicorn Creed; Bronwyn's Bane; The
Christening Quest
_More humor. I read these long ago, and I don't
really remember much about them, but I _think_ they
are all standalones that take place in the same
world with some of the same characters. These are
all long out of print_
"The Fairy Godmother stories" - The Godmother; The
Godmother's Apprentice
_An overwhelmed social worker in modern Seattle gets
a (slightly inept) fairy godmother. The publicity
blurb calls it "a tale of modern magic"_
Michael Shea (b. 1946)
Nifft the Lean
_Dark series of short stories. Republished in a
limited hardcover edition by Darkside Press in
November '94. Shea is reportedly working on a new
book about Nifft. If you can find this, try it
(although I should note for the queasy that,
although it has been years since I last read it,
there are several scenes from Nifft's trip to Hell
that tend to replay on dark and lonely evenings...)_
Josepha Sherman
The Shining Falcon
_Corinne says that if you like the Slavic influence
of Stephen Brust and the heroines of Robin McKinley,
try this book. Other, more recent fantasies by
Josepha Sherman include:_
King's Son, Magic's Son
A Strange and Ancient Name
The Shattered Oath; Forging the Runes (forthcoming)
Will Shetterly (b. 1955)
"Borderlands" - Elsewhere; Nevernever
_Two books taking place in Terri Windling's
Borderlands Shared World series._
Dogland (forthcoming June '97)
_Described as "a North American magic realism novel
set in the south from 1959 to 1962."_
Sharon Shinn (b. 1957)
The Shapechanger's Wife
_Lovely first novel. There isn't a whole lot of
plot, but the writing is beautiful, and Shinn is
definitely an author to watch. Currently she's
working on an sf trilogy._
Robert Silverberg (b. 1936)
"Majipoor Chronicles" - Lord Valentine's Castle; Majipoor
Chronicles: A Novel; Valentine Pontifex; The Mountains
of Majipoor; Sorcerers of Majipoor (August '97); Lord
Prestimion (forthcoming 1998)
_This is another series that pushes the boundaries
between SF and fantasy, but since Nathan brought
them up, I'll list 'em. The first book is great fun,
but I haven't been as impressed with the subsequent
books._
Clifford Simak (1904-1988)
The Fellowship of the Talisman
_A effective fantasy from one of SF's Grand Masters.
If you enjoy this, be sure to look up his many works
of science fiction._
Dan Simmons (b. 1948)
The Song of Kali
_Simmons first novel, this is described by the
_Encyclopedia of Science Fiction_ as showing
Calcutta 'as a moral and psychic cesspool, into
which the protagonists...sink very deeply indeed as
unleased evil...threatens to flood the 1980s.' Hey,
it was KATE that recommended this, not me._
Midori Snyder
"Oran trilogy" - New Moon; Sadar's Keep; Beldan's Fire
_The land of Oran has been ruled by the tyrant Fire
Queen Zorah for two hundred years. Her four
granddaughters seek to come into their own powers
and free the land._
Zilpha Keatley Snyder (b. 1927)
"Green Sky Trilogy" - Below the Root; And All Between;
Until the Celebration
_Peaceful world is torn apart when its government is
revealed as being a scam. Cyradis liked it a lot.
You'll generally find it in the children's section
of the library.
Snyder has written many stand-alone Young Adult
books, including the fantasies _Black and Blue
Magic_, _The Witches of Worm,_ and _The Changeling,_
as well as mysteries and novels. I have very fond
memories of her from my long-ago adolescence, but I
admit that I haven't tried re-reading her as an
adult._
Christopher Stasheff (b. 1944)
"Warlock series" - Escape Velocity; The Warlock In Spite of
Himself; King Kobold Revived; The Warlock Unlocked; The
Warlock Enraged; The Warlock Wandering; The Warlock is
Missing; The Warlock Heretical; The Warlock's Companion;
The Warlock Insane; The Warlock Rock; Warlock and Son
_Open-ended humorous adventure series that is now
beginning to focus on descendents of the original
hero, Rod Gallowglass (see following listings). The
rationale of this series is really fairly science-
fictional, but the tone is fantasy, and you'll
generally find them marketed as fantasy_
"The Warlock's Heirs" - M'Lady Witch; The Quicksilver
Knight
_The adventures of the three younger children of Rod
and Gwen Gallowglass._
"Rogue Wizard" - A Wizard in Absentia; A Wizard in Mind; A
Wizard in War; A Wizard in Peace
_Another open-ended series in the 'Warlock'
universe. These feature Magnus, Rod's oldest son.
Note that Stasheff's books have focused more on
adventure and less on humor as the series has
progressed._
"A Wizard in Rhyme" - Her Majesty's Wizard; The Oathbound
Wizard; The Witch Doctor; The Secular Wizard
_Open-ended series. Matt Mantrell is transported
into an alternate world where rhymes have magical
powers._
"The Star Stone" - The Shaman; The Sage; another
forthcoming
_Another new series. This has no connection to his
Wizard or Warlock series, and is more serious in
tone._
Caroline Stevermer (b. 1955)
Sorcery and Cecilia (with Patricia Wrede)
_Amusing stand alone. A combination of regency
romance, adventure, and fantasy. Hard to find, it is
(if I remember correctly) an epistolary novel, with
the action described in the letters exchanged
between the two main characters._
A College of Magics
_Takes place in an Edwardian-period world that has
magic, too. Witty, amusing, and a very enjoyable
little period piece. Plus, it stands alone, so
you're not committing yourself to nine zillion
sequels._
Mary Stewart (b. 1916)
"Merlin Trilogy" - The Crystal Cave; The Hollow Hills; The
Last Enchantment; The Wicked Day
_One of the earlier Arthur novelizations. It was
quite popular, and should be easy to find in the
library. These focus on Merlin and aim more at the
historical rather than magical. The fourth book
retells the story from Mordred's point of view, and
isn't all that good._
The Prince and the Pilgrim
_Just published in January 1996, this is set in
Arthur's England, but isn't part of her earlier
Arthurian series._
Sean Stewart (b. 1965)
Nobody's Son
_Standalone that looks at what happens to the hero
of lowly birth _after_ the 'happily ever after.'_
Cloud's End
_The latest from Stewart._
Judith Tarr (b. 1955)
"The Hound and the Falcon" - The Isle of Glass; The Golden
Horn; The Hounds of God
_Corinne describes this as "a truly brilliant series
set in Richard the Lion Heart's England bordered on
the Elflands"_
Alamut; The Dagger and the Cross
_Standalones set in the same world as "The Hound and
the Falcon" trilogy_
"Avaryan Rising" - The Hall of the Mountain King; The Lady
of Han-Gilen; A Fall of Princes; Arrows of the Sun;
Spear of Heaven
_The story of a war between kingdoms in a world of
mages_
A Wind in Cairo
Ars Magica
Lord of the Two Lands
Throne of Isis
_Hey, it's Cleopatra!_
Eagle's Daughter
Pillar of Fire
_This takes place in the Middle East during Moses'
time._
King and Goddess
Queen of Swords (forthcoming Feb. '97)
_Tarr's specialty is historicals with just a dollop
of magic. The size of the dollop varies, and many of
her books are sold as straight historicals._
Roger Taylor
"Chronicles of Hawklan" - The Call of the Sword; The Fall
of Fyorlund; The Waking of Othlund; Into Narsindal
_Not available in the U.S., this series has been
described as "a pretty good read" and "highly
recommended"_
Dreamfinder
_Set in the same world as Hawklan_
Whistler
_A standalone_
"Nightfall series" - Farnor; Valderin
_This is also set in the same world as Hawklan, and
is about a priest who must fight a dark power that
has entered a colleague. Paul highly recommends it_
Ibyren
_A standalone. "Count Ibyren, fighting a guerilla
war after being driven from his lands, is suddenly
swept away from his people to an unknown world and
destiny."_
Sheri Tepper (b. 1929)
"The Land of True Game" - King's Blood Four; Wizard's
Eleven; Necromancer Nine (1st series)
Jinian Footseer; Dervish Daughter; Jinian Star-Eyed (2nd
series)
The Song of Mavin Manyshaped; The Flight of Mavin
Manyshaped; The Search of Mavin Manyshaped (3rd series)
_Series made up of three separate trilogies. Her
earliest work - can be difficult to find. Ace is
reprinting this series in the U.S. in trade
paperback format, with the first trilogy due out in
June '96)_
"The Marianne Trilogy" - Marianne, the Magus, and the
Manticore; Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods;
Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse
_I believe that the books in this rather light-
hearted trilogy are actually fairly independent of
each other._
Beauty
_Now primarily known as a SF author, Tepper returns
to her roots and gives a very different slant on the
fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. Sardonic and grim are
descriptive terms I've heard about this one_
Patrick Tilley (b. 1928)
"The Amtrack Wars" - Cloud Warrior; First Family; Iron
Master; Blood River; Death Bringer; Earth Thunder
_Donal says these are good, so I'll certainly be
giving them a try. Its just that I can't seem to
find them anywhere...Apparently, only the first
couple were published in the U.S. Going by
commentary on the Net, these are about a post-
apocalyptic society with magic and suchlike. In the
U.S., the second book was titled _Sand Burrower_._
**J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)
The Hobbit
_Prelude to _The Lord of the Rings_ - should be read
prior to starting them, but it isn't absolutely
necessary. Written as a children's book, and some
readers find it a little simplistic (not me!)_
"The Lord of the Rings" - The Fellowship of the Ring; The
Two Towers; The Return of the King
_Oh, come on now - how can you claim to be a fantasy
fan and not read this? If not for tLotR, Eddings
would still be writing about deer hunting. THE
classic work of fantasy._
The Silmarillion
_From Tolkien's writings on the background of the
world of tLofR, this is more of a history than a
story_
The Tolkien Reader
_Anthology of poetry and short stories.
Due to
the INCREDIBLE popularity of _Lord of the Rings,_
virtually every scrap of paper that Tolkien doodled
on has found its way into print, which is why you
will find many other Tolkien works besides the
above._
Trillium series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre
Norton
"Trillium" - Black Trillium (by all three); Blood Trillium
(by Julian May); Golden Trillium (by Andre Norton); Lady
of the Trillium (by Marion Zimmer Bradley); Sky Trillium
(by Julian May)
_An interesting mutation of the 'shared world' idea.
The first book was written by all three, further
books are being written by the individual authors._
Harry Turtledove (b. 1949)
"Videssos Cycle" - The Misplaced Legion; An Emperor for the
Legion; The Legion of Videssos; Swords of the Legion
_Legion from Republican Rome meets Byzantine empire.
"Highly recommended" sez Mark_
"The Tale of Krispos" - Krispos Rising; Krispos of
Videssos; Krispos the Emperor
_Continuing the story of Videssos with a prequel to
the "Cycle" tetralogy_
"The Time of Troubles" - The Stolen Throne; Hammer and
Anvil
_Start of a new series, prequel to "The Tale of
Krispos"_
Agent of Byzantium
_Basil Argyros, spy for an alternate-history
Byzantine empire, in series of adventures that
originally appeared as separate novelettes. There
are some hints of magic, but this is basically
alternate-history SF._
The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump
_Humor/adventure taking place in an alternate Los
Angeles where magic works._
Jack Vance (b. 1916)
"Lyonesse trilogy" - Suldren's Garden; The Green Pearl;
Madouc
_Best known for his SF, Vance is an interesting
writer in any genre._
"Dying Earth series" - The Dying Earth; The Eyes of the
Overworld; Cugel's Saga; Rhialto the Marvelous
_The first two are genuine fantasy classics, and
Cugel the Clever is a great character (hey, I like
rogues). These are all stand-alones._
Paula Volsky
The Luck of Relian Kru
_"Almost as good as its title," according to one
recommender. Out of print and very difficult to
find._
"Sorcerer Trilogy" - The Sorcerer's Lady; The Sorcerer's
Heir; The Sorcerer's Curse
_About the leader of a wizard's guild and his
descendents. Takes place in the world of Relian Kru,
and are also out of print._
The Gates of Twilight
_Two enemies brave a revolution and apocalyptic
magic to open the long sealed portal between heaven
and earth._
Karl Edward Wagner (1945-1994)
"Kane series" - Darkness Weaves with Many Shades; Death
Angel's Shadow; Bloodstone; Dark Crusade; Night Winds;
The Book of Kane
_This open-ended series is from the mayhem and magic
school of fantasy. Kane is for those who like their
sword and sorcery "dark". Wagner was a good writer,
and Kane is an interesting creation. Karl Wagner
died 10/14/94 at age 48, and will be missed by the
fantasy community._
Evangeline Walton (1907-1996)
"The Mabinogi" - The Prince of Annwm; The Children of Llyr;
The Song of Rhiannon; The Island of the Mighty
_This may be hard to find, but it's included for the
more serious fantasy fan. Heavily researched,
classic retelling of the Welsh folklore cycle known
as the Mabinogion. Many fantasy authors have mined
this for themes._
Freda Warrington (b. 1956)
"Blackbird novels" - A Blackbird in Silver; A Blackbird in
Darkness; A Blackbird in Amber; A Blackbird in Twilight
_Nathan found that the first book held his
attention, and he's working his way through the rest
of the series. These aren't available in the U.S.
She also has at least one horror series out._
Lawrence Watt-Evans (b. 1954)
"The Lords of Dus" - The Lure of the Basilisk; The Seven
Altars of Dusarra; The Sword of Bheleu; The Book of
Silence
_This is a limited series, and should be read in
order._
"Ethshar series" - The Misenchanted Sword; With a Single
Spell; The Unwilling Warlord; Blood of a Dragon; Taking
Flight; The Spell of the Black Dagger
_Open-ended series. I'm told that the Ethshar books
are standalones and can be read in any order. The
above is the order they were published in._
**Margaret Weis (b. 1948) & Tracy Hickman (b. 1955)
"Dragonlance Chronicles" - Dragons of Autumn Twilight;
Dragons of Winter Night; Dragons of Spring Dawning
_The series that turned TSR into from a gaming
company that published tie-ins to a real publisher.
Still in print, and still selling well._
"Dragonlance Legends" - Time of the Twins; War of the
Twins; Test of the Twins
_EVERYONE who recommended these books included a
warning that other Dragonlance books by other
authors should be avoided. There is also a book of
short stories titled _Dragonlance: The Second
Generation_. All but two of the stories are reprints
from other Dragonlance collections._
"Dragonlance Chronicles IV" - Dragons of the Summer Flame
_They're baaaaack. Weis & Hickman return to the
world of Dragonlance with a new novel that takes the
characters and stories from the novella collection
_Dragonlance: The Second Generation_ and continues
onward ever onward with them._
"More Dragonlance Books (by Weis & Don Perrin)" - The Doom
Brigade (forthcoming Nov. '96)
_"A tale of two enemies - dwarves and draconians -
and how they must cooperate to survive a bitter
war." Presumably this takes place before the events
of _Summer Flame__
"Darksword Trilogy" - Forging the Darksword; Doom of the
Darksword; Triumph of the Darksword
_A non-Dragonlance limited series. Denis doesn't
like this particular series._
"More Darksword books" - Legacy of the Darksword
(forthcoming July '97)
_Weis and Hickman return to the world of the
Darksword._
"Rose of the Prophet Trilogy" - The Will of the Wanderer;
The Paladin of the Night; The Prophet of Akhran
_The Epic Tale of the Great War of the Gods!_
"Death Gate Cycle" - Dragon Wing; Elven Star; Fire Sea;
Serpent Mage; The Hand of Chaos; Into the Labyrinth; The
Seventh Gate
_This is a limited series - be sure and have all
seven books, and read 'em in order._
Angus Wells (b. 1943)
"The Kingdoms" - Wrath of Ashar; The Usurper; The Way
Beneath
_Wells' first fantasy triology under his own name._
"Godwars" - Forbidden Magic; Dark Magic; Wild Magic
_"Kingdoms" and "Godwars" are not related to each
other or to his most recent novel. Richard likes
"Godwars," but Michael prefers "The Kingdoms"
trilogy (Richard asks me to point out that he hasn't
read "The Kingdoms" yet, which makes it difficult
for him to compare them)_
Lords of the Sky
_To quote Carolyn Cushman of _Locus_ magazine: "For
once, a sprawling medieval fantasy epic that's self-
contained!"_
"Exiles series" - Exile's Children; Exile's Challenge
_Completists should note that Angus Wells co-
authored (along with Robert Holdstock) a series in
the late '70's under the name 'Richard Kirk' about
Raven, the Swordmistress of Chaos_
Martha Wells (b. 1964)
The Element of Fire
_Excellent debut fantasy. A complex, fast-moving
plot, intelligent characters, a well-thought-out
world - this one's a keeper. Wells has sold two more
books to Avon, one of which will be set on this
world, but about 150 years later (and it will not be
a sequel to _Element_)._
City of Bones
_Another winner. Not related to her first book, it
takes place in a desert world. Action and adventure,
a great setting, excellent characterization - I
actually bought this one in hardcover, and am glad
I did._
T.H. White (1906-1964)
The Once and Future King
_THE classic retelling of the Arthur legend. And,
yeah, it's the source of both Disney's _The Sword in
the Stone_ and Lerner & Lowe's _Camelot._ The
original quartet of novels are being reprinted in
England._
Mistress Masham's Repose
_Did you ever wonder what happened to those
Lilliputians that followed Gulliver back to
England?_
Jack Whyte
"The Camulod Chronicles" - The Sky Stone; The Singing
Sword; Brood of Eagles (forthcoming 1997)
_Return yet again to the days of King Arthur...this
retelling intertwines the Roman Empire of the fifth
century and Arthurian legend. The original
recommender told me this was a trilogy with the
overall title of "A Dream of Eagles", and that all
the books were already out in Canada, however Tor
(the U.S. publisher) is advertising it as a six book
series._
Elizabeth Willey
"Kingdom of Argylle" - The Well-Favored Man; A Sorcerer and
a Gentleman; The Price of Blood and Honor
_It looks like this is scheduled to be an open-ended
series. The first book features a kingdom created
out of Chaos by the family patriarch, young Prince
Gwydion left as regent after his parents have
debunked, a royal family made up of warriors and
magicians all busily plotting and counter-
plotting...Elizabeth calls this 'the best new
author's book I've read in years' and recommends it
very highly. I enjoyed it, too, but one Net-wit's
comment that it should have been titled _Nice
Princes in Amber_ does capture a lot of the book's
flavor. The second and third books are prequels to
the first._
**Tad Williams (b. 1957)
Tailchaser's Song
_Williams' first fantasy novel - Tailchaser is a
cat._
"Memory, Sorrow & Thorn" - The Dragonbone Chair; Stone of
Farewell; To Green Angel Tower
_At first glance, very similar to "The Belgariad"-
immature-boy-grows-to-fill-heroic-role. Williams'
vision is a bit darker, however, and the secondary
characters get a lot more fleshing out. Slow moving
at points, but worth your time. Paperback version of
_To Green Angel Tower_ is published in two volumes._
Child of an Ancient City (with Nina Kiriki Hoffman)
_Stand-alone young adult novel._
Caliban's Hour
_Takes up where Shakespeare left off. Caliban shows
up years later to take his revenge on Miranda.
Williams' next will be a 4-volume SF series with the
overall title of "OTHERLAND." According to Katharine
Kerr, he has 'sworn a mighty vow that he'll never
write about Osten Ard [the world of "MS&T"] again'._
Gene Wolfe (b. 1931)
"The Book of the New Sun" - The Shadow of the Torturer; The
Claw of the Conciliator; The Sword of the Lictor; The
Citadel of the Autarch
_This is a single novel broken into four parts.
Intricate and ambitious, it takes place on a Dying
Earth and follows the complex destiny of Severian._
The Urth of the New Sun
_A sequel to "The Book of the New Sun"._
Patricia Wrede (b. 1953)
Snow White and Rose Red
_Retelling of the classic fairytale, set in
Elizabethan England. Part of the very highly
regarded 'Fairy Tale' series_
"Lyra series" - Shadow Magic; Daughter of Witches; The Harp
of Imach Thyssel; Caught in Crystal; The Raven Ring
_Open-ended series (the books truly are stand-alone
and can be read in any order) set in a world of many
different cultures and religions, as well as three
non-human races._
The Seven Towers
_A standalone, unrelated to her other series._
"The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" - Dealing with Dragons;
Searching for Dragons; Calling on Dragons; Talking to
Dragons
_Open-ended series that has a lot of fun with usual
fairytale conventions. You'll find it in the young
adult section. I especially recommend this to anyone
who is looking for books for adolescent girls (and
then be sure to read it yourself)._
"Mairelon series" - Mairelon the Magician; Magician's Ward
(forthcoming June '97)
_Set in an alternate England where magic works, lots
of intrigue. Setting is related to the one in
Stevermer's books._
*Janny Wurts (b. 1953)
Sorcerer's Legacy
_Early standalone, first published in 1982 (it may
be her first published work). Good luck in trying to
find it._
"The Cycle of Fire" - Stormwarden; Keeper of the Keys;
Shadowfane
_Her first trilogy. This was recently reprinted and
should be widely available_
The Master of the White Storm
_A standalone._
"The Wars of Light and Shadow" - The Curse of the
Mistwraith; The Ships of Merior; Warhost of Vastmark
(NOTE: U.S. hardcover edition of 'The Ships of Merior'
INCLUDES 'Warhost of Vastmark' - the paperback edition
is two separate books); Alliance of the Light
(forthcoming Sept. '97)
_Best known for her collaboration with Raymond Feist
on the "Empire series" and her paintings, Wurts is
a fine author in her own right_
That Way Lies Camelot
_Short story collection_
Jonathan Wylie
"Servants of the Ark" - The First Named; The Centre of the
Circle; The Mage-Born Child
_Wylie is a pseudonym for Mark and Julia Smith (and
_Shadowmaze_ was published in the U.S. under their
real names)_
"The Unbalanced Earth" - Dreams of Stone; The Lightless
Kingdom; The Age of Chaos
_'Servants' and 'Unbalanced Earth' are loosely
related, with the events of 'Servants' coming first.
These two trilogies were published in the U.S. by
Bantam, but are currently out of print._
Dreamweaver
_Stand-alone. Wylie has written one other stand-
alone (_Shadowmaze_) which is NOT recommended._
"Island and Empire trilogy" - Dark Fire; Echoes of Flame;
The Last Augury
_One recommender considers this trilogy the best of
the three. It is the story of a tiny island's fight
for independence from the cruel Xantic Empire. This
work hasn't found a U.S. publisher yet (so far as I
can find), so most of us are going to have to hunt
for these. Thanks to Tarja for getting me the titles
in this trilogy_
Other Lands
_A new stand-alone. This came out in Britain in June
'95, and isn't out in the U.S. "A comatose Michael
Glover somehow calls to his lover for help, and to
save him she must break through to another,
fantastic world."_
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (b. 1942)
Ariosto
_Subtitled 'Ariosto Furioso, A Romance for an
Alternate Renaissance'. Yarbro is best known for her
series about the aristocratic vampire Saint-
Germain._
Jane Yolen (b. 1939)
"The Pit Dragon Trilogy" - Dragon's Blood; Heart's Blood;
A Sending of Dragons
_Excellent young adult trilogy._
"The Books of Great Alta" - Sister Light, Sister Dark;
White Jenna; The One-Armed Queen (forthcoming)
_The Science Fiction Book Club used to have this
duology available in a single volume. The third book
will take place in the same universe, but is a
stand-alone. Although this is classified as 'adult
fantasy', many libraries take one look at the
author's name and automatically stick it in their
young adult (or children's) department, so look for
it there._
Briar Rose
_Yolen's entry in the "Fairy Tales" series. This
involves the tale of Sleeping Beauty and the
Holocaust._
*Roger Zelazny (1937-1995)
"Amber - 1st series" - Nine Princes in Amber; The Guns of
Avalon; The Sign of the Unicorn; The Hand of Oberon; The
Courts of Chaos
_Great fun. Corwin searches first for his memory,
then for revenge, and finally for the key to save
the multiverse._
"Amber - 2nd series" - Trumps of Doom; Blood of Amber; Sign
of Chaos; Knight of Shadows; Prince of Chaos
_The 2nd series shows definite signs of exhaustion,
and Merlin is not the man his father Corwin was. Do
note that although _Prince of Chaos_ was supposed to
be the series end, enough dangling plot threads were
left to knit a sweater._
Roadmarks
_There's a highway through time (built by dragons),
and there's a wreck waiting to happen at the last
exit for Babylon...._
"Dilvish stories" - Dilvish the Damned; The Changing Land
_I'd really like to say more about Zelazny, but I'm
still upset about his far-too-early death. Just read
his books. Even his minor efforts are worthwhile,
and the SF he wrote in the sixties is magnificent._
Paul Edwin Zimmer (b. 1943)
"Dark Border series" - The Lost Prince; King Chodo's Ride;
A Gathering of Heroes
_The first two are a duology, which Scott found to
be 'okay'. He really enjoyed the final book, which
is the story of a group of heroes gathered to face
a huge evil. He particularly liked the interplay
between the heroes._
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Sheldon ais3@po.cwru.edu
Benefits Specialist (216) 368-6693
Case Western Reserve University
===============================================================================
Date: 01-24-97 Time: 05:29a Number: 54410
From: ais3@po.cwru.edu Refer:
To: All Board ID: FIX Reply:
Subject: Recommended Fantasy Autho 448: news.en.rec. Status: Public
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ais3@po.cwru.edu
Date: 23 Jan 1997 18:56:31 GMT
Message-ID:
Archive-name: fantasy/recommended-authors/part5
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1997/01/06
URL: http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Version: 2.5
THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 2.5
Part 5 of 5
TOTAL NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS PER AUTHOR
The List contains every fantasy author recommended by two or
more people. Some authors turned up on enough lists to gain
special status as either "Highly Recommended" or "Recommended."
Second on the list of Highly Recommended authors (appears on 20%
or more of the recommendation lists) is:
Raymond Feist
Joining him are: Terry Brooks, Stephen Donaldson, Robert Jordan,
Guy Gavriel Kay, Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, Terry
Pratchett, Melanie Rawn, J.R.R. Tolkien, the Margaret
Weis/Tracy Hickman combo and Tad Williams.
David Eddings is, of course, in the number one spot with 136
recommendations (hardly surprising, since the List originated in
alt.fan.eddings).
Recommended authors (10% - 19%) are:
Lloyd Alexander, Piers Anthony, Robert Asprin, Marion
Zimmer Bradley, Steven Brust, Susan Cooper, Dave Duncan,
David Gemmell, Barbara Hambly, Katherine Kerr, Katherine
Kurtz, Ursula Le Guin, C.S. Lewis, Julian May, Michael
Moorcock, R.A. Salvatore, Janny Wurts and Roger Zelazny
Following are the authors with recommendations from five or more
of those sending in lists and their total number of
recommendations (as of 1/1/97)
Eddings, David. . . . 136
Feist, Raymond. . . . .68
Jordan, Robert. . . . .63
Tolkien, J.R.R. . . . .53
Donaldson, Stephen. . .48
Brooks, Terry . . . . .43
McCaffrey, Anne . . . .39
Pratchett, Terry. . . .39
Weis & Hickman. . . . .37
Williams, Tad . . . . .34
Kay, Guy Gavriel. . . .32
Lackey, Mercedes. . . .29
Kerr, Katharine . . . .27
Rawn, Melanie . . . . .26
Kurtz, Katherine. . . .25
Lewis, C.S. . . . . . .20
Zelazny, Roger. . . . .20
Le Guin, Ursula . . . .19
Brust, Steven . . . . .18
Duncan, Dave. . . . . .18
Anthony, Piers. . . . .17
Bradley, Marian Zimmer.16
Gemmell, David. . . . .16
Hambly, Barbara . . . .16
May, Julian . . . . . .15
Moorcock, Michael . . .15
Salvatore, R.A. . . . .15
Alexander, Lloyd. . . .14
Asprin, Robert. . . . .14
Cooper, Susan . . . . .14
Wurts, Janny. . . . . .14
McKillip, Patricia. . .12
Card, Orson Scott . . .11
Cherryh, C.J. . . . . .11
de Lint, Charles. . . .11
Goodkind, Terry . . . .11
McKinley, Robin . . . .11
Roberson, Jennifer. . .11
Beagle, Peter . . . . .10
Lawhead, Stephen. . . .10
Modesitt, L.E.. . . . .10
Wells, Angus. . . . . .10
Cook, Glen. . . . . . . 9
Moon, Elizabeth . . . . 9
Wrede, Patricia . . . . 9
MacAvoy, R.A. . . . . . 8
Saberhagen, Fred. . . . 8
Tepper, Sheri . . . . . 8
Vance, Jack . . . . . . 8
Cook, Hugh. . . . . . . 7
Eisenstein, Phyllis . . 7
Friedman, C.S.. . . . . 7
Green, Simon. . . . . . 7
Jones, Diana Wynne. . . 7
King, Stephen . . . . . 7
Norton, Andre . . . . . 7
Reichart, Mickey Z. . . 7
Rosenberg, Joel . . . . 7
Stasheff, Christopher . 7
Taylor, Roger . . . . . 7
Watt-Evans, Lawrence. . 7
Cooper, Louise. . . . . 6
de Camp, L. Sprague . . 6
Edgerton, Teresa. . . . 6
Foster, Alan Dean . . . 6
Goldman, William. . . . 6
Hughart, Barry. . . . . 6
Jacques, Brian. . . . . 6
McKiernan, Dennis . . . 6
Rice, Ann . . . . . . . 6
Rohan, Michael Scott. . 6
Tarr, Judith. . . . . . 6
White, T.H. . . . . . . 6
Bradbury, Ray . . . . . 5
Carroll, Lewis. . . . . 5
Chalker, Jack . . . . . 5
Dean, Pamela. . . . . . 5
Duane, Diane. . . . . . 5
Hobb, Robin . . . . . . 5
Leiber, Fritz . . . . . 5
Wolfe, Gene . . . . . . 5
All of the other authors currently on the list have 4
recommendations or less.
BOOK NEWS - January 1997
_Publishers Weekly_ reports that Book Stacks Unlimited, an on-
line discount bookstore, is adding a straight 15% discount on
most titles. Repeat customers will accrue "bookmarks" that will
be worth an additional discount of about 5%. You can find the
Book Stacks site at http://www.books.com
SHORT TAKES
Bertelsmann has snapped up German rights on TANITH LEE's new
novel about the French Revolution, _The Gods Are Thirsty_ ... It
looks like Tor is reprinting all of GLEN COOK's "Black Company"
books in January, so now is the time to fill in all the holes in
your collection
NOW APPEARING AT A BOOKSTORE NEAR YOU
The following books have a release date of January 1 in the U.S.
(which means they've probably been out on the shelves since mid-
December). "Paperback reprints" are, so far as I know, the first
paperback reprints of books that are already out in hardcover,
or reprints of notable books that have been out of print for
several years. Last names of authors are in capitals, hopefully
making them easier to spot.
Hardcover originals: _Quicker Than the Eye_ by Ray BRADBURY;
_Trader_ by Charles DE LINT;
Paperback originals: _Jed the Dead_ by Alan Dean FOSTER; _Sky
Trillium_ by Julian MAY (trade paperback); _Thessalonica_
by Harry TURTLEDOVE
Paperback reprints: _Bleak Seasons_ by Glen COOK; _The Hedge of
Mist_ by Patricia Kennealy MORRISON; _The Anubis Gates_ by
Tim Powers (trade paperback); _The Sage_ by Christopher
STASHEFF
And here's what's coming out on February 1, 1997:
Hardcover originals: _Dragonseye_ by Anne McCAFFREY; _The
Soprano Sorceress_ by L.E. MODESITT, Jr.; _Fabulous
Harbors_ by Michael MOORCOCK; _Queen of Swords_ by Judith
TARR
Paperback originals: _Spires of Spirit_ by Gael BAUDINO; _Wolf
in Shadow_ by David GEMMELL (1st U.S.)
Paperback reprints: _Outcast of Redwall_ by Brian JACQUES; _The
Gates of Twilight_ by Paula VOLSKY
ADDITIONS AND MAJOR CHANGES SINCE THE LAST POSTING
Another group of authors who didn't get that all-important
second recommendation have vanished into the mists. Leaving the
list this month were Ann Downer, Paul Kearney, Fay Sampson,
Peter Valentine Timlett, and Bridget Wood. On the other hand,
we've got four returnees (Allan Cole, H. Rider Haggard, Howard
Pyle, and Talbot Mundy), as well as a whole slew new folks.
Allan Cole (b. 1943)
"Antero series (co-author Chris Bunch)" - The Far Kingdoms;
The Warrior's Tale; Kingdoms of the Night; The Warrior
Returns (by Allan Cole alone)
_The first two books of this series are loosely
related, and can easily be read as standalones.
However the third book is a fairly direct sequel to
the first, and after looking over a sample chapter
of the forthcoming book (which is written by Cole on
his own), it sure looks like you need to have read
the first three to really enjoy it. Straightforward
adventure/quest fantasy, reasonably well written._
"Timura Trilogy" - Wizard of the Winds (forthcoming July
'97); Wolves of the Gods; The Gods Awaken
_A new trilogy based on _The Rubayyat of Omar
Khayam_. Allan Cole has a neat homepage at
http://www.acole.com Nice graphics, sample
chapters, and some interesting links - check it
out._
H. Rider Haggard (1856-1925)
"Allan Quartermain books" - King Solomon's Mines; Allan
Quartermain; Maiwa's Revenge; Child of Storm; She and
Allan; Allan's Wife; Marie; Finished; several others
_Allan Quartermain did a lot of traveling before he
went to King Solomon's Mines. The novels range from
straight adventure to outright fantasy and if you're
in the mood for a ripping good yarn, give 'em a
try._
J.V. Jones (b. 1963)
"The Book of Words trilogy" - The Baker's Boy; A Man
Betrayed; Master and Fool
_Denis thought this was the best new trilogy he'd
read in 1996._
The Barbed Coil (forthcoming Fall '97)
_A stand alone that looks like it will be set in a
world similar to that of the Book of Words._
Talbot Mundy (1879-1940)
"Tros of Samothrace" - Tros of Samothrace; Avenging
Liafail; The Praetor's Dungeon; Queen Cleopatra; The
Purple Pirate
_Takes place in the Roman Republic. Mundy died in
1940, and unfortunately, this series hadn't been
completed at the time. Out of print for a good many
years, you may be able to find these at the library
or used book stores. I've read some of his other
fantasy/adventure series (the "Jimgrim" books -
there's 11 of those), and they're quite a lot of
fun, too._
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
_Classic retelling of Arthur by the famous
illustrator. Despite being 90 years old, this book
is readily available in libraries, and in the U.S.
Dover Publications has a lovely trade paperback
edition with Pyle's original illustrations. He wrote
several other books covering further tales, and he
also has a great retelling of the Robin Hood story._
Sean Stewart (b. 1965)
Nobody's Son
_Standalone that looks at what happens to the hero
of lowly birth _after_ the 'happily ever after.'_
Cloud's End
_The latest from Stewart._
FINDING THESE BOOKS
Many of the books listed are currently in print, or were popular
enough that you should be able to track them down in a used-
bookstore or at the library. I have attempted to note those that
will be particularly difficult to find. This is written from a
United States viewpoint - those of you in Canada, Europe,
Australia, and elsewhere may need to put forth quite a bit more
effort.
The easiest place to start looking if you can't tear yourself
from your computer to go to your local bookstore is amazon.com.
They have a huge selection of books (just about everything in
print, so far as I can tell), are incredibly easy to use, offer
discount prices, and reasonable shipping rates. And, yes, they
do ship everywhere in the world. You can find them at
http://www.amazon.com
Other well-regarded on-line bookstores include Book Stacks (a
personal favorite, since their physical location is my home
town) at
http://www.books.com
and Future Fantasy at
http://futfan.com
Future Fantasy has the tremendous advantage of being a science
fiction and fantasy specialty store, so if you have an obscure
request they are a lot more likely to be able to help you.
All three of the the above are U.S. based. If anyone is willing
to recommend some European and/or Asian bookstores with a web
presence, I'll be happy to list them.
Finding books that are out of print will take a little more
effort. For those of you in Britain, Dave recommends Fantastic
Literature. They only deal in mail order, and have a large
selection of out-of-print sf, fantasy and horror. Contact them
at: Fantastic Literature, 33 The Ramparts, Rayleigh, Essex,
SS6 8NJ
DOWNLOADING THE LIST
Yes! You too can have your very own copy of the Recommended
Fantasy Author List on your very own personal computer! There
are a couple of ways to go about it:
1) E-mail me at ais3@po.cwru.edu Be sure to let me know
whether you want the list in one big lump as a MIME
attached file, or broken up into five separate messages.
2) Via anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu (and its mirror sites)
from the directory /pub/usenet/alt.fan.eddings/
3) If you don't have access to ftp, you can use the
news.answers ftp-by-mail server. Send a message to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the following six lines in
the body (not the subject) of the message:
send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part1
send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part2
send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part3
send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part4
send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part5
quit
ABOUT THE LIST
This listing was created in April 1994, following what seemed
like the 900th posting of "what other authors should I read?" in
the alt.fan.eddings newsgroup. Originally, the tone of the
editorial comments was intended to be neutral, since this is a
compilation of the recommendations of many people and not a list
of my personal favorites. This policy has gradually eroded, and
the perceptive reader can probably make some pretty good guesses
as to which books are particularly favored by the FAQMaster. Do
note, however, that there are quite a few books on this list
that I either haven't read, tried and didn't like, or wouldn't
recommend to an enemy, let alone a friend, so don't blame ME if
you spot an author that you absolutely loathe.
Newly recommended authors spend at least six months on the List.
If they don't pick up another recommendation in that period of
time, they are cast into outer darkness.
Recommenders are encouraged to keep their lists updated - in
fact, I try to write occasionally to confirm that the choices I
have on record are what was actually sent.
This list doesn't contain shared world novels and short story
collections, except in those cases where I feel like including
them (hey, it's called Editorial Privilege.) I also avoid
listing books with multiple authors, mainly because I'm never
quite sure where to put them.
The dividing line between fantasy, science fiction, and horror
is indistinct and highly subjective. Inclusion on this list for
those books that straddle the border depends on three factors:
How many people push for inclusion of the author, how the
publisher markets the book, and, most importantly, whether it
matches *my* definition of fantasy (remember that editorial
privilege I mentioned?)
I would like to note that most the long-running, open-ended
series contained herein do tend to have one major problem: They
get weaker as they progress (Piers Anthony is the prime example
of this tendency.) Try to start with the earlier books in the
series, so you can get thoroughly hooked and are compelled to
keep reading even after the author just starts hacking them out.
CREDITS
Many people made suggestions and offered aid and comfort in the
creation of this list. Many thanks to everyone who sent me lists
of their favorite Recommended Authors, and if any of you read
any *new* authors you want to recommend, let me know.
Three cheers for:
Jani Joki - who has a cool homepage with lots of fantasy links
(check it out at http://www.evitech.fi/~janijj/Books.html)
Jonathan Yen - who has almost as many books on his
recommendation list as I do
Donal Fellows - ruler of the Eddings home page (as well as all
that he surveys). View it (and this list too!) at:
http://r8h.cs.man.ac.uk:8000/eddings/
Special thanks to all of the following, who helped to fill in
the blanks, suggested new authors to add to the list, and/or
sent me Real Nice Mail:
Tim Abicht (Eriond), Henry Andrews, Corinne Aragaki, Denis
Aumueller, Krista Babstock, Zachary Mitch Binder, Elizabeth
Blatt, Fredrik Blom, Doug Bowles, Jan Erik Breimo, Daphne
Brinkerhoff, Edward Buckley, Andy Carlson, Simon Challands,
Steve Christensen, Stephen Clark, Stevie Clifford (a.k.a.
Gaspode Wannabe), Cyradis, Amy Darke, Nathan Daniel,
Jessika Diamond, Asher Dunn, Matthew Dworkin, Richard
Faircloth, Paul Farris, Donal Fellows, Michael Crist
Ferguson, Maria Fox, David Geelan, Kevin Green, Jo Harrold,
Clint Hauser, Simon Hogley, Glynne Jones, Mark Allen Jones,
Scott Kessler, Derrek Kirk, Michael X. Koon, Jim Lahue,
Glynis Long, Mike Loux, Dwayne MacKinnon, Beth Martin,
Craig Meyer, Naomi, Barry Nelson, Ray Pugh, Tarja Rainio,
Leigh Rooney, Kevin Roose, Steve Sams, Heather Sexauer, Joe
"Uno" Shaw, Eric Siebert, Martin Slade, Dean Smith, Lars H.
Tombre, Garry Turkington, Luke Vaughn, Michael van Acken,
B.J. van Look, Elaine Walker, Wardley the Wizzy, Brett
Whinnen, Adam Wick, Pamela Wolff, Theresa Yoder
The listing was created and is maintained by Amy Sheldon.
Permission to reproduce this material for non-profit purposes is
freely granted, however it would be really nice if you asked
first. Not only can I then make sure that you have the latest
version, I'll also have the chance to be tremendously flattered
that someone actually wants this list. Any corrections, comments
or questions should be sent to:
ais3@po.cwru.edu
Amy Sheldon
ais3@po.cwru.edu
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