Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Discussion/Appreciation Anyone..??

[Krichton]

Is there anything about fantasy you do like?

I love fantasy.

[Isolde]

I love fantasy.

What?

[Krichton]

what?

[Iffy]

what?

Well, which fantasy books do you like?

[Krichton]

I've enjoyed books by Goodkind, Jordan, Sanderson, Weeks, Weber, Gemmell, Rothfuss, Rowling, Funke, Bujold, Barker, Cashore, Peter Brett and Alex Bledsoe. So far I've read works from nearly 50 different epic fantasy authors. There are a few well known ones I haven't gotten to like Marion Bradley, Silverberg, Guy Kay, Friedman, Lackey, Vance, Haydon, Lawhead and Kate Eilliot. I have concentrated mostly on general ya fantasy and a good bit of scifi, rather than epic fantasy these last 18 months so that's why reading list within the genre isn't very impressive much less "complete," like alot of other ppl who have been at it their entire lives.

[Isolde]

A reasonable list, but I think Gemmell and Terry Goodkind fall into the typical slot fantasy writers seem to occupy, and Peter Brett, while interesting, doesn't bring anything new to the table. I find the plot simplistic, but then you hate LoTR and Tolkien literally 'wrote the book' where fantasy is concerned. As far as I'm concerned, with the exception of the Narnia series by Lewis, pretty much all fantasy books are a pale imitation of the original and best. Odd you should place Barker as a fantasy writer, though I know his books have an element of that, I would see him as entering the horror genre more frequently, and Silverberg is SF all the way.

Perhaps you should try The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and then you can really hate something with a passion.

What reading matter did you apply yourself to before embarking on this herculean task, btw, and was it quite so regimented?

[jmoz]

Guy who wrote Hyperion was pretty fantasy to me, despite sci-fi elements. It had more of the feel of fantasy. I only liked the first book sort of. Didn't like the later ones too much except the parts with the space environments and the shriek's origins and whole backstory.

[Isolde]

Guy who wrote Hyperion was pretty fantasy to me, despite sci-fi elements. It had more of the feel of fantasy. I only liked the first book sort of. Didn't like the later ones too much except the parts with the space environments and the shriek's origins and whole backstory.

Dan Simmons? I think I made an attempt to read it some years ago, and couldn't get into it. But there are always authors who do that to you, and William Gibson, for me, is another of those. Neuromancer was a book whose prose made my head hurt. Style and voice make a very big difference to how material is presented.

[Supreme Commander Sil]

The Shadow Prowler series by Alexei Pekhov is recommended .

[jmoz]

Yeah, Dan Simmons, made my head hurt with his Keats obsession among other things. Yeah, sometimes I just don't understand stuff due to style, like poetry, lol. All of it.

What's Shadow Prowler about?

[Supreme Commander Sil]

(See, I didn't initially say it because I need more posts ... Stingy, I know )

Spoiler:

It's set in a fantasy world were there are daemons lurking the streets at night. An unlikely hero, a thief... a noble one at that, is destined to defeat the darkness.....
It's king of like the ones in the industrial age, but with magic type setting .

EDIT:
It is translated by the same guy who translated the Night Watch trilogy - Andrew Bromfield.

[Isolde]

(See, I didn't initially say it because I need more posts ... Stingy, I know )

Spoiler:

It's set in a fantasy world were there are daemons lurking the streets at night. An unlikely hero, a thief... a noble one at that, is destined to defeat the darkness.....
It's king of like the ones in the industrial age, but with magic type setting .

EDIT:
It is translated by the same guy who translated the Night Watch trilogy - Andrew Bromfield.

Went and checked it out when you mentioned it, and I'll keep a look out for it in my local book shop. Btw, LOVE the Night Watch trilogy.

[Girlbot]

Just got a book called "How to Survive a Robot Uprising". I shall know all your human tricks now
It's really funny

[Supreme Commander Sil]

Went and checked it out when you mentioned it, and I'll keep a look out for it in my local book shop. Btw, LOVE the Night Watch trilogy.

Woops! Tetrology, sorry .
You.. are.... AWESOME !

(I've only read a little )

Just got a book called "How to Survive a Robot Uprising". I shall know all your human tricks now
It's really funny

I have to finish War and Peace at some point !!!

[Krichton]

A reasonable list, but I think Gemmell and Terry Goodkind fall into the typical slot fantasy writers seem to occupy, and Peter Brett, while interesting, doesn't bring anything new to the table. I find the plot simplistic, but then you hate LoTR and Tolkien literally 'wrote the book' where fantasy is concerned. As far as I'm concerned, with the exception of the Narnia series by Lewis, pretty much all fantasy books are a pale imitation of the original and best. Odd you should place Barker as a fantasy writer, though I know his books have an element of that, I would see him as entering the horror genre more frequently, and Silverberg is SF all the way.

Perhaps you should try The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and then you can really hate something with a passion.

I suppose that's a matter of opinion. Just because Tolkien laid the foundation and authors used that foundation as a base for their stories doesn't in fact make his stories superior to anyone elses'. If anything I have found that alot of fantasy fiction today appears to be more influenced by George Lucas' early Star Wars films. There's more to storytelling than just world building.

What reading matter did you apply yourself to before embarking on this herculean task, btw, and was it quite so regimented?

I didn't read anything. I hated reading, but the lack of good scifi and fantasy on tv and films made me desperate. A few years ago I attempted to read Fellowship of the Ring and fell asleep multipe times reading the prologue. Then within the last year I attempted to listen to it on audio and still couldn't get past the few chapters. Tolkien is insanely boring and tedious and not very good with characterization. I think even many of his fans will admit to this. I did get thru the Hobbit though. Perhaps the Two Towers and Return of the King is better. At least that was the case when I watched the films.