Chaosmaker Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Saphira Saphire almost the same thing :D But I didn't like how the book ended reminds me of how Halo 2 ended. That ws a nightmare. Just left you in a climax Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonReborn Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 none of u mentioned the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan which is by far the best fantasy series i ever read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookiee Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 none of u mentioned the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan which is by far the best fantasy series i ever read<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I second that... still waiting to hear back from jordan to see if he will let me release somthing with his world as the subject matter also orsan scot card :) robert hienlen (sp?) Lustbadder Fiest ... damn read so many good fantasy books that i have forgoten alot of the authers names hell some of the classics HomerArrianThuciditiesPolibius "Read em all let god saught em out" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThetaOrionis01 Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 I tend to read mostly fantasy and science fiction, and unfortunately there is a lot of dross and not enough gold in those genres. I find a lot of it very derivative, and positively rejoice when a story doesn't feature elves and/or dwarves or variations on that theme (with the exception of Tolkien, of course - his elves, dwarves etc work because there's so much background to them). Language is also important to me, and some fantasy is just so badly written that it makes me cringe. Among my favourites are - Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake: stunningly imaginative, wonderful language and fantastic characters- The Lord of the Rings: first fantasy I ever read, and 25 years later I still like it- The Riddle-Master's Game (and just about any of her other books) by Patricia McKillip: the author has a wonderful, lyrical style of writing, and the characters and scenes she depicts are great- Hothouse by Brian Aldiss: not sure whether this should be classed as fantasy or science fiction, but the setting is intriguing, and his use of language is playful and expressive- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman: a fantasy based around the London Tube map... a great concept, brilliant characters, and beautifully written, too. - His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman: although they could be classed as children's books they're beautifully written, with great character development and a great setting These are the books and authors which stand out, and which I'll happily re-read over and over again. A couple of series/authors have been so bad, though, that I think they're worth mentioning in my 'complete waste of time and trees' category:- the Belgariad & Malloreon by David Eddings: excruciatingly bad dialogue and cringeworthy characters. - the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan: enjoyable, although derivative, up to the last chapter of book 1. He should have stopped there, but instead it goes on. And on. And on. Nothing much happens since the poorly developed characters seem to spend most of their time either bickering or talking about clothes (have any fans of his books ever counted how often the phrase 'stout Two Rivers woollens' crops up?). Punitive reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookiee Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 I know your upset theta so I will pretend you dident just bag out Robert Jordan ;) also Robin Hobb is very good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThetaOrionis01 Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 Mwahaha... you thought my assessment of WoT was bad? http://forums.tolkienonline.com/viewtopic....der=asc&start=0 Check out a couple of posts on the first page of that thread for a projection of what Lord of the Rings would have been like if it had been written by Robert Jordan :laugh2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malchik Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I have to say I tried hard with WoT and survived to book five but then it all became too much for me. I do agree with Theta that it takes several hundred pages for one small advance to be made and a lot of it seems like padding. What finally got me was when the evil beings killed off came back again. However in deference to Wookie and others, if we all liked the same things literature would be very much poorer. I have read quite a lot of fantasy (sometimes the difference between fantasy and sci-fi is very blurred). Generally I like Tad Williams although I found Otherwhere overlong despite much of it being fascinating (what genre is it?), Douglas Adams and as mentioned above Terry Goodkind. Terry Pratchett is part of a comedic writing where the fantasy setting is rather less important than the world he is lampooning. I would be inclined to put Robin Holt in the same category. Perhaps Douglas Adams should be there too? Hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 Douglas Adams is certainly somewhere near Terry Pratchett, although I'd rather say that Adams is the sci-fi-analogy to what Pratchett means for fantasy ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crim, The Red Thunder Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 The Greates Fantasy of all tme is The Belgariad series. The author (David Eddings) spent a lot of time building this world "that never was." It is a very awesome book that always gets your attention. you can't put it down!!!<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Amen. Dont forget the mallorean, the elenium, the tamuli, and the 2 standalone novels "belgarath the sorceror, and Polgara the sorceress." A couple of series/authors have been so bad, though, that I think they're worth mentioning in my 'complete waste of time and trees' category:- the Belgariad & Malloreon by David Eddings: excruciatingly bad dialogue and cringeworthy characters. - the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan: enjoyable, although derivative, up to the last chapter of book 1. He should have stopped there, but instead it goes on. And on. And on. Nothing much happens since the poorly developed characters seem to spend most of their time either bickering or talking about clothes (have any fans of his books ever counted how often the phrase 'stout Two Rivers woollens' crops up?). Punitive reading.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> How can you not like the belgariad? well... to each their own. I kinda liked the humor present in the belgariad myself... I do, however agree, that the wheel of time series (albeit i have read only book 1) tends to drag things out for too far. Im not saying its bad, just that it could be shorter... And now, my own personal favorites. The Xanth Series. (Piers anthony) Anyone who doesnt like humorous fantasy should stay FAR away, and poke it with a stick. Everyone else, read to your hearts content. Sme my view the books as childish sounding, and they are short, but i feel that the humor makes it worth reading regardless of the grade level it may be written at. The author is a genius. And i am shocked this name hasnt cropped up yet. Roger. Zelazney. Best. Freakin. Author. Ever. Most notable is his amber series, but he has done other stuff that is definitely some good fantasy. The Changeling series comes to mind, although it is aimed at a younger audience. Anyone who consideres themselves a fantasy buff should own "The great book of Amber" (which is a compilation of the 10 books in the Amber series.) Shame on you for not mentioning the best author of all time. Tsk - Tsk. ALso look for the three prequels to the amber novels, but dont look under roger zelazney. Another author wrote them with his permission, but i cant recall his name, maybe someone else here can tell who it is... Also another shocker: NO ONE MENTIONS ANNE MCCAFFREY?!?!?!?!?! One word: Pern.One more word: Talented. Those two sagas were phenomenal. The pern series is an excellent bit of fantasy/scifi, and the talented novels (pegasus in flight, pegasus in space, to ride pegasus, and many many more... including the rowan series) are an excellent piece of pure scifi. I may come back and add more... later! This is just off the top of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KzinistZerg Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 I remember one good fantasy book: The Burning City very good. J pournelle and L niven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.