For what it's worth, I second (or is it third?) the Earthsea books. They really are excellent.
For what it's worth, I second (or is it third?) the Earthsea books. They really are excellent.
"I should only believe in a God that would know how to dance. And when I saw my devil, I found him serious, thorough, profound, solemn: he was the spirit of gravity- through him all things fall. Not by wrath, but by laughter, do we slay. Come, let us slay the spirit of gravity!" - Nietzsche
Excellent, that will definitely be the next on order. Thanks.Originally Posted by Lokasenna
Just noticed this thread. I am not a fan of "fantasy" but Peake was brilliant. Excellent poet too. T H White who was mentioned above was also very good and would be enjoyed at any age . At The Back of the North Wind is one that might appeal to those who like fantasy. My youngest fellow devoured the Redwall series by the late B Jacques between the ages of nine and twelve. Animals with human characteristics seems to usually be a hit with young children.
I am currently reading Little, Big by John Crowley. My edition is part of the Fantasy Masterworks series (written across a sword on the front cover) which I think must put a lot of readers off.
The book is strange and beautifully written, a million miles away from George RR Martin..somehow more fantastic and more believable at the same time. I might call it a North American 100 Years of Solitude but that still wouldn't explain its magic. Really impossible to describe, but highly recommended to lovers of unusual books.
I skimmed through the thread and couldn't see Michael Ende's work:
-The NeverEnding Story
-Momo
I first read them at the age of ten and fell in love with reading; and now, over two decades later, I'm still in love with these two books.
Some of the pre-Tolkien works are also very good: The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Selma Lagerlöf is another. Lewis in particular was influential on Tolkien, I believe they were contemporaries at Oxford University.
And lets not forget Alice in Wonderland. Lewis used a similar metaphor, of going into another dimension (a wardrobe, rather than falling into a hole). A study of the various influences on fantasy writers would be fascinating. Astrid Lindgren is another, especially Pippi Longstocking as well as the children of Bullerby. There is a whole page on Swedish fantasy writers in Wikipedia.
Literary fantasy, mythology and folktale/legends should probably all fall under the name 'fantasy' right? At any rate I think that this type of thing has been and remains my favourite reading material since I was about eight. Some favourites in no particular order:
The Once and Future King - T.H White
One of the best adaptations ever conceived and pursued, the entire pentalogy is good and while some people dislike the last book (of Merlin) I enjoyed it for the political discourse and completion of the story; most people agree that the final chapters, at least, are very fine.
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S Lewis
I can see readily enough that these books have flaws which certain people may find very objectionable, however, page for page, nothing has even come close to affording me the same pleasure of reading. All seven of the books are good but the two high points of the series for me are 'The Horse and His Boy' and ' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'
Watership Down - Richard Adams
The anthropomorphic animal novel and almost universally liked by readers of all ages. I've come across nothing much like it and it's been one of my favourite books since picking it up at sixteen. 'Tales from Watership Down' is disappointing by comparison.
A Wizard of Earthsea (Quartet) - Ursula K. Le Guin
When I was pretty young my grandmother had a quite extensive collection of books. Among those volumes, and suitable for children were: The Earthsea Quartet (though I believe it was only a trilogy back then, or else she was missing the fourth book), The Little Prince, Tales From the 1001 Nights, several volumes of various myths and legends, tales from The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, and some French story books (In English) with very French illustrations which I am still trying to track down (and the same goes for a bunch of French animated children's shorts from the Greater Victoria Public Library circa 1997). Anyway the Earthsea books had charming cover illustrations of an intriguing island landscape, drawn and coloured in what I suppose was simply the style of the time -echoed in all the older French animation I'm referring to - and which you don't see anymore (you can get the edition i'm referring to on amazon, or just look up the original covers; the modern covers are horrendous) and which really helped transport me to the Earthsea world as a pretty young kid. The covers aren't everything though and Earthsea still has one of the most evocative fantasy settings and rewarding storylines/world building. I'm not surprised that Miyazaki is a fan of Le Guin either as I get very similar feelings from both of their work.
Tales From the 1001 Nights
Probably one of the most readable and entertaining short story collections of all time, widely referenced and continuously adapted to this day, you really should read it.
The Volsung Saga
In my opinion the most readable and directly entertaining of the Norse stuff (The Prose Edda and Beowulf are also good reads), important to modern fantasy and easier to digest than, say, The Icelandic Family Sagas or The Poetic Edda.
(Some) Poems/Mythologies - W.B Yeats
I haven't read the plays so I can't recommend them but quite a large selection of Yeat's poetry and certainly his prose folktales contain elements of what you would consider fantasy. He's also an important writer otherwise so you kill two birds with one stone.
The Metamorphoses - Ovid
My favourite mythologian and preferable (for me) to Homer and Virgil, I think pretty much anyone can enjoy Ovid if they have any interest whatsoever in the Greek myths or fantasy in general. Some of the most physically evocative writing I've ever come across, particularly when battles or skirmishes are recounted through all sort of egregious wounds and heads being "cracked open" or livers punctured, etc.
The Odyssey/The Aeneid/The Iliad
Need no recommendation but I'll include them for obvious reasons.
Aside from that, if you're a young adult (or even if you're not) the first three Harry Potter books are very entertaining (sorry guys) as are the first two books in the Artemis Fowl series and quite a number of Brian Jacques' 'Redwall' books.
I'm also going to be reading The Song of Roland and Parcival and Titurel shortly so maybe I'll amend this list to include those two if they make the grade.
Last edited by Clopin; 06-23-2015 at 02:38 PM.
So with the courage of a clown, or a cur, or a kite jerkin tight at it's tether
Read "Orlando Furioso" instead of "Chanson", Clopin. It's far more fun. "Orlando", of course, is "Roland" in Italian.
One of my favorite pre-Tolkien "swords and sorcery" fantasies is "The Worm Ouroboros" by E.R. Eddison.
I'd also recommend "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" and "The Moon of Gomrath" by Alan Garner. I looked up "best fantasy novels" and it seems the "fantasy" now refers to "swords and sorcery" (on google, at least)-- there's little mention of Alice, Wind in the Willows, Pooh, or Peter Pan on most of the lists I saw.
Yes, I think all of those are distinct from what I would consider fantasy.
So with the courage of a clown, or a cur, or a kite jerkin tight at it's tether
A novel like A Voyage to Arcturus is not "swords and sorcery" but is definitely fantasy. There's well-written fantasy but there's also layers of dross. Still a little nonsense now and then is etc.
Clopin has raised a point that is important. Fantasy's origins lie in children's' stories, as Ecurb points out. Peter Pan, Wind in the Willows, Pooh, Pinocchio. This was Walt Disney's genius in making cartoon films out of them. Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet, Bambi, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Snow White: the Disney cartoons were made fascinating to a whole generation of adults, who were children in the 1930s and 1940s. There is even a Disney Wiki. See also Walt Disney.
In Sweden at Christmas the same ones are shown each year and are immensely popular.
Would China Miéville's Perdido Street Station be considered fantasy? The extensive practice of thaumaturgy (which means magic, more or less), the fact that it takes place in an imaginary world, and the fact that many of the characters are essentially talking animals or insects would suggest that it is. But somehow that seems not quite right to me. What do you think?
Anyway, if it is fantasy, it is excellent fantasy and I highly recommend it.
Myself, I would have thought so. What is there about it that makes it feel not quite right to you?
I was thinking it has sci-fi leanings. The main character is a scientist, and perhaps what they call thaumaturgy, particularly the ability to fuse flesh and inanimate matter, reflects a sophisticated knowledge of life sciences and medicine? — the concept is left ambiguous and murky. And the explanation of the slakemoths as interdimensional beings smacks of sci-fi as well. But on further consideration, I guess it better fits the fantasy genre. In any case, I highly recommend it.
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