Favourite Fantasy Authors?

[Cheese]

Not much has been going on in bookworld for a while so I thought I'd ask people their favourite fantasy authors and why.

JRR Tolkien?
David Eddings?
CS Lewis?
Stephen Donaldson?
Terry Brooks?
Piers Anthony?
Raymond Feist?
David Gemmell?
Ursula K. Le Guin?
Anne McCaffrey?
Michael Moorcock?
Terry Pratchett?

Those are just the ones I've read so I'm sure I've missed loads...

My personal fave has always been Stephen Donaldson because he writes so well and you can truely believe in his characters. Tery Pratchett is who I read the most because his books are so damn funny.

[Smooch]

Apart from the odd Stephen King Book, i've no interest in Fantasy. I keep saying i'll give it a chance though :blink:

[Majin]

Magaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

there dragonlance books are great, super well written and totally exciting!!

[Cheese]

Originally posted by Majin@15 November 2003 - 19:10
Magaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

there dragonlance books are great, super well written and totally exciting!!
I always felt like their were chunks missing out of the Dragonlance novels but I did really enjoy the Twins stories (Raistlin was always my fave character).

[bob_the_alien]

I'm not really that big into fantasy books, but I do like the J.R.R. Tolkien books.
I've read "The Hobbit", all three "Lord of the Ring" books, and "The Silmarillion".
All four books were good, but "The Hobbit" is probably my favorite of the four.

Actually as Smooch pointed out above, Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"
is the only other fantasy book series I've read.

Which, btw, Book 5 came out on November, 5; I need to get it and read it. That is one fantasy series I'm addicted to; I’ve read the first 4 books about 5 times each.

[Cheese]

Originally posted by bob_the_alien@15 November 2003 - 20:01
I'm not really that big into fantasy books, but I do like the J.R.R. Tolkien books.
I've read "The Hobbit", all three "Lord of the Ring" books, and "The Silmarillion".
All four books were good, but "The Hobbit" is probably my favorite of the four.

Actually as Smooch pointed out above, Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"
is the only other fantasy book series I've read.

Which, btw, Book 5 came out on November, 5; I need to get it and read it. That is one fantasy series I'm addicted to; I’ve read the first 4 books about 5 times each.
Hiya Bob :D

I have read the first two of The Dark Tower books and I really enjoyed them, I suppose I should check out the others...I seem to remember they had me pretty hooked.

I think Stephen King wrote another fantasy novel as well, Eye of the Dragon, that was quite good as well.

[bob_the_alien]

What's great about "The Dark Tower" series is it ties in with just about every Stephen King book. They visit many of the universes that exist in Stephen King's mind.

It also makes you want to read Stephen King's other books, I know I started out, by just reading The Stand, when I was in High School, then some friends turned me on to the Dark Tower series, now I’m going one by one through his entire collection, currently I'm reading Hearts of Atlantis, I’ve read on other Message boards that it ties in greatly with The Dark Tower.

As you Mentioned, I haven't read it, but Eyes of The Dragon, is suppose to be another of his books that has a major part to do with "The Dark Tower", and of course many of his books stat Martin or as he's know most of the time Randall Flagg. (And he appears to be the main villain or close to the main villain in the dark tower series, guess we will just have to wait and see when the series ends.

Which will be November 2004, King has already finished all the books; 7 in all, and the next one comes out in March, and then ends in November.
So us Dark Tower fans are going to have a good year.. :D :D

-------------------------------------
Yeah, just wanted to add one other note, The best thing about J.R.R. Tolkien, is the songs, I love the songs in his books, which is why the new movies are pissing me off, why aren't there any songs, Its a MAJOR part of the books.

[Cheese]

I think Flagg was a villian in Eye of the Dragon (though my memory is fuzzy these days) and wasn't that the name of the bad guy in The Stand? (which btw is my favourite Stephen King book).

Just found Hearts of Atlantis audio book on kazaa so I'll give that a try during those long hours at work. :lol: (I know its not as good as the book but my boss frowns on me reading whilst trying to do data entry...what's that all about? :D )

@the songs in Tolkiens works, I must admit I skipped those parts...

edit - sweet I just found The Gunslinger on audio as well. :D

[MagicNakor]

In no particular order:

George R.R. Martin
Raymond E. Feist
Piers Anthony
JRR Tolkien

There are others that I've liked a single book, but that's hardly enough to count for one of my favourites.

There are also a lot that I just can't stand. ;) Too much bad fantasy out there.

:ninja:

[Lasombra Demon]

I read the Hobbit and didn't like it quite much... so far the best Fantasy work I've is the classic edition of "Knights of the Round Table" and many mythologies' tomes.
That includes Greek and Roman, Nordic, Egyptian, and some others. Guess you missed one of the best creators of fantastic stories in history; Homer, whom wrote the Illiad and the Oddysey. :P
Regarding the other authors, I've never read 'em. I'm more fond of horror...
Poe, Lovecraft, and so on... B)

Lasombra Demon

[MagicNakor]

The Illiad and The Odyssey aren't fantasy.

They're classics. :D

And a mythology isn't fantasy either, it's a religion that no longer has widespread practice.

:ninja:

[pc-gamer-dude]

lloyd alexander

prolly the best damn book writer in the world. i love his books.
mainly the chronicals of pyrdain series.

[imnotanaddict]

Clive Barker (Fantasy & Horror)
Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, Stardust...)
Both are excellent writers.

[Cheese]

Clive Barker (Fantasy & Horror)

What was that CB book that had the first nuclear testing area in it? I can't remember the title but it had a disturbing scene with a woman and a dog in it.

[imnotanaddict]

Originally posted by Withcheese@17 November 2003 - 00:00

Clive Barker (Fantasy & Horror)

What was that CB book that had the first nuclear testing area in it? I can't remember the title but it had a disturbing scene with a woman and a dog in it.
Ive not read all of cb's books, that one does'nt ring any bell's. It does remind me of "Gerald's Game" by Stephen King though. Thats the only SK book I never finished, the scene with the woman tied-up on bed and a dog coming in to the room, guess I'll never know what happened in that one (by choice) just not my kind of reading.

[Cheese]

@imnotanaddict

Google to the rescue: The book was The Great and Secret Show. One of my faves of Clive Barker's.

[imnotanaddict]

Originally posted by Withcheese@17 November 2003 - 00:42
@imnotanaddict

Google to the rescue: The book was The Great and Secret Show. One of my faves of Clive Barker's.
Ha, and I,ve read that one too. Kind of similar to SK's the stand. A good read, I thought. Still don't remember the scene you mention. I might reread that one sometime. I think I,ve got in hardback, in storage.

Withcheese,
I really can't brag on Neil Gaiman enough, "Neverwhere" is fantasy at it's finest.

[Gripper]

Tolkein
Stephen Donaldson
Raymond Feist
Janny Wurts

I really enjoyed Stephen Donaldsons White Gold Weilder series comparable to TLOTR but for modern day
Raymond Feists Rift war saga is excellent to.
Michael moorcocks books are a dam good read to as a lot of them all tie in together even when they have different heroes in,and we musn't forget Gemmel :)

[bujub22]

does comic count cuz spawn is 1 hot story allof them
so is ALL of marvel but i also liked stellars science fiction#4 that1 good book
so is avalon and all stephan king books sum older 1 at lease

[Cheese]

Originally posted by gripper103.2@2 December 2003 - 13:45
Tolkein
Stephen Donaldson
Raymond Feist
Janny Wurts

I really enjoyed Stephen Donaldsons White Gold Weilder series comparable to TLOTR but for modern day
Raymond Feists Rift war saga is excellent to.
Michael moorcocks books are a dam good read to as a lot of them all tie in together even when they have different heroes in,and we musn't forget Gemmel :)
Nice to see someone else enjoys Stephen Donaldson...I would go as far to say that Donaldson is better than Tolkien. I just feel I can believe in his characters more than Tolkiens 2-D non-entities, plus with Donaldson you get a much darker novel.

[Gripper]

I agree Thomas Covenant is much darker than Tolkein characters but you've got to remember when Tolkein wrote his books,I love the way Thomas has trouble accepting he's in a new world and not going mental,and the way the concequences of his actions return to bite him on the ass..so to speak :D

[uNz[i]]

I've posted mine already in another topic, but what the hell...

Terry Pratchett
Robert Rankin
Julian May
JRR Tolkien

I like my fantasy to be fun and humourous, which is why Pratchett and Rankin top my little list.

I couldnt get into Thomas Covenant. I found his agonizing over everything to be a bit ... ummm... well... whiney.
At least Frodo and Sam got on with the job without too much complaining.

Just my opinion though... if you enjoyed it, well, good for you.

[slicer]

i just red some books by Robert Silverberg and they are very good.
off corse tolkien rules and Pratchet

[ButWay]

Jordan, Robert

The king of fantasy

[chloe_cc2002]

What about Hamilton? ('The Neutronian Alchemist' and 'The Edenist' books) Sci-fi about 300 years into the future

[Cheese]

Originally posted by uNz[i]@4 December 2003 - 09:34
I've posted mine already in another topic, but what the hell...

Terry Pratchett
Robert Rankin
Julian May
JRR Tolkien

I like my fantasy to be fun and humourous, which is why Pratchett and Rankin top my little list.

I couldnt get into Thomas Covenant. I found his agonizing over everything to be a bit ... ummm... well... whiney.
At least Frodo and Sam got on with the job without too much complaining.

Just my opinion though... if you enjoyed it, well, good for you.
Terry Pratchett is one of my fave authors of all time, he is one of the few writers who makes me laugh out loud when I read a book. :)

[THE DUDE]

JRR Tolkien cuz he's the master.

C S Lewis cuz he's the masters apprentice.

Stephen King (for The Dark Tower series).

Anne Rice I think the most of her books fall under the fantasy not horror. she is the most poetic writer I have ever read every line is a work of art.

Robert E Howard the God Father of gore (and sword and sandal).

David Gemmell for creating an excellent story without ripping off JRR.

Sir Thomas Malory (Le Morte d'Arthur) this is a work of genius even though it's a hard read Excaliber is excellent adaptation of this.

Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol) READ IT!! It's a short book but I found absolutely enthralling and it's probably the most adapted book in history as far as I know this is the only fantasy that Dickens wrote.

Terry Brooks even though it's a rip off of LOTR I still like the Sword of Shannarah.

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by gripper103.2@3 December 2003 - 19:29
I agree Thomas Covenant is much darker than Tolkein characters but you've got to remember when Tolkein wrote his books,I love the way Thomas has trouble accepting he's in a new world and not going mental,and the way the concequences of his actions return to bite him on the ass..so to speak :D
Well said, one would almost have thought of doubting Thomas and the Covenant between God and his people.

If he had only suffered from leprosy the Biblical references would have been overwhelming.

[Balrog39]

I really enjoy reading mythologies from different cultures, especially those of scandinavian origin.

I also really liked all of Tolkien's, Piers Anthony's, CS Lewis' and Weiss and Hickman's books.

I've also read almost all of Michael Crichton's books, although I suppose that's more of a Sci-Fi genre.. regardless, I love them.

[THE DUDE]

Originally posted by MagicNakor@16 November 2003 - 03:17
The Illiad and The Odyssey aren't fantasy.

They're classics. :D

And a mythology isn't fantasy either, it's a religion that no longer has widespread practice.

:ninja:
Mythology is fantasy from it's most primiary source. All good fantasy writers draw upon mythology just as they draw upon the real world for many of their ideas.
Lord of the rings if a mis-mash of many different mythologies from norse to american indian. The trolls and the dwarves from LOTR and almost exactly as they are described in Norse mythology. Good fantasy embraces mythology and tries to put a believable twist on an old theme.
In fact technically all sci-fi and horror prose are defined as fantasy it's just since JRR has the word become associated dungeon and dragons/sword and sandal literature.
Mythology is only associated with religion because when most mythology was created the realm of science was in it's infancy since the stories in many mythology never happened (unless u really believe that there was a Gorgon named Medusa that was turning people to stone 8000 years ago).
Tolkien even said that he wrote Lord of the Rings so England could have it's own mythology. (King Arthur is French in origin).

[MagicNakor]

Mythology is religion. The Norse had their own religion and beliefs, as did every civilization. Since a civilization of people no longer scream "Blood for Odin!" those beliefs have since passed into mythos.

:ninja:

[THE DUDE]

Not true Mythology is part fact part fiction it can be inspired by religious belief. That's like saying the Bible is religion. The Bible like most historic writing is partially Historically accurate but it is up to the individual to decide weather the rest is true. Mythology religous in nature because when most of it was written science was in it's infancy so instead scholars of time concocted these myths to explain phenomenons in the world around them. And what about urban myths they have nothing to do with religion but they are part popular culture and our own mythology.

And finally if your going to argue semantics just because the Illiad and the Oddessey are in the Classics section of your local local book store doesn't mean that they don't fall under literary terminology of being works of fantasy which was the point I was trying to make. You correct a member for calling these (the Illiad and the Odessey) works of fantasy by saying because there are inspired in part by religion. The point I'm trying to make is that as far as the literary world is concerned they are fall in catagory of fantasy (as would the bible if the Christian population wouldn't be offended).

In the literary world prose falls under 5 different genres:
Tragedy
Drama
Fantasy
Comedy
Suspense

Notice mythology is not one of them that's because its a sub catagory of fantasy in some cases Tragedy (Antigone or Oedipus Rex- a Classic greek Myths that end in tragedy) since most mythological writings contain fantastic elements (a Gorgon named Medusa that turns you to stone under her gaze) these writing therefore fall under the Catagory of guess what.

And you should know this considering you are the area moderator.

[100%]

Terry Pratchet

two reasons:
1. Humor
2.Ability to make sarcasm about the world today.

[MagicNakor]

If you want to classify religious beliefs as fantasy, fine. That's your perogative. It doesn't mean you are correct, and it certainly doesn't mean I have to agree with you.

:ninja:

[THE DUDE]

I don't think u should agree with me just because I think I'm right but those Genres are correct as far as I know technically all prose falls into those catagories and since the books mentioned have fantastic elements I think they belong in this thread.

[Gemby!]

i think brian jaques redwall series was great reading and i like to read a book that hasnt got a film to it which these dont which i like

even though it does have a tv series which i saw once and ruined what i thought you said a mouses name like :P

but his books are very interesting to me and it involes talking animals !


i esp. like the word dibbuns :P its so cute

[Wizard_Mon1]

the dark materials trilogy

by phillip pullman

these are excellent fantasy books easy to read with some very interesting ideas and concepts.

slightly for children but enjoyable for adults

the illuminatus trilogy is a great read also only for adults

[SeK612]

Robin Hobb (http://www.robinhobb.com/)

Fantastic author and well acclaimed. Her books are some of the best I've read of the fantasy genre - especially the assassins quest and liveship trilogy's. Well worth a look :)

[Spider_dude]

i like they point horror books.

[ivy]

I really like Christopher Stasheff. The Warlock Series. I also like most of the other author's you've mentioned.

Great stuff. I'm definitely gonna check out the few I havent heard about.

[CoolMac]

Margaret Weis,Tracy Hickman and Richard a. Knaack :)

[longboneslinger]

Robert E. Howard-the Conan series

Robert Jordan-The Ihe Eye of the World

Robert E. Feist-The Riftwar Saga

David Eddings-All of his series(Great stories, outstanding characters with laugh-out-loud humor)

Here's a few I haven't seen posted:

Peter Morwood-The Book of Years (Sword & Sorcery)

Robert Adams-The HorseClans series (Militarily accurate post-appocolyptic world where man is reduced to sandal & sword with telepathy and intelligent animals- they have Horseclans and Catclans--preappocolypse genetically altered Praire Cats and horses-->Billy Morguhn of Morguhn [Billy the Axe] is damn near Conan)

Keith Laumer-Damn good books (Sci/fi at it's finest)

Roger Zelazney-The Chronicles of Amber. All his books are incredible, but Amber is my fav.

David Drake-All of his books but the Hammers Slammers series is awsome. (He's a military sci/fi author-his novels are in 'the grit', meaning none of that glory of war crap. My dad, a WW2 vet, said "He tells the story like he was there! The fear, the horrible details.....reminds me of how it really was!" Told from the soldiers perspective)

And last but certainly not least-Anne McCaffrey-All of her books are great, but I am addicted to any Pern novel.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought someone would like to know something about the authors if they never heard of him/her.

[Randomblonde]

Amen to Brian Jacques and Anne Rice :)

Also the Dragonlance books- I can enjoy pretty much any of them, but the Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman ones are spun gold. Fucking fantastic.

Also---- has anyone heard of Mercedes Lackey? She's amazing. Really really rich involved writing. I love it when an author can go into total gory detail....

Poppy Z Brite, as well, but she's hard to find and most likely is more horror than fantasy....

Raymond E Fiest books don't really grab me, but the ones he did with Janny Wurts (Daughter of the Empire, Mistress of the Empire, Servant of the Empire)are really well done.

I don't feel like Terry Pratchett is fantasy, really. I love the stuff, but its not really escapist, which I think the point of fantasy is....you need to pay attention to this day and age to pick up the references. I think its all satire. Stay fantastic though. I love him for the fact he took off Phantom of the Opera :)

[kenken]

Phillip Pullman
J. R. R. Tolkien

Need i explain why?

(I'm just bloody glad that no-one has mentioned that theiving, unoriginal, talentless dog who made those books about a child magician, i darent mention her name in this place! :angry: )