5 ms·

Ask YC: Favorite fantasy novel(s)?

2 points by wumi 19y ago

What is your favorite fantasy novel(s)? Mine: Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (RIP)

pchristensen 19y ago
Currently re-reading the Riftwar trilogy by Raymond Feist and enjoying it quite a bit.
- wumi 19y ago
  great series
inklesspen 19y ago
Bridge of Birds, by Barry Hughart Set in "an ancient China that never was", Bridge of Birds is a humorous, epic tale of adventure as Master Li and Number Ten Ox attempt to cure the children of Ku-fu, and uncover a vile crime perpetrated against Heaven itself. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345321383/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345321383/ Amazon's review: Bridge of Birds is a lyrical fantasy novel. Set in "an Ancient China that never was", it stands with The Princess Bride and The Last Unicorn as a fairy tale for all ages, by turns incredibly funny and deeply touching. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1985, and Hughart produced two sequels: The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. All present the adventures of Master Kao Li, a scholar with "a slight flaw in [his] character", and Lu Yu, usually called Number Ten Ox, his sidekick and the story's narrator. Number Ten Ox is strong, trusting, and pure of heart; Master Li once sold an emperor shares in a mustard mine, because "I was trying to win a bet concerning the intelligence of emperors." Number Ten Ox comes from a village in which the children have been struck by a mysterious illness. He recruits Master Li to find the cure and comes along to provide muscle. They seek a mysterious Great Root of Power, which may be a form of ginseng. Of course, nothing turns out to be as simple as it seems; great wrongs must be avenged and lovers separated must be reunited, from the most humble to the highest. And even in the midst of cosmic glory, Pawnbroker Fang and Ma the Grub are picking the pockets of their own lynch mob, who are frozen in awe and wonder.
jauco 19y ago
is sci-fi allowed as well? In that case "rainbows end" by Vernor Vinge (can be downloaded for free from his website) If just fantasy: "Monstrous regiment" by Terry Pratchett
nazgulnarsil 19y ago
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson.
- wumi 19y ago
  plot summary?
  - nazgulnarsil 19y ago
    A leper awakens to find himself in a strange world of magic and finds himself cured of his disease. The inhabitants of this world believe him to be the reincarnation of a great hero from long ago due to his wedding ring which is made of white gold. He, meanwhile, has no idea what is going on.
johnmacshea 19y ago
have to write quick before the link expires! Erikson's Malazan series - excellent - in my opinion much better than Jordan's WOT. WOT started very well but (IMO) degenerated into cloned characters with nothing ever significant happening. Each Erikson book can more or less stand alone, however the intra and inter plots are suitably intertwined and complex. Reapers Gale did waver a little, one or two new characters are too similar to other ones (a constant issue for me in WOT - the characters seemed so similar that i could never remember who did what) But the characters are believable and the archae/anthrop - ology expertise of Erikson is very evident. Patrick Rothfuss' first book, The Name of the wind, was a great start to a new series. These two (modern fantasy) authors are the only ones i trust currently to give me a good read - in comparison to sci fi, fantasy seems (again IMO) to be in a bit of a rut.
- wumi 19y ago
  what HP doesn't count as fantasy? ha ha. Interesting point about WOT -- one has to wonder how much does this have to do with book contracts and RJ's vision. I think in reality he may just have had so many stories, so many characters, so many people groups it was becoming hard to innovate while wrapping the series up. I'll have to check out Malazan
cousin_it 19y ago
Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea. Sapkowski's Wiedzmin. And Tolkien's LOTR, of course.
- wumi 19y ago
  guess i should have askd for a plot summary in the text.
jaltiere 19y ago
A Song of Ice and Fire -- George RR Martin

2 points by wumi 19y ago

What is your favorite fantasy novel(s)? Mine: Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (RIP)

pchristensen 19y ago

Currently re-reading the Riftwar trilogy by Raymond Feist and enjoying it quite a bit.

wumi 19y ago
great series

inklesspen 19y ago

Bridge of Birds, by Barry Hughart Set in "an ancient China that never was", Bridge of Birds is a humorous, epic tale of adventure as Master Li and Number Ten Ox attempt to cure the children of Ku-fu, and uncover a vile crime perpetrated against Heaven itself. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345321383/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345321383/ Amazon's review: Bridge of Birds is a lyrical fantasy novel. Set in "an Ancient China that never was", it stands with The Princess Bride and The Last Unicorn as a fairy tale for all ages, by turns incredibly funny and deeply touching. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1985, and Hughart produced two sequels: The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. All present the adventures of Master Kao Li, a scholar with "a slight flaw in [his] character", and Lu Yu, usually called Number Ten Ox, his sidekick and the story's narrator. Number Ten Ox is strong, trusting, and pure of heart; Master Li once sold an emperor shares in a mustard mine, because "I was trying to win a bet concerning the intelligence of emperors." Number Ten Ox comes from a village in which the children have been struck by a mysterious illness. He recruits Master Li to find the cure and comes along to provide muscle. They seek a mysterious Great Root of Power, which may be a form of ginseng. Of course, nothing turns out to be as simple as it seems; great wrongs must be avenged and lovers separated must be reunited, from the most humble to the highest. And even in the midst of cosmic glory, Pawnbroker Fang and Ma the Grub are picking the pockets of their own lynch mob, who are frozen in awe and wonder.

jauco 19y ago

is sci-fi allowed as well? In that case "rainbows end" by Vernor Vinge (can be downloaded for free from his website) If just fantasy: "Monstrous regiment" by Terry Pratchett

nazgulnarsil 19y ago

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson.

wumi 19y ago
plot summary?
- nazgulnarsil 19y ago
  A leper awakens to find himself in a strange world of magic and finds himself cured of his disease. The inhabitants of this world believe him to be the reincarnation of a great hero from long ago due to his wedding ring which is made of white gold. He, meanwhile, has no idea what is going on.

johnmacshea 19y ago

have to write quick before the link expires! Erikson's Malazan series - excellent - in my opinion much better than Jordan's WOT. WOT started very well but (IMO) degenerated into cloned characters with nothing ever significant happening. Each Erikson book can more or less stand alone, however the intra and inter plots are suitably intertwined and complex. Reapers Gale did waver a little, one or two new characters are too similar to other ones (a constant issue for me in WOT - the characters seemed so similar that i could never remember who did what) But the characters are believable and the archae/anthrop - ology expertise of Erikson is very evident. Patrick Rothfuss' first book, The Name of the wind, was a great start to a new series. These two (modern fantasy) authors are the only ones i trust currently to give me a good read - in comparison to sci fi, fantasy seems (again IMO) to be in a bit of a rut.

wumi 19y ago
what HP doesn't count as fantasy? ha ha. Interesting point about WOT -- one has to wonder how much does this have to do with book contracts and RJ's vision. I think in reality he may just have had so many stories, so many characters, so many people groups it was becoming hard to innovate while wrapping the series up. I'll have to check out Malazan

cousin_it 19y ago

Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea. Sapkowski's Wiedzmin. And Tolkien's LOTR, of course.

wumi 19y ago
guess i should have askd for a plot summary in the text.

jaltiere 19y ago

A Song of Ice and Fire -- George RR Martin