Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv
From: Amy Sheldon <
[email protected]>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.eddings,rec.arts.sf.written,alt.answers,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: Recommended Fantasy Authors List - Part 3/5
Supersedes: <fantasy/recommended-authors/
[email protected]>
Followup-To: poster
Date: 19 Dec 1998 14:02:52 GMT
Organization: none
Lines: 482
Approved:
[email protected]
Message-ID: <fantasy/recommended-authors/
[email protected]>
References: <fantasy/recommended-authors/
[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu
Summary: Listing of fantasy authors recommended by readers of
the alt.fan.eddings newsgroup. Contains descriptive
listings on nearly 100 authors, forthcoming titles,
book news, and numbers of recommendations.
X-Last-Updated: 1998/03/03
Originator:
[email protected]
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.fan.eddings:41953 rec.arts.sf.written:358292 alt.answers:38703 rec.answers:46013 news.answers:146877
Archive-name: fantasy/recommended-authors/part3
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1998/03/01
URL:
http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Version: 3.0
THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 3.0
Part 3 of 5
NOTICE OF MAJOR CHANGE TO LIST
Beginning with the March, 1998 posting, only those authors with
six or more recommendations will have detailed listings. THE
FULL LIST, WITH TITLES AND COMMENTS ON *ALL* RECOMMENDED
AUTHORS, is available at the list web site:
http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
Unfortunately, the Recommended Fantasy Author List has just
gotten too large to continue posting the entire thing.
*Mercedes Lackey (b. 1950)
"The Valdemar Books" - titles follow
_Each of the following is a separate series, but
they all take place at various points in the history
of the world of Velgarth (which contains the country
of Valdemar). There is also at least one stand-alone
(_By the Sword_) about Valdemar. Her fans are as
dedicated as the Jordanites and they have their own
newsgroup at alt.books.m-lackey_
"The Last Herald-Mage" - Magic's Pawn; Magic's Promise;
Magic's Price
_Introduces the Herald-Mages and their equine
Companions._
"Vows and Honor" - The Oathbound; Oathbreakers
_A sorceress and a swordswoman are bound together
with a blood oath that may be impossible to
fulfill._
"Queen's Own" - Arrows of the Queen; Arrow's Flight;
Arrow's Fall
_The story of Talia, the herald to the Queen._
"Mage Winds Trilogy" - Winds of Fate; Winds of Change;
Winds of Fury
_Princess Elspeth of Valdemar becomes caught up in
the Tayledras' war against an evil mage._
"Mage Wars Trilogy (co-authored by Larry Dixon)" - The
Black Gryphon; The White Gryphon; The Silver Gryphon
_The early history of the land of Valdemar._
"Mage Storm Trilogy" - Storm Warning; Storm Rising; Storm
Breaking
_The most recent series. Valdemar and Karse are old
enemies, but they are forced into an alliance when
they are both threatened by a greater foe._
Owlflight
_A Valdemar standalone that takes place after the
Mage Storms. This one is described as a young adult
book._
"Diana Tregard Investigations" - Burning Water; Children of
the Night; Jinx High
_Supernatural mysteries, featuring Diana Tregard._
"Bardic Voices" - The Lark and the Wren; The Robin and the
Kestrel; The Eagle and the Nightingale
_The books in this series do stand alone. NOT part
of the Valdemar series._
"Bardic Choices" - A Cast of Corbies (co-author Josepha
Sherman)
_A new series in the Bardic Voices world._
The Fire Rose
_A standalone. A 'Beauty and the Beast' style tale
set in pre-earthquake San Francisco._
Firebird
_A standalone, based on Russian folktales. As you
can see, Lackey is a wildly prolific author, co-
authoring books with everyone under the sun._
Stephen Lawhead (b. 1950)
"The Pendragon Cycle" - Taliesin; Merlin; Arthur;
Pendragon; Grail; Avalon (forthcoming)
_Once again, we return to Camelot..."The quality
disintegrated after the first two books - _Arthur_
was disappointing..." according to one recommender._
"The Dragon King Trilogy" - In the Hall of the Dragon King;
The Warlords of Nin; The Sword and the Flame
_A separate trilogy._
"The Paradise War" - The Song of Albion; The Silver Hand;
The Endless Knot
_Doug noted that even though he isn't particularly
a fan of celtic fantasy, these books really appealed
to him._
Byzantium
_'Joining a select band of monks to present a book
to the Holy Roman Emperor himself, Aidan jouneys to
the farthest reaches of the known world,' sez the
advertising released by HarperPrism publishing._
*Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)
"Earthsea" - A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The
Farthest Shore; Tehanu
_Your FAQmaker says: Read these. _Tehanu_ was
written 15 years after _The Farthest Shore_ - it's
very different in tone from the first three, and
several recommenders specifically DIDN'T recommend
it (But I do. I'll tell you what to do - wait until
you are at least 25 before reading _Tehanu_. Age
seems to be the real separating factor between those
who like it and those who don't). These books are
true classics of the genre, beautifully written,
tightly plotted, and engrossing._
Fritz Leiber (1910-1992)
"Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" - Swords and Deviltry; Swords
Against Death; Swords in the Mist; Swords Against
Wizardry; Swords Against Lankhmar; Swords and Ice Magic;
Knight and Knave of Swords
_Ya wanna know who invented the term 'Sword &
Sorcery'? This is the guy. The series is made up of
short stories, novellas, novelettes, and one novel
(the final book). The above-listed 7 books contain
all the stories, arranged in chronological order,
with _Swords and Deviltry_ featuring the Hugo-award
winning "Ill Met in Lankhmar." Note that the final
two books (_Swords & Ice Magic_ & _Knight & Knave of
Swords_) show, IMHO of course, a real drop in
quality._
*C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)
"Chronicles of Narnia" - The Magician's Nephew; The Lion,
the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage
of the Dawn Treader; The Horse and His Boy; The Silver
Chair; The Last Battle
_Classic! Look for them in the children's sections.
Most bookstores will have boxed sets available. Note
that _The Magician's Nephew_ was actually the 6th
book written, and for many years in the U.S. the
series was printed with it as book six. However,
Lewis preferred that the books be read in the above
order, and recent reprints have respected his
wishes._
"The Space Trilogy" - Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra;
That Hideous Strength
_Lewis' adult version of a Christian-allegory
fantasy._
Megan Lindholm (b. 1952)
"A Saga of the Reindeer People" - The Reindeer People;
Wolf's Brother
_Prehistoric fantasy with a minimum of magic._
"Ki and Vandien series" - Harpy's Flight; The Windsingers;
The Limbreth Gate; Luck of the Wheels
_Straightforward fantasy series about a pair of
wanderers in a well-constructed world where humans
are only one of a number of intelligent races. The
fans who have discovered Lindholm via her works
under the pen name 'Robin Hobb' will find these
books the closest in tone and subject to what
they're used to._
Cloven Hooves
_Standalone dark fantasy set in present day Alaska
and Washington state._
Wizard of the Pigeons
_Urban fantasy that has a strong cult following.
Many people consider this to be her best work, and,
of course, it is out of print and difficult to
find._
R.A. MacAvoy (b. 1949)
Tea With the Black Dragon
_Out of print, but worth looking up. This was her
first book - its sequel (_Twisting the Rope_) is
nowhere near as good._
"Damiano trilogy" - Damiano; Damiano's Lute; Raphael
_Fantasy in Renaissance Italy_
"Lens of the World trilogy" - Lens of the World; King of
the Dead; Belly of the Wolf
_MacAvoy is fond of creating heroes who remain
stubbornly innocent to the point of idiocy. Some
readers find this annoying (yeah, I'm one of them),
but she is a good writer, and always tells an
interesting story._
*Julian May (b. 1931)
"The Saga of the Pliocene Exiles" - The Many-Colored Land;
The Golden Torc; The Nonborn King; The Adversary
_Set six million years in the past. I'm told this is
kinda like 'elves and dinosaurs.' It is related to
May's SF series, "The Galactic Milieu," so if you
like her you've got more books to look for._
**Anne McCaffrey (b. 1926)
"Dragonriders of Pern" - Dragonflight; Dragonquest; The
White Dragon
_Yeah, they're SF, but they're included here by
popular request. Lots more have been published since
the first trilogy, and they've gotten more and more
SFnal as they've gone along._
"Harper's Hall trilogy" - Dragonsong; Dragonsinger;
Dragondrums
_Geared more toward the Young Adult market, your
FAQmaker considers this trilogy to be the most
fantasy-based of the Pern books._
Dennis McKiernan (b. 1932)
"The Iron Tower Trilogy" - The Dark Tide; Shadows of Doom;
The Darkest Day
_Well, McKiernan wanted to write a sequel to 'Lord
of the Rings', but the Tolkien estate refused
permission. So he recreated Middle Earth in "The
Iron Tower Trilogy" with just enough differences to
keep from violating copyright and has continued from
there. A decent writer, and his later books about
the world of Mithgar are much more original and
quite enjoyable_
"Silver Call duology" - Trek to Kraggen-Cor; The Brega Path
_This was intended to be one book, so you definitely
don't want to read it unless you have both parts in
hand._
Tales of Mithgar
_11 short stories set in Mithgar._
Dragondoom
The Eye of the Hunter
Voyage of the Fox Rider
The Dragonstone
"Hel's Crucible duology" - Into the Forge; Into the Fire
(forthcoming Sept. '98)
_These books stand alone, but take place in Mithgar,
the world of the "Iron Tower" trilogy. McKiernan's
latest book, _The Caverns of Socrates,_ is SF_
Patricia McKillip (b. 1948)
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
_Received the World Fantasy Award when it was
published in 1975. A marvelous novel and highly
recommended. It recently (July '96) was returned to
print in the U.S. by Harcourt Brace under their
"Magic Carpet" imprint. Hooray!_
The Throme of the Erril of Sherill
_Her first published fantasy, and it's hard to find,
but well worth looking for. A revised edition came
out in the mid-80's._
"The Riddlemaster of Hed" - The Riddlemaster of Hed; Heir
of Sea and Fire; Harpist in the Wind
_Excellent trilogy. Your FAQmaker sez: Get these and
read them. Beautifully written._
The Changeling Sea
_A young-adult standalone, with a young peasant girl
saving a prince. Lyrical and moving._
Something Rich and Strange
_A standalone, part of Brian Froud's Faerielands
series of novels based on his illustrations. Very
atmospheric, quite short, involving a contemporary
couple living on the western seacoast and their
encounter with magic._
The Book of Atrix Wolfe
_Standalone about a powerful wizard whose attempt to
stop a war has unexpected (and disastrous) results._
"Cygnet" - Sorceress and Cygnet; Cygnet and Firebird
_The first book in this series is well equipped with
McKillip's usual lyric prose, but the actual plot is
a bit obscure. Enjoyable, but not her best work._
Winter Rose
_Another small gem from McKillip. Faerie and reality
meet, with results that may be fatal for Rois
Melior's sister Laurel._
Song of the Bsilisk (forthcoming Sept. '98)
_A new standalone from McKillip._
Robin McKinley (b. 1952)
Beauty
_Charming retelling of Beauty & the Beast. Her first
novel-it's out of print now, but worth looking for.
Do NOT confuse it with Sherri Tepper's _Beauty_ -
they are VERY different books._
"Damar series" - The Blue Sword; The Hero and the Crown
_She only wrote two books set in Damar (and they are
standalones), and has since gone on to other
subjects._
The Outlaws of Sherwood
_Guess who this one's about._
Deerskin
_I like McKinley, but most of her work is fairly
lightweight. This isn't. Based on the uncensored
version of Perrault's classic fairytale
'Donkeyskin', it tackles the subject of incest_
A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories
_Short story collection. Two of the five stories in
the book mention Damar._
Rose Daughter
_McKinley returns once again to the story of Beauty
and the Beast. _Publishers Weekly_ calls this one a
'heady mix of fairy tale, magic and romance.' This
is being peddled to the Young Adult market, so
you'll need to leave the sf section of your
bookstore to find it._
L.E. Modesitt Jr. (b. 1943)
"Recluce" - The Magic of Recluce; The Towers of the Sunset;
The Magic Engineer; The Order War; The Death of Chaos;
Fall of Angels; The Chaos Balance; The White Order
(forthcoming July '98)
_This is open-ended - books are listed above in the
order they were published, and does NOT follow the
internal chronology of the series. You should try to
read _The Magic of Recluce_ first (some of the plot
twists are more effective if you aren't aware of how
magic works in Recluce), and _The Death of Chaos_ is
a direct sequel to _tMoR_. However the other books
all stand alone and can be read in any order._
"Dutch Republic series" - Of Tangible Ghosts; The Ghost of
the Revelator (forthcoming Sept. '98)
_Fantasy taking place in alternate universe that
features ghosts and an East India Company that
stayed the dominant economic power in the world._
"Song and Magic" - The Soprano Sorceress; The Spellsong
War; one final book
_A trilogy that will introduce a world where magic
is accessed through music._
Elizabeth Moon (b. 1945)
"The Deed of Paksenarrion" - Sheepfarmer's Daughter;
Divided Allegiance; Oath of Gold
_Rousing adventure about the soldier and hero
Paksenarrion. Moon has said that among the themes
she worked on in the books was "the cost of courage,
the cost of being a hero." She has written two
prequels to the trilogy, _Surrender None_ and
_Liar's Oath_, which are quite a bit darker in tone,
and several of the recommenders who prefer happy
endings have advised against reading them. Lately
Moon has been mainly producing SF._
*Michael Moorcock (b. 1939)
"Elric" - Elric of Melnibone; The Fortress of the Pearl; A
Sailor on the Seas of Fate; The Weird of the White Wolf;
The Vanishing Tower; The Revenge of the Rose; The Bane
of the Black Sword; Stormbringer
_There is also at least one book of short stories
about Elric (I'm taking the word of one
correspondent about where the two later books -
tFotP and tRotR - fit in the cycle. I've only read
the original sextet)._
"Runestaff (Hawkmoon)" - The Jewel in the Skull; The Mad
God's Amulet; The Sword of the Dawn; The Runestaff
_If you don't like the way this tetralogy ends, be
sure and track down the 'Count Brass' trilogy, which
brings all the characters back for another go
'round._
"Count Brass" - Count Brass; Champion of Garathorn; The
Quest for Tanelorn
_The Runestaff/Count Brass books are my favorites in
the Eternal Champion cycle. Dorian Hawkmoon suffers
less from angst than the Moorcock's usual Tortured
Hero._
"Corum" - The Knight of Swords; The Queen of Swords; The
King of Swords; The Bull and the Spear; The Oak and the
Ram; The Sword and the Stallion
_Moorcock's entire (well, just about entire - there
are a few bits & pieces that the rights weren't
available) Eternal Champion cycle is being reprinted
in 14 omnibus volumes by White Wolf Publishing_
"John Daker (Erekose)" - The Eternal Champion; Phoenix in
Obsidian ('The Silver Warriors' in earlier U.S.
editions); The Dragon in the Sword
_All of these books -plus others- comprise the
'Eternal Champion' cycle. Quality varies, and hard
core fantasy fans won't like some of the liberties
Moorcock takes with the genre, but if you like 'em,
there sure are a LOT of 'em to keep you busy._
The War Hound & The World's Pain
_Takes place in the 30-Years War time frame. Jim
considers it to Moorcock's best non-Eternal Champion
book (although, if you ask Moorcock, he'll tell you
that ALL of his books are part of the Eternal
Champion cycle)._
Andre Norton (b. 1912)
"Simon Tregarth" - Witch World; Web of the Witch World
_The duology that started the Witch World. Readers
who were introduced to Witch World through the later
books are often surprised by the SF trappings of
these books. The villains use high-tech weapons, the
witches' powers are treated as psi rather than
magic, and Simon arrives via a machine that opens
doors to parallel worlds._
"The Children of Simon Tregarth" - Three Against the Witch
World; Warlock of the Witch World; Sorceress of the
Witch World
_Simon Tregarth's kids get a trilogy of their own,
and the Witch World is thoroughly launched. It was
also with these books that Norton made the choice to
move the Witch World strictly into the fantasy
genre._
"Witch World series" - Year of the Unicorn; The Crystal
Gryphon; Gryphon in Glory; The Jargoon Pard; Zarsthor's
Bane; The Warding of Witch World; many more
_It went from an Open-Ended Series to a Shared
World, but the first 20 or so books are all Andre
Norton's. And they're good, too. Most are stand-
alones. Particular favorites that were specifically
mentioned are _Year of the Unicorn_ and _The Crystal
Gryphon_, and Stephen casts his vote for _The
Jargoon Pard_._
"The Halfblood Chronicles (with Mercedes Lackey)" -
Elvenbane; Elvenblood
_Unrelated to the Witch World books, these involve
a world where humans are enslaved by elves, and a
prophecy about a half-breed who will lead the humans
to freedom. At least two more books are due in this
series._
Mirror of Destiny
_A non-Witch World standalone about a wise woman's
apprentice seeking to avert a war between humans and
the inhabitants of a mystical forest._
Tim Powers (b. 1952)
The Drawing of the Dark
_Powers' earliest fantasy, and I'm told that it is
back in print. A different look at the Arthur legend
(in 16th century Vienna, of all places)._
The Anubis Gate
_All of Powers' books are great, but this is my
favorite. The book that made his reputation. A wild
romp through time with gypsies, Dog Faced Joe, a
hideously evil clown, Egyptian gods, dopplegangers,
a disguised heroine, Samuel Coleridge and oh so much
more. Try it._
On Stranger Tides
_Blackbeard and voodoo - oh my!_
The Stress of Her Regard
_Those muses certainly are jealous mistresses..._
Last Call
_The Fisher King in Las Vegas._
Expiration Date
_Yet Another Neat Book. This takes place in a modern
Los Angeles much like our own, except that ghosts
exist there._
Earthquake Weather (originally listed as 'Extreme
Unction')
_Characters from both _Last Call_ and _Expiration
Date_ appear in this novel. According to his editor,
Powers "begs to inform the world [that this] is the
only time anyone will ever see anything remotely
resembling a series from him."_
**Terry Pratchett (b. 1948)
"Discworld" - titles follow
_Your FAQmaker loves these books, and so do enough
other a.f.e. readers to make him an official Highly
Recommended Author. Humorous series, over 15 books
now, and recent books are as good as the first. The
books divide up based on their main characters, but
can all standalone (except the original Rincewind
duology)._
"Rincewind" - The Color of Magic; The Light Fantastic;
Sourcery; Eric; Interesting Times; The Last Continent
(forthcoming May '98 in the U.K.)
_The first two are the duology that introduced
Discworld. Rincewind is an incredibly incompetent
wizard who gets mixed up with Discworld's first
tourist._
"Granny Weatherwax" - Equal Rites; Wyrd Sisters; Witches
Abroad; Lords and Ladies; Maskerade
_Granny and her fellow witches are the favorites of
many Pratchett fans. Unlike Rincewind, Granny is
FRIGHTENINGLY competent._
"Death" - Mort; Reaper Man; Soul Music; Hogfather (out in
the U.K., out who-knows-when in the U.S.)
_Yes, Death is a regularly appearing character, with
a horse named Binky and taste for curry._
"Carrot" - Guards, Guards; Men At Arms; Feet of Clay; Jingo
(out in the U.K., forthcoming May '98 in U.S.)
_And then there's Carrot, the six-foot-tall dwarf
(he's adopted), who has come to Ankh-Morpork to make
his fortune... The latest book has Ankh-Morpork and
Klatch preparing to go to war._
Moving Pictures; Pyramids; Small Gods
_These are all standalones about Discworld, and all
good._
Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman)
_NOT a Discworld book, this one is about the End Of
The World. It is due to be reprinted in the U.S. in
1996._
