Fantasy Books

LRK · May 11, 2016

Natalie Babbitt: "Tuck Everlasting" - The Tuck family (unknowingly) drank from a magical spring. When 10 year-old Winnie Foster meets them, it has been eighty-seven years since then.

--- That's what we Tucks are, Winnie. Stuck so's we can't move on. We ain't part of the wheel no more. Dropped off, Winnie. Left behind. And everywhere around us, things is moving and growing and changing. ---

actualrealliveanna · Jun 1, 2016

This is more SciFi than fantasy, but the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown is absolutely incredible! Think The Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones meets Star Wars, but a million times better than what you're imagining!

BravesSkateFan · Jul 23, 2016

I just found this thread. I HIGHLY recommend Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I read both in 2 days.

LRK · Aug 6, 2016

C J Cherryh: "Fortress of Eagles" - I've been looking forward to reading this book for so long, and it thoroughly lived up to my expectations. This is the second book about Tristen (the first being "Fortress in the Eye of Time"), a character whom I absolutely adore. And I'd say that the book is more character-based than action-driven - readers who want there to be a fight and/or people dying every 50 pages or so might not enjoy this.

Note/Warning: The below quote may be considered to contain spoilers for the first book - I myself do not think it is phrased in such a way as to ruin the enjoyment of reading the first book; but I also know that some people like to be cautious in such matters, so they may wish to avoid the third paragraph. ETA: Clarification: starting with "He had ridden out for pleasure on this late-autumn day --- "

The path, slanting up through young forest to gray rock and old trees, became a hollow, leaf-filled track at its end. When Tristen reined in and stepped down from the saddle, ankle-deep in autumn, the silence on that hill was so great he could hear the individual fall of leaves as soft, distinct impacts... until Petelly tugged at the rein, impatient of good behavior, and leaves crackled and rustled under his massive feet.
Guelessar's forested hilltops had shown bright red and sunny gold above the fields not a fortnight ago. They had cast off much of that color in the wild winds of recent days, the result of which had piled up in ditches and against fences all along the roads. The trees on this height stood all but bare, more exposed to the winds than those lower down the trail, and Tristen scuffed through ridges of brown and gold as he led Petelly along.
He had ridden out for pleasure on this late-autumn day in the first year of his life and this first year of king Cefwyn's reign. He had come into the world as a Wizard's summoning in the soft, whispering green spring, and he had discovered the world of Men in a summer of full-voiced leaves. He had come to his present maturity by his first autumn, with his duty to the wizard Mauryl all done, and with Mauryl immured in the ruins of Ynefel. He was, amid dreadful battles, sworn to a king who called him his dearest friend and declared him Lord Warden of Ynefel and Lord Marshal of Althalen to honor him - but the lands the king had granted him held no inhabitants, only shadows more or less quiscent and benign. He was lord of mice and owls, as His Majesty's captain was wont to say.
And what did king Cefwyn intend him to be, or do, now that he had finished Mauryl's purposes? He knew that least of all.

Seruleane · Aug 6, 2016

I can't believe I didn't see this thread earlier! Anyway, someone may have already mentioned this book, but Unrooted by Naomi Novik is an excellent read, and I think would appeal to a wide range of readers, not just hardcore sci fi/fantasy folks. I posted a link to a review below, but it has a fairy tale feel that reminds me of Beauty and the Beast and some of my favorite Miyazaki movies (Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle).

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/24/407712289/friendship-magic-and-danger-blossom-in-uprooted

Interspectator · Aug 6, 2016

LRK said:
C J Cherryh: "Fortress of Eagles" - I've been looking forward to reading this book for so long, and it thoroughly lived up to my expectations. This is the second book about Tristen (the first being "Fortress in the Eye of Time"), a character whom I absolutely adore. And I'd say that the book is more character-based than action-driven - readers who want there to be a fight and/or people dying every 50 pages or so might not enjoy this.

Note/Warning: The below quote may be considered to contain spoilers for the first book - I myself do not think it is phrased in such a way as to ruin the enjoyment of reading the first book; but I also know that some people like to be cautious in such matters, so they may wish to avoid the third paragraph. ETA: Clarification: starting with "He had ridden out for pleasure on this late-autumn day --- "

The path, slanting up through young forest to gray rock and old trees, became a hollow, leaf-filled track at its end. When Tristen reined in and stepped down from the saddle, ankle-deep in autumn, the silence on that hill was so great he could hear the individual fall of leaves as soft, distinct impacts... until Petelly tugged at the rein, impatient of good behavior, and leaves crackled and rustled under his massive feet.
Guelessar's forested hilltops had shown bright red and sunny gold above the fields not a fortnight ago. They had cast off much of that color in the wild winds of recent days, the result of which had piled up in ditches and against fences all along the roads. The trees on this height stood all but bare, more exposed to the winds than those lower down the trail, and Tristen scuffed through ridges of brown and gold as he led Petelly along.
He had ridden out for pleasure on this late-autumn day in the first year of his life and this first year of king Cefwyn's reign. He had come into the world as a Wizard's summoning in the soft, whispering green spring, and he had discovered the world of Men in a summer of full-voiced leaves. He had come to his present maturity by his first autumn, with his duty to the wizard Mauryl all done, and with Mauryl immured in the ruins of Ynefel. He was, amid dreadful battles, sworn to a king who called him his dearest friend and declared him Lord Warden of Ynefel and Lord Marshal of Althalen to honor him - but the lands the king had granted him held no inhabitants, only shadows more or less quiscent and benign. He was lord of mice and owls, as His Majesty's captain was wont to say.
And what did king Cefwyn intend him to be, or do, now that he had finished Mauryl's purposes? He knew that least of all.

the whole series is great!

LRK · Sep 5, 2016

C J Cherry: "Fortress of Owls" - The third book in the series about Tristen (the first two being "Fortress in the Eye of Time" & "Fortress of Eagles") These books just continue to suit me perfectly. I love many of the characters & adore Tristen.

From the Prologue:

There is magic.
There is wizardry.
There is sorcery.
They are not now, nor were then, the same.
Nine hundred years in the past, in a tower, in a place called Galasien, a prince named Hasufin Heltain had an inordinate fear of death. That fear led him from honest study of wizardry to the darker practice of sorcery.
His teacher in the craft, Mauryl Gestaurien, seeing his student about to outstrip his knowledge in a forbidden direction, brought allies from the fabled northland, allies whose magic was not taught, but innate. These were the five Sihhë lords.

LRK · Sep 17, 2016

"Catfantastic" - Short story collection edited by Andre Norton & Martin H Greenberg. Fantasy (& sf) and cats - what's not to love?

LRK · Nov 23, 2016

"Catfantastic II" - Short story collection edited by Andre Norton & Martin H Greenberg. More fantastical cat tales.

TGee · Dec 11, 2016

Saw Lois McMaster Bujold mentioned on the SciFi thread, but her arguably most serious work is her Chalion / world of the Five Gods fantasy series.

It takes place in a country roughly reflecting medieval Spain....but with a completely different religion.

Bujold felt that fantasy authors very rarely envisaged their characters interacting with imagined religions and gods. So she decidedly to take this on....Each of the main characters in the trilogy is a saint in Chalion's five god faith, with all the challenges that sainthood demands...

The Hallowed Hunt

Curse of Chalion

The Paladin of Souls

She's recently released some new novellas in this world in a couple of e-book formats, but not outside North America...

karne · Dec 11, 2016

Okay, so I did buy and read The Red Queen - and it was disappointing. So much crazy. Too much stuffed in one book. And they spent over a third of the book in one place where the plot was basically stuck. Also, Elspeth was very much the definition of Idiot Narrator. Not to mention, after all the talk about her special power, in the end, it wasn't even her who ultimately stopped the Destroyer!

Excitingly, I discovered recently that there is a fifth Old Kingdom book, Goldenhand! I liked this one (particularly because it brought about a resolution to a pairing that had hints dropped in "Abhorsen"), though I thought some bits were rushed/shoved together[COLOR="#FFFFF"] (like the eventual pairing of Sam/Ferin and the fact that Lirael and Nick encountered basically no resistance to the crossing of the Great Rift. Also, speaking of Rift, I'm fairly sure there's been some geographic retconning there too)[/COLOR].

And even more excitingly:

A NEW TOLKIEN BOOK IS COMING OUT NEXT YEAR!

cathlen · Dec 12, 2016

karne said:
A NEW TOLKIEN BOOK IS COMING OUT NEXT YEAR!

Something completely new?

rosacotton · Dec 12, 2016

cathlen said:
Something completely new?

"Beren and Luthien" -- https://www.amazon.com/Beren-Lúthie...e=UTF8&qid=1481580192&sr=1-3&keywords=tolkien

karne · Dec 12, 2016

*is beside herself with excitement*

cathlen · Dec 13, 2016

rosacotton said:
"Beren and Luthien" -- https://www.amazon.com/Beren-Lúthie...e=UTF8&qid=1481580192&sr=1-3&keywords=tolkien

Then not that new. Beren and Luthien story is part of Silmarilion.... I wonder how much will be added to that story.

karne · Dec 13, 2016

cathlen said:
Then not that new. Beren and Luthien story is part of Silmarilion.... I wonder how much will be added to that story.

If it's anything like the Children of Hurin book, I imagine quite a lot will be added. Basically, Christopher uses every note his father wrote about the story to reconstruct the whole thing, and their story was much longer than what was in the Silmarillion, which was fairly condensed. For the Silmarillion, Christopher used one cleaned-up version.

I'm still waiting with fingers crossed for the day Christopher finds some forgotten lost manuscript detailing the story of Elrond and Celebrian. (I don't like my chances, but I'll hold out.)

cathlen · Dec 13, 2016

karne said:
If it's anything like the Children of Hurin book, I imagine quite a lot will be added. Basically, Christopher uses every note his father wrote about the story to reconstruct the whole thing, and their story was much longer than what was in the Silmarillion, which was fairly condensed. For the Silmarillion, Christopher used one cleaned-up version.

I'm still waiting with fingers crossed for the day Christopher finds some forgotten lost manuscript detailing the story of Elrond and Celebrian. (I don't like my chances, but I'll hold out.)

Keep my fingers crossed for much addition then

And I would love a story of Elrond & Celebrian!

LRK · Dec 15, 2016

TGee said:
Saw Lois McMaster Bujold mentioned on the SciFi thread, but her arguably most serious work is her Chalion / world of the Five Gods fantasy series.

It takes place in a country roughly reflecting medieval Spain....but with a completely different religion.

Bujold felt that fantasy authors very rarely envisaged their characters interacting with imagined religions and gods. So she decidedly to take this on....Each of the main characters in the trilogy is a saint in Chalion's five god faith, with all the challenges that sainthood demands...

The Hallowed Hunt

Curse of Chalion

The Paladin of Souls

She's recently released some new novellas in this world in a couple of e-book formats, but not outside North America...

I've read "The Curse of Chalion" and adored it.

LRK · Dec 15, 2016

Tracy & Laura Hickman: "Mystic Warrior" - The first book in The Bronze Canticles. Three worlds overlap.

Thrice upon a time
there was a world that was three worlds

TGee · Dec 15, 2016

Just finished the third book in Sylvia Izzo Hunter's Noctis Magicae trilogy...

The Midnight Queen

Lady of Magick

A Season of Spells

The series takes place in an alternate Regency Britain where the talented and high born study to be mages (at Merlin College, Oxon naturally), young women dream of higher education, and Normandy and Brittany are under the English crown.

Izzo Hunter is a relatively new author from Toronto, and the fact that Penguin took her up from her first novel is not by chance. All three books are very good and very smart...

Fantasy Books

LRK

actualrealliveanna

BravesSkateFan

LRK

Seruleane

Interspectator

LRK

LRK

LRK

TGee

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

cathlen

Team Gorgeous Cacti!

rosacotton

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

cathlen

Team Gorgeous Cacti!

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

cathlen

Team Gorgeous Cacti!

LRK

LRK

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