Favorite fantasy/sci-fi literature other than Tolkien
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Post Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:16 pm 
 

In addition to Lieber, Lovecraft, Moorcock:

J.G. Ballard for dystopian fiction and stories that occasionally push the envelope of fiction construction.

Jack Finney, mostly for short stories with a surprise twist.

  


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Post Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:18 pm 
 

Bumpity bump bump...

Not strictly speaking fantasy, but definitely worth reading:

THE MYSTERY OF DR FU MANCHU

By Sax Rohmer.  I just picked up an omnibus edition, and it is great rollicking pulpy goodness, full of mysterious conspiracies, wild cult mysteries and heroic investigators.  :D   Great bedtime reading.


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Post Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:30 pm 
 

Cordwainer Smith! (as some might have guessed from my handle). Other favorites of mine include Leiber, W. H. Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith, HPL, Moorcock, Frank Herbert...the list goes on.

  

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Post Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:09 pm 
 

Terry Brooks - The Shanarra Series, didn't like magic kingdom series. I really enjoyed Lloyd Alexanders 5 book Black Cauldron series. Always reading the Forgotten Realms books, Elaine Cunningham being one of the better authors.

  


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Post Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:49 pm 
 

Other than Tolkien.. does Bored of the Rings by the Harvard Lampoon count?

  


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Post Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 4:41 am 
 

sauromatian wrote:Other than Tolkien.. does Bored of the Rings by the Harvard Lampoon count?


I was bought that but never read it any good?

  


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Post Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:59 am 
 

I thought it was great when I was 12, haven't reread it recently but still have fond memories. I guess the crucial fact here is that I read it before completing Lord of the Rings itself, giving me a certain perspective of infinite silliness on the whole Tolkien experience.

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Post Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:36 pm 
 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... :IT&ih=015



I came across this lot today. I have never heard of these novels before. Who is the publisher? And when were they released? I checked out WotC web site but could find nothing in the novel section.

  

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Post Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:05 pm 
 

xraygord wrote:
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I came across this lot today. I have never heard of these novels before. Who is the publisher? And when were they released? I checked out WotC web site but could find nothing in the novel section.




Wizards of the Coast/TSR started publishing them with Against The Giants in 1999.  For the most part they are pretty bad.  I actually like the Gygax books better and I thought those were pretty subpar reading.


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:16 pm 
 

xraygord wrote:I came across this lot today. I have never heard of these novels before. Who is the publisher? And when were they released? I checked out WotC web site but could find nothing in the novel section.

They are pretty much exactly what you see; the series is pretty straightforward. They are "fleshed-out" versions of the classic 1e adventures, told from the point of view of an adventurer or adventurers, and with lots of background detail and new stuff to get the books up to novel length.

White Plume Mountain was the first one by a "real" author; it is from the fall of 1999. Author Paul Kidd went on to write two more books in the series, and many fans consider them to be the high-water mark of the series. I agree, FWIW: Kidd spins an entertaining yarn.

The series is lucky to have survived Ru Emerson's debut with the Giants novel. It is truly God-awful. Despite being completely predisposed to like the book (D&D fan, played the actual adventure, fantasy fiction fan, etc.), I did not even reach the halfway point. I found out later that I wasn't the only one.

The series just pretty much stopped, nor did it ever receive a lot of publicity from WotC. It always struck me as a pretty easy money-maker for WotC, as the books were by relatively unknown authors and were casually edited at best ... I figured they might just keep going.

There might have been some sort of anniversary or celebration of the Greyhawk setting going on about this time, too. Our own Grodog could probably shed more light on that; if there was something specific these books were supposed to celebrate, I don't remember what it was.

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Post Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:31 pm 
 

Xaxaxe wrote:

The series is lucky to have survived Ru Emerson's debut with the Giants novel. It is truly God-awful. Despite being completely predisposed to like the book (D&D fan, played the actual adventure, fantasy fiction fan, etc.), I did not even reach the halfway point. I found out later that I wasn't the only one.





Thanks for the insight. Funny thing is I know I will still buy and read them. I'll hunt around my cities used book stores first before I get them off ebay. It'll be the cheapest way for me.

  


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:34 pm 
 

xraygord wrote: Funny thing is I know I will still buy and read them.

I think you'll have a good time, overall.

A couple of last thoughts: Kidd's three books form a rough sort of trilogy, in that they feature the same characters, have some of the same running jokes, etc. I would argue that it is best to read those in order.

Emerson's two books ... well, the kindest thing I could say is that she got a bit better with the second one.

The other two are stand-alones and can be read in any order. I remember liking both, particularly Tomb of Horrors.

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:04 am 
 

One of my favorites is The Once and Future King by E B White. Most Asimov. Lovecraft is fun. I just finished Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott and I thought it was quite good. Looking forward to the next one on that. I do have a bit of a soft spot for children's fantasy.

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:21 pm 
 

I thought it apt in our little SciFi / Fantasy thread here to pay tribute to Arthur C. Clarke

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/ap_ ... bit_clarke

A brilliant writer and Master of the genre. What a contribution he made. The City and the Star & The Fountains of Paradise are two of my favourite books.

  

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:38 pm 
 

As a young lad I was a huge Clarke fan. Around 1970 I would save the tips from delivering newspapers and go to the bookstore to pick up his latest releases. He was one of the few "hard science" writers in that era.

His greatest legacy should be his prediction of geosynchronous communication satellites. He wrote a proposal about them in the mid-1940's.

It was through all those visits to the bookstores that I started picking up other works like Dune, Lord of the Rings and most of the works by Kurt Vonnegut.


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:02 pm 
 

HermitFromPluto wrote:I thought it apt in our little SciFi / Fantasy thread here to pay tribute to Arthur C. Clarke

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/ap_ ... bit_clarke

A brilliant writer and Master of the genre. What a contribution he made. The City and the Star & The Fountains of Paradise are two of my favourite books.


I read Rendezous with Rama in junior high...absolutely blew my mind, plus after I described it to my circle of nerd friends, everyone else ran out to buy it and read it also.  To this day haven't read any of the sequels.....something else I need to get around to!

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:24 pm 
 

I can't believe I haven't given this thread my attention before!

Badmike wrote:I read Rendezous with Rama in junior high...absolutely blew my mind, plus after I described it to my circle of nerd friends, everyone else ran out to buy it and read it also.  To this day haven't read any of the sequels.....something else I need to get around to!

I read the first sequel -- can't remember the title -- and wasn't particularly impressed. It was co-authored IIRC -- can't remember the name of the co-author, either -- and wasn't very Clarkean.

My favorite SF works would be:
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (but avoid the sequel)
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis (especially That Hideous Strength)
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick

I don't really like much in the way of fantasy, I can't explain but it just leaves me cold.



  


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Post Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:09 am 
 

has anyone read godslayer, shadowclimber, or dragonrank master by mickey zucker reichert?

really good stuff.

h p lovecraft of course - but not really fantasy.

the first six books of the dragonlance series (chronicles and tales) i've read and reread i think four times now.

and just a little flamebait for those who hate comics - but sandman.

  
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