[ファブリス]

I'm having so much fun reading Terry Pratchett again!

I finished Going Postal soon after arriving in Mcleodganj (India). One of the best Pratchett I read so far. Fortunately they have Discworld novels at a small bookstore here in Mcleodganj I've read The Light Fantastic and now onto Sourcery! Trying to read them in order, from what's available.

The Luggage is such a great character!

For those non native English speakers out there who enjoy fantasy books, I highly recommend the Discworld novels. The vocabulary doesn't seem too advanced, but there is a lot of puns and also expressions. It's easy to loose track of who's talking in the dialogues or what's happening if you don't pay attention!

Any Pratchett fans here?

PS: tell you what, let's make this a Fantasy books thread, so we can share our favorite authors. I don't remember seeing such a topic here in a long while.

Pratchett is an awesome writer.

When I was young, I loved Piers Anthony as well.

Now, Brandon Sanderson (taking over for Robert Jordan) is great.

And of course, Douglas Adams. And Philip K Dick. (Okay, they're scifi... But still!)

Lord of the Rings is still my favorite; it's easy to dismiss it as a mindless "yet another epic fantasy" but it's a lot deeper than that.

Tad William's "Memory Sorrow and Thorn" is another one I liked a lot.

How related are fantasy and science-fiction? Ironically, I don't find anything highly imaginative or fantasy-like at all in "fantasy literature" They are booring for me (like harry potter, and the lord of the rings, ect... no offence but: yuck.) My favourite science-fiction novel is on the other hand Asimov: the currents of space, and Arthur C. Clarcke: Childhood's end. It's a classic!

I like both. I enjoyed Harry Potter and The lord of the rings, and some J fantasies like グインサーガ and 上弦の月を喰べる獅子, though I gave up on グインサーガ half way through. (There are over a hundred volumes and the author passed away before finishing the series). Asimov and A.C. Clarke are nice, I also like Phillip K Dick, Rudy Rucker, Larry Niven, etc. and some Japanese sci-fi writers like 神林長平 and 草上仁 to name a couple. The crazy thing is I read these Cyberpunks, Dick and Rucker, in Japanese. Yup. That's possible.

Anyway, maybe I'll like Diskworld too. Thanks, ファブリス.

"Fantasy" covers a broad range, as does SF, and they shade into each other in the middle. For instance McCaffrey's Pern books are basically fantasy but have an SF backstory which in most books is pretty irrelevant. Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman series (very good) are much more SF than they look on the surface. Star Wars is SF but the story would lose nothing from being recast in a fantasy setting (the Force is basically magic anyhow...)

Three fantasy authors from my favourites: Patricia McKillip, Mary Gentle (_Ash_ in particular is very good) and Ursula K Le Guin.

I've found Jo Walton's blog of reviews of books she's re-reading an interesting source of possible new authors to try, and the reviews make interesting reading anyway. (Category: things I'd love to find a Japanese equivalent of.)

Actually, I was just looking for some new fantasy lately-nice timing.

I have read most of what people have mentioned here, I would add DUNE of course, and George R R Martin. That series is amazing, except he has pulled a Jordan in the last few years and it's unknown when the series will end. Bummer.

Here is a website I found with some reviews:

http://www.bestfantasybooks.com/great-fa...books.html

I just ordered The Second Sons (Jennifer Fallon) and thought I would give it a try.

I want to read some good SF/ Fantasy in japanese. I have all the dune books and have gotten thru maybe 1/4 of book one. I also read winds of garth, because there is the audio files in japanese availbe for free. taht was decent. But I'd like to try native stuff at some point. suggestions welcome.

I had always turned my nose up against fantasy, thinking it mindless and childish, until a good friend of mine nagged me into reading Dune and Song of Ice and Fire. So I strongly second the above post! George R. R. Martin and Frank Herbert are both incredible authors.

Another author I was forced to read was R. Scott Bakker, who wrote "The Prince of Nothing" series. Honestly never imagined that my favorite author could end up being a fantasy author until I read that. Extremely dark (darker than Song of Ice and Fire even) but the prose is possibly the greatest I've seen in the English language. And never thought I'd say that about a fantasy author though the author's vocabulary slaughtered my own. I believe the author's Ph.D. was in philosophy, and the series certainly reflects that.

Some of these have already been mentioned by I will mention them again:

A Song of Ice and Fire series - George R. R. Martin
Kushiel's Legacy series - Jacqueline Carey
Mistborn series - Brandon Sanderson
The First Law series - Joe Abercrombie
The Gentlemen Bastards series - Scott Lynch
The Kingkiller Chronicles - Patrick Rothfuss
Malazan Book of the Fallen series - Steven Erikson
The Prince of Nothing series - R. Scott Bakker
The Farseer series - Robin Hobb


I can personally vouch that all of these series are top notch.

I'd love to find Japanese fantasy of the above quality.

sokino Wrote:I'd love to find Japanese fantasy of the above quality.

And scifi!

Speaking of, I read 'All You Need Is Kill' in English, and it was originally Japanese. I look forward to reading it in Japanese one day.

sokino Wrote:A Song of Ice and Fire series - George R. R. Martin

If anyone here has yet to read this, for shame. Read it immediately. It is by far the most engaging and well-written fantasy novel I have ever read. Also, once you get up to the 4th book you can sit with us fans who have been waiting for the 5th book for 5 (?) years now? I stopped counting considering I've been reading these books since they first came out, and am so upset by the wait. But it's completely worth it.

Also, I'm currently reading ブレイブ・ストーリー by 宮部みゆき　right now and I love it. I'd definitely recommend it to any fantasy fans out there.

P.S. A slightly different link from one that was already mentioned: http://www.bestfantasybooks.com/top25-fantasy-books.php <--- any book on this list is good.

P.P.S. - A fantasy recommendation thread on 教えて! goo http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/1062902.html

Need more old classics. Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth and Fred Saberhagen's Book(s) of Swords.

I LOVE good Fantasy, and really like SF. But I must warn the stuff I like is not for everyone -

1. Steven Erickson - "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" series. If you like EPIC fantasy, this one is KING! 10 books (big ones too) but unlike R.J. and G.R.R.M. this guy knows what the ending is, and has been putting out a book almost every year - I think 9 of 10 are done (I'm on book 7), so there is no purgatory or frustration to deal with. At this point this has become my favorite of all time because of it's scale and originality. I must warn-> SUPER DARK, and book one is kind of tough to get through. Also, some people will not like being in the dark so much - the story unravels in a way that you aren't just handed a history of things, or even given great descriptions of what the different races look like - there is a lot of mystery going on, but it actually make the series better as a truly massive world forms over the course. But if you make it through book one, book two is amazing, and it just gets better and better. TONS of characters which may be more then some would like to keep track of(many who are gods, or godlike), and his sense of humor may not work for everyone. But if you like epic dark fantasy this one (IMHOP) is THE SHIT!

2. George RR Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series. Yes the author may be loosing it. Yes it's torture to wait YEARS and YEARS for a new book. And yes the last book he wrote in the series was not as good as the others, but -> Just read it, it is AMAZING! I particularly like the heraldry he throws in, very cool. Not for young kids, this one's DARK and nasty at times, but dynamic "grey" characters and great twists make this my number 2 series (book three is amazing).

3. R Scott Bakker- "The Prince of Nothing" series -> Again, crazy dark original epic fantasy. I think the author is a philosophy major. This is a cerebral kind of fantasy, with great "grey" characters. Warning -> the bad guys in this one are really, really nasty. I really am not a fan of horror, and these books are close to it at times (and pretty pornographic too). But the writing, magic, characters and story are just too damn good. The series is planned for 3 trilogies, with the first one finished and the 1st book of the second trilogy is out. Crazy Good!

4. Stephen R. Donaldson - "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" - I wouldn't be surprised if most people wouldn't like this one, but I think it's amazing. You will hate the main character, so it is hard to read. But where it shines is it's originality, and the weird emotional ride it takes you on. A really cool world, and wonderfully heart touching characters . There are two trilogies, and a third trilogy being done now of which there are two books out (I've only read the 1st though). The new trilogy hasn't really done it for me, but the first two were really good.

5. Tolkien -> I love his word play, it just has the perfect feel for the genre -> in that aspect no one does it better then JR. Hobbit, LOTR, and Silmirilion are all great. Hobbit is a wonderful simple children's story, LOTR is a must read if you like fantasy (and has much more content and some different story arcs then the movies) and The Silmirilion is the most epic of epics, like a history book (with some narratives) that will break your heart at times.

Also great:
Fritz Lieber: "Swords" series - about Farfhard and the Grey Mouser - clever, cool, and funny.
Roger Zelazny: "The Chronicles of Amber" - super cool book about gods, draws on mythos.
Raymond E. Feist: Riftwar Saga - Damn good fantasy with Tolkien like races and such, but well done.
Tad Williams is also pretty good. I would have loved to put Robert Jordan in there, but he turned one of the best series out there into utter shit after about book 6 -> I read through maybe 8 and gave up (in the middle after a 40 page diatribe of a scene were women were talking and having tea........uhhhg!).

I think there are many decent ones out there, but I mostly like ones that have their own unique style.

Though not in the fantasy genre, as it is supposedly a true story, Carlos Casteneda's books are really fun and trippy "fantasy".

As for SF, I haven't read much, but want to. Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" is really good, And I LOVED Poul Anderson's "Boat of a Million Years"-> badass! DUNE, Hyperion, and Orison Scott Cards stuff are all on my list of "to read"s.

Hmm maybe my next book I should get is japanese fantasy. At the moment I'm reading fiction novels in japanese. I wasn't really a fantasy type person, but I general started getting interested in fantasy stuff(yes anime introduced me to this stuff). Need more books for more immersion. Well actually need a good mp3 player and i'm set for a while.

Nice Aijin!
Have you read the fourth book (Bakker)?

@ninetimes ->I really need to read more of the classics.

I have always been a huge fan of CONAN but never read the origianal Robert E. Howard. Also on my list is "The Black Company" by Glen Cook - highly influenced Erickson.

@Ryuujin27 - yeah that looks like a good list (the first link)- LOL I wrote some reviews there for some of the books I recommended here.

@sokino - Other then the ones I listed, I haven't read any on your list, but Seeing what you got, I trust your recomendation, so - Can you recommend one?

Anyone know if Martin's books are in Japanese? It's such a popular series...I have the audio books for it, but man some Japanese audio for that would be pretty cool too.

Nice to see people here have good tastes in literature ^_^
Yep, I've read Aspect-Emperor, though I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the other ones. Felt like there was a lot of unnecessary scenes in, and wasn't as tightly written as the others, especially in regard to Akka's role, which I felt was too much of a travelogue. Still immensely enjoyable though, and look forward to White-Luck Warrior whenever it comes out
I haven't read Bakker's novel "Neuropath" though I keep meaning to.


Yep, A Song of Ice and Fire is published in Japanese. It's not that common though, you likely won't find it in bookstores. Amazon.co.jp has it though. Also, due to the length of the English books, the Japanese translations are split into many different volumes.

Also, for those who haven't read Song of Ice and Fire, it's currently being made into a big-budget HBO series that will be released next year. Very excited

I absolutely agree that "A Song of Ice and Fire" is an incredible series. Upon finishing "A Game of Thrones," I immediately ran out and purchased the next book in the series. I mean I literally started putting on my shoes seconds after putting the book down.

Having said this, there is a book that I enjoyed even more. "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss was so good that I wanted to start reading it again the second I finished it and I usually wait years to read a book again.

Ryuujin27 Wrote:

sokino Wrote:A Song of Ice and Fire series - George R. R. Martin

If anyone here has yet to read this, for shame. Read it immediately. It is by far the most engaging and well-written fantasy novel I have ever read. Also, once you get up to the 4th book you can sit with us fans who have been waiting for the 5th book for 5 (?) years now? I stopped counting considering I've been reading these books since they first came out, and am so upset by the wait. But it's completely worth it.
l

Yes, come join us disgruntled ASoIaF fans!

TaylorSan Wrote:@sokino - Other then the ones I listed, I haven't read any on your list, but Seeing what you got, I trust your recomendation, so - Can you recommend one?

The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie is just plain amazing. It's kind of like A Song of Ice and Fire in that it's one of those morally complex "do you love the main characters or hate them or both at the same time" tales. He also has excellent action scenes and a great plot to go along with it.

The first book is called "The Blade Itself" - I think after reading that book you will be hooked.

Yeah I agree about Aspect-Emperor, but there's potential with the story arch for things to get interesting. It's nice to find someone who's read it and appreciates it as much as I do.

The HBO series could be really good. It's funny that many years ago I wished for that very thing to happen.....So - "I wish for World Peace!" - Wars are are fine and good, but only in a good fantasy tale.

And Ice and Fire in Japanese! Heck I'll be fluent and have it re-read from the Japanese versions easily in time for the release of the next book.....(I'm starting to worry he's a gonna fubar it all like Jordan did)

@Ophiucus - I have heard "Name of the Wind" is really good - might check it out soon. Right now with school my one moment of reading for pleasure is Erickson's book the last 20 minutes before I fall asleep.....which I will go do now!

Thanks sokino - sounds right up my alley. I think I tend to like dynamic characters, and well written action is always important. I'll probably go grab that up after I finish Erickson's "Reaper's Gale" - I love that series so much I'm kind of savoring it by taking a break between books and reading other stuff (though it's so huge I can kind of loose some of the threads if I wait to long).

[ファブリス]

Ah, yes, Jack Vance.

I used to read mostly Jack Vance and Michael Moorcock (Elric, Hawkmoon, and so on).

And of course Tolkien. But I didn't even finish Lord Of The Rings.. it gets really slow near book three. The Hobbit is great though!

Lately I've felt Michael Moorcock to be a bit gratuitous in his depictions of bloodbath fights, but I like his overal theme of chaos versus order. He also uses this great idea of the same hero appearing under different names and guises and with a different mission in each of his series. Sometimes the different "avatars" come together to unite against a greater threat.

Now I didn't reread it recently but in my twenties I'll admit I enjoyed Battlefield Earth and Mission Earth by Ron Hubbard. I especially loved how he attacked psychology in Mission Earth, and all the awful and twisted schemes "agent gray" would come up with to try to derail Jettro Heller's mission. The movie adaptation of Battlefield Earth was terrible, I hear.

TaylorSan Wrote:I have always been a huge fan of CONAN but never read the origianal Robert E. Howard.

Same here, I've yet to read it.

I tried Riverworld by Philip José Farmer. The basic premise is really interesting, with all people from Earth from past and presentand future who are reincarnated in an unknown place and for unknown reason. It's fun because he uses characters from our history such as Samuel Clemens which I learned about through this SF book. But by book three ("The Fabulous Riverboat", with Mark Twain as main protagonist) I was really bored. It was getting really slow. I wonder if it's worth trying to finish it?

Oh yeah - Moorcock - He's good. "The Eternal Champion" I think it's called - There are many different series, and each of the heros share the same soul - or something like that.

LOTR is a bit slow at times, and I thought "Fellowship of the Ring" took forever to get going. "The Two Towers" is my favorite, with the excellent Helms Deep chapter.

It's funny, I got into CONAN as a kid with "The Savage Sword of Conan" comic book, and in middle school read a TON of non-Howard Conan novels (Some were by Robert Jordan). Now I'm reading a new Conan comic that follows the Howard chronology and stays true to the originals - It's perhaps the best written and illustrated comic I've ever read. So I don't want to spoil the comic by reading the books (same with Harry Potter - I don't read the books as I want to watch the movies without it being spoiled)- but someday I'll have to read them.

ファブリス - I think you would like "The Boat of a Million Years" by Poul Anderson. It's about a group of people who are immortals who live in different parts of the world, and find different ways to survive the hardships of History, each in their own unique way. I thought is was an amazing single novel, that moves from historical fiction (ancient Greece) into a SF future, where things really get interesting.

The cover art for the Japanese versions of 氷と炎の歌 is really fascinating I must say!
https://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/imgdata...089407.jpg for example.

Has anyone mentioned Gene Wolf?

I really enjoyed his The Book of the New Sun series. It is full of wonderful byzantine flavored words and allusions. Although I imagine the wouldn't translate well into Japanese and I wouldn't recommend it for a newcomer to fantasy.

Terry Pratchett is the best.