Figure I'd break up the academic tedium with some literature! A good friend sent me this interesting thread on Live Journal:
Great Books of SF -- Reader feedback -- and a tentative definition of SF v F
"A tentative definition of SF v. Fantasy:
Both are imaginative fiction. SF is quintessentially the imaginative fiction of the myths of modernity. Fantasy is quintessentially the imaginative fiction of pre-modern myths that are no longer alive. There's a lot of bleed over. (This taxonomy implies a third main category of imaginative fiction, for pre-modern myths that are still living, viz, Christianity. This would be stuff like the Divine Comedy, maybe, or Lewis' the Great Divorce)." Continued
A comprehensive thread, and a good read for both Sci Fi and Fantasy fans.
I'm more of a fantasy fan, myself--the gears, drives and lasers of Sci Fi reminds me too much of my military job, and when I'm off duty I like to have my imagination fly to lands based on myth and fable.
Still, I feel like I should read some of the classics. I tried reading Dune many, many years ago, when I was 11 or 12. Went over my head at the time, but I think I'm intellectually sophisticated enough to "get it" now. And as old as Asimov's Foundation series is, I should at least read the first book. I've read some Sci Fi pulp, such as the Gaunt's Ghosts series in the Warhammer 20K universe. But Warhammer 20K is balanced with mystical elements that offset the modernity I try to escape from.
What do I recommend? As with most fantasy fans, I cut my teeth on The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Prydain, The Shannara series, and old pulp Forgotten Realms titles: gateway books to the harder stuff, if you will.
I started reading The Wheel of Time in 1994 and have been following it ever since. A shame Robert Jordan (James Rigney) passed in 2007 before finishing the series, but it's in good hands with Brandon Sanderson, who has his own great titles under his belt (Mistborn series, Elantris).
The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson: for me, Malazan is the pinnacle of good, deep fantasy; but it's not for the faint of heart. As Tolkien built his world form years of experience as a linguist and historian, Erikson (Steve Rune Lundin) designed an incredibly detailed world based on his work as an archaeologist. But the shear number of moving parts, cultures, and plot threads make Malazan a poor candidate for light reading before going to bed: drowse off and you'll miss something! Still, I can't recommend the series enough for readers who want to become immersed in a world.
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin: Great story, well-thought world, mostly-fascinating characters, and no "good" or "bad" side. A refreshing take on the typical "shining lawful/good prince slays the evil foozle" fare. But I'll admit the excess sex and profanity seriously turn me off at times. Detracts from the story, and makes me reluctant to pass it down to my kids.
The Black Company series by Glen Cook. What I really love about this series is that the author started it while working in a GM auto assembly plant (he's still writing, but has retired from GM). Wonder how the GM CEOs during Cook's time at the company would've reacted if told one of the modern masters of fantasy literature was working on the line?
Redwall series by Brian Jacques: Yes, it's a kid's book--but sometimes this 37-year old adult man needs to be a kid again. Only critique is the plots are sometimes too easy for the protagonists, but the characters still sell the story for me. The animated series is charming, as well.
Most Forgotten Realms and Eberron Titles: Just as I need to be a kid with Redwall, I need pulp fantasy to fully take me away from reality. Writers such as Tolkien, Erikson and Martin put an incredible amount of work in their worlds, and for the most part ensure their worlds are plausible. The Forgotten Realms world of Abeir-Toril was built for role playing games, and it shows. From an international relations standpoint, Abeir-Toril cannot plausibly exist: the global economy functions like a well-oiled machine despite the fact that monsters freely roam the streets and most of the working-age population are adventures who plunder dungeons which theoretically should have been plundered for years. The ecology is made of almost entirely of fantastic, carnivorous beasts that should've picked the world clean of food in short order.
In the world of Eberron's defense, though, designer Keith Baker clearly (in my opinion) set out to design a world that was both functional as an RPG setting but also has a reasonably plausible ecology. Thus, the Catch-22: I read fantasy to escape reality, yet my job induces me to impose order. My professional, left-brained side cannot abide by a world such as Abeir-Toril which simply would not function under any circumstance.
The good news thoough, is I read such fantasy because I let my right-brain take over and simply say, "to hell with it!" I need to blow off steam and forget about "the rules" for awhile. Who cares that dwarves love beer despite having no source of barley underground, or that goblins, skeletons and minotaurs can live in the same dungeon in absolute harmony until a party of adventurers shows up? Let the creative mind rule for once (although I bet some contractor was paid a mountain of platinum and gold coins to dig out all those random dungeons).
Still, if you want to read some laugh-out-loud observations on stereotypical, over-written, and ill-thought fantasy, check out Dianna Wynne Jones' The Tough Guide to Fantasylandand another thread on Live journal called Limyaael's Fantasy Rants.
Finally, here are a few more recommendations in no particular oder:
The Riftwar Saga, Raymond E. Feist
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, Tad Williams
The Saga of Recluse, L.E. Modesitt
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson
The Tyrants and Kings Trilogy, John Marco
The Deryni novels, Katheryn Kurtz
The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series, Fritz Leiber
The Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy, and Soldier Son Trilogy, Robin Hobb
The Oz Cycle, L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of Oz is but a fraction of the story)
Certainly not an all-inclusive list--in fact, I'd love to hear your recommendations! Feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line at james-at-jdfielder-dot-com
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