Among the many wonderful things of this Thanksgiving weekend with my family was going to Barnes & Noble with one niece and buying her The Hobbit. Not only was she eager to read a book that her uncle loved when he was her age, but she was also delighted to explore a book that her older cousin had also loved. Both these girls are fans of fantasy fiction.
Few things warmed my heart as much as when the elder niece (the second eldest PatriotNieceWest) called to tell me how much she had enjoyed that book. (I had gotten it for her for a recent birthday.) So, after seeing the very disappointing Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, I took this amazing young lady to a nearby bookstore and did something I had been waiting to do since I first read to her when she was a little girl. I bought her a boxed set of The Lord of the RIngs.
It’s so cool when you can pass on your passions to the next generation. As I gave her the books, saw her face light up and heard her words of gratitude, I felt I was the one getting a present. It may sound like a cliché, but it’s true. Sometimes when you give, you really do receive.
Not only that. It’s great to share a passion, the same genre of fiction, with my nieces and nephews.
Shortly after my nieces left with their various parents and I had some time on my own and set off for yet another bookstore, this time mostly to browse. But, considering my nieces’ love of fantasy fiction and recalling my own childhood love of the genre and pondering my own perpetually nascent* fantasy epic, I spent more time in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section (than is my wont) and wondered if I could find books which would engage me as much as Tolkien’s trilogy did when I was a child (and even when I reread it today). I doubt I will ever find anything as powerful.
Much I had enjoyed Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series, they didn’t capture my imagination as The Lord of the Rings once had done. And still quite frequently do.
I couldn’t figure out which books to buy, having read some pretty bad fantasy fiction over the years and wanting discover those I would truly enjoy.
So, I ask you, readers, to recommend any good fantasy fiction, works would engage me and just might inspire me, books to occupy my time and also to help motivate me to work on my own epic. So that instead of having a perpetually nascent idea, I might soon begin translating that idea into a form that I can better communicate to others.
🙂
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*Can something be perpetually nascent?
I, too, love the Lord of the Rings and re-read the entire story every 5 or 6 years. My first time through, at the age of 11, when I came to within 3 pages of the end, I put the book down for three months, refusing to bring the story to an end.
However, soon after that I came across another set of books that I will recommend to you.
It is a series of 4 books by Evangeline Walton based upon the books of Welsh folklore known as the Mabinogion. They are: The Prince of Anwynn, The Children of Lyrr, The Song of Rhiannon and The Island of the Mighty.
It has been many years since I’ve read them, but now that this recommendation has brought them back to mind, perhaps it is time to revisit them.
But at the time I read them, I can say that they were a good follow-up to the LOTR. Though I must admit that being of Celtic stock (Scots-Irish) I might be “predisposed” to enjoying them.
I know that they are available at Amazon.com because I just checked. If you do check them out, I sincerely hope you enjoy them and hope you will let us know if you do.
Good luck!
Pardon. She’s your most loyal literary reader.
I’ll second Jim’s recommendation of Evangeline Walton’s Mabionogion quartet.
E.R. Eddison’s The Worm Ouroboros and his (tragically unfinished) Zimiamvia trilogy are superb, as well.
Guy Gavriel Kay’s unusual blend of historical epic with touches of fantasy is also interesting. I especially recommend Tigana and A Song for Arbonne, though I’ve never been disappointed in one of his books.
If you’re not averse to picking up a classic children’s fantasy, there’s James Thurber’s The Thirteen Clocks — uniquely poetic, hilarious, creepy, and heartwarming. Or try Alan Garner’s The Owl Service and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, also children’s fantasies; immensely rewarding in a very different way than Thurber’s.
Kudos for passing along great literature to the next generation. I am so grateful to the adults who opened those worlds to me when I was a child.
If privacy rights can be found emanating from the penumbra of the aura of certain amendments in the Bill of Rights, then one would certainly assume they are also “perpetually nascent.” On the other hand, perhaps your fantasy epic is enjoying quality womb time. I would think that a long gestation period would be preferable to protracted time in the birth canal.
Isn’t all fiction ultimately fantasy fiction?
I guess what’s different about the “fantasy fiction” genre is that the author gussies it up with (a) weird-sounding names, and (b) magical powers. They must be handled with great logical consistency, or else they’ll just be corny. Tolkien was so great at it because he was (a) a philologist and inventor of languages, and (b) a conservative Roman Catholic.
LOTR is one of the finest works of literature ever written in my estimation. It’s always good to pass this one along to the next generation, along with other classics like another favorite of mine: Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. The movies are good for these, but the books are even better.
If it’s another fantasy series you are looking for Dan, I highly recommend Katherine Kurtz‘s Deryni series.
“Pandora” by Anne Rice. Yeah, it’s kind of fantasy/horror, but it’s a quick read and relatively void of a lot of the more adult themes usually present in Rice novels. (To the best of my memory, the only mention of sex is when Pandora’s man servant is found out to be bi-sexual) Though, I do not know how old the youngins are, so that rec of mine may be completely inappropriate. Oh, and “Pandora” falls under the “New Tales of the Vampires” so it’s a good and rather quick read and an excellent primer into the whole of Rice’s vampire lore.
I would argue that something can be perpetually nascent. Excuse my quick venture into sounding like some earthy-crunchy hemp wearing hippie, but I would think something like a natural spring would be perpetually nascent. It’s continually becoming anew.
Great storytelling is great art. It doesn’t matter if the author draws on fantastic elements or goes for something more realistic. Fiction is a lie that reveals the truth. And honestly other than names and places and a few supernatural elements, how much of Lord of the Rings is actually made up as opposed to refashioned from pre-existing legends and events from Tolkien’s life and surroundings. That’s not a slam, btw. It’s that refashioning that is the art of fiction. The Ring legends were a thousand years old when Tolkien decided to de-Wagnerize them. It’s one of the great works of English literature. And while he vehemently denied doing so, it’s rather obviously a commentary on the events of the first half of the twentieth century. Of course one can enjoy the story without looking for deeper meanings, but there are great rewards for rereading works with this much depth and substance.
Perhaps, The Chronicles of Narnia should be next?
Dan, Neil Gaiman’s instant classic, Coraline, is the equal of fantasy stalwarts like Alive in Wonderland and Earthsea Triology. It won the Hugo-Novella, Bram Stoker and Nebula Award. Your niece will like it probably because the book’s voice is uniquely feminine, there are cats, spinster aging actresses serving up tea amongst a bevy of Scotties, crazy old men with rats run amuck and a good opportunity for the main character to serve up a healthy dose of supergirl-heroine to the reader.
Plus, the story is all about teaching our youth the life lesson of “counting your blessings”. Is that just a Catholic thing or does the lesson transcend religions?
Anyway, Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline” would be my recommendation… the LOTRs is so passe and 1980.
I still love Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
I don’t know if you include Science Fiction in Fantasy, but Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy is a definite winner.
Hmm. I left a lengthy post yesterday when there were still 0 comments, and it appears to have vanished into the ether. So I’ll leave a shorter version, recreated from memory (with a few additions):
— The “Riddlemaster” trilogy by Patricia McKillip. Next to LOTR, this is my favorite fantasy series.
— The fantasy works of Jack Vance, starting with “The Dying Earth”. As far as I can tell, Vance was born to write fantasy; his earliest fantasy work remains seminal, while it took him a while to get good at SF and contemporary fiction. Vance has been (IMHO) as much an influence on modern fantasy as Tolkein, just much less acknowledged.
— The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Best thing either author ever did; sadly, the sequel (Black House) is not up to the same standards.
— China Mieville’s work (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, The Iron Council). Like Vance and McKillip, he’s very much sui generis.
— And for a change of pace, three 18th century gothic novels: The Monk by Matthew Lewis (written in 1795 when he was 19 years old; reads like a Stephen King novel); Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin; and (a bit more tedious than the others) The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.
Hope that helps. ..bruce..
John Collier’s “Fancies And Goodnights,” Manly Wade Wellman’s “Silver John” stories.
I’ve read through 13 comments and not one person has mentioned George R.R. Martin’s A song of Ice and Fire series which honestly makes me sad because in my personal opinion it probably outdoes even Tolkien’s famed trilogy(even though most of us die hard fans know it wasn’t even a trilogy).
One of my favorite writers, unfortunately the series is unfinished and it seems we’re gonna have a long wait till it’s done but I’ll still recommend it.
Ah, but Tolkien’s real work was The Silmarillion (or, The History of Middle Earth if you prefer the ‘raw’ material) and the invented Elvish languages. Does it match that? 🙂
His real work as a philologist perhaps but I’m not a philologist, I’m a die hard fantasy/sci-fi nut and I thoroughly enjoyed not only the silmarillion(try spelling that one without looking it up) but a lot of Tolkien’s work and I also enjoy Martin’s work, probably more. While I’m here I might as well shill for William Gibson too, if you haven’t already read the grandpa of cyberpunk get out there and buy all of his books right now(if you don’t know what cyberpunk is think the matrix on steroids, those movies were pretty much stolen from his books and turned into crap).
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Mind Blowing! The last book of the series just came out. 11 in total. Very well thought out. I have successfully gotten every single person I know that loves fantasy to read this series and they all love it.
I’m not sure of how old the elder niece is, and I read this when I was about 8 maybe 9, but still am surprised that no one has recommended “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, starting with the first book of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis (though the chronological order starts with “The Magician’s Nephew”) I still have an affinity for these books and reading them holds a special place in my heart as one of the great experiences of my childhood.
Planet Stores @ paizo.com Long live Pulp!
I’ve alaways likes Piers Anthony and his various series of ‘The magic of Xanth” “Robot Adept’ and the -I guess it was the Fates series.
Anne McAffery(?) and her ‘Dragon riders of Pern’ series was a good read when I was in the Navy back in the 80’s.