Some of Britomart's Favorite Fantasy Novels
There was talk on the Hizzy recently about fantasy recommendations. I'm a huge fantasy fan and have many others I'll recommend eventually. Here are some to start with, though...
Dune Series by Frank Herbert
I've read them all. Paul Muad'dib Atreides remains one of my serious fictional crushes. Well, until he transforms, anyway... And Duncan Idaho is one of the cooler characters literature has to offer. The Bene Gesserit? Are so ruthless, and so cool. Frank Herbert is a genius! He does a wonderful job of weaving ancient & current beliefs/myths (check out the ancestry of House Atreides) with his futuristic vision. Without a doubt, the first three books are the strongest, and he probably should've kept this a trilogy. But for those who truly get sucked in by Herbert's world, the later books in the series are still a joy, even if they don't measure up to the early books.
Dragonlance Series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Dragonlance books spawned a dizzying number of spin-offs. I never read them; tried with a few & just couldn't get into them. The two initial trilogies, however, remain some of my favorite fantasy novels. And how in love with Raistlin am I? Even though I know he's evil & it's wrong? ::fangirly sigh::
Anyway, these books are probably strongest for their characters. Talk about fully-fleshed, well-drawn characters you feel you know & in who you invest emotionally. I defy you to not love Fizban or Tasselhoff. You'll hate Kitiara, yet find yourself oddly sympathetic to her. And Raistlin will just torture you.
The two series I recommend are:
The Chronicles Trilogy -- Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Dragonlance Legends: Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
This book doesn't initially seem to belong in the fantasy genre; it seems more of a coming-of-age novel set at a sleepy, liberal arts college. That, perhaps, is its great charm: it injects a fantastical element into a narrative with which you can easily identify. If you're both a fan of fantasy novels & Shakespeare, this book is especially for you. But I won't tell you why!
Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson
Donaldson has more famous series and I can't stand them. I don't understand how they're written by the same author who wrote the above two books. Mirror of Her Dreams introduces Terisa, a painfully insecure and nearly insane young woman living in our world. She's transported to an alternate world, where she not only discovers her own inner strength, individual personality & heroic tendencies, but learns to distinguish dangerous lust from true love.
That being said, these are not chick-flick fantasy, but just damn good books. As is a common theme with fantasy novels I love, the characters are fully fleshed and jump out of the pages as completely realized figures. You'll love, hate and be conflicted by many of them. The internal logic of this fantasy world is also strong & well-reasoned. Donaldson has crafted an absolutely fascinating world with an internal reality that is well-crafted and fully believable.
Dune Series by Frank Herbert
I've read them all. Paul Muad'dib Atreides remains one of my serious fictional crushes. Well, until he transforms, anyway... And Duncan Idaho is one of the cooler characters literature has to offer. The Bene Gesserit? Are so ruthless, and so cool. Frank Herbert is a genius! He does a wonderful job of weaving ancient & current beliefs/myths (check out the ancestry of House Atreides) with his futuristic vision. Without a doubt, the first three books are the strongest, and he probably should've kept this a trilogy. But for those who truly get sucked in by Herbert's world, the later books in the series are still a joy, even if they don't measure up to the early books.
Dragonlance Series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Dragonlance books spawned a dizzying number of spin-offs. I never read them; tried with a few & just couldn't get into them. The two initial trilogies, however, remain some of my favorite fantasy novels. And how in love with Raistlin am I? Even though I know he's evil & it's wrong? ::fangirly sigh::
Anyway, these books are probably strongest for their characters. Talk about fully-fleshed, well-drawn characters you feel you know & in who you invest emotionally. I defy you to not love Fizban or Tasselhoff. You'll hate Kitiara, yet find yourself oddly sympathetic to her. And Raistlin will just torture you.
The two series I recommend are:
The Chronicles Trilogy -- Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Dragonlance Legends: Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
This book doesn't initially seem to belong in the fantasy genre; it seems more of a coming-of-age novel set at a sleepy, liberal arts college. That, perhaps, is its great charm: it injects a fantastical element into a narrative with which you can easily identify. If you're both a fan of fantasy novels & Shakespeare, this book is especially for you. But I won't tell you why!
Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson
Donaldson has more famous series and I can't stand them. I don't understand how they're written by the same author who wrote the above two books. Mirror of Her Dreams introduces Terisa, a painfully insecure and nearly insane young woman living in our world. She's transported to an alternate world, where she not only discovers her own inner strength, individual personality & heroic tendencies, but learns to distinguish dangerous lust from true love.
That being said, these are not chick-flick fantasy, but just damn good books. As is a common theme with fantasy novels I love, the characters are fully fleshed and jump out of the pages as completely realized figures. You'll love, hate and be conflicted by many of them. The internal logic of this fantasy world is also strong & well-reasoned. Donaldson has crafted an absolutely fascinating world with an internal reality that is well-crafted and fully believable.
posted by The Hizzy at 7:23 PM
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