FANTASY
Swords and sorcery,
Tolkien derivatives, hard to categorise allegory, Urban fantasy...
A++
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings: Part
1) 1954
This one hardly needs an introduction…
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings: Part
2) 1954
This one hardly needs an introduction…
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings: Part
3) 1955
This one hardly needs an introduction…
A+
LEWIS,
C.S.
The Great Divorce 1946
Brief, potent, inspiring speculative theological
allegory
MARTIN,
George R. R.
A Game of Thrones (Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire) 1997
Majestic,
unpredictable, engaging, striking
The Hobbit 1937
Fantasy/Juvenile
Enchanting
story, rich world
A
ANDERSON,
Poul & Karen
Faith 1992
In ‘After the King: Stories in Honour of J.R.R. Tolkien’
Excellent mood, a worthy tribute
CLARKE, Susanna
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell 2004 Fantasy / Historical Fiction
A triumph – plotting, pacing, characters, tone, faery, historical fiction, interplay, humour, tragedy – really enjoyable book.
GEMMELL,
David
Midnight Falcon (Rigante Series, Book 2) 1999 Fantasy
Thoroughly enjoyable, legendary characters
with flesh, intelligent ideas, engaging morality, coherent plot
MARTIN,
George R. R.
Steel
& Snow (A Storm of Swords 1: Book 3, Part 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire) 2000
Structure
still concerning, but some great moments and salient themes
LE
GUIN, Ursula K.
A Wizard of
Earthsea (Earthsea, Book 1) 1968 Fantasy
Real sense of magic, depth, legend
LEWIS,
C.S.
The Lion,
the Witch & the Wardrobe (Book 2 of the Narnia series) 1950
Fabulous Christian allegory
The Hollow Hills (Book 2 in the Merlin saga) 1973 Fantasy
Savouring
patient expectation within a thoroughly engaging and consistent structure
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
The Silmarillion 1977
Fantasy
Potent,
magical, epic
WHITE, T.H.
The Once
and Future King 1958 Fantasy
Best to relish 'The Sword in the Stone',
and then close the book and move on
The Knight (Book 1 of The Wizard Knight) 2004
A satisfying hero drawn from rich earlier traditions
GEMMELL,
David
The
Legend of Deathwalker (Drenai Tales, Book 7) 1996
Solid, perfectly balanced heroic fantasy
Stardust 1999
Very satisfying mix of fairy tale and fantasy
Daggerspell (Volume 1 of the Deverry series) 1986 Fantasy
Original, capable karmic fantasy
LE GUIN, Ursula K.
Semley's
Necklace (in ‘The Wind’s
Twelve Quarters’) 1964 Short Story/Fantasy/SF
Wonderful evocation
of a fantasy legend somehow effectively incorporating SF elements
LEWIS,
C.S.
Prince Caspian (Book 4 of the Narnia
series) 1951
‘The Return to Narnia’
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Book 5 of the Narnia
series) 1952
Narnia’s Odyssey
The Silver Chair (Book 6 of the Narnia
series) 1953
Slightly darker tale of rescue
The Magician’s Nephew (Book 1 of the Narnia
series) 1955
Lion, Witch & Wardrobe prequel
The Last Battle (Book 7 of the Narnia
series) 1956
Antichrist, eschatology and Armageddon for kids!
Courageous undertaking
The Princess and Curdie 1882 Juvenile/Fantasy
Enchanting
The Forests
of Silence (Deltora
Quest 1) 2000 Fantasy/Juvenile
Enjoyable straight-ahead swords and sorcery for kids
The
Crystal Cave (Book 1 in the Merlin saga) 1970 Fantasy
Young
Merlin enchantingly evoked
BEAGLE,
Peter S.
Tamsin 1999 Fantasy (Ghost)
Deft characterisation of a teenage girl, evocative
writing, silly climax
Paladin of Souls (World of the Five Gods 2) 2003 Fantasy
Strong character transformative finish outweighs common stylistic weaknesses
CARD,
Orson Scott
Magic Street 2005 Urban Fantasy
Bravely/foolishly mixing faery with contemporary US
black community
EDDINGS,
David
Pawn of
Prophecy (Book
One of the Belgariad) 1982
Oversimplified,
definitively juvenile, pitch perfect for bookish young teens
Queen of Sorcery (Book Two of the Belgariad) 1982
Enjoyable
adolescent fluff
FEIST, Raymond E.
Magician 1982
Enjoyable ride and
D&D characters, some originality in mixing European and Japanese medieval
cultures
GAIMAN, Neil
American Gods 2001 Fantasy
(Urban)
Narrative strengths overcome plot weaknesses
Legend (Drenai Tales, Book 1) 1984
Cliché
settings, stereotype mythical fighters and damsels, but he does it so well!
Quest
for Lost Heroes (Drenai
Tales, Book 3) 1990
Another solid effort
Druss the Legend (Drenai Tales, Book 6) 1993
Yep, he’s a Conan-style,
dead-set legend
Ravenheart (Rigante Series, Book 3) 2001 Fantasy
Mythical
badasses, villains and
heroes, but pervaded by (relatively) nuanced, even inspiring morality
Darkspell (Volume 2 of the Deverry series) 1987 (Revised 1994) Fantasy
Still coherent, and some
nice moments
Dragonspell (Volume 4 of the Deverry series) 1991
Fantasy
OK plot and climax, poor
romance, too many superswordspeople
LE
GUIN, Ursula K.
The Darkness Box (in ‘The Wind’s Twelve
Quarters’) 1964 Short Story/Fantasy
Clever realisation of an evocative idea
The Word
of Unbinding 1964 Fantasy/Short Stories
Great key elements already in place in early
Earthsea musings
Tales from
Earthsea 2001 Fantasy/Short Stories
Five tales, one great, three good, and one
disappointing
The Princess and the Goblin 1872 Juvenile/Fantasy
Inspiring
or elitist? Higher rating for originality rather than ride
What Good is a Glass Dagger? 1972 Fantasy/Short Story
(in ‘The Flight of the Horse’)
Great little mix of fantasy, action
and humour
Animal Farm 1945 Fantasy:
Political Allegory
Bleak
fable of Stalin, Lenin and Trotsky
PRATCHETT,
Terry
Mort 1987 Fantasy/Humour
Some
wonderful ideas and descriptions excuse a dumb climax
Pyramids 1989 Fantasy/Humour
Relished the charmingly silly first half, then it seemed to want us care about the absurd plot
Moving Pictures 1990 Fantasy/Humour
Yeah,
another Pratchett. Some amusing bits - a workmanlike effort
Soul Music 1994 Fantasy/Humour
Competent.
Discworld, drugs and Rock ‘n Roll
Jingo 1997 Fantasy/Humour
Competent
– Pratchett’s spin on nationalism
The
Last Continent 1998 Fantasy/Humour
Standard
Discworld novel, with a few Aussie ‘in’ jokes
The
Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents 2001 Fantasy/Humour
Funny,
workmanlike plot, some charming characters, odd anti-Christian allegories
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 1997 Fantasy/Juvenile
Enjoyable
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 1998 Fantasy/Juvenile
Still
enjoyable
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 1999 Fantasy/Juvenile
OK
ride. Morally dubious. Good series structure
Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2000 Fantasy/Juvenile
Fine.
Dumb twist. Enticing hints of future developments
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix 2003 Fantasy/Juvenile
The Last Enchantment (Book 3 in the Merlin saga) 1979 Fantasy
Continues
to capably weave around the Arthurian legend
The First Book of Swords 1983
Good
idea well executed
The Second Book of Swords 1983 Fantasy
Characters
and settings a bit 2D (or classic), but originality with Gods and swords, and
cracker chaotic finish
The Third Book of Swords 1984
Consistent series
Woundhealer’s Story (The
First Book of Lost Swords) 1986
Consistent series. Clever interaction between
differing magical god-forged swords
Stonecutter’s Story (The
Third Book of Lost Swords) 1988
Consistent series. Clever interaction between
differing magical god-forged swords
Farslayer’s Story (The
Fourth Book of Lost Swords) 1989
Consistent series. Clever interaction between
differing magical god-forged swords
The
Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night 1300s? Fantasy/Short
Stories
Constant
blood, magic and sex. Diverting but very repetitive
The Gnole 1991
Inconsistent
Pastoral/Supernatural/Conspiracy fantasy
The
Sharing Knife (Vol. 1: Beguilement) 2006 Fantasy
/ Romance
Teen fantasy/romance,
half-decent world building, some OK ideas, some cliché
CHERRYH, C. J.
Fortress in the Eye of Time 1994
Initially
slow and meandering, but stronger latter half
COOK, Hugh
The Wizards and the Warlords (Chronicles of an Age of Darkness: Volume 1) 1986
Some
original ideas, lots of unoriginal ones, fairly sloppy, some plot surprises
The Wordsmiths & The Warguild (Chronicles of an Age of Darkness: Volume 2) 1987
Smug,
crass, 2D characters and settings, but original subversion of perspective
The Gift (The First Book of Pellinor – The Treesong Trilogy) 2002 Fantasy/Juvenile
Competent
enough cliché, teen girl daydream, two-dimensional
EDDINGS, David
Magician’s Gambit (Book Three
of the Belgariad) 1983?
Some of the tricks are
wearing a bit thin
Castle of Wizardry (Book Four
of the Belgariad) 1984
Series starting to irritate
a bit now – very lazy writing (no editing), repetitive dialogue
The Diamond Throne (Book One
of the Elenium) 1989
Satisfactory fare, no
surprises
The Ruby Knight (Book Two
of the Elenium) 1990
OK, but I don’t recall ever
bothering to finish the series
Wolf in
Shadow 1996 Fantasy/SF
Too close to Stephen King's 'The Gunslinger'
JORDAN, Robert
The Eye of the World (Book 1 of The Wheel of Time) 1990
OK standard ride for a while, a bit
tedious towards the finish
Tigana 1990
Coherent world, OK
plot, but cliché characters, windy exposition and sentimental adolescent
perspective
Dawnspell: The
Bristling Wood (Volume 3 of the
Deverry series) 1989
Still
nothing wrong, but without the novelty not as compelling
LAWHEAD, Stephen
Taliesin (Book 1 of the Pendragon Cycle) 1987
Another
version of the Arthur myth incorporating Atlantis and Christianity
LEE, Tanith
Delusion’s Master 1981
Grand
scope, discomforting, Clive Barker-ish
LEIBER, Fritz
Swords Against Wizardry (Book
4 in the Swords series) 1968
Classic
sword and sorcery heroes (plus wisecracks and wenches)
The Swords of Lankhmar (Book
5 in the Swords series) 1968
Classic
sword and sorcery heroes (plus wisecracks and wenches)
The
Knight and Knave of Swords (Book 7 in the ‘Swords’ series) 1990
Original ideas, good
mood and lead characters undermined by frequent voyeurism
LE GUIN, Ursula K.
The
Other Wind (Earthsea, Book 5)
2001
Evocative skills, but
this story hinged on some weak plot devices and characters
Phantastes 1858
Fantasy/Allegory
Sustained dreamlike mood,
little else
At the back of the
North Wind 1870 Juvenile/Fantasy
Too long since I read it –
I’m not sure I finished
Lilith 1895 Fantasy/Allegory
Haunting, dreamlike,
insightful, confusing, enigmatic
MARTIN, George R. R.
A Clash Of Kings (Book
2 of A Song of Ice and Fire) 1998
Loses direction, often
gratuitous, too many world shaking characters
Blood and Gold (A Storm of Swords 2: Book 3, Part 2 of A Song
of Ice and Fire) 2000
Alas: Grand epic bloats to
Soap Opera
Dragonflight 1968
Solid and original enough
world creation but McCaffrey always feels elitist to me
King Rat 1998 Action/(Urban) Fantasy
Cool, dark X-men action and mood,
bit pretentious, really silly climax
The
Jewel in the Skull (Volume 1
of the Runestaff) 1967
Somewhat
darker Lieberish swords and sorcery OK pulp
The Sword of the Dawn
(Volume 3 of the Runestaff) 1969
Somewhat darker Leiberish swords and sorcery OK
pulp
The Secret of the Runestaff (Volume 4 of the Runestaff) 1969
Somewhat darker Leiberish swords and sorcery OK
pulp
Eragon 2002 Fantasy/Juvenile
OK if you haven’t read much fantasy before,
derivative, some weaknesses
Titus Groan (Book 1 of the Gormenghast trilogy) 1946 Fantasy
Constant discomforting,
lurid images, oppressive mood, grotesque population, crawling pace … but
strangely compelling
PRATCHETT, Terry
Small Gods 1992
Solid humour as ever but a bit dodgily preachy
Nation 2008 Fantasy
Some good moments undermined by gratuitous preaching
The Dying Earth 1950 SF/Fantasy
Future magic more than spaceships
WILLIAMS, Tad
Tailchaser's
Song 1992
Fantasy / Juvenile (Adolescent)
Pleasant enough fare with poor resolution
The Wizard (Book 2 of
The Wizard Knight) 2004 Fantasy
Too
much of the same: still impressive, but less novel and gripping
CHERRYH,
C.J.
Faery in Shadow 1993
Yet another outcast suffers tortured indecision,
disappointing
DONALDSON,
Stephen
Lord Foul’s Bane 1977
Some absorbing world/culture creation, but grandiose
language doesn’t cover confused unsatisfying themes and action
The Wounded Land 1980
Great imagination but lead characters and basic plot
not engaging enough for series length
EDDINGS,
David
Enchanters’ End Game (Book Five of the Belgariad) 1984
The (yawn) climax. No
suspense – every second goodie casually granted godlike powers
JORDAN,
Robert
The
Great Hunt (Book 2
of The Wheel of Time) 1990
Odd
sequel (the baddie executed in Book 1 inexplicably reappears)
The Gunslinger 1982/2003(Revised) SF/Fantasy
Impressive
façade
Sightblinder's
Story
(The Second Book of Lost Swords) 1987
Disappointing both as episode & continuation
FEIST,
Raymond E.
Lazy, indulgent, formulaic
The Dark Griffin 2009
Slightest variation on a massively over-travelled
route. Juvenile. 2D.
The Way of
Shadows 2008
Another failed attempt to mix realism with fantasy;
naïve
The
Mad God’s Amulet (Volume 2 of the Runestaff) 1968
Bleak, offensive background,
cliché characters, LAZY random plotting
His Dark
Materials 2003 (BBC Audiobook Edition) Fantasy / Juvenile
Probably some original ideas, but I just couldn’t get
past the cliché characters, scenarios, and bad writing and dialogue. Bailed
early.
GOODKIND,
Terry
Wizard's
First Rule 1994
Sloppy. Gratuitous. Self-contradictory. Lazy
BROOKS,
Terry
Entranced in my early teens, I lost faith in sequels as an older reader. Rereading in 2007: Bad LOTR cover version.
Royal Chaos 1990 Fantasy/Humour
Tryhard predictable comedy