Well, since I'm old I still like Foundation--it was definately a step up from Cordwainder Smith in it's day. I agree it lacks depth but it had alot more depth than it's predecesors. When Dune came out it absolutely buried it and now that were have writers of the caliber of Zindell, Simmons, Daniel ...

So you're saying you don't like my choices eh? 8) I agree the Jordan is trash, so are Brooks and Eddings. We all have different tastes-if not everyone would be driving a Thunderbird! :P Actually I agree with you about Brooks and Eddings. :lol: But I'm not denigrating trash! Believe me, when I'm wai...

Can we separate juvenile and adult fiction? Jordan is fine if you are 12. Now, I'm not saying Jordan deserves to be in the 'best fantasy series' list, but I'd argue that it isn't juvenile fiction. In fact, the first couple books were in a different format when re-released as "young adult"...

Bad analogy. No matter what demographic enjoys Asimov the most, he wasn't writing for teens--and his publishers weren't marketing towards them. He wrote for a general audience, and when you write for a general audience, you write to the lowest common denominator. Gee, I was trying to be kind. But I...

I never considered Asimov a teen writer... :? Well, consider it. Compare, for example, the robot short stories to the stories in The Island of Dr Death and Other Stories and Other Stories. Or compare the Foundation novels to the Book of the New Sun. Or Caves of Steel to Solaris or Light (Harrison)....

A lot of people read Asimov, Heinlein, Card, and Niven when in their teens, but I would never say that they were teen fiction writers. That's like saying Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter for teens because they make you read it high school. ;) Not really. Bad analogy. Asimov did not writ...

Can we separate juvenile and adult fiction? Jordan is fine if you are 12.

How about King of Elfland's Daughter?

Of the list, aren't most of these writers teen fiction writers? Asimov, Heinlein, Card, and Niven certainly are.

What about science fiction/fantasy written for adults? (If this is a teen board, I appologize.)

How about Vance, Wolfe, Lafferty, Lem, Harrison. . .

He is great--I've been reading him since I was 12.

But let's be honest--he's no Mervyn Peake or Gene Wolfe.

If the two writers mentioned above are 5-star writers, and the Jordon crowd are 1-star writers, I'd say Donaldson is 4-star.

I tried reading Wheel of Time, fourth novel (The only one I was given of the series, tried it to see if I was interested in reading the rest of the series) and found myself, flipping to the glossary in the back, about twice in every paragraph, trying to figure out what was going on. After 100 pages...

I've been wondering about AMERICAN GODS every time I see it on the shelf. It won an award but looks unattractive. Thanks for the helpful comments. So far it reads easily and is entertaining. But if your motto is "it ain't fantasy unless it has orcs, elves, and a magic ring," then you migh...

NOM!!!!!!

Any recommendations of the best non-English writers? So far, my favorite by far is Lem (Poland). Solaris is as much science fiction as anything written in English, but has a very different feel. It is slower paced, less action, and a lot more introspective than a lot of US science fiction. I've hear...

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Very original fantasy--not at all in the mold of the pulp "high fantasy" lining the Barnes and Noble these days. Premise is that the gods that our ancestors worshipped in their countries of origin (Norse, African, etc.) are living among us in America, and have...

I have never heard of this author. Why don't you tell me what you think his best work is (and tell us about him while you're about it), or I'm going to have to delete this thread, as this forum is for real fiction writers, not fictional ones. :D It's hard to believe that anyone has not heard of Phi...

What are his best short stories? (Not his best collections--his best stories.)

Gormenghast - Peake
Tigana - Kay
New Sun - Wolfe

Read the Neverness series by David Zindell and Metaplanetary by Tony Daniel. The sequel to Metaplanetary, Superluminal is coming out in May. 6 great Sci-Fis that sould keep you happy for awhile 8) (to learn more about Zindell and Neverness click my www below) Thanks! Neverness looks interesting. I'...

Any recommmendations for great adult/literary s/sf? I loved Asimov, Clark, Heinlein, Card, etc. when I was 13; I'm looking for writers who write good fiction and write for adults. For example, I'd put Jordan and Asimov in the "juvenile" category and Peake and Wolfe in the "adult"...