Whats your fav NON(!)-SRD Fantasy?

Post by **Bahgoon** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 4:35 am

Without hesitation, GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. No other series has come as close to capturing my heart the way Donaldson's Covenant series did, but Song of Ice and Fire was that close

LOTR was the classic on which I cut my fantasy teeth, so to speak. Tolkien was a master at contemporary character archetypes. IMO it is the LOTR to which writers must turn (or acknowledge however begrudgingly) as the new standard by which they measure and mold their archetypal fantasy characters. The old standard must be the classic Greek and Persian heroic tales from which Tolkien, Lewis and their generation measured their characters.

Post by **Lord Mhoram** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 10:02 pm

I just read Nine Princes in Amber and The Guns of Avalon, both by Roger Zelazny part of the Chronicles of Amber. They were fantastic!
Thes best fantasy Ive read since TCTC.

Post by **duchess of malfi** » Fri Dec 13, 2002 6:31 am

Yes, the Amber books are really good. I've got to get back to them someday!
My favorite book of Earthsea is the second one, The Tombs of Atuan, so I hope that you can read that one someday.

In fact, I went to Borders and got the original three Earthsea books for my younger son as a Christmas present today.

I won't tell you what I got my older son, 'cause you'll holler at me.

(But if you want a hint it's a five book series and the author's intials are DE)

Post by **Prince of Amber** » Fri Dec 13, 2002 12:11 pm

No... It couldn't be, not David Edd...' choke'..ings, I can hardly bring myself to write the name.
Actually I read the first five when I was a kid and they are O.K for a youngster, its only when you move to SRD and the like that you realise how err.. rubbish they are.

Post by **duchess of malfi** » Fri Dec 13, 2002 5:09 pm

Well, exactly. My little guy is a Tolkein freak just like me, so when he comes of age, no problem moving him right up to Donaldson or Martin or Zelazny (in fact, he freaked out when he saw my Kevinswatch shirt, and wants to start reading LFB NOW). My older son, though likes to read these 600-1000 page books of world history, so I'm desperate. Over at ASOIAF there are all of these threads from people saying that they started reading fantasy via David Eddings, so I'm willing to give this a try

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Fri Dec 13, 2002 11:58 pm

Hey duchess,
Have you read the latest Earthsea stuff? After Tehanu (which didn't do much for me, although it is extremely important later on) was Dragonfly and The Other Wind. The last two are fantastic! As is the Tales from Earthsea collection of short stories. Ah, when I begin speaking about them, I get so carried away that I break into my native Haruchai language!

Post by **Ryzel** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 12:04 am

Fist and Faith wrote:Hey duchess,
Have you read the latest Earthsea stuff? After Tehanu (which didn't do much for me, although it is extremely important later on) was Dragonfly and The Other Wind. The last two are fantastic! As is the Tales from Earthsea collection of short stories.

I agree with your assessment, but what is Dragonfly? Is it a book?

Post by **duchess of malfi** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 2:14 am

Yes, I like the later things, too, but thought the first three books were a bit more appropriate for a child as young as my son.

Now I've just got to find a way to hide Donaldson and Martin from him for a few more years!

Post by **Lord Mhoram** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 3:12 am

Dragonfly is a short story in Legends about Earthsea.

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 10:33 am

My favourite non-SRD fantasy book? Would have to be the Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.

Post by **Vain** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 11:14 am

Gene Wolfe writes some really amazing stuff. I named my cat Severian

Post by **[Syl]** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 1:29 pm

That's awesome, Vain. Those books are on my reread list.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 2:31 pm

Ryzel,

Dragonfly can also be found in the Tales from Earthsea collection. The longest of the "short stories", The Finder, is 106 pages, and tells the story of the founding of Roke. The shortest story is only 20 pages. (If you're wondering, the two Earthsea stories that were gathered in The Wind's Twelve Quarters, The Word of Unbinding and The Rule of Names, are not in this collection.)

Dragonfly falls between Tehanu and The Other Wind. We get to see a lot of the Master Patterner and the Immanent Grove. LeGuin is at her very best, imho.

duchess,
Yeah, I understood. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew about the later stuff. I just happened to see them on a table at Barnes & Noble one day, and wouldn't have known about them otherwise. I suppose I would have learned about them eventually. But when I think that I might not know about them even now if I hadn't happened to glance in the direction of that table.....

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 12:01 am

good stuff, Vain! Severian is a cool name for a cat! I want to name my mansion (whenever I have one) House Absolute.

Post by **Vain** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 12:32 am

I would call mine Gormenghast

You should try going to the vet with cats that went by the names of:

Nemesis
Golem
Smeagle (sp?)
Yashar
Nermal (as opposed to Garfield)
Shetra
Mogwai
Grimalkin

Post by **[Syl]** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 3:51 am

I had a cat named Nichodemus and got enough strange looks over that one. A dog named Snoid.

I currently have a ferret named Freya, and I always have to explain that one to people.

Post by **Prince of Amber** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 10:42 am

I had two Goldfish that we named Nemesis and Torquemada, and then a cat named Thomas (from next door) ate them both

Post by **Landwaster** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 8:40 pm

We have five potplants, all named Bruce ... if that helps.

Post by **[Syl]** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:23 am

Wouldn't you want to give them a female name? Y'know, something like Mary Jane?

Post by **Landwaster** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 5:53 am

Mary Jane the potplant? Hehe ... why?

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

Whats your fav NON(!)-SRD Fantasy?

Fav non-SRD fantasy