Other Fantasy Writers

I haven't found any other fantasy that I don't dislike, to be honest. Tolkien doesn't feel fake like most fantasy in that the world of the third age is pretty normal really. I hated Song of Ice and Fire so much that I couldn't complete the first book. Soap opera fantasy is the worst kind. Still, if everyone liked the same stuff, it would be a dull world :)

I do like the Song of Ice and Fire series, though I haven't read the fifth book yet. I definitely agree with the "soap opera" description from Stu, but sometimes that works for me!

I also am really enjoying the Kingkiller Chronicles by Pat Rothfuss, but only the first two books are out yet, so be warned if you can't stand waiting. If he can sustain the story to the end and wrap it up cleanly, this will be a classic in my mind.

Neither are replacements for (or even in the style of) Tolkien.

I just sold my spare copy of "A Game of Thrones" a few months ago, or else I might have been able to help you out SonOfDolf. Sorry!

Stu wrote:
I hated Song of Ice and Fire so much that I couldn't complete the first book.

You missed the best part of the book! In the last chapters of the first book a lot of the stuff happens that is the very reason many people like these books so much.

Of course Tolkien is on a different level.

After reading Tolkien as a youth I went out looking for something similar and read authors like Eddings, Donaldson, Jordan, Goodkind, Martin, etc. None of them to me could match the quality of Tolkien, and some seemed like they were trying very hard to plagiarize him (Terry Brooks comes to mind). I have to admit that I did enjoy Martin’s series. His work is really only fantasy in that it is set in a fictitious world where there are some elements of the supernatural. To me his work reads more like fictionalized history set in medieval Europe, and his style is reminiscent of someone like James Clavell.
As for recommended reading I would say Gaiman’s “American Gods” is one of the most engaging fantasy type books I’ve read recently.

SonOfDolf --do you mind if I rename this thread "Other Fantasy Writers" (or something like that)?

That aside, I really (really) don't read that much Fantasy; depending in how you use the term. I read much fantastic fiction --in particular Supernatural fiction (or Weird literature). I did read Eddings, Gemmell, Pratchett etc when I was younger --they were all okay. To be honest, re-reading Tolkien recently, I can really see why some parts of the literary world don't rate Fantasy. I mean, they might think Tolkien is good, but probably think if this is literally the best Fantasy can offer --the genre isn't up to much. Sadly, the fault in this argument is that everything that is highly acclaimed/rated (where Fantasy isn't) doesn't faintly appeal to me; & I suspect I wouldn't really enjoy reading it. SF still offers much that captivates me too.

BH

Khamul wrote:
SonOfDolf --do you mind if I rename this thread "Other Fantasy Writers" (or something like that)?

Not at all

SF still offers much that captivates me too.

I recently read Eon from Greg Bear which I liked very much. Also still have to read Solaris from Stanisław Lem because the 1972 Tarkovskiy movie adaptation is one of my all time favorites.

I beat Khamul to it, and changed the title

I'll put in a plug for another site that I am member of, as that is a much better site for this type of question, we stick here to what the site is renowned for, collecting Tolkien

This question comes up a lot on the plaza and there are lots of posts about what other fantasy writers people like, and here is an example.

http://www.lotrplaza.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=242076

My answer to the question though is that I only really like one fantasy author's books, and I will let you guess who that is? (that last comment makes me think of the really hard questions on TV phone-ins, like my favourite, What colour is an orange?)

Like Red, I too had a time when I was looking for fiction which would be similar to Tolkien's works, and tried reading a lot of the popular, best-selling fantasy/sf authors. None of these really were much to my liking, though.

What I've enjoyed, however, are those authors which have had a fresh perspective in speculative fiction, and which are good writers: I've much liked Jack Vance's Lyonesse series and the Dying Sun series. I'm currently reading Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun series, which so far (just started with the second volume) I find to be really good. I've also been intrigued by some works of Robert Holdstock. An usual (in this context) recommendation would also be Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, falling under the label of "alternative history".

I beat Khamul to it, and changed the title.
-Trotter

Still my title...

I'll put in a plug for another site that I am member of, as that is a much better site for this type of question, we stick here to what the site is renowned for, collecting Tolkien.
-Trotter

Trotter! --this section is for any discussion. We're almost all having a chat here!
Much better site indeed...

BH