28 Aug, 2010
2010-8-28 7:55:55 PM UTC
Please suggest:
- up to five great adult fantasy books (in the old meaning, ie as opposed to child fantasy, not X rated!)
- up to five great children's fantasy books.
Please take part, and ask your friends to as well; I'd like to make this as representative as possible.
Thank you!
- wellinghall
28 Aug, 2010
2010-8-28 9:02:15 PM UTC
I haven't read a lot of adult fantasy (except Tolkien of course), but I've read a bit more children's fantasy. Also, to keep room for other authors, I've given Tolkien just one spot, otherwise I think it would all have been Tolkien (at least in the adult list).
Adult:
1) JRR Tolkien (LotR, Sil, CoH, The Hobbit, Leaf by Niggle, Smith of Wootton Major)
2) Dracula - Bram Stoker
3) The Color of Magic - Pratchett (only one I've read from the Discworld series but there are more to follow, definitely!)
4) The (Poetic) Edda (at least the tales I've read up till now)
(Those are the fantasy novels I can remember having read)
Children's:
1) Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
2) JRR Tolkien (The Hobbit (I like it more as an adult novel), Farmer Giles of Ham, Roverandom)
3) The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
4) A Dutch series called De Griezelbus (The Bus of Horror)
5) King Arthur and His Knights - Anthony Mockler (has references to Tolkien's writings: a nazgûl appears, Merlin says his name was once 'Gandalf' (well, it comes down to this), the Lady of the Lake is in fact Galadriel,... Not great literature, but quite fun to read.
29 Aug, 2010
2010-8-29 4:32:15 PM UTC
Onónion, thank you for those. Anyone else?
- wellinghall
29 Aug, 2010
2010-8-29 6:18:12 PM UTC
What, Wellinghall, are you (broadly speaking) defining Fantasy as including? Fantasy in the early to mid-20th century was probably a little broader in definition than it is today; including such things as "Science-Fantasy" etc. (i.e. Sci-fi was viewed by some as sub-genre of Fantasy.) Horror, Weird, Supernatural fiction: can these be included?
BH
29 Aug, 2010
2010-8-29 7:06:45 PM UTC
Khamul, I'm looking at a fairly broad definition. Not completely broad - modern "hard" sf, for one, won't get in, unless justified. But broadly, if it's in the Encyclopedia of Fantasy, it's in scope.
- wellinghall