From: jespah@milton.u.washington.edu (Kathleen Hunt)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Fantasy suggestions - list
Summary: compilation of suggestions for good, fun fantasy books.
Date: 14 Apr 92 18:32:02 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

Hi  -- I want to thank everyone who e-mailed or posted suggestions for books
 for my friend to take to Panama.  I packed her off with all the side pockets of
 her luggage crammed with paperback books, mostly fantasy, some mystery,
 some misc. fiction. Everyone's suggestions were *very* helpful and I
 had a lot of fun in the used bookstores!  

I got some requests for a list of all the books people mentioned, so here it
 is.  The comments in quotes are from netters who recommended the books.
 Other comments are mostly mine, or a compilation of impressions from 
 different people. I included several "children's" books that adults may
 enjoy too; if you look for them remember they may be in the children's
 section in bookstores. Any feedback, comments, or more suggestions will be
 appreciated! Thanks.

Kathleen
jespah@u.washington.edu

*************************************

Adams, Douglas           esp. Hitchhiker series. Hilarious.
Anthony, Piers           Xanth series
    "If you are into puns...excursions into light-hearted fantasy, very easy
     reads - but this is not to say that they aren't any good.  They're really
     quite entertaining."
Beagle                   The Folk of the Air
Bisson, Terry            Talking Man
Bradley, Marion Z.       Darkover series, Mists of Avalon
     Darkover series -- "Good cross between fantasy & sf, although there are
     so many of them it might be difficult to choose which to read first, 
     although I don't think it really matters too much as long as you keep in
     mind that the series spans about a thousand years in the "history" of the
     planet Darkover.  I don't think I've read anything by her that I felt was 
     a  waste of time."
Card, Orson Scott        Alvin Maker series, Ender series, Songmaster
     Mentioned by several netters & friends of mine, & strongly seconded by
     me.  Very believable, human characters, lots of socio-political plot stuff.
     The Alvin Maker series takes place in an "alternate" colonial America in
     which magic & telekinesis are common "knacks" that people have. The series
     follows Alvin, an intelligent & serious child with an extraordinarily
     strong "knack". The plots involve historical conflicts between white
     settlers & native Americans.  The Ender series is set in the future
     (interstellar travel, etc.) & focuses on humanity's contact with alien
     races, and the various ways that different cultures can mistunderstand
     each other; again the series starts with an intelligent  young boy who is
     forced to become a leader before he really wants to.  Very well-written,
     thoughtful books.
Carroll, Jonathan       The Land of Laughs, Bones of the Moon
Charnas, Suzy M.        Walk to the End of the World & The Vampire ??
Cooper, Susan           The Dark Is Rising series (Over Sea Under Stone, The
     Dark Is Rising, Greenwich, The Grey King, Silver On The Tree)
     Excellent "children's" fantasy series set in modern-day Wales, involving
     the waking of the old Welsh heros, gods, & myths. Quasi-Arthurian plot
     elements.  Vivid magical plots, human characters, strong sense of place. 
     The Grey King won a Newbery, and I think The Dark Is Rising was
     nominated for one.
Crowley, John           Little, Big
     Mentioned by several people.
Delaney                 4 novels set in Neveryon 
Donaldson, Stephen      Mordant's Need series (The Other Side of the Mirror, A
     Man Rides Through), The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (two trilogies:
     Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, The Power That Preserves, The One
     Tree, ??, White Gold Wielder)  Mentioned by two people:
      [re Mordant's Need books] "The lead character is a woman named
     Terisa who is drawn by coincidence into a fascinating other world
     described in rich detail...Both books are extremely enjoyable and have
     pleasing twists of plot that keep you guessing as to who is on whose
     side and what will be the result of everyone's actions.  Anyhow, the
     books rate very highly in my alltime list and I strongly recommend them."
      [re Chronicles of TC] "This is the stuff that hooked me on fantasy.  It's
     generally accepted that the first trilogy is far superior to the second...
     this also seems to be a series that people either love or hate -- there 
     really aren't that many people who tread the middle ground."
Duane, Diane            Wizardry series
     "Children's" books about magic, recommended by the staff of the local
     (excellent) bookstore when I asked for fun, well-written fantasies.
Eddings, David          2 pentologies: The Belgariad and The Mallorean.
Garcia Marquez, G.      One Hundred Years of Solitude
     This is a fabulous book that is not typical fantasy -- it's more "magic 
     realism", a whirling, bizarre epic of a hundred years in the life of an 
     indescribable family in South America.  Well, Garcia Marquez manages to
     describe them!  World-class literature, an incredible story.
Gardner                 Grendel
Goldman, William        The Princess Bride
     Recommended by a netter & strongly seconded by me! Hilarious, a cult
     classic long before the movie was made.
Goldstein, Lisa         Red Magician
     Popular at the local used bookstores & somewhat hard to find.
Hambly, Barbara	
     "Good sense of humor, intelligent characters & well-written. Bridges
     from sf to fantasy sometimes. Always a strong female character."
Hazel, Paul             Yearwood
Jones, Diana Wynne      Archer's Goon, Time City, others
     I've only read a few of these "children's" fantasy books but have loved
     them -- funny, vivid, very interesting.  Jones has a great imagincation
     and is a wonderful story-teller.  I particularly liked Time City, which is
     about a young girl who is accidentally whisked out  of twentieth-century
     Britain to an eternal city outside of time.
Kay, Guy Gavriel        Fionavar trilogy
Kushner, Ellen          Swordspoint
     A court-intrigue sort of plot, involving an expert swordsman who hires
     out his skill to fight duels. The main character is very intelligent,
     thoughtful, & given to bouts of introspection about his life & friends &
     fate. Smoothly written.  Lots of smouldering unexpressed emotions.
Lackey, Mercedes        "anything, esp. books about world (kingdom?) of
     Valdemar.  Esp. recommend the trilogy including Arrows of the Queen,
     Arrows Flight, Arrows Fall.  Also, Oathbound, Oathbreakers.  Not
     quite as good but still enjoyable is the trilogy of the Last Herald-Mage
     of Valdemar. Collaborations with other authors not as good."
Le Guin, Ursula         Earthsea tetralogy, Left Hand of Darkness, The
     Dispossessed, etc.  Mentioned by several netters & seconded by me. 
     The Earthsea books are "children's" books & are among my favorites.
Linklater, Eric         The Wind on the Moon
     Good "children's" fantasy, unfortunately out of print (1944).
MacAvay, Roberta        The Black Dragon, Twisting The Rope, others
McCaffrey, Anne         anything, e.g. Dragonriders of Pern series
     Fun, easy to read, with many srong female characters.
McKinley, Robin         all good, esp. The Blue Sword, Hero & Crown, Beauty.
     Mentioned by two netters & seconded (thirded?) by me.
     "_The Blue Sword_ is a good heroic tale (female protagonist) set in an
     environment very much like colonial India.  The conflict is between the
     colonial powers, the last vestiges of the "hill" tribes, and an evil group
     that lives "over the mountains". The book has elements of magic, self-
     discovery, bravery, and self-sacrifice.  A nice quick read."
     "Infuses her stories with a nice sense of humor, and the characters 
     are delightfully human."
     I (KH) just finished _The Hero & The Crown_ & very much enjoyed it;
     the lead character (female) is completely believable -- a bright, cranky,
     persistent, unpopular, and lonely princess who decides to learn how to
     fight dragons.  Even the horses are three-dimensional characters.
Miller & Lee            Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, Carpe Diem 
     "The three-book series by Ron Miller & Sharon Lee (or is it Ron Lee and
     Sharon Miller?)  is fantastic, very action-oriented, and filled with 
     strong women (and men) and good human (and not-quite-human) interactions. 
     It's fairly romantic and has a strong anti-discrimination (Terrans vs.
     Liadens vs. Clutch members vs. Xtrang) message, and strong
     characterization.  The dialogue throughout all three books is great and
     the plot is suspenseful without being hopelessly convoluted.  _Conflict
     of Honors_ is the weakest of the three but still worth reading."
Moon, Elizabeth         Paksenarrion trilogy
     Vivid & believable story of a starry-eyed young female warrior who goes
     through hell & high water to find her true role in life. Much realistic,
     gritty military action, mixed with magic.  The main character is human &
     refreshingly non-godlike for the first two books, but in the third book 
     she loses her engaging humanness. Still worth reading though.  Besides, 
     it's virtually impossible not to read the third book after finishing the 
     second.
Pangborn                Davy
Pearce, Philippa        Tom's Midnight Garden
     Another "children's" fantasy recommended by the bookstore staff.
Pratchett, Terry        Discworld books, e.g. _The Colour of Magic_
Pratchett & Gaimen      Good Omens
     Pratchett writes fantasty comedies a la Douglas Adams.  Co-writer Neil 
     Gaiman also writes excellent comic books, e.g. Sandman.
Rivkin, J.F.            Silverglass, Witch of Rhostshyl (& one more)
     "Big-busted female fantasy" says a note from a (feminist) friend of mine. 
     I think I remember her saying that these books are a lot of fun and have
     strong female characters, and that the characters all seem to be very
     sexually liberated.
Roberson, Jennifer      esp. early books of the Song of Homana or Songs of the 
     Cheysuli (?)
     "The later ones got a little too predictable and repetitious. The books
     about Tiger and Del the sword dancers are pretty good also, but again,
     some parts got a little tiresome."
Tepper, Sheri           Raising the Stones, The Gate to Woman's Country,
     Mavis Manyshaped, Grass.  Two people recommended Tepper; one said
     that _Grass_ is great but can be hard to get into and shouldn't be the
     first Tepper book you read.  The other person recommended _Mavis
     Manyshaped_ as "entertaining light reading with a strong female main
     character" & said the other books are good reads with more emphasis
     on feminist issues.
Tolkein                 Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf by Niggle
     (not to mention The Hobbit & LOTR, of course!)
Undset                  Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy
White, T.H.             Once & Future King
     Re-telling of the Arthur story; funny, moving, excellent book.
Willis, Connie          short stories
Wolfe	                Book of the New Sun series
Wrede, Patricia         re-telling of the fairy tale Snow White & Rose Red
Zelazny, Roger          Amber series
     "It's about 5 books long and is written in the first person.  The hero,
     Corwin, is down-to-earth, witty, and brave; his family, all busy plotting
     for the throne, are nasty, but still likeable.  The plot hangs together 
     well, and the dialogue is good enough that you wouldn't really care even 
     if it didn't."
??                      Incantations of Immortality series
?? (starts with Z?)     People of a Different Flesh.  

	
-- 
"And this is a tiny radiotransmitter.  It transmits tiny radios through
 the air to this tiny radio receiver."