I’m working on a new fantasy series. (YAY!) I’m still in the storyworld-building phase right now, so I’ve been trying to read a lot of classic or popular general market adult fantasy to get my mind in the right genre. These are usually thick books. And I still have to read and review Christian market YA books for Novel Teen, so I haven’t gotten through as many of the fantasy books as I’d like. But I thought I’d share what I’ve read so far.
My favorite part about all of these books was the different ways that magic was portrayed. Super cool.
Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz
This is about a prince whose father is killed and so he becomes king. But someone wants to kill him too and take over the land. The only chance he has is to learn the magic of his father. But his mother is against magic, so he has to go behind her back or face the coming evil without it.
I really enjoyed this book. The author is Catholic and I found her storyworld and magic intriguing. The land is mythical, yet she refers to things in our history, which actually worked okay for me, even though the didn’t really fit the storyworld. But this book was first published in 1978, and writing rules then weren’t what they are today, so I forgive her. The story was entertaining and fun. I blew through it in a day or two. I heartily recommend it. Click on the cover to read more about it on Amazon. I also must add that this book had a really cool map of the land. Bonus.
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
This story is about Aerin, a princess whose mother was the king’s second wife. Many people thought the second wife was a witch, so Aerin doesn’t get much respect. She’s clever, though, and likes to fight. So she sets about learning how to create a lotion that makes her flame resistant. Then she goes out and kills some dragons, earning respect by her deeds.
I’ve heard people rave about this book, so I was eager to read it. And I thought I’d be able to read it quickly too, since it was 227 pages. Not so. This was a hard read for me. It took me over a week. I loved the premise. The overall story was good too. I just didn’t enjoy the way the story was told. It jumps around with backstory, which kept me from connecting with Aerin. This book was first published in 1984, so I have to forgive my frustrations with the storytelling style. But still. I didn’t love it, and I won’t read any more books in this series, though I do own a copy of McKinely’s Beauty, so I’ll read that and see if I can connect to the characters better. Click on the cover to read more about it on Amazon.
Also, this book had no map.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Here’s a story about an innkeeper who agrees to tell his story to a scribe. He asks for three days to tell the story, and there are to be three books in this series, one for each day. The story is about a young boy, Kvothe, who is part of a traveling troupe, and how he survives when his parents are killed.
Here’s another book I’d heard tons about. I’m glad I finally read it. I loved it. I really did. It was long. Too long, really. But the story was never boring. I did get frustrated at the end when I realized Kvothe wasn’t going to be able to finish his story in the pages I had left. Then I remembered the whole “I need three days to tell this story” thing, and that the book was the first in a trilogy. Oh yeah.
This book is good. And I think all fantasy writers should read it at some point. Rothfuss is an excellent storyteller. There is a little foul language in this book, but it didn’t bother me as it has in other books. For the most part this is a clean book. There are very serious subject matters in the story like mass murder and revenge. And there is some racy dialogue–funny and well-written, though. Regretfully, I went online and read some reviews of book two, and I probably won’t read on. I adore Kvothe as he is. And I don’t want to read about him becoming a murder and a sexual rock star. So I’ll stick with book one for this series. But the magic and storyworld and characters in book one were fabulous. Click the cover to read more on Amazon.
This book also had a nice map. 🙂
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Elantris was once a powerful city, but something happened about ten years ago that made all the powerful people get the Shaod, a disease that makes a person sort of zombie like. This story follows a prince who gets the Shaod. The people of his world fear it, and anyone who gets the Shaod is thrown into the ruins of Elantris. So Prince Raoden is thrown into Elantris, but everyone is told that he died, including his betrothed, Sarene. As per their betrothal agreement, if one of them died, they would be considered wed already.
Now Sarene is a widow and alone in a new place, trying to figure out what she can do to help this kingdom. Meanwhile, a high priest shows up with plans to convert the land or conquer it. And Sarene sets her mind on foiling his plans.
This was a great story. I loved how unique the magic felt in this book. And the mystery unraveled nicely too. There were three points of view: Prince Raoden, Sarene, and the high priest. It was a long book, but I enjoyed every page. This book was clean too. No swearing or sex. An enjoyable story with characters that made me want to read more. Very well done. This was Sanderson’s first book. He’s since written many, including being hired to finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. I look forward to reading more from Sanderson.
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
This book was cool. It’s Jane Austen with magic. I know, right?
The story is about Jane, the older, and somewhat homely, sister of Melody. Jane is twenty-eight and still unmarried. She’d like to get married, but she isn’t pretty enough to attract the amount of suitors that her sister seems to always have around her. But Jane is gifted in Glamour, a magic that, like art, allows one to create illusions for entertainment and decoration. Melody’s Glamour skills are mediocre, and she is continually jealous of Jane’s art, which perplexes Jane as Melody is so pretty that Jane feels there is no reason for her to be jealous of anyone. Thus the story continues as Jane tries to find love and keep her sister from public disgrace.
I loved this book. The story had some loose ends that I felt could have been tied up better. But it was a quick, romantic read, which after all these thick fantasy novels, was a nice change. I loved the magic of Glamour, which was done in a unique away. I look forward to reading the second book in this series.
Have you read any of these? If so, what did you like/dislike about them?
The only one I’m familiar with is Robin McKinley’s THE HERO AND THE CROWN (2007) which I didn’t like nearly as well as her BLUE SWORD (2000). H&C won the Newbery while Ble Sword was only nominated. However, I really like Blue Sword better. Can’t remember if there was a map, sorry!
Looking forward to your next fantasy series!
Hmmm… Was Blue Sword a sequel to H&C, Carol?
Me too! I can’t wait to write it. I’m trying to get Spencer into the NCAA right now. What a mess that research is! I long to be working on a book where I can just make up whatever rules I want. Ha ha.
Have you ever heard of the Epic of Karolan? I read the first book (Bright Against the Sword), and I really enjoyed it. Here is a link to the book website: http://www.hopewriter.com/Karolan.html
I also really like series like the Binding of the Blade and Peleg Chronicles. Peleg isn’t strictly fantasy, more of an ancient – REALLY ancient – historical fiction book. It has dragons in it : ) Here’s their website: http://www.matthewchristianharding.com/
Thanks, Maria. I’ll have to take a look. 🙂
Correction: Bright Against the STORM, not sword : ) Sorry.
I’m a huge fan of all Brandon Sanderson’s books, but even among all his amazing books, Elantris stands out. I’d have to say I’m a tiny bit fonder of the first Mistborn book and of Allomancy as a whole, but it is the characters rather than the complex magical system that comes to mind first when I think of Elantris.
And I’m somewhat in awe of Patrick Rothfuss’ books. I actually liked the second one best since it explored so much more of the world. (And there are only two sections with the rock star bit that are easily skipped if you ever want the page numbers.) However, the moment I will always cherish from these books is when Elodin “tests” Kvoethe at the tower. “That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen someone do!” I had a professor just like that in the college…
I’d love to read more of Sanderson’s books. No time at the moment. But I will eventually.
How does The Wise Man’s Fear’s sexual content compare to the Game of Thrones books, Emma? I don’t know… That stuff really bothers me. :-/
JILL IS WRITING FANTASY AGAIN?! This has got to be the most exciting news in forever!!! 😀 Go Jill! I cannot WAIT to hear more about this new series!!! Is it going to be medieval like Achan? (Medieval’s my favorite!)
I haven’t read any of those… My favorite new fantasy discoveries have been the Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy and Dark Lord of Derkholm books, both by Diana Wynne Jones, and also The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison (which is a bit of a romance as well and I think you’d like it). I think they did some pretty interesting stuff with magic too. Mostly what I like about them is the characters though — and same with your trilogy. 🙂 Good world-building is sometimes more of an extra win; the characters are often what really makes a book for me.
As for the poor writing thing… I’ve noticed that a lot of books from longer ago might have what some consider “poor writing”, but they have good stories. I have found a lot of stories written nowadays that are obviously very very well written, but I hate the stories themselves. It’s a distressing trend. I’d much rather have a good story that’s only mediocre-level writing, than a bad story that’s well written.
It will be medieval fantasy, Deborah. And the other idea is more of a regency fantasy. We’ll see which one sells.
I agree with you on the character thing. But if the storytelling isn’t well-written, it sometimes keeps me from connecting with the characters, which was the case with Hero and the Crown. I’ve heard of Howl’s Moving Castle but never read it. I’ll have to add it to my list!
Well, I can’t find the reply to button, so this is connected to my earlier comment. 🙂
If you put Throne of Bones on the scale as 1 and Game of Thrones on the scale as 5, Wise Man’s Fear is probably a 2.7. There’s enough there to change who you’d recommend the books to, but nothing nearly as graphic as Martin’s.
I think the thing that got to me as a reader wasn’t so much the graphicness but the amount of it in a section. I’m serious that there’s something like three chapters you can just skip, and it won’t even affect the story. If there’d been one or two instances scattered throughout the book with that level of description, I probably would have rolled my eyes, glossed over them, and forgotten they were there. But it’s a real to each there own scenario. I can skip over stuff like this and move on but can’t handle most murder mysteries. Go figure.
LOL Thanks for helping me out with that, Emma. I guess it will be one of those, if I find it at a thrift store in the future things. I have so many books to read now, anyway. At this point I’m just trying to read at least one of everything that’s well known in general market fantasy. So maybe I’ll get to it. I think I’d rather wait until the whole series is done anyway, though. *grin*
‘Deryni Rising’ and ‘Elantris’ look fascinating. What age are they appropriate for?
I also read ‘The Hero and the Crown’, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly so much as it’s lovely sequel, ‘The Blue Sword’. Actually, ‘The Blue Sword’ was written first.
If you’d like to read a fantastic fantasy series (in Christian publishing, no less), I can never recommend ‘The Tales of Goldstone Wood’ enough.
Deryni Rising and Elantris are clean. I’d say 14 and up if you can handle that thick of a book.
Thanks, Hannah. I’ve read pretty much everything in Christian publishing. So I’m trying to read the famous general market books now to get a better feel for what’s out there.
I’d like to pick up some of your books. I have 4 boys–3 are teens–and a 9 yr old daughter. Your books sound like good reads for them. I am also a recovering Fashion Designer (like that) as a graduate from F.I.T who wants nothing to do with fashion and freelance art. Just let me write and I’m happy.
I’d like to pick up some of your books. I have 4 boys–3 are still teens–and a daughter. Your books would be good reads for them. I too am a recovering fashion designer (like that) as a graduate from F.I.T who wants nothing to do with fashion or freelance art. Just let me write and I’m happy.
Ha! Nice to meet you, Francy! Small world. Did you major in fashion design? What genre do you write?