Sci-Fi and fantasy authors...
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, November 25 2005 12:33
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Redefine main characters. As I said, Anthony at his best is not quite as good as Pratchett at his worst. I love puns, but you can only throw so many together before they stop being funny. Goodkind's first book was promising, but he has gone pretty steadily downhill from there. He's run into the Robert Jordan endless series syndrome, and his series isn't as good as Jordan's. He's got fewer compelling characters and a much less distinct world to fall back on. He's also become a crazed propaganda machine. —Alorael, who now has to wonder why only Donaldson can pull off a convincing contemporary, ordinary earthling in fantasyland. Kay writes a good series with it, but he just has his characters go native so quickly that the series could just as easily include no Earth at all. Other authors tend to do even worse. (If you have a strong constitution, find any fanfiction website and observe the percentage of ordinary people adaptations of stories. Then look at self-insertions. Ugh.) Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 5567
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written Friday, November 25 2005 13:14
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My favorites are Tolkien, Eddings, Rowling and Asimov. -------------------- How many shapers are there? Why is Drypeak controlled by Zakary? Why is Barzahl a Guardian? How does the Geneforge work? What's as small as nothing? Why am I asking stupid questions? -------------------------------- Shaper teacher : "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" BOOM!! apprentice :*little voice* "Sorry..." --------------------------- CSM RIFQ Neopets Do join, it's fun. Do you know what is the answer to the greatest question ever? It's here. Posts: 576 | Registered: Wednesday, March 2 2005 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3513
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written Friday, November 25 2005 13:53
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People have listed David Eddings, Robert Jordan, and R.A Salvatore. I despair of this board, if people would call these authors good. Ugh. Excuse me while I go shower. -------------------- Nobody appreciates me. It's all "Igor! Fetch some wine!" "Igor! Clean up this experiment!" or "Igor! Bury this in the garden, we're leaving town in 10 minutes!" —Alorael, who tried to become a deivore once. The priest gave him a funny look after the third wafer. Posts: 301 | Registered: Thursday, October 2 2003 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 1249
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written Friday, November 25 2005 15:17
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Ursula LeGuin, Stephen King('s earlier works mostly), Tolkien... EDIT: The Strugatskis and Stanislaw Lem are also among my favourites. Are there any excellent, _new_ fantasy writers? I don't know, I haven't read any outstanding new books from new writers for some time. (I actually haven't read Rowling...) EDIT2: I (too) have a serious attitude problem with Goodkind. I couldn't take the second book in his series seriously anymore, and quit reading soon after he added the present-day political propaganda element. [ Friday, November 25, 2005 15:47: Message edited by: Milu ] Posts: 259 | Registered: Saturday, June 1 2002 07:00 |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Friday, November 25 2005 17:51
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Salvatore is good for light, fun reading. I often read his books at bedtime or when traveling. But I must say that his characters are a bit too angsty. "Oh no! I just killed a horde of goblins that were going to mercilessly torture and eviscerate everyone I know and love! How can I ever live with myself, knowing the horrible things that I've done! Oh, woe is me! Oh worthless, shallow soul that is capable of such hideous crimes against evil-doers! Alas! Alack!" Repeat for ten pages, at appropriate reflective intervals. I hated the Cleric Quintet, though. Ugh. Padded beyond belief, angst angst angst, stupid characters, stupid fights, stupid ending. Bah! I really like his first six Drizzt books, though. Fantastic stuff. Will start in on The Legacy of the Drow sometime next month, probably. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, November 25 2005 18:32
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Salvatore is the top of his sub-genre: don't come expecting deep characters, intricate plots, or subtle shades of meaning and you'll be very happy. He's not a great writer by any stretch of the imagination, but he's extremely good at what he does, and his bestsellers show it. Eddings is, in his way, a master of his particular area. He writes standard light fantasy with humor and style. There aren't really any surprises; you may not know what happens next, but you're not shocked by the outcome. Still, his stuff is fun, wholesome, and very good light reading. The only objection I have to Jordan is that he's gotten bogged down in too many plot twists and characters. His books plod. They're not padded, exactly, but they're so overwhelmed with things happening that in any book there's very little advancement in any specific plot. Since I have no objection to reading a lot, I have no real objection to Jordan. I just wish he would put an end on his series because I prefer finished stories to unfinished ones. —Alorael, who likes LeGuin a great deal. She has recently plunged into the propaganda pitfall, unfortunately. The latest Earthsea books in particular aren't about Earthsea so much as they are about pushing a message. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 5576
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written Friday, November 25 2005 21:07
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I believe that Jordan's series is to end after twelve books plus three tacked onto the beginning of the series. Personally I think that twelve doesn't look like enough, because I've read the first ten and a half, and I'm a bit worried that he won't have room to neatly finish all of those side plot lines. I don't dislike the complexity but I don't want to see it just chop off suddenly or be ended in a deus ex machina fashion. While a few of the books, namely the tenth, were a little slow, the eleventh gets off to a rather rapid start, including major events actually occurring in the prologue. (Which I was amused to see has now reached one hundred pages in length) I have read a number of Salvatore's books and own a number, but I would call him a favorite author. I enjoyed the Drizzt books reasonably well, but the more recent ones have gotten, in my opinion, really dull and plodding. There's also something about his style that doesn't quite suit me, which I'm afraid I can't quite describe. I dislike that his fight scenes tend to be somewhat gory, and he's rather quick to kill off characters. However, he's not that much hastier than Jordan, so I don't quite know what the difference is. I will admit that I tend to simply skip right over Drizzt's reflections at the beginnings of sections. That's simply more concentrated boredom than I can handle. -------------------- Überraschung des Dosenöffners! "On guard, you musty sofa!" Posts: 627 | Registered: Monday, March 7 2005 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 00:12
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quote:I've read the first two, and I agree they're not top of the line (though Eddings is kind of fun to read if you don't expect too much in the way of depth, sort of like light reading for fantasy). Salvatore is the next author on my reading list, and I'm interested to see if I turn out to like him more than the other two you mention. I've heard more good things about him than the others, too. quote:Seeing as I found it hard to endure the exceedingly self-righteous, convinced-of-their-cause style of, say, Eddings, this might be my kind of author. It remains to be seen if he overdoes it. quote:What, all the fangirls who go on at length about going to Middle-Earth and seducing Legolas? ^_^ [ Saturday, November 26, 2005 00:18: Message edited by: NaNoWriMo ] -------------------- Encyclopaedia Ermariana • Forum Archives • Forum Statistics • RSS [Topic / Forum] My Blog • Polaris • I eat novels for breakfast. Polaris is dead, long live Polaris. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 03:08
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Tolkein, of course. Lewis for the Narnia series, though his Sci-Fi stuff didn't impress me. Adams and Pratchett are both hilarious. Asimov, I think, is overrated. The Foundation series started off fascinating, deteriorated as it went on, and ended up as a sad, tragic train wreck. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 10:30
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Salvatore's problem is that his characters and plots are simple. The characters really are righteous. There's no ambiguity to support the angst. Really, as long as Salvatore sticks to action and some mild comedy he's okay. As soon as he tries to move ino real literature he stumbles around awkwardly. —Alorael, who should not prejudice future readers. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 1249
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 11:48
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Yes, it seems LeGuin has given in to her propaganda side in her latest books. But I usually don't find it as tiring as Goodkind's, who often uses descriptions of sex and violence to back it up, and the uses the word "democracy", for example. LeGuin's characters haven't declared aloud that they are feminists. Posts: 259 | Registered: Saturday, June 1 2002 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3513
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 12:14
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Does nobody read George R.R. Martin? His latest book was #1 bestseller for a while. -------------------- Nobody appreciates me. It's all "Igor! Fetch some wine!" "Igor! Clean up this experiment!" or "Igor! Bury this in the garden, we're leaving town in 10 minutes!" —Alorael, who tried to become a deivore once. The priest gave him a funny look after the third wafer. Posts: 301 | Registered: Thursday, October 2 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 14:52
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I can imagine - he writes very well. I think of him as like "Robert Jordan as he should have been". Very detailed world, deep characters, but no endlessly diverging plot. Uh... yet. Of course, I stand corrected if the series that now has four books grows to ten before it's done*. Edit: Keep in mind I have not yet read Feast of Crows, and don't know whether to expect a sequel. [ Saturday, November 26, 2005 14:53: Message edited by: NaNoWriMo ] -------------------- Encyclopaedia Ermariana • Forum Archives • Forum Statistics • RSS [Topic / Forum] My Blog • Polaris • I eat novels for breakfast. Polaris is dead, long live Polaris. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, November 26 2005 16:56
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I've read the first two books of Martin's magnum opus, and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. His world-building is impressive but not unparalleled, and his plots are intricate but, as far as I've read, not really coherent. The real problem for me is that too many of his characters aren't likeable. The best are self-reliant and self-centered. The worst are scum and idiots. I can live without them. —Alorael, who wants more of Aristotle's people better than us to go with Martin's tragic impulses. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3377
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 01:04
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I have the same problem with Martin - I really don't like any of the characters, which left me very little incentive to read the second book. I tend to place him, Jordan and Goodkind in the same category: having read the first book of a long series, I don't want to read more. Charles De Lint did a decent 'contemporary Earth char takes a walk in the spirit world' with Moonheart. Someone else, though I can't remember who, did a similar theme with a scifi world - most of the contemps ended up either dead, severely traumatised, or trapped as slaves. And none of them adjusted well, which was good. quote:But everyone :wub:'s Legolas! There is one good fanfic, in which she spends the better part of ten chapters in a severe case of denial, then freaks out when she actually meets anyone of importance. And she doesn't get the elf. Posts: 356 | Registered: Saturday, August 23 2003 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 5389
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 03:16
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I enjoyed Salvatore's Spearwielder series and his Star Wars book (not the Episode 2 novelization, because I haven't read it), and got several dozen pages into George Martin's second book before I got lost. So I don't think I'll be reading him again. Also, I tried to read the Narnia series, and just couldn't. So I'll "graciously" leave it for others... Has anyone else read anything by George Alec Effinger? -------------------- Reports of my demise are extremely accurate. And I AM the clone Posts: 102 | Registered: Wednesday, January 12 2005 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 3220
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 06:50
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Tolkien, naturally, Garth Nix. I enjoy Eddings' stuff but don't consider it good. Robin McKinley is my absolute favorite author, no question. Fantasy. Took my name on another board from one of her protagonists. Posts: 437 | Registered: Sunday, July 13 2003 07:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 12:06
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Where does C.J. Cherryh stand? Apart from the fact that almost all her books consist of a young male human coping with powerful aliens represented by a mysterious older female. And that she has no idea how to end a story, except with a sudden burst of violence that could just as well have happened four hundred pages before. Somehow I remain impressed with her. Not sure why. Well, she pulled off adding a fourth book to a classic trilogy after a couple of decades, with the characters still the same people, and yet developing interestingly. That's pretty impressive. And she did this massive Merovingen Nights multi-author series, in which a dozen books apparently gave her enough space to work up to a sudden violent ending that actually made sense. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 15:17
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I liked Eddings, Jordan, and Goodkind. Salvatore was terrible, and I could never get into Martin. A good new fantasy writer is Elizabeth Haydon - I like her style. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 15:57
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De Lint's specialty is introducing the supernatural to ordinary people living in what they think is ordinary Earth, which is different from relocating people to the land of elves, Elohim (not the Hebrew kind), or lios alfar. There's a different between learning that everything you thought was true isn't quite right and learning that everything you thought was true was probably true but really not too applicable to your current situation. —Alorael, who read the Faded Sun and was unimpressed by Cherryh. He has been told to read something else and may get around to it one day. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Sunday, November 27 2005 22:07
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The only book by Garth Nix I've read is Sabriel, but that was rather good. What else did he write? -------------------- Encyclopaedia Ermariana • Forum Archives • Forum Statistics • RSS [Topic / Forum] My Blog • Polaris • I eat novels for breakfast. Polaris is dead, long live Polaris. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6489
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written Friday, December 9 2005 01:16
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Having accidentally started a similar thread without knowing of this one,I'll try to make it up by making a more detailed post here. I see a lot of mention of R.A. Salvatore, whether good or bad on this topic. I loved The Crystal Shard, but I could never get into any of his other novels. One author I'm surprised to see no mention of on here is Mercedes Lackey. Her Valdemar series makes for very good light fantasy, i think. David Eddings' Belgariad was the first epic fantasy series I ever read, and it will always have a special place in my heart. His newest series, The Dreamers, pretty much sucked though. I like George R.R. Martin, but his predilection towards killing off all the good characters is rather annoying. Terry Goodkind was good for the first half of his first book, but after that, i just couldn't get into him. Terry Brooks had a few good books and a lot of bad ones. The Sword of Shannara was good, if you ignore the blatant plagiarism of Tolkien. Elfstones, First King, and the first half of Ilse Witch were about the only other good titles in the Shannara series. I have to disagree with Alorael on the topic of Donaldson being the only one to successfully pull off an ordinary earthling in a fantasy world plot. I thought Brooks' Landover novels were great light fantasy. Harry Turtledove wrote some great fantasy with his Gerin the Fox books and his Videssos series. A new author that i have become quite fond of is John Marco with his Tyrants and Kings series. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Dragonlance books at all. The older ones by Weiss and Hickman were good, but I think they're all bad now. Of course, no fantasy can be as good as the creative genius of J.R.R. Tolkien. -------------------- "You're drinking liquor because you're thirsty? How nasty is your freaking water?" —Lazarus Spiderweb Chat Room Avernum RP • Summaries • OoC • Roster Shadow Vale - My site, home of the Spiderweb Chat Database, BoA Scenario Database, & the A1 Quest List, among other things. Posts: 1556 | Registered: Sunday, November 20 2005 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Friday, December 9 2005 02:06
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quote:Yes, yes indeed. -------------------- Encyclopaedia Ermariana • Forum Archives • Forum Statistics • RSS [Topic / Forum] My Blog • Polaris • I eat novels for breakfast. Polaris is dead, long live Polaris. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 5389
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written Friday, December 9 2005 02:50
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I used to like Tolkien, but in high school I tried reading the Lord of the Rings and couldn't. Which tells me something right there. Dickson did well with the first Dorsai, but the others I've read weren't as good. Oh, and don't forget Alan Dean Foster. [ Friday, December 09, 2005 02:51: Message edited by: Jame2 ] -------------------- Reports of my demise are extremely accurate. And I AM the clone Posts: 102 | Registered: Wednesday, January 12 2005 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6489
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written Friday, December 9 2005 03:01
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Oh man. I can't believe I forgot him. I love Foster's books. The first time i read Tolkien actually was when i was in high school, and i still like him. Of course, talking about high school like it was long ago doesn't work well when I only graduated... wow, exactly 6 months ago -------------------- "You're drinking liquor because you're thirsty? How nasty is your freaking water?" —Lazarus Spiderweb Chat Room Avernum RP • Summaries • OoC • Roster Shadow Vale - My site, home of the Spiderweb Chat Database, BoA Scenario Database, & the A1 Quest List, among other things. Posts: 1556 | Registered: Sunday, November 20 2005 08:00 |