12-11-2022, 03:59 PM | #16 | |
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12-11-2022, 04:00 PM | #17 |
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I'm not a fan of a lot of YA labeling. To me they are just novels.
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12-11-2022, 09:07 PM | #18 |
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Notable lacunae:
- Poul Anderson _The Broken Sword_ --- published the same year as _The Fellowship of the Ring_ it was quite influential (c.f., _The Merman's Children_ and _Three Hearts and Three Lions_), esp. on: - Michael Moorcock --- at least one of his Eternal Champion books should be listed - Mannly Wade Wellman --- his John Thunstone and Silver John the Balladeer books presaged urban fantasy by decades - Roger Zelazny --- The Chronicles of Amber or one of the shorter fantasy works would be well worth reading - C.J. Cherryh's Morgaine books --- notable for a female protagonist written by a female author Arguably a few older classics should be included as well: - William Morris was quite influential - Lord Dunsany --- _The Charwoman's Shadow_ is a fascinating contrast to _The Lord of the Rings_ - David Lindsay's _A Voyage to Arcturus_ was a text which J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (and the other Inklings) took note of |
12-11-2022, 10:21 PM | #19 | |
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Outlander is primarily historical epic romance, with a time travel element; I wouldn't call it primarily 'fantasy'. Northern Lights is a children's book, and it's fine but not 'best of all time' fine. I like The Night Circus, and it's a standalone if that is what you're looking for. Readers' reactions are mixed. I have no plans to read Bardugo, but Gideon the Ninth is on my list for this year. |
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12-12-2022, 04:30 AM | #20 |
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TL;DR No mention of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?
I can't agree with that list. |
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12-12-2022, 06:20 AM | #21 |
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There are the books I would remove from this list and yes, there are plenty of other books that should be on this list.
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Outlander by Diana Gabaldon The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper These books do not belong on this list. And many more do belong. Last edited by JSWolf; 12-12-2022 at 06:27 AM. |
12-12-2022, 09:08 AM | #22 |
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_A Wizard of Earthsea_ is notable as one of the first fantasy novels which was not a direct copy-paste from LoTR, and which had a non-white protagonist --- it deserves to be on this list, and I don't see what else could replace it.
_A Wrinkle in Time_ arguably should be on an equivalent SF list. _The Dark is Rising_ is a wonderful set of books, which again, pre-dated the urban fantasy craze, and which I would argue makes the world a better place when folks read it. Another missing text would be Andre Norton's _Witchworld_ books. A chronological arrangement would be interesting to find other missing texts, and to help make clear why certain books should be included. |
12-12-2022, 11:24 AM | #23 |
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There are many many books that would replace this. It's terrible. Le Guin is an awful author.
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12-12-2022, 12:37 PM | #24 |
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The Earthsea books are some of my favorites, especially the first two. The first has a fairly standard coming of age story but the setting is wonderfully unique. The second book though is where I think LeGuin shines. The perspective and empathy we get for the narrator is unrivaled.
I've never figured out why Jon hates LeGuin so much, maybe it's because she rarely writes thriller type novels. Her prose is excellent, without being overdone, and the stories are very unique and generally have a lot of social commentary. The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, etc. |
12-12-2022, 12:49 PM | #25 | |
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12-12-2022, 03:04 PM | #26 |
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If you think LeGuin is wordy, then you've never read a wordy author.
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12-12-2022, 04:00 PM | #27 |
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What novel would you put forth in the stead of _A Wizard of Earthsea_?
Needs to be: - not an LoTR rip-off/extruded fantasy product - written by a woman - has a non-white protagonist - written by someone in the Western canon - pre-dates the publication of Earthsea: 1968 to properly take its place in terms of significance/milestones. Tastes differ, and it's fine if LeGuin isn't to your taste, but it's hard to dismiss _multiple_ Hugo and Locus and World Fantasy awards, as well as a Nebula. |
12-12-2022, 04:21 PM | #28 |
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12-12-2022, 04:48 PM | #29 |
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Ha! The Lathe of Heaven is the first of her books I've read, and I loved it.
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12-12-2022, 05:59 PM | #30 | |
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