Best Fantasy Books of All Time

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

A Wizard of Earthsea is on sale for $2

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I feel that reading Le Guin's work is like taking a sledge hammer to your head.

Thanks guys! I'm picking up A Wizard of Earthsea tomorrow (Amazon's giving double points tomorrow).

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

What novel would you put forth in the stead of _A Wizard of Earthsea_?

Needs to be:

- written by a woman
- has a non-white protagonist

I find this comment rather sexist and racist.

I wonder what the comments would be if someone had someone had the criteria:-

- written by a man
- has a white protagonist

Personally it does not matter to me if the author is male or female as long as a book is well written. My favourite author list contains both males and females.

As for the protagonist, unless it is central to the story, why does the author even need to assign a skin colour to them? Our imaginations will fill in the details.

[WillAdams]

If the context was identifying a western story which was written by a member of the patriarchy, I believe that would be a reasonable expectation.

In this case, a defining characteristic of the story is that it was one of the first ones to have a wizard protagonist who wasn't in the mold of Merlin (bearded old white guy), and that it was written by a woman is a significant thing for this list, esp. for the time.

In many instances, a character's race can be a significant and meaningful consideration, even when not explicitly described --- classic example of that would be Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_ --- the protagonist is Filipino and that is concealed until the end of the novel, which is esp. of note when one considers that Heinlein was of an age to have served in the segregated Navy, and would have been assigned to ships where the galley crew would have all been from the Philippines.

[John F]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

If the context was ...

I thought the context was "Best Fantasy Books of All Time". I didn't see any mention of criteria, other then "best" (maybe popular).

[Catlady]

I skimmed this thread even though fantasy is not my genre, but how can The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle not be on the list?

[WillAdams]

I would argue that _A Wizard of Earthsea_ is notable as one of the best fantasy novels, and a big part of why is that it is one of the first, if not the first, which breaks out of the established mold of "the Wizard is a Merlin clone".

Agree that _The Last Unicorn_ would merit being added as well.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Thanks guys! I'm picking up A Wizard of Earthsea tomorrow (Amazon's giving double points tomorrow).

I bought it and will make it my next book.

Sometimes Jon's heavy-handed haranguing has the opposite impact from what was intended. I picked up Consider Phlebas on his similarly strong 'endorsement'.

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Thanks guys! I'm picking up A Wizard of Earthsea tomorrow (Amazon's giving double points tomorrow).

I enjoyed the first book.

[drofgnal]

There used to be a site that listed best fantasy books that had lists classified via sub-genres as well, like stand alone, series, and several categories. It had a companion for SF as well. It must have gone down, I can't find it any more.

[crossi]

I have a little trouble with the word "best". By what criteria?
My definitions go somewhat like this: Keep forever (Best), Re-read often, Read once, Don't finish, and Never buy any more from that author.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I skimmed this thread even though fantasy is not my genre, but how can The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle not be on the list?

That is a very good question.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

I would argue that _A Wizard of Earthsea_ is notable as one of the best fantasy novels, and a big part of why is that it is one of the first, if not the first, which breaks out of the established mold of "the Wizard is a Merlin clone".

Agree that _The Last Unicorn_ would merit being added as well.

Just because it's old does not make it good. And the proof that age doesn't matter is because A Wizard of Earthsea is terrible.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Just because it's old does not make it good. And the proof that age doesn't matter is because A Wizard of Earthsea is terrible.

Age does matter when it’s a case of groundbreaking v. derivative. The first gets the plaudits. And while age in itself doesn’t make something good, when a book has lasted and is highly regarded, I think we can call that good enough. Actually, great.

Sometimes “not to my taste” is the right response.