[Sojourn]

I'm aware that Terry Brooks is credited as being the author who revived the fantasy genre and popularised it with his first novel 'The Sword of Shannara'. Since then, we've had the pleasure of sharing the literary visions of so many wonderful contemporary authors of which there are too many to list down here without offending anyone. ^_^
However, just out of curiousity, are there any here who've read the works of pre-Brooks authors like Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber and Ursula le Guin? I've read some of Vance's novels, and I list him as one of my favourites, even though his writing style is decidedly 'archaic' compared to most modern writers'. And lately I've commited myself to eventually reading Leiber's 'Swords' series. Apparently (this is for you Feist fans out there), Raymond E Feist credits Leiber as 'the spiritual father of modern fantasy', and his two characters, Fafhrd the barbarian and the Gray Mouser, are extolled as one of the greatest creations in the genre.

So, any fans of the old school out there?

IMHO... ^_^

[Giarc]

I read Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy way back when. Don;t really remember a lot about it....from my vague recollection it was something of a cross between the odyssey and modern fantasy. It was ok but it didn't really spin my wheels. Another author to note from before Brooks etc is Lloyd Alexader's Prydain Chronicles....more geared towards young adult but definitely a good read and with a bit of fun thrown in http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif That was the series that really hooked me into fantasy http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Rob B]

I read some of Moorcock. The SciFi book club issued the Elric tales as two omnibus volumes. I had a tough time getting through it though. I think Elric is considered one of the first if not THE first anti-hero.

I have read LeGuin and she is good, but more of her Science Fiction stuff.

I just read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle, which is sort of geared towards children, but an excellent, excellent book nonetheless. I think it was first published in the sixties.

Another very early fantasy author is Lord Dunsany, I think he came even before Tolkein. Del Rey launced a new line of books under the IMPACT imprint, and one of his books was the first published under the imprint. I have been wanting to get my hands on it for a while.

VANCE: Gene Wolfe wrote The Book of the New Sun as an homage to Vance's Dying Earth books, I think.

Can't forget Robert E. Howard's Conan either.

[ethanx]

You mentioned Michael Moorcock so I had to post. The funny thing about this author is that he is most noted for his Elric works which I found interesting, yet not half as good as what I believe to be one of the better fantasy works written, the Corum books. There are six books to this series, yet you can normally find the first and last three together in condensed trilogies. This is Moorcock at his best and it is a shame that he is known more for Elric than Corum.

[Sojourn]

Hmm, I've just realised something here. I've noticed that many of the pre-Brooks authors didn't suffer from critical comparisons to Tolkien's LotR, whereas many contemporary authors seem to be cursed with being constantly measured up to his standards (a topic which has sparked a rather long-winded debate elsewhere in this forum). As a matter of fact, there seem to be more Tolkien 'rip-offs' in the late 70's, 80's and 90's than there were in the 50's, 60's and much of the 70's. Case in point being Brooks' 'Sword of Shannara', which critics have said to be a mere 'dumbing-down' of LotR, and Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series, which contains so many elements similar to LotR it can be downright embarrassing.

What I find interesting is that shouldn't authors who've written in the years immediately after Tolkien be more influenced by his work than contemporary authors? Yet it seems to me that many of the pre-Brooks authors seem to have an originality so refreshing that I find them to be very enjoyable alternatives to the sometimes uninspiring 'modern' fantasy fare. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if those modern authors who stand out for their originality were those who decided not to write in the Tolkien mold and instead drew their inspiration from the pre-Brooks authors.

Sometimes I feel that the only reason why Brooks' 'Sword of Shannara' was such a success in re-popularising the fantasy genre was because the readers could identify it with that grand epic, LotR. Or perhaps the so-called 'dumbing-down' of SoS enabled new fans of fantasy to ease into the genre without being first hit by the incredible sledgehammer weight of Tolkien's masterpiece (which was the case for me, having read Brooks before Tolkien).

IMHO... ^_^

[Lani]

Well, I have read Ursula le Guin. And she is one great writer. I have read some books of her's, the most memorable one of which is The Left Hand of Darkness(I hope I remember the name right). In my opinion she has pretty hard style to read, but I still I really think high of her.
Also, I went by Moorcock books. I would deskribe them as "okey" ones. Probably humor fantasy is just not for me.
I tried Leiber as well, but this one really didn't go. I recollect now I couldn't go through first 50 pages and was really surprised that somebody recommended it to me. Well, it's subjective, of course.

Sojourn, I think that is because the pre-Brooks authors also haven't written books that are exactly similar to LOTR. As well, it could be that there were not much of them, when now bookshelves are just filled with books that are so similar to each other that people started to think about it. You can easily ignore couple of copies, but hundreds? I don't think so. Also, it seems like everything that could already have been written and lots of books don't stand comparison with much worse works than LOTR.
Well, that is crisis of genre...

[FitzChivalry]

I read Moorcock and i agree the first 3 books of Corum are better than Elric, although Elric had Stormbringer (the coolest weapon ever in fantasy? that's another discussion).

But i noticed that you didn't mention Patricia Mckillip, if you want a really good and original pre-brooks fantasy series read her Hed Trilogy starting with The Riddle-Master of Hed, it's excellent.

Btw, Lani, you referred to Elric as humor?
Heh, i'd like to hear what you define as tragedy.

[Shehzad]

I agree with what Sojourn says... The Shannara series was one of the earlier fantasy works I read, and even at that stage, I was struck by its "similarity" to Tolkien's work. All the same, you're right it is more accessible than Tolkien's work. As far as the other pre-Brooks writers are concerned, I haven't read much by them, the notable exception being LeGuin, whom I admire immensely as both a Fantasy and SF author. The Earhsea trilogy, which I really loved, though intended primarily for younger readers (so I've been told) still contained rather adult themes. However, it is her SF works, such as The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, and short stories like "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" which are truly exceptional - she has the knack of depicting common social themes and problems against a background which is at the same time familiar and otherworldly. I heartily recommend her to ANYBODY on this forum.

Elsewhere it was being discussed what stands the test of time - what constitutes a classic. Read LeGuin and find out for yourself.

Shehzad

[Sojourn]

Lani: I think I see where you're coming from. Nowadays, a casual browse through a bookstore will reveal shelf after shelf of fantasy authors, whereas I presume that the genre wasn't as prolific decades ago.

Another consideration could be that many pre-Brooks authors weren't 'fantasy' writers in the purest sense. In fact, most of them were sci-fi writers, and their 'fantasy' works often contained sci-fi elements and could probably be termed as 'sci-fi-fantasy'. Moorcock and Vance are two examples I can think of. Both of them were prolific writers who drifted in, out and through the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Neither were strictly 'fantasy' authors. Nowadays, we get authors who make their big break with a debut fantasy novel, then proceed to write more fantasy novels and hardly anything else. Although I must admit, to their credit, they HAVE defined the fantasy genre as a separate and distinct entity. It irks me sometimes to see good fantasy lumped together with sci-fi under the catch-all 'Science Fiction' label in bookstores. Lately, I've been seeing more bookstores having a separate 'Fantasy' section next to the sci-fi, and I guess we have these fantasy 'purists' to thank for that. ^_^

IMHO... ^_^

[Sojourn]

Gee, I just realised something. I'm a member! Woohoo!! This is just as exciting as getting my yellow belt in taekwando! LOL ^_^

*ahem* Ah, anyway...

IMHO... ^_^