[Zsinj]

Okay, there are a few fantasy novels that I have my eye on that I wanted to ask you guys about;

Evangeline Walton's "Mabinogion Tetralogy"; Okay, this looks pretty interesting, I must say a lot of Welsh mythology interests me, namely the battles, intrigues, and quests, and not so much the romantic lovey-dovey stuff, so has anyone read it, and if so, is it any good?

Tad William's "Tailchaser's Song"; Those of you on this board who know me should know by now that Tad Williams is my favorite fantasy author. Tailchaser's Song looks pretty darn intersting to me, from what I gather and assume, it looks like an epic fantasy, more adult-oriented version of Homeward Bound. Yet I keep shying away from this book because for some reason, when I think of reading a fantasy story focusing on sentient aninals, I seem to think of Bambi and Peter Cottontail other such childish lovey-dovey fuzzy wuzzy stories. And that, I definitely do not want!

G.P. Taylor's "Shadowmancer": I bought this book about a year ago. And someday I do indeed plan to read it, but not too recently I heard G.P. Taylor say some rather negative and brazen things against the Harry Potter series, which kind of turned me off. This makes me wonder what kind of author he is, and if he's full of himself. So is this book or its series any good?

I'd appreciate any help you can give me. :)

[GreyMantle]

Regarding Shadowmancer:
Despite having a great title, I felt it really didn't do much. I found some of the concepts intriguing, but I also felt that the style was very tedious and hard to get into. It also has a rather large religious content, so not sure if that will influence anything.

[JamesL]

G.P. Taylor's "Shadowmancer": I bought this book about a year ago. And someday I do indeed plan to read it, but not too recently I heard G.P. Taylor say some rather negative and brazen things against the Harry Potter series, which kind of turned me off. This makes me wonder what kind of author he is, and if he's full of himself. So is this book or its series any good?

I'd appreciate any help you can give me. :)

I would advise you to rip up that book and use it as toilet roll.

Seriously, the writing is stiff and wooden and the whole story is pretty underwhelming. How he got offered a multi-million pound deal on the strength of this novel is just bewildering.

As for the author himself, he doesn't appear on crapauthors.com for nothing...

[Severn]

Tad William's "Tailchaser's Song"; Those of you on this board who know me should know by now that Tad Williams is my favorite fantasy author. Tailchaser's Song looks pretty darn intersting to me, from what I gather and assume, it looks like an epic fantasy, more adult-oriented version of Homeward Bound. Yet I keep shying away from this book because for some reason, when I think of reading a fantasy story focusing on sentient aninals, I seem to think of Bambi and Peter Cottontail other such childish lovey-dovey fuzzy wuzzy stories. And that, I definitely do not want!


Heh. At this very moment, my husband is smuggled in a cold lounge, avidly reading to the end of this novel. He was also up to 4am last night, having a most 'can't-put-it-down' experience.

Childish, and fluffy-bunny it is not. In fact, there are some very tough moments in Tailchaser's song. I also wouldn't say it's 'epic' in the sense of grand quests (although Tailchaser is on a quest, it's true). It is, to me, the tale of a cat on his personal mission, and the challenges he encounters - one being particularly grim, and for me it was quite hard reading:

That being, of course, when he's forced into slavery underground, and I'm claustophobic!

I definitely recommend reading it. It's well written, adventurous, and Tailchaser himself is a great character. It's also interesting how Williams portrays a cat's life and behaviour - for instance the other halfy remarked how he enjoyed the fact that when a cat turns around three times before he sleeps it's a spiritual offering.

[Banger]

Cats turn around three times before they sleep? Mine just keel over and start snoring :D

[Severn]

Cats turn around three times before they sleep? Mine just keel over and start snoring :D

~Giggle~ It's supposed to be some kind of instinctual thing where they check for predators/threats before they relax into sleep. I reckon our spoiled house cats have had it bred out of them. The only thing likely to threaten mine, for instance, is me - turfing her off the bed and into the kitchen for the night.

[KatG]

Hey, have you actually read Bambi? It's not a fuzzy wuzzy book. Tailchaser was the first Williams novel I read and remains the one I like most. It has a "Watership Down" vibe to it -- dramatic, spiritual, but if you like Tad Williams' writing and don't hate cats, you should be right at home with it. If it really bothers you, pretend they are furry elves.

Haven't read the other two.

[Julian]

Okay, there are a few fantasy novels that I have my eye on that I wanted to ask you guys about;

Evangeline Walton's "Mabinogion Tetralogy"; Okay, this looks pretty interesting, I must say a lot of Welsh mythology interests me, namely the battles, intrigues, and quests, and not so much the romantic lovey-dovey stuff, so has anyone read it, and if so, is it any good?


To my mind, this is one of those (minor) fantasy classics that unfortunately - but understandably - tend to get overlooked by a lot of people.

I would say it's very worthwhile, but opinions may vary. I guess you have to bear in mind that Walton wasn't really a fantasy writer as we now think of 'em, that the series isn't so much a modern fantasy yarn but rather a reasonably accurate rendition of the four branches of the original Mabinogi (which have been around since the Middle Ages), and that the books were written in the early 70's (except for the first volume, which I believe was written in the 30's!).

All of this means that this will probably appeal most to people who are genuinely interested in Welsh mythology itself, rather than, say, a good modern fantasy with some of that mythology tossed in for flavour.

Oh, and whilst it may come across as being just a tad old-fashioned, I'd certainly not call it lovey-dovey :D

As an aside, a modern translation of The Mabinogion - as opposed to Walton's novelisation - was recently published by the Oxford University Press:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mabinogion-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0192832425/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/202-6391224-5735800?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184060240&sr=8-1