[Barbarossa]

On this board we must have discussed Martin, Jordan, Tolkein ect a hundred times.

Well this thread is dedicated to authors you feel are underrated, i hope many of you will introduce us to the unknown or not-so-well-known of your choice.

Please make the descriptions long and detailed, statements like "xyz rocks too" don't help anyone.

I will start with giving an example:

Steven Brust:

While sometimes mentioned here, Steven Brust doesn't get the attention hhe deserves in my opinion.

His best known series is the "Vlad Taltos" series. Vlad Taltos is a human in a worl dominated by Draegerians an elf-like race living as long as three milemnia.

As a human Vlad belongs to a persecuted minority. Vlad is also a menber of house Jeregh a mafia-like organisation, works as an assassin and as a capo.

Brusts style is best compared to the movie "pulp-fiction". While not a humorous series, the books bristle with witty dialogue and like Quentin Tarentino Brust loves to play with time.
Neither the books in the series nor the chapters in most books are chronological.
Instead you always get glimpes what has happened and wht will happen, but this is very well done.
Most, but not all of the books are told by Vlad in first person, a trchnique I'm usually wary of, but it works very well.

If you want to start this series, reccomend the book of Jhereg, a collection of the first three books.

Other books by Brust:
"The Phoenix guards", and it's sequel "500 years after"

Set in Draegeria the world of Vlad Taltos but 1000 and 500 years earlier the books are a hommage to Alexandre Dumas' "three musketeers". A groups of 4 young nobles joins the imperial guard and gets into a world of intrigues.

While the plot is pretty different to Dumas the charakter bear great similarities. More important, Brust copies Dumas style perfectly.

Very funny swashbuckling.


"Agyar"

A very good, and pretty dark vampire story, set in present day USA

"the Gipsy"

A cooperation with Megan Lindholm, now better known as Robin Hobb, combines hungarian Folktales with hardboiled cop-thriller.
Sounds weird but works pretty well, thanks to Brust's ability to master different styles.

Brust wrote more books, but these are the ones i know.

Now i hope to be introduced into more unknowns by you http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Pathir]

I once read a series called 'The firstworld chronicles' by a writer named philip Williamson. I found it quite interesting, not to say quite good, but after three books I never saw another book in this series. Strange but true. Maby there are more parts in these chronicles but I never heard from the good man again. He's not very wellknown I guess.
Stephen Lawheads 'The Paradise War' trilogy is also extremely good, much better than the trilogy he made before that( something about a dragonking or whatever...).

[Rob B]

Barbarossa: What I've read of Brust is top-notch. I'm hoping another omnibus will be published of his Vlad Taltos books.

One author I haven't seen mentioned much(well except me asking about him) is Lawrence Watt-Evans. His first book is The Misenchanted Sword and is being reissued.

However, the only book I read by him was Dragon Weather and I really enjoyed the book, it had a great ending, IMHO. He is writing a follow-up called Dragon Society that I am really looking forward to. After reading DW, I have been searching for some of his other books.

[daigoro]

Pathir, if you are looking for more info about Philip G. Williamson he has an official website at http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~gormley/PGW/

...I actually had the opportunity to do an interview with him, but haven't done anything with it yet. Any good questions that come to mind?

[This message has been edited by Dag Rambraut (edited May 09, 2001).]

[FitzChivalry]

Some underrated authors:

Roger Zelazny, he was mentioned here and there, but really he deserves much more readers, his Amber Chronicles is in my top 5 fantasy series list and he got lots of other great fantasy and sci fi novels like Lord of Light, Creatures of Light and Darkness, Roadmarks, A Night in the Lonesome October, and more.

Patricia Mckillip, i read her Hed Trilogy and it was really great, i don't think i heard from anyone else that read it.

[lior]

I recommend these two authors:
Maggie furey, I read two good fantasy books by hers, which are called:
AURIAN, and HARP OF WINDS. it is a standard fantasy plot about a young woman seeking magical artifacts while trying to escape an evil wizard, but it is done skillfuly and is very engaging. these books are part of a series of four, and they are not bad at all.
Jack Chalker, I hardly see any posts concerning one of the best sf and fantasy writers in the field, I would especially want to highly recommend his book MIDNIGHT AT THE WELL OF SOULS, one of the best sf books ever, with strong elements of fantasy, the first in a series, it tells about an ancient alien race, now extinct, which has built an extremly elaborate hive structure, based on mathematical principles,
which contains hundreds of different worlds and races, when you cross to a world, the hive system transforms you to become as the creatures which inhabit that certain world, a ship with unsuspecting passangers arrive there... and then the fun begins.






[This message has been edited by lior (edited May 09, 2001).]

[e-Morgana]

Well I'm really glad someone posted a non-GRRM/Jordan topic - I was thinking of doing it myself but you beat me to it.

I have a few I'd like to mention - Firstly, I'd have to agree with the Maggie Furey reply. I just loved her Aurian books and she has now started another series - (?)Shadowleague, of which I am eagerly anticipating number 2.

I'd also have to say that Louise Cooper is another favourite - especially in her Chaos Gate sets. This is the old "Order versus Chaos" theme but is really well done with the gods and humans interacting and fighting things out.

Holly Lisle's Secret Texts series was another I enjoyed with the arch-enemies having to team up to rid the world of an even greater evil. It has shape-changers and magic and all you could ever want.

Lord of the Isles by David Drake is proving to be quite good, though I didn't really expect anything great when I picked up the first in the series. Its a bit Jordan/Eddings-ish (can I mention these 2 in the same breath and get away with it?) I guess, with a small town boy becoming King of the Isles. (With the help of all his home-town friends and family). A great read though and I'm awaiting number 4 in this one.

Then there is a couple of stand-alone books I've read that were bought just to make up the 3 for $10 sale at the book shop and I've thoroughly enjoyed. Charles Barnitz - The Deepest Sea was one. Its a viking-type tale in which a somewhat unassuming lad is swept up in the great conquests and invasions of his leaders and has some very funny and touching moments. The other is by Colin De Silva and is called Alhambra. I read this one a while ago and can't remember a lot about it, but I know I enjoyed it. It has an Arabian theme to it. I've never read anything else by either of these authors and don't know if they've done anything else.

Other series by Jane Welch(Runespell), Irene Radford (Dragon Nimbus), and Angus Wells (Kingdoms) all deserve a mention but that might do for now or you'll get sick of reading this.

[Lady Fox]

Yes - Maggie Fury, Holly Lisle, and David Drake are good authors. I have enjoyed their books. Patricia McKillip is also very good. Didn't she write The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown? I loved those books. Here are some other authors that I don't see mentioned often.

I have really enjoyed Michelle West's work. I'm currently reading the fourth book in her Sun Sword series and it's very entertaining. However, my fav work by her is the Sacred Hunt duology.

Tanya Huff has written some good books also. I particularly enjoyed her Keeper's Chronicles. Very humourous.

Mercedes Lackey is one of my fav authors that I have not seen very much about on this board. Her Valdemar series is excellent. Even though there are lots of books in this series spanning a great many years, the books are divided into manageable trilogies for most of the series.

[Arty]

I too, really like Michelle West"s work. I was very anxious for the 4th book to come out, but darn it! it hasn't arrived yet! (amazon.com).
Her world is quite different from anything else I've read, I think it's truly original.

I am also a big fan of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, they are the first fantasy I ever read (Magic's Pawn). I've read some of her other stuff but I dont find it nearly as interesting. I like that her books span so many years, you canreally get drawn in and absorbed into it. I consider them light reading, because you aren't always in the mood for heavy stuff.

I also enjoyed Jennifer Roberson's Chronicals of the Cheysulli, which I believe are being published bound in 3 volumes. They are light reading also, and encompass many generations of one family fulfilling their destiny.

[Keyoke]

Arty -> I just saw Michelle's West newest book in the stores this week (May 9, 01).. I'm located in Canada, so, we may get it first.

One author who doesnt seem to be writing anymore, and only released three books is Nancy Asire. Twilight Kindgoms, Tears of Times, and To Fall Like Stars. One story, it's just about a two races, one evil, one good and their enternal struggle. Simple plot, but, it's excellent military fantasy. Very similiar to Elizabeth's Moon series.

Agnus Wells - A other author usually over looked. I read his Exile's series (Excellent, one of my favorites), and Lords of the sky (Single novel,, yet a other great story)..

Keyoke