[Steven Savile]

Okay, I've been thinking about this for a while. Why do I like fantasy? What kind of fantasy do I like? Well, my favourite fantasy novels of all time don't come from the pen of fantasy writers - I adore Jonathan Carroll, for instance, who's books like The Land of Laughs, Bones of The Moon and From The Teeth of Angels are immense works of talent. Some people seem to like Gaiman - if you do, read Carroll. Gaiman did a graphic novelisation of A Game Of You in the Sandman, which was actually from a story by Carroll. There are no elves, no swords, but plenty of magic in a world which is like our own but different in so many ways. Carroll touchs the magic.

For me I read fantasy not to escape as many do, but because I love to believe there might be something about our world which science can't explain... why the preoccupation with the Dark Ages and turning rapists and bandits into heroes as most modern fantasy writers do? Why the lack of much modern day urban fantasy when folks rave about Meiville and Gaiman?

Questions to think about.

Discuss.

Steve

[Cadfael]

Kane... you can put Clive Barker in the list as well...Weaveworld, The Great and Secret Show, and Cabal are some of my favourite novels.

A very little know author is Mark Helprin, he wrote a book called Winters Tale. This is deffinitely one of the best urban fantasy books I have read.

[Rob B]

I read Land of Laughs about a month ago and damn if it wasn't one of the better books I've read.

Graham Joyce comes highly recommended as well, though I've only read The Tooth Fairy by him, but plan on adding a bunch of his stuff to my amazon.com wish list for Christmas.

Another recommendation is Tim Powers. Again, I've only read one book by him The Drawing of the Dark, but I WILL be reading more.

Charles deLint is highly regarded in the Urban Fantasy sub-genre, Memory and Dream was a pretty good book by him.

[Barbarossa]

Stephen Brust has written two Urban fantasies, "Agyar" is a contemporary vampire tale, "Gipsy" (with Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb) beautifully mixes Hungarian folklore with a Typical American cop story. Both are reccomended.

[FitzChivalry]

I found Agyar to be pretty slow and boring actually.

Kane, Urban Fantasy... High Fantasy... it's all personal taste, you like Urban Fantasy more it seems, other people don't, i fail to see the big mystery.

[This message has been edited by FitzChivlary (edited September 17, 2001).]

[Steven Savile]

FitzFlagg: not that simple - I love both forms of fantasy but when I see people crying out because they have come across another lame JRRT clone it makes me wonder why thy don't move a step across. Land Of Laughs is a great book - but by no means even close to being Carroll's best. As he says, he may not love it most, but he has loved it longest...

I've heard a lot of good things about Mark Helpren's Winters Tale, and have been meaning to pick it up for ever... this time I'll do it, thanks for the reminder. My tastes for fantasy matured, much as has been discussed elsewhere, and I stopped finding the fantasy-by-dots books satisfying. I came across Carroll, Powers and Barker at much the same time and was stunned by the staggering imagination driving the books. Elsewhere on the site there is a review of Dunsany's King of Elfland's Daughter, which picks on the lack of originality and asks where can we find it. Both forms of fantasy are as fantastic as each other, if that makes sense...

Joyce is a cracking writer, and a great guy. Hangs out at most conventions, is a hoot over breakfast along with a massive hangover.

Another interesting crossover novel/series is Mark Chadbourne's Worlds End. I believe it could be getting a US release via Penguin Roc. It's celtic mythology in the modern world and carried off with Mark's usual aplom.

I also find myself gravitating to Isaac Bashavis Singer, Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco and other european magical realists, who just have a different way of looking at our world that is utterly compelling...

I've read a couple of Brust's Vlad Taltos books (which were excellent) but haven't read his more 'realistic' fantasy...

And hey, least this moved the damn polls down the board and got a tiny bit of discussion going http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

[Rob B]

Your question(s) seemed a bit broad...

Anyway, I think I know what you mean. There are people that like only the JRRT-hacks and that's fine, countless retellings of the little guy/orphan, a wizard and warrior (add a couple and vary slightly). People are comfortable with that, don't want to expand, see the "...Free Alliance" topic in General Discussion.

The Dunsany review is good, and the book is spectacularly beautiful. It's probably one of the most important books in fantasy, more important than maybe even LOTR.

I've yet to read Clive Barker, though I've had the first half of Imajica on my shelf for about 2 years now.

[Cadfael]

FitzFlagg, if the UK had any horror/fantasy author that could stand comparison to Stephen King, it is Clive Barker IMHO.

Listen to this... my wife read Weaveworld whilst she was in labour with our second son... she said it took her mind of things, and it must take a good author to do that!!

[Alucard]

Being a gaiman fan, I took your advice Kane and picked up a Carroll book. Just got it few hours ago, and I have four books that I need to read before this one, but it sounds interesting. It's called After Silence. Has anyone read this? Is it any good?

[Steven Savile]

After Silence is an interesting book - maybe not the best to start with, but read the opening page... It was written during Hollywood's obsession with serial killers... so it lacks some of his more fantastical characters like Venasque. As a Gaiman fan I would recommend you kick of with From The Teeth of Angels first... if you can find a pb near you. Hope you enjoy JC even half as much as I do...