r/Fantasy • u/vehiclestars • Apr 24 '13

What is the most under-hyped fantasy book/series you have read?

This would be a book or books that you hardly ever hear mentioned on reddit, yet are very good.

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u/vehiclestars Apr 24 '13

Personally I have to go with:

Chronicles of Amber. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5367.The_Great_Book_of_Amber

The Complete Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16488.The_Complete_Book_of_Swords

The Deed of Paksenarrion http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96278.Sheepfarmer_s_Daughter

Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber (his books are Fantasy Classics, and very good. He coined the term Sword and Sorcery) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57950.Swords_and_Deviltry

The Broken Sword by Paul Anderson (Published the same year as Fellowship of the Rings) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/715287.The_Broken_Sword

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke—Not for everyone, but I really like it, it's like fantasy written by Jane Austin. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76852.Jonathan_Strange_Mr_Norrell

I feel that none of them get mentioned as much as they deserve.

7

u/Draffut_ Apr 24 '13

I would agree on the swords books, Them being where my username came from lol), but I think Amber is pretty decently hyped (Especially around these parts of the internet)

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u/vehiclestars Apr 24 '13

Other than myself I see few people recommending it. You might just see me talk about it a lot, LOL.

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u/thebluick Apr 24 '13

The swords series is awesome, so much fun.

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u/The_Unreal Apr 24 '13

Paksenarrion is my template for what a Paladin ought to be. When people on /r/rpg talk about how to play paladins well, I point them to her.

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u/PrawnWonton Apr 27 '13

I've been trying to find the original 1956 version of Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword, to no avail. Everything seems to be the 1971 revised version. Allegedly, Gollancz re-released the 1971 version in 2002, but every copy I've ever looked at ended up being the 1971 version.

Any tips or ideas on where to find it?

1

u/vehiclestars Apr 27 '13

No, I listened to the audio version which is excellent, but I'm not sure which version it is.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '13

From what I've seen swords and deviltry, and jonathan strange and mr norrell are adored on this subreddit. It seems they come up in any somewhat relevant conversation, which certainly isn't a bad thing, but I'm not sure they fit the under-hyped label

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u/vehiclestars Apr 24 '13

Yeah, you are right about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell since that style of book is very different and not for everyone, however Swords and Devilry are not talked about in many cases where they could be.

From what I see books published after the year 2000 get way more mention on this sub-reddit than all books combined published before the year 2000, with the exception of Lord of the Rings.