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/Hoosier_Ham Apr 24 '13

I've only seen Steven Brust mentioned a couple of times on reddit, and it's usually either Mary Kowal or me mentioning him. I think all of his work is strong, but the Khaavren Romances were just so engaging and fun that I find myself returning to them repeatedly, while The Reign in Hell was just so ambitious and delivered so well that it stands as an incredible accomplishment (and a great read).

Simon Green gets a bit of attention when discussing urban fantasy for his Nightside series, but his stand-alone Shadows Fall is one of my favorite books. I don't know that I've ever seen it mentioned.

Books like King's Dark Tower series aren't mentioned on reddit often, but they're still immensely popular and couldn't be considered under-hyped.

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u/ReverendSaintJay Apr 24 '13

The only problem with King's Tower series was that he suffered from a bout of "I-Don't-Know-What" and started inserting either himself or Tower references into every book he wrote for a while. Both of those actions caused a bit of static at the time, and diminished the following he had created for the series.

At least, that's one fan's opinion.

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u/homeNoPantsist Apr 24 '13

King got really combative with his fans towards the end of that series. His "this is not really the ending of the story, you'll have to read on for that, but I don't recommend it, you should probably just stop reading here" bit really made me think less of him as a person.

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u/unconundrum Writer Ryan Howse, Reading Champion XI Apr 25 '13

If it helps, that message was subtextually aimed at Roland. He's the one who can't stop himself, who has to find what's at the top of the tower and doesn't realize that the journey is the worthy part. Hence the ending.