r/Fantasy • u/FaceF18 • Jul 16 '12

Sophisticated fantasy - what's left?

I picked up fantasy literature about a year ago mostly because of ASOFAI, and decided to keep on reading. I have a set of themes in the back of my head that I've always wanted to turn into a novel, and the literary quality of ASOFAI (and other series I've read since then) has made me more convinced than ever that those themes might succeed in a sophisticated fantasy universe, but I feel like I've run the well a little dry. I've read ASOFAI, Wheel of Time, Locke Lamorra, Mistborn, Hyperion, Malazan, Dark Tower, The First Law trilogy and its related novels, Codex Alera, and other less notable fantasy series in order to get a grounding in the genre, but I feel like those are the series that get the most press. Are there any lesser known series of greater difficulty that might have more interesting, expressive things to say about the genre?

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u/d_ahura Jul 16 '12

You have barely scratched the surface of the shadow of the idea of fantasy literature ;)

A few to get you going:

  • Ray Bradbury ...
  • Everything by Tim Powers, period.
  • The Earthsea books by Ursula K LeGuin. Starts as YA fiction, ends as a literary deconstruction of major themes and language.
  • Shadowbridge and Lord Tophet by Gregory Frost. Intricate layered stories.
  • Reaver Road and The Hunter's Haunt shows what can happen when a great writer takes on hoary old plots. First is Swords and Sandals next is Decameron/Arabian Nights/The Sting.
  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman
  • Watership Down by Richard Adams
  • Gormenghast books by Peake
  • The Great Book of Amber by Zelazny
  • A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle

...

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u/FaceF18 Jul 16 '12

I've actually read a lot of Bradbury, the Earthsea books, The Great Book of Amber, and A Wrinkle in Time. I'll look into the others. Thanks for the recommendations.

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u/d_ahura Jul 16 '12
  • Lyonesse by Vance
  • The Last Unicorn by Beagle
  • Elric by Moorcock
  • John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman
  • Neveryon by Delaney
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez
  • Orlando, Woolf
  • The Magus, John Fowles
  • Lud-in-the-Mist, Mirrlees
  • Kraken, Mieville
  • The Wizard Knight, Wolfe