Books4

Fantasy

• J.R.R. Tolkien (19 - 19)
  • The Hobbit - This is a story of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, but I probably don't need to tell you that. Hobbits are small peoplelike beings with large furry feet and who really enjoy the quiet pleasures in life such as food, drink, a good pipe, and peace & quiet. Bilbo gets roped into an expedition to recover a treasure with a group of dwarves after his friend Gandalf the wizard told the dwarves Bilbo was a professional thief. The treasure is part of a hoard of the mighty dragon Smaug. On the way there are many adventures involving trolls, wood elves, men, orcs, giant eagles, and more. At one point Bilbo gets seperated from the rest and finds himself in an underground lair. While there, he finds a shiny gold ring which has the ability to render the wearer invisible. This ring was the property of the evil Lord Sauron and it is the focus of the epic sequel Lord of the Rings. For now Bilbo uses it to perform a few miracles and to survive his many adventures. He comes home after living an adventure no self-respecting hobbit would have dreamed of. If you haven't read this, please do no matter what age you are.
  • The Lord of the Rings - The 3 most famous volumes in fantasy; The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Actually a long and more adult sequel to The Hobbit. This time Bilbo's nephew Frodo Baggins is the focus of the story. It is a huge story that spans all of Middle Earth and all of its peoples, good & evil. It turns out Bilbo's magic ring is just about the most evil item in the world. Sauron wants it back at any cost to help him utterly defeat the light in the world and usher in an age of darkness. This ring controls other rings given Elves (3), Dwarves (7), and Man (9). Sauron has the 9 given Men and has turned their wearers into Ringwraiths to do his evil bidding. The forces of light put together their own group of 9 to throw the ring into the fiery depths of Mount Doom in Mordor where it was forged. Along the way there are many dangers and adventures of course (way too many to go into here) and the fellowship finally is broken up to leave two small hobbits [Frodo and his faithful companion Samwise (Sam)] to finish the job and save the world. The other members of the 9 were Gandalf the wizard, Aragorn the true king of Men, Boromir of Man's biggest city Gondor, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, and Frodo's two cousins Meriadoc (Merry) and Peregrin (Pippin). This is one of my favourite stories ever. So much Fantasy has just been ripping off this story for years and it gets so repetitious but Tolkien's storytelling is just incredible. After I was introduced to it by my Grade 7 teacher (thanks Bob), I reread it 7 years in a row in the fall and it is such an involved story I was getting something new out of it each year up until the last. It has been many years now since I read it and I will probably read it again this fall as I now have a gorgeous Folio edition to read.
  • The Silmirillion - This is like the bible of the world of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings or a story of the Norse gods. It is the prehistory of the world from the first powerful being who created other powerful beings who in turn created other not so powerful beings and a couple of steps farther down the line they created the High Elves. It was these Elves who ventured across the water to populate Middle Earth and start what might be called recorded history. Back in the world of "gods" there was all sorts of intrigue and betrayal as the all-powerful beings' best liuetenant turned to the dark side (sound familiar to you people who went to Sunday school). This dark one had an apprentice named Sauron. It was by these powerful beings that the rings of power and other things were made. Of course, these things of power caused the evil in some to surface as they coveted these treasures. This book is kind of dry reading in its "this guy, son of that guy, son of this guy" style, but it is very interesting and it gives The Lord of the Rings saga a complete history. Apparently Tolkien thought that England didn't have quite as rich a group of myths in its history as some other cultures so he set out to create one.
  • Tolkien had all sorts of stories that fit into the framework of his Middle Earth including multiple versions of the same story. Lots of these have been put out in Unfinished Tales and a group of books that is up to about 10 volumes that started with The Book of Lost Tales and were mostly compiled by Tolkien's son Christopher. There were also collections of short stories, essays, and translations of epic poems. My favourite short story is Leaf by Niggle. There is also a book called Songs for the Road that takes some of Tolkien's poems (songs) from his books and sets them to sheet music. Tolkien also used to write illustrated letters to his children at Christmas and they were "written" by Father Christmas and they told of happenings at the North Pole. Some were about happy things, others about bad elves taking over the workshop and stuff. Tolkien illustrated these letters himself. Some of these letters and pictures were collected in The Father Christmas Letters.
  • It's worth a visit to The J.R.R. Tolkien Information Page.

  
  

• Anne McCaffrey (1926 - )
  • Crystal Singer series - very enjoyable
  • To Ride Pegasus series - a long series of books that is tied together nicely about telepaths and other paranormal Talents
  • Decision At Doona/Crisis On Doona - only read the first so far but it was a great book about humans dealing with aliens on another world
  • The Ship Who Sang - very beautiful and sad story of a sentient starship and the human that is its companion, I haven't read any of the sequels
  • Pern series - her most famous, but I've only read a couple. They are good stories with dragons all over the place and it is hard to categorize them as Sci-Fi or Fantasy.
  • Dinosaur Planet series - a lot more fun with humans messing up in somebody else's back yard
  • for more info go and see Anne's own page Dragonhold Underhill

  
  
  

• Orson Scott Card
  • The Tales of Alvin Maker (Vol. 1 Seventh Son, Vol. 2 Red Prophet, Vol. 3 Prentice Alvin) - This trilogy is the story of an alternate America in the days when much of it still belonged to the Indians and Canada was still held by the French. It is an America where magic exists in the folk magic of the white people and the rich natural magic of the red people. It is the story of a seventh son of a seventh son and how he sets out on the road to becoming a great Maker. A lot of white Americans are portrayed as being only worried about themselves and killing the land. The Indians are trying to protect their heritage and even align themselves with the French of Canada when the U.S. start looking northward. Card uses a vast knowledge of history to utilize real events and characters in this fictional setting. The end of the last book just left me thirsting for more as it left off with a whole lot of story to tell, and it is such a moving, mystical, and human story. At least one more book in the series has come out after a many year gap, but I have a feeling it will be part of another trilogy so I will probably wait until all 3 come out before I read them.
  • The Folk of the Fringe - This is an after the bomb and civilization falls apart story. It doesn't focus on some kind of whacky Mad Max society though. While a lot of the people left go wild as might be imagined, there are a group of Mormons who try to rebuild a gentler more civilized world in Utah. This is a very NICE book and that doesn't mean it is boring or preachy, it just warms your heart a little and gives you a little hope. I think it is great that Card was able to use his religious beliefs as part of a story but not as a soapbox to get the rest of us believe.
  • Wyrms - This is a science fiction and fantasy novel set on a very rich and exciting world. It involves a serious quest as in most fantasy, a quest that has been thousands of years in the coming. The story involves humans who settled this world millenia before and other non-human races. Card uses the magic number 7 here too in the form of a ruler foretold by prophesy, the seventh seventh seventh Heptarch (the 343rd ruler), who might save or destroy the world.
  • - short stories: Runaway, Carthage City, Dowser, Pageant Wagon, and Dogwalker.
  • - Card has written a lot of books that are more science fiction which I haven't read yet. In 1976 he received the John W. Campbell award for best new writer and since racked up 7 Hugos, 4 Nebulas, and a World Fantasy award for short fiction and novels. He has received many more nominations including multiple Locus nominations. One of his Hugos was for the non-fiction work How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy.
  • - To see Orson's own official site go to Hatrack River.

  
  
  

• C.J. Cherryh
  
  
  • Although most of the books I have read by Ms. Cherryh are more sci-fi, almost all of her most recent output has been fantasy. I also haven't read some of her most famous work like the Chanur series, Merchanter's Luck, or Downbelow Station.
  • Wave Without a Shore - A book about a planet called Freedom that isn't visited by outsiders much. This is because all visitors claim to see strange people in blue robes AND aliens and it bothers them as the humans born on the planet see no such thing. This raises some serious questions as to what is real and what isn't. It all comes to a head as native-born humans have to confront these questions.
  • The Tree of Swords and Jewels - An above average fantasy involving the two seperate worlds of Men and Elves. Evil grows in the world of man and threatens to invade the world of elves. One man with the blood of both races must take up haunted weapons that he had once set aside to save both worlds.
  • Rimrunners - Set in the same universe as Merchanter's Luck and Downbelow Station, this story is about a down on her luck woman who signs on a "spook" ship filled with all sorts of nasty people. They spend their time chasing "outlaws" (people whose only crime was being on the losing side of a war) and fighting among themselves as various factions vie for eventual dominance of the ship.
  • The Faded Sun Trilogy (Kesrith, Shon'jir, & Kutath) - It has been so long since I read these books I don't remember too many details, but I do remember I liked them very much and that they were set on a very interesting world that was rich in detail.
  • - You can visit Cherryh at her own site, C.J. Cherryh.

  
  
  

• Stephen R. Donaldson
  • The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, The Power That Preserves, The Wounded Land, The One Tree, and White Gold Wielder) - This 6 volume epic is about a man with leprosy who finds himself in another world called The Land where magic is real. He doesn't believe (hence the title of the series) in this world or that The Land might be able to cure him. He thinks everything that happens to him in this place is just a dream, but he is the "hero" that the people of The Land have been waiting for to protect them against the evil Lord Foul. This is a very dark fantasy, but it is especially well written and is full of very intriguing characters and situations. There was also a thin volume put out to complement the series called Gilden-Fire that was actually a part of the second book The Illearth War that was left out.
  • Mordant's Need (Volume I The Mirror of Her Dreams, Volume II A Man Rides Through) - In this 2 volume fantasy a secretary from our world is recruited to help the people of another magical world when a man appears out of her MIRROR! She travels to this other world via the mirror. Most sorcerors known as Imagers, Masters of mirrors are using their mirrors to conjure up evil and destruction. This woman is caught up in all the court politics and machinations while she trys to help the people of this world.
  • The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story, The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge, The Gap Into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises, The Gap Into Madness: Chaos and Order, The Gap Into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die - I haven't read this 5 volume sci-fi epic yet, I've been waiting 'til they all came out and I just got the last volume recently. It looks very interesting and the titles A Dark and Hungry God Arises and This Day All Gods Die grab my attention and make me envision a story on a GRAND scale.

  
  
  

• Sheri S. Tepper
  • Beauty - This is a very unique story that uses elements of classic fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty and locations real and imagined to tell a tale that spans centuries and worlds. It is a tale of enchantment AND ugliness. Beauty and her descendants travel from their world of spells a few centuries ago to modern times, the future, and even the land of Faery. In other hands this story would be a mess, but Tepper is definitely a storyteller and I would read anything she wrote.
  • The Awakeners (Volume I Northshore, Volume II Southshore) - This 2-part novel is both fantasy and sci-fi. Man and the natives of the world they live on both worship the same gods and are bonded through this belief. They live on the Northshore of the immense World River that seperates the world into their Northshore and the mysterious Southshore. There are also intelligent fliers that are supposed to be the servants of one of the gods. This is a story of people who doubt what they have been told and a story of people (and creatures) who would bend others to their will. The intelligent fliers have a leader that would like to have NO humans on his planet.
  • - For more on Sheri, check out The Unofficial Sheri S. Tepper Web Page.

  
  
  

• William Horwood
  • Duncton Wood, Duncton Quest, Duncton Found, Duncton Tales, Duncton Rising, Duncton Stone - Each one of these 6 novels is a huge book in itself. So far I have only read the first and it was great. If somebody had told me a large book revolving around MOLES would become one of my favourite fantasy stories I wouldn't have believed them. But this book has all the standard elements of fantasy; quests, battles, mysticism, history, and politics. Horwood gives these moles an incredibly rich culture and society. He tells a story that is believable and wondrous. He uses the moles to comment on all of man's achievements AND failings. I guess it's also a book about faith; faith in one's traditions (I hesitate to use the word religion), faith in your family and friends, and especially faith in yourself (aw, ain't that heartwarming).
  • The Stonor Eagles - This novel is really 2 stories in 1. It is the story of an artist who creates a series of works called The Stonor Eagles and his life leading up to this culmination of a very personal life's work. It is also the story of a family of eagles told in much the same voice as the Duncton series as we come to view these eagles as intelligent beings with a complete history, culture, and strong family bonds. The story of these eagles is told to the artist by his father in the guise of folklore and has a profound effect on his life. We see the story of the eagles as real life though. Horwood purposely blurs the line between fantasy and reality in this story. I think this is to keep the reader a little off-balance and open to being moved by the majesty and beauty of this story.
  • Willows in Winter - I haven't read this recent book by Horwood yet, but I mention it because it is a sequel to The Wind in the Willows by
    Kenneth Grahame.

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