THE RECOMMENDED FANTASY AUTHORS LIST - ver. 2.4

by Amy I. Sheldon

Introduction Part 1 THE LIST (A-C)

Part 1 THE LIST (D-I) Part 2 THE LIST (J-R)

Part 3 THE LIST (S-Z) Part 4 Total Recommendation Counts

Part 4 Changes Since Last Posting

Part 5 Book News Part 5 Finding These Books

Part 5 About the List

Part 5 Downloading the List

Part 5 Credits Part 5

INTRODUCTION The Recommended Fantasy Author List was begun in April 1994 in the alt.fan.eddings newsgroup. It was intended to be a quick compilation of a few favorite fantasy authors of some a.f.e. regulars. After more than 125 recommendation lists, it ended up being a bit more than that. The List has maintained ONE of its original attributes - all of the participants share a fondness for the fantasy of David Eddings. Other than that, recommended authors run the gamut from Stephen Donaldson to Terry Pratchett, Mervyn Peake to Lloyd Alexander, and Peter Beagle to Piers Anthony (the last pair is my "sublime to the ridiculous" combination). The list is alphabetic by author. In the case of authors with multiple series, I've attempted to list their works in order of publication. Note that the operative word in the preceding sentence is "attempted." Series are listed with a series title followed by the individual books in the series. The listing will indicate if the titles are part of an on-going series or a limited series (trilogies, tetralogies, and the like), and if the books within the series stand alone. If the series has gone beyond 10 books, the first several books will be listed, and maybe a few others of particular interest. THIS LISTING DOES NOT PRETEND TO LIST EVERY WORK BY EVERY AUTHOR LISTED, nor is it intended to do so. In several cases, only specific books by an author are recommended (although that is generally noted in the comments). Also, authors who write both science fiction AND fantasy (or books in other genres) only have their fantasy titles listed. You can find many _complete_ author lists, created by the indomitable John Wenn, at the following ftp site: sflovers.rutgers.edu in the directory: /pub/sf-lovers/bibliographies/authorlists On the other hand, if you are looking for a list of virtually every modern fantasy author and all their titles, check out Finn's Fantasy BookList, located at: http://www.mcs.com/~finn/home.html Series titles are enclosed within quotation marks, and book titles within series are separated a semicolon. Comments, if any, follow the listing. Authors/series listed by 10% of the recommenders are marked with an "*". Two "**" means that 20% or more have endorsed the author. The total number of recommendations per author follows the List. THE LIST Peter Ackroyd (b. 1949) Hawksmoor _A thriller set in 17th century & present-day London. An architect is rebuilding London after the Great Fire, but he's secretly performing satanic rituals in each of the rebuilt churches. These involve murders, which are also occurring our time. The chapters alternate between past and present. "It's weird" says Stevie._ The House of Doctor Dee _Another Ackroyd involving alchemy and magic, and a London both ancient and modern. David enjoys Ackroyd's work, but warns that the pace can be slow._ Brian Aldiss (b. 1925) The Malacia Tapestry _A fantasy set in a mysterious, never-changing city._ "Helliconia Trilogy" - Helliconia Spring; Helliconia Summer; Helliconia Winter _The majority of the work of this Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author is generally considered SF, but this trilogy slides over the line into fantasy. It takes place on a world where the seasons last thousands of years._ *Lloyd Alexander (b. 1924) "Prydain Chronicles" - The Book of Three; The Black Cauldron; The Castle of Llyr; Taran Wanderer; The High King _Who cares if you have to get them from the children's section of your library - it's a very enjoyable read. A young boy of unknown heritage becomes involved in a clash between the forces of good and evil. Loosely based on the Welsh Mabinogin. There are also two or three short story collections out featuring tales about the characters from the Chronicles. Classic series, the concluding volume won the Newbery medal._ Poul Anderson (b. 1926) The Broken Sword _One of Anderson's earliest novels, the story of a changeling stolen by an elven lord._ Three Hearts and Three Lions _A modern man is swept back in time to take his place in a great combat between the gods._ Hrolf Kraki's Saga _Retelling of one of the earliest surviving Norse sagas._ The Merman's Children _Stand-alone that takes place in the thirteenth century, when magic is fading away. Four half-human, half-mer children seek their people, torn between their mortal and immortal heritages._ "The King of Ys" - Roma Mater; Gallicenae; Dahut; The Dog and the Wolf _A Roman centurion becomes king of a magical city. The entire tetralogy is being reprinted as a single trade paperback from Baen Books in July '96._ "The Last Viking Trilogy" - The Golden Horn; The Road of the Sea Horse; The Sign of the Raven _Great SF writer, too. His attention to historical detail comes through in his fantasy offerings (try _The High Crusade_ - it's SF, but one I think even the most adamant fantasy fan would like). The major influence on his fantasy is Nordic myth and legend._ *Piers Anthony (b. 1934) "Kelvin of Rud" - Dragon's Gold; Serpent's Silver; Chimaera's Copper; Orc's Opal; Mouvar's Magic _Straight adventure-fantasy_ "Xanth" - A Spell for Chameleon; The Source of Magic; Castle Roogna; etc. etc. etc. _Humorous. First couple of books are recommended, but it has descended into terminal cuteness and virtual unreadability...Series is nearing the 20- book mark._ "Apprentice Adept" - Split Infinity; The Blue Adept; Juxtaposition _Takes place in two different universes, one magic and one not. Anthony returned to this world with a second trilogy that is NOT recommended._ "Incarnations of Immortality" - On a Pale Horse; Bearing an Hourglass; With a Tangled Skein; Wielding a Red Sword; Being a Green Mother; For Love of Evil; And Eternity _There is a general, overall theme, but each book does stand on its own. NOT humorous. Recommenders agree that the first book, _On a Pale Horse,_ is the best (the usual state of affairs in a series written by Piers Anthony)._ Risa Aratyr (b. 1953) The Hunter of the Light _Celtic fantasy. A bard must kill a mystical snow elk that appears only once every nine years, or the balance between Light and Dark will be lost._ Robert Asprin (b. 1946) "Myth series" - Another Fine Myth; Myth Conceptions; Hit or Myth; Myth-ing Persons; Little Myth Marker; M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link; Myth-nomers and Impervections; Myth Direction; M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action; Sweet Myth-tery of Life; Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. (forthcoming) _Humorous. Lotsa puns, lotsa slapstick. Like most long-running series, the recent offerings have been pretty weak. He also has an SF series, "Phule's Company," which runs along the punny/humor line._ "Thieves World" - Thieves World; Tales From the Vulgar Unicorn; Shadows of Sanctuary; Storm Warning; The Face of Chaos; Wings of Omen; many others _Shared World series with various authors, Asprin is originator. Notable as the first series created specifically to be a Shared World. Most of the stories aim for a feeling of gritty realism (translation: dark and depressing)._ Robin Wayne Bailey "Frost Trilogy" - Frost; Skull Gate; Bloodsongs _The warrior and ex-witch Frost wanders in exile with both her daemonic dagger and her mother's dying curse. It's a standard set-up (Tough Female Warrior who is Just As Good As the Boys), but it has some nice twists. Bailey's first fantasy effort, out of print and darn near impossible to find, but Steve likes it much better than Bailey's later work._ "Brothers of the Dragon" - Brothers of the Dragon; Flames of the Dragon; Triumph of the Dragon _A pair of brothers end up in a world of magic, where their martial arts skills are put to the test._ Clive Barker (b. 1952) "The Books of the Art" - The Great and Secret Show; Everville _These involve 'the dream-sea of Quiddity', and move away from the strictly horror content of Barker's "Books of Blood" series (although David points out that they still would "not be recommended for juveniles or the faint of heart due to their explicit sex and violence"). Each book does stand alone._ The Thief of Always _Now, this one IS for juveniles, and involves a ten- year-old who gets more than he bargains for when a mysterious stranger offers him an escape from boredom at the Holiday House_ L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) "Oz" - The Wizard of Oz; The Land of Oz; Ozma of Oz; Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz; and so on __The Wizard of Oz_ first saw print in 1900, and Baum wrote 13 more Oz stories before his death. There are currently more than 40 books about Oz, and the land is getting a bit overpopulated. I've only read Baum's novels, and they are fun. Dorothy is quite competent and tough-minded (far more so then Judy Garland was in the film version), and some of the ancillary characters are hilarious (I love Mr. H.M. Woggle-Bug T.E., and Scraps, and General Jinjur)_ Peter S. Beagle (b. 1939) A Fine and Private Place _An early work. It's a love story with (and between) ghosts. Jim says "it is well worth reading" and your FAQmaker agrees._ The Last Unicorn _One of the top ten fantasies of all time. Read this. Bittersweet story of the last unicorn's quest to find out what happened to her fellow unicorns._ The Innkeeper's Song _Beagle returns to fantasy after far too long an absence. Story told through multiple viewpoints, grittier and a bit darker than his early work. There IS one other Beagle fantasy novel, published in the early 80's - _The Folk of the Air_. It hasn't turned up on anyone's recommendation list yet, and it really isn't one of his best._ Greg Bear (b. 1951) "Songs of Earth and Power" - The Infinity Concerto; The Serpent Mage _Before Greg Bear went totally over to SF of the hardest variety, he wrote this fantasy duology. It was recently released as a single volume under the title of _Songs of Earth and Power_ in both the U.S. and U.K._ John Bellairs (1938-1991) The Face in the Frost _Another one of your FAQmaker's personal favorites. Funny, scary, well-written, and fast-paced. The author also has quite a few children's fantasies in print. If you liked _The Last Unicorn,_ you'll like this_ James Blish (1921-1975) "After Such Knowledge" - Doctor Mirabilis; Black Easter; The Day After Judgement; A Case of Conscience _The famous SF author brings us the end of the world. _Black Easter_ and _The Day After Judgement_ form a separate magic/horror duology - _Doctor Mirabilis_ is a historical novel about Roger Bacon, and _A Case of Conscience_ is straight SF. As a whole, the series explores whether the search for secular knowledge is inherently evil._ Elizabeth Boyer "The World of the Alfar series" - The Elves and the Otterskin; The Sword and the Satchel; The Wizard and the Warlord; The Thrall and the Dragon's Heart _The world in this series is heavily influenced by Nordic myth. I'm told that these are all stand-alone novels._ "Wizard's War" - The Troll's Grindstone; The Curse of Slagfid; The Dragon's Carbuncle; Lord of Chaos _I've been told that these also take place in Alfar, and that the books are NOT standalones._ "?? series" - The Clan of the Warlord; The Black Lynx _A new open-ended series (at least, that's what I gather from the back cover blurbs)._ Keeper of Cats _A new standalone, taking place in Boyer's usual mythical-Scandanavian setting._ Ray Bradbury (b. 1920) Something Wicked This Way Comes _Everything Bradbury writes is Wonderful (do we detect a teeny bit of bias on the part of our FAQmaker here?) Most of his fantasy is in short story form, but this novel features an unusual (and nasty) carnival that comes to town._ *Marion Zimmer Bradley (b. 1930) The Mists of Avalon _Turning Arthurian fantasy on its head. This was one of the first books to tell the story from the female characters' points of view, and, boy, was it successful._ The Forest House _Brand-new prequel to _The Mists of Avalon_._ The Firebrand _Cassandra of Troy gets her turn in the spotlight_ "Darkover series" - Stormqueen; Hawkmistress; The Forbidden Tower; The Heirs of Hammerfell; many many others _THIS IS SF, NOT FANTASY. But, hey, McCaffrey's Pern books made it onto the list, so why not MZB's Darkover? Generally, the books that take place after the lost colonists of Darkover has been rediscovered by Earth are more SF in tone, the ones that take place during Darkover's long isolation have a more 'fantasy' feel. I've listed a few of the titles I'm personally familiar with, and consider fantasy-ish in tone. The books all tend to be standalones, although familiarity with Darkover tends to make even the lesser offerings more enjoyable._ Mayer Alan Brenner "Dance of the Gods" - Catastrophe's Spell; Spell of Intrigue; Spell of Fate; Spell of Apocalypse _Ya gotta love a series with a hero named 'Maximillian the Vaguely Disreputable'. READ THIS SERIES, shouts your FAQmaker, it's fast and furious, and fun, and I want the author to make enough money that he keeps getting published._ David Brin (b. 1950) The Practice Effect _A lone fantasy from an SF master. This is definitely Brin-lite, but even minor Brin is enjoyable. A light-hearted adventure in a parallel world where magic takes a strange form (the title pretty much gives it away). The book is a stand alone. It came out a while ago, and may be out of print._ C. Dale Brittain "Tales of Daimbert" - A Bad Spell in Yurt; The Wood Nymph and the Cranky Saint; Mage Quest; The Witch and the Cathedral; Daughter of Magic (forthcoming May '96) _Open ended series featuring Daimbert, the Royal Wizard of Yurt. Basically light-hearted adventure, although it is far less dependent on puns and general silliness than the cover art (and titles) would indicate._ Voima _A standalone. Pretty much standard adventure/quest, but it has some nice twists, and a trio of likable protagonists. Far more serious than the Daimbert books._ **Terry Brooks (b. 1944) "Shannara" - Sword of Shannara; Elfstones of Shannara; Wishsong of Shannara _The fantasy genre owes Brooks a lot - whether that debt is good or bad depends upon how you feel about the current state of the market. These books were bestsellers when they came out in the early 80's, and they finally proved that Tolkien's popularity wasn't just an aberration, and that fantasy could be much more than a niche market. This is an enjoyable group of books, although the Tolkienesque borrowings of the first book of the first trilogy are even more blatant than most._ "Heritage of Shannara" - Scions of Shannara; Druid of Shannara; Elf Queen of Shannara; Talismans of Shannara _Onward ever onward with the world of Shannara. This group of books is straightforward fantasy quest/adventure._ "Yet Another Shannara Book" - First King of Shannara (forthcoming March 1996) _Prequel set 500 years before the events of _Sword of Shannara_._ "Kingdom of Landover" - Magic Kingdom For Sale-Sold; The Black Unicorn; Wizard At Large; The Tangle Box; Witches Brew _Open-ended adventure/humor series. Not connected to the Shannara books._ Steven Brust (b. 1955) "Vlad Taltos series" - Jhereg; Yendi; Teckla; Taltos; Phoenix; Athyra; Orca (March 1996); Dragon (working title-won't be appearing for quite some time) _Featuring the assassin Vlad Taltos. Open-ended action/adventure series taking place in a well- defined, interesting world. Each book is a stand- alone, and the published order (listed above) does NOT follow the internal chronology (despite that, you should try to read them in the published order)_ "Khaavren Romances" - The Phoenix Guards; Five Hundred Years After; The Viscount of Adrilankha (coming sometime in late 1996/early 1997) _Set in the same world as the Vlad Taltos books, just earlier in its history. There are two more books coming in this series - working titles are _The Enchantress of Dzur Mountain,_ and _The Lord of Castle Black_. These are written in the style of Dumas (remember _The Three Musketeers_?) and are quite enjoyable._ Brokedown Palace _A standalone that takes place in the eastern (human) region of Vlad Taltos' world._ The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars _Part of the Ace 'Fairy Tale' series (now being published by Tor), which invited various authors to retell a fairy tale for a contemporary adult audience. Very well-regarded, books from the series by Wrede, de Lint & Dean are also on this list. It is coming back into print in May '96 from Tor._ Emma Bull (b. 1954) The War For the Oaks _Standalone (gosh, it's nice to run into a recent book that doesn't have 900 sequels). Wars in the fairylands spilling over into our world. You can tell Bull is a musician - the band scenes feel *right*. Good book. She's also written some 'Borderlands' books, which is yet another Shared World series._ Silver or Gold _Young adult standalone_ Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) "Barsoom series" - A Princess of Mars; The Gods of Mars; The Warlord of Mars; Thuvia, Maid of Mars; The Chessman of Mars; The Master Mind of Mars; and so much more _Join John Carter as he travels the wilds of the Martian landscape! The Tarzan books are lots of fun, too._ Octavia Butler (b. 1947) Wild Seed _Fantasy from the Nebula-award-winning SF author. Steve says "It's an alternative history story, with magic thrown in."_ James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) "Biography of the Life of Manuel" - Beyond Life; Figures of Earth; The Silver Stallion; The Music From Behind the Moon; The White Robe; The Way of Ecben; The Soul of Melicent; Chivalry; Jurgen; The Line of Love; The High Place; Gallantry; Something About Eve; The Certain Hour; The Cords of Vanity; From the Hidden Way; The Jewel Merchants; The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck; The Eagle's Shadow; The Cream of the Jest; The Lineage of Lichfield; Straws and Prayer-Books _The imaginary kingdom of Poictesme ties all of these together. Alternate world fantasies._ Orson Scott Card (b. 1951) Hart's Hope _Early stand-alone fantasy_ "Alvin Maker" - Seventh Son; Red Prophet; Prentice Alvin; Alvin Journeyman _I believe this is meant to be a 7-book series. The majority of Card's writing falls firmly into SF, but this is an interesting alternate-history fantasy, taking place in the 19th century U.S._ Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) "The Alice Duology" - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass _Human from the "real world" crosses over into a fantasy land...Sound familiar? The first and still the best, you should read the Alice books as a fine source of sig quotes if nothing else._ Angela Carter (1940-1992) The Magic Toyshop _"Not exactly fantasy, but it's close enough," reports Wardley the Wizzy._ The Bloody Chamber _Collection of stories reworking familiar fairy tales. Definitely NOT for children. Maria describes Carter as "a fabulous stylist: lush without verbiage."_ Jack Chalker (b. 1944) And the Devil Will Drag You Under _Humorous. Stand-alone fantasy novel by a very prolific SF author. His other fantasy series (the "Dancing Gods") is NOT recommended_ Joy Chant (b. 1945) "The World of Vandarei" - Red Moon and Black Mountain; The Grey Mane of Morning; When Voiha Wakes _A recommendation from Denis. These are all stand- alones (and a good thing, too, since Chant produces only about one book a decade, and hasn't had anything new come out since 1984) set in varying times in the world of Vandarei._ The High Kings _Early legends of Britain retold._ C.J. Cherryh (b. 1942) "Morgaine" - Gate of Ivrel; Well of Shiun; Fires of Azeroth; Exile's Gate _Early work from Cherryh (except for _Exile's Gate_, which was published a decade after the others). Dark, moody science fantasy. Open-ended_ "Arafel's Saga" - The Dreamstone; The Tree of Swords and Jewels _Out of print (although they still turn up in bookstores occasionally). Fantasy in the Celtic/Welsh vein._ "Russian series" - Rusalka; Chernevog; Yvgenie _Dark fairy tale using Russian traditions. Cherryh is a very highly regarded SF author, and if you like her fantasy, you should check out her other works._ The Paladin _Good stand-alone story with a samurai flavor_ The Goblin Mirror _Stand-alone fantasy with an Eastern European background._ Fortress in the Eye of Time _Possibly the first book in a new series, this isn't one of Cherryh's best. Tristen's quest is governed far too heavily by happenstance (and goes on far too long), and the maneuverings that lead to the final battle are pretty routine. Still, even substandard Cherryh is worthwhile, just don't let this be the first of her books that you try._ Adrian Cole (b. 1949) "The Omaran Saga" - A Place Among the Fallen; Throne of Fools; The King of Light and Shadows; The Gods in Anger Allan Cole (b. 1943) "Antero series" (co-author Chris Bunch) - The Far Kingdoms; The Warrior's Tale; Kingdoms of the Night; The Warrior Returns (forthcoming April '96) _The first two books of this series are loosely related, and can easily be read as standalones. However the third book is a fairly direct sequel to the first, and after looking over a sample chapter of the forthcoming book (which will be written by Cole on his own), it sure looks like you need to have read the first three to really enjoy it. Straightforward adventure/quest fantasy, reasonably well written._ "Timura Trilogy" - When the Gods Slept (forthcoming late '96); Wolves of the Gods; The Gods Awaken _A new trilogy based on _The Rubayyat of Omar Khayam_. Allan Cole has a neat homepage at http://www.acole.com Nice graphics, sample chapters, and some interesting links - check it out._ Glen Cook (b. 1944) "The Chronicles of the Black Company" - The Black Company; Shadows Linger; The White Rose _Fantasy from the foot soldier's point of view. Gritty and hard-edged, these are not Fantasy Lite_ The Silver Spike _Takes place in the world of the Black Company. It's not about them, but some familiar characters appear._ "Book of the South" - Shadow Games; Dreams of Steel _More of the chronicles of the Black Company_ "The Glittering Stone Trilogy" - Bleak Seasons (forthcoming April 1996); 2 more _The long-awaited (since 1985!) continuation of the adventures of the Black Company._ "Garrett, P.I. series" - Sweet Silver Blues; Bitter Gold Hearts; Cold Copper Tears; Old Tin Sorrows; Dread Brass Shadows; Red Iron Nights; Deadly Quicksilver Lies; Petty Pewter Gods _The hard-boiled detective in a world full of elves, trolls, and magic. Raymond Chandler fans take note. Open-ended series. There is some slight reference to events that take place in previous books, but all books are basically stand-alone. Roc publishing recently bought 2 more in this series from Cook._ "The Dread Empire series" - A Shadow of All Night Falling; October's Baby; All Darkness Met; The Fire in His Hands; With Mercy Toward None; Reap the East Wind; An Ill Fate Marshalling _Listed for completists - none of the a.f.e. recommenders mentioned this series. The darkest (and least commercially popular) of Cook's three continuing series._ Hugh Cook (b. 1956) "Chronicles of an Age of Darkness" - The Wizards and the Warriors; The Wordsmiths and Warguild; The Woman and the Warlords; The Walrus and the Warwolf; The Wicked and the Witless; The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers; The Wazir and the Witch; The Werewolf and the Wormlord; The Worshippers and Way; The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster _These are the titles from the English editions. Only the first couple have been published in the U.S., and they were released under different titles. Excellent series! Books vary radically in tone, ranging from your standard heroes on a fantasy quest to humor/adventure to great events seen through ordinary (or seemingly ordinary) eyes_ Louise Cooper (b. 1952) "Time Master Trilogy" - Initiate; Outcast; Master _The forces of Order and Chaos face off again. However, in Cooper's universe, neither side is unrelievedly good or evil - Chaos and Order are "two sides of the same coin," in the words of the author._ "Chaos Gate Trilogy" - The Pretender; The Deceiver; The Avenger _Set in the same world as the "Time Master" trilogy. It takes place about 60-80 years after the events of the first trilogy._ "Indigo series" - Nemesis; Inferno; Infanta; Nocturne; Troika; Avatar; Revenant; Aisling _The recommender of the "Indigo" series would like to point out that the quality of the books in the series is uneven - some are much better than others Brian Daley (1947-1996) "Coramonde" - The Doomfarers of Coramonde; The Starfollowers of Coramonde _US soldier in Vietnam is transported into a magical world. Good mix of modern military equipment in a fantasy world, says Jim Lahue._ A Tapestry of Magics _A wandering minstrel is involved in a series of adventures. Most famous for his 'Han Solo' books, Daley also co-wrote (with James Luceno) 'Robotech' books under the pen-name Jack McKinney_ Pamela Dean "The Secret Country" - The Secret Country; The Hidden Land; The Whim of the Dragon _Another series usually found in the children's section of your library_ The Dubious Hills _Set in the same world as _The Secret Country_, but featuring different characters. An unusual book, this one is not geared toward children._ Tam-Lin _The college setting of this one makes it quite popular with the academic crowd. Stand-alone contemporary retelling of the Tam-Lin legend. Part of the 'Fairy Tale' series_ L. Sprague de Camp (b. 1907) "The Reluctant King" - Goblin Tower; The Clocks of Iraz; The Unbeheaded King; The Honorable Barbarian _Classic. Fast-paced heroic adventure with an added dash of humor_ The Complete Compleat Enchanter (co-author Fletcher Pratt) _Great series of novelettes! Published in a variety of configurations, the above title is the U.S. edition that contains all the stories. In the U.K., look for _The Intrepid Enchanter_._ The Exotic Enchanter (co-author Christopher Stasheff) _de Camp continues Harold Shea's adventures with a new co-author. There has also been at least one collection of short stories in this series_ Tom Deitz (b. 1952) The Gryphon King _Stand-alone set in Georgia and similar in style to the "David Sullivan" books (although it is NOT part of that series)_ "David Sullivan series" - Windmaster's Bane; Fireshaper's Doom; Darkthunder's Way; Sunshaker's War; Stoneskin's Revenge; Ghostcountry's Wrath; Dreamseeker's Road _Open-ended series. Celtic myth in rural Georgia. I understand that the recent volumes have also thrown American Indian mysticism into the pot_ "The Soulsmith Trilogy" - Soulsmith; Dreamweaver; Wordwright _Not connected to the David Sullivan series_ Above the Lower Sky (forthcoming Feb '96) _According to _Publishers Weekly_ "War between Orcas and humans, a dolphin-selkie-human alliance and mystical Native American magic are the elements of this fantasy"_ Charles de Lint (b. 1951) "Jack of Kinrowen" - Jack the Giant Killer; Drink Down the Moon (Omnibus edition with JoK title available from Tor) __Jack the Giant Killer_ was originally published as part of the 'Fairy Tale' series._ "Newford series" - Our Lady of the Harbor; Paperjack; The Wishing Well; Memory and Dream _Standalones taking place in the fictional town of Newford. Most (if not all) of the short stories in the two collections mentioned below take place in Newford also._ Dreams Underfoot; The Ivory and the Horn _Both of these are short story collections. Good introduction to the author_ Greenmantle The Little Country _He's written many books, with a fair number only available in small press editions. Most are stand-alone (although related to each other), all are good. Probably the most well-known and productive author in the 'urban fantasy' sub-genre. Often difficult to find in U.S. (but that is changing - Tor, his publisher, is showing their good taste and really pushing his work), readily available in Canada & U.K._ Susan Dexter (b. 1955) "Winter King's War" - Ring of Allaire; The Sword Of Calandra; The Mountains of Channadran _Her first work. Out of print, but seems to be fairly easy to find_ "The Warhorse of Esdragon" - The Prince of Ill-Luck; The Wind Witch; The True Knight _Light-hearted adventure. The books are stand- alones, with the warhorse Valadan as the connecting character_ The Wizard's Shadow _Stand-alone (although the ending is left wide open for sequels) about a peddler who makes a bargain with the shadow of murdered wizard. It appears to be set in the same world as the Winter King trilogy_ **Stephen Donaldson (b. 1947) "Thomas Covenant - First Chronicles" - Lord Foul's Bane; The Illearth War; The Power That Preserves _VERY highly recommended. This is a powerful trilogy, and you should read it._ "Thomas Covenant - Second Chronicles" - The Wounded Land; The One Tree; White Gold Wielder _The Covenant books can be *quite* grim & depressing, but they are well written and worth your time. Those who love Donaldson's work describe Covenant as a flawed but decent human struggling to come to terms with both his illness and his power. Others with less charity in their souls consider Covenant to be whiny, self-pitying, and a poor excuse for a hero. Give the Chronicles a try & see which category you fall into_ "Thomas Covenant - Third Chronicles" - ?? (forthcoming) _Yep, you read that right. According to _Publishers Weekly_ magazine, Donaldson is working on a third set of Thomas Covenant books which may see print in late 1996/early 1997. This is still very much in the 'rumored' category, so don't get your hopes up yet. He is currently finishing up a five-book SF series with characters that make the folks in the Covenant books look cheerful and well-adjusted_ "Mordant's Need" - The Mirror of Her Dreams; A Man Rides Through _Several people have remarked that, although the Covenant books weren't their cup of tea, *this* duology was very enjoyable, and nowhere near as gloomy as his usual (although the heroine has more than her share of self-image problems...)_ Ann Downer (b. 1960) "The Spellkey Trilogy" - The Spellkey; The Glass Salamander; The Books of the Keepers _Two outcasts must journey through the 13 kingdoms, pursued by a mysterious red-haired man. Their only hope is the Spellkey; finding it and solving its mystery may change the cruel rules of the Pentacle. Denis liked this first novel, and cheerfully recommends it. The U.S. edition published by Baen combines all three volumes into one book._ David Drake (b. 1945) "World of Crystal Walls" - The Sea Hag _Although this was billed as the first book in a series, it does stand alone (which is just as well, since no other books have been forthcoming). Drake is best known for his military SF series about Hammer's Slammers_ Dragon Lord _Well, what we've got here is Arthur as a paranoid megalomaniac, Lancelot a bully, and Merlin a second- rate magician...Mike sez this isn't a comedy, and Rich thinks its "an interesting look at King Arthur"_ The Undesired Princess and The Enchanted Bunny _A collection of two novelettes, with the first by L. Sprague De Camp (originally written around 1951), and the second by Drake._ Diane Duane (b. 1952) "The Tales of the Five tetralogy" - The Door Into Fire; The Door Into Shadow; The Door Into Sunset; The Door Into Starlight (forthcoming) _Mercedes Lackey fans should give this series a try, since most of the folks who recommended this were also big Valdemar fans._ "Young Wizards series" - So You Want To Be a Wizard?; Deep Wizardry; High Wizardry; A Wizard Abroad (only U.S. edition from Science Fiction Book Club) _Open-ended young adult series. Humorous and hard to find in the U.S. (the Science Fiction Book Club has the first 3 books in a combined edition if you can't find it in the stores)._ *Dave Duncan (b. 1933) "Seventh Sword" - The Reluctant Swordsman; The Coming of Wisdom; The Destiny of the Sword _His first work. Has some ragged edges, but moves right along._ "A Man of His Word" - The Magic Casement; Faery Lands Forlorn; Perilous Seas; Emperor and Clown _A stableboy sets forth on a quest, and ends up with a (need I say it?) great destiny_ "A Handful of Men" - The Cutting Edge; Upland Outlaws; The Stricken Field; The Living God _Follows the same characters as 'A Man of His Word' series._ "Omar the Storyteller" - The Reaver's Road; The Hunter's Haunt _Described as being 'a little lighter' than Duncan's epic fantasies, this on-going series features Omar the storyteller. The books are completely self- contained, and stand alone._ The Cursed _Stand-alone about a land afflicted by changes brought about by the baleful influence of certain stars. Duncan also has a new book out under the pseudonym Ken Hood titled _Demon Sword_._ "The Great Game" - Past Imperative; Present Tense (forthcoming June '96); Future Indefinite (forthcoming) _This looks interesting - in 1914, a young man suffering from amnesia and accused of murder ends up at Stonehenge, where he is transported to an alternate reality._ Lord Dunsany (1879-1957) The King of Elfland's Daughter _Early fantasy. Dunsany was very influential in the field. The above is probably his most accessible book for modern readers (although I like _The Charwoman's Shadow_ too, but then, I've got a definite fondness for early fantasy). It should be available at most larger libraries_ ***David Eddings (b. 1931) "The Belgariad" - Pawn of Prophecy; Queen of Sorcery; Magician's Gambit; Castle of Wizardry; Enchanter's End Game _The series that started it all. The forces of dark and light are rushing toward a climatic confrontation, and young farm boy Garion is swept into the battle_ "The Malloreon" - Guardians of the West; King of the Murgos; The Demon Lord of Karanda; The Sorceress of Darshiva; The Seeress of Kell _Continuing the adventures of Garion and Company_ "The Prequels" - Belgarath the Sorcerer; Polgara the Sorceress (forthcoming Spring 1997) _Yep, two more books about our favorite sorcerer and his daughter. These are both prequels to the events of the Belgariad, and should finally answer such burning questions as: Why did Poledra have to pretend she'd died? and How exactly DID the orb get onto the shield?_ "The Elenium" - The Diamond Throne; The Ruby Knight; The Sapphire Rose _Eddings creates a new world and characters. The hero Sparhawk sets off to save his queen and country_ "The Tamuli" - Domes of Fire; The Shining Ones; The Hidden City _More adventures of Sparhawk (Eddings does like to get a lot of use out of his characters)_ _Eddings is by far the most highly recommended author on the List (hardly surprising, as the list originated on alt.fan.eddings)._ E.R. Eddison (1882-1945) The Worm Ouroboros _I've hesitated to add this to the list, since it is an early work in the field (1922), and quite different from what most people expect from fantasy now, but since *Corinne* brought it up...Read it. It's different_ "The Zimiamvian Trilogy" - The Mezentian Gate; A Fish Dinner in Memison; Mistress of Mistresses _Eddison gets a LOT more into philosophy with these. _Mezentian Gate_ is unfinished - the published book contains the chapters he completed and his notes on the ending._ Teresa Edgerton "The Green Lion Trilogy" - Child of Saturn; The Moon in Hiding; The Work of the Sun _Celtic-inspired fantasy in a complex, well-realized world._ "Kingdom of Celydonn trilogy" - The Castle of the Silver Wheel; The Grail and the Ring; The Moon and the Thorn _More about the world of the "Green Lion" trilogy. Dwayne says the two books he's read are excellent, and I agree, although _Castle_ is a trifle slow- moving in spots. The final book was recently released, and it is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy._ Goblin Moon; The Gnome's Engine _Jonathan says these are "just awesome - full of intrigue and suspense." Not part of the Celydonn series, the world of these books is built more along Victorian lines._ Phyllis Eisenstein (b. 1946) "Cray the Sorcerer" - Sorcerer's Son; The Crystal Palace _Stand-alones about Cray, a sorcerer._ "Tales of Alaric the Minstrel" - Born to Exile; In the Red Lord's Reach _Two books so far, the first is episodic and has the feel of a short story collection, second is a novel. Alaric is gifted with the magical ability of teleportation._ Ru Emerson (b. 1944) The Princess of Flames _Her first book, and by far her best. Out of print, and hard to find. She's currently doing Shared World stuff._ The Sword and the Lion _Emerson recently published this fantasy under the pen name Roberta Cray. Lengthy stand-alone story taking place in an area reminiscent of the ancient Middle East (Babylon, Sumeria - you know, deserts and lion gods, and dusty walled cities baking under the hot sun). Lots of battles and a young heroine who grows into a great destiny_ Michael Ende (1929-1995) The Neverending Story _Don't judge it by the movies, please, says the recommender._ Jane Fancher (b. 1952) "Dance of the Rings" - Ring of Power _Fancher has several SF novels, but this appears to be her first fantasy. It came out in July 1995. Doug thinks that it's killer, and hopes she writes fast._ **Raymond Feist (b. 1945) "Riftwar Saga" - Magician: Apprentice; Magician: Master; Silverthorn; A Darkness at Sethanon _Fast-paced adventure, and full of action. The first two books were originally published in one volume under the title _Magician_._ "Midkemia series" - Prince of the Blood; The King's Buccaneer _Technically, these two are stand-alone books, although they feature characters and situations introduced in the Riftwar Saga, and set up situations that are due to be resolved in the Serpentwar saga_ "The Serpentwar Saga" - Shadow of a Dark Queen; Rise of a Merchant Prince; Rage of a Demon King (forthcoming May '97); The Honor of a Bastard Knight (forthcoming '98) _A new Midkemia series_ Faerie Tale _NOT a Midkemia book. A dark, modern fairy tale_ _Feist is the most highly recommended author on this list - his work definitely strikes a chord with most Eddings fans._ Raymond Feist (b. 1945) and Janny Wurts (b. 1953) "Daughter of the Empire trilogy" - Daughter of the Empire; Servant of the Empire; Mistress of the Empire _Loosely related to Riftwar saga (they take place on the other side of the Rift)_ Alan Dean Foster (b. 1946) "Spellsinger" - Spellsinger; The Hour of the Gate _These are the initial duology. A young man ends up in a world where music has magic. It has become an open-ended series. Foster is an entertaining and competent writer (I've enjoyed his SF books about Flinx and Humanx Commonwealth), however, I've received reports that the later books in this series have fallen off quite a bit in quality._ C.S. Friedman "The Coldfire Trilogy" - Black Sun Rising; When True Night Falls; Crown of Shadows _Sorta SF, but it takes place on a world where magic works, and it's not a really pleasant place for humans...."Extremely well written, interesting, and a lot different than the typical "sword & sorcery" type book...I would recommend this series to anyone." Her sf novel _In Conquest Born_ has also been mentioned by several recommenders. Doug would like to add the warning that Friedman makes Stephen Donaldson look like a comedy writer, and that depressed persons should avoid these books._ Esther Friesner (b. 1951) Druid's Blood _Alternate world Sherlock Holmes/fantasy pastiche. It gets a bit ragged in places, but on the whole is quite enjoyable. Came out in 1988 as a paperback original and will probably be hard to find._ "Demon series" - Here Be Demons; Demon Blues; Hooray for Hellywood _Open-ended humorous fantasy series. Relies less on horrendous puns then some of the other humorous fantasy authors. Her 'Majyk' series is NOT recommended._ The Sherwood Game _New fantasy. Nathan liked it enough to give Friesner a recommendation, returning her to the list after a six month absence._ Maggie Furey "The Artifacts of Power" - Aurian; Harp of Winds; The Sword of Flame (forthcoming U.S. May '96, already out in U.K.); Dhiamarra (forthcoming) _I've been waiting for this to get recommended. New tetralogy that's been getting pretty decent reviews. Jonathan says that it is very good fantasy._ Craig Shaw Gardner (b. 1949) "The Cineverse Cycle" - Slaves of the Volcano God; Bride of the Slime Monster; The Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies _humorous (it's quite punny *ouch*) trilogy set in a parallel universe based on 'B' movies_ "Ebenezum/Wuntvor series" - A Malady of Magicks; A Multitude of Monsters; A Night in the Netherhells; A Difficulty with Dwarves; An Excess of Enchantments; A Disagreement with Death _Standalone humor novels about an incompetent magician and his apprentice_ "Arabian Nights" - The Other Sinbad; The Last Arabian Knight _More humor (do I sense a trend here?)_ "The Dragon Circle" - Dragon Sleeping; Dragon Waking; Dragon Burning (forthcoming) _A storm transplants a suburban community into a magical world. Nick is "thrust into a dire sorcerous conflict" that involves the control of an immortal, all-powerful dragon. This trilogy is SERIOUS, folks. Jonathan notes that he was a little nervous about trying this one because it was Gardner's first attempt at an epic, but "I liked it a lot."_ Alan Garner (b. 1934) "Alderley stories" - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen; The Moon of Gomrath _Marvelous author. These are his some of his earliest work, you'll find them in the children's section of your library._ Elidor _Four children must save an alternate world through the use of four symbols of power._ The Owl Service _Echoes of the Mabinogion in a moody and intense novel that totally bewildered me when I was 12, but that I love now._ Randall Garrett (1927-1987) "Lord Darcy" - Murder and Magic; Too Many Magicians; Lord Darcy Investigates _Open-ended series of detective stories set in an alternate England where magic works. Michael Kurland has continued this series with the books _Ten Little Wizards_ and _A Study in Sorcery_._ Randall Garrett and Vicky Heydron (b. 1945) "The Gandalara Cycle" - The Steel of Raithskar; The Glass of Dyskornis; The Bronze of Eddarta; The Well of Darkness; The Search for Ka; Return to Eddarta; The River Wall _Randall developed this series with his wife Vicky, but he did not actually write any of the books due to the effects of his eventually fatal illness_ *David Gemmell (b. 1948) "The Drenai" - Legend; King Beyond the Gate; Quest For Lost Heroes; Waylander; Waylander II; The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend; Second Chronicles of Druss the Legend; The Legend of Deathwalker (forthcoming Feb. '96 in U.K.) _The Drenai books are good, solid standalone fantasy adventures that take place in the same world. Gemmell is a retailing phenomenon in England, with a publishing imprint named after his first book. Only the first four Drenai books have been published in the U.S._ "The Lion of Macedon" - Lion of Macedon; Dark Prince _Fantasy version of the life of Alexander the Great. History purists be warned - Gemmell plays fast and loose with Greek history and mythology. Only available in trade paperback in the U.S._ "The Sipstrassi" - Wolf in Shadow; Ghost King; Last Sword of Power (1st U.S. edition Sept. '96); The Last Guardian; Bloodstone _The second two books take place in a vaguely Arthurian past, and the others feature Jon Shannow, and take place in the far future. The connecting feature of the two eras are the Sipstrassi, the stones of power. They are being published in the U.S. in the order of the internal chronology._ Knights of Dark Renown _A stand-alone. It is out in the U.S._ Morningstar _Another stand-alone, and this one isn't out in the U.S._ "The Hawk Queen" - Ironhand's Daughter; Hawk Eternal (both are only out in the U.K.) _The Gemmellites don't seem to be particularly enthusiastic about this particular duology (commentary has ranged from the lukewarm to the tepid). Gemmell's work has just started coming out in the U.S. He IS very much worth looking up - an entertaining author who tells a fast-paced story. Fairly traditional fantasy, with heroic heroes (who have flaws, but overcome them when the chips are down) and dastardly villains._ Mary Gentle (b. 1956) "The White Crow sequence" - Rats and Gargoyles; The Architecture of Desire _Gothic fantasy. These books are very loosely related, and definitely stand alone. I haven't read them yet, and I should, because I really enjoy her SF. Thanks to Ray for suggesting these_ Grunts! _I've heard a lot about this one - I understand it has a lot of black humor. It's been out in Britain for a while, but just appeared in the U.S._ William Goldman (b. 1931) The Princess Bride _A fast-paced, funny romp through every fantasy cliche you can think of (watch out for the rodents of unusual size). Written by an author best known for his screenplays (think _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_), which may be why the movie actually does a good job of capturing the tone of the book._ Terry Goodkind "The Sword of Truth" - Wizard's First Rule; Stone of Tears; Blood of the Fold (forthcoming Oct. '96) _Goodkind's debut novel made a big splash, and he quickly followed it up. Mikey REALLY likes _First Rule_ and highly recommends it. Goodkind has sold five books in the series to Tor, so there's at least two more yet to go._ Simon Green (b. 1955) Blue Moon Rising _"my favorite new book this year....standard fantasy with enough of a twist to keep me interested," reports Nathan. Your FAQMaster agrees - it moves quickly, the characters are standard types but still manage to be interesting, and it kept me reading straight through to the end_ Down Among the Dead Men; Blood and Honor _Both set in the same world as _Blue Moon,_ but they're not really sequels. "Down" takes place years after, and features a totally different set of characters, while "Blood" is about an actor who must play the double of a prince during a crisis. Action-packed adventure_ "Hawke and Fisher series" - Guard Against Dishonor; Hawke and Fisher; The Bones of Haven; The God Killer; Winner Take All; Wolf In the Fold _Apparently the characters of Hawke and Fisher are VERY similar to the two main characters of _Blue Moon Rising_. This is early Green, and not readily available._ Shadows Fall _Simon Green Gets Ambitious. Shadows Fall is the town where legends go to die, and where the apocalypse is about to occur. Not completely successful, but worth reading, and it is always nice to see an author trying to stretch his repertoire_ *Barbara Hambly (b. 1951) "Darwath Trilogy" - The Time of the Dark; The Walls of Air; The Armies of Daylight _Another 'folks from our world cross into fantastic realm,' but quite well done (especially considering that this was Hambly's first published work) with intelligent characters and some interesting twists._ Dragonsbane _Standalone about a witch and hero, and a kingdom that's in a lot of trouble. A good introduction to Hambly's work._ "Windrose Chronicles" - The Silent Tower; The Silicon Mage; Dog Wizard _The first two are basically one book that got split in two due to size. _Dog Wizard_ continues the plot, and leaves a fair amount of dangling threads at the end. This may be turning into an open-ended series_ Stranger at the Wedding (U.K. title - Sorcerer's Ward) _A standalone set in same world as "Windrose Chronicles," but featuring different characters. One of Hambly's weaker offerings_ "Sun Cross duology" - Rainbow Abyss; The Magicians of Night _Wizards cross from their world into ours, and end up in Nazi Germany_ "Sun Wolf/Starhawk" - The Ladies of Madrigyn; The Witches of Wenshar; The Dark Hand of Magic _Although each of these is a separate, self- contained story, they are best enjoyed in order, and _Dark Hand of Magic_ does bring the series to a f Brian Jacques (b. 1939) "Redwall series" - Redwall; Mossflower; Mattimeo; Mariel of Redwall; Salamandastron; Martin the Warrior; The Bellmaker; The Outcasts of Redwall; The Pearls of Woodthorp (forthcoming) _These are fun. I buy them for my niece, and always read them myself before I give them to her. Redwall is an Abbey run by a group of mice, and this series of standalone books details their adventures. They are geared toward the children's market (and are incredibly popular - ask your local children's librarian about how quickly they fly off the shelves)_ Michael Jeffries "Loremasters of Elundium trilogy" - The Road to Underfall; Palace of Kings; Shadowlight _Written in a consciously mythic style with minimal characterization (you can pretty much tell the what each individual's personality will be by their name; yeah, 'Proudpurse' is the venal and villainous chancellor), this series turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Give it a try._ The Knights of Cawdor _Standalone set in the world of Elundium_ "Heirs to Gnarlsmyre" - Glitterspike Hall; Hall of Whispers _New series, unrelated to the Elundium books._ Diana Wynne Jones (b. 1934) "The Dalemark Sequence" - Drowned Ammet; Cart and Cwidder; The Spellcoats; The Crown of Dalemark _Young adult standalone novels all taking place in Dalemark_ "Crestomanci books" - The Lives of Christopher Chant; Charmed Life; Witch Week; The Magicians of Caprona _Stand-alones that all have the magician Crestomanci involved somehow_ "The Magician Howl series" - Howl's Moving Castle; Castle in the Air _The second book of this one is hard to find in the U.S. - Books of Wonder in New York stocks most of Jones' work, and they are good place to look if you can't find a fix anywhere else._ The Homeward Bounders Archer's Goon A Sudden Wild Magic _This one is fairly recent and is being marketed as an adult book, making it the most widely available book of hers in the U.S. Alas, it is also one of her weakest offerings, so look up any of her other books before you decide on her abilities_ Time of the Ghost (forthcoming Sept. '96) _Most of Jones' work is geared toward the Young Adult market, but don't let that stop you. I particularly liked _Archer's Goon_, _The Homeward Bounders_ and _Howl's Moving Castle_, Eriond likes _Dogsbody_ the best, but he reads everything of hers he can find (so do I)._ **Robert Jordan (b. 1948) "The Wheel of Time" - The Eye of the World; The Great Hunt; The Dragon Reborn; The Shadow Rising; The Fires of Heaven; Lord of Chaos; A Crown of Swords (June '96); plus at least one more _Officially, this series will run eight books, but Jordan himself has stated he will continue the series for as many books as he thinks is necessary. Many a.f.e. regulars are passionately devoted to this series. Huge (all the books are 500+ pages), sprawling, madly complex, and engrossing._ The Conan Chronicles _For the Joradanites who need a fix while awaiting the next volume of The Wheel of Time, this omnibus edition collects Jordan's Conan novels_ *Guy Gavriel Kay (b. 1954) "The Fionavar Tapestry" - The Summer Tree; The Wandering Fire; The Darkest Road _Bad Things Can Happen To Good People in Kay's books. Be forewarned, but read them anyway. This is yet another take on Arthurian legend_ Tigana _A standalone about a land under a particularly nasty curse, and the inhabitants' fight to end it. Complex, very well written. Your FAQmaker tried it after receiving numerous glowing recommendations, and now adds her voice to the chorus_ A Song for Arbonne _Another excellent standalone from Kay. The fantasy world is loosely based on medieval France (specifically Eleanor of Aquitaine's Court of Love)_ The Lions of Al-Rassan _Kay's latest, set in a time and place reminiscent of Moorish Spain. Wow, do I like his stuff - great characters, marvelous story, vivid world; he just gets better and better. The fantasy content of Kay's work is shrinking, and it is virtually non-existent here_ Paul Kearney The Way to Babylon _Kearney's first book._ A Different Kingdom _A contemporary fantasy. Michael Fay discovers the forest behind his Irish grandfather's farm contains different times and creatures._ Riding the Unicorn _A stolid, unimaginitive prison officer is hearing voices and strange sounds...then the visions of another world begin._ "The Monarchies of God" - Hawkwood's Voyage _An alternate-history fantasy epic taking place in a late-medieval Europe and Middle East. The Hawkwood of the title is captain of an expedition to a New World, with a ship full of persecuted Jews and magic users escaping the Inquistion._ Marjorie Kellogg (b. 1946) "The Dragon Quartet" - The Book of Earth; The Book of Water (forthcoming April '96) _Presumably this will finish up with books of Air and Fire. Kellogg also wrote some very good SF back in the 80's_ *Katharine Kerr "Deverry" - Daggerspell; Darkspell; The Bristling Wood ('Dawnspell' in the U.K.); The Dragon Revenant ('Dragonspell' in the U.K.) __Daggerspell_ has recently been re-released in the U.S. The new edition has been re-edited by the author, however this consisted mainly of tightening some passages and some grammatical cleanup. NO scenes were added or taken out. _Darkspell_ has also been reissued by Bantam Spectra, and it too has been re-edited by the author, and, according to Katharine Kerr, "...there are 5 or 6 changes to the action along the way..." Sarcyn's character undergoes the most significant changes. A *fine* author - her readers (and that includes the FAQmaster) recommend her highly_ "The Westland Cycle" - A Time of Exile; A Time of Omens; Days of Blood and Fire ('A Time of War' in the U.K.); Days of Air and Darkness ('A Time of Justice' in the U.K.) _More about Deverry_ "??" - The Red Wyvern (forthcoming late '96); The Black Raven (forthcoming); 2 more _The final tetralogy that will complete the story of Deverry. Kerr intersperses SF novels with her fantasy output, and they're worth reading, too_ Stephen King (b. 1946) The Eyes of the Dragon _Good standalone fantasy (there are so few of those out there these days...) I enjoyed it, and I am *not* a Stephen King fan_ "Dark Tower series" - The Gunslinger; The Drawing of the Three; The Waste Lands; 4th book forthcoming someday _Eriond says this is a great series that is improving as it goes along. "It's about a gunslinger who's seeking his father's murderer, picks up an "adopted" son and three companions, and is slowly losing his mind." Eriond also says to skip _The Gunslinger_ - "it's wretched! You don't really need to read it to understand [the series]" (although another recommender strongly disagrees with him). King has promised a fourth book, but there is no word on when (or if) it will ever be out._ Richard Knaak (b. 1961) "The Dragonrealm" - Firedrake; Ice Dragon; Wolfhelm; Shadow Steed; The Shrouded Realm; Children of the Drake; Dragon Tome; The Crystal Dragon; The Dragon Crown _Light reading of the 'Dragonlance' variety (in fact, Knaak has three DragonLance novels under his belt), but it is a totally separate series._ Frostwing _Standalone about an immortal sorcerer haunted in his dreams by the gargoyle Frostwing, who knows the truth about him. (Corrected capsule description courtesy of the author, who presumably has a better idea than Paul on what the book is about)._ King of the Grey The Janus Mask _Two more fantasy standalones._ Dutchman (forthcoming July '96) _A new variation on the Flying Dutchman, taking place in Chicago._ *Katherine Kurtz (b. 1944) "Deryni Chronicles" - Deryni Rising; Deryni Checkmate; High Deryni _The first published Deryni books. Although these are not first in the internal chronology of the series, Kurtz herself has recommended that new readers start with these. Takes place in a Wales-like alternate world where a portion of the population (the Deryni) have magical abilities_ "Camber of Culdi" - Camber of Culdi; Saint Camber; Camber the Heretic _Jumps back in time to examine the history that lead to the world of the "Deryni Chronicles."_ "The Histories of King Kelson" - The Bishop's Heir; The King's Justice; The Quest for Saint Camber _Picks up where the "Chronicles" left off._ "Heirs of Saint Camber" - The Harrowing of Gwynedd; King Javan's Year; The Bastard Prince _Apparently, Bad Things *Regularly* Happen to Good People in the later books of Katherine Kurtz. Her fans are quite dedicated, and she has a newsgroup at alt.books.deryni. Next book in the series will be _King Kelson's Bride_ due sometime in 1996 (maybe)_ Two Crowns for America _A non-Deryni book. This one takes place in an alternate history colonial America._ Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner-Harris "The Adept series" - The Adept; The Lodge of the Lynx; The Templar Treasure; Dagger Magic _Set in modern day Scotland, Kheldar says "I recommend them to everybody, not just readers of Sci-Fi/Fantasy." Turner-Harris also has several books of her own out_ Ellen Kushner Swordspoint Thomas the Rhymer _Both stand-alone, with the latter based on the Scottish ballad. Kushner also edited several excellent fantasy short story collections_ *Mercedes Lackey (b. 1950) "The Last Herald-Mage" - Magic's Pawn; Magic's Promise; Magic's Price "Vows and Honor" - The Oathbound; Oathbreakers "Queen's Own" - Arrows of the Queen; Arrow's Flight; Arrow's Fall "Mage Winds Trilogy" - Winds of Fate; Winds of Change; Winds of Fury "Mage Wars Trilogy" (co-authored by Larry Dixon) - The Black Gryphon; The White Gryphon; The Silver Gryphon "Mage Storm Trilogy" - Storm Warning; Storm Rising; Storm Breaking (forthcoming Oct. '96) _Each is a separate series, but they all take place at various points in the history of the world of Velgarth (which contains the country of Valdemar). There is also at least one stand-alone (_By the Sword_) about Valdemar. Her fans are as dedicated as the Jordanites and they have their own newsgroup at alt.books.m-lackey_ "Diana Tregard Investigations" - Burning Water; Children of the Night; Jinx High _Supernatural mysteries, featuring Diana Tregard._ "Bardic Voices" - The Lark and the Wren; The Robin and the Kestrel; The Eagle and the Nightingale _I believe (and I'm very possibly wrong in this belief) that each of these books do stand alone. NOT part of the Valdemar series_ "Bardic Choices" - A Cast of Corbies (co-author Josepha Sherman) _A new series in the Bardic Voices world_ The Fire Rose _A standalone. A 'Beauty and the Beast' style tale set in pre-earthquake San Francisco. Lackey is a wildly prolific author, co-authoring books with everyone under the sun_ Stephen Lawhead (b. 1950) "The Pendragon Cycle" - Taliesin; Merlin; Arthur; Pendragon _Once again, we return to Camelot..."The quality disintegrated after the first two books - _Arthur_ was disappointing..." according to one recommender._ "The Dragon King Trilogy" - In the Hall of the Dragon King; The Warlords of Nin; The Sword and the Flame "The Paradise War" - The Song of Albion; The Silver Hand; The Endless Knot _Doug noted that even though he isn't particularly a fan of celtic fantasy, these books really appealed to him._ Byzantium (forthcoming Sept. '96) *Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929) "Earthsea" - A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore; Tehanu _Your FAQmaker says: Read these. _Tehanu_ was written 15 years after _The Farthest Shore_ - it's very different in tone from the first three, and several recommenders specifically DIDN'T recommend it (But I do. I'll tell you what to do - wait until you are at least 25 before reading _Tehanu_. Age seems to be the real separating factor between those who like it and those who don't). These books are true classics of the genre, beautifully written, tightly plotted, and engrossing._ Fritz Leiber (1910-1992) "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" - Swords and Deviltry; Swords Against Death; Swords in the Mist; Swords Against Wizardry; Swords Against Lankhmar; Swords and Ice Magic; Knight and Knave of Swords _Ya wanna know who _invented_ the term 'Sword & Sorcery'? This is the guy. The series is made up of short stories, novellas, novelettes, and one novel (the final book). The above-listed 7 books contain all the stories, arranged in chronological order, with _Swords and Deviltry_ featuring the Hugo-award winning "Ill Met in Lankhmar." Note that the final two books (_Swords & Ice Magic_ & _Knight & Knave of Swords_) show, IMHO of course, a real drop in quality. There's a Leiber homepage with all sorts of neat stuff at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/ square/ed08/fritz.htm _ Madeleine L'Engle (b. 1918) "The Time Trilogy" - A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet _The first book stands alone (and won all kinds of awards - it deserved them). L'Engle has added another book to the trilogy titled _Many Waters_ (it features the twins), and some of the characters have also made cameo appearances in her other books. They're in the young adult section of your library._ *C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) "Chronicles of Narnia" - The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Horse and His Boy; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle _Classic! Look for them in the children's sections. Most bookstores will have boxed sets available. Note that _The Magician's Nephew_ was actually the 6th book written, and for many years in the U.S. the series was printed with it as book six. However, Lewis preferred that the books be read in the above order, and recent reprints have respected his wishes_ "The Space Trilogy" - Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra; That Hideous Strength _Lewis' adult version of a Christian-allegory fantasy_ Astrid Lindgren Ronia Robber's Daughter _Well, she didn't ONLY write about Pippi Longstocking. Denis says this is an enjoyable young adult fantasy._ Holly Lisle "Arhel Novels" - Fire in the Mist; Bones of the Past; Mind of Magic _Standalone novels all set in the same world and featuring the same protagonists._ Minerva Wakes _Standalone with a heroine from our world that must travel to a magic world to save her family._ Sympathy for the Devil _Standalone that takes place in contemporary times. The ads I've seen are implying that this is fairly humorous._ Morgan Llywelyn Red Branch _Denis says this one is "perfect celtic fantasy!" It's about Cuchulain (try saying that three times fast)._ "The Arcana" (with Michael Scott) - Silverhand; Silverlight (forthcoming July '96); others forthcoming _The tale of Silverhand, who is destined to save the world from Chaos._ R.A. MacAvoy (b. 1949) Tea With the Black Dragon _Out of print, but worth looking up. This was her first book - its sequel (_Twisting the Rope_) is nowhere near as good_ "Damiano trilogy" - Damiano; Damiano's Lute; Raphael _Fantasy in Renaissance Italy_ "Lens of the World trilogy" - Lens of the World; King of the Dead; Belly of the Wolf _MacAvoy is fond of creating heroes who remain stubbornly innocent to the point of idiocy. Some readers find this annoying (yeah, I'm one of them), but she is a good writer, and always tells an interesting story._ Bertil Martensson (b. 1945) "Road Trilogy" - Vagen Bort (The Road That Leads Away); Vagen Tillbaka (The Road That Leads Back); Vagen Ut (The Road That Leads Out) _So far as I can determine, these have never been translated from Swedish to English. Olof highly recommends his work, and notes that they are based on Swedish folklore, not the usual English folklore._ Vingmastarens Dotter (The Wing-Master's Daughter) Detta Ar Verkligheten (This Is Reality) *Julian May (b. 1931) "The Saga of the Pliocene Exiles" - The Many-Colored Land; The Golden Torc; The Nonborn King; The Adversary _Set six million years in the past. I'm told this is kinda like 'elves and dinosaurs.' It is related to May's SF series, "The Galactic Milieu," so if you like her you've got more books to look for_ **Anne McCaffrey (b. 1926) "Dragonriders of Pern" - Dragonflight; Dragonquest; The White Dragon _Yeah, they're SF, but they're included here by popular request. Lots more have been published since the first trilogy, and they've gotten more and more SFnal as they've gone along_ "Harper's Hall trilogy" - Dragonsong; Dragonsinger; Dragondrums _Geared more toward the Young Adult market, your FAQmaker considers this trilogy to be the most fantasy-based of the Pern books_ Dan McGirt "Jason Cosmo" - Jason Cosmo; Royal Chaos; Dirty Work _Open-ended humorous adventure series featuring a woodcutter turned hero through a case of mistaken identity. Kalten really really likes this series_ Nancy McKenzie "Guinevere duology" - The Child Queen; The High Queen _A new world's record! This first novel just showed up in bookstores in July '94, and immediately got 2 recommendations (and a couple more rolled in since). Yeah, it's Guinevere and Arthur AGAIN, but it looks like it may be worth reading anyway_ Dennis McKiernan (b. 1932) "The Iron Tower Trilogy" - The Dark Tide; Shadows of Doom; The Darkest Day _Beat out Terry Brooks in the 'Most Shameless Copy of Tolkien' category. It seems he wanted to write a sequel to 'Lord of the Rings', but the Tolkien estate refused permission. So he recreated Middle Earth in "The Iron Tower Trilogy" with just enough differences to keep from violating copyright and continued from there. A decent writer, and his later books about the world of Mithgar are much more original and quite enjoyable_ "Silver Call" duology - Trek to Kraggen-Cor; The Brega Path Dragondoom The Eye of the Hunter Voyage of the Fox Rider Tales of Mithgar _11 short stories set in Mithgar_ The Dragonstone (forthcoming Nov. '96) _These books stand alone, but take place in Mithgar, the world of the "Iron Tower" trilogy. McKiernan's latest book, _The Caverns of Socrates,_ is SF_ Patricia McKillip (b. 1948) The Forgotten Beasts of Eld _Received the World Fantasy Award when it was published in 1975. A marvelous novel and highly recommended. Currently out of print and hard to find. However, it will be returned to print in the U.S. in the Spring of 1996 by Harcourt Brace. Hooray!_ The Throme of the Erril of Sherill _Her first published fantasy, and it's even harder to find then _Beasts_. Well worth looking for. A revised edition came out in the mid-80's_ "The Riddlemaster of Hed" - The Riddlemaster of Hed; Heir of Sea and Fire; Harpist in the Wind _Excellent trilogy. Your FAQmaker sez: Get these and read them_ The Changeling Sea _A young-adult standalone, with a young peasant girl saving a prince. Lyrical and moving_ Something Rich and Strange _A standalone, part of Brian Froud's Faerielands series of novels based on his illustrations. Very atmospheric, quite short, involving a contemporary couple living on the western seacoast and their encounter with magic._ The Book of Atrix Wolfe _Standalone about a powerful wizard whose attempt to stop a war has unexpected (and disastrous) results._ "Cygnet" - Sorceress and Cygnet; Cygnet and Firebird _The first book in this series is well equipped with McKillip's usual lyric prose, but the plot is a bit, um, obscure. Enjoyable, but not her best work._ Winter Rose (forthcoming July '96) _According to the blurb in _Publishers Weekly_ "When Rois Melior's love, Corbet Lynn, vanishes, it is Rois's sister Laurel whose heart is snared."_ Robin McKinley (b. 1952) Beauty _Charming retelling of Beauty & the Beast. Her first novel-it's out of print now, but worth looking for. Do NOT confuse it with Sherri Tepper's _Beauty_ - they are VERY different books_ "Damar series" - The Blue Sword; The Hero and the Crown _She only wrote two books set in Damar (and they are standalones), and has since gone on to other subjects_ The Outlaws of Sherwood _Guess who this one's about_ Deerskin _I like McKinley, but most of her work is fairly lightweight. This isn't. Based on the uncensored version of Perrault's classic fairytale 'Donkeyskin', it tackles the subject of incest_ A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories _Short story collection. Two of the five stories in the book mention Damar_ L.E. Modesitt Jr. (b. 1943) "Recluce" - The Magic of Recluce; The Towers of the Sunset; The Magic Engineer; The Order War; The Death of Chaos; Fall of Angels (forthcoming June '96); The Chaos Balance (forthcoming) _This is open-ended - books are listed above in the order they were published, and does NOT follow the internal chronology of the series. _The Magic of Recluce_ is, by most accounts, the best so far, but I'm finding them all enjoyable._ Of Tangible Ghosts _Fantasy taking place in alternate universe that features ghosts and an East India Company that stayed the dominant economic power in the world_ Elizabeth Moon (b. 1945) "The Deed of Paksenarrion" - Sheepfarmer's Daughter; Divided Allegiance; Oath of Gold _Rousing adventure about the soldier and hero Paksenarrion. Moon has said that among the themes she worked on in the books was "the cost of courage, the cost of being a hero." She has written two prequels to the trilogy, _Surrender None_ and _Liar's Oath_, which are quite a bit darker in tone, and several of the recommenders have advised against reading them_ *Michael Moorcock (b. 1939) "Elric" - Elric of Melnibone; The Fortress of the Pearl; A Sailor on the Seas of Fate; The Weird of the White Wolf; The Vanishing Tower; The Revenge of the Rose; The Bane of the Black Sword; Stormbringer _There is also at least one book of short stories about Elric (I'm taking the word of one correspondent about where the two later books - tFotP and tRotR - fit in the cycle. I've only read the original sextet)_ "Runestaff (Hawkmoon)" - The Jewel in the Skull; The Mad God's Amulet; The Sword of the Dawn; The Runestaff "Count Brass" - Count Brass; Champion of Garathorn; The Quest for Tanelorn "Corum" - The Knight of Swords; The Queen of Swords; The King of Swords; The Bull and the Spear; The Oak and the Ram; The Sword and the Stallion "John Daker (Erekose)" - The Eternal Champion; Phoenix in Obsidian ('The Silver Warriors' in earlier U.S. editions); The Dragon in the Sword _All of these books -plus others- comprise the 'Eternal Fred Saberhagen (b. 1930) "The Books of the Swords" - The First Book of Swords; The Second Book of Swords; The Third Book of Swords "The Books of the Lost Swords" - Woundhealer's Story; Sightblinder's Story; Stonecutter's Story; Farslayer's Story; Coinspinner's Story; Mindsword's Story; Wayfinder's Story; Shieldbreaker's Story _Each of the "Lost Swords" titles is actually preceded by 'The First Book of Lost Swords:', 'The Second Book...' etc. I believe that most of the "swords" books can be read as stand-alones_ "Empire of the East" - The Broken Lands; The Black Mountains; Changeling Earth _A prequel to the 'Swords' books, taking place in the same world_ "Dracula books" - The Dracula Tapes; The Holmes-Dracula File; An Old Friend of the Family; Thorn _More tales of Dracula_ Merlin's Bones _Yet Another Version of Authur and Company_ R.A. Salvatore (b. 1959) "Icewind Dale" - The Crystal Shard; Streams of Silver; The Halfling's Gem "Dark Elf Trilogy" - Homeward; Exile; Sojourn "Dark Elf Trilogy II" - Legacy; Starless Night; Siege of Darkness _"Icewind Dale" & "Dark Elf" and "Dark Elf II" take place in the TSR Forgotten Realms setting. I've had several people mention that 'Dark Elf II' shows a real drop in quality, although several others loved it as much as the first two trilogies_ Passage to Dawn (forthcoming August 1996) _A final Forgotten Realms from Salvatore, as he finishes out his contract with TSR. I have no idea how (or if) this relates to his other series - anyone care to enlighten me?_ "The Cleric Quintet" - Canticle; In Sylvan Shadows; Night Masks; The Fallen Fortress; The Chaos Curse _Another TSR series - this one follows a young man as he grows from a raw acolyte to a powerful priest_ "The Spearwielder's Tales" - The Woods Out Back; The Dragon's Dagger; Dragonslayer Returns _Open-ended fantasy series that ISN'T part of any of the TSR gaming worlds._ "The Crimson Shadow Trilogy" - The Sword of Bedwyr; Luthien's Gamble _New series about a young lord and a halfling battling to free Eriador from the grip of the tyrannical Wizard-King Greensparrow._ Elizabeth Scarborough (b. 1947) Song of Sorcery; The Unicorn Creed; Bronwyn's Bane; The Christening Quest _More humor. I read these long ago, and I don't really remember much about them, but I _think_ they are all standalones that take place in the same world with some of the same characters. These are all long out of print_ "The Fairy Godmother stories" - The Godmother; The Godmother's Apprentice _An overwhelmed social worker in modern Seattle gets a (slightly inept) fairy godmother. The publicity blurb calls it "a tale of modern magic"_ Michael Scott (b. 1959) "Tales of the Bard" - Magician's Law; Demon's Law; Death's Law _According to Paul, this is about a powerful bard who uses his knowledge and magic on an epic quest to help the old gods overcome new gods. He gives the trilogy very high marks, and recommends it highly. Scott is currently co-authoring the "Arcana" series with Morgan Llywelyn._ Michael Shea (b. 1946) Nifft the Lean _Dark series of short stories. Republished in a limited hardcover edition by Darkside Press in November '94. Shea is reportedly working on a new book about Nifft. If you can find this, try it (although I should note for the queasy that, although it has been years since I last read it, there are several scenes from Nifft's trip to Hell that tend to replay on dark and lonely evenings...)_ Josepha Sherman The Shining Falcon _Corinne says that if you like the Slavic influence of Stephen Brust and the heroines of Robin McKinley, try this book. Other, more recent fantasies by Josepha Sherman include:_ King's Son, Magic's Son A Strange and Ancient Name The Shattered Oath; Forging the Runes (forthcoming) James Silke "Deathdealer series" - Prisoner of the Horned Helm; Plague of Knives; Tooth and Nail _Inspired by Frazetta's paintings of Death Dealer (that's the dude with the incredible muscles, HUGE axe, and rather impractical helmet). There are currently four books out._ Robert Silverberg (b. 1936) "Majipoor Chronicles" - Lord Valentine's Castle; Majipoor Chronicles: A Novel; Valentine Pontifex; The Mountains of Majipoor; Sorcerers of Majipoor (Dec. '96) _This is another series that pushes the boundaries between SF and fantasy, but since Nathan brought them up, I'll list 'em. The first book is great fun, but I haven't been as impressed with the subsequent books._ Midori Snyder "Oran trilogy" - New Moon; Sadar's Keep; Beldan's Fire _The land of Oran has been ruled by the tyrant Fire Queen Zorah for two hundred years. Her four granddaughters seek to come into their own powers and free the land._ Zilpha Keatley Snyder (b. 1927) "Green Sky Trilogy" - Below the Root; And All Between; Until the Celebration _Peaceful world is torn apart when its government is revealed as being a scam. Cyradis liked it a lot. You'll generally find it in the children's section of the library_ _Snyder has written many stand-alone Young Adult books, including the fantasies _Black and Blue Magic_, _The Witches of Worm,_ and _The Changeling,_ as well as mysteries and novels. I have very fond memories of her from my long-ago adolescence, but I admit that I haven't tried re-reading her as an adult._ Nancy Springer (b. 1948) "The Chronicles of Isle" - The White Hart; The Silver Sun; The Sable Moon __The Silver Sun_ is a re-write of her first published work. These books are standalones_ "The Book of Vale" - The Black Beast; The Golden Swan _The Science Fiction Book Club published a combined edition of these two under the series title._ "The Sea King Trilogy" - Madbond; Mindbond; Godbond _David says that Springer's works are 'lyrical, gentle, romantic, amazing fantasies of love, friendship and loyalty.'_ Wings of Flame Chains of Gold Christopher Stasheff (b. 1944) "Warlock series" - Escape Velocity; The Warlock In Spite of Himself; King Kobold Revived; The Warlock Unlocked; The Warlock Enraged; The Warlock Wandering; The Warlock is Missing; The Warlock Heretical; The Warlock's Companion; The Warlock Insane; The Warlock Rock; Warlock and Son _Open-ended humorous adventure series that is now beginning to focus on descendents of the original hero, Rod Gallowglass (see following listings). The rationale of this series is really fairly science- fictional, but the tone is fantasy, and you'll generally find them marketed as fantasy_ "The Warlock's Heirs" - M'Lady Witch; The Quicksilver Knight _The adventures of the three younger children of Rod and Gwen Gallowglass_ "Rogue Wizard" - A Wizard in Absentia; A Wizard in Mind; A Wizard in War; A Wizard in Peace (forthcoming Sept. '96) _Another open-ended series in the 'Warlock' universe. These feature Magnus, Rod's oldest son. Note that Stasheff's books have focused more on adventure and less on humor as the series has progressed._ "A Wizard in Rhyme" - Her Majesty's Wizard; The Oathbound Wizard; The Witch Doctor; The Secular Wizard _Open-ended series. Matt Mantrell is transported into an alternate world where rhymes have magical powers._ "The Star Stone" - The Shaman; The Sage (forthcoming July '96) _Another new series. This has no connection to his Wizard or Warlock series._ Carol Stevermer (b. 1955) Sorcery and Cecilia (with Patricia Wrede) _Amusing stand alone. A combination of regency romance, adventure, and fantasy. Hard to find, it is (if I remember correctly) an epistolary novel, with the action described in the letters exchanged between the two main characters._ A College of Magics _Takes place in an Edwardian-period world that has magic, too. Witty, amusing, and a very enjoyable little period piece. Plus, it stands alone, so you're not committing yourself to nine zillion sequels._ Mary Stewart (b. 1916) "Merlin Trilogy" - The Crystal Cave; The Hollow Hills; The Last Enchantment; The Wicked Day _One of the earlier Arthur novelizations. It was quite popular, and should be easy to find in the library. These focus on Merlin and aim more at the historical rather than magical. The fourth book retells the story from Mordred's point of view, and isn't all that good._ The Prince and the Pilgrim _Just published in January 1996, this is set in Arthur's England, but isn't part of her earlier Arthurian series._ Judith Tarr (b. 1955) "The Hound and the Falcon" - The Isle of Glass; The Golden Horn; The Hounds of God _Corinne describes this as "a truly brilliant series set in Richard the Lion Heart's England bordered on the Elflands"_ Alamut; The Dagger and the Cross _Standalones set in the same world as "The Hound and the Falcon" trilogy_ "Avaryan Rising" - The Hall of the Mountain King; The Lady of Han-Gilen; A Fall of Princes; Arrows of the Sun; Spear of Heaven _The story of a war between kingdoms in a world of mages_ A Wind in Cairo Ars Magica Lord of the Two Lands Throne of Isis _Hey, it's Cleopatra!_ Eagle's Daughter Pillar of Fire _This takes place in the Middle East during Moses' time._ King and Goddess (forthcoming May '96) _Tarr's specialty is historicals with just a dollop of magic. The size of the dollop varies, and many of her books are sold as straight historicals._ Roger Taylor "Chronicles of Hawklan" - The Call of the Sword; The Fall of Fyorlund; The Waking of Othlund; Into Narsindal _Not available in the U.S., this series has been described as "a pretty good read" and "highly recommended"_ Dreamfinder _Set in the same world as Hawklan_ Whistler _A standalone_ "Nightfall series" - Farnor; Valderin _This is also set in the same world as Hawklan, and is about a priest who must fight a dark power that has entered a colleague. Paul highly recommends it_ Ibyren _A standalone. "Count Ibyren, fighting a guerilla war after being driven from his lands, is suddenly swept away from his people to an unknown world and destiny."_ Sheri Tepper (b. 1929) "The Land of True Game" - King's Blood Four; Wizard's Eleven; Necromancer Nine (1st series) Jinian Footseer; Dervish Daughter; Jinian Star-Eyed (2nd series) The Song of Mavin Manyshaped; The Flight of Mavin Manyshaped; The Search of Mavin Manyshaped (3rd series) _Series made up of three separate trilogies. Her earliest work - can be difficult to find. Ace is reprinting this series in the U.S. in trade paperback format, with the first trilogy due out in June '96)_ "The Marianne Trilogy" - Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore; Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods; Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse _I believe that the books in this rather light- hearted trilogy are actually fairly independent of each other_ Beauty _Now primarily known as a SF author, Tepper returns to her roots and gives a very different slant on the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. Sardonic and grim are descriptive terms I've heard about this one_ Patrick Tilley (b. 1928) "The Amtrack Wars" - Cloud Warrior; First Family; Iron Master; Blood River; Death Bringer; Earth Thunder _Donal says these are good, so I'll certainly be giving them a try. Its just that I can't seem to find them anywhere...Apparently, only the first couple were published in the U.S. Going by commentary on the Net, these are about a post- apocalyptic society with magic and suchlike. In the U.S., the second book was titled _Sand Burrower_._ **J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) The Hobbit _Prelude to _The Lord of the Rings_ - should be read prior to starting them, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Written as a children's book, and some readers find it a little simplistic (not me!)_ "The Lord of the Rings" - The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King _Oh, come on now - how can you claim to be a fantasy fan and not read this? If not for tLotR, Eddings would still be writing about deer hunting. THE classic work of fantasy._ The Silmarillion _From Tolkien's writings on the background of the world of tLofR, this is more of a history than a story_ The Tolkien Reader _Anthology of poetry and short stories_ _Due to the INCREDIBLE popularity of _Lord of the Rings,_ virtually every scrap of paper that Tolkien doodled on has found its way into print, which is why you will find many other Tolkien works besides the above._ Trillium series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton "Trillium" - Black Trillium (by all three); Blood Trillium (by Julian May); Golden Trillium (by Andre Norton); Lady of the Trillium (by Marion Zimmer Bradley); Sky Trillium (by Julian May, forthcoming July '96) _An interesting mutation of the 'shared world' idea. The first book was written by all three, further books are being written by the individual authors_ Harry Turtledove (b. 1949) "Videssos Cycle" - The Misplaced Legion; An Emperor for the Legion; The Legion of Videssos; Swords of the Legion _Legion from Republican Rome meets Byzantine empire. "Highly recommended" sez Mark_ "The Tale of Krispos" - Krispos Rising; Krispos of Videssos; Krispos the Emperor _Continuing the story of Videssos with a prequel to the "Cycle" tetralogy_ "The Time of Troubles" - The Stolen Throne; Hammer and Anvil (forthcoming) _Start of a new series, prequel to "The Tale of Krispos"_ Agent of Byzantium _Basil Argyros, spy for an alternate-history Byzantine empire, in series of adventures that originally appeared as separate novelettes. There are some hints of magic, but this is basically alternate-history SF._ The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump _Humor/adventure taking place in an alternate Los Angeles where magic works._ Jack Vance (b. 1916) "Lyonesse trilogy" - Suldren's Garden; The Green Pearl; Madouc _Best known for his SF, Vance is an interesting writer in any genre._ "Dying Earth" series - The Dying Earth; The Eyes of the Overworld; Cugel's Saga; Rhialto the Marvelous _The first two are genuine fantasy classics, and Cugel the Clever is a great character (hey, I like rogues). These are all stand-alones._ Paula Volsky The Luck of Relian Kru _"Almost as good as its title," according to one recommender. Out of print and very difficult to find._ "Sorcerer Trilogy" - The Sorcerer's Lady; The Sorcerer's Heir; The Sorcerer's Curse _About the leader of a wizard's guild and his descendents. Takes place in the world of Relian Kru, and are also out of print._ The Gates of Twilight (forthcoming March '96) _Two enemies brave a revolution and apocalyptic magic to open the long sealed portal between heaven and earth._ Karl Edward Wagner (1945-1994) "Kane series" - Darkness Weaves with Many Shades; Death Angel's Shadow; Bloodstone; Dark Crusade; Night Winds; The Book of Kane _This open-ended series is from the mayhem and magic school of fantasy. Kane is for those who like their sword and sorcery "dark". Wagner was a good writer, and Kane is an interesting creation. Karl Wagner died 10/14/94 at age 48, and will be missed by the fantasy community._ Evangeline Walton (b. 1907) "The Mabinogi" - The Prince of Annwm; The Children of Llyr; The Song of Rhiannon; The Island of the Mighty _This may be hard to find, but it's included for the more serious fantasy fan. Heavily researched, classic retelling of the Welsh folklore cycle known as the Mabinogin. Many fantasy authors have mined this for themes._ Freda Warrington "Blackbird novels" - A Blackbird in Darkness; A Blackbird in Twilight; A Blackbird in Amber; A Blackbird in Silver _Nathan found that the first book held his attention, and he's working his way through the rest of the series. These aren't available in the U.S., and I'd appreciate confirmation of the reading order. She also has at least one horror series out._ Lawrence Watt-Evans (b. 1954) "The Lords of Dus" - The Lure of the Basilisk; The Seven Altars of Dusarra; The Sword of Bheleu; The Book of Silence "Ethshar series" - The Misenchanted Sword; With a Single Spell; The Unwilling Warlord; Blood of a Dragon; Taking Flight; The Spell of the Black Dagger _Open-ended series. I'm told that the Ethshar books are standalones and can be read in any order. The above is the order they were published in._ **Margaret Weis (b. 1948) & Tracy Hickman (b. 1955) "Dragonlance Chronicles" - Dragons of Autumn Twilight; Dragons of Winter Night; Dragons of Spring Dawning _The series that turned TSR into from a gaming company that published tie-ins to a real publisher. Still in print, and still selling well._ "Dragonlance Legends" - Time of the Twins; War of the Twins; Test of the Twins _EVERYONE who recommended these books included a warning that other Dragonlance books by other authors should be avoided. There is also a book of short stories titled _Dragonlance: The Second Generation_. All but two of the stories are reprints from other Dragonlance collections._ "Dragonlance Chronicles IV" - Dragons of the Summer Flame _They're baaaaack. Weis & Hickman return to the world of Dragonlance with a new novel that takes the characters and stories from the novella collection _Dragonlance: The Second Generation_ and continues onward ever onward with them._ "Darksword Trilogy" - Forging the Darksword; Doom of the Darksword; Triumph of the Darksword _A non-Dragonlance limited series._ "Rose of the Prophet Trilogy" - The Will of the Wanderer; The Paladin of the Night; The Prophet of Akhran _The Epic Tale of the Great War of the Gods!_ "Death Gate Cycle" - Dragon Wing; Elven Star; Fire Sea; Serpent Mage; The Hand of Chaos; Into the Labyrinth; The Seventh Gate _This is a limited series - be sure and have all seven books, and read 'em in order._ Angus Wells (b. 1943) "The Kingdoms" - Wrath of Ashar; The Usurper; The Way Beneath "Godwars" - Forbidden Magic; Dark Magic; Wild Magic _"Kingdoms" and "Godwars" are not related to each other or to his most recent novel. Richard likes "Godwars," but Michael prefers "The Kingdoms" trilogy (Richard asks me to point out that he hasn't read "The Kingdoms" yet, which makes it difficult for him to compare them)_ Lords of the Sky _To quote Carolyn Cushman of _Locus_ magazine: "For once, a sprawling medieval fantasy epic that's self- contained!"_ Exile's Children; Exile's Challenge (Dec. '96) _Completists should note that Angus Wells co- authored (along with Robert Holdstock) a series in the late '70's under the name 'Richard Kirk' about Raven, the Swordmistress of Chaos_ Martha Wells (b. 1964) The Element of Fire _Excellent debut fantasy. A complex, fast-moving plot, intelligent characters, a well-thought-out world - this one's a keeper. Wells has sold two more books to Avon that will be set on this world, but they will take place at a different time and won't be sequels to "Element"._ City of Bones _Another winner. Not related to her first book, it takes place in a desert world. Action and adventure, a great setting, excellent characterization - I actually bought this one in hardcover, and am glad I did._ T.H. White (1906-1964) The Once and Future King _THE classic retelling of the Arthur legend. And, yeah, it's the source of both Disney's _The Sword in the Stone_ and Lerner & Lowe's _Camelot._ The original quartet of novels are being reprinted in England._ Mistress Masham's Repose _Did you ever wonder what happened to those Lilliputians that followed Gulliver back to England?_ Jack Whyte "The Camulod Chronicles" - The Sky Stone; The Singing Sword (forthcoming Sept. '96); ?? _Return yet again to the days of King Arthur...this retelling intertwines the Roman Empire of the fifth century and Arthurian legend. The original recommender told me this was a trilogy with the overall title of "A Dream of Eagles", and that all the books were already out in Canada, however Tor (the U.S. publisher) is advertising it as a six book series, and now I read in _Publishers Weekly_ that it is a FOUR book series._ Elizabeth Willey "Kingdom of Argylle" - The Well-Favored Man; A Sorcerer and a Gentleman; The Price of Blood and Honor (forthcoming Sept. '96) _It looks like this is scheduled to be an open-ended series. The first book features a kingdom created out of Chaos by the family patriarch, young Prince Gwydion left as regent after his parents have debunked, a royal family made up of warriors and magicians all busily plotting and counter- plotting...Elizabeth calls this 'the best new author's book I've read in years' and recommends it very highly. I enjoyed it, too, but one Net-wit's comment that it should have been titled _Nice Princes in Amber_ does capture a lot of the book's flavor. The new book is a prequel._ *Tad Williams (b. 1957) Tailchaser's Song _Williams' first fantasy novel - Tailchaser is a cat_ "Memory, Sorrow & Thorn" - The Dragonbone Chair; Stone of Farewell; To Green Angel Tower _At first glance, very similar to "The Belgariad"- immature-boy-grows-to-fill-heroic-role. Williams' vision is a bit darker, however, and the secondary characters get a lot more fleshing out. Slow moving at points, but worth your time. Paperback version of _To Green Angel Tower_ is published in two volumes_ Child of an Ancient City (with Nina Kiriki Hoffman) _Stand-alone young adult novel_ Caliban's Hour _Takes up where Shakespeare left off. Caliban shows up years later to take his revenge on Miranda. Williams' next will be a 4-volume SF series with the overall title of "OTHERLAND." According to Katharine Kerr, he has 'sworn a mighty vow that he'll never write about Osten Ard [the world of "MS&T"] again'_ Gene Wolfe (b. 1931) "The Book of the New Sun" - The Shadow of the Torturer; The Claw of the Conciliator; The Sword of the Lictor; The Citadel of the Autarch _This is a single novel broken into four parts. Intricate and ambitious, it takes place on a Dying Earth and follows the complex destiny of Severian._ The Urth of the New Sun _A sequel to "The Book of the New Sun"._ Patricia Wrede (b. 1953) Snow White and Rose Red _Retelling of the classic fairytale, set in Elizabethan England. Part of the very highly regarded 'Fairy Tale' series_ "Lyra series" - Shadow Magic; Daughter of Witches; The Harp of Imach Thyssel; Caught in Crystal; The Seven Towers; The Raven Ring _Open-ended series (the books truly are stand-alone and can be read in any order) set in a world of many different cultures and religions, as well as three ADDITIONS AND MAJOR CHANGES SINCE THE LAST POSTING Elizabeth Boyer "The World of the Alfar series" - The Elves and the Otterskin; The Sword and the Satchel; The Wizard and the Warlord; The Thrall and the Dragon's Heart _The world in this series is heavily influenced by Nordic myth. I'm told that these are all stand-alone novels._ "Wizard's War" - The Troll's Grindstone; The Curse of Slagfid; The Dragon's Carbuncle; Lord of Chaos _I've been told that these also take place in Alfar, and that the books are NOT standalones._ "?? series" - The Clan of the Warlord; The Black Lynx _A new open-ended series (at least, that's what I gather from the back cover blurbs)._ Keeper of Cats _A new standalone, taking place in Boyer's usual mythical-Scandanavian setting._ James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) "Biography of the Life of Manuel" - Beyond Life; Figures of Earth; The Silver Stallion; The Music From Behind the Moon; The White Robe; The Way of Ecben; The Soul of Melicent; Chivalry; Jurgen; The Line of Love; The High Place; Gallantry; Something About Eve; The Certain Hour; The Cords of Vanity; From the Hidden Way; The Jewel Merchants; The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck; The Eagle's Shadow; The Cream of the Jest; The Lineage of Lichfield; Straws and Prayer-Books _The imaginary kingdom of Poictesme ties all of these together. Alternate world fantasies._ Esther Friesner (b. 1951) Druid's Blood _Alternate world Sherlock Holmes/fantasy pastiche. It gets a bit ragged in places, but on the whole is quite enjoyable. Came out in 1988 as a paperback original and will probably be hard to find._ "Demon series" - Here Be Demons; Demon Blues; Hooray for Hellywood _Open-ended humorous fantasy series. Relies less on horrendous puns then some of the other humorous fantasy authors. Her 'Majyk' series is NOT recommended._ The Sherwood Game _New fantasy. Nathan liked it enough to give Friesner a recommendation, returning her to the list after a six month absence._ John Myers Myers Silverlock _A returnee to the List, at last gaining a second recommendation. Cult favorite. Chock full of allusions to history, literature, and popular culture, plus lots of songs. There is a thematic sequel, _The Moon's Fire-Eating Daughter,_ of which the general consensus of opinion is that it is deservedly obscure_ Midori Snyder "Oran trilogy" - New Moon; Sadar's Keep; Beldan's Fire _Another returnee. The land of Oran has been ruled by the tyrant Fire Queen Zorah for two hundred years. Her four granddaughters seek to come into their own powers and free the land._ Gene Wolfe (b. 1931) "The Book of the New Sun" - The Shadow of the Torturer; The Claw of the Conciliator; The Sword of the Lictor; The Citadel of the Autarch _This is a single novel broken into four parts. Intricate and ambitious, it takes place on a Dying Earth and follows the complex destiny of Severian._ The Urth of the New Sun _A sequel to "The Book of the New Sun"._ Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (b. 1942) Ariosto _Subtitled 'Ariosto Furioso, A Romance for an Alternate Renaissance'. Yarbro is best known for her series about the aristocratic vampire Saint- Germain._ ---------- BRIAN DALEY 1947 - 1996 Brian Daley, author of "Coramonde" fantasy duology, died February 11 at his home in Arnold, Maryland. He was suffering from pancreatic cancer. Born in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Daley served in the Army in Vietnam and Germany from 1965 to 1969. He completed his bachelor's degree at Jersey City State College in 1974. In 1977, _The Doomfarers of Coramonde_ was published by Del Rey. About an Army unit transported from Vietnam to an alternate universe where they must slay a dragon, the book's success lead to a sequel, and launched Daley as an author. However, Daley is probably best known for his three Star Wars spin-off novels. Prequels covering the early adventures of Han Solo, they were the first Star Wars spin-offs to reach the New York Times bestseller list. His other novels include _A Tapestry of Magics_ and the Alacrity Fitzhugh/Hobart Floyt science fiction trilogy. With James Luceno, Daley was one half of "Jack McKinney" who wrote the more than twenty novels of the very popular Robotech and Sentinels series. Daley was working on a long science fiction novel _Gamma L.A.W._ at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, author Lucia St. Clair Robson. BOOK NEWS And A Groaning Was Heard Throughout The Land: The release date of _A Crown of Swords_, book 7 in ROBERT JORDAN's phenomenally popular "Wheel of Time" series, has been delayed until June (at the earliest). Check out the Tor Books homepage for the latest details: http://www.tor.com Publishers Weekly reports that RAY BRADBURY has left Knopf, his publisher of the last thirty years, for a multi-book deal with Avon. This fall, Avon will release his new short story collection, _Quicker Than the Eye_, followed by a new novel next year, and another one year after that. Avon has also acquired the rights to a dozen of Bradbury's backlist titles, including hardcover rights to _The Martian Chronicles_ and _The Illustrated Man_. JENNIFER ROBERSON has been a busy writer lately. In addition to completing her co-author (with MELANIE RAWN and Kate Elliott) chores on _The Golden Key_, she has also completed _Lady of the Glen_, a sequel to her historical novel _Lady of the Forest_, and turned in a new "Highlander" movie novelization. She then got a jump on 1996 by selling two more "Sword Dancer" to DAW in a reported six-figure deal. The Publishers Weekly 1995 Top Sellers list is out, and a few fantasy authors made the cut. On the hardcover sales side, ANNE RICE came in at number 12, with _Memnoch the Devil_ racking up sales of 815,702. DAVID EDDINGS had _Belgarath the Sorcerer_ appear in the 150,000+ sales group, and TERRY BROOKS cracked the 100,000 mark with _Witches Brew_. And, although the book that made the big sales wasn't a fantasy, BARBARA HAMBLY sold 125,000+ with her Star Wars tie-in, _Children of the Jedi_. PW only lists mass market paperbacks that sell over one million copies, and the only author on this list to make those kind of sales in 1995 was ANNE RICE. _Lasher_ sold a bit over one and half million copies in paperback. Just to put Anne Rice's sales in perspective, turn to the PW children's paperback bestseller list. There, R.L. Stine holds 16 of the top 18 slots, with those books selling a combined total of 16.3 million copies in 1995. On the children's Paperback Backlist Bestsellers List (sales of books in 1995 that were originally published prior to 1995), Stine's "Goosebumps" books fill the first 27 (!) spots. The moral of this story is: If you want the BIG bucks, forget the adult horror market. Write for kids. I-Con XV, April 12-14 at SUNY in Stony Brook, New York, is featuring the usual wide variety of sf and fantasy authors, including BARBARA HAMBLY and ALAN DEAN FOSTER. For more information, e-mail [email protected] HARRY HARRISON and C.J. CHERRYH will be guests of honor at Con- Troll, April 19-21, at the Ramada Astrodome in Houston, Texas. For more information, call 713-895-9202, or write Con-Troll Conventions, P.O. Box 740969-1025, Houston, TX 77274 SHORT TAKES _Locus_ magazine reports that ANDRE NORTON and MERCEDES LACKEY sold two more books in their "Elven" series to Tor ... The fourth book in DIANE DUANE's "Wizards" series is finally going to be published in the U.S., albeit in a somewhat limited setting - it will be appearing in July in hardcover from the Science Fiction Book Club ... MARGARET WEIS and TRACY HICKMAN sold the world rights to a new unnamed epic fantasy trilogy to Del Rey ... TERRY PRATCHETT's latest Discworld novel, _Feet of Clay_, will appear in the U.S. a mere four months after its June 1996 debut in Britain. Will wonders never cease ... RU EMERSON will be doing three "Xena, Warrior Princess" tie-in books for Ace. NOW APPEARING AT A BOOKSTORE NEAR YOU The following books have a release date of March 1 in the U.S. (which means they've probably been out on the shelves since mid- February). "Paperback reprints" are, so far as I know, the first paperback reprints of books that are already out in hardcover. Last names of authors are in capitals, hopefully making them easier to spot. Hardcover originals: _The First King of Shannara_ by Terry BROOKS; _The Hedge of Mist_ by Patricia KENNEALY-MORRISON; _The Silver Gryphon_ by Mercedes LACKEY and Larry Dixon Paperback originals: _Orca_ by Steven BRUST (this has been in bookstores since the beginning of February); _Mad Amos_ by Alan Dean FOSTER; _The Gates of Twilight_ by Paula VOLSKY (trade paperback); _Men at Arms_ by Terry PRATCHETT (1st U.S., trade paperback) Paperback reprints: _One King's Way_ by Harry HARRISON; _The Eagle and the Nightingale_ by Mercedes LACKEY FINDING THESE BOOKS Many of the books listed are currently in print (as of May, 1995), or were popular enough that you should be able to track them down in a used-bookstore or at the library. I have attempted to note those that will be particularly difficult to find. This is written from a United States viewpoint - those of you in Canada, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere may need to put forth quite a bit more effort. There are several bookstores specializing in SF/Fantasy can be reached through the net. The ones I am familiar with are: Future Fantasy (3705 El Camino, Palo Alto, CA; [email protected]) Good selection of new SF/Fantasy. If you have access to a WWW client, it is accessible at http://futfan.com They ship worldwide. Other Change of Hobbit (202 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA; [email protected]) New and used SF/fantasy. They accept want lists, and ship worldwide. Nebula (1452, St-Mathieu, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; [email protected]) New SF/fantasy. They say they have every SF book currently in print in North America available. For the real technophiles among us, BOOKS.COM is (at the moment) the only telnettable mail order bookstore. To reach it, telnet to books.com, then browse. It is supposed to have a decent searchable database. They do ship worldwide, and I have it by reliable report that shipping is reasonably priced and fairly quick. DOWNLOADING THE LIST Yes! You too can have your very own copy of the Recommended Fantasy Author List on your very own personal computer! There are a couple of ways to go about it: 1) E-mail me at [email protected] Be sure to let me know whether you want the list in one big lump, or broken up into five separate parts. 2) Via anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu (and its mirror sites) from the directory /pub/usenet/alt.fan.eddings/ 3) If you don't have access to ftp, you can use the news.answers ftp-by-mail server. Send a message to [email protected] with the following six lines in the body (not the subject) of the message: send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part1 send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part2 send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part3 send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part4 send usenet/news.answers/fantasy/recommended-authors/part5 quit ABOUT THE LIST This listing was created in April 1994, following what seemed like the 900th posting of "what other authors should I read?" in the alt.fan.eddings newsgroup. Originally, the tone of the editorial comments was intended to be neutral, since this is a compilation of the recommendations of many people and not a list of my personal favorites. This policy has gradually eroded, and the perceptive reader can probably make some pretty good guesses as to which books are particularly favored by the FAQMaster. Do note, however, that there are quite a few books on this list that I either haven't read, tried and didn't like, or wouldn't recommend to an enemy, let alone a friend, so don't blame ME if you spot an author that you absolutely loathe. Newly recommended authors spend at least six months on the List. If they don't pick up another recommendation in that period of time, they are cast into outer darkness. Recommenders are encouraged to keep their lists updated - in fact, I write yearly to confirm that the choices I have on record are what they actually sent. This list doesn't contain shared world novels and short story collections, except in those cases where I feel like including them (hey, it's called Editorial Privilege.) The dividing line between fantasy, science fiction, and horror is indistinct and highly subjective. Inclusion on this list for those books that straddle the border depends on three factors: How many people push for inclusion of the author, how the publisher markets the book, and, most importantly, whether it matches *my* definition of fantasy (remember that editorial privilege I mentioned?) I would like to note that most the long-running, open-ended series contained herein do tend to have one major problem: They get weaker as they progress (Piers Anthony is the prime example of this tendency.) Try to start with the earlier books in the series, so you can get thoroughly hooked and are compelled to keep reading even after the author just starts hacking them out. CREDITS Many people made suggestions and offered aid and comfort in the creation of this list. Many thanks to everyone who sent me lists of their favorite Recommended Authors, and if any of you read any *new* authors you want to recommend, let me know. Three cheers for: Anthony Chan - who started an Eddings FAQ, and, Mike Loux - who also took a shot at creating an Eddings FAQ, and Paul Farris & Raj Shah - who also put together a very nice Eddings FAQ, which the current Eddings FAQmaster stole from shamelessly Jani Joki - who has a cool homepage with lots of fantasy links (check it out at http://www.evitech.fi/~janijj/Books.html) Jonathan Yen - who has almost as many books on his recommendation list as I do Donal Fellows - ruler of the Eddings home page (as well as all that he surveys). View it (and this list too!) at: http://r8h.cs.man.ac.uk:8000/eddings/ Special thanks to all of the following, who helped to fill in the blanks, suggested new authors to add to the list, and/or sent me Real Nice Mail: Tim Abicht (Eriond), Henry Andrews, Corinne Aragaki, Denis Aumueller, Krista Babstock, Zachary Mitch Binder, Elizabeth Blatt, Fredrik Blom, Doug Bowles, Jan Erik Breimo, Daphne Brinkerhoff, Edward Buckley, Andy Carlson, Simon Challands, Steve Christensen, Stephen Clark, Stevie Clifford (a.k.a. Gaspode Wannabe), Cyradis, Amy Darke, Nathan Daniel, Jessika Diamond, Asher Dunn, Matthew Dworkin, Richard Faircloth, Paul Farris, Donal Fellows, Michael Crist Ferguson, Maria Fox, David Geeland, Kevin Green, Clint Hauser, Glynne Jones, Mark Allen Jones, Derrek Kirk, Michael X. Koon, Jim Lahue, Glynis Long, Mike Loux, Dwayne MacKinnon, Beth Martin, Craig Meyer, Naomi, Ray Pugh, Tarja Rainio, Leigh Rooney, Kevin Roose, Steve Sams, Heather Sexauer, Joe "Uno" Shaw, Eric Siebert, Simon I, Martin Slade, Dean Smith, Lars H. Tombre, Garry Turkington, Luke Vaughn, B.J. van Look, Elaine Walker, Wardley the Wizzy, Brett Whinnen, Pamela Wolff The listing was created and is maintained by Amy Sheldon. Permission to reproduce this material for non-profit purposes is freely granted, however it would be really nice if you asked first. Not only can I then make sure that you have the latest version, I'll also have the chance to be tremendously flattered that someone actually wants this list. Any corrections, comments or questions should be sent to: [email protected] -- Amy I. Sheldon [email protected]

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