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[Solifuge]

I dont know what it is that attracts me to the red wall saga, perhaps the persistant world, unlikely heroes, or just the epic battles that always seem to take place, but I love it. Has any one else read part of the red wall saga by Brian Jaques?

I once had a dream, which was a fully-orchestrated and choreographed musical with rhyming lyrics, which summarized the the plot of The Outcast of Redwall. No joke. I still remember a snippet from one of the melodies; a saccharine solo with mostly strings in the background, from when the orphaned weasel was first entrusted into the abbey's care.

I really liked the books when I was younger as well, since they were nice epic tales with fun characters, and a unique setting. Their use of animals as heroes and villains reminded me of old folklore too, and was the first time I'd encountered that. I've grown to be more disappointed with them in recent years, though... all weasels, foxes, wolves, and other predators were invariably evil. The one time Jacques was close to breaking that formula in Outcast, the story following the growth of an orphaned baby ferret who was raised by the abbey, lo and behold he turned evil in the end and betrayed everyone. :I

It relied too heavily on the whole Fantasy Racism justification for why one side fights the other. They're really neat little adventure stories, but not something that helps young readers construct a good worldview, I guess.

[jc6036]

Also, badgers are complete bad asses. I think my favorite red wall book was The Long Patrol, the long patrol is present in most of the books, but I enjoyed the closer look.

[Vector]

It relied too heavily on the whole Fantasy Racism justification for why one side fights the other. They're really neat little adventure stories, but not something that helps young readers construct a good worldview, I guess.

God, this.  I love Brian Jacques' dead body to death for some of the stuff he did, but this sort of thing just comes off horridly.

[Korgus]

Discworld and the Mortal Engines Quartet.

[Ottofar]

Hum hum. Gotta say I haven't read anything bigger for a while, but my two all-time favourites would be Les Misérables and Crime and Punishment.

I tend to generally read not-so-heavy stuff, though, so yeah.

[Vattic]

I don't think I can answer the question in the title but that's no bad thing, however, I'm really glad to see Douglass Adams' books get a good mention already. They really shaped my sense of humour and are among the few books I can read over and over.

Other books I've really enjoyed include:
Dispatches
I am Legend
The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
Dune
1984
Fear and Loathing
Of Mice and Men

This list could go on as I've been kind of picky in my reading and have only read a few things that don't compete for my top n.

[Willfor]

I feel like a book hipster whenever I read threads like this, and no one ever mentions anything obscure. It's cool that everyone is into the mainstream* classics, but is there anything that has been published in the last 5 (or even 10) years that anyone likes? Goddamn. As a prospective fantasy author, this is just depressing me.

*When I say mainstream, I mean books I have heard mentioned on this forum in every thread of this kind. Pratchett, Asimov, Tolkien, Adams, Herbert, etc.

[jc6036]

Douglas Adams sense of humor was great, and Ive read the hitch hikers (self proclaimed) trilogy several times. It was so well written, I actually felt that if I used the techniques in the guide, I could learn to fly . Ridiculous, I know, but it was pretty convincing at the time.

[Vattic]

jc6036 you can and we do every time something goes into orbit.

[SalmonGod]

I feel like a book hipster whenever I read threads like this, and no one ever mentions anything obscure. It's cool that everyone is into the mainstream* classics, but is there anything that has been published in the last 5 (or even 10) years that anyone likes? Goddamn. As a prospective fantasy author, this is just depressing me.

*When I say mainstream, I mean books I have heard mentioned on this forum in every thread of this kind. Pratchett, Asimov, Tolkien, Adams, Herbert, etc.

Because people are always asking for favorites, which for most involves having a personal history with the work.  I'm sure most of us have more recent books we like as well, but they weren't staples of our childhoods or we just haven't had so much time to develop a well-aged appreciation.

[jc6036]

I meant here on earth. As in in my back yard. Note that I never actually trie to fly. But it was pretty convincing instructions.

[Reelyanoob]

I feel like a book hipster whenever I read threads like this, and no one ever mentions anything obscure. It's cool that everyone is into the mainstream* classics, but is there anything that has been published in the last 5 (or even 10) years that anyone likes? Goddamn. As a prospective fantasy author, this is just depressing me.

*When I say mainstream, I mean books I have heard mentioned on this forum in every thread of this kind. Pratchett, Asimov, Tolkien, Adams, Herbert, etc.

Because most new stuff is going to suck, even when written by the genre masters. Art is not like other products, e.g. buying shoes or toenail clippers. If shoes were like art each new pair of shoes you bought would be expected to re-define the very concept of shoe-ness for better or worse.

"Eragon" is a new series, written within the last 10 years, it's also one of the first books listed in this thread. Should we all be reading that rather than the classics? An obsession with the "new" is unhealthy and generally viewed as immature by society. It's also highly linked in peoples perception with consumerism, rightly or wrongly.

And you've read *everything* recommended in this thread i take it? For instance just the stuff I've recommended: you've read the Uplift Series by David Brin and the collected works of Barrington Bailey? His last novel was 9 years ago, so within your 10 year period, as are many Pratchett novels, or are you asking specifically for "new" authors who have only had their first novel within 5-10 years ago?

The Wasp Factory is pretty "out there" stuff. I don't think some kid who likes only new shit is more "hip" than someone who digs that and Slaughterhouse 5, or White Light (Rudy Rucker's best novel). Show me anything current which fucks with your head like those 3 novels? Or like a Jack Womack sci-fi novel?

BTW where's all these amazing new books that make you so much "hipper" than everyone else? I notice you don't mention a single title.

[Bauglir]

I feel like a book hipster whenever I read threads like this, and no one ever mentions anything obscure. It's cool that everyone is into the mainstream* classics, but is there anything that has been published in the last 5 (or even 10) years that anyone likes? Goddamn. As a prospective fantasy author, this is just depressing me.

*When I say mainstream, I mean books I have heard mentioned on this forum in every thread of this kind. Pratchett, Asimov, Tolkien, Adams, Herbert, etc.

New stuff hasn't had time to become a classic. That sounds like a non-sequitur, but basically people don't pay attention to the lousy books from decades ago, because nobody reads them. They haven't become enduring in the public consciousness. Statistically speaking, virtually all books printed in a given year are going to be terrible or (at best) decent, and it takes a while for the good stuff to percolate to the top and become well-known enough that the likelihood of someone reading it on this forum becomes plausible. Especially because some of the posters here have read so many classics that any given newer book has some very, very, very stiff competition.

[jc6036]

Im gonna have to read these books you guys are recommending, When I read Eragon I thought it was great. Apparently though, it sucks in comparison to your favorite books, so Im gonna check out some of the books mentioned here. Ive read the hobbit, but couldnt really get into the rest of Tolkiens stuff. I cant figure out why every body thinks eragon is so terrible. Is it because its "new" or something like that? I did read the trilogy about 2 years ago, and It seemed fine then.

[Willfor]

I consider the works put out by Robin Hobb (it's a pen name that covers one world she writes in) as my favorite series of books.

Master of characterization, Robin Hobb takes us through the heartbreaking life of a bastard child of a future king. His discovery as a bastard child prevents his father from ever having a chance to become king, and sets the entire kingdom on a track toward pain and suffering. We start our journey in Assassin's Apprentice, and quickly move through one trilogy.

The second trilogy picks up as we move south to an area with a slightly higher technology level, but a less progressive cultural attitude. We meet a family of traders who work with Liveships, ships that drink in the experience of people who die on their decks, and can communicate with the people who run them. This trilogy features one of the most complex antagonists I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

The descriptions of the trilogy and duology that follow these two trilogies are spoilers for the entire series, so I won't go into that.



I'm running low on time, so:

Stormlight Archives, Brandon Sanderson; Fuck him for starting an epic fantasy series that will consist of 10 books, and my not existing in the future when this is complete.
Gentleman Bastard series, Scott Lynch; Possibly has the most creative uses of profanity I've ever seen, on top of having some of the most fun characters to read.

The last two classics I read were The Lord of The Rings and Dune. I couldn't stomach the prose of the former (though I respect its place in Fantasy's history), and the ending of the latter is possibly the weakest ending of any book I have ever read. Ever. If I had not fallen in love with the miniseries based on Dune, I might not have continued on from there. I'm going to be reading others, of course, but I am not going into it expecting miracles considering the hype I've been given with those two entries. Both of these titles were seminal, yes, but seminal titles are being written today as well, and will continue to be written well into the future.