Tophat665

The first book is out. It's called "The Runes of the Earth". Now, I like Donaldson's books. His settings are brilliant, and his concepts of magic are as nearly unique as any I have ever read (and I've read about a book a week for the last 24 years), but, and don't let this piss you of too much, he is one of the worst writers ever. It's like his thesaurus stickes open, and he'll use the same obscure word over and over and over and over and over. Inchoate, Ineffable, Laval, Coruscating. In Runes of the Earth, he uses the word "Formication" (meaning the sensation of ants crawling on one's skin) three times on a frickin' page. And what, precisely, are "Silently screaming shadows"? There's no help from context. All that said, I really do enjoy his books, but, damn, if he were half the writer, say, Roger Zelazney was, people would study him in highschool 150 years from now.

All trashing Donaldson aside, some other recommendations:
Glen Cook's "The Black Company", particularly the first three, but all 10 or so of them positively rock. It's written from the point of view of the physician and hisotrian of a long storied and none to pleasant mercenary company. It presents itself as his histories. It's dark without being utterly grim, and it's as realistic as any world with high powered mages could be.

Tad Williams "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" has already been mentioned, as has George R. R. Martin's, "Song of Ice and Fire" (damnit, man, finish "Feast of Crows" already!!!!!). Both of these are every bit as good as Tolkien, but not groundbreaking like his was (though Martin has some vicious politics in his that I have seen nowhere else.)

Stephen Brust, the Vlad Taltos series (starting "Jhereg", "Yendi", and "Teckla"). Main character is a professional assassin and all around neat guy. The writing is at times reminiscent of Roger Zelazney, and at other times, more like Raymond Chandler. (Wish Roger had lived long enough to collaborate with Brust. What a team they would have made!)

And so to Roger Zelazney. He is frequently right on the edge where Science Fiction meets Fantasy. "Lord of Light" in particular, but I can tell you very little more beyond it's my second favorite book ever, and you would benefit with some grounding in Hindu Myth and Indian history if you decide to read it (not that you need it, but it intensifies the book.) "Dilvish the Damned" and "The Changing Land" are pure fantasy in the heroic fairy tale mould, but with some sardonic self conciousness keeping it from becoming maudlin or sappy. In "Changeling" and "Madwand" and Evil Wizard's infant son is spared the wizard's destruction, but exchanged for an engineer's son from anther world. Events go from there. "Creatures of Light and Darkness" turns on Egyptian myth, in such a high technology future that Clarke's law applies, and it kicks back over into fantasy. "Jack of Shadows" is another one that explores the interface between magic and technology, with great results. Finally, no discussion of Zelazney is complete without mentioning Amber. Heroic Fantasy in the Hero's voice. IT doesn't get much better.

Another old school author I should mention: Michael Moorcock. His is the resposibility for the birth of the anti hero in fantasy. "Elric of Melniboné" is the first of the Elric series, about the Albino Sorceror King, last of his race, first to discover morality. Then there are the Corum books, the Hawkmoon books, Oswald Bastable, Von Beck, Ulric Skarsol, Ereköse, and several more, all aspects of the "Champion Eternal" as he calls it. Sure, he recycles his plots a bit, but they are good plots, and short books that read fast, and they are quite entertaining.

Finally, Neal Gaiman.

You all must go out and read, "The Sandman". Yes, I know. It's a comic book. This does not matter a bit. It is some of the best written literature in any genre in the entire 20th century. No Shit.

Edit: Write a post this long and someone will mention one of your points before you finish it. I see I am not the only Moorcock reader here. (Incidentally, a Moor Cock is a male Moor Hen, or Coot. Get your mind out of the gutter.)

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