[QUOTE=Baraka_Guru;2651511]
- ...
- Stephen R. Donaldson, Lord Foul's Bane (1977)
Source: The Good Fiction Guide (Oxford)
QUOTE]
I considered myself to be a great fan of, what we now call, "alternative" fiction. But could not bring myself to read past a couple of pages of anything that was Fantasy. In fact, I got (get) downright indignant when bookstores shelve sci-fi with fantasy on the same shelves.
Stuck for something to read one night on the subway, my dearest thrust a tattered tome of Lord Foul's Bane into my hands and said, read it or be bored on the subway. So I did. I'm not ashamed to admit that this hard sci-fi buff got thoroughly engrossed in the fantasy world of "The Land".
Maybe it's because I enjoyed LoTR & the Hobbit (read 3 x each) and the original Dune trilogy (3 x each before the rest came out) but Donaldson's writing managed to evoke a rich fabric without all the usual fantasy prose problems. I read through this Trilogy (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever) three times as well, and the next 3 (second chronicles).
I heartily recommend this book, Lord Foul's Bane is the first in the series. It seems a bit light, and young-ish at the start, especially when you stack it up against JRRT., but engaging.
By the way, Donaldson did write a magnificent hard sci fi series as well (the Gap Cycle:
The Gap Cycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) which shows that he can also write the difficult stuff. It also features one of my favourite character names: Angus Thermopyle. This series is not for minors.
As for other recommendations, after seeing the Neil Gaiman suggestions, I remembered how much I enjoyed Clive Barker, especially:
- Weaveworld
- Imajica
- The Great & Secret Show
These books are not horror, but are fantastical along the lines of a sophisticated Stephen King