Not So Epic Fantasy Novels?
 

I'm looking for recommendations of fantasy novels that aren't completely bogged down with worldy detail and description; ideally with a plot that doesn't follow the usual story. You know: Humble chosen one is guided by Old Master to discover his destiny and defeat the dark one and save the world.

The Opposite of what I'm looking for is Christopher Paolini's Eldest trilogy. I listened to an audiobook version of the first book and despite the derivitive plot, I wanted to know how it turned out so I read the second. It was so laden with description dumping and historical and cultural background information that I barely got through it.

Good lord, no character could pick up so much as a shield without pages of history and detail about who molded it and what it was made of and where the material was refined and what it signifies and how it made each character feel and what races would never touch it and all the different names it is called in all the different languages and where it's been all these years and who used it before and what adventures THEY took it on and what THEIR different names were and what THEIR lineages were and on and on...

I gave up on the series after that.

An excellent example of what I AM looking for is Joseph Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy. It has offbeat characters that turn the stereotypes on their heads and focuses on the action with tight pacing and a minimum of exposition and description. I'm waiting for the final book to come in at the library and it's made hunger for more.

In the mean time I picked up the first book of Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time and it has an OK balance of action and backdetail but it's sooo loooong. I just don't know if I can commit to 11 weighty tomes; especially since the plot doesn't seem to be straying much from the standard hero journey.

I also enjoy Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld books. He just drops you into the world and lets the details slip out quietly in the dialogue as the mystery unfolds. I appreciate that.

So, any suggestions?

The Gormenghast trilogy.

I've only read the first book, but it is highly memorable. Every so often I think about it and kick myself for not reading the other two books. I must get around to it. (Actually, I just might want to read the first one over again.)

It's a kind of "low" fantasy, if there is such a thing. It has no magic, and there are elements of surrealism and the gothic. It has a wonderful claustrophobic sort of feel to it. A very believable fantasy world. The characters are engaging, and the story is offbeat. It was written around the same time as The Lord of the Rings.

That said, I'd like to find more like it. I can't read most fantasy I've looked at lately. I've been ruined by studying literature at university.

The Safehold Series.

Your might very well dig The Black Company by Glen Cook. More low key, they move along, and there's not a ton of background up front. They're quick and easy reads, as well, so I'd say give the first one a try.

have you read all the Thieves World books?
or all the Myth-Adventures?

oh, its kinda large, but oh oh oh soooooo worth it.

perdido street station by china meleville (i probably spelled his name wrong). if you haven't read it, please do.

i have all three books in one convenient and rather thick volume. i started it a while back, couldn't quite get into it, but i look at it almost every day and think "yeah, i'm gonna read you." perhaps that shall be my next book.

check out Michael Moorcock. Anything in the Eternal Champion books (Elric is good).

http://www.novymir.com.au/terminalcafe/intro.html

He's got a new book coming out soon...."Best Served Cold" or something such, which I believe is due out next month.

Then don't read anymore...Jordan is the Tom Clancy of fantasy novels. Unless you are interested in the minute details of the wall treatment of a sitting room, the accompanying tea set and the history of a "magical" comb that sits in the hair of one of the stories secondary characters (at best...), then you should jump ship whilst you still have fond memories of that world.

As for suggestions...I don't really know. I was always fond of the "Deathgate" books and the Nicholas Flamel books by Michael Scott, even though they're a bit more for the young adult. Brandon Sanderson's stuff is pretty good with some interesting ideas (it's still the basic young one grows into big hero stuff, don't let me fool you, but fairly well written). I've always thought that George R. R. Martin's stuff to be of the same vein of Abercrombie, although he, too, gets bogged down in the details from time to time.

I would have to recomend American Gods by Neil Gaiman

It isnt about elves and dwarves etc, but I think it would be classified fantasy as much as anything else.

If you want fantasy that is off the beaten path, try Charles DeLint. His novels deal with dream worlds and their link to ancient spirituality.

I am also a fan of the Archangel / Samaria series by Sharon Shinn.

I was actually thinking Stardust by Gaiman although American Gods is good too.

Ok give up now on Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time. The first 3 books are very good but then it slows down far too much. The next 8 books should be cut in half very, very over long. I would say suggest Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, Magician - Raymond E. Feist, David Eddings Belgariad,.

Tom Shippey is a scholar of medieval literature, but he also does modern fantasy and sci-fi, especially the Lord of the Rings. He is considered one of the leading academics on Tolkien (source: Wikipedia).

I have a book on fiction recommendations suggested by others, along with him. His recommendations are for fantasy. There are a few pages of his reasons for choosing what he chose, but I'll spare you the details. Here is his list of top-twelve fantasy novels:

• C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength (1945)
• J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1954-5)
• T. H. White, The Once and Future King (1958) [I'm making my way through this now.]
• Avram Davidson, The Phoenix and the Mirror (1969)
• Stephen R. Donaldson, Lord Foul's Bane (1977)
• Ursula Le Guin, Earthsea Quartet (1968-90)
• Diana Wynne Jones, Fire and Hemlock (1984)
• Michael Shea, In Yana, the Touch of Undying (1985)
• Jack Vance, Lyonesse II: The Green Pearl (1985)
• Lyon Sprague De Camp and Fletcher Pratt, The Intrepid Enchanter (published in the USA as The Complete Compleat Enchanter) (1989)
• Michael Swanwick, The Iron Dragon's Daughter (1993)
• George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones (1996)

Source: The Good Fiction Guide (Oxford)

The problem with a lot of fantasy, as with much genre novels, is that they get trashy: description bogs it down, characters are flat or unbelievable, and the overall story is too sweeping or otherwise exaggerated. They lack the nuances of what makes a good novel. Although I haven't read any of these yet (though as I said I'm working on one of them, and it's going quite well), I will make my way through this list eventually.

I loved these when I read them in high school, and re-read them last year. I'm not sure I'd class it as good fiction anymore. Maybe because I already knew what was going happen. Also, a lot of his later books (in this same setting just seemed to be a re-hash) Spoiler: After you have defeated the biggest bad dude in the world, your next book can't be 'oh no, now we've got an even worst bigger badder dude than before'

My recommendations (in no particular order):
Raymond Feist (Magician etc.)
David Gemmell (my favourite is Knights of Dark Renown, but anything of his really)
Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion)
Tracy Hickman/Margaret Weis (Dragonlance Chronicles).
RA Salvatore (Dark Elf Trilogy etc.)
Tolkien (LoTR and Hobbit) - this has a tendency for being a bit too descriptive at times, but still definitely worth a read. The LoTR does start quite slowly and I can see how it might be a chore to read it - that's a personal call to make. I'd avoid the Silmarillion and others of his - they have a tendency for being 'historical' and dry.
George RR Martin: (A song of Ice and Fire series), though maybe wait until he finishes writing it - nothing like having 4 books and in series read and hanging out for the next 'chapter' :( An author that kills off everyone that looks likely to be the hero of the story definitely keeps you interested :)

I came here to basically post this list, so let me just say Gemmel, Dragonlance, Martin, Moon.

You left out McCaffrey and May - although basically Sci Fi, the Dragon books and the Saga of the Exiles are both ideal versions of what the OP seems to want.

I'm going to take your advice. It's turning out to be 1/2 travelogue (how many innkeepers do we really have to meet?), 1/4 teen angst and 1/4 escalating parade of evil ones.

Black Company sounds like a quick fun read so I'll put that on the list and I've been circling Neil Gaiman's American Gods for awhile so maybe it's time.

I remember the TV Miniseries of Ghormenghast but hadn't considered the books. Cool!

George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones has popped up in conversation before so I'll look into that too.

There are a lot of great ideas here so thanks for the suggestions everybody!

I highly recommend the Dragonlance series; especially the ones written by Margaret Weis / Tracy Hickman and Richard A. Knaak.

They really throw you into the action, and have a ton of character development. There are some details and descriptions of people, places, etc...but no where near the boring detail as Tolkiens stories (not saying they're boring stories, I love them - his detail descriptions just go on for pages though).


If you go with Dragonlance I'd start with Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Weis/Hickman) or The Legend of Huma (Knaak).

I had my best friends start with Huma because it kind of starts before the original book (DoAT). They were a little lost in the first few pages; the rest of the time you kind of know who the characters are referring to.

[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

Can I just say, as a lifelong devotee of Frank Herbert, and a scholar of JRR Tolkein, that it really doesn't sound like their work is for you. It sounds to me like you want a straight-to-the-point, whip-out-the-swords "popcorn" adventure series, without too much nuance and complexity put into the background, history, and languages of the author's universe. Tolkein and Herbert are nothing but nuance and complexity, with comparatively little straight-to-the-point, whip-out-the-swords adventuring.

You might like Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series. He is very big on character and plot development, and paints vigorously with a wide brush: delicate nuance is not his style-- he likes direct action.

Evangeline Walters' "Mabinogion" trilogy, which represent loose adaptations of sections of classic Welsh myth in the form of fantasy novels, is something else you might enjoy.

George RR Martin is arguably the best ever at direct action and rapid plot development, while still delivering interesting characters in an interesting world. Only problem is that you may find yourself in the same boat as so many of the rest of us: at the end of the series, waiting for a next book that is already three years overdue....

You also might like the three trilogies by Robin Hobb, the "Farseer" "Liveship" and "Golden Fool" trilogies. She had a more recent one, the unrelated "Forest Mage" series, which was not half as good.

Great books and I agree that they are not 'horror' in the traditional sense. Too bad he still hasn't gotten around to writing the final Book of the Art (The Great & Secret Show, Everville being the first two).

Another series to check out is the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams.

All the really good ones have been named as far as I'm concerned.

Just wanted to second this suggestion though.
I kinda have to, it's where I got my nickname from, LONG ago (for me anyway)

I really enjoyed Tad William's Otherland series so maybe I'll check it out.

I read one by Clive Barker where a demon was trapped inside the book and pleading for you to burn it so he could die. It was OK.

Continuing my deplorable practice of recommending books I haven't read, you might also want to check out R. Scott Bakker’s The Darkness That Comes Before (Book One of The Prince of Nothing). A good friend of mine absolutely loved this. Apparently these books have done quite well, and are viewed as being a bit more literary. You'll get philosophical and religious issues and such.

And you'd get bonus points for reading a Canadian author.

As a consequence of wading into this thread, I'm currently rejigging my own reading list. This has helped me figure out which fantasy books to seek out, being that I, too, have taken issue with books bogged down with background, history, and description.

Some reviews that hint that this is something that moves away from what you want to avoid:

(This is on my list after I finish The Once and Future King.)

A couple people in this thread have mentioned the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin--those are the books I would recommend. I really enjoyed them. Le Guin deliberately makes some choices that buck the typical fantasy mold. They're also written for young adults, so they're not overly bogged down with description. Le Guin generally keeps the plot going at a satisfying pace.

Forgot about him. The Belgariad is good, but his church knight stuff is better. The Elenium and the Tamuli (I believe the series are called) were some of my favorites growing up.

I'd also go with Joan Vinge's Snow Queen. Not your typical stuff and the sequels were forgettable, but the the first one holds up well.

Thanks for sorting that out, I had wondered. :thumbsup:

surprised that nobody has mentioned Saberhagens book of swords and book of lost swords novels

Books of the Swords - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm going to continue with the Gaiman theme, and recommend the entire Sandman series. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

Only because I forgot :(. Definitely a good read.

I highly recommend The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Excellent story telling, lots of action. Not your typical fantasy IMO.
Also any of the Drizzt stories by R.A. Salvatore(icewind dale trilogy in particular)

It is not surprising you like this series, given the username you have chosen, Lord Rahl :)

If you like something with a little (maybe a lot) "Sax and Violins" try Laurel K Hamiltons - Princess Meredith - Fairy Series. Interesting and sexy. Her Anita Blake (Vampire Slayer) series fits into a different catagory, but if you like Zombies, Vamps etc. It too can be entertaining, be sure to leave your inhibitions at the door.

I also love F.Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series, with lots of otherworldly stuff. The Keep , The Tomb Etc.

Some of Dean Koontz stuff also might fall into the catagory Phantoms etc. They are often filed as horror and to some degree are.

That term 'otherworldy' just jogged my memory. I highly recommend Brian Lumley and his Necroscope series of work.

omg. You like thrillers? It's in there. You like vampires? It's got it. A dash of sci/fi? Look no further. Cold War; International intrigue, ancient

Just pick up the first book and give it a read. You will not be able to put it down. Guaranteed.

Necroscope (series) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The NECROSCOPE SAGA - Brian Lumley.com

I'm about a third of the way into George R. R. Martin's Game Of Thrones and thoroughly enjoying it.

Mostly I'm impressed how quickly I got to rooting for all the members of the Stark family.

I read American Gods and a collection of Neil Gaiman short stories recently too and dug them all. I'll get around to reading Anansi Boys soon

FWIW some other genre books I've recently read and highly recommend are Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy (Swedish crime thriller) and Stephen Baxter's Manifold trilogy (mind-blowing sci-fi)

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody!

fres, I'm just getting to the depths of A Clash of Kings. It keeps getting better, and I'm told the best is yet to come.

Thanks, Jozrael and Anxst. As a result of these recommendations, I've read the first 3 books in the Black Company series, and Off Armageddon Reef. They're very good.

Interestingly, I just today finished A Game of Thrones myself. I'm looking forward to A Clash of Kings, but I wasn't able to pick it up today because our local library was closed (something about training, according to the sign they posted on the door).

There's The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, of which the first novel, The Name of the Wind, came out in 2007.
The second volume is due out in early 2011.

While it's a pretty big book, it doesn't get too bogged down in the minutia of details, as much as The Wheel of Time series.

Have you tried Orson Scott Card's "Homecoming" series? It doesn't have alot of world description, but takes place 30 million years in the future.

I'm reading this right now! So far it's just what I'm looking for: plenty of imagination and adventure without the exhausting world building and humble hero tropes.