Ana and Thea, of The Book Smugglers fame, have thrown a little dare my way to read something that I wouldn't normally pick up and then post a review on their blog. To this end, I'll be reading/reviewing Neil Gaiman's 'Preludes and Nocturnes' (I can't believe I haven't picked this up before now...) for a review sometime in January.
I don't just accept challenges though, I give them out as well! If someone dares me then I dare them right back and seeing as there isn't an awful lot of fantasy being read over at the Book Smuggler's blog I thought this would be the dare for them...
What should they read though? I've come up with a few ideas below,
'Legend' - David Gemmell (Because not only is it a fun read, it's 'standalone' as well)
'Tailchaser's Song' - Tad Williams (As above, plus the fact that Tad Williams is a favourite of mine and I think everyone should give him a go)
'The Black Company' - Glen Cook (A relatively self contained book that's also the gateway into a great series)
'The Briar King' - Greg Keyes (The beginning of one of my favourite fantasy series of recent years, another one that I think everyone should check out)
What do you think? Is there a title there that you think should be the one that Thea and Ana read? Have you got a better idea for a book for them to read? Comments please... ;o)
The problem with Mr. Williams is that he doesn't seem to realize that his books could do with about 20k words being skimmed off. He needs to learn the brevity of Mr. Cook and Mr. Gemmel.
ReplyDeleteOh, these all look great!!!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest and that probably goes to show how Fantasy-Ignorant I am , I only heard of Tad Williams (I am constantly eyeing his books, never picking them up in the end)out of the authors you listed.
Is that very sad? *g*
I would suggest Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind, or David Anthony Durham - Acacia, or even Peter V Brett - The Painted Man, but then again, I'm biased. :-)
ReplyDeleteDave, we have been hearing nothing but praise for The Name of the Wind. So much so, Thea and I bought the book and are planning on reading it soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful thing about 'Talichaser's Song' is that it's just under three hundred pages long and has all the brevity that his other books lack :o)
Hi Ana - They all look great do they? I'll have to change the list then... ;o)
Dave - Good choices but I wanted to go for stuff that was either stand-alone or relatively self contained (which makes me wonder why I chose 'The Briar King'...)
Mr Williams is brilliant but you do need to get to about page 200 before he grabs you. There is no escape afterwards though!!
ReplyDeleteCan I suggest Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold if you have not read it. I love all her books but that is the best.
Also anything by Guy Gavriel Kay.
I love the guest dares!
ReplyDeleteSome stand alone fantasy books:
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The Song of the Beast by Carol Berg
A Companion to Wolves by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette
The Book of Joby by Mark Ferrari
Maledicte by Lane Robins
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (it's a standalone even if part of Discworld)
Graeme, you choose The Briar King because it is excellent in it's own right, almost stand alone, but so good that assuming you enjoy it, there are more books to read in the series. I'd certainly recommend that one, but then I also haven't read any of the others on your list.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't read The Sandman?! I'm always the one that hasn't read certain staples of the genre, but really, you do need to correct this!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the second volume, The Doll's House, is as good a starting place, because the first volume is slightly choppy in places -- he wasn't sure whether or not it would get a full run or be cancelled, etc. Still, I think you'll enjoy it.
Tad Williams is fantastic, even if a bit long. Hmm. I might issue some of these challenges to people, someday.