So, I have been really "in to" fantasy for the last couple years, what with my daughter's re-re-re-readings of Chronicles of Narnia and voracious appetite for Harry Potter movies. When my favorite aunt handed me a copy of Once and Future King, I started a King Arthur binge, as well... And besides seriously considering writing a series (or two) of my own, this is where I am (not THAT many books later).
As in a lot of genre fiction, I am disillusioned by all the crappy writing that sneaks in. But I have stayed to "best of" lists and books that led to other books. As a kid, I loved Madelaine L'Engle, but I can not stomach either Tolkien--oh, the horror!--or, so far, Lawhead. Yikes. Perhaps I can't get past the detailed writing to see the imagination (and knowledge) for the forest. But I have already discovered some shining gems, which is what I look for when I sift through all the dregs of literary fiction, too.
My Short-Short List of My Favorite Fantasy Books
1. Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis. This was my first real fantasy love, although I didn't realize it at the time. I read it for a Lewis seminar, and I never hear people talk about it or see it listed anywhere. But in my very limited and therefore humble opinion, it HAS to be one of the best fantasy books ever written. Seriously. A must-read (and a quick one, at that). And great fun for us grown-ups who are past the Chronicles series. My husband agrees with me, for what it's worth.
2. The Once and Future King, T. H. White. And then you can continue on with the series, but in the future I will probably stick mainly to re-reading this one book. When I first put my hands on it, I thought all Arthur books must be beautiful, but I was in for a nasty shock. This book is exceptional as the kind during which I would suddenly pause, out of breath from the sheer beauty of a passage of text. How often does that happen?
3. The Harry Potter Series, J. K. Rowling. I know I am a world-class wiener for including this, but there are two main reasons that I have read it twice in the past year. One; the ability to immerse the reader in a complete world, mostly separate from their own, which is both full of normal things like annoyances, food, sports, and bad hair days and also full of fantastical places, objects and beasts, heroism, and magic. Two; an amazing consistency and wholeness from page one through to the end (in my version, at page 4167). As a writer myself, I marvel at the way that everything from the first chapter makes its way to the very end, and nothing is ever off. How on earth did she release as she wrote?!? It's baffling. I can understand why some people say she sold her soul for the story. It's that perfect. On the downside... the prose is only adequate and occasionally quaint. But what I wouldn't give to have that story, imagination, and steel trap mind... Plus, it is clearly addictive.
As in a lot of genre fiction, I am disillusioned by all the crappy writing that sneaks in. But I have stayed to "best of" lists and books that led to other books. As a kid, I loved Madelaine L'Engle, but I can not stomach either Tolkien--oh, the horror!--or, so far, Lawhead. Yikes. Perhaps I can't get past the detailed writing to see the imagination (and knowledge) for the forest. But I have already discovered some shining gems, which is what I look for when I sift through all the dregs of literary fiction, too.
My Short-Short List of My Favorite Fantasy Books
1. Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis. This was my first real fantasy love, although I didn't realize it at the time. I read it for a Lewis seminar, and I never hear people talk about it or see it listed anywhere. But in my very limited and therefore humble opinion, it HAS to be one of the best fantasy books ever written. Seriously. A must-read (and a quick one, at that). And great fun for us grown-ups who are past the Chronicles series. My husband agrees with me, for what it's worth.
2. The Once and Future King, T. H. White. And then you can continue on with the series, but in the future I will probably stick mainly to re-reading this one book. When I first put my hands on it, I thought all Arthur books must be beautiful, but I was in for a nasty shock. This book is exceptional as the kind during which I would suddenly pause, out of breath from the sheer beauty of a passage of text. How often does that happen?
3. The Harry Potter Series, J. K. Rowling. I know I am a world-class wiener for including this, but there are two main reasons that I have read it twice in the past year. One; the ability to immerse the reader in a complete world, mostly separate from their own, which is both full of normal things like annoyances, food, sports, and bad hair days and also full of fantastical places, objects and beasts, heroism, and magic. Two; an amazing consistency and wholeness from page one through to the end (in my version, at page 4167). As a writer myself, I marvel at the way that everything from the first chapter makes its way to the very end, and nothing is ever off. How on earth did she release as she wrote?!? It's baffling. I can understand why some people say she sold her soul for the story. It's that perfect. On the downside... the prose is only adequate and occasionally quaint. But what I wouldn't give to have that story, imagination, and steel trap mind... Plus, it is clearly addictive.
I now have at least a couple more books to add to a "good" or even "great" list of fantasy books:
ReplyDelete-the On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness series, for kids
-the Auralia Thread series