This from bookreporter.com:
In June, our resident fantasy go-to reviewer Steve Hubbard presented you with 20 Must-Read Fantasy Series titles, and now he's back with Part Two --- a curated list of his favorite Stand Alone Fantasy books.
Complete with the "grandfather of fantasy" --- THE HOBBIT --- and other essential fantasy novels including AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman and THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ by L. Frank Baum, this collection will help you get lost in a number of mysterious and magical worlds. Whether you are new to the Fantasy genre and wondering where to start --- or already are a fan, checking our list to see what you have missed --- we hope you’ll note titles you want to explore.
Of course, all lists are subjective and that's as it should be. But this one is a bit weird, especially with the presence of Sanderson's The Way of Kings.
Here are Steve Hubbard's picks:
- Neil Gaiman's American Gods
- Burton Raffel's Beowulf
- China Miéville's The City and the City
- John Gardner's Grendel
- J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
- Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
- Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter
- Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn
- Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur
- Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon
- Christopher Priest's The Prestige
- William Goldman's The Princess Bride
- John Myers Myers' Silverlock
- Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes
- Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell
- Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven
- Eve Forward's Villains by Necessity
- Richard Adams' Watership Down
- Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings
- L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Thoughts???
12 commentaires:
It's nice to see Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell get a mention. A few of these I wouldn't have picked on a list of "stand alones" because they technically have sequels or other books in a series after them, even though the first book could stand on it's own without reading the others.
Interesting list, but the definition of fantasy is a bit more broad than I'd go with, meaning a lot of missed favourites.
Also, like you pointed out, The Way of Kings is not meant to be stand-alone, and The Mists of Avalon isn't a true stand-alone either.
I could put any of Kay's stand alones on this list.
One of the best stand alones I've ever read was "To Ride Hell's Chasm" by Janny Wurts. It never got any press at all.
Yeah, Way of Kings definitely doesn't belong on this list. Even before it came out, it was described as book 1 of the Stormlight Archive, a projected 10 book series. Maybe this was suppose to be Warbreaker? That's a standalone now, but may eventually have sequels too.
I'd like to check out "Villains by Necessity" but looks like it's hard to find/out of print. Still, a decent enough list populated with some books I wouldn't have considered, and may now.
There's nothing fantastical about The CIty and The City, so it seems an odd choice.
Tailchaser's Song.
But then, I'm a cat lover.
I've read (and liked) about half of the list. Nothing that I've read and disliked on the list. I suppose that makes it a successful list. :P
The Wizard of Oz isn't really a good read as a book.
I've been trying to get through Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell for about 6 months now, off and on. I don't know what all of the hype was about. It's slow and plodding pace and annoyingly dumb characters make it almost unreadable.
I thought Under Heaven had a sequel coming as well? I would've gone with Tigana which is a classic IMO. I also would've put The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King on this list.
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