It's been a very busy few weeks. Who woulda thunk that getting a publishing deal would require so much busy work. Fortunately, the folks at Harper Collins have been very helpful and understanding - so much so that I've had to start keeping a rapidly-growing list of names to go into my acknowledgements.
On top of all of that business, I've been hard at work building vegetable gardens in the back yard. I've never been a "green thumb" but I've decided that it'd be good for Darwin to have early exposure to gardening. Besides - he loves playing in the dirt. After next week, we should be past the "frost free" date here in Ontario and I should be able to start actually planting.
So the other day, I was approached by a friend of a friend and asked to recite the "top 5 or 10 definitive fantasy authors". She was looking to break into the genre and wanted to know who the must-reads were. I thought about it a while and gave her an answer reproduced here for posterity and curiosity's sake.
David Prophet's Definitive Fantasy Author List (in no particular order)
1. J. R. R. Tolkien. Whether you're a fan of the Lord of the Rings or not, there is no arguing that the fantasy genre would look very different today if it weren't for this one man.
2. Tanith Lee. "Tales from the Flat Earth" represent a very different approach to fantasy storytelling than Tolkien provided which is likely why it struck a powerful chord with me when I was young and stayed with me as a prime example of great fantasy fiction.
3. Steven Erickson. His "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series is, hands down, the best epic fantasy I've ever encountered. While some readers struggle with the length and pace of his books, I would argue that these are stories that you want to take a long time to finish.
4. Roger Zelazny. The Amber books are amazing and have withstood the test of time.
5. Glen Cook. Military grit meets epic sorcery, "The Black Company" books are often cited as inspiration by fantasy authors, including Erickson.
6. Michael Moorcock. Elric was developed as an anti-hero reversal of the types of over the top heroes that Tolkien was so fond of. Elirc has been around since the mid 60s and anyone serious about the fantasy genre should find a copy of Elric of Melnibon.
7. Robert E. Howard. He created the Conan character and is generally considered the father of the "swords and sorcery" sub-genre of fantasy.
8. Stephen Donaldson. The Thomas Covenant books are highly detailed, imaginative, and feature amazing characters. His science-fiction works shouldn't be missed either.
9. Raymond E. Feist. I read "Magician: Apprentice" one day when I was sick at age 11 or 12. It lit up my imagination as is still a favorite of mine and widely considered a classic.
10. Neil Gaiman. I'd say Gaiman is the master of the contemporary fairytale in my books. "American Gods" , "Anansi Boys", "Stardust", "Neverwhere", "Coraline", and even his latest "The Graveyard Book" are all top notch fantasy. His Sandman comics, while not novels, are still great works of modern fantasy.
Honorable Mentions:
- Lord Dunsany inspired many early fantasy writers and his "Book of Wonder" would could be chosen as a good example of "pre-Tolkien" fantasy.
- David Gemmell. The first time I read through "Legend" was during a particularly rough patch in my life and while the book may not be considered "high-art" by some, I'd say that it (along with some of his Waylander books) definitely fit into the category of "staple fantasy"
- C. S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia are held in high esteem by some folks. While I enjoyed the books, I found the allusions to Christianity intrusive and bothersome.
- Lewis Carroll. Alice is still falling down that rabbit hole.
- Robert Jordan. You won't be able to wonder the fantasy section of your local book store for long without encountering his name. I could never get past how derivative his books felt. Many people swear by them.
- George R R Martin. I think Martin could have been great but the constant delays between books and the relative awful quality of his most recent book "A Feast for Crows" leaves him off the list. Still, his books are entertaining and soon we'll see the tales retold in a forthcoming HBO series.
All for now.
On top of all of that business, I've been hard at work building vegetable gardens in the back yard. I've never been a "green thumb" but I've decided that it'd be good for Darwin to have early exposure to gardening. Besides - he loves playing in the dirt. After next week, we should be past the "frost free" date here in Ontario and I should be able to start actually planting.
So the other day, I was approached by a friend of a friend and asked to recite the "top 5 or 10 definitive fantasy authors". She was looking to break into the genre and wanted to know who the must-reads were. I thought about it a while and gave her an answer reproduced here for posterity and curiosity's sake.
David Prophet's Definitive Fantasy Author List (in no particular order)
1. J. R. R. Tolkien. Whether you're a fan of the Lord of the Rings or not, there is no arguing that the fantasy genre would look very different today if it weren't for this one man.
2. Tanith Lee. "Tales from the Flat Earth" represent a very different approach to fantasy storytelling than Tolkien provided which is likely why it struck a powerful chord with me when I was young and stayed with me as a prime example of great fantasy fiction.
3. Steven Erickson. His "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series is, hands down, the best epic fantasy I've ever encountered. While some readers struggle with the length and pace of his books, I would argue that these are stories that you want to take a long time to finish.
4. Roger Zelazny. The Amber books are amazing and have withstood the test of time.
5. Glen Cook. Military grit meets epic sorcery, "The Black Company" books are often cited as inspiration by fantasy authors, including Erickson.
6. Michael Moorcock. Elric was developed as an anti-hero reversal of the types of over the top heroes that Tolkien was so fond of. Elirc has been around since the mid 60s and anyone serious about the fantasy genre should find a copy of Elric of Melnibon.
7. Robert E. Howard. He created the Conan character and is generally considered the father of the "swords and sorcery" sub-genre of fantasy.
8. Stephen Donaldson. The Thomas Covenant books are highly detailed, imaginative, and feature amazing characters. His science-fiction works shouldn't be missed either.
9. Raymond E. Feist. I read "Magician: Apprentice" one day when I was sick at age 11 or 12. It lit up my imagination as is still a favorite of mine and widely considered a classic.
10. Neil Gaiman. I'd say Gaiman is the master of the contemporary fairytale in my books. "American Gods" , "Anansi Boys", "Stardust", "Neverwhere", "Coraline", and even his latest "The Graveyard Book" are all top notch fantasy. His Sandman comics, while not novels, are still great works of modern fantasy.
Honorable Mentions:
- Lord Dunsany inspired many early fantasy writers and his "Book of Wonder" would could be chosen as a good example of "pre-Tolkien" fantasy.
- David Gemmell. The first time I read through "Legend" was during a particularly rough patch in my life and while the book may not be considered "high-art" by some, I'd say that it (along with some of his Waylander books) definitely fit into the category of "staple fantasy"
- C. S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia are held in high esteem by some folks. While I enjoyed the books, I found the allusions to Christianity intrusive and bothersome.
- Lewis Carroll. Alice is still falling down that rabbit hole.
- Robert Jordan. You won't be able to wonder the fantasy section of your local book store for long without encountering his name. I could never get past how derivative his books felt. Many people swear by them.
- George R R Martin. I think Martin could have been great but the constant delays between books and the relative awful quality of his most recent book "A Feast for Crows" leaves him off the list. Still, his books are entertaining and soon we'll see the tales retold in a forthcoming HBO series.
All for now.
Now that the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and tulips are up I am missing my garden...sigh, apartment living.
Thanks for the recommended reading list, there are a few authors that I'm not familiar with. Some good Summer reading!
xo Ivy