In my previous article: http://bookstove.com/fantasy/top-10-fantasy-books-or-series-that-everyone-should-read/

I listed 10 books or series’ that I thought would not only give long time readers of the genre something new and interesting to read but also something for those new to fantasy to dive into.  After periodically checking back and looking at comments, as well as reading some new material over the last years, I have decided to expand my list.  This article is not a rebuttle to comments from prior readers and I have no intention of justifying my decisions one way or another.  The fantastic thing about speculative fiction is that there are so many books out there, and there’s at least one for everyone.

The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper.

I could not put this series down.  I remember listening to the first novel on tape on a long road trip to seattle but it was years ago and I just couldn’t get into it.  Then I saw that they were planning on making a movie about it, and since I try to read a book before going to see any movie based on it, I thought I’d give it a try.  What an experience it was.  I bought the entire series at Powell’s and went trhough it without a break.  Susan Cooper knows how to spin a good yarn, and has a writing style that is both evocative of welsh mythology, but also manages to capture the essence of youth, as these are intended to be children’s books.  As the books progress, deep Welsh mythology comes to light, and the Arthurian legends become a present theme.  Incidentally, I never saw the movie, which I never actually saw advertised on my local theater marquees, so I would imagine it turned out pretty badly.  

The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay.

I honestly feel bad that I didn’t have this read to put on my definitive list of fantasy because it would crack the top five, no doubt.  When it comes to contemporary fantasy I am a little skeptical.  Call me a purist, or a Tolkienist if you like but I enjoy worlds that are entirely fabricated, not just a little bit here and there.  The first novel in this series begins as you would expect a contemporary fantasy novel to, with the introduction of modern individuals worrying about modern problems.  The story didn’t pull me in immediately but the dialogue and Kay’s intelligent writing kept me involved long enough to get to the point where the modern world is left behind.  Our five characters from Toronto are transported into a fantasy world that has been fleshed out as well as Tolkien’s.  All of the situations are based on mythology and once again the Arthurian legends become part of the story (there is a trend here I think).  It was another series I just could not bring myself to put down.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I should have included this in the first list but I didn’t want to have multiple authors on the same list.  I am the type of guy that likes to read all of the histories of Tolkien, even though most people would find it dry, so it was hard to keep multiple Tolkien novels off of the list.  I think in some respects though, The Hobbit is a better book than The Lord of the Rings.  It never loses the reader for one thing, as it was written for young adults during that time period.  Long descriptions are sacrificed for story, which is the reason we all read in the first place, even though the writing is concise and well done.  More important than any thing else however, is that it’s fun!  I plan to read this book to my children when they’re still in the crib because I hope that the enjoyment I get from reading fun little “hobbitisms” will shine through and maybe make them laugh like it does me.  It’s the kind of novel that just makes me glad to be alive, and really, any book that does that is worth something.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Alright, I just said I didn’t really care for contemporary fantasy.  Well here’s the contradiction.  I’ll be frank, I don’t particularly care for Neil Gaiman’s writing style.  It’s too colloquial in a lot of ways, but considering the setting, it’s entirely appropriate.  What he does well, almost immediately, is begin an immersive story.  The premise is this: Gods exist because people create them.  When they migrate they take their gods with them.  Gods require worship to stay gods, in the same way that movie stars require adoration to stay rich.  When settlers from around the globe came to America, and god worship died off, the gods themselves had to find day jobs, and were less then average citizens.  Enter the main character, who is contacted by a mysterious man that hopes to bring the gods back into their old glory.  The book introduces a vast array of mythological gods and creatures, from different cultures and backgrounds, that all manage to mesh into one interesting story.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology as much as I do.

The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind

I had actually read these books long before I ever published any sort of article, but I felt that they resembled The Wheel of Time novels too much.  I realized that this was a narrow minded opinion, shallowly based on the fact that the novels are similar in length and the desire to branch off onto insignificant characters that only exist to add another camera angel to the story.  In most of my favorite novels the story is told in a third person narrative that follows the hero around, perhaps digressing to one or two other characters, but never more.  But I recently reread the first couple books in this series and I have to say that I enjoyed the story quite a bit.  I know that several readers of my first article thought this series should be included, and I have to agree.  There is a great deal of magic involved in the story, much more swords and sorcery than Tolkien probably ever envisioned.  Deep down I think magic is the basis for all fantasy novels in one way or another, and Goodkind makes use of it vigorously.

Dragonworld by Byron Preiss, Michael Reaves, and illustrated by Joseph Zucker.

I know, the title sounds a little cheesy, and, if you couldn’t guess it, the story involves dragons.  What makes this story so fun is the fact that it isn’t really about dragons.  It’s about two groups of people, both who think that killings in their lands are the fault of the other, but in reality are caused by winged creatures.  The story is told from the viewpoint of a cacophony of characters: a king, a farmer whose son is the first casuality in the conflict, an eccentric inventor trying to solve the truth behind the war, and a slew of other characters, all of which I think have a very prominent part to play in the story.  My favorite part of the book though, is the illustrations.  It’s almost like a reward every 30 or so pages to see a pencilled drawing done in the art style of Maruice Sendak.  You don’t see illustration in very many novels and it’s too bad, because it adds incredible depth to a story that cannot only be described in words.  Afterall, if a picture paints a thousand words, and you’re short on a word count…..(that’s not actually the case here).

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

It has to be said: J.K. Rowling spins an amazing story.  It doesn’t matter if she overuses her adverbs, particularly after dialogue.  It doesn’t matter if the dialogue in her stories seems childish or even a little corny.  What it boils down to is that the story in Harry Potter is dynamic, it grows up along with the characters, and it resonates with the youth of our age.  Both my brother and sister were thrust into the magical world of books because of Harry Potter and for that very reason I am eternally grateful J.K. Rowling decided to put her story to words.  I know most of you who are reading this list now have at least seen the movies, or hopefully have read the books so I won’t bore you with the details but know that you’ll be missing out on an incredible adventure if you don’t read these books.  I didn’t include them because I figured that people had already read them, but I know there are people out there that havn’t, and while I don’t have the audacity to think that many people will ever read this, I do hope it changes someone’s mind.

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip.

Patricia McKillip is my favorite author.  She writes with such a wonderful style that seems more like word painting than writing.  Her stories are always engaging and I’ve never turned to more novels in search of sentence phrasing and story telling in my own endeavors than hers.  This is her latest novel and I have to say it is probably my favorite.  It takes place in a coastal town, resting among cliffs and foamy surf that I can relate to especially well, living here in the Northwest.  The magic in this novel is subtle: a bell that rings every day from nowhere.  Most people ignore it, some don’t hear it, but others wonder what it’s meaning is.  It’s hard to nail down the time period but a lot of the meetings between people and the courtship rituals strike me as very Jane Austen, who, despite my grumblings to my wife, is a fantastic author.  Suffice it to say, I was captivated with every sentence.  Every word seemed deliberate, and I was never bored, which is impressive, given my flighty attention span.  I hope that those of you who read The Riddle Master Trilogy and enjoyed it will pick up this book as well.  At the very least it’s interesting to see the change that has occured from one of her earliest works to her latest one.

I wish I could include ten books this time around, but I havn’t read enough recently that I would share.  Anything by an author I have mentioned is worth reading, or at least taking a look at.  I love everything by Ursula K. LeGuin, and I’ll read just about everything Guy Gavriel Kay puts out, but I really only want to write a list to give people ideas for what to read; I don’t want to tell people what to read.  I know I didn’t include several novels in the list that many people have said over and over they would like to see, and I appologize if that upsets but I’ve read just about everything people have recommended, and some of it just didn’t resonate with me like I thought it might.  Everyone’s tastes are different and if you can ignore the l33t speak from some of the more colorful comments, I would take a look at the comments, lots of great books have been recommended there as well.  I hope to hear back from you all soon, and happy reading!  It’s what makes life worth clinging to.