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‘The Book of the Short Sun is a 3-book cycle that takes place after his ‘The Book of the Long Sun’ (which is the sequel to Wolfe’s magnum Opus ‘The Book of the New Sun’) a 4 book cycle. There really isn’t much to say, if you read ‘The Book of the New Sun’ first and enjoyed what is among the finest works of speculative fiction one can read IMHO, than reading ‘The Book of the Long Sun’ and ‘Short Sun’ is already a known must. If for some reasons you have the misfortune of having overwhelming bad taste, and did not like ‘The Book of the New Sun’ don’t read on. Something to make things easier when reading ‘The Book of the Long Sun’, it can be obtained in a two volume set called, one called ‘Litany of the Long Sun’ which contains the first 2 books, and the other ‘Epiphany of the Long Sun’ which contains the latter two. |
A Collection of 21 stories by some authors who are among the true masters of the genre. No, not Jordan, Goodkind or Brooks, but authors like Michael Moorcock (who is well represented on my list) Tamar Yellin (author of ‘Genizah at the House of Shepher’), Zoran Zivkovic (author of the ’Fourth Circle’), Jeffrey Ford, Jeff VanderMeer etc. |
Mystery/PI/SF novel about dark, sarcastic, novel chronicling dete4ctive Conrad Metcalf in a post-apocalyptic world. I read it because I’m a fan of both SF and mystery and this was billed as a cross of Philip K. Dick/Raymond Chandler. Doesn’t get much better than that. |
I read Rhys Hughes homage to Borges earlier this year, ‘A New Universal History of Infamy’ and became an instant fan. ‘Nowhere Near Milkwood’ is a collection of related stories that exhibits Hughes’ vivid imagination and precision as a writer. |
What? A Forgotten Realms series? A Wizards of the Coast series? It is true I mildly enjoy some WOTC products and authors; although I do think the vast majority of the bulk of the work is at best sub-par, some just downright awful, (see ‘City of Towers’ (Keith Baker), or ‘Silverfall’ (Ed Greenwood) for such examples.) however, for the last year or so I have been pushing ‘The Ervis Cale’ trilogy. Not only do I think it’s the best-written series in the history of Forgotten Realms, but it’s just a damn good series period. Kemp avoids the pitfalls that many authors in the line suffer from by allowing his characters to unfold in his stories developing due to the plot, and not just telling us about the characters. He also gives gravity to the secondary characters, making them more than props to interact with the focus character who is an assassin/butler and is by far the most interesting character in the Forgotten Realms line I have read about. I simply cannot wait for ‘Midnight Mask’ due out in November, and that is something I haven’t said about a WOTC product in a long time. Don’t be deluded and miss out on good reads because of some personal stance of false-academia you attribute to yourself that would normally sway you from reading a novel from this line. This series is thus far damn good. |
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Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the consistently solid authors in fantasy, I’m not quite as taken with his work as some are, but no one can deny his inclusion on such a list, and ‘Tigana’ is in my mind his best work. Kay’s trademark, realistic almost alternative history-like format is impeccable as usual, Kay’s simple concept of a group simply trying to regains there names, but with it their legacy, and true identity. Gay’s character interactions shine in ‘Tigana’, as he maneuvers us through a huge cast of characters. |
It’s not a secret I‘m a fan of China Mieville’s work. ‘King Rat’ is his first novel, and not connected with his Bas-lag novels, and is a dark, urban tale that twists the classic Pied Piper of Hamelin tale, all being wrapped in London/underground backdrop powered by the culture of jungle music. Admittedly I enjoy the Bas-lag novels more, but that is no slight as I consider them among the very best books to come out in years. |
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Fascinating time-travel novel, Jeff Winston keeps dying on the same date only to be reborn again with his memories intact. Grimwood’s take of Winston is one that offers more realism than the standard time travel fare that always seems to circulate around a major event. The cast of characters also includes other replayers Winston meets, and magnifies the objective of Winston’s work to focus on the characters and the affect of the time traveling, and not the science behind it. |
In my opinion the best Barker work. Barker’s world consist of 5 dimensions or “Dominions”, our world is the fifth of these. An attempt to bring the fifth dimension back into the fold with the other was failed in the past and since than magic has all but disappeared from our dimension and we have been governed by science and in this work is another attempt to reconcile the dimensions before it’s to late. Do not be fooled by Hellraiser reputation of Barker that many seem to categorize him as. This is a fantastic novel, as was ‘Weaveworld’ and his more recent ‘Abarat’ works. |
I have been reading a lot of collections lately, and have found they are absolutely incredible. Examples by Neal Gaiman, Jeffrey Ford, Jeff VanderMeer, Holly Phillips, Ramsey Campbell, Rhys Hughes, have completely amazed me recently. Kelly Link is no different with her Collection of 11 fantasy tales. There are examples here like the “Girl Detective’ that are among the best shorts I have read. |
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