Fantasy that's NOT Tolkien or C. S. Lewis?

Started by Bernadette, August 23, 2024, 04:57:11 PM

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james03

#15
August 27, 2024, 07:50:48 AM
"But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn 3:18)."

"All sorrow leads to the foot of the Cross.  Weep for your sins."

"Although He should kill me, I will trust in Him"

Bernadette

#16
August 27, 2024, 08:09:28 AM
Quote from: james03 on August 27, 2024, 07:50:48 AMhttps://www.amazon.com/Throne-Bones-Arts-Dark-Light-ebook/dp/B0CXR3Q4Z8

$1.98 for the Kindle edition.
Thank you! This looks good, and it's nice and long, too. And so cheap!
My Lord and my God.
Ven. Matt Talbot, pray for Tom.

Melkor

#17
August 27, 2024, 09:07:37 AM Last Edit: August 27, 2024, 09:16:56 AM by Melkor
I've heard good things about Dune series. Malazan series is highly acclaimed as well; although I have read neither. My own personal favourite besides Tolkien; the Ravens Mark series, is graphic and gory; perhaps in an immature way at times. The protagonist is also a severely flawed character; an alcoholic with mood swings and violent urges he satisfies by being a bounty hunter. So I wouldn't recommend that to a lady; in fact you would find it distasteful I bet.

The Powder Mage trilogy is good; if you like guns and explosives at least. Any of Brandon Sanderson's stuff is pretty good as well.

The thing about fantasy is that it's all  influenced in some way off of LOTR and Tolkien's other works. The whole thing of creating separate universes, coining new words, orc like monsters etc.

On a side note, as a 12 year old who had become fascinated with Tolkien I tried reading Narnia and was thoroughly disappointed. Childish, distinct lack of violence, far too easy to read and yet absorb nothing. With Tolkien you could read the same paragraph 5 times and still have food for thought. It's a deeper style.

Edit to add: the Age of Tyranny books; there's only two (in an age of trilogies lol) which is tasteful, you're left wanting more at the end but also satisfied . An author's greatest mistake is losing his own audience by dragging the story out. Unique magic building; good fast paced action , great story.
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.

"Am I not here, I who am your mother?" Mary to Juan Diego

"Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer's day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented." G.K. Chesterton

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill." Jesus Christ

Michael Wilson

#18
August 27, 2024, 04:29:17 PM
Re. "fagotry" in in W.O.T. There is some of that, but it isn't portrayed explicitly, more like in passing; none of the main heroes are fags. Jordan was trying to portray a non-Christian world, where all kinds of behavior is seen, but depending on whose point of view it is being seen through, it is either condemned (as in the case of the villagers) or regarded as "normal" by more "civilized" characters. The other thing is that there is no explicit sex scenes, and no cussing except in the cussing that is in their world, which does not involve any of our cuss words.
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers

james03

#19
August 28, 2024, 07:36:26 AM
To be clear, Jordan didn't write the faggotry scene.  That was the replacement.

As for the series, I read perhaps three of them.  The first one was good, and the others were acceptable.  After three books I realized the story wasn't really progressing.  It was basically more world building, which was interesting for a few books, but became tired.  So I skipped the rest.

When it was announced the final book was out (over a two decades later), I read the cliff notes on Wikipedia for the ones I skipped (evidently didn't miss much) and bought the final book.  And got to read the faggot scene.

My summary is that the first book is cool with good story, character development, and world building.  After awhile it is just world building.  That's interesting, but not enough.

And I admit I didn't read most of the series, so maybe some of the later books were good.
"But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn 3:18)."

"All sorrow leads to the foot of the Cross.  Weep for your sins."

"Although He should kill me, I will trust in Him"

james03

#20
August 28, 2024, 07:40:27 AM
Another suggestion, I remember that Eragon by Christopher Paolini was a good book.  It is about dragon riders.
"But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn 3:18)."

"All sorrow leads to the foot of the Cross.  Weep for your sins."

"Although He should kill me, I will trust in Him"

Maximilian

#21
August 28, 2024, 10:31:25 AM
Quote from: james03 on August 28, 2024, 07:36:26 AMAs for the series, I read perhaps three of them.  The first one was good, and the others were acceptable.  After three books I realized the story wasn't really progressing.  It was basically more world building, which was interesting for a few books, but became tired.  So I skipped the rest.

Yes, this is a good overview. I picked up I think it was Vol 10, and tried to read, and he was busy adding new characters. Lots of new characters. Whose names I would never remember and didn't intend to try. And that was just in the (overly long) prologue. He had lost his grip on the story.

Previously Robert Jordan had claimed, "Don't worry if the story seems to be expanding beyond control. Before I started writing Vol 1 I had already created an outline of the complete resolution of the story in 9 volumes. So just wait and see, it's all going to come together." Well that was a failure. Vol 9 had come and gone and not only was the story not completed, but it was becoming more chaotic.

On the other hand, in the first 8 volumes or so you can still enjoy a lot of classic fantasy that made Jordan a best-selling author.

Melkor

#22
August 28, 2024, 11:18:18 AM
Quote from: james03 on August 28, 2024, 07:40:27 AMAnother suggestion, I remember that Eragon by Christopher Paolini was a good book.  It is about dragon riders.

They're decent. Not exactly "High fantasy" but entertaining and clean.
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.

"Am I not here, I who am your mother?" Mary to Juan Diego

"Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer's day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented." G.K. Chesterton

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill." Jesus Christ

TradGranny

#23
August 28, 2024, 02:42:24 PM
Quote from: Michael Wilson on August 27, 2024, 04:29:17 PMR Jordan was trying to portray a non-Christian world, where all kinds of behavior is seen,

Like the great CAtholic author Flannery O'Connor.
To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that.
Saint Teresa of Avila

Michael Wilson

#24
August 28, 2024, 04:17:46 PM
Everyone's taste is different; I read Miss O'C. In our High School English class, and found her to be disappointing in that she was more of an author who happened to be Catholic than a Catholic author. As far as I remember, none of her stories were inspiring; and the one about the fat girl with the prosthetic leg that gets semi-seduced and hoodwinked by a traveling salesman, was pointless to me, unless one wants to make the argument that unhappy rude people get their comeuppance eventually.
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers

GMC

#25
August 30, 2024, 11:04:24 AM Last Edit: August 30, 2024, 11:51:09 AM by GMC
I like Robert E. Howard (Conan, Solomon Kane, etc) yeah is fantasy, but it's more like Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. These type of Adventure Books Writters, it's not like Tolkien's Classic Fantasy.

Melkor

#26
August 30, 2024, 11:11:13 AM
Quote from: GMC on August 30, 2024, 11:04:24 AMI like Robert E. Howard (Conan, Solomon Kane, etc) yeah is fantasy, but it's more like Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. These type of Adventure Books Writters, it's not like Tolkien's Fairy Tales.

Fairy tales? It's a mythology. Get help.
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.

"Am I not here, I who am your mother?" Mary to Juan Diego

"Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer's day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented." G.K. Chesterton

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill." Jesus Christ

GMC

#27
August 30, 2024, 11:30:08 AM Last Edit: August 30, 2024, 11:51:57 AM by GMC
Quote from: Melkor on August 30, 2024, 11:11:13 AMFairy tales? It's a mythology. Get help.

Yeah, but I used the word in the same sense as Tolkien do in his Essay about Fairy Tales, where he relates then with mitology.

https://coolcalvary.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/on-fairy-stories1.pdf

You should read this, it's interesting and he explain the origin of his fantasy.

The point of my previous comment was that the writter I quoted is more like the adventure writtters of the 19th and early 20th centuries than the classic fantasy.

Edited, to avoid confussions.
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