Sir Terence David John Pratchett, famous for wearing his black cowboy hat (and sometimes other strange hat-like creations), was born on April 28, 1948. He is extremely popular in Great Britain and also very successful around the world. Novels of his famous fantasy series Discworld have sold tens of millions of times.
Pratchett’s Discworld novels are by far the greatest example of humour in the fantasy genre. Stories by the hand of Pratchett are always brilliantly written with a lot of word puns and strange but fascinating characters, often resembling to other fictional of real persons.
Combined with well-thought-of storylines in a carefully created world, this makes for highly entertaining novels. Pratchett is not afraid to combine classic fantasy with lots of humour and modern-day political and social themes and issues.
Discworld
As mentioned above, the most famous work of Terry Pratchett is his Discworld series. Or better, the collections of novels with stories taking place in the Discworld. Over the last 25 or so years, Pratchett has written close to forty of these higly acclaimed Discworld novels with titles as Night Watch, Hogfather, Going Postal, Mort and Guards! Guards! among the most most popular and best known examples.
Allthough not being a fan of Hollywood, several of Terry Pratchett’s novels have also been made into television movies.
Sadly, Pratchett is suffering from a form of Alzheimer. We can only hope he will stay healthy and writing fit for a long time to come and will extend his Discworld empire even further.
Written between 1977 and 1983 by Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant tell the tale of a leper who is despised in real life and very frustrated with himself.
After an accident Covenant enters a magical Land (possibly in his own mind) where he is healthy again and is considered a hero destined to defeat an evil lord. Covenant struggles to believe the world is real and tries to prove it is not, while against his wil he does take upon himself the role of defeating The Despiser.
The story takes place in a fantasy world which is very well created and often regarded as of the same level as Tolkiens Middle-earth. However, the story itself and the characters are not that comparable to Lord of the Rings.
The main character, Thomas Covenant, is an unstable, bitter man and the story is dark and psychological, with deap meanings and moral issues. This might scare away the average, casual fantasy reader but at the same time it will grip the attention of many. I believe it is a series that should definitely be read.
In the late seventies and early eighties Stephen R. Donaldson wrote two Covenant trilogies, the first being “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever” and the second aptly called “The second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant”.
“The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” is currently in the making. Donaldson has written and published first three books and one more is still to come.
Born on January 22, 1906 in Texax, Robert Ervin Howard became famous in the world of fantasy and literature as the the creator of Conan the Barbarian and the Sword & Sorcery fantasy genre.
Howard grew up in a booming oil town in Texas where he also spent most of his life. He was very interested in becoming a writer since he was young and starting writing when he was in his teens. Although he had a difficult start, Howard became a popular author and was able to live from his writing. Howard wrote stories and novels, mostly surrounding fantasy and western themes with his Conan stories as his pinnacle. He became friends with H.P. Lovecraft, another fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his novel The Call of Cthulhu.
After hearing that his mother had slipped into a coma and was about to die, Robert E. Howard committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He was aged only 30.
Conan and other works
In his short life Howard has written quite a few stories and short novels. Most of these were horror and fantasy related but later on in his life he also started writing western stories.
By far the most famous character Howard created was Conan the Barbarian. After the stories of Kull were not received well, Howard changed the character into Conan and changed the stories to become more dark and brutal. They show the downsides of civilication like corruption and oppression. Conan, on the contrary, is honest, straightforward, speaks his mind and does what is right.
Over the years Howard wrote serveral Conan stories, with his main outlet for his writing being the magazine Weird tales. Howard also published several novels containing one or more Conan stories.
Conan was always depicted as the barbaric warrior who, depending on the story, saved a damsel in distress or fought an evil oppressor. Howard’s worlds are full of violence in which magic is used by Conan’s enemies.
This type of hero and storyline inspired many other authors and were the basis for what we now know as Sword & Sorcery. Throughout the twentieth century Howard’s work was more and more seen as important and influential literature, making him one to be considered as one of the best fantasy authors of all time. His influence and fame grew even more by the movies that were made based on his stories and characters, especially the cult movies Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer and Red Sonja, all starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By creating the character of Conan the Barbarian and Sword & Sorcery, Howard has had enormous effect on the fantasy genre, influencing many authors even to this day.
Robert Jordan created a fantasy series spanning a total of 14 books (of which two still have to be completed by Brandon Sanderson). Written over a time of more than two decades, The Wheel of Time series is one of the legends of the fantasy genre.
The series is about the young sheepherder Rand al’Thor who turns out to be the only hope the world has in defeating the Dark One. In a world where women are allowed to channel (use magic), the Wheel of Time spins round and round: every Age going through the same struggle between good and evil. Always there is a so-called Dragon who stands against the Dark One but turns out to be unable to utterly defeat him. This Age, Rand al’Thor is the Dragon Reborn and with the help of many, many friends, he just might pull it of.
The Wheel of Time is a great and influential series with the cliché story of a simple boy who turns out to be the great hero. However, these series is well written with original ideas and approaches, both when it comes to story telling and in relation to the use of magic.
A lot of attention is given to the personal issues of the main characters and development of them throughout the books but the series is often considered to be a bit too extensive and having too many characters. It feels like the story could have been told in three books or perhaps a some more and that now it just drags on.
Author Robert Jordan passed away in 2007 before finishing the 12th book of the series. He has handed over the torch to Brandon Sanderson who completed the Gathering Storm in 2009. Hopefully he can write a satisfying end to the series.
The Books
1. The Eye of the World
2. The Great Hunt
3. The Dragon Reborn
4. The Shadow Rising
5. The Fires of Heaven
6. Lord of Chaos
7. A Crown of Swords
8. The Path of Daggers
9. Winter’s Heart
10. Crossroads of Twilight
11. Knife of Dreams
12. The Gathering Storm
13. Towers of Midnight
14. A Memory of Light (forthcoming)
Steven Erikson is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian author born on October 7, 1959. He has written some novels under his real name but became famous as the author of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, one of the greatest fantasy series ever written.
By writing this critically acclaimed series he has received much appreciation and gained a large fanbase. To me Erikson is one of the finest authors of the moment and may likely become one of the greatest ever.
Erikson started writing quite late in his life and only wrote some short stories before starting on Gardens of the Moon, the first book in the Malazan series. The Malazan world he had created together with Ian Cameron Esslemont, author of several other novels in the Malazan universe with several of the main characters of Erikson’s books.
Erikson tried selling this Gardens of the Moon, at first even intended as a movie script, in the early nineties but was unable to so. Eventually, in 1999 publisher Transworld published the book and after its succes paid Erikson £675,000 to write 9 other novels to complete the series.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is fantasy series consisting of 10 novels, telling the story about Gods and humans and the wars they fight and games they play. In the middle of all that, the Malazan empire, expanded over several continents, is slowly collapsing. As a reader you mainly follow a group oe Malazan soldiers and their battles against incredible powerful wizards, scary demons, ambitious ascendants and scheming Gods while at the same time you also look at the world and conflicts from the point of view of the enemies of the empire. Read more about The Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Steven Erikson writes like the devil himself is on his heels, producing a book almost every year. I also do not know another author who writes this intense on such an epic scale. Hopefully, he has something in mind after he finished his fantastic Malazan Book of the Fallen series.
Although I haven’t read the novel yet and therefore cannot post a review on it, I at least wanted to bring the news that Guy Gavriel Kay has published his latest book: “Under Heaven”.
This eleventh novel of the author of Tigana is set in the Tang Dynasty of 8th-century China and tells the story of Shen-Tai, the son of a general who sees it as his duty to his father to mourn and bury the soldiers who died in a battle in which also his father was killed. Not only does he bury the soldiers of his own people but also the enemy dead. Then he receives an unexpected gift of 250 rare horses from a princess that turns out to be a gift that will change his life. Shen-Tai has to return from his exile to his home city. As the gift is extremely precious, people are willing to kill for it which is why Shen-Tai has to go to extraordinarely lengths to protect his life.
So far Under Heaven seems to have been well-received so I am looking forward to reading this novel. If anyone has already read it, feel free to comment as long as you don’t give away major spoilers!
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born op January 3, 1892. As author of The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and especially The Lord of The Rings, Tolkien is seen by many as the best and most influential fantasy author. Personally I have put him on a second place as there is one author who’s style I prefer but I too cannot deny that no other author has done more for the genre genre than J.R.R. Tolkien.
Most important works
Everyone with even the slightest interest in fantasy is of course familiar with the pinnacle of Tolkien’s works: The Lord of the Rings. Translated into dozens of languages and read by millions, LOTR has become one of the major literature works of the 20th century. In turn, the movies were the cinematic highlights of the first decade of the new millennium.
Next to The Lord of The Rings, Tolkien also wrote The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. The Hobbit has more of a fairytale feeling to it, describing the adventures of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins who, together with a group of dwarves, tries to steal back a treasure from the dragon Smaug.
The Silmarillion is a collection of stories and descriptions of Middle-Earth before the age in which The Lord of The Rings is set. When Tolkien died he had not finished the collection but his son Christopher Tolkien, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay (author of Tigana) completed the book in 1977.
Style of writing
Tolkien’s writing style may not the most accessible ever. He liked to write elaboratively about the settings of his stories and to go in much detail about the world, the races and the characters he created. He even went as far as creating complete mythologies and languages, like Elvish. Personnaly I do not dislike his way of writing but I can definitely imagine people growing quite tired of it.
To conclude: the world and stories Tolkien has created are simply fantastic and by writing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings he produced the main landmarks of the fantasy genre. He deserves all the recognition and credit he has gotten and I wish he could have seen the full impact of his works.
George Raymond Richard Martin was born on September 20, 1948 in New Jersey. He grew up with an affection for comic books, science fiction and fantasy. He has written many novels, was involved in television productions and edited comic books like Wild Cards but really became famous as the writer of the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Without judging on any of his other achievements, Ice & Fire made Martin famous. Fans and enemies alike admit that no mather if you are into this “low style” of fantasy, it is brilliantly thought up and written. George R.R. Martin has been able to create a fresh, new fantasy world in which a well written, original and complex story is told that really takes hold of you as a reader. The Song of Ice & Fire is well on its way of becoming one of the greatest fantasy series ever.
Early 2010 it was announced that a television series, called Games of Thrones, will even be made of A Song of Ice & Fire. This TV series will further increase the popularity of George Martin as an author.
Personally, I believe Martin to be the greatest fantasy author currently alive and writing. He keeps himself very busy with all kinds of activities related to writing, books and comic books but I hope that he will find time to focus a bit more on completing the next part of the series: Dance of Dragons.
For more information about George R.R. Martin and his works, go to his Official website.
Almost all good fantasy stories come in the form of series. As discussed earlier, it is difficult to find a single book containing a good and well-balanced fantasy story. The genre has a preference for series, probably because it provides more room for building and describing the world the author has created.
Written in 1990 by Guy Gavriel Kay, Tigana is one of the few exceptions to the rule. Kay has managed to encompass his fantasy story in one book and, while not focusing on too much details, did make it feel like a real world and also made enough pages available for character development.
The story
Tigana tells the story of a peninsula called the Palm, ruled by two foreign sorcerers and their armies, dividing the continent in two parts. The sorcerer king Brandin lost his son during the conquest of one of the kingdoms of the peninsula called Tigana and therefore cast a spell to make all people, except those from Tigana, forget the name of the kingdom. Together with several other people Alessan, the former Prince of Tigana, plots not only to kill Brandin but also the other sorcerer Alberico of Barbadior. Alessan sees killing them at the same time as the only way to really free Palm from the oppressors.
Another main part of the story is the life of Dianora, a woman from Tigana who intented to kill Brandin but becomes part of his harem, falls in love with him and ends up as his wife.
Both story lines slowly come together throughout the book and as a reader you find out how the characters are connected to each other and how the story will play out in the end.
Conclusion
Tigana is a great book, with a good story, original concepts and interesting characters. Magic, and with it fantasy, is not a very big element in Tigana. Wizards mostly have subtle powers like influencing other people.Therefore, the book can be considered as low fantasy.
I have to admit that I haven’t read other books by Guy Gavriel Kay but, based on Tigana, I will definitely do so in the future.
Being a soldier is probably never easy but being a Bridgeburner in the armies of the Malazan Empire really sucks.
It is quite difficult to shortly describe this story thought up by Steven Erikson as there are so many different story lines being told and so many characters that play a role in the books. If I have to give it a try, I would say it is a story about Gods and humans and the wars they fight and games they play. In the middle of all that, the Malazan empire, expanded over several continents, is slowly collapsing. As a reader you mainly follow a group of Malazan soldiers and their battles against incredible powerful wizards, scary demons, ambitious ascendants and scheming Gods while at the same time you also look at the world and conflicts from the point of view of the enemies of the empire.
Besides the enormous quantities of magic and action in the series, another great aspect of The Malazan Book of the Fallen is that on the one hand, no one in these series seems to be without some kind of ability while on the other hand everyone, even the most powerful, are vulnerable in some way. And the Gods are probably more afraid of mortals than the other way around.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is my all time number 3 favorite fantasy series and for a good reason. Written by Steven Erikson, according to many, including myself, one of the finest fantasy authors around, it is fantasy to its extreme, epic, overpowering, almost more you can handle. Everyone is special and everyone is flawed. A character in a book of Steven Erikson will have no clue as to what will be waiting for him around the next corner as is the case for you as a reader.
The series can be seen as a bit over the top but personally I love it. Especially the last 100 pages of each book are simply fantastic.All in all, the Malazan Book of the Fallen series is one of the greatest fantasy series around.
The Books:
1. Gardens of the Moon (1999)
2. Deadhouse Gates (2000)
3. Memories of Ice (2001)
4. House of Chains (2002)
5. Midnight Tides (2004)
6. The Bonehunters (2006)
7. Reaper’s Gale (2007)
8. Toll the Hounds (2008)
9. Dust of Dreams (2009)
10. The Crippled God (forthcoming)
As regular visitors of this website will know, I greatly admire George R.R. Martin and his Song of Ice & Fire series. The storylines are so deep and the books so well written that he is todays number one writer and Ice & Fire the number one series.
The story is about politics and warfare: the most powerful Houses of Westeros are fighting for the throne, while at the Wall in the north long-forgotten, mythical enemies gather for invasion. At the same time, on another continent, a young girl – the righteous queen of Westeros according to some – prepares for an invasion of her own. And she will bring some interesting pets to battle…
There is a lot of focus on character development. At first several members of the Stark family are followed but later on in the series more and more characters get importants roles in the story, partly because some of the original ‘main characters’ have died. Another interesting point is that the characters are rarely simply black or white, good or evil. Everyone has his/her doubts and everyone has a dark and/or weak side.
Fantasy does not have a prominent place in A Song of Ice & Fire, certainly not in the beginning of the series. Especially in the beginning of the series you might think you are reading a historical novel but more and more fantasy elements are introduced. Examples are the mysterious Others who threaten the northern Wall and the dragons of Daenerys.
The Books:
1. A Game of Thrones (1996)
2. A Clash of Kings (1998)
3. A Storm of Swords (2000)
4. A Feast for Crows (2005)
5. A Dance with Dragons (Forthcoming)
6. The Winds of Winter (Forthcoming)
7. A Dream of Spring (Forthcoming)
George R.R. Martins writing skills, together with many, interesting plots, unexpected turns and incredible characters, make this series a masterpiece. All the better is the news that a television series based on the first book of the series (A Games of Thrones) will be produced. If only Martin had a bit more “writers testosterone” and would also focus part of his attention on completing the next books in the series…
