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/lit/ - Literature

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6328246 No.6328246 [Reply] [Original]

What's the most unique and interesting work to have come out of the fantasy genre in recent years?

>> No.6328291

>>6328246

I don't know about the "most unique" but as far as interesting goes, I am partial to Michael Swanwick's The Iron Dragon's Daughter and The Dragons Of Babel.

Don't be fooled by the "dragons" in the title, it's actually a pretty refreshing and non-tolkenian take on fantasy.

>> No.6328350

>>6328246
I too am interested, have a bump.

>> No.6328361

The Dragon's Path is a good fantasy book by Daniel Abraham.
Magic is very subtle and stays a huge mystery to the point you're not even sure it's been used at all.
Delves a lot into political and financial fueds but does have its moments of action.

>> No.6328363

>>6328361
I've heard people call this ASOIAF-Lite.

>> No.6328370

>>6328246
Is there a fantasy book that focuses on a journey? Something that gives more importance to the landscapes and atmosphere then to an evil guy to defeat?

>> No.6328380

>>6328370
I haven't read it but I heard the Kingkiller Chronicles books are like that. But I also heard that they are extremely pretentious and the main character is the neckbeard authors self-insert.

>> No.6328392

>>6328380
That's unfortunate. To me the best part of fantasy books is the world, but the characters are usually very bad and spoil the book entirely.

>> No.6328417

>>6328392
It would be pretty cool to read a fantasy story focused on a non-heroic journey for once.

I sort of have an idea for a story like that, actually

>> No.6328436

>>6328417
I agree, it could even be a typical knight, butinstead of telling us how the knight saves the day, it could focus on him travelling through wonderful places alone, camping under the stars and resisting the cold weather. Something really simple but well described.

>> No.6328442

>>6328417
i feel like the heroic protagonist / good evil dichotomy excuses the genre. creates a conflict that makes you look beyond the setting

it would be interesting to read something as you described, but ultimately, a storyline needs some sort of conflict and if it's not big enough a conflict the reader may end up asking himself what the significance of that world would be, of creating that world ... you need to obfuscate the theme of escapism as a motivation to read/write that stuff that looms over the genre somehow

you get the feeling that if someone creates a story, a world, a setting so alien and elaborate there's a point they're trying to make. fairytales are an example of that i suppose

>> No.6328453

>>6328442
I guess the real problem is the incapability of most fantasy writers to create both a good story and a great world and making them work together. Or not writing shitty characters.

>> No.6328460

Eragon

>> No.6328463

>>6328436
I'm writing this.

>> No.6328466
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6328466

>>6328463
fuck

>> No.6328511

>>6328370
book of the new sun, though it's science fantasy

>> No.6328565
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6328565

>>6328466
originality is overrated. Execution is everything, and very few people can execute an idea well.

>>6328380
that's a pretty good description of the books.

>>6328246
I like Brandon Sanderson. Some think his writing is boring/sterile, but I feel that he writes expansive worlds with solid characters. Also, no self-inserts to be found here.

>> No.6328582

>>6328370
lileth (old)

>> No.6328720
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6328720

The Scavenger Trilogy by KJ Parker

>> No.6328733

>>6328291
>>6328291
This

>> No.6328738

>>6328246
The Lord of the Rings trilogy probably.

>> No.6328758

The Witcher series by Sapkowski

>> No.6328767

>>6328720
Is KJ Parker any good?
What are his/her best books?

>> No.6329271

bump

>> No.6329281

My butt

>> No.6329286

>>6328246
China Mieville and Susanna Clarke are two active fantasy writers who are very good. the best fantasies are still the older ones, though.

>> No.6329298

How about the Malazan series?

>> No.6329476
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6329476

>>6329286
>China Mieville

>> No.6329902

I can vouch for Kazou Ishiguro's new novel. I just finished it and I'm dead positive it'll be remembered and reread a hundred years from now..

>> No.6330069

>>6328291
>Michael Swanwick's The Iron Dragon's Daughter
>The dark and nihilistic tale follows Jane, a changeling girl who slaves at a dragon factory, building part-magical, part-cybernetic monsters that are used as jet fighters; until she crosses paths with an old, rusted dragon named Melanchthon and escapes.

ergh, how accurate is that?

>> No.6330091

The Night Circus, but the fantasy elements are very low-key.

>> No.6330100
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6330100

its a little bit twee but whatev

>> No.6330167

>>6328291
>the first is out of print
>the plot remind me of drakengard

;__;

>> No.6331195

>>6328767
He is

>> No.6331205

>>6330100
>all these footnotes building the world
>huge fake biography
>asshole characters

loved it

>> No.6331839

>>6328767
I've only read the Scavenger Trilogy, but it was pretty good--plenty of subtle, dark humor.

>> No.6331844

>>6330100
Probably my favorite book published after the turn of the millennium.

>> No.6331847

>>6328246
Fantasy can't escape the law of sturgeon

>> No.6331943

>>6328291
>and non-tolkenian take on fantasy
Dragons aren't "tolkienian", you mong.

>>6330069
>ergh, how accurate is that?
Not very. It's po-mo, Swanwick talks a lot about 'prime reality' intersecting with 'fantasy reality' (references Louis Armstrong and other pop-culture IRL things), there's a whole huge plot about 9/11, etc.

>> No.6333053
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6333053

>>6328246
This. I like Sanderson's Cosmere. Only thing I don't like is the one forum that tracks all of this shit makes it hard to learn new information if you don't actively visit every single day.

>> No.6333419

>>6333053
I heard Mistborne is basically a shonen anime though

>> No.6333487

The Prince of Nothing

>> No.6333570

fantasy nerds always have the worst taste which is a shame because there's so much great fantasy literature

>> No.6333609

>>6333570
name some? i'd be interested in picking them up. i have no experience with fantasy. already picked three from this thread though.

>> No.6333788
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6333788

>>6333419
Not really.