Please Recommend me a Book

[temporary]

I realise there must be dozens of such posts, but I'm looking for something specific rather than something to begin with.

Could you please recommend some fantasy title (not science fiction!) that would have, generally speaking, Tolkienesque Elves and Vampires/Necromancers (and of course the usual humans, dwarves, dragons, etc.). Something that would have the 'classical' interpretation of creatures, like - pray forgive me for giving an example from a game, but I haven't read that much books - in Heroes of Might and Magic III, e.g. normal (tall and angelic) Elves and no dark Elves. Also with more of an emphasis on magic rather than adventure, and finally (and importantly) that the book is serious in style - epical, almost poetical like the Lord of the Rings, and not a fairy tale or too comercial and cliched. The longer the better.

Hope I haven't been too annoying or too picky. Thanks in advance!

 

[GrownUp]

Magician (Extended Edition)- Raymond E Feist

no actual vampires, though

 

[sanityassassin]

Strange grownup I had the exact same thought.

 

[temporary]

Right on! I'll start reading it right away. Thanks a lot and keep the recommendations coming.

And a small question along a similar line, do you know any Scandinavian Fantasy authors, particularly Swedish (again serious literature, not fairy tales!)?

 

[nixie]

Sorry don't know any Scandinavian authors.as to your orginal question, Msgician as mentioned but you may also like Terry Brook's Sword of Shannara, no dragons though

 

[Nokia]

You could also try Eragon followed by Eldest by Chris Paolini. It doesn't have Vampires, but it's got everything else you mentioned. There is an adventurous storyline, but there's also an emphasis on magic. I'm hesitant whether to say it's cliched or not... what's the difference between cliched and traditional?

 

[Brys]

Perhaps the King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany? It's relatively traditional, has elves, as you would expect, has a very poetical style and is one of the influences on Tolkien. There's quite a bit of magic in it as well. It's quite a short book though (about 250 pages), and it doesn't have much of the other creatures - dragons, dwarves etc, but rather those that derive from fairy tales (not that this is what this novel is).

 

[temporary]

/This message was released by accident and I couldn't delete it. I apologise./

 

[temporary]

Thank you all for these recommendations - I'm compiling a list already. You have been most kind & obliging. As for...

I'm hesitant whether to say it's cliched or not... what's the difference between cliched and traditional?

Actually it's hard for me to say that either. I didn't make myself quite clear back there.

I suppose under 'cliched' and (particularly) 'commercial' I mean literature that seems to have been written for the public rather, that is, to oblige it, whereas the author's focus should always be the work itself (and I'd say for itself, but many - including authors - would argue against this point). And also, particularly under cliched , I mean the style of comic books with their undefeatable heroes and detective stories, etc.

For example, I read Salvatore's trilogy Ice Wind Dale, but it just didn't move me somehow. I'd define it as commercial. The best literature to my standards is from the Romanticism. But no fantasy there, so anything in the style of the Lord of the Rings (which I deem quite perfect) would do. And at the end of this ridiculously long explanation I must note that I mean no offence to anyone and that these are the mere observations and undeserved preferences of an inexperienced dilettante.

 

[Nokia]

Oh. Well I think you should give Paolini a try. It's not a close replica of an already succesful book (as far as I'm aware!), it's definately got some storylines I haven't seen used anywhere else, so even if it is 'cliched', it's got a hint of originality as well. And that's a really big 'if'.

 

[scalem X]

And a small question along a similar line, do you know any Scandinavian Fantasy authors, particularly Swedish (again serious literature, not fairy tales!)?

there is this Finnish guy/girl on the forums and I believe (s)he's written some books, don't know if (s)he writes fantasy though. Auer is his/her member name, maybe you could message him/her to ask.

 

[Panamon Creel]

I would agree with the person who recommended Terry Brooks, Sword of Shannara and subsequent Shannara books. They are the only ones I can think of that come closest to ticking most of the boxes you've mentioned.

 

[enchanted_ghost2001]

You might try Teresa Edgerton's books if you can find them. Especially the ones set in the kingdom of Celydonn.

 

[direghost]

Tad Williams Memory Sorrow & Thorn has elves (called Sithi I think but clearly elves) and dragons... It's fairly somber in tone and quite long. Not sure about Vampire/Necromancers, other than Sauron in the Hobbit, D&D novels, and maybe Sarah Ash's Tears of Artamon trilogy I can't really think of any fantasy series with lots of vampires or undead.

 

[iansales]

Shadowkings, Shadowgod and Shadowmasque by Michael Cobley.

 

[Tau Zero]

You should definitely look at Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde Trilogy. Be forwarned, though, it is not a quick read. She writes very well and uses greater than average sentence complexity. I found it a delight, but i can see how it would not be for everyone.

Also check out Poul Anderson's Broken Sword. He used many of the same sources as Tolkien (hence the title). Anderson also wrote Three Hearts and Three Lions, which, if memory serves me right, deals with Faerie.

Raymond Feist - Faerie Tale

 

[temporary]

Wow, I see I still get replies. Thank you all very much! List getting longer yet. I can't wait to start... once I've survived my exams session, that is.

 

[j d worthington]

I would second Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter; Dunsany was a major influence on fantasy for the 20th century, starting with his first eight collections of short stories; pithy, beautifully written, and quite exquisite. While they come close at times to fairy tales, they are written on a very adult level, full of philosophical insights and mature characterizations while using that lovely quasi-Biblical language to enhance and distance. I'm not sure which of these are in print at present, though I know Wildside Press here in the states has reprinted some:

The Gods of Pegana (1905)
Time and the Gods (1906)
The Sword of Welleran (1908)
A Dreamer's Tales (1910)
The Book of Wonder (1912)
Fifty-one Tales (1915)
The Last Book of Wonder (British title: Tales of Wonder) (1916)
Tales of Three Hemispheres (1919)

Some of William Morris' books would also fit what you describe, The Wood Beyond the World being one. George MacDonald's Lilith and Phantastes have a slightly different, though traditionally based, use of Faerie, and, like Anderson's The Broken Sword, tend to be rather dark (Anderson's The Merman's Children is also a good choice).

Then there are some books that were included in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series of the late 60s-early 70s, such as Land of Unreason by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (several printings), Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, Evangeline Walton's four-volume adaptation of the Mabinogion: The Island of the Mighty, The Children of Lyr, The Song of Rhiannon and Prince of Annwn. Also, you might want to check out Fletcher Pratt's The Well of the Unicorn -- a very meaty fantasy novel that repays several readings.

There are plenty of others, but this will give you a good start on some classic fantasy.

 

[Mouse]

Garth Nix's The Old Kingdom trilogy? It's actually for young adults but it's got necromancy in it!
Or maybe the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan?

 

[ZoeRat]

You could also try Eragon followed by Eldest by Chris Paolini. It doesn't have Vampires, but it's got everything else you mentioned. There is an adventurous storyline, but there's also an emphasis on magic. I'm hesitant whether to say it's cliched or not... what's the difference between cliched and traditional?

Cliche is when an author writes about something that is overused and boring, such as writing a book about a "quest" or "journey" to save a princess or a friend, with nothing new or unusual to make it different from all the other stories about quests. Traditional, at least in my opinion, means the author employs all of the usual aspects of fantasy, such as elves and dwarves, but it can stand on its own from other works with elves and dwarves. At least that's my interpretation of the difference.