Overread
Searching for a flower
So I figured this might be an interesting idea to peruse.
Typically only a tiny fraction of what's published remains in the lime light enough to remain popular or at least well known today's readers. However there's a vast wealth of older publications which can be just as good or even better which are just less well known/marketed. Many might also be the inspiration for latter tales that we've read today by more modern authors.
So I figured it would be good to pick the minds of Chrons and see what golden oldies we can pick out and recommend for reading.
I'm thinking of things that are not too mainstream and roughly 20 years or older in publication (only a rough estimation, of course anything lesser known is valid to suggest). This might prove to be a useful thing for those nosing through secondhand book shops and stalls looking for a few gems; or even through the online libraries for those publications that have expired their copyright and moved into public domain.
As I've said to try and avoid too many popularly known publications I'll list a few of them to get them out of the way (and because I honestly don't know much of the older classics myself to suggest them up); and because they might well be well known to use but not to all fantasy fans.
Robert E. Howard - Conan series. Swashbuckling adventures of a barbarian through his fantasy age of Hyboria. Meet powerful warriors, evil mages, monstrous serpents and more. Adventure is the best way to summarise his stories; with the epic nature building up over a long series of individual trials and adventures.
HP Lovecraft - a name synonymous with mind twisting madness and insanity that was his dominant theme in many of his tales. Monsters and beasts of madness and twisted ideals his name linked to many a mythology of his own making including the mighty Cthulhu.
Both Howard and Lovecraft have passed into copyright expired; but there exist quite a few newer publications that collect their works together; often focusing on their most well known stories/characters.
The Steel of Raithskar by Randall Garrett, Vicki Ann Heydron (first of 7 books) - there was a whole generation of writer where fantasy transposed/teleported or otherwise stole people (often men) from the then modern world into the worlds of fantasy. This is one such story and is one of the few using the mechanic which I've enjoyed reading as the writers set the scene well for the acceptance/mechanic of the transportation and also for the character, especially the character having weaknesses (oft as not those transposed gain a very powerful status rather all too quickly).
Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly - the tale of adventure as one reluctant dragon slayer heads forth to slay a dragon plaguing peoples of the land; finding far more than just a beast to slay. A great read and continued on in several latter books.
Typically only a tiny fraction of what's published remains in the lime light enough to remain popular or at least well known today's readers. However there's a vast wealth of older publications which can be just as good or even better which are just less well known/marketed. Many might also be the inspiration for latter tales that we've read today by more modern authors.
So I figured it would be good to pick the minds of Chrons and see what golden oldies we can pick out and recommend for reading.
I'm thinking of things that are not too mainstream and roughly 20 years or older in publication (only a rough estimation, of course anything lesser known is valid to suggest). This might prove to be a useful thing for those nosing through secondhand book shops and stalls looking for a few gems; or even through the online libraries for those publications that have expired their copyright and moved into public domain.
As I've said to try and avoid too many popularly known publications I'll list a few of them to get them out of the way (and because I honestly don't know much of the older classics myself to suggest them up); and because they might well be well known to use but not to all fantasy fans.
Robert E. Howard - Conan series. Swashbuckling adventures of a barbarian through his fantasy age of Hyboria. Meet powerful warriors, evil mages, monstrous serpents and more. Adventure is the best way to summarise his stories; with the epic nature building up over a long series of individual trials and adventures.
HP Lovecraft - a name synonymous with mind twisting madness and insanity that was his dominant theme in many of his tales. Monsters and beasts of madness and twisted ideals his name linked to many a mythology of his own making including the mighty Cthulhu.
Both Howard and Lovecraft have passed into copyright expired; but there exist quite a few newer publications that collect their works together; often focusing on their most well known stories/characters.
The Steel of Raithskar by Randall Garrett, Vicki Ann Heydron (first of 7 books) - there was a whole generation of writer where fantasy transposed/teleported or otherwise stole people (often men) from the then modern world into the worlds of fantasy. This is one such story and is one of the few using the mechanic which I've enjoyed reading as the writers set the scene well for the acceptance/mechanic of the transportation and also for the character, especially the character having weaknesses (oft as not those transposed gain a very powerful status rather all too quickly).
Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly - the tale of adventure as one reluctant dragon slayer heads forth to slay a dragon plaguing peoples of the land; finding far more than just a beast to slay. A great read and continued on in several latter books.
