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/lit/ - Literature

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3128866 No.3128866 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/!
Just finished Lord of the Rings and was wondering if you guys could suggest any other good fantasy novels?
Pic unrelated

>> No.3128887

b..bimp

>> No.3128889

the silmarillion

>> No.3128918

>>3128866
First law trilogy. Is good.

>> No.3128928

>good fantasy novels

But you've already finished the only good one.

>> No.3128944

David Eddings' Belgariad, and then his Malloreon.

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy is actual pretty awesome too.

>> No.3128999

>>3128918
oh shit yeah, it's good

doesn't really strike the same chord with me as LotR, though

>> No.3129043

>>3128889
>the silmarillion
He said good not a clusterfuck of random notes of the author shoved into a paper format to make money.

Try Black Company series.

>> No.3129096

>>3128944

>Belgariad
>good

Yeah, sure if you would enjoy the most cliche ridden fantasy novel ever written.

Can't believe nobody has mentioned George R.R. Martin yet. Best fantasy I've read and I've read a lot of fantasy. 90% of the genre is pulp, though.

>> No.3129106
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3129106

Does Good Omens count? If not, then the only fantasy I know other than Tolkien is Lovecraft (assuming he counts).

>> No.3129149

Fantasy is shit. Step up to SciFi

>> No.3129156

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the best that I myself have ever had the joy of experiencing

>> No.3129173

>>3129096

>/lit/ recommending grrm

>> No.3129205

Pullman.

>> No.3129237

Mistborn, Legend, Name of the Wind, The Last Wish

>> No.3129263

People shit on the Silmarillion, but its really very interesting and a good read. A Song of Ice and Fire isn't as bad as people started making it out to be
>inb4 someone will tell me I wasn't on /lit/ before the show came out, I was and it much more acceptable to say you enjoyed the series back then, don't try denying

Terry Pratchett of course, Wheel of Time is about on par with ASoIaF, I enjoyed the first one but I got bored trying to read past it, its pretty generic but at least it sort of avoids the post-LotR Dungeon and Dragon's influenced fantasy. I always suggest Turtledove on this board, but I'll admit he's pretty terrible at characterization and his plots and narratives get dull, but his overall ideas are generally very interesting

>> No.3129268

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams. It starts pretty slow but gets much better.

>> No.3129292

A Wheel of Time

>> No.3129310

Rothfuss is pretty good as someone already mentioned. You could also try Michael Moorecock or Robert E Howard.

>> No.3129333

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I really liked it when I read it long ago. Much of the other stuff recommended in this thread is very valid, too.

>> No.3129467

>>3128866
Ignore the clowns in this thread.

Tolkien and Gene Wolfe are the only two worthwhile authors.

The rest is all manchild AD&D renfayre crap.

>> No.3129474
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3129474

>>3129467

At you, not with you.

>> No.3129484

>>3129467
Says the guy who's not read Robin Hobb.

>> No.3129489

I enjoyed The Silmarillion. You have to understand though that it's not typical story format, it reads more like a history book or a book of legends and mythologies. It is pretty much the history of Middle-Earth. Knowing what to expect with it should help you enjoy it more.

>> No.3129491

>>3129484
>Says the guy who's not read Robin Hobb.

OK, no problem, I'll amend my statement with a tentative Robin Hobb, since I indeed haven't yet read her.

>> No.3129494

>>3129173
/lit/ isn't a hivemind. go back to reddit, cunt.

>> No.3129502

Really, no one yet?

Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Also I am enjoying myself reading The Briar King. It's worth a look, may not be everyones taste.

I'm happy that someone pointed out the Belgariad. Saying that it's full of cliches is like saying that James Bond is a cliche mary sue; it's old. Enjoy it, or don't. Read his Elenium and Tamuli too. Do NOT tread towards the Dreamers.

This genre is so riddled by crap that it almost deserves Lit's hatred for it. You have to sift through the bullshit to the gems.

>> No.3129503

>>3128866
>other good fantasy novels
>other good
>good

Implying Lord of the Rings is good, and not a vessel for Tolkein's worldbuilding abilities.

>>3128918
Yessss.

>>3129096
Yessss.

>>3129156
Meh...it's too much of a Mary Sue for me.
"There's this kid, and bad stuff happens to him, but don't worry he's the smartest luckiest most gifted most talented person ever."
Come on.

I say:
The Dying Earth, Jack Vance
A Song of Ice and Fire, GRRM
The First Law Trilogy, Joe Abercrombie

>> No.3129516

>>3129503
>Implying Lord of the Rings is good, and not a vessel for Tolkein's worldbuilding abilities.

It isn't, you fucktard. It's a vessel for his interesting and original theological ruminations.

Sorry to say, Tolkien's writing went over your head completely.

>> No.3129528

>>3129516
>theology
>interesting
>original

Whether it went over my head or not is now irrelevant, if LotR is actually about theology.

>> No.3129533

>>3129503
>Implying Lord of the Rings is good, and not a vessel for Tolkein's worldbuilding abilities.

lol no fuck you

>> No.3129543

>>3129528

Sure is edgy teenage rebel in here.

>> No.3129562

>>3129543
Oh yes, you're right, it sure is edgy realizing that theology is pointless, and makes for a shitty frame for a story.

>> No.3129564
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3129564

>>3129528

Time to hang up your hat, you can't do lit.

Virtually every work in the canon is inspired by theology in some fashion or another

>> No.3129567

Prince of Thorns / King of Thorns.

Very interesting anti-hero.

>> No.3129569

>>3129562
>>>/b/
come back in a few years junior

>> No.3129573

>>3129564
You're talking to a guy whose idea of 'canon' is probably Game of Thrones, Warhammer novels, and The God Delusion.

>> No.3129578

>>3129569
>>>/cgl/
come back in a few years nigger

>>3129564
What does theology have to do with /lit/?

>> No.3129584

>>3129578

Theology is historically an enormously important driving force throughout the western world. Philosophy and literature are inextricably linked, and theology is one of many subsets of said.

>> No.3129585

>>3129573
No actually, my idea of canon is Dune, Ender's Game, Masters of Rome, Conan the Barbarian (Howard), Ada or Ardor, One Hundred Years of Solitude, I, Claudius, Oryx and Crake, The World Inside, and pretty much anything by Heinlein.
I like A Song of Ice and Fire, but it's not the best out there, I don't play with action figures, and I don't need a book to tell me what I already know is probably true.

>> No.3129588

>>3129578
Man.

You don't realize how bad you're embarrassing your self. I'm atheist, and I see the importance of theological writings. You just sound like a butt mad teen like this man. I hope you don't have friends. If you do, they all secretly hate to be around you.

>> No.3129590

>>3129584
Theology may be a subset of philosophy, but only because of its use (or non-use) of logic and reasoning.
As for being /lit/-related, we're talking about fantasy novels. I'm sure that philosophical musing generally doesn't belong in fantasy.

>> No.3129593

>>3129590

>philosophical musing generally doesn't belong in fantasy.

I'd have to agree with you on that to a very large extent, but not with works of fiction that bridge the (somewhat fictitious) literary/genre fiction gap.

>> No.3129596

>>3129588
"The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion. Not anything can be studied as a science, without our being in possession of the principles upon which it is founded; and as this is the case with Christian theology, it is therefore the study of nothing."

My nigga Thomas Paine, telling it like it is.
I'll admit I just looked that up, but holy fuck I've never seen anything so correct and absolute outside the field of Mathematics.

>> No.3129601

>>3129596

>correct and absolute outside the field of Mathematics

He's prime and ready for a roast, boys. I've got my popcorn and a Lazy Boy, let's see that mouthgarble. Gonna be a good 'un tonight.

>> No.3129600

>>3129593
And I'll agree with you on pretty much all you said in that post!

>> No.3129605

>>3129596
You idiot.

If you hope to learn anything about humans of the past and how they thought you need to read and learn what THEY held to be true. Sure there's alot of god ass kissing to sort through, but there are plenty of works that through there theological ties still make important observations or expressions about the nature of man.

>> No.3129607

>>3129605
Dawkins and Hitchens and using my eyes to see the world around me is all I need to know about Theology.
I have far better ways to spend my time. There are countless books to be read so why waste time on theology?

>> No.3129615

>>3129607

I bet you're a materialist as well.

Probably a Ron Paul supporter.

>> No.3129616

>>3129596
>implying Tolkien is purely Christian in his theologies.

He took on the role of God on purpose in LotR, man, and become important for his literary exploration of ancient works like Beowulf. Ol' J.R.R. is not a Christian theologian.
Middle-Earth is a tapestry on which he began pouring out his efforts to glimpse the patterns in common between his weave and that of the sublime act of creation itself, and so to attain a camaraderie of spirit with both the divine and the ancients. He was searching for the spark of his own humanity by constructing a living, breathing world of his own. That's why it's so detailed and why he spent so much time on it.

>> No.3129622

>>3129607
We got a 'figured it out at 20' here. Maybe younger.

You do realize that most critical thinking scientists are self-proclaimed christians? Even the big bang theory was dreamed up by a catholic.

>> No.3129644

>>3129616

>>3129616

The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.

-Tolkien, Letters, Allen & Unwin.

The man was a hugely devout Catholic, and I suspect he cared little for the ancient world. It's a triumph of high Catholic literature, but that doesn't lessen it just because religion has become so anachronistic; Marlowe's Faustus isn't weaker because you have to know what the Eucharist is (or whatever)

>> No.3129652

>>3129622
>You do realize that most critical thinking scientists are self-proclaimed christians?
Check your shit before rambling, son.

"Among members of the National Academy of Sciences, 7.0% expressed personal belief, while 72.2% expressed disbelief and another 20.8% were agnostic concerning the existence of a personal god "

"The State University of New York found that over 60% of natural and social science professors at 21 elite US research universities are atheists or agnostics. When asked whether they believed in God, nearly 34% answered "I do not believe in God" and about 30% answering "I do not know if there is a God and there is no way to find out. An additional 8% opted for, “I believe in a higher power, but it is not God.” That makes 72% of scientists who are explicitly non-theistic in their religious views (compared to 16% of the public generally.)"

>> No.3129654

>>3129652
>I suspect he cared little for the ancient world.

...wut.

Dude, check yo' self.

>> No.3129670

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre

>> No.3129674

>>3129654

His influences are northern European and gothic, not southern European and classical. Obviously he knew Latin and Greek like all educated members of the upper class, but he's the tail end of the English gothic revival. It's always German, not Greek.

>> No.3129681

>>3129674
Ancient =/= Archaic/Classical

>> No.3129728

>>3129494

>HURRGB2REDDITLMFAO

Not a hivemind, you say?

>> No.3129885

>>3129616
>He took on the role of God on purpose in LotR, man, and become important for his literary exploration of ancient works like Beowulf. Ol' J.R.R. is not a Christian theologian.
>Middle-Earth is a tapestry on which he began pouring out his efforts to glimpse the patterns in common between his weave and that of the sublime act of creation itself, and so to attain a camaraderie of spirit with both the divine and the ancients. He was searching for the spark of his own humanity by constructing a living, breathing world of his own. That's why it's so detailed and why he spent so much time on it.

Tolkien explored the idea that art is a kind of theosis. (The creative powers of man being a kind of divine essense, thus the idea of 'sub-creation'.) Everything Tolkien wrote was an elaboration on that idea.

_Of course_ all his writings are fundamentally theological in nature, even though he wasn't a theologian by profession.

>> No.3129924

First Law Trilogy and Abercrombie's other novels, The Second Apocalypse series.
I've read a couple of books by Guy Gavriel Kay, and he's quite good. I'd suggest reading Under Heaven by him.

>> No.3131177
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3131177

Don't care that it's already been mentioned.