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Interview #1016: Reddit 2011 (Non-WoT), Entry #7

geemachine (January 2011)

So Song of Ice and Fire has hooked me into fantasy reading—what can you recommend?

What I particularly liked was the grittyness and adult themes, not to mention the epicness of the plot and story. I’m into the action and swordplay but not too much magic. Searching the threads there seems to be a lot to say for WoT and Mazalan but they seem very magic based. Any suggestions and some education to the genre much appreciated!

EDIT: Thanks a bunch everyone—great stuff—Gonna carry on with WoT for time being and lots of great options for after— Name of the Wind probs. Cheers everyone.

nowonmai666

If you are looking more for swordplay than magic, then perhaps some historical fiction might be more up your street than out and out fantasy? I’m thinking here of Bernard Cornwell, whose Saxon Chronicles (start with The Last Kingdom ) and Warlord Trilogy (about King Arthur; start with The Winter King ) might suit nicely. For fantasy written for grown-ups, my favourites are Guy Gavriel Kay (his standalone novels set in an alternate Europe, such as Tigana or Last Light of The Sun , not the trite Summer Tree series) and Louis McMaster Bujold (start with The Curse of Chalion ). These, like A Song of Ice and Fire, feature complex, believable characters with human motives, as opposed to the Good Guys vs The Dark Lord style of fantasy. They are as real and believable as ASOIAF, although the worlds they are set in are more overtly magical.

Brandon Sanderson ()

OP, listen to this person. They know exactly what they’re talking about. Might I add that you try David Gemmell? (Think of his books as being much like the movie 300 in novel form.) Moorcock is the other I’d suggest.

I’ll warn you, though, that Martin tends to be one of the few that does what you’re talking about. Generally, in fantasy, epic tends to be equated with high magic. Gritty, real-world tends to be equated with shorter, fast-paced stories. It’s not always that way, but it is a rule of thumb.

So, you’ll find that epics like WoT, Name of the Wind , and Malazan are going to be high magic, while gritty, swordplay tales like Abercombie and Gemmell are going to be shorter and more self-contained. Guy Gavriel Kay tends to do epics in a single volume with a lot of ‘grown up’ storytelling, but there’s not as much swordplay.

Maybe Codex Alera by Jim Butcher? (Mentioned by djduni.) It’s more high magic, but the magic is focused on battle magic, and the pacing is much more of a swordplay story while the tale at length is an epic.

SgtScream

I have to ask: What are your top 5 fantasy novels?

Brandon Sanderson

Wow. That’ll be a tough one—I’m not one to pick favorites. And, when pushed into it, I have a habit of changing ‘favorites’ with my mood. But I’ll do my best, but I won’t put them in any order.

- The Shadow Rising , Robert Jordan. My favorite of the WoT books.

- Tigana , Guy Gavriel Kay.

- Dragonsbane , Barbara Hambly (The book that got me into fantasy, so it has a very special place in my heart.)

- The Truth , Terry Pratchett (My favorite Pratchett.)

- Watchmen . (Can I count that?)

Honorable Mention

- Name of the Wind . (Hasn’t been around long enough to see if it stands the test of time.)

- Dragonflight

As you can see, my ‘favorites’ slant strongly toward older books, but that’s because I’ve read them more often, and because of the ‘first’ factor. ( The Truth was my first Pratchett, Tigana my first Kay.) I very much enjoy Jim Butcher, among newer writers, among many others.

I think GRRM is a genius, and certainly one of the very best fantasy writers around. (Up there with Kay and Pratchett.) The reason he’s not on the list is because he’s just too brutal for me. I’ve said before that I admire him and think he’s a great writer, but just can’t take the level of grit he includes in his books. By the time I get done with one, I feel sick. Love his short stories, though.

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