My Top Fantasy Recommendations

Fantasy is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, genres in literature. While some credit George MacDonald (mentor of Lewis Carroll) as the first fantasy author (John Ruskin's The King of the Golden River published in 1841 not withstanding), others point to the Grimms' Fairy Tales published earlier in the century, while the puritans would, not without merit, trace the history of Fantasy all the way back to the Epic Mythologies (Beowulf anyone?). The earliest Fantasy book that still remains popular would perhaps be The Wizard of Oz, even though it would now qualify more as a Children's book with limited appeal to the adults.

As with the history of fantasy, the sub-genres of Fantasy remains an equally contentious discussion point and varies from a few to over 50, depending on whom you ask and how granular the sub-division. In this post, I would try to provide my reading recommendations under the main two sub-genres, High and Low Fantasies. The categories are fairly broad and I think I do more justice in keeping the categorisation limited than splitting them into a large number of unmanageable, and perhaps less useful, sub-genres for the casual fan of the genre. I have also tried to split my reading recommendations into casual and advanced categories, since some of the recommendations would be quite heavy for a casual reader of the genre.

1.    High / Epic Fantasy

This is probably one of the most famous sub-genre of Fantasy. The term High Fantasy itself was coined by Lloyd Alexander, an excellent fantasy author who wrote mostly YA literature, The Book of Three being his most famous work. This sub-genre includes complex world building, feature fantastical races and usually (but not always) features a Hero’s journey.

Reading recommendations for casual readers

1.    Chronicles of Narnia series by Lewis Carroll

2.    Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson

3.    Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien

4.  Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

3.   Chalion Series by Lois McMaster Bujold 

Reading recommendations for advanced readers

1. A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin

2. The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (concluded by Brandon Sanderson)

3. Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Steven Erikson

4. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

5. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

2.    Low / Contemporary / Urban Fantasy

The key feature that differentiates low fantasy from high fantasy is that low fantasy doesn’t undertake massive world building, but builds on / tweaks the existing world. There is a lot of overlap between this sub-genre, Contemporary Fantasy, and Urban Fantasy, and it is largely a matter of personal preference on which book to be classified under which sub-genre. I have therefore decided to categorised these books under one common, all inclusive sub-genre.

Reading recommendations for casual readers

1. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

2. Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (anything by Neil Gaiman really, but this is as good a place to start as any)

Reading recommendations for advanced readers

1. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman

2. Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

3. Watch Series by Sergei Lukyanenko

4. The Once and Future King by T. H. White

Disclaimer: I have included only one set of work from each author, some authors deserve multiple nominations on the list, but for the sake of variety, I have refrained from doing so.

24. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent Series, a series set in a Dystopian world, where the human beings are categorised and segregated into factions, based on their dominant traits, with those failing to qualify in a faction, leading the life of factionless (not much different from our equivalent of homeless). And then, there are the divergent, individuals with multiple dominant traits, who are a closely guarded secret, a dangerous one, since they are immune to one of the critical tools used in the society, the simulations. The factions, all, serve different purposes and between themselves, manage to keep their little society functioning and self sufficient.

Like in any Utopia, things go wrong, the nature and extent of the wrongness is something the author seems to have reserved for the final installment. The second installment of the series, is not necessarily an improvement on the first. It also fails to significantly add to the storyline so far, since the series has only one more book to go, I am assuming all the action (relating to storyline, blind violence, there was plenty of in this one too) will be concentrated in Allegiant, the third and final installment of the series.

My review of Divergent, the first book of the series, can be found here.

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22. Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold

I think I am doing quite well with my schedule of reading the entire Vorkosigan Saga this year. I should also, perhaps, start my review by saying that this one, so far, stands out for me as the best in the series.

This was, perhaps the first Miles book I have read, where he is downside and is still full of his usual stratagems and blunderings. The Cetagandans, both the ghem and hauts, are delightful; and then there are the haut women; who reminded me of a cooler version of Aes Sedai, though without the superpowers. I shall refrain from speaking of their other virtues, which I think Miles's inner thoughts in the book have summed up quite well.

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23. The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks

Finally a review! Even if I am the only one getting excited over the fact! This was the fourth book in the Culture Series, the version I read consisted of a number of short stories culminating with the novella titled "The State of the Art".

Short stories, as a rule, don't agree much with me, and this one proved to be no exception. Some of the stories and a few scenes were quite shocking, in their grotesqueness - that however, is far from being a reason for me not liking this installment as much as the last two. It is just that more than a few stories failed to resonate any kind of chord with me, and while some of them were quite good, on an average, I found the book, average!

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14. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

My last read for February, this was one more of my online Group reads - Anne of Green Gables, a children's story, which turned out to be a most delightful, little read. Set in, from what I hear, the very picturesque Prince Edward Island in Canada, the pride and delight of the author in describing the beauty of the island, through the eyes of little Anne, was very apparent.

And little Anne turned out to be quite a character too! With no one immune or able to resist her enchanting influence, she thrills the otherwise quiet folks at Avonlea. That she charms the reader too, is a foregone conclusion.

The book was just the right length too, and ends with Anne as a 16 year old girl. Apparently there are sequels, but I would likely skip them, for I highly doubt the young woman, Anne, would hold my attention as much as girl Anne did.

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13. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

The History of Love is different, even if my writing skills fail to showcase how. This is not a sad story or a happy one, it just is. A book with the most interesting and extreme characters, this is not a love story, at least not entirely, and yet it is about love. It is about a love story with an unsatisfactory end, another with a satisfactory one, a story about lives wasted, betrayal and guilt, about never getting over a lost one, a story about a father's love for his son, friendship, a young girl in past, a young one in present and a very eccentric child.

It is extremely well written, even as it challenges the reader to keep up with the multiple threads interwoven across lives, across time. While covering the lives of so many characters in detail, the author does an even more amazing job of consciously ignoring some of them, leaving just enough to the imagination of the reader, and all the reader has are the realities and perceptions of those characters, as seen through the eyes of the ones whose lives were covered. There is not a sense of closure to  most of the characters and even that is not unwelcome.

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12. Jeeves in the Offing by P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse was the chosen author for February in my online group reads, and while I rarely participate in the monthly Author reads, any excuse to return to the wonderful world of Wodehouse is a welcome one.

Picking a Wodehouse is generally a safe bet, picking one featuring Bertram Wooster and Jeeves is an even safer one. Jeeves in the Offing was no exception. 

Despite not being one of the top Wodehouse works, Jeeves in the Offing, manages to entertain. There was a lot less of Jeeves, but the book was carried admirably by Bertie and Bobbie Wickham. It is surprising how well Wodehouse develops his characters, old and new, even in books as short as his usually are; with most of the characters being sketched and portrayed in conversations among the other characters.

This was a refreshing read and it made me get over the disappointment of my last Wodehouse, The Clicking of Cuthbert.

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11. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold

This is the second book (chronologically) in the Vorkosigan Saga, the first being Shards of Honour, the book I started my year long Vorkosigan Saga read this.

I have elaborated enough on Cordelia's character in my previous review, in this (short) one, I will talk more about the book.

Cordelia takes off from the first book, doing all the things which endeared her to me and I am sure many other readers. She, then dons her Rambo outfit, and even in that she excels. 

I was however disappointed that in her effort to flaunt Cordelia, Bujold made Aral too much of a side character - we don't see the non-Cordelia portions of the war at all! And I do mean, at all! The title of the book could well have been Cordelia in Barrayar. 

There was enough space for the two to co-exist, Cordelia's adventures set in the background of Aral's manoeuvring of the war effort, with the contrast in their (supplementary) abilities would probably have made for much better reading in my opinion.

10. The Serpent's Tooth (Book 5 of the Empire of the Moghul Series) by Alex Rutherford

The Serpent's Tooth is the fifth book in Alex Rutherford's Moghul Series, a series I started and read the first four books of last year. This instalment deals with the ShahJahan's reign and the coming in power of Aurangzeb. This book also includes the making of Taj Mahal, the actual construction of which, was lightly touched upon, a shortcoming in my opinion, given the status of the monument, as well as the general aura of mystery surrounding its construction.

The battle scenes have grown stale and all we learn from the book is ShahJahan's sob story, how much he loves his wife, and how much he misses her once she dies, neglecting his kingdom and his children (and yet, oddly, not denouncing the crown in favour of his eldest, who is well into his 30s). We probably were supposed to feel sorry for him, I didn't. Equally lacking was the lacklustre character development of ShahJahan's children, including the wicked-most of them all, Aurangzeb. He comes across as a fanatic, conspiracy freak who is either (or not) a good General. Perhaps the next book (the last in the series I guess) would shed some more light.

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9. Die Trying by Lee Child

Die Trying, was almost like a back-to-back read for me, after reading Killing Floor, towards the end of January. Worried as I was, about a Jack Reacher overdose, it was just alright this one time. This was another fast paced thriller, this time about a bunch of delusional revolutionaries. Jack Reacher, once again continues to be at the wrong place at the right time, which I believe will be the theme of the series, something I don't seem to mind at all!

Long story short, the hero beats the hell out of the bad guys, etc.

I like the way Lee Child's endings differ from your typical James Bond novels when it comes to the female leads.

I think I will wait a couple of months before I read the next installment.

8. The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks

The Player of Games is the second book in the Culture Series, the second in a series of ten. As I have already mentioned earlier in my review of Consider Phlebas, the first book in the series, I am reading this series as part of a year long read on LibraryThing.

Now, while I didn't care much for Book 1 in the series, Book 2 was an entirely different matter altogether. For one, the title of the book is exactly what the book is about; the protagonist, Jernau Morat Gurgeh, is a Player of Games, nothing more, nothing less. There is a hint of Ender's Game, but no more than just a hint. The games themselves, set in a world far too much in future, are no high tech video games, but Board games! Strategy based Board and card games! There is less action of the traditional kind, less bloodshed, and the book is much better for that. While game playing is the premise of the book, from beginning to the end, the change in the protagonist is more fascinating. The book is brilliant in that it doesn't lack congruity at any point of time, the culture of Culture is better understood in this book and so is the place of humans and machines in their culture.

There is travel to a distant civilisation, interaction with other humanoid species, and perhaps the most exhaustive game in the universe. The "Minds" in this book continue to be all knowing, benevolent. I could be wrong, but I suspect an Assimovish twist to the story in its latter parts.

Humans in Culture are genetically enhanced, with in-built drug glands, ability to pass food and drinks through, easy sex changes, growing back of parts, among other things. Yet they need to pee, sounds quite wasteful for a civilisation like Culture, doesn't it?

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7. Killing Floor by Lee Child

After reading chronologically, the first Jack Reacher book, I started with Killing Floor, the first Lee Child novel, written with Jack Reacher as the protagonist, a book which won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel when it got released in 1997.

Set in a small town in America, this was a fast paced thriller, with its not-so-small plots and conspiracies. There is a lot of action, some goriness, and a whole lot of entertainment. The book doesn't strive to be real and hence avoids from becoming ridiculous - you know what you are reading, and why you are reading it. One of the takeaways from thrillers is that with the research the author puts in, or supposed to have put it, one gets to know a whole lot of interesting tid-bits, which otherwise may not have come in one's way - this one for instance gave a crash (if lacking in details) course on counterfeiting operations.

I see no harm in continuing with the series.

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