Its Suggestion Time!!!!

For the journey we are all undertaking in the:

Challenge

It was probably the height of folly to include other categories and not just call this a ‘fantasy’ challenge. The four categories that I wanted to highlight mix and intermingle in ways that can often be indistinguishable. In addition, fantasy has a seemingly infinite number of subgenres. So why list four categories? The primary reason was to avoid the common misconception among those who don’t read fantasy literature that books of High Fantasy, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or purely magical books, like the Harry Potter series, are the only kinds of fantasy available.

Nothing could be further from the truth. One of my goals was to provide an avenue for all of us to share with each other the wonder that is fantasic, mythic, magical literature in its myriad forms. And while many of these 4 categories can be found present in a number of the books I may recommend, I will at least attempt to categorize some suggestions for those who are either new to the genre, or those who are just looking for something good, and different, to read. Keep in mind that the books I place in categories are my own, non-expert opinion. Many are easily a blend of more than one of these four. In fact, it may be more helpful to consider this a Fantasy Challenge with 3 subgenres: Mythological Fantasy, Folklorish Fantasy, and Fairytale Fantasy.

To start with, I will provide a dictionary/wikipedia definition of each category which will be italicized, followed by my interpretation of each category in bold print. Let’s start with…

Fairytale:

Wiki: A fairytale is a story featuring folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments. In cultures where demons and witches are perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legendary narratives, where the context is perceived by teller and hearers as having historical actuality. However, unlike legends and epics they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, persons, and events…

Carl: I define fairytales for the purpose of this challenge as books containing fairies, the fair folk, or have some contact with the realm of Faerie. Fairytales are also any books that have elements along the lines of the childhood fables we are familiar with: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc…stories that often had an object lesson.

Books I would recommend in this category:

1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Stardust is the book that I recommend most highly for this challenge. It is a superb book to begin one’s exposure to this kind of literature. Its amazing. Since it largely takes place in the realm of Faerie and has many classic fairytale elements, I classify it here.

2. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.

It is all about fairies toying with man.

3. Widdershins by Charles de Lint

Charles de Lint is a wonderful author and his entire Newford series could be placed here. I consider this fairytale again for the simple reason that fairies encroach on the lives of everyday people in the modern world. There is a great deal of Native American folklore in de Lint’s Newford tales as well. I picked this book up because, though it is a tale about characters established in other Newford books, it was touted as a book that could be read as a stand-alone novel. Having read the first quarter of it, I can attest to the ease with which de Lint introduces you to these characters. It is also billed as a love story, which peaked my interest.

4. Tithe by Holly Black (link takes you to my review)

Teen/Young Adult book. A darker take on the realm of faerie. Once again this takes place in modern times with overlap between our world and the world of faerie.

5. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (link takes you to my review)

Shannon Hale is a wonderful author and her books are expanded takes on classic fairytales. There are currently three books that take place in the land of Beyern. They are not true sequels and each can be read as a stand-alone story.

6. Fables by Bill Willingham

Graphic novels count? Why certainly! In fact, I would love to see some participants who haven’t given comics/graphic novels a shot to actually do that with this challenge.

Fables is a simply amazing ongoing story featuring the well-known and little known stock characters from childhood fables. The various fables are driven out of their lands by an unseen adversary and his legions and they are forced to settle in the world of the Mundys (that’s what they call us, mundane). Humans live in a magically protected section of New York City while the various animal fables live on a similar protected farm in upstate NY. Romance, adventure, political intrigue, drama, comedy…this series has it all. Very well written and the art is terrific.

Folklore:

Wiki: Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions (including oral traditions) of that culture, subculture, or group.

Carl: In my mind folklore seems more mystic, more historical, than fairytales. For some reason, probably related to the books I am recommending in this category, I tend to see folklore as something a little more dark and sinister.

1. Hellboy by Mike Mignola

Hellboy ranks among some of the very best novels I have ever read. In addition to fantastic artwork by Mike Mignola and his trademark dry wit, the stories featured in the Hellboy graphic novels have deep ties in the folklore of various countries. Reading them in graphic novel format is great for a number of reasons, one of which is that Mignola talks about the folk tale inspirations for each story.

2. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

A comic adventure in the spirit of authors like P.G. Wodehouse with fantastical, magical elements. I include this one in the folklore category because the book takes its inspirational roots from the African folk tales of Anansi, the spider god.

And….Wow, everything else I originally had listed for this category fits in sooo much better elsewhere. This is a just a testament to how much these categories overlap. The aforementioned books of Charles de Lint easily fall into the folklore category as well as the fairytale one.

Any suggestions from you guys for this category would be most welcome.

Mythology:

Wiki: A mythology is any body or cycle of myths – a narrative, oral tradition, or a popular belief or assumption, based on the legendary heroes of a culture. Mythology sometimes involves supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. Mythology is also branch of knowledge dealing with the collection, study and interpretation of myths or fables.

Carl: Its all about the gods. Though that is somewhat of a narrow definition (after all, J.R.R. Tolkien set about and succeeded to create his own mythology with Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion), that is how I define mythology for this purpose. I also see anything that has to do with the legend of King Arthur and similar myths and legends as falling into this category.

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

(editor’s note: you’ll see alot of Neil Gaiman recommendations in this post. Sorry, he’s my favorite author, after all.)

American Gods could easily fit in both this category and the folklore category. It is a tale of gods, with particular emphasis on the old Norse gods, American folk tradition, and kitsch culture. This is certainly the most adult of the Gaiman books I am recommending. It is a rich, involved, and very entertaining story.

2. The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy

Jeff has this on his reading challenge list and it looks very interesting. The first of a trilogy that takes place in both Arthurian times and the modern world.

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

(I love the images of both the old and new covers)

This description from the Barnes and Noble site is great:

The whole world knows and loves this book. It is the magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlin and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece by which all others are judged.

and finally, the uber-category…

Fantasy:

Wiki: Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting.

Carl: Fantasy itself is such a hugely subgenered category of literature that even Wikipedia could only offer a lame defenition. For the purposes of this challenge, fantasy is everything else that doesn’t more obviously fit into the other categories. Tales with knights, wizards, magical elements, castles, dragons, etc, etc.

1. Bone by Jeff Smith

Yep, another grapic novel.

This is the culmination of 13 years of work, and it is wonderful. A combination of Scrooge McDuck, characters that look somewhat like Casper the friendly ghost, and an epic tale in Lord of the Rings fashion. It is funny and suspenseful and page turning…it is delightful. I highly recommend this one. The art is fantastic and Smith is a born storyteller.

2. The Wizard Knight series by Gene Wolfe (link takes you to my review)

Reading this two novel series was one of the most profound reading experiences that I ever had. I felt electric as I read it. My first Gene Wolfe experience, and it was amazing. Read my review, you’ll see that I loved these books.

3. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip

Patricia A. McKillip is one of my absolute favorite fantasy authors. Her use of language is lyrical, enchanting, magical. This is my favorite of all of her books and is, in my opinion, the most accessible. In addition, many of her books have cover art by the incredibly talented Kinuko Y. Craft (recent Friday Favorite post here)

3. The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany

From Amazon:
All fantasy and horror fans owe it to themselves to read Lord Dunsany (1878-1957). The sword & sorcery genre was born in his early stories, and high fantasy was indelibly transformed by his novels. His profound influence on 20th-century fantastic fiction is visible in authors as dissimilar as Neil Gaiman, H.P. Lovecraft, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

I have this one and its on my alternate list. I hope to get to it during this challenge. It sounds great and looks to be a fairly quick read.

I feel I need to define this before I recommend these novels:

Wiki: Urban Fantasy: is a subset of contemporary fantasy, consisting of magical novels and stories set in contemporary, real-world, urban settings.

1. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Eventhough I will admit that Stardust is slightly better written, Neverwhere is my favorite Neil Gaiman novel and is among my top 5 favorite novels. In fact I would probably classify it number two, just behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A story set in both real world London and in the dark, Alice-in-Wonderland-type world of London Below, this is a tale of what happens to people, places, and things when they fall between the cracks and slip away from the real world. It was my first exposure to Neil Gaiman outside of the Sandman graphic novels and it was a magical experience. I re-read it almost every year.

2. Greywalker by Kat Richardson (link takes you to my review)

A worthy debut into the Urban Fantasy/horror hybrid genre. Very enjoyable. A quick read with a very likeable heroine. I look forward to the next book in the series.

3. the Rogue Angel series

These come highly recommended by Angela, Sci Fi Chick. She graciously sent me an extra copy she had of the first one and it too is on my alternate pile.

Historical/horror/fantasy:

Colleen Gleasons’ fun debut novel, The Rest Falls Away (my review here), would definitely fall into one of the many subgenres of fantasy. If you haven’t, read it!

There are so many, many more, but I better quit and let you dear readers go about your lives!

Don’t let yourself get stuck in a rut when looking for material to read for this challenge. There are so many places to look for good fantastical fiction!

I’ve already mentioned graphic novels.

The horror section offers up books by the likes of H.P. Lovecraft that most certainly have a fantasy element.

The Conan books of Robert E. Howard (my review here) would be an excellent choice for the sword and sorcery subgenre of fantasy and they are amazingly written books that are not at all what you would expect if Arnie is what the name Conan brings to mind.

The young adult section of the bookstore offers up a world of terrific fantasy:

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris (my review here) is a very fun take on the stock fairytale/fantasy characters. I highly recommend it.

Of course you cannot go wrong with The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis or The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The list could go on endlessly. And it practically does. Here is a link from Les in Nebraska that covers fantasy novels from A to Z.

And don’t forget, there is nonfiction as well! Bulfinch’s Mythology is a great place to start. There are also wonderful essays on folklore, mythology, fairytales, and fantasy at the Endicott Studio site here, some of which I may be referencing in future Once Upon a Time posts.

And speaking of Endicott Studio, their blog site and their former book review list are both marvelous places to find challenge list ideas!

To close (finally!!!), don’t forget to Sign Up in the Once Upon a Time post!

Post about it on your site, tell your friends, recruit your loved ones. Let’s make this a fantastic fantasy challenge!
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For those of you who requested it, I resized Angela’s banner for the challenge and retooled my own just a bit. Here they are:

and

Thanks for joining in everyone, I really appreciate it and I really appreciate you, your love of reading, and the enthusiam that you instill in my life every day.

Please offer your own recommendations in the comments section.