I'm pretty sure whoever made this was putting the first book of a series on the list rather than the best book of the series. There's no way "Color of Magic" comes close to some of the better Discworld books I've read or heard.
Is "Lamb" really that good, River? It sounded amusing to me, but I don't like to step on my husband's toes, religion-wise. I mean, he's not religious now, but was raised that way and it might make him pretty uncomfortable to hear what Jesus' lamb buddy had to say about him. Plus, I'm pretty unlikely to appreciate an ovine protagonist. Sheep are SOOOOOOO stupid!
100 Fantasy Books
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
I read this, but only got halfway through the second one. I'm saving this for when I feel I can read the whole series through. Call me anal, but I can't take breaks...
2. The Fellowship of the Ring- J.R.R. Tolkien
Never heard of it!
3. A Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin
I definitely started the first book in this series, but I don't think I got through the whole thing... I seem to remember thinking it was quite cliched
6. Titus Groan - Marvin Peake
Superb. The whole Ghormenghast trilogy in fact. I've read it about 3 times (I can't read it that often as it's so dense), and it's one of the top books on my list!
7. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
I read this as a child, but don't remember what it was about.
9. Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb
Another great trilogy that I've read several times. All of her books are great in fact!
17. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
I know this one virtually off by heart.
19. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Just another great book from this hugely gifted writer
20. Sabriel - Garth Nix
Loved this whole series, as well as the Keys to the Kingdom series. They're youthful but not pandering, and the worlds he creates are absolutely beautiful!
22. Redwall - Brian Jacques
Loved them when I was about 12. Spontaneously sold my entire collection (excepting signed Pearls of Lutra, my favourite) when I was about 14.
24. Magician: Apprentice - Raymond Feist
Started, couldn't finish!
26. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
I have read this entire septology every summer since I was 9. When I was 9 it took me about 3 months. Now it takes about 4 days, but it's just as rewarding.
28. The Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K Le Guin
Also first read this when I was 9, and have read it regularly since. Took (and still takes) a little longer than the chronicles, but is sadly, sweetly beautiful.
32. The Gunslinger - Stephen King
I used to love King, and read this septology 3 times. Then i got halfway through 'The Stand' and just got really angry for some reason, and haven't read any of his stuff since. Of all his books I used to own (considerable collection) I only still have The Shining.
35. Watership Down - Richard Adams
This is heart-rendingly beautiful but gave me nightmares as a child...
36. Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Another regularly re-read childhood favourite! I cannot get enough of Carroll!
37. The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett
He's now on teaching staff at my Uni. He walked past me once and I just sort of went
'nuff said. Far from his best novel though!
40. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Great when I was 12. Dreadful when I was 13.
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
Brilliant, but fantasy? Really?
44. The Odyssey - Homer
My Latin teacher gave me an easily digestible version of this when I was 11, that I devoured. I've been struggling with Chapman's translation ever since. (I can never get more than about 12 pages in)
45. The Once and Future King - T.H. White
A truly timeless classic!
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Holiday read. Loved the opening, hated the rest of it. yukyukyukyukyuk. Not so sure it's fantasy either!
51. Howl’s Moving Castles - Diana Wynne Jones
A glorious book from a glorious author! I have read everything she ever wrote, but curiously don't own any of it!
57. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Another childhood 3-monther, but for some reason one I only read once. I absolutely loved it. Must re-visit it!
66. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
I haven't read it in about 6 years, but I love this whole trilogy! I used to read this every summer too!
67. Eragon - Christopher Paolini
I suppose writing a whole novel is an achievement for a 15 year old, but it reads like a novel written by a 15 year old... I got 10 pages into the sequel and my brain melted. A sophisticated Eye of Argon, to my mind.
80. The Magician’s Guild - Trudi Canavan
Love this whole trilogy. One I've only read about twice, but I can remember every detail of this!
86. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
87. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
wonderful. A superb collaboration from two of the best living authors!
95. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
This book never fails to make me unbearably sad, yet I read it again and again and again. It is so unutterably beautiful!
98. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Marakami
This has been on my shelf for 3 years, but I've never read it...
Disappointed that some greats weren't on here. The Neverending Story is a superb book, as is anything by Oscar Moers (The 13 and a half Lives of Captain Bluebear, The City of Dreaming Books, etc.)
Can't believe I've only read 30 of these! Although, really, I've read everything by Pratchett, Gaiman, Orwell and a few others, so that amounts to a lot more wonderful books by people on this list!
Looks more like a bestsellers list to be honest...
I read this, but only got halfway through the second one. I'm saving this for when I feel I can read the whole series through. Call me anal, but I can't take breaks...
2. The Fellowship of the Ring- J.R.R. Tolkien
Never heard of it!
3. A Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin
I definitely started the first book in this series, but I don't think I got through the whole thing... I seem to remember thinking it was quite cliched
6. Titus Groan - Marvin Peake
Superb. The whole Ghormenghast trilogy in fact. I've read it about 3 times (I can't read it that often as it's so dense), and it's one of the top books on my list!
7. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
I read this as a child, but don't remember what it was about.
9. Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb
Another great trilogy that I've read several times. All of her books are great in fact!
17. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
I know this one virtually off by heart.
19. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Just another great book from this hugely gifted writer
20. Sabriel - Garth Nix
Loved this whole series, as well as the Keys to the Kingdom series. They're youthful but not pandering, and the worlds he creates are absolutely beautiful!
22. Redwall - Brian Jacques
Loved them when I was about 12. Spontaneously sold my entire collection (excepting signed Pearls of Lutra, my favourite) when I was about 14.
24. Magician: Apprentice - Raymond Feist
Started, couldn't finish!
26. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
I have read this entire septology every summer since I was 9. When I was 9 it took me about 3 months. Now it takes about 4 days, but it's just as rewarding.
28. The Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K Le Guin
Also first read this when I was 9, and have read it regularly since. Took (and still takes) a little longer than the chronicles, but is sadly, sweetly beautiful.
32. The Gunslinger - Stephen King
I used to love King, and read this septology 3 times. Then i got halfway through 'The Stand' and just got really angry for some reason, and haven't read any of his stuff since. Of all his books I used to own (considerable collection) I only still have The Shining.
35. Watership Down - Richard Adams
This is heart-rendingly beautiful but gave me nightmares as a child...
36. Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Another regularly re-read childhood favourite! I cannot get enough of Carroll!
37. The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett
He's now on teaching staff at my Uni. He walked past me once and I just sort of went
'nuff said. Far from his best novel though!
40. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Great when I was 12. Dreadful when I was 13.
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
Brilliant, but fantasy? Really?
44. The Odyssey - Homer
My Latin teacher gave me an easily digestible version of this when I was 11, that I devoured. I've been struggling with Chapman's translation ever since. (I can never get more than about 12 pages in)
45. The Once and Future King - T.H. White
A truly timeless classic!
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Holiday read. Loved the opening, hated the rest of it. yukyukyukyukyuk. Not so sure it's fantasy either!
51. Howl’s Moving Castles - Diana Wynne Jones
A glorious book from a glorious author! I have read everything she ever wrote, but curiously don't own any of it!
57. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Another childhood 3-monther, but for some reason one I only read once. I absolutely loved it. Must re-visit it!
66. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
I haven't read it in about 6 years, but I love this whole trilogy! I used to read this every summer too!
67. Eragon - Christopher Paolini
I suppose writing a whole novel is an achievement for a 15 year old, but it reads like a novel written by a 15 year old... I got 10 pages into the sequel and my brain melted. A sophisticated Eye of Argon, to my mind.
80. The Magician’s Guild - Trudi Canavan
Love this whole trilogy. One I've only read about twice, but I can remember every detail of this!
86. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
87. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
wonderful. A superb collaboration from two of the best living authors!
95. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
This book never fails to make me unbearably sad, yet I read it again and again and again. It is so unutterably beautiful!
98. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Marakami
This has been on my shelf for 3 years, but I've never read it...
Disappointed that some greats weren't on here. The Neverending Story is a superb book, as is anything by Oscar Moers (The 13 and a half Lives of Captain Bluebear, The City of Dreaming Books, etc.)
Can't believe I've only read 30 of these! Although, really, I've read everything by Pratchett, Gaiman, Orwell and a few others, so that amounts to a lot more wonderful books by people on this list!
Looks more like a bestsellers list to be honest...
Last edited by Crucifer on Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
Why is the duck billed platypus?
Um, the protagonist of Lamb is Levi called Biff, Jesus's best childhood pal. He's about as human as they come.Maria wrote:I'm pretty sure whoever made this was putting the first book of a series on the list rather than the best book of the series. There's no way "Color of Magic" comes close to some of the better Discworld books I've read or heard.
Is "Lamb" really that good, River? It sounded amusing to me, but I don't like to step on my husband's toes, religion-wise. I mean, he's not religious now, but was raised that way and it might make him pretty uncomfortable to hear what Jesus' lamb buddy had to say about him. Plus, I'm pretty unlikely to appreciate an ovine protagonist. Sheep are SOOOOOOO stupid!
Jesus comes off as possessed of divine powers and an inhumanly good nature, which is pretty much how I recall Jesus being portrayed in Sunday school. The book itself covers the years of Jesus's life that aren't in the gospels as well as the parts that are in the gospels. Irreverent, yes, but it doesn't toss Christianity on its head. The only disclaimer I'd give it is you're unlikely to get it if you haven't read the New Testament or ever been to Sunday school.
When you can do nothing what can you do?
I feel much better about only having read 11vison wrote:I've read 12 of them.
I am currently reading The Name of the Wind, number 5 on the list. It was highly recommended to me by some friends who went on and on gushing about how great it is, insisting that I simply must read it, even going so far as to give me an Amazon gift card for my birthday so I could buy it for my Kindle. The inevitable Tolkien comparisons were made (“it’s just as good as LOTR!”) but I decided to try it anyway
. I generally tend not to like most books that are compared to Tolkien this way, but these friends of mine generally have good taste, are both avid readers who can spot crap when they see it, and are not “fantasy fiction” fans, as a rule.I’m only a few chapters into it but I like what I have read so far. We’ll see!
Crucifer! 
Tinwë, the "like Tolkien" billing almost turned me off Pratchett. Since then, I interpret "like Tolkien" to mean a meticulously built and eerily familiar world, masterful command of language, moral universe and NOTHING LIKE LOTR AT ALL!
Tinwë, the "like Tolkien" billing almost turned me off Pratchett. Since then, I interpret "like Tolkien" to mean a meticulously built and eerily familiar world, masterful command of language, moral universe and NOTHING LIKE LOTR AT ALL!
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
-
Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46098
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
Check this out: Flow-chart kind view of NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books
http://www.box.net/shared/static/a6omcl ... sn3o8m.jpg
http://www.box.net/shared/static/a6omcl ... sn3o8m.jpg
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
You beat me to posting that! It's so big that at readable size, I have to scroll on my 27-inch monitor; but it's also well worth reading. . . .
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
It's only an iMac, Griffy—nothing fancy. And I have to have the big monitor so I can work with three Word documents open at once, or (as at this moment) with tables so large they have to be displayed landscape on 11 x 17 pages. To tell you the truth, I kind of take it for granted now.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
I just worked my way through the SF side of the interactive version,, which doesn't require a big screen or scrolling, and darn if I don't have every single one of those books on my shelf and have read all but two, some several times.
Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
I tried the interactive version, I prefer the flowchart. 
Just read McCaffrey first two Dragon series... from that flowchart. Can't find the third one on kindle on nypl... but there are others.
I've read all the "Like Cyberpunk" --> Yes --> sci-fi ones.
Am not too fond of Kurt Vonnegut.
How did Terry Brooks get in there?
Just read McCaffrey first two Dragon series... from that flowchart. Can't find the third one on kindle on nypl... but there are others.
I've read all the "Like Cyberpunk" --> Yes --> sci-fi ones.
Am not too fond of Kurt Vonnegut.
How did Terry Brooks get in there?
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
-
Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
McCaffrey is someone who started really well and then burned through her ideas at some point. But I recommend the "Harper Hall" trilogy, books for young adults that are actually among her best. And "The White Dragon" which merges the adult and YA trilogies at the end.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Nerd.Primula Baggins wrote:I just worked my way through the SF side of the interactive version,, which doesn't require a big screen or scrolling, and darn if I don't have every single one of those books on my shelf and have read all but two, some several times.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
We've started "Name of the Wind" as an audiobook, and are completely hooked so far. Most books we just listen to on the commute, but this one we've been listening to for hours each evening, too.
It's really, really good. It's also really, really long... which was what I was looking for when I found it. I've just ordered the actual books so I can see maps and how some of the names are spelled.
I've got a feeling this series is going to be one of my all time favorites.
I'm glad to see it on that flow chart.
It's really, really good. It's also really, really long... which was what I was looking for when I found it. I've just ordered the actual books so I can see maps and how some of the names are spelled.
I've got a feeling this series is going to be one of my all time favorites.
I'm glad to see it on that flow chart.