We’ve all passed along books to friends and family, hoping that they’ll enjoy them too. But have you ever given a fantasy book to a non-fantasy reader and watched their confusion? “What is all this…elf stuff?” they ask. “Vampires? Isn’t that for kids?” And then we sigh and move along, wishing they understood.
Fantasy Magazine wants to promote fantasy, for obvious reasons. So we’re wondering — what are the gateway books, the fantasy works that compel even the most-resistant reader into enjoyment?
With your help, we plan to find these titles and release them into the wild, following the example of the excellent site, BookCrossing. Once there, our nefarious scheme involves tracking their progress as they recruit a new crop of fantasy readers. Will you help out?
Step One: Over the next week, we’ll be gathering a list of the fantasy works readers most love and revere, the most infectious, reader-grabbing fantasy works of all time. Once we’ve got that list, we’ll start winnowing it down, with your help, and hopefully discovering some awesome specimens to release. Through August, we’ll be pitting books against each other and gathering our champions to set free at the end of the month. To encourage you, let me mention that if you are the first person to suggest one of the titles that ends up being released, you will win not just the satisfaction of knowing what good taste you have, but a surprise as well.
So start us off! Who do you recommend?
I mean I’d add The Death Gate Cycle for this list. Especially Fire Sea.
David, I agree with Fire Sea. But as far as the previous Deathgate books, I thoughts the gegs were just glorified gnomes/dwarves, the humans were typical high-fantasy archetypes, pretty much bogarted from Tolkien, even if the landscape wasn’t. There are better books, but these books were infinitely better than the TSR books by MW/TH. And Salvatore’s books are genuinely awful, I’ll stand by that.
That’s right, there were stereotypical fantasy races in Death Gate–I was thinking mostly of the Sartan and the Patryn.
I’ve not read any Salvatore novels, so I can’t comment there.
The Terry Brooks that I’ve read falls under the same lines, even the way the land is conveniently divided into 4 areas, each which houses a single race. I liked the Sword of Shannara, again probably because I read it as a teen before having too much exposure, but it wouldn’t be a good gateway book.
Some people have listed Robert E. Howard’s Conan collections, but as far as introduction type stuff, I have to say that Conan can be a bitter pill to swallow. Don’t get me wrong, I love Howard’s work, but Conan can be a little…much, to say the least. I recommend breaking up what basically becomes monotony with Conan and try this anthology http://www.amazon.com/Best-Robert-E-Howard-Crimson/dp/0345490185 It’s called Crimson Shadows and features not only Conan, but Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, and even some quintessential weird stuff from Howard’s collected works. No elves in sight either.
How come nobody has mentioned Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books yet? It’s like a mixture of Raymond Chandler and Jo Rowling that adults can enjoy. The humor is lots of fun too.
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
Viriconium by M. John Harrison
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (most of his books, in fact)
Saffron and Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand (Make that anything by Elizabeth Hand)
I actually had the chance to put this into play recently. My 19 year old son moved in with me and he was not a reader. Avid gamer, nintendo champion, in college to be a computer programmer, but not a reader, with the exception of the Harry Potter series. I bought him several books to try and get him into the love of reading and the ones I chose were ..
“The Color of Magic” by Terry Pratchett
“Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
“Magic’s Pawn, Magic’s Promise and Magic’s Price” By Mercedes Lackey.
The series by Mercedes Lackey didn’t catch his attention, perhaps he was a little TOO old for that one, but the other two snared him but good. In the last year, we have read, together now, almost everything Terry Pratchett has published and he has even begun his own library of books. Orson Scott Card affected him deeply, he really was able to relate to that one as well and he went on to read the second book in that series as well.
Some others I might suggest would be:
The Pern Series by Mercedes Lackey
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn
Kushiel’s Dart by Joceyln Carey
The Blood Books by Tanya Huff
Really, it would depend on who I was trying to “gateway” as to which ones I would use, knowing the audience is half the challange in sharing a good book.
Jennifer
I agree with the Pern series to bring people.
Not so much on Dune. It’s pretty heavy for someone who’s not committed to it. I read it in college and I had to take notes to keep all the characters straight!
On the new side, I suggest “Shorn” by Larissa Niec. I found it more subtle than most fantasy works, and very compelling.
Tons of great suggestions here, but I would like to add:
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (particularly for anyone drawn in by the Twilight series)
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
The Hero and the Crown and/or The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
My girlfriend’s fantasy reading pretty much starts and ends with Harry Potter, but she LOVED Poison Study and its sequels. Excellent suggestion!
“Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side,” by Beth Fantaskey.
“Dragons of Autumn Twilight,” by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
Oh, and I forgot, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles.
Updating my nominations based on feedback above
The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1: Crimson Shadows
City of the Dead by Rosemary Jones
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (I kid, I kid)
“Charmed Life”, by Diana Wynne Jones
Black Jewels Trilogy, by Anne Bishop
“Wild Seed”, by Octavio Butler
Sorry, “Wild Seed”, by Octavia Butler, I’m sure authors appreciate it when we pass on their names correctly.
I’ve just posted the list that’s been generated, so I’m closing nominations. Go vote for your favorites!
Godstalk by PC Hodgell
The Jhereg books by Steven Brust
Great books, ranging from noir to epic.
The Night Watch series (Night, Day, Twilight and Last Watch) by Sergei Lukyanenko.
They made two movies from the first book, and this stuff reads like what would happen if Neil Gaiman grew up in the Soviet Union
The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare, (City of Bones, City of Ashes, & City of Glass).
After reading The Twilight books and then this series, I was hooked. I haven’t read anything but fantasy books sense. I love them.
The Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Miles Vorkosigan books, beginning with Cordelia’s Honor
Oh, also, The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper.
Great suggestions, but be aware that anything after comment #66 is too late, unfortunately.
David Eddings – Pawn of Prophecy
Terry Pratchett – Guards! Guards!
Tad Williams – The Dragonbone Chair
Raymond Feist – Magician
Robert Jordan – Eye of the World
Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Apprentice
Dennis McKiernan – The Dark Tide
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman – Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Dave Duncan – The Reluctant Swordsman
Susan Dexter – The Ring of Allaire
James Watt-Evans – The Misenchanted Sword
Tolkien – Fellowship of the Ring
Angus Wells – Forbidden Magic
Patricia McKillip – Riddlemaster of Hed
Jennifer Roberson – Sword Dancer
C. J. Cherryh – Fires of Azeroth
Elizabeth Moon – The Sheepfarmer’s Daughter
Terry Goodkind – Wizard’s First Rule
George R. R. Martin – A Game of Thrones
T. H. White – The Once and Future King
Mark Anthony – Escape From Undermountain
Kate Elliot – King’s Dragon
Don Callander – Pyromancer
Elizabeth Haydon – Rhapsody: Child of Blood
Stephen R. Donaldson – Lord Foul’s Bane
Diane Duane – So You Want To Be A Wizard
Terry Brooks – The Sword of Shanarra
Piers Anthony – A Spell For Chameleon
Barbara Hambly – The Time of the Dark
Robert E. Margroff – Dragon’s Gold
i like Laurell K. Hamilton her Anita books are great as well as the Merry ones.
Seventh Son – orson scot card
(ender is perfect to sci-fi,worked lots of times)
the golden compass worked a couple of times
and robin hobb assassins series works every time
transformation by carol berg could also work
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Duncton Wood by William Horwood
…for getting them used to the idea of nonhuman intelligence
The one that got me interested was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. After that, I was hooked.
Enders Game got my nephews attention.
Moonheart, Charles De Lint
Gate of Darness, Circle of Light, Tanya Huff
Copper Crown, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
Summer Tree, Guy Gavriel Kay
Seven Towers, Patricia Wrede
Forgotten Beasts of Eld, Patricia McKillip
Sunshine, Robin McKinley
Brisingamen, Diana Paxson
The Land of Laughs, Jonathan Carroll
Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges
The Facts of Life, Graham Joyce
Heroes Die, Matthew Woodring Stover
The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Lord Darcy – Randall Garrett
Summon the Keeper – Tanya Huff
A College Of Magics – Caroline Stevermer
Steerswoman – Rosemary Kirstein
Bridge of Birds – Barry Hughart
I’m going to recommend another Gaiman title, my favorite: “Anansi Boys”
I’ll also throw in Clive Barker’s “The Thief of Always” for good measure.
Out of the Silent Planet – C. S. Lewis
I also really like the newish one by Sanderson, Warbreaker.
Also, would The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks count?
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien is the obvious omission in the listed books so far.
I will second War for the Oaks by Emma Bull as modern and approachable which pulled me into looking into the history of some of the creatures.
The Buried Pyramid by Jane Lindskold is a fun adventure with supernatural elements.
In SF I found SPIN by Robert Charles Wilson to be a great read that would expand many minds.
For a gateway book, you really need something that doesn’t depend on being familiar with genre tropes, or do the things that non-fantasy readers are sure they don’t like. That cuts out a lot of excellent books. Some that I might hand out:
His Majesty’s Dragon, by Naomi Novik. Likely to grab people who like historical fiction. Not too long or obviously complex, but excellent world-building and plain hard to put down.
Jhereg, by Steven Brust. Good for anyone who likes thrillers and first-person snark.
The Sharing Knife: Beguilement, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Good crossover book for romance readers.
The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien
A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
Going Postal Terry Pratchett
Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson
Old Mans War by John Scalzi
Although those last ones are more science fiction, not fantasy.
Oh, and Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson. If you guys haven’t read anything by RCW, do it now.
The book that so successfully grabbed non-genre readers that it was pulled of the specfic shelves and stuck in the Literary section:
Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveller’s Wife
Though technically, with the pseudo-scientific explanation for his affliction, this could also be classified as SF.
I have to agree with everything I’ve seen so far. The vast majority of these books reside in places of honor in my bookshelves (except to be read or reread when the mood strikes.)
One book that I have used with several of my friends is Heroes Die by Mathew Stover – Book one of the Blade of Tyshalle series. The second book is hard to find in print but I’ve found several copies in libraries. Worth several reads. More violent than I would be comfortable recommending to younger readers, but it does a great job of bringing the fantasy elements together in a coherent way that they all enjoyed.
My copy of The Name of the Wind is well worn from multiple readings waiting for the next one.
The First Law books are excellent, had to make a special trip to drop the third one off since my friend refused to wait.
As always Pratchett is brilliant as is Gaiman so I third or fourth Good Omens as a funny and amazing book.
Amazing list and I’ll be digging through my shelves and dusting these all off again.
Cheers and Happy new worlds for our friends.
The ‘Memory Sorrow and Thorn’ series or ‘Otherland’ series by Tad Williams
Both “Last Call” and “The Drawing of the Dark” by Tim Powers. Also, “Imagica” by Clive Barker. The list could go on, but that’s a great start for anyone.