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Via yhlee, an amazing sale on science fiction, fantasy, and related ebooks. https://theportalist.com/may-sff-sale. All books at 99 cents or $1.99! There's four pages of deals at all vendors; page down to bottom and click on "more deals" to get them all. It's mostly from the 70s and 80s; I have a lot of the books in paper, but bought the ebooks now, both for convenience and to give the authors some money, considering that in many cases I've read the books multiple times and may have bought them used in the first place.
A few of note:
The Road to Middle-earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology
, by Tom Shippey. I loved his other book on Tolkien, Author of the Century; it was genuinely eye-opening and thought-provoking. I've been meaning to read this for ages.
Caught in Crystal
, by Patricia Wrede. A charming standalone fantasy with a rickety plot but great characters and intriguing worldbuilding. As a young woman, Kayl was an adventurer in a group of four girls; now she's a middle-aged mom and innkeeper when adventure comes knocking at her door again. The only fantasy novel I've ever read where the mom is the one on a quest, and takes her kids with her. (Spoiler: nothing bad happens to her kids.)
Dragonsbane
, by Barbara Hambly. A middle-aged couple with kids (she's a witch, he's a scholar) who once slew a dragon are called out of retirement to face another. (They don't take their kids). Really great characterization, a terrific love story, and a set of difficult and poignant dilemmas. This is a standalone with an extremely satisfying ending. It acquired sequels many years later that are dreadful; avoid them. Other Hambly books are also on sale. I like her fantasy a lot and enjoyed everything currently on sale.
Wild Seed
, by Octavia Butler. A bunch of Butler's books are on sale, but I especially like this one. It's connected to some other books but is effectively a standalone set in Africa. Two immortal mutants, a woman who can take any shape and a man who jumps into another's body when he dies, are locked into a slow duel over a period of centuries. It's vivid and has great characters and a great setting, and wrestles with difficult choices in an interesting way. It has darkness and tragedy, but I wouldn't call it grimdark.
Lens of the World (Lens of the World Trilogy Book 1)
, by R. A. MacAvoy. The whole trilogy is on sale, but it's not a conventional fantasy trilogy, more the story of a life told in three parts. A really unusual, original work that deals with gender, sexual orientation, and how we perceive and construct reality; also involves martial arts, sea serpents, lens crafting, and a dog or possibly wolf that might be real or a ghost or a god or a hallucination or an aspect of the protagonist or something else entirely. I was glad to have the chance to funnel some money to MacAvoy because I think I originally bought all her books used, and I've re-read them often.
What all do you notice that's worth checking out (or worth avoiding?)
A few of note:
The Road to Middle-earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology
, by Tom Shippey. I loved his other book on Tolkien, Author of the Century; it was genuinely eye-opening and thought-provoking. I've been meaning to read this for ages.Caught in Crystal
, by Patricia Wrede. A charming standalone fantasy with a rickety plot but great characters and intriguing worldbuilding. As a young woman, Kayl was an adventurer in a group of four girls; now she's a middle-aged mom and innkeeper when adventure comes knocking at her door again. The only fantasy novel I've ever read where the mom is the one on a quest, and takes her kids with her. (Spoiler: nothing bad happens to her kids.)Dragonsbane
, by Barbara Hambly. A middle-aged couple with kids (she's a witch, he's a scholar) who once slew a dragon are called out of retirement to face another. (They don't take their kids). Really great characterization, a terrific love story, and a set of difficult and poignant dilemmas. This is a standalone with an extremely satisfying ending. It acquired sequels many years later that are dreadful; avoid them. Other Hambly books are also on sale. I like her fantasy a lot and enjoyed everything currently on sale.Wild Seed
, by Octavia Butler. A bunch of Butler's books are on sale, but I especially like this one. It's connected to some other books but is effectively a standalone set in Africa. Two immortal mutants, a woman who can take any shape and a man who jumps into another's body when he dies, are locked into a slow duel over a period of centuries. It's vivid and has great characters and a great setting, and wrestles with difficult choices in an interesting way. It has darkness and tragedy, but I wouldn't call it grimdark. Lens of the World (Lens of the World Trilogy Book 1)
, by R. A. MacAvoy. The whole trilogy is on sale, but it's not a conventional fantasy trilogy, more the story of a life told in three parts. A really unusual, original work that deals with gender, sexual orientation, and how we perceive and construct reality; also involves martial arts, sea serpents, lens crafting, and a dog or possibly wolf that might be real or a ghost or a god or a hallucination or an aspect of the protagonist or something else entirely. I was glad to have the chance to funnel some money to MacAvoy because I think I originally bought all her books used, and I've re-read them often. What all do you notice that's worth checking out (or worth avoiding?)
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OTOH, I've been looking for Anderson's The Broken Sword so thanks for that.
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Oooh, Nazhuret! *snaps them up*
Also, The Northern Girl by Elizabeth Lynn, which is the only volume of the Chronicles of Tornor that I really like.
That really is rather a motley collection, albeit an extensive one.
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There's one where a dragon asks Jon for help because his princess has been kidnapped and then there's the hoard...
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I also recommend The Silent Strength of Stones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, which is on the list. It's the second of her Chapel Hollow stories, but it stands well alone. And the first one, The Thread that Binds the Bones, does show up on the Portalist mailing list from time to time.
I have a nostalgic fondness for Alan Dean Foster's Midworld, though I've been told that the ecology doesn't work if one examines it properly.
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