Jump to content

Looking for fun, thought-provoking epic fantasy with great writing...


kiniro

Recommended Posts

Moorcock is legendary. People who dis his stuff don't realise the kind of crap he shared shelf space with from the period it was written, and obviously fail to see the influence (mostly indirect) he has had on contemperary fantasy. It's like pissing on PK Dick. Sure the prose and characterisation are pretty ordinary (some of his books were written in a couple of days - presumably off his head), but there were more original ideas in Stormbringer, Warlord of the Air or Dancers at the End of Time than Erikson has in his entire decology.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Moorcock is legendary. People who dis his stuff don't realise the kind of crap he shared shelf space with from the period it was written, and obviously fail to see the influence (mostly indirect) he has had on contemperary fantasy. It's like pissing on PK Dick. Sure the prose and characterisation are pretty ordinary (some of his books were written in a couple of days - presumably off his head), but there were more original ideas in Stormbringer, Warlord of the Air or Dancers at the End of Time than Erikson has in his entire decology.

Yes, lets bring other authors into this! That's mature and not at all asshole like!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, lets bring other authors into this! That's mature and not at all asshole like!

Heh, sorry man - a bit of a defensive reaction (and btw, I actually really like Erikson - he does a lot of things a lot better than Moorcock, the reason I mentioned him specifically is because, although his books are quite inventive in the context of modern fantasy, they are outpaced in terms of creativity by some much smaller volumes like those I mentioned - very easy to miss nowadays because they have since been re-interpretted and re-used to the point where they are cliches (e.g. Law and Chaos in Warhammer etc etc) ) ;)

And I guess I can see where your opinions come from if you read his stuff in omnibus form - quite a few of his books are formulaic and boring as shit (much like Dick). But if you consider them individualy and contextualy, there is a lot of good stuff in there.

For example, Elric was concieved as a reaction to Conan - originally written as short stories with the first proper modern rendition of an antihero.

Ideas like sentient soulsucking swords, Law and Chaos as metaphysical poles instead of good and evil, a multiverse (Moorcock is the originator of the idea and term) were all really fresh and exciting at a time when one's options included stuff like Horselords, Eddings and Alan Dean Foster.

edited for extra context and clarity

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heh, sorry man - a bit of a defensive reaction (and btw, I actually really like Erikson) ;) And I guess I can see where your opinions come from if you read his stuff in omnibus form - quite a few of his books are formulaic and boring as shit (much like Dick). But if you consider them individualy and contextually, there is a lot of good stuff in there.

For example, Elric was conceived as a reaction to Conan - originally written as short stories with the first proper modern rendition of an antihero.

Ideas like sentient soulsucking swords, Law and Chaos as metaphysical poles instead of good and evil, a multiverse (Moorcock is the originator of the idea and term) were all really fresh and exciting at a time when one's options included stuff like Horselords, Eddings and Alan Dean Foster.

Man, it's OK. I'm being kinda of a dick too. I get kinda knee jerky when someone brings up Erikson or Glen Cook, so I know how you feel. I have a felling the collections I read way back were not well put together. I mean they were published by white wolf, not exactly an indication of, well, people who have rational thoughts. I really do need to give some of it another try, especially considering how half the bands I listen to have at least 2 songs based around it per album.

OK, I here Horeslords said a lot. What in the name of God is Horselords? Or would I rather not know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, I here Horeslords said a lot. What in the name of God is Horselords? Or would I rather not know.

Erm, it's Horseclans actually. I had a mate who was always trying to get me to read 'em, he lent me one and it's the first (and one o the few) books I never finished - I actually threw it away. I can't even remember specificly why tbh. I seem to have guaged it down there at the bottom of my critical scale with Gor though.

Oh and sorry for the ninja edit^^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Erm, it's Horseclans actually. I had a mate who was always trying to get me to read 'em, he lent me one and it's the first (and one o the few) books I never finished - I actually threw it away. I can't even remember specificly why tbh. I seem to have guaged it down there at the bottom of my critical scale with Gor though.

Oh and sorry for the ninja edit^^

Oh god. Well at least it looks like they're not in print.

Oh dear, Gor. Every time I think I've forgotten about that it comes back somehow. There was a MOVIE. A GOR MOVIE. WHAT KIND OF GOD WOULD ALLOW THAT?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh god. Well at least it looks like they're not in print.

Oh dear, Gor. Every time I think I've forgotten about that it comes back somehow. There was a MOVIE. A GOR MOVIE. WHAT KIND OF GOD WOULD ALLOW THAT?

Sweet jesus, and we have academics complaining about the state of modern fantasy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It gets worse!

THERE WAS A SEQUEL!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098048/

Man, the description is great:

"Better known as "Outlaw" to those of you who watch the TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000". It's about a beefy blonde and his oily friend Watney. They are teleported by a rose quartz because The Elder (he has no name, Just "The Elder") thinks that Xeno, the Priest by a clearly drunk Jack Palance, has eyes for the throne. Of course, Cabot cares nothing for such intrigue just for the Princess he had "ooh-la-la" with from the previous film "Gor". The Elder is off, though. It's the Queen who wants the throne for her own. Naturally, Watney is seduced by the Queen to implicate Cabot murdering the King, and Cabot and his platinum blonde midget friend escape off into the desert, where they free a slave girl and are just as quickly captured by a bounty hunter. The Princess is forced, meanwhile, by the Queen to fight The Leather Women. "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, you did not just say Jordan's writing is better then Wolfe. no. That did not happen, This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening.

It happened.

Of course book of the new sun was written in a different form of narrative than Jordan.

But Jordan had a really great flow. In comparison I don't think Wolf had that great of sentence fluency.

I'm impressed with Wolf. But I think Jordan might have also been the better worldbuilder.

But of course - Wolf was much better at being concise - and he managed to create a story with a beginning, middle, and end.

An accomplishment Jordan was never really able to match. (Excluding a few of his stand alone novels out there).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's Wolfe. Also, Wolfe is still alive. You kinda talk about him in the past tense.

Also you;re insane.

I always lapse into the past tense with anything connected to Jordan.

Have you read the Wheel of time series then?

I read Book of the New Sun.

It was creative, but I didn't really like the protagonist very much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know - I watched the movie Gor not too long ago.

It was pretty glorious.

It made me want to give a lecture on the counter-world Gor.

Gor=?

Today class, I am here to once again talk to you about the counter world Gor. Einstein evidently spent the last years of his life studying this ring here I have.

Now If I write the equation for spherical area on the board here - who can tell me how it doesn't relate to this ring, and to the counter-world Gor?

I can't believe that crappy movie was based off of a book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Series of books. That are popular for some reason. Well ok they're popular cause they're porn.

And I do enjoy The Wheel of Time very much actually, I just have a boner for Wolfe's prose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Series of books. That are popular for some reason. Well ok they're popular cause they're porn.

And I do enjoy The Wheel of Time very much actually, I just have a boner for Wolfe's prose.

What do you enjoy about his language?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a Gor movie? An actual mainstream movie or a porn one?

Well you know, even if you think Elric is crap, that stuff had a huge influence on the fantasy genre. Eriksonis one example. Also, just try playing Wrath of a Lich King. :0

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Horse Clans sounds Awesome!!

from the link

"The "Ganiks" were degraded descendants of hippie communes, whose religion of "Orghanikonservashun" (organic-conservation) forbade them to eat animal meat (but not human meat; Ganiks were enthusiastic cannibals), bathe, or hot-work metal (due to the pollution caused by burning coal)."

YES YES YES! I bet if it was still in print it would be more popular in this forum than Goodkind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...