Hossbeast Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I was just wondering if there is anyone on this forum who does NOT consider this the best fantasy they have ever read. I certainly do. I have read:EddingsBrooksJordanTolkienGoodkind(others)along with various nonfiction and other genre's, and I certainly consider this the best literature I have ever read, certainly the best fantasy. "best" is difficult to describe of course; lets say I enjoy it, and am interested and "into" it more than anything else I've ever encountered.So- is there anything out there you consider "better" ? If so, what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revan Baratheon Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Harry Potter is the best fantasy series of all time.It is Known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyjoy the Reaver Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I like it a lot........ it's definitley up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King in the South Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Harry Potter is the best fantasy series of all time.It is Known.can't...tell...if...sarcasm :box: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salt Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Ok, this is by no means the "best literature" out there, that's not what Martin is going for and if you believe that you should expand your horizons. But it is the best fantasy I've read and some of the best storytelling I've ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
master Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 while i've read too many books to decide whats the "best" it is certainly one of my favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Vaunt Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Harry Potter is the best fantasy series of all time.It is Known.I will say this about Harry Potter: I have never, ever wanted skip a chapter in Harry Potter.I like ASoIaF better, but there's been parts of that where I've been bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvik Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 The writing is exceptional, and the story is entirely original (from what I've read at any rate) and as essentially my favourite genre, it ranks extremely highly, though I would argue that Tolkein had a more developed world, if no so much overall depth in his story.(he did take about 3 decades to write the entirety of Middle-Earth's history granted...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvik Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I will say this about Harry Potter: I have never, ever wanted skip a chapter in Harry Potter.I like ASoIaF better, but there's been parts of that where I've been bored.Though in Harry Potter you don't have the chapter 'title' i.e. POV name telling you where you're going to be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revan Baratheon Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Though in Harry Potter you don't have the chapter 'title' i.e. POV name telling you where you're going to be...i think he means once u start reading a boring pov u feel like skipping it,regardless of the character cause some povs are really boring compared to others.The thing with HP id that its consistent,whereas in ASOIAF the POV's widely defer in levels of interests,especially in the 5th book,and least in the 3rd.Harry Potter is better paced as well except the 6th book i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyjoy the Reaver Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 It's more Science Fiction than fantasy. But I like to lump the two together. I really like the Mission Earth Series by L Ron Hubbard. It has some great characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woman of War Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 It's more Science Fiction than fantasy. But I like to lump the two together. I really like the Mission Earth Series by L Ron Hubbard. It has some great characters.Omigod, scientology crap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlespider Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 The first three books were hands down the best I've ever read in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Tight, deftly constructed, and fast-moving; and I don't mean just plot. I preferred them to Tolkien, even. The most recent two books of the series floundered, imo, DwD more than FfC. Let's hope Martin finishes strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 If we are talking fantasy only, there are a few series I consider better:- Gormenghast - Orphan's Tales - Earthsea - Riddlemaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlespider Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 - RiddlemasterDo you mean the Patricia McKilip books? She is awesome. For some weird reason I rarely meet other fantasy geeks who have read her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmflavius Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 i think he means once u start reading a boring pov u feel like skipping it,regardless of the character cause some povs are really boring compared to others.The thing with HP id that its consistent,whereas in ASOIAF the POV's widely defer in levels of interests,especially in the 5th book,and least in the 3rd.Harry Potter is better paced as well except the 6th book i guessI'm gonna say that the fifth book was a lot worse than the sixth book, but the sixth book, IMO, was the second best book in the series.Fantasy as we know it is still a comparatively recent invention, and the list of qualifying "good" fantasy is fairly limited.Having said that, I think it's unarguable that Lord of the Rings is the most important fantasy series of all time, and quite possibly very close to the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlespider Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Having said that, I think it's unarguable that Lord of the Rings is the most important fantasy series of all time, and quite possibly very close to the best.I'd agree on most important, and definitely close to the best, though it's not great on psychological depth, which is what I like best in my books. But LotR is doing some other wonderful things that compensate.But I think T. H. White's The Once and Future King often gets overlooked when we're looking at influential and just damn good fantasy writing. Definitely one of the best that's out there. Arthurian fiction wouldn't be what it was without it, that's for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Do you mean the Patricia McKilip books? She is awesome. For some weird reason I rarely meet other fantasy geeks who have read her. Yes, that's what I meant. McKillip is one of my favourite writers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fryie Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I'm not an avid fantasy reader, so I'll just say this:There's no way GRRM and Tolkien can be compared. Both have entirely different goals. GRRM wants to paint a (pseudo-)historical picture with realistic characters, moral ambiguity, unforeseen plot twists, political intrigue, and so on.That is not at all what any of Tolkien's works were about. The story is simple. But Tolkien knew that - he was trying to emulate actual mythological sagas in his own setting.His books are brilliants in other points: The writing is beautiful, the use of metaphor and of themes is consistent and very artistic, the languages and the world are very well-developed, etc.GRRM is a good storyteller with many qualities and that's why I read ASOIAF.However, his writing, stylistically, is rather mediocre. In fact, especially in ADWD I thought there were places were it was outright bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therustman Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 As a storyteller GRRM is up there with Stephen King, I was not surprised to read that he is influenced by King's writing.I would agree it is very difficult to compare ASOIAF to LOTR, written with different objectives and a very different times. Also LOTR completely set the bar re fantasy.Can't believe Harry Potter even gets into this discussion. The writing is dire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.