Lord Patrek Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Ever since I created the Hotlist a decade ago, there is one thing that never changed. Every week, I keep on receiving messages from random SFF readers looking for recommendations. I have a reading list that I usually post once a year, but this time around I wanted to do things a bit differently. So I came up with a shortlist of SFF novels/series that I feel remain criminally unread. You can find the post here. I narrowed it down to a mix of fantasy and science fiction works from Guy Gavriel Kay, Stephen R. Donaldson, Paul Kearney, Jeff Somers, C. S. Friedman, GRRM, Brian Ruckley, and David Louis Edelman. Some of these books/series are only a couple of years old, while others date from the 90s. And even though most of them are not that "old", most of them have never been or are no longer widely read. There are a lot more such works, but I wanted to keep the list short to maximize the exposure it would provide. . .I'm curious to discover what you guys feel are other novels/series that inexplicably remain underrated and underappreciated by genre fans out there?Cheers,Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I don't know shit about Speculative Fiction, but I know a few SciFi and Fantasy books I can recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Apparently, that's the politically correct way of referring to the genres we love. Or so I'm told! Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First of My Name Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 While The Acts of Caine series is well-regarded on this forum it's not that well-known, and it absolutely shou;d be. So I guess that fits the bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I like the term "speculative fiction". It encompasses more than just scifi and fantasy. It's the whole realm of "non-standard" fiction that contains fantastical aspects including "magical realism" and horror (to mention a couple of non-Scifi/fantasy genres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I like speculative fiction just fine. I will call a book like Ancillary Justice Sci-FI, and ASOIAF fantasy. But what do I call Perdido Street Station? Three Parts Dead? Speculative fiction covers the spectrum and doesn't require a hundred qualifiers. The backlash against it falls directly into the 'get of my damn lawn' realm of things. Doesn't matter that it makes sense, it isn't the way it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I like speculative fiction just fine. I will call a book like Ancillary Justice Sci-FI, and ASOIAF fantasy. But what do I call Perdido Street Station? Three Parts Dead? Speculative fiction covers the spectrum and doesn't require a hundred qualifiers. The backlash against it falls directly into the 'get of my damn lawn' realm of things. Doesn't matter that it makes sense, it isn't the way it used to be.It doesn't make sense. That's the problem. Just because you like it (or I hate it) doesn't mean it's right (or wrong). There's a reason it hasn't stuck, even though people have been trying to push it for decades. It's dumb, confusing (hell, even they guy that came up with it can't seem to figure it what he meant by it), lacking character, and something you only use when you're ashamed to tell your co-workers you read books about dragons and shit. And qualifiers? Please, all that term is, is something that needs qualifiers, hence this conversation. Should we use Atwoods definition of 'sci fi without Martians'? Or Heinlein's (the guy that came up with the term) that it specifically did not include 'fantasy'? Confusing, like I said. You want to cover all the bases? SciFi/fantasy can do just that with less characters, and sounding less pretentious. Unless that's your thing. Also PSS: Steampunk TPD: Urban Fantasy See. That was easy. As for the OP: I think you covered all the big hitters for me (we see eye to eye on most of that kind of stuff) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 PB,What do you call "Alternate history" if not Speculative fiction? It's not Scifi or fantasy. All the "SpecFic" label is trying to do is create a broader catagory than merely scifi/fantasy.It's a meta-catagory that is broader that the specific genres you mention. Why do you object to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Yes Peter you must be right. I use the term Speculative Fiction because I am ashamed to say what I really read for fear of being labeled a geek. With my Zelda and Yoshi T-shirts, book covers covered in dragons and spaceships, and basement bar covered in all things fantasy.And in your world it us easier to use the terms steampunk, urban fantasty, alternative historty, magical realism, etc than just calling it speculative fiction? Yet you dispose GRIMDARK as a term.No consistancy, no reasoning, it's just something you don't like and have decided everyone else should follow your path on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 No consistancy, no reasoning, it's just something you don't like and have decided everyone else should follow your path on.The world would be a better place if that was the case. And I just like fucking with CT about the grim dark shit. I really don't have a horse in that race. It's just funny to see people get worked up about something so silly, and to take it (and by extension themselves) so seriously.... kind of like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 PB,What do you call "Alternate history" if not Speculative fiction? It's not Scifi or fantasy. All the "SpecFic" label is trying to do is create a broader catagory than merely scifi/fantasy.It's a meta-catagory that is broader that the specific genres you mention. Why do you object to it?Yes, the only objection is that it only means that to you. To me (and many, many others) it means something completely different, so it loses it meta status. And I call alternate history just that. If someone said, 'hey, Crossett, what do you think about that man from high castle book?' 'Well' I'd say, 'it's a great alternate history novel'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Shit, even one of the biggest publishers of the genre(s) label them in my fashion:http://www.tor.com/2015/12/08/science-fiction-fantasy-short-fiction-find-online/They could have easily just said speculative fiction, but they avoided the confusion and just said scifi/fantasy. Covers it all, sub genres included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 A great breakdown from some ladies who should know (and the one I tend to agree with):http://io9.com/5650396/margaret-atwood-and-ursula-k-le-guin-debate-science-fiction-vs-realism 'So perhaps the breakdown is as follows: could happen (speculative fiction), couldn't happen yet (science fiction), could never happen at all (fantasy).' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 As popular as it on these boards, The Long Price Quartet deserves more attention and appreciation. I can only imagine it isn't as popular due to the lack of instant gratification. The general public simply lacks the patience to invest in a series that is a slow build. It really is a hidden gem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 People can't agree on what any genre label for anything ever means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 how about: fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reckoner Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 The Legend of Drizzt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 how about: fiction.I like that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Trying to remember were I saw the argument that the only two genre labels needed are tradgety and comedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 The Legend of Drizztyeah, we need to get that out there more. Pat, what about the Vlad Taltos books by Brust, or are they too popular? I dig them, and they hardly get any love around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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