Good fantasy page-turners

[Talleyrand]

Really? I was told he was the best dark fantasy author alive (well, when he still was) and that his books were page-turning as hell. Was it troll? Or is your opinion unpopular?

I've heard a lot of good about Abercrombie, will try!

Gemmell's awesome - though his earlier books like Legend are little crap compared to the later ones - i'd reccomend his Trojan war series, easily my favourite of his works.

Also try some Gaiman - American Gods

[Darth Richard II]

Robin Hobb is mostly first person.

[DNDM]

May I ask what the difference of first-person- and POV-narrative is? Because for me, it is the same :D

Example of First Person narration: The Hunger Games

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother.

Of course she did. This is the day of the reaping.

Example of POV narration (or third person limited point of view narration, to be exact): ASOIAF

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran’s life.

I can understand why Pilusmagnus wrote that he wanted to avoid first person narration: it's one of the easiest way to write a story for a writer but most of the time it's adolescent litterature, not really interesting. And it can quickly fall into traps. The most common critic I heard about The Farseer Trilogy (that I did not read) is that the hero is a always whining and complaining about his life and self-pitying.

By the way, i made a mistake, Gagner la Guerre would be filed as Epistolary novel, not as First Person narration.

[Zorral]

The Deverry Saga series by Kit Kerr. Definitely not first person. Definitely translated into French.

The series is broken into at least four cycles. The first two are the really interesting ones. The background to Deverry is ancient Gaul, Many of the characters are descendants of the Gallic tribe that got magically transported to another world to escape the Roman invasions.

[Darth Richard II]

Deverry is one of my all time faves, but it's super long. But finished.

[Pilusmagnus]

Seriously? Is Hunger Games really a first-person narrative? Aren't we supposed to care whether Katniss will die or not? If so, first person is clearly used as a lure for teenagers here, not to serve the story.

What I don't like about first person narratives is that it totally breaks suspension of disbelief for me. I just can't go along with the idea that the character himself has written his adventures so precisely. It simply does not compute with me. But I understand how it can be an effective dramatic device. But however I get angry when it is not here to serve a purpose but simply because teenagers prefer this narration for some reason.

The only first person books I like are the Sherlock Holmes stories and when the narrator is not the main character. And also All Quiet on the Western Front because of its amazing ending twist.

[Night's_King]

Seriously? Is Hunger Games really a first-person narrative? Aren't we supposed to care whether Katniss will die or not? If so, first person is clearly used as a lure for teenagers here, not to serve the story.

What I don't like about first person narratives is that it totally breaks suspension of disbelief for me. I just can't go along with the idea that the character himself has written his adventures so precisely. It simply does not compute with me. But I understand how it can be an effective dramatic device.

You should try the Kingkiller Chonicles by Patrick Rothfuss :D

[Darth Richard II]

Haha. You make funny joke.

[Pilusmagnus]

Well, for the moment I think I'll have enough of King, Abercrombie, Gemmell and both French authors, but maybe when I'm done I can come back to you guys. Thanks!

[john]

I can understand why Pilusmagnus wrote that he wanted to avoid first person narration: it's one of the easiest way to write a story for a writer but most of the time it's adolescent litterature, not really interesting. And it can quickly fall into traps. The most common critic I heard about The Farseer Trilogy (that I did not read) is that the hero is a always whining and complaining about his life and self-pitying.

By the way, i made a mistake, Gagner la Guerre would be filed as Epistolary novel, not as First Person narration.

The Farseer books are technically epistolary too. It's all supposed to be stuff the main character is writing down.

[polishgenius]

Seriously? Is Hunger Games really a first-person narrative? Aren't we supposed to care whether Katniss will die or not? If so, first person is clearly used as a lure for teenagers here, not to serve the story.

If you haven't read them, how the hell would you know that?

In fact the first-person narrative is used precisely to serve the story, especially in the third book which uses being locked so closely into Katniss as a narrative tool (a lot of people hated it, I thought it was a great trick, though the book needed to be longer). But even in the first two, it's used to obscure certain things, particularly about her character itself and the effect she has.

[Diziet]

Are there any fantasy books written in the second person genitive?

[Pilusmagnus]

If you haven't read them, how the hell would you know that?

Because I watched the movies.

In fact the first-person narrative is used precisely to serve the story, especially in the third book which uses being locked so closely into Katniss as a narrative tool (a lot of people hated it, I thought it was a great trick, though the book needed to be longer). But even in the first two, it's used to obscure certain things, particularly about her character itself and the effect she has.

Nothing that can't be managed by a limited POV narrative, which would do exactly the same except I wouldn't know from the beginning that Katniss was going to survive.

[Night's_King]

Sorry, but :lmao:

[Night's_King]

Okay, that was a little unfrienly, I'm sorry. But you really can't judge a book if you only watched the movie...

[polishgenius]

Because I watched the movies.

...

Nothing that can't be managed by a limited POV narrative, which would do exactly the same

Except it wouldn't. I know this, because I've read the books.

[williamjm]

Are there any fantasy books written in the second person genitive?

The only ones I've read are Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style game books like the Fighting Fantasy series.

I'm not aware of any regular fantasy novels written in second person. I think Charlie Stross has written a couple of second-person Science Fiction novels.

[HexMachina]

...

Except it wouldn't. I know this, because I've read the books.

You mean we actually have to read books now to pass comment on them? Shock

[Pilusmagnus]

Well, it's true I should not judge a book by only watching the movies. Yet a story in which you're supposed to care about the fate of the characters being written in the first person is kinda weird IMO. In the first book, it means you know from the start that all the contestants other than Katniss are dead from the moment you meet them. Totally ruins the metatextuality that I had seen in the films.

[Darth Richard II]

Dead people can narrate books.