The Sword and Laser discussion
Looking for more firearms in "High" Fantasy
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You can try J. Gregory Keyes' Age of Unreason series. It's alternate history set in an 18th century where Isaac Newton discovered sorcery a century earlier, so it mixes firearms and other technology of the time with alchemy-powered devices like the aetherschriber (a magical telegraph/fax machine), kraftpistole (a lighting pistol, basically), and flying ships. It's not secondary-world fantasy like most of your examples, but I think the stakes are high enough for it to feel like a typical high fantasy epic.
Hawkwood and the Kings by Paul Kearney. It is an omnibus of the first two books in the Monarchies of God series.The Heresy Within by Rob J. Hayes and Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. There is very limited firearms usage in both series.
I think Flintlock Fantasy is the term. Michael Stackpole recently did something. And not Django Wexler but the other one. [Brian McClellan]. I'll edit this later...In fact, here's a flintlock fantasy bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
There are firearms in Elizabeth Bear's Eternal Sky trilogy. It depends on your definition of what high fantasy is, OP, as you have urban fantasy and science fiction in your list.
Tamahome wrote: "I think Flintlock Fantasy is the term. Michael Stackpole recently did something."Right--At the Queen's Command. Haven't read it yet, but I think it fits the bill.
I was going to say, "No one has mentioned L.E. Modesitt", but he's right there in the original post. Modesitt's "Saga of Recluce" was, in my opinion, one of the best uses of guns and firearms in a magical, high fantasy setting that I've ever read. C.S. Friedman's (it's author first-name as initials day, apparently) Coldfire Trilogy has some higher-end tech such as gas engines which includes firearms if I remember correctly. YMMV on the quality of the series/writing and the tech is unreliable in the world due to something-something-something-hand wave, but you might be interested in those as well.
Lord Darcy Set in an alternate Victorian Europe. Very fun.I've also heard that the TEARS OF RAGE sequence, by some hack named Gallowglas, starting with First Chosen is kind of like The Three Musketeers meets The Iliad.
(view spoiler)
Don't know if you had this in mind but The Doomfarers of Coramonde and The Starfollowers of Coramonde by Brian Daley have a bunch of grunts from Vietnam fighting a dragon and such with a M113 APC.
And then, there's Skullkickers!Skullkickers Volume 1: 1000 Opas and a Dead Body
If you like comics, of course.
Thank you everyone for the suggestions, I'll be set for a while reading all the new stuff you've mentioned.
You might enjoy American Craftsmen by Tom DoyleHere is the blurb:
In modern America, two soldiers will fight their way through the magical legacies of Poe and Hawthorne to destroy an undying evil—if they don’t kill each other first.
US Army Captain Dale Morton is a magician soldier—a “craftsman.” After a black-ops mission gone wrong, Dale is cursed by a Persian sorcerer and haunted by his good and evil ancestors. Major Michael Endicott, a Puritan craftsman, finds gruesome evidence that the evil Mortons, formerly led by the twins Roderick and Madeline, have returned, and that Dale might be one of them.
Dale uncovers treason in the Pentagon’s highest covert ranks. He hunts for his enemies before they can murder him and Scherie, a new friend who knows nothing of his magic.
Endicott pursues Dale, divided between his duty to capture a rogue soldier and his desire to protect Dale from his would-be assassins. They will discover that the demonic horrors that have corrupted American magic are not bound by family or even death itself.
In Tom Doyle's thrilling debut, American Craftsmen, Seal Team Six meets ancient magic--with the fate of the United States hanging in the balance . .
I haven't read these, but it occurred to me that I'd seen a S&L video with a Star Wars author that might have what you're looking for. Turned out to be Michael Stackpole.At the Queen's Command
I don't know about high fantasy, but Larry Correia writes fantasy novels with guns in them. He's a firearms instructor from Utah, so he really knows his stuff. The first book of his Grimmnoir Chronicles series, Hard Magic, has what can only be described as a love letter to Robert Browning in it. These are not the thinkiest books I've ever read, but they are fast-paced and well-written.
Daran wrote: "I don't know about high fantasy, but Larry Correia writes fantasy novels with guns in them. He's a firearms instructor from Utah, so he really knows his stuff. The first book of ..."I would have went with Monster Hunter International!
Hm. His Into the Storm novel might fit the bill! Only, they have swords that shoot electricity and some kind of cool steam mechs. Based on a game I don't play. Warhammer maybe?
Edit: Looks like Warmachine is the game. Hard to tell with the cover pic.
I just finished the second Monster Hunter Novel, and it does have all sorts of guns, but I am partial to the old Tommy Guns in Hard Magic.
No one has mentioned it here so I will. By far one of the best series I have read is the Rigante series by David Gemmell. The books are:
Sword in the Storm
Midnight Falcon
Ravenheart
Stormrider
The first two books are regular fantasy and the last two jump ahead in time to flintlock fantasy. The entire series is excellent and I highly recommend.
Tamahome wrote: "I think Flintlock Fantasy is the term..."Wouldn't Matchlock Fantasy be better? Arquebus? Not that it really matters.
NF
Hah. I just realized someone had already mentioned Stackpole. Dang Windows 8. I scroll right past stuff all the time. Apparently At the Queen's Command is the most talked about, unread, flintlock fantasy on the board!
Neb wrote: "Tamahome wrote: "I think Flintlock Fantasy is the term..."Wouldn't Matchlock Fantasy be better? Arquebus? Not that it really matters.
NF"
From my understanding, "Flintlock Fantasy" is sort of a mid-way point between medieval/Renaissance High Fantasy and modern Urban Fantasy, where guns aren't just some weird thing that only dwarves/gnomes/whoever have - they're commonplace, but not quite as advanced as modern weapons.
Plus, at least a few draw from the late-18th and early-19th century: McClellan's Powder Mage is clearly a fantasy version of Revolutionary France, the Temeraire books are set during the Napoleonic Wars, and Stackpole's Crown Colonies (At the Queen's Command and the sequel) are in a fantasy Colonial America, just to name a few.
Plus, it also sounds cool.
I haven't read many of them, but there's bound to be firearms in some of Games Workshop / Black Library's Warhammer novels, especially ones set in the Empire. That's the part of their fantasy world based roughly on 16th century Germany, and is home to engineers, handgunners and other things that go bang. I'm pretty sure they have at least one novel that centres on artillerists, though I can't remember its title or the author.
It's mentioned on the Flintlock Fantasy bookshelf linked above, but I enjoyed William King's Terrach Chronicles (beginning with Death's Angels) -- they had a very Napoleonic feel to them despite being a secondary world with nonhuman races and Terrible Powers lurking in the shadows.
David(LA,CA) wrote: "I liked Diaries of a Dwarven Rifleman. Felt like more of a western than a fantasy novel though."I picked that up for my Kindle a while ago. Been meaning to get to it. My to-read pile is in desperate need some trimming. I might need to take another month or two off from S&L to fix that...
And not exactly "high fantasy", but Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane (The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane) has been known to carry a flintlock pistol or two.
The Soldier Son trilogy by Robin Hobb is worth a read, a bit of a early rifle vs arrow series.Another Robin author, Robin McKinley, wrote the Damar series, that I think had guns, it was sort of a English occupation of India feel. I loved both books.
Only two I know of that haven't been listed yet are Guns of the Dawn and A Crown For Cold Silver by Alex Marshal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Mod
The whole series and the short stories are brilliant
The series is up to 3 books and 8 short stories now.
There is a book that has 5 of the short stories.
In the Field Marshal's Shadow: Stories from the Powder Mage Universe
That includes stories:
Hope's End
The Girl of Hrusch Avenue
Green-Eyed Vipers
The Face in the Window
Return to Honor
The other 3 short stories are available separately:
Forsworn
Servant of the Crown
Murder at the Kinnen Hotel
7 of the 8 short stories take place before "Promise of Blood"
"Return to Honor" is set between "Promise of Blood" and Book 2 "The Crimson Campaign"
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Murder at the Kinnen Hotel (other topics)In the Field Marshal's Shadow (other topics)
Servant of the Crown (other topics)
Forsworn (other topics)
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Robin McKinley (other topics)Robin Hobb (other topics)
Robert E. Howard (other topics)
William King (other topics)
Larry Correia (other topics)
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Therefore I'd like to ask the S&L community if you guys have any recommendations beyond the ones I've already read. Minor gun usage is no problem.
By far I'd like to find another (series of) book(s) similar to L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s Corean Chronicles. Up to this point, I've found no books that could match this in regards to what I'm looking for. As to a more recent example Brian McClellan's Powder Mage series is also good.
further examples:
Stephen King - The Dark Tower series
Christopher Stasheff - A Wizard in a Feud
Roger Zelazny - The Chronicles of Amber series
Chris Evans - Iron Elves series
Philippa Ballantine - The Order series
William R. Forstchen - Lost Regiment series
Jim Farris - Mage Sequence series (really really minor)
Terry Pratchett - Men at Arms
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Shadows of the Apt series (Only technically as there is no gunpowder involved)
I would welcome any suggestions you guys have to add to this list.