greatest book ever!

[Nick]

who would agree that Raymond E feists 'A Darkness at Sethannon' is the greatest fantasy book ever writen?

[[deleted user]]

Weird, because I just started reading "Talon of the Silver Hawk", my first Feist book...

So, maybe?

--Kyle

[Rindis]

I was kind of hoping someone else might speak up in agreement first, because, well, I don't agree.

I haven't read too much by Feist, just the Riftwar Saga, Faery Tale, and Daughter of the Empire (the latter is co-written with someone else, and is my favorite of them—need to get the further books).

He is a good writer, and deserved to come to the attention of the public. However, I wouldn't call him an all time great, and the period where the main character is enslaved in the second book took the wind out of the sails for me.

Other authors of good, Tolkienesque epic fantasy include Terry Brooks (much derided by some people, but I really enjoyed his second book, Elfstones of Shannara); David Eddings (the Belgariad would be my favorite in this genre); Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (they started with the decent Dragonlance Chronicles which was followed by the much better Dragonlance Legends and still better non-TSR projects).

Some similar series, but without the pure good vs. evil bit are Jennifer Roberson's Chronicles of the Cheysuli (the first two books are not as good as the rest), Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy, and Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion (I admit it, I'm behind and need to get her last couple books!).

[Lbd]

I like Feist, but Rindis makes a good connection with some of my other favorite authors; Brooks, Eddings, Hickman and Weis (together and separate), and I'll add Robin Hobb, Janny Wurts, Terry Goodkind, and so many more.

[Bianca]

i've read a darkness at sethanon years ago, so honestly i can't quite remember what i thought about it. but it must've been really good cause i continued to buy books written by feist.. :p i do rememember that i really enjoyed reading the king's buccaneer.. :)
but definitely, my favourite author would be terry brooks.. ;)
oh, and perhaps jonathan stroud could be taken into consideration? i just can't get enough of the bartimaeus' trilogy.. :D

[Lbd]

I too enjoyed J. Stroud's The Bartimaeus Trilogy. Fun to read, albeit a bit dark for a young readers book. At least that's where it was cataloged in the bookstore.

[Vega]

The Bartimaeus Trilogy is awesome. I'm really hoping he'll write another book set in that universe . As for greatest I would have to say George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Nothing else even comes close to his level in the fantasy category.

[Lori]

STILL waiting for his next book! Please please, soon!

And no, I tried Feist, he didn't grab me.

My most favorite fantasy of all (at least at this time in my life!) was Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, which is continued with The Tawny Man trilogy.

[Dan]

I have a hard time keeping the different Feist books apart. Frankly it seams to me like he got more or less stuck in one concept. Sad but true, he is not the first author doing that.

[Laura]

nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, will ever replace LOTR as the greatest fantasy ever written.

[Carl]

Honestly, when I read Feist's first two books back in college I couldn't stand them and haven't been willing to give him a try since-- I just thought the writing was bad. As with some other books that turned me off (like Brooks' work), it may be time for me to revisit them and see if I can be a bit more sympathetic in my reading. After all, these authors sell well-- though that isn't always an indicator of quality.
Wish I could remember exactly what I didn't like about the writing-- I just remember that I felt it was amateurish, maybe overwrought or maybe just breaking all the "rules" I learned at writers conferences-- though this also was shortly after I took a couple of short story writing classes, so it could be my tastes were leaning towards more succinct styles.

[Rindis]

If you want to try Feist again, I really recommend Daughter of the Empire. I liked it far better than the others I read. Though it will help if you like court intrigue, which is what that series is built around.

[Jennifer]

I loved Feist in high school. For several years, I reread them a lot and loved the first 3-4 books. They're a little dated for me now but they are an old favorite. one of my very favorite series of fantasy all time hands down is Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar trilogy. I still get all emotionally wrapped up in it and still cry during it. Some of his later work has not lived up to his older stuff but maybe my favorite book of all time is Tigana. Absolutely love it.

[Allison]

You know, I remember clearly being enthralled with Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, and read it more than once before reading a few of his other books. However, in retrospect (10 yrs or so), I don't remember much about them at all. I don't believe this is an issue with my ability to retain information (because I can remember details of books I read earlier), but it makes me put the books further down on my list of greatest ever ...

I do, however, remember details of Daughter of the Empire (Feist and Janny Wurts, I believe was the co-author). I read that one when I was ... well, we won't talk about how old I was then. But, yes, I also enjoyed the court intrigue.

My top fantasy would be the first 3 (or even 6) of the Dragonlance series, and the Farseer and Liveship Traders trilogies. Both Hobb and Weis/Hickman have a knack for creating memorable plotlines, entirely believable characters and worlds that are seamless.

[Marc]

With the exception of LOTR and of course the Curse of Chalion, most of the authors on this thread, the ones I've read at least, I wouldn't even call good much less great. Tery Brooks is sort of iffy, his Landover and Shannara books are okay, his Knight of the Word books are excellent. Certainly Feist is in the mediocre category, but I've only read the riftwar books and wasn't impressed.

[Amy]

My favorite fantasy book is Little, Big by John Crowley...

[Scott]

LOTR aside, my definite favorite fantasy author is

R.A. Salvatore

specifically his work on The Legend of Drizzt, which is not only amazing on it's own but has affected the entire Forgotten Realms world, the Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, and even cameos in video games!