Bitchery reader Anon asks, “Please don’t let the Good Shit section languish in obscurity! It’s been wonderfully helpful. Could I entreat the Bitchery to solicit Sage Advice on the subject of fantasy and sci-fi with interesting relationships between hero and heroine?
Here’s my shelf to get things started:
Lois McMaster Bujold, starting with Cordelia’s Honor and all the way
through the Miles Naismith series, also the Chalion series
Doris Egan, Ivory trilogy
R.A. MacAvoy, The Grey Horse and Book of the Kells
Sharon Miller and Steve Lee, Liaden books
Sharon Shinn, Archangel series
Megan Whalen Turner, Queen of Attolia
Caroline Stevermer, A College of Magics
Martha Wells, Wheel of the Infinite
The only problem with all of these books is that I’ve read them so very
many times, and I’d love new suggestions!”
So, you request, we respond! I’m going to open this up to SciFi & Fantasy romance – bring on your recommendations, and if that’s too broad a category, we can narrow it down when we post the final tally.
Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series—have re-read it a gazillion times and still love it. The first one (On a Pale Horse, about the incarnation of Death) is the best one, IMO.
These are all series. Most of them are primarily the SF/fantasy story with a romance thrown in. But the romance part of the story is done well- at least as well as the rest of the story.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Book one is STORM FRONT
This series has a male primary character
Dhamphir by Barb and JC Hendee
so far there are 3 in the series
The Weather Warden books by Rachel Caine
Book one is ILL WIND
– read these in order or you may suffer permanent brain damage from the confusion
The Star Doc series by S.L. Viehl
Book one, amazingly enough, is STAR DOC
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
think there are 3-4 in this series
Tanya Huff’s Blood Series
BLOOD PRICE is number one
Wit’ch Gate by James Clemens
number one of 5
Alma Alexander’s The Hidden Queen- only 2 books in this series.
I have enjoyed everyone one of these and have reread them all.
Enjoy.
Oh, goodness.
Well, I’m going to nominate Elizabeth Haydon’s Rhapsody series (traditional fantasy: Rhapsody, Prophecy, Destiny, etc.) for the “to avoid” pile (I know people who enjoy the series, but I find the revirginifying completely ridiculous and the heroine completely annoying).
I love Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series (alternate history: Kushiel’s Dart, Kushiel’s Chosen, Kushiel’s Avatar), and the central relationship is lots of fun, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters series (historical fantasy: Daughter of the Forest, Son of the Shadows, Child of the Prophecy) is lovely and chock-full of romance. Patricia C. Wrede has some good YA fantasy romances (historical fantasy: Mairelon the Magician and The Magician’s Ward; with Caroline Stevermer, Sorcery & Cecelia and The Grand Tour). S.L. Viehl’s Stardoc series (Stardoc, Beyond Varallan, Endurance, etc.) is medically-focused SF with strong romantic elements.
Sharon Shinn has some books outside of the Samaria universe worth checking out: Summers at Castle Auburn (traditional fantasy), Jenna Starborn (a SF retelling of Jane Eyre), Heart of Gold (SF).
Jacqueline Carey! Her “Kushiel” series is utterly brilliant. Very romantic, sexy, fantastical. And kinky. Very kinky. If you can take kinky sex, epic fantasy, squiggly romance and poetic prose, put them all together, you’d get something like Carey, though the sum is far, far greater than it’s parts.
Erm… sorry. Fangirl moment.
As the other Ellen says, possibly not for the “faint of heart”, but I really doubt you’re on to be balked by kink. Still, I have a skewed view of what is and isn’t romantic if you ask some.
Mercedes Lackey isn’t bad. Her classics of the “Magic” (aka “The Last Herald Mage”) is a wonderful romance. Heartbreakingly so. The main character is gay, but again, not really a deterent. Her work is patchy and it I have time, I’ll write some sort of comprehensive guide to her. She’s always very readable for me, though sometimes, she’s just not at her best. “The Fire Rose” is another of her more romantic and more brilliant books. It’s a reworking of the Beauty and the Beast with elemental magic in America. “Phoenix and Ashes” is also good, Cinderella during World War One with elemental magic.
You guys have certainly hit the high points! Here are a few more:
Kate Elliott’s JARAN series, which a friend subtitled “I Married Attila the Hun”. It’s SF, and I wish she’d finish it.
Michelle Sagara/West’s Sundering fantasy series, about a very dark villain/hero and a healer heroine.
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books. I defy anyone to tell me the relationships between Carrot and Angua, and Sam and Sybil, are not the stuff that romantic dreams are made of.
Did someone mention Catherine Asaro yet? Lots of hot romance, some of it same sex in the shorter stories.
J.D. Robb—futuristic police procedurals.
Connie Willis, esp. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Uncharted Territory
Wen Spencer—A Brother’s Price.
Most of Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillips books have a romantic element to them.
Jennifer Roberson—Del and Tiger series
and Ellen Kushner’s same sex romance adventure, Swordspoint.
Where to begin??? Here are some not on the other lists, and which might be flying under people’s radar.
(1) Everything written by Canadian romantic fantasist Guy Gavriel Kay, but especially TIGANA and A SONG FOR ARBONNE. He is a master of sexual tension and yearning.
(2) The deliciously dark and violent GAP SERIES by Stephen R. Donaldson is space opera at its finest. Murder, rape, spaceship chases that conform to known laws of physics, intergalactic political back-stabbing, freaky-shit aliens, a chip in the head that makes you superwoman, and one of the most deeply affecting romances between a heroine and an anti-hero you could ever wanna read. Plus, this is the series that introduced “Captain Sheepfucker” into my vocabulary.
(3) Contemporary horror writer Scott Nicholson writes a good spooky ghost story where people who have sex are not hacked apart. For a tragically vulnerable YA romance, try THE HOME.
(4) BLOODSTONE by Nate Kenyon was released in January, and has a romance that BREAKS ALL THE RULES. H/S editors would probably have a coronary. Ellora’s Cave readers will even blush. No foolin. An added bonus—zombies!!!!
I’d also recommend as must reads the earlier works of Dean Koontz, in particular LIGHTNING and WATCHERS. These two titles are basically romance novels with marvelous dark fantasy elements. Why isn’t anyone writing stuff like that anymore, damn it???!!!???
I HIGHLY recommend Catherine Asaro’s Saga of the Skolian Empire. However, if you are not into as much of the hardcore tech side of sci fi, this is not for you.
Great suggestions above. Here are a few more:
by Kelley Armstrong (in the following order):
Bitten
Stolen
(werewolf books, but better than everything else out there)
Dime Store Magic
Industrial Magic
(witches and sorcerers)
Haunted
(ghosts and the underworld)
Armstrong writes wonderful, conflicted characters and great, creative plots.
Also worth mentioning:
futuristic romance: Robin T. Popp, C.J. Barry, and Susan Grant
vampire comedy: MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series
Absolutely to avoid:
Angela Knight, Sherilyn Kenyon, and Catherine Spangler. Terrible books that are way over-hyped. Save your money.
JEA—thanks so much for mentioning Bloodstone on your list. I’m flattered and very glad that it worked for you. The relationship between the two main characters is essential to the plot and provides the catalyst for the secret that is ultimately unveiled, but I knew there would be all sorts of problems in making it play out in a believable way. Still, that was the fun of writing it.
I’m ALWAYS glad to hear from readers about the good and the bad, so if anyone here gets the chance to read Bloodstone, drop me a line on my website: http://www.natekenyon.com Ther.e’s lots more to see over there, including more reviews, a trailer, journal entries and an author bio.
Thanks to all.
Best,
Nate
Anne Bishop. The Black Jewels Trilogy. Big time good.
I just blogged about good books last week and most were fantasy/sci fi. Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hooper and The Sky Pirate by Justine Davis were a couple of others.
Wow, where to start…
YA author Tamora Pierce is quite good at female focused fantasy—especially for fans of Mercedes Lackey. Start with the Song of the Lioness quartet and work your way through the list.
As has been mentioned before, Lackey is great—especially her Valdemar series (start with the Arrows trilogy) and her current dragon series (Alta, Joust, etc.)
I second third and fourth the Sharon Lee, Steve Miller recommendation, all of their stuff is great.
Ditto for Sharon Shinn. Of her non-samaria stuff, I particularly loved Summers at Castle Auburn and Jenna Starborn. Oh, and she is currently doing a young adult fantasy series that is quite good—so look for her in the teen section too!
I also *love* Patricia Briggs. Her most recent is Moon Called which is a bit of a departure for her as it is an urban fantasy—but don’t miss her fantasy backlist!
A newer author that I enjoy is Diana Pharoah Francis. Only 2 books out so far, but quite interesting and good.
Can’t forget Anne McCafferey, but she is hit and miss with me. I enjoyed her Acorna books and some of her ‘psychic’ books. (Can’t remember the name of the series, but had books like The Rowan and The TOwer and the Hive…)
Elizabeth Moon is also quite good for female focused Science Fiction.
Wen Spencer is awesome—try Tinker, you’ll love it, and the sequel, Wolf Who Rules, is due out soon *squee!*.
Lastly, I wanted to say that overall, the LUNA line from Harlequin has been excellent. Yeah, there have been some misses for me, but overall I have really loved them. Here are some particualr favorites:
PC Cast: Love, Love, LOVE her series, and how excited am I that the sequel to Goddess by Mistake is FINALLY coming out?
Maria V. Snyder: Poison Study (hardcover only right now) is a great book—can’t wait for the sequel.
Robin D. Owens: LOVE the summoning series. I just finished Sorceress of Faith and am sooooo pissed that I have to wait til 2007 for the next book. In fact, that is my major pet peeve with LUNA. They only have 2 releases a month and have overbooked themselves into oblivion. Go to 3 or 4 a month already!
Susan Krinard: I am just now reading her Stone God series, but it is really good so far.
Caitlin Brennan (this is actually Judith Tarr): Her White Magic series awesome. After Mercedes Lackey, who would think someone could use white-godlike horses in such a new and original way?
Christie Golden: The Final Dance series is awesome—and Golden does not shy away from tough issues and events. Wonderful.
Gail Dayton: Her Compass Rose miniseries launched with a bang last year—can’t wait to read the new one. A fantasy series that deals honestly and romantically with polyamory? I am SO there!
Anne Kelleher: Her Through the Shadowlands series is great—I am a sucker for stories about humans and sidhe having to deal/interact with each other.
Okay, now that I have typed my fingers off, I think I should stop and let others recommend as well. Gee, can you tell I love to read female focused sci-fi and fantasy?
I completely agree with some of these recommendations, particularly Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrison.
I have to put in an overly-enthusiastic recommendation for Megan Whalen Turner, and her series:
The Thief
The Queen of Attolia
The King of Attolia (just released)
YA books. Very, very good. There is a beautiful romance that starts in book 2. The plot twists are amazing. My daughter read the books after I did; I knew the exact moment when she reached the point where the romance starts – her mouth literally fell open and she exclaimed, ‘He WHAT!?!’ Let me warn you, do not read any of the reviews at Amazon. Like most reviews for ‘kids’ books, they are spoiler-ridden.
The hero of the series, Gen the thief, is delightful. A compulsive thief and liar. One of the minor characters in book 3 correctly calls him a conniving bastard. In book 2, the love of Gen’s life says to Gen’s cousin, ‘But he’s never lied to you.’ Cousin laughs and replies, ‘Of course he’s lied to me. He lies to everyone. He lies to himself. If he talked in his sleep, he’d lie then too.’
The Queen of Attolia is everything a young unmarried queen should be: ruthless, strong, devious. She knows that her husband in an arranged marriage intends to steal her power, so she poisons him at the wedding feast by sneaking the poison into her cup, then offering it to him as a romantic gesture. He didn’t think she was a threat, you see.
I’d second Anne Bishop (again, not for the faint of heart), and I’d also mention Barbara Hambly, who does description like nobody’s business. I’m reading the first of her two vampire books now, and it is godhead.
Also George R.R. Martin is fantastic.
I’m going to be super-repetitive and mention the Jacqueline Carey series again. Magnificent!! They are (all 3!) on my desert island top 10 list. – And a trilogy sequel is coming out /melt. The central relationship in that book is to-die-for. Relationships aside though it is an absolutely incredible reading experience everyone with an iron stomach should not miss. Sorry total fangirl moment from me too.
Minor spoiler: my husband calls them the beaty-sex books. (no that’s not beauty, its beaty, sic).
I’m going to third Anne Bishop. I love those books so much. Jacqueline Carey is excellent also, though I’m finding her new series to be a bit of a snoozer.
These are YA authors but still awesome: Patricia Wrede, Robin McKinley, Annette Curtis Klause (esp. Blood and Chocolate), and Libba Bray.
I liked the series by Joan Vinge (I think it was a trilogy) that began with Psion, about a street kid named Cat. There’s sex and later there is a romance.
I really liked the Sagara/Sundered books as well. I read those years ago. With reservation I will mention Nightseer by Laurell K. Hamilton, b/c I really liked it. I read it years ago, long before I read any of the Anita books, of which I’m not a fan. So I don’t know if it will hold up now, b/c it’s been a long time and it’s in a box somewhere waiting to be unpacked.
My two (or three!) cents:
I recommend the following Sharon Shinn novels:
Archangel
Jovah’s Angel
The Alleluia Files
Angel-Seeker
The Shape-Changer’s Wife
Summers at Castle Auburn
Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog is all sorts of awesome; it’s even more so if you’ve read Three Men in a Boat and get the in-jokes she makes.
Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series (Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion) have some interesting love stories going on in the background, the last two more than the first two, but I can only recommend Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion (two of my all-time favorite books).
Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper is a wonderful read and has a strong romantic element, though it’s by no means a conventional love story.
The Darkangel trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce is technically YA SF/F, but it’s really, really good and the central love story will grab your heart. The first book is by far the best and in some ways I wished I’d stopped there, but the next two books explain a lot more about the world.
The Belgariad and Mallorean series by David Eddings also features a sweet and oftentimes funny love story between the hero and heroine. My only caveat would be that I read and loved the books when I was fourteen years old and I have not re-read them recently, so I don’t know how well they’d hold up over time.
The Dancers at the End of Time trilogy by Michael Moorcock is marvellous, and the love relationship is central to the plot. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
Dammit, I know I should have more romantic SF/F than this to recommend. I’ll need to take a look at my bookshelves when I get home.
Garth Nix has an amazing fantasy series for YA and adults – it starts with ‘Sariel’, I think.
And if you love unicorns and adventure fantasy I’ll recommend my own book ‘The Secret of Shabaz’
A lot of my recommendations have already been mentioned, but here’s a few more…
Wen Spencer – Ukiah Oregon series (Alien Taste, Tainted Trail, Bitter Waters, and Dog Warrior) he’s an alien with werewolf tendencies, and there is a colonizing horder trying to take over the planet. The love interest is an FBI agent. Lots of action/mystery. I liked these ones better than her other ones.
John Brunner – Shockwave Rider, this is the first cyberpunk novel ever written – it predates Gibson’s Neuromancer. The writing style is very strange and the book’s many plots didn’t click together until the very end. Very very well written.
TJ Bass – Godwhale, so the romance doesn’t really show up until mid-book. There is a giant whale harvester for one of the main characters, what could be coolers?
Dean Ing – Ted Quantril trio (Systemic Shock, Single Combat, and Wild Country) the books follow Ted as he grows up after being orphaned by a nuclear bomb dropped in the US. Be warned that the one romance is very sad.
Highly recommend Catherine Asaro’s Skolia Empire series starting with Primary Inversion. However, the author does skip around chronologically, one can read The Quantum Rose or Catch the Lightning as stand alone reads. Also her other books like The Phoenix Code was very good as well as The Veiled Web.
Laurell K. Hamilton’s first eight books in the Anita Blake universe starting with Guilty Pleasures.
I’d recommend Wen Spencer’s books as someone else mentioned.
One name that doesn’t seem to have been mentioned so far is Connie Willis. Not exactly Romance, but then Dan Simmons, John Brunner, Michael Moorcock… Anyway, Passage is stunning, and her time-travel books, Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, are also rather fine.
Hah! No-one’s mentioned the fabulous Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks yet, so I get to jump in and recommend it unreservedly. Set in Minneapolis, it’s the story of a rock chick who gets caught up in a war between the Seelie & Unseelie Courts of faery. One of the first books that set off the current tsunami of urban fantasy, and one of the very best. Her Bone Dance is also good.
Previous recommendations I agree with:
Patricia Briggs, yes indeed. I especially like the Dragon duology.
Guy Gavriel Kay, at least his earlier stuff like Tigana. I’ve found his authorial tics grating on my nerves in some more recent books.
Barbara Hambly—YES, especially Dragonsbane and The Ladies of Mandrigyn. She likes to write sequels & series, so the good news is that you get lots of updates on what’s happening to her characters. The bad news is that she puts them through some gut-wrenching situations (though mostly with a happy ending), so be advised.
Martha Wells—YES. The Element of Fire is my favourite, but you can hardly go wrong with any of hers.
And you could do worse than check out this Romantic Science Fiction/Fantasy 101 (full disclosure: I occasionally submit reviews to that site).
Several of my favorites have already been mentioned.
In addition to Vinge’s Cat series, I also recommed her Tiamat series: The Snow Queen, World’s End, The Summer Queen, and Tangled up in Blue.
Clive Barker’s dark fantasy novels usually have romantic sub-plots.
Karen Traviss’ Wess’har Wars series is amazing and the romantic element keeps building in every book.
Lyda Morehouse’s AngeLINK series has a bit of romance. And now she’s going to be writing vampire chicklit under the name Tate Hallaway.
Jane S. Fancher’s Dance of the Rings trilogy has several romances, plus a gender-bending character.
Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald’s Magewars series is so much fun and even though the romances are a minor part, I still really enjoyed them.
Julie E. Czerneda writes some of the best aliens, plus the romances are sweet.
I’ve only read one book by Linnea Sinclair, but I’ve collected all of her mass market pb re-releases and I plan to read them soon. Wintertide is a nice fantasy with a complex romance.
I’m way behind on my Patricia A. McKillip reading, but I loved The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.
Spin State by Chris Moriarty is an excellent debut and I loved the AI hero.
Tamora Pierce’s YA books have suprisingly mature romantic relationships in them. Unfortunately, I’ve only read a few of the books.
OMG….Laurell K Hamilton and no one has mentioned the Merry Gentry series??? Hot Hot Hot! The plot is good too, or at least I think so.
I second the vote on War of the Oaks, I really liked that one a lot too and it pretty much started my obsession with fairy fantasy romance now.
There is also Emma Holly’s Hunting series which is kinda weird with the vampire/shapeshifter/alien with glamour type thing going on. It works strangly enough though. Then there is also her Demon’s Daughter one that is in some alternate alien Victorian London. Again, strangely enough it works. 😛
Thanks for the awesome suggestions! I need to go check some books out now.
I second the recommendations of Garth Nix, Jacqueline Carey (who I think writes the best damn fantasy to come out in a decade) and Joan Vinge’s Psion series.
I would also add Robin McKinley’s Beauty and Patricia McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, as well as Steven Brust’s work (hilarious if you ever enjoyed Dumas.)
I also loved LJ Smith’s The Forbidden Game series. Yes, I know it’s YA, but it still has a place of honor on my bookshelf. I liked her books about psychic teenagers and the crystals, too. *grin* The heroes in her books tend to be a little ambivalent, and I totally dig that.
Hmmm….*checks out SF/F shelf in living room*
Jacqueline Carey – only read the first two or so, but enjoyed them. I keep meaning to start reading them again.
Guy Gavriel Kay’s earlier books – Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, The Lions of Al-Rassan. I just remember being in awe when I finished these books. I tried reading Sailing to Sarantium, but didn’t like it as much.
Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters series. The Fire Rose is good. I like her retelling of fairy tales. And I liked much of the Valdemar series.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Christie Golden’s series from Luna
Sara Douglass’ Wayfarer Redemption series
Tanya Huff – I think Summon the Keeper is one of my favorite books. I always go back to it when I need a comfort read. I love Austin the cat. I don’t like the other Keeper books as well, though.
Rachel Caine
Tamara Siler Jones – forensic fantasy does really describe the series well.
I do like David Eddings. They’re easy to read and fun. I wouldn’t call them as deep as some series, but I’d say they’re a must-read for epic fantasy fans.
Barbara Hambly
Terry Goodkind – I confess I really liked this series when it first came out. But now it’s gotta rather long and I haven’t read many of the latest ones. It’s one I’ll probably wait until the whole series is done and then get at the library. It was interesting.
And what, no Dune? lol
And oh, can’t forget Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. Starts with The Dragonbone Chair, then Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower.
AND the Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman! Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, and Crown of Shadows. I also liked some of her straight SF stuff.
Anne McCaffrey – I don’t like the Acorna series, but much of her other stuff.
Oh there’s more, but I think I’ll stop here.
OMG, how could I have forgotten my favorite author in the whole wide world, Tanith Lee? Start with The Birthgrave. Her Vis series is good too, and her Scarabae books—delicious!
Fantasy authors I love—I’ve made an entire website for this! My favorite subject!
Some of my favorite fantasy authors, narrowed down to relationship books
Guy Gavriel Kay – I enjoyed everything he has written
Steven Brust – Start with “The Phoenix Guards” and “Five Hundred Years After” and work your way from there (mere words are not enough to describe how much I love those books)
Sean Russell – I love everything he has written; My two favorite, “The Initiate Brother” and “Gatherer of Clouds” however have zero romantic plot.
Lian Hearn – The Otori series
Garth Nix – Sabriel, Liriel, Abhorsen (Sabriel is the best book in the series however)
Ellen Kushner – “Swordspoint” is another all time favorite, but anything she writes is wonderful
Someone else said Terry Pratchett
Sarah Zettel – The Isavalta series
Most of the stuff put out by Luna has been excellent, although there were a few titles I have not cared for
Someone else mentioned David Eddings – I love to reread the Belgariad
Someone else mentioned “The Enchanted Chocolate Pot” by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.
Any anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling will be high quality. Try the “Snow White, Blood Red” anthology for starters.
And just as a data point, I didn’t care for Jacqueline Carey’s “Kushiel’s Dart.” Aside from the kink, I found it boring and haven’t yet cared to read the rest of the series.
And as much as I love Dennis McKiernan’s stories, he writes the WORST romantic bits EVER. And I do mean EVER.
And although he doesn’t write about romantic relationships, I writes about interpersonal relationships, and is one of my all time favorite authors: Charles de Lint.
I could go on, but I’ll not take up all your bandwidth. 🙂
Okay, one more. Neil Gaiman’s “The Dream Hunters”
I completely agree with some of these recommendations, particularly Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrisonan. Luna has really good books as well. Tor also has a paranomral line.
I’d like to second Linnea Sinclair. Like Jennifer I have all her books, and I’ve had a chance to read two of them so far. Loved them both.
Catherine Asaro’s scifi series I haven’t read but her books for luna (“Misted Clifs” and “Charmed Sphere”) are to be avoided. angry review here
David Eddings is good, but light. Very amusing if you like banter. His female characters pull off being strong and sexy at the same time. Good VS Evil. “Redemption of Althalus” is a bit repetative (time travel, I’ll not say any more), personally the trilogy with Sparhawk is best. Dip into a book and see if you like it. If the style’s grating, disgard.
Elizabeth Haydon’s Rhapsody series I still can’t make up my mind on. It’s very well written, but there are many annoyances in the book. The heroine being one. The hero being another. But such beautifully written annoying characters!
Erm.. bit off topic, but if you’ve time. Watching the new “Doctor Who” (9th) series is a good idea. The chemistry between the Doctor and Rose is fantastic. Not overt romance, but understated throughout. The not-so-subtle subtext, if you like.
Robin Hobb writes wonderfully. Her Liveship Traders series is brilliant. Evocative and very imaginative. In the postmodern, the term “original” is to be used with care, but she is in no way a Tolkien-clone. Liveship is pirates with dragons and crazy shit. And an ocassionally annoying girl who wants her ship back, but she’s besides the point. The Assassin series is first, so start there. Is beautifully tragic.
Jacquline Carey’s “Sundering” series is a great subversion of the classical Tolkien universe. All very identifiable characters just tweaked such. Some profess it as a cheap knock-off, but they’re not reading it right. It’s the questioning of the clearcut black and white world of Lord of the Rings, the supremecy of the elves. It’s about choice and free will. What Milton did to the biblical story, Carey did to Lord of the Rings. Or at least tried to. Pretty much. Though with less monologuing and iambic pentametre. You might not agree that she succeeded entirely, but the journey will be worth your time.
I Seventh? Eigth? The Kushiel’s Dart series by Jacqueline Carey – sexy, romantic, and just plain good, adventuresome, well-plotted books.
I also have enjoyed two LUNA books immensely – Urban Shaman by CE Murphy (Book 1 of the Walker Papers) and Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara.
I would actually cast a vote AGAINST Mariller’s Sevenwaters Trilogy (or at least the first book), requesting that it go into the “shit to avoid” pile; I personally hated it. I thought it dragged on, had a crap resolution, and the romance angle was at once overworked and badly handled. IMO The heroine *totally* ended up with the wrong guy, and took about 650 pages too many to do it. There was a lot of detail added to the tale, but very little continuity for the original elements I cared about.
I saw Tanya Huff’s Blood Price on here, but not her Keeper series. It’s a little lighter, the romantic tension starts in the first chapter of the first book, and there’s a smart ass talking cat as a bonus.
I don’t think any of these others were mentioned yet. Smack me for any redundancies. 🙂
Crimson City series – written by different authors in a well-developed world.
Meg Cabot’s Mediator series.
Shanna Swendson’s Enchanged Inc – excellent chick lit fantasy.
Cindy Cruciger’s Revenge Gifts – very snarky.
Patricia Simpson’s Forbidden Tarot series
Anything by Marjorie M Liu
E.D’Trix, thanks for mentioning me and Sorceress of Faith. My fault for the yearly slots of my Summoning series. Until recently when the day job went away, I was working a 40 hr week and doing 2 series…am currently working on Protector of the Flight and enjoyed throwing my heroine off a balcony this morning.
That SAID, I very much appreciate this topic, and most of my favorites are listed.
I don’t think Anne McCaffrey’s Restoree was on here, or Andre Norton’s Witch World books which I consider classic (her style is different, though).
I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of Gail Dayton’s Compass Rose (Luna next month) and enjoyed it.
I think this topic is one where if you can share a “world view” or the author can easily hook you into the world and still provide surprises, then the fantasy works for you.
I will admit to liking my fantasy with a lot of romance, and it can be edgy up to a point. I can handle blood and some guts, but heartbreak and killing off beloved characters (unless really, really necessary), and UNhappily ever after endings are a tough sell for me.
Ok, I write to entertain, and read to be entertained…so I have my favs.
Robin
OOOps! Gail Dayton’s book next month is The Barbed Rose.
Robin
Mickey Zucker Reichert – Legend of Nightfall and The Return of Nightfall
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned Jasper Fforde yet. The Eyre Affair and its sequels are funny and full of allusions to other bits of liturature, plus Thursday, the heroine, has to get her lover/husband returned to her after he has been unmade.
Sword of Truth – Terry Goodkind. So far, it’s my favourite series I’ve read in a long, long time.
Anne McCaffrey’s Restoree is one of my favorites of all time.
Stuart Hill’s Cry of the Icemark, which is the first in a planned YA fantasy series was wonderful.
Great thread! I’m bookmarking it instantly!
I’ll second many of the above recs, and make a few of my own (sticking to SF/fantasy with strong romance elements). First, a plug for Judith Tarr under her own name. I recently started reading her again with “Rite of Conquest” and she is really good. I couldn’t get into the “Avaryan Rising” series when I was younger, but may have to give it another go. Everything else I’ve read of hers, I’ve loved.
Judith Merkle Riley is historical, but with fantasy elements. I haven’t seen anything new of hers in a while, which is a shame. They’re quite wonderful.
Unfortunately my books are all in boxes at the moment, grr, or I’d certainly be able to think of more.
Tithe and Valiant by Holly Black (YA)
Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (YA)
I second (third, fourth tenth, whatever) Kelley Armstrong’s books and the Kushiel series.
I was always partial to Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark series as well (another YA)
Lian Hearn’s Tales Of The Otori, which begins with Across The Nightingale Floor.
Holly Lisle’s Secret Texts—I assume that the pair have a happy ending, since I’ve not read the last book.
Charles Stross’s Merchant Princes… At least, I think so. I can’t remember whether a romance was developing or not. I’m pretty sure though.
There’s always Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels trilogy, but it does have some stuff you don’t normally see in a romance.
Trudi Canavan’s Black Magician trilogy is written in the heroine’s POV, but since it begins when she’s just a child, the romance part happens mostly in the third book.
I second Holly Black, Anne Bishop, and Jacqueline Carey.