What Books Will be the Fantasy Classics of the New Millennium?
Joseph Mallozzi’s recent review of David Anthony Durham’s Acacia is very positive, as were most of the reviews I’ve seen for it. I don’t follow fantasy as closely as sf – my hit-or-miss success with the genre being the reason – but even I know that it’s been very well received.
It seems to me that since the start of the decade, there have been a few titles that have floated to top of the blog buzz, enough to draw my attention, at least. Here are the ones that I have heard very good things about (mind you, I haven’t read any of them):
- The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- Acacia by David Anthony Durham
- Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Are these books destined to the next fantasy classics?
What books would you add to this list? Does Harry Potter belong there?
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Hm… Off the top of my head:
The Chalion Series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series may not be done yet, but it’s gotten more critical praise than almost any fantasy work in recent memory.
It’s also worth adding David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas to the list – it won every literary prise going except the Booker (for which it was nominated), and (though it does have some strong SF elements), it is certainly a fantasy novel, since the main thread holding the book together is the idea of 6 characters in different times and places who share a single soul.
How about:
R. Scott Bakker – The Prince of Nothing Serie / The Aspect Emperor
David Anthony Durham – The Long Price Quartet
George R. R. Martin – A Song of Ice and Fire series (If he ever finishes it…
)
Since folks have mentioned Martin, I won’t mention him again.
How about Tim Powers? Everybody knows Neil Gaiman, but if you want fantasy set in a world that is not quite ours…try Tim Powers.
How about Gene Wolfe? From stories set way down the timestream to riffs on H.P. Lovecraft and pirate stories, lots of good stuff there.
Silly oversight: I added The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie to the list because that’s also one of the books that has been well-received. I’ve even heard it compared to the Lynch book.
Doesn’t China Mieville count as fantasy? If so, Perdito Street Station should certainly be on the list.
As much as I like Anansi Boys, I’d go with American Gods instead, to pick one of Gaiman’s. Anansi Boys is a quasi-sequel to Gods.
Both are great. Read them. Now.
I’d second Perdido Street Station. Great stuff.
Definitelty everybody should read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It suffers a bit from the bane of historical fiction–you know how big events will turn out (such as the battle of Waterloo)–but it’s very inventive, and the opening scene, where gargoyles wake and reveal their secrets with terrible voices that sound like rocks grinding together, is unforgetable.
I have read both The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Blade Itself, and I liked Joe Abercrombie’s book a bit more. I guess it was a question of scale since that series really is more of an epic style of book as compared to a personal story that in the Lynch book. They were both very good, and I dare say not typical fantasy novels. I believe that we have used the phrase of “Fantasy without Elves”, and those stories tend to be much grittier and more realistic.
I certainly agree with the nominations for Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire.
I’m a bit surprised though that no-one’s mentioned Jordan’s Wheel of Time books. Granted, they’re not as good as many of the others mentioned (especially as the series progresses on, and on, and on…), but they’ve certainly got a very large and very loyal following, one which will probably give them enough staying power to build a continuing fan base in future generations.
Fine books thus far mentioned, fine and all that, but no Erikson? No Malazan Book of the Fallen? The list is very much under-served by his absence.
And no, no Harry Potter.
I would definitely agree with those who mentioned George R.R. Martin. Steve Erikson is another author who is getting a lot of attention in fantasy lately.
The stand-outs in this millennium are certainly Scott Bakker’s Prince of Nothing Trilogy (and the first book of its continuation, The Aspect-Emperor, is due imminently and is getting excellent early reviews) and George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords (the other ASoIaF books were last century). I think Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is a fine work, but it is overlong and the latter chapters are patchy. Still, the book’s sheer ambition is impressive. And as fine as Anansi Boys is, American Gods is much better.
China Mieville isn’t quite getting the plaudits he deserves here. Sure, Perdido Street Station should be up there, but in my opinion so should The Scar and Un Lun Dun as well.
For The Wheel of Time sequence overall, Jordan deserves some credit but none of the books published this century have been well-received or as good as the series at its best.
Erikson has some serious issues, particularly in the later books, which I think make his entry dubious. However, the overwhelming quality of Memories of Ice and Deadhouse Gates means those two books alone should be on such a list.
Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy should definitely be on there, but the whole trilogy. It starts in a fairly standard manner, but the concluding volume is the best finale to an epic fantasy trilogy since LotR. It doesn’t wimp out or solve things neatly.
Paul Kearney, the most underrated author in fantasy, should be up there, possibly for his new book The Ten Thousand (his other 2000s work, The Sea Beggars series, is incomplete due to publishing problems).
It’s arguable if this counts due to its semi-historical fiction status, but David Gemmell’s swansong work The Troy Trilogy is easily the best modern retelling of the legend (best interpretation of the Trojan Horse ever).
Terry Pratchett is a legend, of course. I think Night Watch and The Truth possibly belong on such a list, and I hear a lot of people are calling Nation his best book so far.
On the SF side of things, I would definitely put Neal Stephenson up there for his mighty Baroque Cycle, as well as Alastair Reynolds for his excellent Chasm City and Richard Morgan for Altered Carbon. Peter F. Hamilton’s Pandora’s Star may be a contender, although his other work this century has been of a slightly lower standard. For me in SF, however, the stand-out book this millennium has been Christopher Priest’s sublime The Separation.
Agree with the suggestion of Tim Powers. His Declare (2000) possesses a depth and gravitas that sets it above Powers’ already high standards.
Harry Potter doesn’t belong anywhere.