And we're off!

The 2010 Fantasy Challenge is now officially underway. Hopefully you didn't party so hard last night that you can't get some reading done today! :)

I'm planning on starting with The Ladies of Mandrigyn, by Barbara Hambly, which I am going to plug into "Work written the year you were born." (In my case, 1984.) Where are you all starting?

I haven't decided yet.  I'm still reading a SF book, and I wanted to finish a nonfiction book by Sunday when D.G's challenge in the games forum begins, but I should be able to start the fantasy challenge by next week.

Yep I had a wild n crazy New Year's Eve reading... I've started the Paksenarrion series by Elizabeth Moon.  I think I'll use it for  the sword n sorcery category,  magical human or heroic -or maybe one book of the series for each.  The first book was a little slow initially.   There was a lot of setting, political and religious background information necessary.  It flowed well but it was slow going.    Once all that was taken care of the story picked up.  Paks is a sheepherders daughter in a rustic world.  She does not want to get married and runs away to join a group of mercenaries.  She learns soldiering and we do get a blow by blow of plenty of training and battles.   It's very descriptive and engaging although Paks seems a bit 2 dimensional in the first book.  By the second book all the characters are well defined and the story really kicks in.  She breaks away from the mercenary group and goes adventuring on her own.  This world does have other races -orcs, elves etc...  Many of the characters from the first book do show up in the second.   I have no idea about the third book.  I hope I have time to start it today.  If you read this series, you really need to read it in sequence.  There's some foreshadowing (done very well).

Ha!  I am also thinking about D.G.'s game...I am planning to start it off by reading The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines, which should count as comedy/fantasy for this challenge.

I have to finish Tempted (for the paranormal challenge) and then I'm going to start Sunshine by Robin McKinley. 

Well, I was going to start off the year with American Gods or The Magicians, but I got impatient and read them both last week.  Shame on me.

Instead, I'm starting off with Medicine Road by Charles de Lint.  Most of his stuff is urban fantasy, but I'm not sure this one is going to be.  It's contemporary fantasy, certainly, but so far it's more of a rual setting.  I've no clue what to count it as if not urban fantasy.  It can't even be 1st person or 3rd person since some chapters are 1st and other chapters are 3rd. 

Update:  Just got done, and definitely not urban fantasy.  I'll admit to being slightly disappointed.  It seemed very young-adultish to me.  There wasn't nearly the complexity as there is in most of his books.  It seemed like everything was resolved too easily.

Britney, Matt: What is this game you guys mentioned?

Share the Books: A Reading (and Posting) WL Challenge

Every once in awhile someone (frequently D.G., but others too) will start a challenge in the games forum with prizes.  It's a lot of fun because of the chatting. :)

I'm starting this challenge today, with Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.  I've had this book for awhile so I might as well read it now. :)

I'm still trying to finish up a few books that I planned on getting to in December. I hope to start the challenge in the next week or two. I'll be heading off to the library for a few, so that will limit what I can get. I can't wait to start this!

This is my first challenge to patricipate in and I am starting it with Soulless by Gail Carriger/

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for the pre 1920's books?   AND 1950s' books?

I am actually finding it hard to find some books in a few of the areas that I have no already read..LOL

Also can someone give me a few titles of   : Set in a world containing no magic..Thanks.

My pre-1920 recommendation would be for George MacDonald.  He wrote a number of books in the 1800s, including my childhood favorite The Princess and the Goblin, and its sequel The Princess and Curdie.  They are definitely youth-oriented, but he wrote adult fantasy as well, such as Phantastes.

For pre-1950 I'm planning on reading The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany. . . it's a fantasy classic that's been reissued in a very pretty trade paperback edition in the last few years, and it's also blessedly short, so even if I hate it it won't take long. . . Besides, authors as diverse as Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Peter S. Beagle, David Eddings, and Ursula LeGuin cite him as a favorite or a major influence, so there must be something there! :)

For set in a world containing no magic I would definitely recommend Swordspoint, by Ellen Kushner (which also fits beautifully in the Fantasy of Manners category); The Outlaws of Sherwood, by Robin McKinley (which is a retelling of the Robin Hood myth, though not one of my favorites of her books); and Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton (it's about dragons, but what it really is is a Jane Austen tale where all the Victorian mores are dictated by dragon biology, so the fact that they are dragons is merely because it's convenient -- they aren't magical creatures, they're the only creatures, if that makes sense.)

I read The King of Elfland's Daughter  and Charwoman's Shadow (also by Dunsany) a couple years back.  I don't remember them well, but I do remember not being terribly impressed.  They weren't bad by any means, but they were really dated by modern standards.  Of course, that's about the same thing I think about Tolkien, so your experiences may vary. 

I put Phantastes on my list for the sole reason that it's argued to be the first published adult fantasy, and I'm curious.  I've haven't read anything by him yet.   Matt, did you read Phantastes and if so did you like it?

I have not read Phantastes, but I am thinking of trying it for this challenge.

I decided to take on this challenge because I am really lacking in my Fantasy reads and look forward to finding new authors. 

Well, I have read four books for this challenge so far.

Paranormal: No Rest for the Wiccan by Madelyn Alt 1/3/2010

Told from a first-person perspective: Where There’s a Witch by Madelyn Alt 1/4/2010

I really like this series by Madelyn Alt. It is paranormal, with witches and magic and an empath, and it is a cozy mystery too. These were books four and five in the series. For anyone who likes paranormal cozies or light paranormals, these are a good read.

Set in a recognizable historical milieu: Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede 1/5/2010

This one was set in Regency or so England. It took a while to get me interested in finishing it (about 80 pages) and I almost gave up, but in the end it was a pretty good book. It got very funny at the end and I was laughing out loud, with my daughter (6) constantly looking at me and saying, "What's funny, Mommy? What about the book is funny?"

Fairytale Fantasy: Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede 1/4/2010

This is a nice little book of short fantasy stories by Wrede that would also fit right in with the anthology category. They are good and some really make you think.

The Quick After Battle Triple Chocolate Cake is really good.  I read the story to my kids (when they were little -loong time ago) and then we made the cake. Yum...   from Book of Enchantments

I've actually read Phantastes and it was very.. dreamlike. I remember researching it a little after reading and found out that it was a type of allegory for finding faith.

Ok, being fairly new to the Fantasy  genre, I got a question.

Would this one work for #4 of the challenge for a fairytale?

Beast
Author: Donna Jo Napoli

Yes.  Beast is a retelling of a fairy tale - Beauty and the Beast. :)

(My favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast is Beauty by Robin McKinley, which I love.  Beast was just okay...)

Thanks Britney!