A few must read lists and Matthew has a snow day rant on Sci-Fi/Fantasy

[lordgeon]

I got a book about a year ago from the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guides series called, "100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels," and just picked up, “100 Must-Read Fantasy Novels,” both of which have extensive lists of the must read novels and 1000 total additional suggestions to compliment the entries. You can find the amazon pages here(SF) and here(

Comments

[dfordoom]

I don’t like a lot of Tolkien-style Fantasy with lots of magical creatures like elves.

Same here. I either go for sword & sorcery, or for urban fantasy. As long as it isn't written by Neil Gaiman!

[lordgeon]

Urban fantasy can be so much fun! Though Rowling doesn't do it justice, she turns wizards into snobs, looking down on the unmagical instead of befriending them and creating this resentment in those who do know of magic. She treats her, "muggles," such a horrid term too, as if they were Africans living in the bush at the turn of the century. They are ignorant and just make little trinkets which the wizards take for granted

[dfordoom]

I just don't understand the Gaiman Cult, when there are writers of urban fantasy like Tim Powers and Charles de Lint.

[lordgeon]

I don't understand what everyone sees in him either. I feel like he is so overrated. I think he appeals to people who got into Sandman. Also, his pictures always show him with this mystic, gothic aura about him which seems to appeal to people, they think since he is sexy like that his writing must be phenomenal!.

[dfordoom]

I've pretty much given up reading SF these days. I just can't get enthused about it any more.

[lordgeon]

I've been trying things, but it always seems to be the same. This one guy, A. Lee Martinez has a few fun ones. They aren't going to change the world but they are pretty fun. Some of it is modern fantasy some a bit medieval but most of it just bizarly fun.