Don't miss - Fantasy books

Reviewed by: Karne (Wyrmtongue, Nov. 1998)

Well, for the sake of completeness I must start with Tolkien's Lord Of the Rings. Although the story is slow at the beginning it speeds up as the dark lord marshalls his troops and sends his Riders after Frodo and his intrepid companions to steal the ring. It's a little stereotypical but that's because stereotypes must start somewhere.

Opinions vary on David Eddings' books. Admittedly the second half of the Belgariad is the same as the first (the excuse being that time goes in circles). His second series is in my opinion slightly better; Sparhawk is a superb character. Basic plotline is: dark malevolent Godling seeks ultimate power through baby/rose/knight and it is up to a mismatched group to stop his evil plans.

Also well worth reading are Anne McCaffrey's dragon books, the best of which has to be "The White Dragon". These books are set in a sf-ish future, on an abandoned colony planet called Pern, where dragons and their riders battle voracious thread. The dragons can teleport, and the stories centre around people and politics instead of great epic battles, which makes a nice change.

The tales of Alvin the Maker are interesting pseudo-fantasy books, taking place in late 18th century America, with a difference. Alvin is born a maker (read wizard of some sort) and this leads to an interesting series that combines some historical facts with a certain amount of fantasy (magic etc.). It's by Orson Scott Card, one of my favourite writers.

I have also been ordered by the almighty Bob (All Bow Down And Worship!) to add "never read Terry Pratchett as it's crap, read Tom Holt or Robert Asprin instead" (or Robert Rankin - karne). I'm sure that those of you who read Pratchett will not be put off by this (I quite like him anyway).