Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings"
The Master of fantasy authors! I first read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy when I was twelve years old. It was and remains to be my favorite set of books, due to Tolkien's vivid imagination and skill at describing characters and events.
These novels center around one powerful ring of darkness, lost and desired by an evil wizard named Sauron. Frodo Baggins, meanwhile, has stumbled into the ownership of this ring and must figure out how to destroy it, with the help of Gandalf, Sam, Araygorn and several others, or face the devastating consequences of the ring under Sauron's power. It turns out that the only way the ring can be disintegrated is by casting it into the lava of Mordor, in the very heart of Sauron's kingdom. The struggle and adventure Frodo encounters along the way make these novels unforgettable.
In other words, Tolkien documents Frodo's journey to Mordor in a precise, exciting manner. The writing is so clear it's almost as if the author visited "Middle Earth" and met the main characters before he started. Click here for a great list of Tolkien links. This wonderful trilogy is currently being turned into three movies. I pray that the hollywood folk are staying true to the text and really take advantage of some of the special effects that are possible with modern technology. Can't wait to see it!
The dynamic duo! I've only read the "Chronicles" and "Legends" trilogies from these two authors, yet they alone have been enough to convince me of Weis and Hickman's great skill with words. "Chronicles" and "Legends" are the pioneers of the Dragonlance series. This set has gradually expanded into a huge library of books embellished by additional authors, trying to continue Weis and Hickman's original legacy. Their attempts are, for the most part, unsuccessful. So don't assume that one Dragonlance book is like all the rest. If you're going to read some of the Dragonlance novels make it worth your time and choose the ones written by Weis and Hickman. Click here for a very good Dragonlance site.
One of the reasons English teachers tend to be cautious when approaching fantasy novels, is because they sense what can sometimes be repetitive and predictable plotlines. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, however, write with an enthusiasm that always keeps an element of surprise among the characters and conflicts. The spirit of fantasy remains, in the presence of swords, magic, inns and horses, but all of it is merely altered to keep the reader in a gripping state of suspense. This makes for a very enjoyable experience.
I used to play on Arctic, a MUD, or Multi User Dungeon, that simulates the environment of the Dragonlance novels, in the world of Krynn. It's basically a text role playing game that is done in real time over the Internet. It allows you to create a character, go adventuring and meet other Dragonlance fans from around the world. It's pretty fun! Click here to connect through telnet and give it a try.
I admire the way Eddings keeps his stories in a constant state of motion. The plot never seems to drag. There's always excitement and adventure that make his work easy and fun to read. One of the author's most recent works, "Belgarath the Sorcerer", takes place before the "Belgariad" series, documenting the mysterious lives of the sorcerers. Go ahead and visit The Library where they allow you to read the first chapter of "Belgarath the Sorcerer" along with other novels by Eddings.
As you read you may discover that good as he is, Eddings is not perfect. Unfortunately, his plots between unrelated sets of books are often similar. Also, Eddings sometimes appears to write on the lengthy side, which is not necessarily bad, if I didn't keep getting the feeling that at times he writes for the sole purpose of making more sequels. But don't miss out! Enjoying Eddings' work is well worth wading through the weak spots. Just to let you know, there's a great fan site that provides thorough information, pictures, maps and discussion.
To tell you the truth, Brooks writes his novels as one would create a bad recipe. He finds some ingredients that appear to work, using adventurous settings and interesting characters, but messes up the story's flavor with too much repetition. For example, Brooks' "Shannara" set of novels, "The Sword of Shannara", "The Elfstones of Shannara" and "The Wishsong of Shannara", all involve hopeless quests, terrible monsters and brave heros, who decide the fate of the world with the power of the sword, elfstones or wishsong, depending on what book you are reading. Is this typical of Brooks? Yes. If you decide to examine any of his novels, it's not really necessary to read more than one. One should be enough to keep you interested and mildly entertained, but any more than that will likely lead to boredom. By twist of fate, if you just can't get enough of Terry Brooks, you may want to check out the Shannara PC game. I've not tried it, but it looks as if it may have potential.
I actually got a chance to meet Terry Brooks at a Seattle book fair in the fall of 1995. What surprised me was that he's an older gentleman with graying hair and wire spectacles. I suppose I was expecting a younger, less experienced person. I bought one of his books, "Witches Brew", and went over where he was sitting to meet him. He quietly signed the book for me, saying nothing, save "Who do you want me to make it out to?" That was it. He gave the book back to me and returned to the rest of his fans. All in a day's work I suppose...
The Wheel of Time turns, ages come and go, and yet it just never seems to end. If you are familiar with Robert Jordan and have been patient enough to continue reading his "Wheel of Time" set of novels, I congratulate you. It is very frustrating to continue reading an epic, when no form of resolution is in sight. The series started to escape from Jordan's control by the second or third book. By then I was completely sick of Nynaeve tugging at her braid and Rand facing similar forsaken, or antagonists, at the end of each novel.
I've pretty much given up hope that this series will end gracefully. It will probably struggle for a while and die in some sort of anti-climactic manner, leaving exasperated, puzzled readers behind. But don't take my word for it! Visit this Wheel of Time Page, for more links and opinions and decide for yourself whether or not to read Jordan's work.
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