Sorry I'm late to the party, but:

Favourite fantasy novels? Yes, please.

The Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake: fantastic story that's as much about the setting as the goings-on within in, at an intriguing mix of Victorian and medieval culture inside it. The third novel is really its own beast, though, and a new and strange story

Michael Moorcock: I've only ever read his Elric stories, but that's enough to convince me. A darker and more surreal take on sword and sorcery, he's swiftly become one of my favourites. I must read more by him.

China Mieville: Industrialized, modern takes on fantasy favouries. His bas-lag universe is great, as is his first "King Rat".

Ray Bradbury is a line-blurrer, and I consider "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to be fantasy of a kind.

I also am interested in a certain sub-genre: books that use dragons as viewpoint characters. Unfortuantely, none that I can stand are very good at all, and I can't recommend them in good faith.
Incisivis - [incisivis at hotmail dot com]
"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream" -- Shirley Jackson
posted @ Sun, Jul 27, 2008 10:51:41 pm EDT from 216.36.154.204

Hey man! Always fun to see a CR goer from the past. Glad you are back!
Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"
posted @ Sun, Jul 27, 2008 2:18:34 pm EDT from 70.237.139.87

Good to see you again Green Baron.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Sun, Jul 27, 2008 2:11:25 pm EDT from 98.20.130.116

I probably have a lot of nerve showing my face here again, but hello and greetings from Iraq. Just saying hi for now and seeing who remembers this old codger.
Thomas Forsyth - [tmlforsyth at gmail dot com]
posted @ Sun, Jul 27, 2008 2:03:55 pm EDT from 208.79.15.102

What's up with creaturecomics.com? It hasn't been updated in a while.
Warcrafter - [grafixfangamer1 at sbcglobal dot net]
Im a nerd. Deal with it.
posted @ Sat, Jul 26, 2008 11:23:13 pm EDT from 69.231.212.174

What????? A Fourth Pit Dragon Book???? Woot!!! Oh, you made my day, Demonskrye! ^_^
Battle Beast
That is all I will say.
posted @ Sat, Jul 26, 2008 11:05:14 pm EDT from 75.152.229.223

bluewyvern> If anyone's at fault here, I think it's me for getting a little overly defensive. You are, of course, more than entitled to your opinions and obviously weren't trying to put down mine.

Fourth Pit Dragon Book> Should anyone be interested, I poked around Jane Yolen's website and learned that the book is finished and will hopefully see publication sometime in spring of 2009.
Demonskrye: - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 9:19:48 pm EDT from 146.115.115.33

It'sa poretty Sad what happened to Peter Beagle, his fight with the companies over The Last Unicorn Film, which is, by far, one of the BEST animated films ever made (Though totally unrecognized by the AFI...)
Battle Beast
That is all I will say.
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 4:03:26 pm EDT from 75.152.229.223

Gorebash - Webpage thought. For the chat room, think you might have a drop down menu for "regular & "framed"? Hey - it may be me just being lazy but I always use the framed so one click is easier than two. ^_^
Wingless
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 3:46:30 pm EDT from 99.245.254.123

Gorebash - I love the new design. It looks a lot more professional and more mature.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 2:46:52 pm EDT from 98.20.232.245

I can't believe I forgot about Beagle as well. I agree, TLU is one of his best works. I like the anthology, "The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzche" (maybe got the spelling off) for the number of stories, and another anthology called "Giants Bones", I think. The latter is set in the world established in "The Innkeeper's Song" but you don't have to be familiar with the novel to enjoy it. There are others, but I haven't read them yet.
Asatira
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 11:15:34 am EDT from 66.191.158.234

bluewyvern> I haven't read anything sufficiently horrible lately to give a bad review. Oh well.

Oh! Nobody's mentioned Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn yet. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though stuff that happens in the book makes its ending even more poignant than the movie. (and there aren't any badly done singing parts either ;P)
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 10:11:14 am EDT from 216.57.96.1

Demonskyre> An anthology is a good idea. Anything with Ellen Datlow's name on it is bound to be good.

And I hope it's clear I'm not putting down anyone's tastes -- I considered adding a big IMO clause to my criticisms, but decided I had written in a sufficiently subjective mode that no one should be offended. But in case it isn't clear, my comments represent my personal reactions to the works mentioned and I don't mean them to be universal prescriptives. When asked one's opinion, though, one gives it, and I have plenty. :)

Anyone else -- more suggestions to avoid? I think sometimes that can be just as helpful -- and bad reviews are more fun to write.
bluewyvern
"Attend the petty jealousies and angers that prey upon your heart."
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 10:03:32 am EDT from 69.112.108.43

Pit Dragons> Well, yes. The point is to buy oneself out of bond. I didn't mean to imply that everyone trains a dragon to do this; it's just the only way (other than prostitution for women) that readers are shown. All bonders try, but some can't keep their money, others can't seem to make money in the first place, and a lot of them either steal unfertilized eggs (only a handful out of the huge clutches actually hatch) or take the easy way out and sell the hatchlings for meat.

A fourth book? Interesting. The third one weirded me out somewhat, but I *was* wondering what would happen afterward. It'd be neat to see. ^..^
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 10:01:44 am EDT from 216.57.96.1

Pit Dragon Trilogy> It's been a long time since I read the books, but as I recall, members of the bondservant caste generally buy their way out of servitude and owning and training a fighting dragon is a particularly good way to earn money, though it's not what everyone does. Certainly if the masters were losing half or more of their eggs to theft by servants, I imagine they would crack down on the process. I'm guessing that their tendancy to look the other way is due in part to the fact that they know not everyone has it in them to steal an egg and raise a dragon.

Ms Yolen reports on her website that she is working on a fourth book in the series.

Laurence Yep> I knew I was going to forget somebody. Ther series actually starts with "Dragon of the Lost Sea," continuing in "Dragon Steel," then "Dragon Cauldron," and finally "Dragon War." I also fully agree with the recommendation of Lloayd Alexander.

Matters of Taste> Obvious;y not every fantasy book is going to appeal to everybody. I obviously like Robin McKinley's retold fairy tales and Charles de Lint's take on urban fantasy, but not everyone does. Heck, there are obviously some people who think "Eragon"is really great, though they don't seem to be hanging around here right now. I admit that a fair amount of high fantasy isn't my cup of tea, as I feel like I'm either drowning in too much information about the world being dumped on my head at once or bored to tears waiting for the characters to stop talking and actually do something. Again, I think anthologies are a great starting point to get a feel for your own personal tastes.
Demonskrye: - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 9:00:21 am EDT from 146.115.115.33

@Book recommendations- Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Read it now! Dooooo iiiiiit....! Seriously though, beautifully written; it's stayed with me for years. I don't think it would ever be classified as fantasy, but it's definitely all about the mythical-fantastic atmosphere. Marco Polo tells Kahn all the places he's traveled, AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

I've loaned my hard copy so many times. it's got fingerprints and highlighter smudges and dog-eared super-worn pages. I would loan to all of you, but for the whole distance thing.

Also? The Passion by Jeanette Winterson. Set in the Napoleonic Wars, what you risk reveals what you value, women walking on water- her lover steals her heart away and hides it in a jar, "I'm telling you stories. Trust me." Definitely great; or, I would recommend her short story collection The World and Other Places.


@Patrick> I just received my MV awards from The Gathering, and the packet was SO nice! Cover letter AND bonus Program Book? The last especially was a real treat (and it's so well done and professional!). Way to go on being super organized and wonderful.
Spoonvonstup - [<-- Gargoyles Music Video Database]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 8:52:03 am EDT from 75.73.208.19

HoE, Charisma> the text Gore used on the page is a text known as "Lorem ipsum", a standard placeholder used by designers in mock-ups to mimic the look of English text on a page without the distraction of legible content. It's derived from a Latin text, but is not complete or meaningful language.

Here's the full explanation from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum
bluewyvern
"Attend the petty jealousies and angers that prey upon your heart."
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 8:42:59 am EDT from 208.194.97.9

Battle Beast> Demonskrye mentioned it. It's known as the Pit Dragon trilogy. I have also read it, and now own all three books. ^..^

I first encountered it as a short story in an anthology (called "Cockfight" - about Heart's Blood's first). When I learned it was a book, I couldn't find it to buy it, so I thought it was out of print. Later I actually managed to find it in a bookstore and learned it was a trilogy. Snapped all of them up right away.

I found it really interesting that in this society, you're actually *supposed* to steal the eggs, and it's a person's ability to work with what hatches out that raises them out of the bondservant caste.
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 8:28:03 am EDT from 216.57.96.1

Actually, I just looked back over the headlines to those articles, which don't appear serious to begin with. So nevermind. ( ;
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"No one wins but the theives, so why side with anything?" -Wilco ("Side With the Seeds")
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 6:17:33 am EDT from 76.123.52.250

Gore: I like it too. I do have one question: is the Latin intended to be a placeholder, or will it be permanent? I just have an image of someone unfamiliar with the show coming across that page and going "what the hell is all this?"
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"No one wins but the theives, so why side with anything?" -Wilco ("Side With the Seeds")
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 6:15:52 am EDT from 76.123.52.250

Fantasy Books> I skimmed through the suggested authors & books, and I've heard about most them (I used to work at a high school library), but I don't think I saw Jonathan Stroud's name anywhere, and if he has been mentioned and I overlooked him, I apologize. But when anyone asks my favorite fantasy book(s), I always name "The Bartimaeus Trilogy" written by this guy. I love the humor, and the story is told in 3 different perspectives, which is very interesting. It also has a great plot that builds up over the series. So, I highly recomend this trilogy.

Gore> It looked good, but for some reason most of the page came out in jumbled words that made no sense. Is this just me?
Charisma82
"It is better to have a horrible ending than to have horrors without end."
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 4:46:01 am EDT from 64.13.117.74

I like the new site design. It's stylish and streamlined, at the same time it's very clear and easy to follow, and isn't loud and garish.
My browser doesn't do the other font and I won't change the font size (which doesn't work anyway), I like the font size the way it is. Many websites just make their font size far too small.
Anonymous - [<---Springkink]
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 3:45:11 am EDT from 89.246.215.157

Gore> I love the new site design. My one comment is that the chopped-off Gargoyles logos repeated on the right side for the dvds and books look a little weird. I would either use the whole image, or use the *non* logo part of the image. We don't really need to see the logo plastered everywhere on the page, and the actual cover artwork would be much more visually interesting.

Fantasy recommendations> First I want to endorse most of Kris's recs -- all pretty good stuff, got me through high school! I would take Gaiman in small doses, though. His fan base is certainly ravenous for every character that drops from his keyboard, but I've found him to be a little repetitive in tone if not topos, and my enjoyment of him has varied wildly with the medium -- his stuff is great in graphic novel form, quite good in short story form and not bad in novel form, and excruciating in movie form. American Gods was a good read, though. Haven't gotten to Anansi Boys yet.

Phillip Pullman is also very good, I spent my whole life hearing about him but only picked him up a couple years ago -- well worth it. Wish I'd found him sooner.

Anne McCaffrey and Jane Yolen (particularly the Pit Dragon series) were mainstays of my childhood. Also lumped in around that time, when I read every book from the school library with "dragon" in the title, was Lawrence Yep and the series that begins I believe with "Dragon Cauldron". I hardly remember a thing and have been meaning to look him up again, but I remember great, funny adventures that I loved, populated by some very interesting and unusual characters drawn from Eastern folklore.

I want to throw two names out that haven't been mentioned yet: one, Mary Brown. Adventure stories with young women and a coterie of enchanted, talking animals, and nowhere near as tedious as that might seem. Really.* They're witty and funny, and great character stories.

*Disclaimer: I read these as an adolescent girl, and as with everything I've read and pretty much all these recommendations, my memory of them is a bit patchy. I may not have accurately adjusted for non-adolescent, non-girl tastes. YMMV.

And Fred Saberhagen. I don't know what he does that's so special -- it's just pretty standard fantasy, with a LOAD of magical swords thrown in -- but every time I read one of his books, I end up just sitting back and going, "Wow. This is really good." He creates these great characters but doesn't really dwell on any particular one, shifting points of view frequently and following them over long periods of time. And there are a lot of talking swords. I've read a few books outside his swords series, one-offs like "Merlin's Bones", and they're great, too.

Oh, one more. No, two more. Diane Duane and Dianna Wynne Jones, two writers who have always been pretty linked in my mind. YA stuff, but great. Mostly they both write excellent and believable systems of magic, and both often write about young wizards (in fact, Diane Duane's big series is known as Young Wizards). Diane Duane writes mostly in the modern world, with magic (though "modern world" includes outer space, under the sea (Deep Magic, LOVED it), and alternate realities), and Dianna Wynne Jones goes all over the place, from an alternate early 19th century (with magic -- that's the Chrestomanci series), to a humorous, slightly Pratchett-esque parodic high fantasy world, to a science-fictiony city that sits outside of the loop of time and oversees history (A Tale of Time City was one of my favorites). They're both just fantastic.

Stuff I personally would avoid: I've already issued a few caveats about Gaiman; here are some others. Robin McKinley is not for everyone. She lives off in the "folk and fairy" realm of fantasy (she moved there from her earlier camp in 70's high fantasy, where her style was still high-flown in the Tolkienesque tradition but rather more telegraphic) and inhabits it in a rather dreamy state, embroidering her prose with langorous poetic turns of phrase and rich, ripe, juicy purple imagery, sopped in enchantment and bursting with portent like some kind of soporific goblin fruit. I find it a bit precious, to be honest.

Charles de Lint is everything that bothers me about Gaiman magnified times a thousand. He writes the same story over and over, and each one bludgeons me with the "The world is mytho-poetic! Learn to dream!" message every time. Read the short story "The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep", which you will enjoy, and then move on. You will have read the equivalent of all of Charles de Lint.

Have fun with your explorations...
bluewyvern
"Attend the petty jealousies and angers that prey upon your heart."
posted @ Fri, Jul 25, 2008 2:06:09 am EDT from 208.194.97.9

Gore> Looks T-Rif!

Fantasy Books> I found, by chance, a series of books by Jane Yolen called "Dragon's Blood," "Heart's Blood," and "A Sending of Dragons."

It's about people who are bonded, who tend to Dragons who are bred to fit in "the pits." One boy manages to steal his own dragon egg and hatches a girl which he raises.

It's a very interesting series, if a little obscure. Has anyone heard of it?

It's fairly easy reading, too.
Battle Beast
That is all I will say.
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 11:41:13 pm EDT from 75.156.178.31

Gore> Ah. Working fine now. ^..^
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth_dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 10:37:55 pm EDT from 71.56.36.35

dropdowns should work in IE again. made some last minute tweaks that broke them in IE7.
Gorebash
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 10:34:03 pm EDT from 71.243.29.136

Fantasy suggestions> Alot of the ones have already been suggested, and I can only think of one author off the top of my head: Tanith Lee. Especially "Silver Metal Lover," that's one of my favorite books.

Gorebash> Site looks pretty good too me. I like flow, and the cleaner look. Dropdowns at the top will probably help alot.
Asatira
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 9:35:24 pm EDT from 66.191.158.234

Gore> Loving the new site, though the dropdowns aren't working for me. The title bit under the navigation listings blocks all but the bottom selection. Otherwise it's looking great. Thanks! ^..^
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth_dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 9:33:14 pm EDT from 71.56.36.35

Hey Gore-looks great! Love the new top banner. One early comment - the drop down menus along the top aren't working in IE7, but work fine in Firefox.

*Applauds our creative cyber gargie landlord*
Wingless
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 9:24:12 pm EDT from 99.245.254.123

Gorebash> I really like the new design. Very easy to navigate and stylish looking. The ads in the sidebar for all things Gargoyles are a great idea. Just twp minor gripes right now. I didn't really notice the search box until my second look. It gets a little lost and it doesn't appear to be working at the moment, though that could just be because it's a demo. Also, I think the text in the ad for the DVDs is very confusing. It should be more clear that there are two DVD sets. Otherwise, it's looking really snazzy and I look forward to it going live in the next few months.

Fantasy Addendum> The jury in my head is still out on whether or not I liked "Eragon." There were certain aspects of the story that I liked and I think Paolini is pretty talented at language creation. (Of course, I'm not a linguist, so it's also possible that his invented languages actually aren't very good.) But I do agree that there's something lacking and that what there is feels kind of like a mishmash of concepts from various fantasy works. It didn't surprise me that much to learn that Paolini was in his teens when he wrote the book, much as I wasn't shocked to learn a similar fact about the creator of "The Fifth Element."
Demonskrye: - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 8:42:16 pm EDT from 146.115.115.33

Gorebash> I really like it. It looks cool.
Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 8:32:20 pm EDT from 70.237.223.99

Gorebash, that sounds like a really cool idea.
David - [souiofangelus at aol dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 8:20:29 pm EDT from 205.188.117.134

I think I'm going to start testing the waters on this: http://s8.org/gargoyles/demo.php

I'm working on a new layout for the site. One that I think is miles ahead of what's here right now. One that I hope will incorporate more graphics that showcase the characters and atmosphere of the show's universe.

I want to start getting feedback on this ASAP. I'd like to have the whole site in this new template by September 1 (if not a whole lot sooner). And rather than just dump it on everyone I'd like to give people a chance to get at least a small feel for it.

The new site makes use of the Calibri font, which is packed with Windows Vista and Office 2007. If you don't have either it will default to Arial, which will appear big on your screen. I suggest clicking on the small "A" at the top-right of the screen to make things a little easier for you. Or you can always download some free software from Microsoft which includes these fonts here: http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/03/download-windows-vista-fonts-legally.html

Let me know what you think.
Gorebash
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 7:46:52 pm EDT from 71.243.29.136

Algernon> A lot of my choices have already been hit, but I can probably add a few more.

Susan Cooper is a good bet in the children's category. Her best known work is the "The Dark is Rising" series. (As is often the case, you'll probably want to disregard the movie.) It's one of those series that's largely based in reality with magic kind of hanging out around the edges of most people's perception. And if you like those, she's written tons more.

Ursula K. LeGuin touches on a wide variety of genres, but the Earthsea trilogy is pretty straight fantasy. Lots of magic, lots of dragons, not too heavy a read. Technically, there's a fourth book in the series, but I haven't read it. And in this case, you REALLY want to avoid the TV miniseries as the author has pretty much disowned it.

Jane Yolen...it's pretty tough to throw a stone in any section of a library without hitting something she had a hand in. The Pit Dragon Trilogy is more science fiction than fantasy, but much like Anne McCaffery's Pern books, they have dragons and they kind of straddle the line. On the more adult side, she has a series about a society of women with living "shadow sisters," starting with "Sister Light, Sister Dark".

I'm not sure I can outright recommend it since I haven't finished it, but I'm really digging Phillip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" right now. It does a really good job of creating a world that feels both real and different from real while raising a lot of interesting ideas. (Ignore movie, if you didn't already know.)

Robin McKinley is really good, generally writing for a young adult audience. Some of her work is retellings of fairy tales, such as "Beauty" and "Rose Daughter," but if you prefer original fantasy, try "The Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword."

Charles de Lint does really good urban fantasy, with all manner of animal people and other spirits walking through the mortal worl largely unnoticed.

A really good way to find fantasy authors you may like is to pick up an anthology of fantasy stories. There are all manner of "Year's Best Fantasy" books for various ages and anthologies of stories on a particular theme. I found a lot of my favorite authors this way.
Demonskrye: - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 7:18:01 pm EDT from 146.115.115.33

One short fantasy book that I like to recommend is John Bellairs' "The Face in the Frost", about the adventures of a slightly silly wizard named Prospero (the first sentence of the book makes it clear that he's not the Prospero of "The Tempest") who has to stop a former colleague of his from unleashing the powers of an extremely ancient and malevolent book of spells on the world (which does such things as turning the leaves on the trees into something halfway between leaves and caterpillars). Some of it is funny (such as his visit to King Gorm and his model universe), and some of it creepy - but it's an absolute delight.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 6:28:47 pm EDT from 4.244.214.249

I'll just keep my mouth shut about all the reasons I hated Eragon.
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"And in the dawn, there came a song, some sweet lady singing in his ear: 'your god has gone, and from now on, you'll have to learn to hate the things you fear.'" -Ian Anderson
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 6:20:29 pm EDT from 76.123.52.250

Algernon> I'm not as in-touch with children's books as I used to be, so there aren't really any I can recommend to you. I also haven't really read Terry Pratchett, so I don't know what I've read that would be similar. However, I do have some suggestions.

If you don't mind sexual situations, I'd recommend the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey. The first trilogy (Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar) is extremely complex, with lots of political agendas where lives and thrones hang in the balance. These do not begin with action, though; they work up to it, so if you read them be prepared for that. They are also put in a pretty formal language, due to it being written in first-person by a sophisticated character. The plots and language in the second trilogy (Kushiel's Scion, Kushiel's Justice, Kushiel's Mercy) are somewhat simpler to complement the change in "author" (main character), but still are very broad in scope, cover a lot of ground, and do unexpected things. These six books aren't exactly "high fantasy," but there are supernatural events that put them outside the realm of reality.

For a more scientific fantasy series, you can try the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. The dragons in these books are intelligent, but think and live very in the "now," and so need their human partners to give long-term direction. For all that, they are equal partners in the protection of their planet, and the society itself is interesting to look at. There are too many of them to really describe, but I enjoy them a lot.

If you want simpler plots, Mercedes Lackey has done good work. I'm most familiar with her books set in Valdemar (where magic and "mind-magic" figure into a lot of the stories), and her Dragon Jousters books (Egyptian-like setting with the dragons being animals, about the intelligence of a smart dog), but there's also her Elemental Masters series (magical adaptations of popular fairy tales) and others that I don't recall very well at the moment. Her characterization is really good: all the characters are distinct individuals, and she doesn't shy away from awful stuff happening to them.

Oh, and the Chronicls of the Shadow War trilogy is also good. Written by Chris Claremont and George Lucas, Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn, and Shadow Star relate the events that happen after the movie Willow. They revolve around Willow and the two brownies having to leave their families entirely to help Elora Danan to her destiny after a mysterious cataclysm destroys Tir Asleen. These are packed with action and are paced well, and the line between good and evil is blurred by many shades of grey.
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 1:44:44 pm EDT from 216.57.96.1

Kris> I liked American Gods because it was so different from anything I'd read before, but it took me a bit to get into Anansi Boys. It's not really like American Gods at all; the tone is totally different, so you may like it.
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 1:20:49 pm EDT from 216.57.96.1

Kris> Thanks for your input and no, I've no particular age bracket in mind. I'm just looking for quality writing.
Algernon
"Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important. Like you do when you're young." -the Tenth Doctor
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 1:20:40 pm EDT from 213.94.151.221

CopperCon 28!
August 28-31, 2008
Phoenix, Arizona
Looking like a membership of less than 300 so if you want a chance to see Greg Weisman and David Hedgecock and not be one face among thousands this'll be your chance. But move quickly the Room block closes on the 28th and the membership rate goes up to full price August 1st.
See the website for all the details: www.coppercon.org
CASFS - [cucon_publicity at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 12:32:27 pm EDT from 198.45.3.253

I'd heard that about Eragon from many people and avoided it for that reason, though I did read a sample of the first couple chapters. To be fair, he started writing it when he was 13 years old and it was published when he was, what, 16 ? Not that teenagers aren't capable of putting out stellar work, but he probably should've set it down, waited for the kind of criticism that comes with age to set in, and then taken a red pen to the whole thing to clean it up and maybe give it a more distinctive voice. But yeah, it does appear to be a bunch of fantasy cliches all rolled up into one book (though regarding the movie--Rachel Weisz does Saphira the dragon's voice...I love Rachel Weisz. Although I only watched parts of the film).

Any specific age range you wanna limit yourself to, Algernon ? Children's fantasy, teen, all-ages, strictly adult ?

My favorite children's fantasy author is Lloyd Alexander. The most familiar people are with his work (if they are at all) would be the Disney adaptation of The Black Cauldron (a mish-mash of the first two books in the 5-book+prequel Prydain Chronicles series, "The Book of Three" and "The Black Cauldron"). The movie is average at best, though it's cool to see some of the characters drawn and animated, however inaccurate they may be to Alexander's vision. The five books are well worth reading. It's fairly dark and heavy at times, for kid's fantasy (the author doesn't spare you the blood, wars, dead body armies, or the coming of age harshness found in the fourth and arguably most unique of the five novels). It has very strong, distinct characters (I mean you get to know and care about the leads better than you did the Hobbits in LotR). The fifth and final novel in the batch brings together so many threads and build-up from the previous novels, without seeming like "hey, let's throw as many bits of continuity in here as possible to thrill the fans". It was all pre-planned, it all flows seamlessly.

I guess my adult-ish pick would be Neil Gaiman. For Neverwhere and Stardust (I know that one ain't perfect, though neither is Neverwhere, but I love 'em both for various reasons. I even liked the Stardust movie a lot, pretty much BECAUSE of its departures from the book), but moreso for some of his short stories in Smoke & Mirrors. Definitely for Coraline (movie'll be out later this year, I believe), which is children's fantasy-horror but could be effectively creepy for adults too. I didn't like one of his more recent efforts, American Gods, so I didn't read the follow up to that. If you're open to checking out more comics, The Sandman is ten volumes (plus at least three other volumes of worthwhile spin-offs/prequels/side-stories, not to mention Mike Carey's Lucifer comic). Libraries usually stock most of Gaiman's novels and I often see Sandman comics there as well (that series could get pricey if you buy it, so just borrow).

Oh and since you like Terry Pratchet (haven't given his stuff a chance yet), in case you missed it, he and Neil Gaiman co-wrote Good Omens, which is nutty and hilarious.

Back to children's fantasy, I've got a soft spot for Tuck Everlasting (much as I disagree with what I'm pretty sure was the author's central message/theory, but hey, it's fun to have one-sided arguments with your novels while you're reading 'em). Natalie Babbit's most popular book (it's modern day, Earth-set fantasy, nothing flashy happens in it) can be read on a day off. It's short and sweet, like the Narnia 100-pagers (I finally got around to picking that series back up recently, I've been meaning to read it since I was 10. About to start Prince Caspian, since I'd kinda like to see the film before it's completely gone from theatres).

The authors I've mentioned are all pretty well known and popular among regular readers of fantasy, I'm really not THAT well-versed in the genre as far as novels go (I think I've seen my fair share of comics, cartoons, and films though). So someone else here can probably come up with a better diversity of quality material. Like maybe Stephen King's Dark Tower series ? I've sort of wanted to read that for a while.
Kris - [plekopleko at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 12:12:32 pm EDT from 24.137.192.172

An off topic question but I wanted the room's advice on something. I've reacently been thinking about reading more fantasy. It's a genre I've tradtionally avoided, mainnly due to perceptions of it being made up largely of Tolkien rip-offs. But perhaps I've been to harsh in my judgments.

I was wondering if anybody here could recomend some good fantasy authors and tell me what you feel their strengths as authors are. To start off I'll list a few authors I'm already familiar with and share my thoughts on them. Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to start any debate just give people an idea of my tastes.

J. R. R. Tolkein: I know this may sound blasphames but I've always thought 'Lord of The Rings' was a tad over rated. Tolkien has a fantastic imagination and a great story but his prose and sense of pacing leave me rather cold. Half the time it feels more like I'm reading an etymology paper then an epic adventure.

J. K. Rowling: I enjoyed the 'Harry Potter' books a lot, esspecially their tight story telling and plot twists. My only gripe is Rowling's tendency to pull out Dues ex Machinas whenever she needs to save Harry's ass, 'Deathly Hallows' being a particularly irritating offender. I'm sorry but in anything even vaguely resembling a fair fight, Voldemort would squish Harry like a bug.

Terry Prachett: Quite possibly one of the greatest authors who ever lived. Their aren't enough words in the english language to express my love for Mr. Prachett. the sheer breadth and scale of his imagination is rivaled only by Great A'tuin him/herself.

Christopher Paolini: Yeah, I know I probably spelled the name wrong but frankly I don't care. 'Eragon' is one of the most derivitive and soulless peices of trip I've ever been exposed to. It is the distillation of everything I've feared the genre to be. From what I'm told its sequal is no improvement.
Algernon
"Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important. Like you do when you're young." -the Tenth Doctor
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 8:11:55 am EDT from 83.70.199.104

Battle Beast> Yes, I do believe Greg said that Hedgecock was going to make "Gargoyles" his priority and I seem to recall that he had even quit his day job to focus on comics. But making the comic top priority and actually getting the comic done in a timely fashion are two different things. There are artists in the industry who have been doing comics for years who take ages to get anything done. It's not necessarily that they're lazy or they're not capable artists. (That might be the case sometimes, but certainly not always.) Maybe they're perfectionists and refuse to let e piece go until it's just right. Maybe something about their processes makes the art go very, very slowly. Maybe they've realized that working on one comic at a time as your sole source of income can be pretty tough if you enjoy eating food that isn't ramen and have taken on other comics work or illustration work to make ends meet.

I'm not going to speculate about how the decision for Hedgecock to leave the book was made and because I don't know what happened, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he was trying to meet his deadlines as best he could. I think it's too bad because his art was improving and he did seem to like working on the comic. But I agree that one of the major issues the book is having right now is keeping a consistent schedule. Not much can be done about the delays on Disney's end, but delays in sending the comics to Disney for approval aren't helping and shouldn't be happening. I'm sure it was a tough decision for everyone involved and I hope it ends up helping the comic.
Demonskrye: - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 8:06:02 am EDT from 146.115.115.33

Speaking about the comic con... I wish I was going, but sadly no I'm not. I would have loved seeing other gargoyle fans, and I wanted to see the guys there for the Supernatural show. Anyone else watch that?
Charisma82
"It is better to have a horrible ending than to have horrors without end."
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 4:16:05 am EDT from 64.13.117.74

Just for a small case in point of playing Devil's Advocate here.

You really can't blame Disney for the gap between issue 8 and issue 9 since, well they have yet to receive a copy of 9 to APPROVE.

As far as in the past, Disney is a big company and SLG is not, tere is no malicious intent on Disney's part in the approvals. They get to it when they get to it. The sooner the comic is on their desk, the sooner it is in your hands. That simple really.
Revel - [samrx5 at msn dot com]
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 1:36:48 am EDT from 74.193.119.47

Battle Beast > I think it was a combination of Disney's absurdly lengthy approval process and also delays in the artists completing the artwork. It's a little of both.
Rebel
GOLIATH: I SHOULD SAY SOMETHING SHAKESPEAREAN NOW.
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 1:08:08 am EDT from 216.45.251.210

Greg> I didn't know that... still, didn't Greg Say Hedge was making Gargs his priority?

Anyway, I still think disney is slow at approoving... was it Hedgecock this whole time the cause of the delays, or a little of Disney and a little of everything else?
Battle Beast
That is all I will say.
posted @ Thu, Jul 24, 2008 12:58:07 am EDT from 75.156.168.250

Battle Beast> #4 of Bad Guys was recently sent off to the printers, and as for #9 of "Gargoyles," well, it's Hedgecock's last because as Greg said at the Gathering, he had trouble meeting deadlines. I don't think Disney is at fault for that one.
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
What would David Xanatos do? Well, he wouldn't sit at his computer bitching and moaning, that's for sure.
posted @ Wed, Jul 23, 2008 8:07:44 pm EDT from 75.56.245.4

I just saw Batman, and yah, like Greg said... Intense. I didn't think Heath's performance lived up to the hype, but he still was really good and I do hope he gets nominated.

Now, seriously, this is irking me. Where are our comics? Are you telling me Disney can't read a comic in one hour and say yah, that's OK?

Really!
Battle Beast
posted @ Wed, Jul 23, 2008 7:42:48 pm EDT from 198.161.203.6

Lumpmoose> That's awesome news! I agree that it should pit to rest any fears that Disney wants to fold all of their new comics licensing (as opposed to reprints of old material) into Kingdom Comics. It seems that they feel it's in their best interests to put their eggs in a number of baskets. And I wouldn't worry too much about Waid and that hefty contract. Disney's probably just making it ridiculously clear what the license does and does not cover. Plus Waid's been in the business long enough to know what to look for in a contract and to continue having plenty of work event if this deal somehow falls through.

Potential good news for the SLG deal aside, I'm excited about the Boom! Studious deal because I LOVE everyone who's attached to it so far. An "Incredibles" comic is pretty much a no-brainer and Waid is an amazing writer. Darwyn Cooke is so good that I will pretty much buy anything he draws on. And Roger Langridge...wow! He's not as mainstream as the other two, but he's a top-notch draftsman and a super nice guy. (I met him at Comic-Con a few years back and he was kind enough to do a Grouch bunny for my rabbit themed con sketchbook.) As the article states, he was working on some Muppet Show comics for Disney Adventures before the magazine went under. I was disappointed that much of his Muppet Show work didn't see print since his art and humor styles were such a great fit for the property. So I'm really glad he's going to be getting another stab at it.

Thanks for the heads-up, Lumpmoose. It made my day!
Demonskrye: - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]
posted @ Wed, Jul 23, 2008 3:23:39 pm EDT from 146.115.115.33

Disney partners with Boom! Studios to make Pixar and Muppets comics: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080724-disney-pixar-boom.html It remains to be seen if this will affect SLG's cost or approval priority, but it at least shows that Kingdom Comics hasn't killed Disney's desire to license comics. I hope Waid knows what he's getting into... The article mentions a 1,000 page contract.
Lumpmoose - [lumpmoose at googles dot email]
posted @ Wed, Jul 23, 2008 2:01:58 pm EDT from 128.101.32.234

Justin> The countdown or rather count up is a tradition here in the CR. It's just how every week starts since a new room is created every Sunday night at midnight. When in Rome, right?
The Gargoyles Pulse
~ Anthony Tini
posted @ Wed, Jul 23, 2008 9:36:48 am EDT from 159.240.11.254

Justin> I'm interested.
KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 11:37:01 pm EDT from 75.42.219.251

Anyone going to comic con? And want to have a gargoyles meetup at the con?
Shara
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 11:22:25 pm EDT from 76.170.156.182

Hey anyone care to explain the countdown?

Anyway there is something personal i wanted to discuss with anyone who may be interested. As I mentioned to some at the Gathering, I have the crazed dellusion of writing a series of low-fantasy, ancient world tales. I have four that I have fairly well planned out. But there is a term, writing with "the door open", meaning letting others get a look. What I was looking for is someone or something to tell my ideas to. To see if anyone else thinks there nifty, and such as that. So I was wondering if any here might interested?
Justin "Id Rather Be Pillaging"
Lexington says I can have his One-Eye anytime I want.....
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 11:13:17 pm EDT from 98.227.89.128

Wow... My monitor finally decided to blow up (literally...the scent of burning electronics wasn't fun to air out)... No money for a replacement monitor... Not fun...

Anyway, missed the countdown, but I thought I'd stop by even though I'm on a school computer.

Looking forward to seeing Greg W. at Comic Con! :D
The One Known As Mochi - [shogi dot keima dot 08 at gmail dot com]
Current Mood: (>**)> Just over 24 hours away from Preview Night at Comic Con...and the anticipation is killing me~!!
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 8:35:22 pm EDT from 67.101.237.11

Jennifer - let me guess: Amg ended up going under afterall.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 4:09:40 am EDT from 98.20.174.87

Patrick - Amgen did the same thing to us. No hire backs. Of course, they also encouraged all their most experienced people to leave voluntarily with a huge severance package. The best of them left and just started their own company. Way to go Amgen!

Not that I'm complaining about the lay off. It was definitely a blessing in disguise for me. (maybe not so much for Greg W. who had to put up with me teasing him for months while we worked together!) YAY FOR SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN! :) Best job EVAR!
Jennifer "CrzyDemona" Anderson - [<--- Gathering of the Gargoyles 2009]
"The only doom that's looming is you loving me to death....So I'll give you a sec to catch your breath" - Captain Hammer
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 2:05:54 am EDT from 75.85.111.199

Todd & others - I haven't been able to find a suitable job for a while due to a back condition. The reason I was hoping for that place is I worked there before when I had this condition and knew that if they tried to fire me from there because of my back condition, I could sue for discrimination. This new rule . . seriously irks me.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Tue, Jul 22, 2008 1:25:47 am EDT from 98.20.174.87

King cobra> Thanks bunches. We are updating once a month now so I hope everyone returns :)
Shara
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 11:54:49 pm EDT from 76.170.156.182

DPH - I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that you can find a job soon.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 6:48:22 pm EDT from 4.244.215.111

DPH > That's a dumb policy. Why would a company not want to hire back experienced people that they laid off when business was slow? It costs a lot more to train new workers.
Patrick - [<-- The Gathering 2009]
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men." - Willy Wonka
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 5:35:07 pm EDT from 76.205.122.101

DPH> Sorry to hear that, buddy.

More bad news -- no Gargoyles comics for July. I'm hopeful for Aug 6th!
The Gargoyles Pulse
~ Anthony Tini
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 5:02:18 pm EDT from 159.240.11.254

I have a couple of sets of the Marvel Comics Gargoyles series (#1, #2, #3), never read, in plastic sleeves with backers. The first comic is embossed with raised graphics and heavier cardstock for the cover. The other two continue with the softcover. Drop me an email if you are interested in purchasing them.
Rhuah - [jagray2 at vt dot edu]
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 1:28:03 pm EDT from 71.171.11.217

Shara> Good comic. I enjoyed it. Thanks for the link.

So much so I think I'll go read the fanfic it's based on.
KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 12:08:18 pm EDT from 99.174.169.192

dph> Man, I'm sorry... Office politics totally suck. *hug*

Good luck on your continued job search.
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 10:57:29 am EDT from 216.57.96.1

Damn, stupid company policies. Damn, damn, damn. I was laid off a company a few years ago because times were bad and I had a good rep. At the time, I was told laid off employees would be able to return in the future. Today, I tried to go back through a temp agency only to find out about 1 month ago the policy changed so that **all** former employees can't come back, even those who were laid off. Damn. There went one of my best hopes for finding employment.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 9:54:16 am EDT from 98.20.174.87

For anyone interested
We have a new issue of the gargoyles webcomic up for viewing.

Http://www.ka-blamo.com/gargs

The gargoyle survey is open agian.
Shara
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 8:18:48 am EDT from 76.170.156.182

10th
VickyUK - [Vickyfanofwwe at aol dot com]
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 7:13:38 am EDT from 64.12.117.134

Nth.
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"And in the dawn, there came a song, some sweet lady singing in his ear: 'your god has gone, and from now on, you'll have to learn to hate the things you fear.'" -Ian Anderson
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 7:02:56 am EDT from 76.123.52.250

Eight in the name of Doctor Octopus!
Algernon
"Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important. Like you do when you're young." -the Tenth Doctor
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 6:48:15 am EDT from 213.94.144.102

Lucky number seven! (#7)
Vinnie - [tpeano29 at hotmail dot com]
It's silly. It's a silly movie. There just isn't much there. Once you take it all apart, there's not much story, is there?- George Lucas on Spider-Man 3
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 6:35:26 am EDT from 69.54.209.20

6TH!!!
Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 5:30:19 am EDT from 70.230.167.139

5th! I kinda stumbled in here for the countdown, 'cause I did forget what day this was.
Charisma82
"It is better to have a horrible ending than to have horrors without end."
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 4:29:47 am EDT from 64.13.117.74

Spen - I just my initial comment this week doesn't make anybody mad.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 4:20:39 am EDT from 98.20.174.87

DPH : Maybe everyone's got my usual problem of forgetting what day it is.
Spen
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 3:00:45 am EDT from 66.43.205.110

wow, this is sllooowwww!!!!!!
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 2:31:37 am EDT from 98.20.174.87

4th in the name of bg #4 coming out this year
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 12:28:33 am EDT from 98.20.174.87

third!
Asatira
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 12:24:35 am EDT from 66.191.158.234

2nd.
KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 12:09:32 am EDT from 99.168.79.180

First?
Spen
posted @ Mon, Jul 21, 2008 12:00:58 am EDT from 66.43.205.110