The Sword and Laser discussion

I love discovering fabulous books/series through friends that otherwise I might never have known about. If any of you have suggestions for really great reads that never really make it into main stream discussions, please post them here!

I'm not sure how well known this series is, but the Chronicles of the Shadow War is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Chris Claremont and George Lucas that operate as a sequel to the movie Willow. They take place several years after the film, and the story is fantastic! The books are titled Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn, and Shadow Star.

Potential Spoilery Info: (view spoiler)[After a cataclysm that destroys Tir Asleen and sends Elora Danaan half a world away, Willow (renamed Thorn Drumheller) must save her and together they must save the world from a threat even greater than the evil queen Bavmorda! (hide spoiler)]

Well, most of the discussion centers on recent works. There's plenty of older stuff that is a good read. I've just finished The Moon Pool by Merritt and will be reading more by him.

Most C.S. Lewis is not to my taste but Till We Have Faces is exceptional.

Haggard wrote some great stories. My favorite is The World's Desire. The She stories are also above average. His Allen Quatermain stories are also fun, but more adventure than fantasy/scifi.

Some other authors to investigate are Leguin, Ursula (The Telling, Lavinia, Always Coming Home are some of my favorites), Madeleine L'Engle, Poul Anderson

For fairy tales, a type of fantasy, Old Peter's Russian Tales and Puck of Pook's Hill are both delightful.

Islandia is unique and unforgettable. An imagined place but nothing magical. Just world building.

The Dark is Rising series is special.

Then there are the classics. Tolkien, William Morris, Lord Dunsany, T.H. White, James Branch Cabel, etc.

David wrote: "Then there are the classics ..."

I've never read anything by Lord Dunsany or William Morris and, to be honest, had not even heard of their names as being in the same company as the other classics you mentioned. Can you suggest particular books or short stories as good entry points for each of them? thx

William Morris wrote in his own style. It can be off-putting. The Wood Beyond the World and The Well at the World's End are both important fantasy novels. I prefer his psudo-historic books. The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains: A Book That Inspired J. R. R. Tolkien My favorite work by him is is his translation/adaptation of The Volsunga Saga. His works are old enough that they are freely available on Project Gutenberg. He also wrote on socalism, art, politics, and utopian novels so maybe check out Wikipedia or scan the texts to see if they are fantasy. Tolkien once took some money he won and bought novels by Morris.

Dunsany also had a unique style. He only wrote one fantasy novel, The King of Elfland's Daughter. He is best known for his short stories. The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth in The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories is an excellent example of his style. He reminds me of Clark Ashton Smith without the horror. Once again, his works are old enough that they are freely available on Project Gutenberg. Not everything he wrote is fantasy. His full name is great, worth checking Wikipedia for. Neil Gaiman, Lovecraft, Tolkien and others have expressed admiration for his work.