SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Stina Leicht's Fey and the Fallen series is good
Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series has a lot of Faes in it
Tad Williams's The War of the Flowers

CBRetriever wrote: "Stina Leicht's Fey and the Fallen series is good
Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series has a lot of Faes in it
Tad Williams's [book:The War of the Fl..."

I loved the Fey and the Fallen, but it's not finished. Have you heard any news on it, CBR?

Wen Spencer has a somewhat lusty series that takes place in Pittsburgh. It has a lot of Fae in it. I think the first is Tinker.

Michelle wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "Stina Leicht's Fey and the Fallen series is good"
I loved the Fey and the Fallen, but it's not finished. Have you heard any news on it, CBR?"

I think it's one that could be continued but doesn't need to be - it's the other series that's definitely unfinished

I recently read and loved Borderline, which has the Fae in it, although its MC is human. Oh so human.

Also, War for the Oaks by Emma Bull.

DivaDiane wrote: "I recently read and loved Borderline, which has the Fae in it, although its MC is human. Oh so human.

Also, War for the Oaks by Emma Bull."

Emma Bull reminds me that there are a lot of Fae in Charles de Lint's books. Read the blurb for the books, because not all of them have Fae in them

and Mercedes Lackey's Bedlam Bards and SERRated Edge series have main characters that are Fae

Strictly speaking, Mercedes Lackey (and collaborators) describe tall Elves (often referred to in Irish as the Sidhe): the fay ther are insectile, and are minor inhabitants of Underhill, the parallel universe to which supernatural beings have retreated to escape cold iron.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Ian wrote: "Strictly speaking, Mercedes Lackey (and collaborators) describe tall Elves (often referred to in Irish as the Sidhe): the fay ther are insectile, and are minor inhabitants of Underhill, the paralle..."

I think though, when looking for books about the Fae, the Sidhe will work as the Sidhe are the Irish version of the Fae (Fairies)

What do the Irish call the Fae?

Aos sí (pronounced [iːsˠ ˈʃiː]; older form: aes sídhe [eːsˠ ˈʃiːə]) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Celtic mythology – spelled sìth by the Scots, but pronounced the same – comparable to fairies or elves.

Jo Walton's Among Others makes great allusions to the presence of fairy folk.

English "fay" (French Fee), Fairy/Faerie, and Elf have been confused in English since Middle English times. In Elizabethan and Jacobean (Queen Elizabeth and King James) literature sometimes elves were a type of fairy, or vice-versa. And they varied inconsistently in height, sometimes in the same story, in part due to the demands of the stage (See "A Midsummer Night's Dream") but in part due to authors forgetting what scale they were working on.

(C.S. Lewis pointed out some amusing implied variations, and claimed that it was not until Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" that anyone worked out consistent proportions in dealing with tiny people and giants.)

In Spenser's unfinished Elizabethan epic The Faerie Queene the Faerie kingdom seems to be inhabited mostly by human-size characters. (I think he also mixed in "elf," but I don't have a concordance to easily check, and I last read it through in Graduate School far too many years ago.)

Most if not all of the important, and many of the minor, characters are allegories for something or someone, but Spenser included a short dynastic history of the realm, with English parallels, but also serving to make it seem more consistent and "real."

If we are dealing with books with beings from mainly northern European folklore and mythology abound (English and Scandinavian, but also Irish, and some creatures from as far away as Japan), with a whole lot about elves you never knew enough to ask, Poul Anderson's early novel The Broken Sword fills the bill. But it is extremely grim, and some people may find elements (view spoiler)[like unwitting incest (hide spoiler)] to be more than usually distressing.

(Michael Moorcock considered its first edition far superior to the nearly contemporary "Lord of the Rings," unaware that the "Silmarillion" contained many of same themes, and was very, very dark, and that when Tolkien submitted it the publisher had just declined to take the financial risk with the reception of LOTR uncertain. By the time they changed their minds, Tolkien had taken it apart for major revisions, which he never completed.)

With the same proviso (see warning, plus (view spoiler)[rape (hide spoiler)], an Elf make an appearance in Anderson's retelling of an icelandic saga (drawing on parallels in other texts, including Beowulf) Hrolf Kraki's Saga

Stretching a bit, Anderson mixes Scandinavian and Slavic lore in The Merman's Children I can't think of anything possibly offensive in this one, but it has been a long time since I read it.

If you’re into Humans and Fae and a bit of sexy time and a great story there’s the Fever series starting with Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning. Well I enjoyed it anyway.

Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series has Fae in it especially Summer Knight

Seanan McGuire's October Daye series is all about fae in the modern world.

faerie tale by Raymond Feist is a good kinda spooky look at all types of fae.

Mary Teresa wrote: "Seanan McGuire's October Daye series is all about fae in the modern world."

so are the two Lackey series I listed above

A few more that I think might be of interest:
The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

For anyone interested, I found a cheap Kindle edition of "The Faerie Queene," and did a search.

My memory was spotty, but not wrong. Spenser has a kind of Elvish "Adam and Eve," made by Prometheus, known as Elfe and Fay, from whom all "Faryres" descend. The names of their kings mostly compound with "Elf-" but the next to last was Oberon, details of whom are based on Henry VIII, and he has been succeeded by Gloriana, who is one of the aspects of Queen Elizabeth in the poem.

Oberon, otherwise Auberon, was a fairy king well back into the late Middle Ages, so Shakespeare wasn't necessarily borrowing from Spenser in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Jacqueline wrote: "If you’re into Humans and Fae and a bit of sexy time and a great story there’s the Fever series starting with Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning. Well I enjoyed it anyway."

Another series with a "fae smut" focus is Laurell Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, starting with A Kiss of Shadows. Series is unfinished, and may not ever be, if that is an issue for you.

I'd be interested in suggestions that are less than two decades old, and not YA, myself. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

I liked the Witches of Lychford series of five novellas by Paul Cornell, if it’s not too obvious a suggestion.

Anything Juliet Marillier

The Iron Druid Chronicles and the new Ink & Sigil series by Kevin Hearne are pretty much all Fae all the way and the earlier Iron Druid books are especially awesome. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher also has A LOT of Fae, although vampires are a close second here.

The Order of Brigid's Cross and The Faery Portal by Terri Reid also deal with the Fae, although I must say the first novel is much better than the second.

Another good suggestion might be The Child Thief by Brom, although the Fae connection is less obvious at first.

I don’t know how you feel about short stories, but Terri Windling served as editor (and author) in a whole bunch of anthologies. One is called Faery! With Patricia McKillip and others.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

I liked The Iron King by Julia Kagawa, which is the first in a series

This is a taking as witnessed from the outside: Wylding Hall

Charles de Lint's books with fae, faeries, fair folk, or elves:

Promises to Keep,
Memory and Dream,
The Ivory and the Horn,
Muse and Reverie.

The Cruel Prince is a good one!

Lydia Sherrer's books -- the series is Love, Lies and Hocus Pocus. Sort of light reading - I usually avoid anything labeled "cozy," but I enjoyed these books. The male protagonist, Sebastian, has a fascinating (and unique!) relationship with the fae

The Name of the Wind

"That's all I can say about that." -Forest Gump

Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland

I just started this so I can't vouch for how much it will cover what you're looking for, but it seems like a good fit.

Currently reading Feeding Frenzy and a fae made a short appearance. But from the looks of it, it's not the last one. :)