John Flanagan Fantastic Fiction

[Courtland Boland]

Contextis a challenge in politically correct times that seek to view the past through the myopic lenses of an eternal present. Over 130 years ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created an archetype in fiction with his consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. While Holmes lives on at least in name and reputation, most of his antecedents, contemporaries, and successors in the fantastic fiction of the Victorian and Edwardian eras are rapidly fading into obscurity.

Daniel deserves more attention. A very good writer who was anything but a Sax Rohmer imitator. His strong point is believable characters who manage to be something more than thriller stereotypes. Considering he was writing Yellow Peril thrillers, that is quite an accomplishment.

There is no denying the inherent racism of Yellow Peril fiction. Much like minstrel shows, the racism is its reason for existing. At its best, yellow peril fiction offered readers exotic thrills and excitement that dared them to imagine adopting the values and mores of a different culture, one that withstood Western imperialism and tempted us with greater knowledge and power as well as the lusty allure of something far more dangerous and pleasurable than we could ever find back home.

William Patrick Maynard is the licensed continuation author of the Fu Manchu series for the Sax Rohmer Estate. His third book, the long-anticipated Triumph of Fu Manchu, is due for 2019 publication by Black Coat Press.

My concious introduction to fantasy was of course Tolkien through the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which is the first series I re-read. My serious Sci-Fi introduction was Orson Scott Card and Enders Game another first re-read series. An honorable mention for both Fantasy and Sci-Fi would be Piers Anthony.

I discovered Brandon because I was finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. After reading his contribution I decided to try Alloy of Law (my favorite Brandon Series), Then I sought out everything else he had out at the time and will give any of his books a try because I enjoyed his style so much.

5. Terry Goodkind. He used to be higher on the list. I started the Sword of Truth series and Wheel of time at the same time and the contrast between these very similar series kept me switching back and forth. I really liked the rules behind his magic, but kept getting frustrated that Richard never had time for his grandfather to train him until it finally became evident that his gift was unique and wouldn't work like Zed's. It was during a read of his most recent series that I realized his villains are essentially the same villain in different circumstances so he dropped a few spaces.

4.Jim Butcher. I discovered him because of a panel that he and Brandon were on. As I explored Harry's world his writing got more and more entertaining. Then I found his Furies series which has convinced me that I will give anything he writes a chance.

3. Orson Scott Card when his series like Alvin or Ender is on target There is no one better in my opinion, but on his off day like pathfinders ending book it leaves a little gap though still better than most.

2. Brandon is in second for me right now. His characters are deep, scenes are epic, but it is when he writes in humor that it goes over the top. Wax, Lyft, and nightblood season his books with laughter for me. Then stoic Wax, and Steris, and moody Kaladin, and Shallon provide the deep currents to contrast the humor creating worlds of depth.

1. Finally L. E. Modesitt jr. Ironically I have discovered him multiple times without realizing it until relatively recently. He has been writing since the 70's. He started with Sci-Fi so the first series I discovered of his was the Time Lords series where the protagonist was Luke(Loki), and who doesn't want to read about someone named after him. Years later I read the Magic of Recluse without realizing it was the same author. His magic system locked me in. All magic users typically use either order (black) or chaos (white), and some rare individuals straddle both leaning one way or the other. Black magic users are usually craftsmen like carpenters, and smiths, where white magic is good for destruction and offensive battle. when I discovered he was the same author more recently I immersed myself into his other available series and have only less than stunned by his worlds once with one of his most recent books. Oh and he like Brandon lives in Utah.

First, to keep with your form, I cut my teeth on Oz books, Burgess Bedtime stories and The Wind in the Willows. Later, I would read 1001 Arabian Knights and the entirety of Dante's Divine Comedy (I read a bunch of Goosebumps as well, I wasn't a complete dork). I was introduced to Tolkien through the Rankin/Bass movies and had my first encounter with the books when my mom read the Silmarillion to me. I got my first copy of the Lord of the Rings in fifth grade and read it at about the same time as the Divine Comedy. I finally read the Hobbit in seventh grade.

Around 11th grade I was introduced to Stephen R Donaldson with the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. It ruined the fantasy genre for me (I liked it a lot) so from there, reading was classic science fiction, Stephen Crane and John Steinbeck.

Eventually I read Mervyn Peake and felt Titus Groan was the zenth of fantasy writing (in a way, I still do). This restored my faith in the fantasy genre and I started reading it again, realizing that what I liked to read was stylistic writing.

I would read Mistborn when it was announced that Brandon would finish the Wheel of Time. I still intended to finish that series then (I never did). I enjoyed it as fun popcorn reading and that's why I read Cosmere books to this day. The result, though, is that if I rank favorite authors, he isn't ever on the list because, well, I adore stylistic prose and that's just not what he writes.

Honorable mentions to Steven Erickson, R Scott Bakker, Ford Maddox Ford for personal reading development reasons. There's also plenty of great authors not on this list like Jemisin, Chakraborty and Darcie Little Badger.

Brandon Sanderson fills the role that used to belong to Michael Crichton and Tony Hillerman: an enjoyable author that put out books that were entertaining with some regularity and that were mainstream enough that when I told people I liked to read, I could mention their names along with a couple other authors so that the conversation wasn't shut down.

5) Jonathan Bellairs (admittedly they are kids books, but the Johnny Dixon books are especially good. The Curse of the Blue Figurine, The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt, The Eyes of the Killer Robot, The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull, and The Chessmen of Doom are all delightful books.)

1) Steven Erickson (he does like his diatribes, but for the most part he's a keen observer and long form griping has never been written better or been dressed in better fantastical symbolism. Populating his book with villains that are incarnations of the worst attributes of humanity is nothing short of brilliant. Truly the Jonathan Swift of High Fantasy. It's always satisfying when these villains get their come-uppances.)

3) Jules Verne (sure it's laughable now to think that you could get humans to the moon using a giant cannon, but most of his work holds up remarkably well as plausible speculative fiction over 150 years after he wrote it, like Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues under the sea and especially Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

2) HG Wells (though his novels do have some skimmable parts, his prose is compact, his imagination vast, and his short stories are some of the best. His two volume Outline of History is fantastic as well, and it's commonly available at thrift stores.)

1) Horse lover Fats, aka Philip K Dick (if you've ever had a desire to peel back the veil of mundane reality and see the schizophrenic steel and wire machinery that keeps the happy suburban simulacrum of normal life humming, then strap yourself in and go through The Martian Times slip with Phil as your guide, and thrill to the gubbish delight of time traveling precogs used for lucrative building speculation. Or maybe you too can experience the enlightenment of subconscious thought manipulation through orthogonal time achieved by the blast right between your eyes of an intergalactic pink space laser, or perhaps you just want to fend off the unraveling of reality with a can of aerosol propelled Ubik. I highly recommend, with my highest commendation, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick. It's a vast and strange and strangely vast world my friends.)

10) Friedrich Nietzche (The Birth of Tragedy/The Geanology of Morals, Beyond Good and Evil, Ecce Homo, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra are the fun books in philosophy to read. His language is ultra romantic and so very good, his criticisms are always stinging, and his ideas are always interesting. Though his conclusions are often misguided, the journey up the mountain with him is always fun).

7) Gustave Flaubert (Salammbo is one of the 5 best books I've read. His three tales book, with the three long short stories (or short novellas if you prefer) A Simple Heart, St. Julian the Hospitaler, and Herodias, is one of my 10 favorite books of all times)

5) Haruki Murakami (this is definitely for the more mature readers, some very adult themes are dealt with, but the writing is superb, and there's just a tastefully modest dash of magical realism in his work. I highly recommend Hard Boiled Wonderland/End of the World, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, and Kafka by the Shore)

4) Philip K. Dick (the only author that makes two lists. His short stories are some of the very best, but most of his novels are exceptional as well. Do yourself a favor and read Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, Through a Scanner Darkly, Ubik, Martian Timeslip, the Valis trilogy, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. You won't regret it, and if you crack under the psychic strain of realizing everything is gubbish, you'll still have lots to think about in your padded cell. I kid, it's really good stuff.)

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