Forgotten/OOP Fantasy

Hey, all.

I've been feeling the urge to make a tour of the Half Price Books in my area and have myself a little book-buying spree.

I've been a fantasy reader long enough that I have a good handle on the "big" names I already know and/or need... from Eddings/Brooks/Feist through GRRM/Hobb and on up to Erikson/Bakker/Mieville/Lynch/Abercrombie. (To name some of the folks that I think count as "big" names.)

Looking over my virtual shelves here on L.T., I was struck by a few series that I have fond memories of, but that have been OOP so long that I'm sure they're barely a blip on most peoples' radar. Authors like Lyndon Hardy, Catherine Cooke, or Carole Nelson Douglas (before she found more long-lasting success with mysteries :) )... authors whose works aren't particularly mind-blowing and don't fit into any "unsung classic" category, but that would still be something worth picking up for a couple bucks at a used bookstore.

So, in preparation for my pilgrimage... does anyone else have this sort of author in their memory banks? The sort that's been OOP a while and not necessarily in that top tier of awesome, but still worth a read?

It's always fun to browse, of course, but if there are authors I know to keep an eye out for... more the better. :)

Michael Scott Rohan Winter of the World Trilogy.

Joy Chant! Try to find Red Moon and Black Mountain.

Personally, I always look for early, OOP Tanith Lee and Ursula Le Guin, but they're certainly not "unsung" authors, ha.

phyllis eisenstein born to exile and various others.

I too usually look for early works of more 'bigname' authors I'm currently reading.

Two thumbs up for the Rohan endorsement, above.

I'm told I need to read James Branch Cabell's JUrgen, haven't found it yet (funny how I only get the right touchstone if I capitalize the 'U' ...).

(Edit: whoops, Jurgen's still in print)

I presume Jack Vance's oft-cited The Dying Earth is still in print, I just haven't seen it at the stores I frequent.

I agree with Phyllis Eisensteins and I would also look for some of Barbara Hambly's earlier fantasy books and Michy Zucher Reichert.

Thanks, y'all. :) I don't think I'm familiar with Rohan, Eisenstein, or Chant, so that makes for a very good starting point. :)

Teot's War and sequel, by Heather Gladney - great read.

I'd give Joy Chant a strong second.

Also look up R. A. MacAvoy - Tea with the Black Dragon, her Damiano trilogy, a little Irish tale standalone called The Grey Horse - all superb.

One of my favorite fantasy novels of all time is The Unicorn Creed by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. It is the second book of a series starting with Song of Sorcery although I didn't really care for the books that came after the first two.

Bridge of Birds is a recent discovery of mine that can be a little hard to find but well worth the hunt.

8> I love MacAvoy's work. Also recommending The Book of Kells, and her Lens of the World trilogy. I'm glad to see her writing again after a long absence, with the recent novella In Between. But her Damiano trilogy is a special favorite of mine.

Over here the 2 french MMP prints of the Death Gate cycle by Weis & Hickman are OOP, and somewhat overpriced it seems at least as far as online sources go. If it was just to read it, used english copies seem quite abundant and cheap, or new ones even still in print, but I was looking for a #2 to complete my existing set.

And one doesn't really need to look to "obscure" names to see plenty of books that go periodically OOP. I think there hasn't been a MMP reprint of the Lankhmar books in french since ~1990, and the more recent ~2005 trade paperback reprint is going OOP too.

How about the barbarian books, like Karl Edgar Wagner's Kane or Fritz Leiber's Swords books (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser)....also just about anything by Michael Moorcock...

Can't believe I forgot about Bridge of Birds, just read that a couple of months ago.

Elizabeth H Boyer and Hugh Cook are about that era/feel and are good. I was going to reccomend the Hughart and Rohan but other people got there beofre me, Scarbourgh also is brilliant! I've also got but not read Darrell Schweitzer, Glen Cook, Michael Bishop, Peter Moorwood, Juanita Coulson, Ru Emerson and Diana L Paxson all of which somebody with fond memories has told me I should read, But to be honest I wasn't that enamoured of Lyndon Hardy when I read that, so i'm a bit more tentative about going that far back. A A Attanasio was really good though. It varies I guess and some wear better than others.

Margaret Ball wrote some good 1990's fantasy: Flameweaver and Changeweaver are probably my favorites.

If you can find a copy of John Bellairs' only adult fantasy, The Face in the Frost, grab it! (I've gone and looked at your library now, and it looks like you do have it.

I'm assuming you've read Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, right? Still going on and available, start with Jhereg (1987).

I see you've got Hodgell and Wrede and Nina Kiriki Hoffman--all favorites of mine. Have you only got the second of Diane Duane's Door Into... series? It would well reward you to also read The Door into Fire and The Door into Sunset if you haven't.

How about Emma Bull? I don't see any of her books in your library and she is a fine fantasy writer!

New books, but--have you read Gail Carriger's books? That is one fun series and one that, based on the books we share, I think you would like. Soulless is the first.

Carol Chase: Hawk's Flight (1991)

Oh, how about Susan Dexter? Her first trilogy written in the '80s is as good a classic fantasy as you can find: The Ring of Allaire, The Sword of Calandra, and The Mountains of Channandran, and then she did some follow-up ones in the '90s. You would love them.

A really interesting and atypical trilogy written in the late '70s, early '80s by Anson Dibell: Pursuit of the Screamer, Circle, Crescent, Star, and Summer Fair.

The Ozark series by Suzette Haden Elgin written in the '80s:
Twelve Fair Kingdoms, The Grand Jubilee, and Then There'll Be Fireworks.

Teresa Edgerton: Child of Saturn, The Moon in Hiding, The Work of the Sun.

Alan Garner, especially The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and the Moon of Gomrath.

Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy series.

Elizabeth Goudge: Linnets and Valerians and The Little White Horse.

Megan Lindholm, especially her Ki and Vandien quartet--this was before she reinvented herself as Robin Hobb.

Jane Lindskold did make it big with her Wolf series, but her outstanding Changer and Legends Walking are much less well-known, unfortunately.

Ardath Mayhar wrote a lot of dreamy fantasy that I liked a lot at the time--I don't know how well they've aged.

No Robin McKinley in your library--surely an oversight? Her Damar books, especially--the Blue Sword and the Hero and the Crown!

Elizabeth Moon is better known over in science fiction, but have you read her Paksenarrion trilogy, also available as an omnibus the Deed of Paksennarion? Excellent story, and she has 2 books of a new trilogy out now, carrying on the story and just as good.

Garth Nix has several series, but his Abhorsen trilogy is by far the best.

YOu have The Sherwood Ring but have you read Elizabeth Marie Pope's only other book, The Perilous Gard?

Stephanie A. Smith only produced a couple of fantasies in the late '80s, but both were good. Snow Eyes and The Boy Who Was Thrown Away.

Midori Snyder put out her Queen's Quarter series around that time as well.

I'm assuming Janny Wurts and Jane Yolen are in your lists already, right?

I traded away my copies of the Lyndon Hardy books, so must not have been that impressed with them.

Ooooh... I should've waited a few more days to do my HPBooks tour. I went last Friday, and we were only down to #10 by then. (And, unfortunately, out of four stores, only Scott Michael Rohan had any hits of the folks mentioned up to then. (I may have to go back this weekend. Thanks, y'all. :) )

MacAvoy: Good suggestion! I read the Damiano books and a couple others back in high school. I've been meaning to revisit them... but I see they're available for Kindle, so I'll probably go that route for those.

Lyndon Hardy: I should clarify, Hardy's books wouldn't be at the top of any of my recommendation lists for someone whose tastes I don't know. I tend to like the series because the magic system and the strictness of the rules (and then changing up the rules in later books) hits a chord for me. I think it appeals to the part of me that loves to organize things... it's almost more fun for my left-brain than my right.

#9> Me too! I loved the first two Maggie books, and was disappointed by the next couple. Though I think I may have been being persnickety because I wanted more Maggie and Colin, not new characters. I always hated "generational" type series like Shannara when I was younger for that same reason.

#16/17> Wow, thanks for the extensive recs. :) Some great names on there that struck some "Oh, yeah, I was interested in him/her back in the day!" bells. :)

I have to confess that I didn't really care for the P.C. Hodgell that I've read. I developed an active dislike of her main character (Jame, was it?). Since Hodgell clearly intends the reader to be rooting for the heroine, not against her, it seemed best to stop there. :)

I do love Wrede and Hoffman, though... and the other Diane Duane books are on my list to watch out for. I re-read Door Into Shadow fairly recently and was reminded that I really should pick up the others.

Re: Emma Bull: I'm not really an urban fantasy and/or "faerie" fan, and I've always slotted Emma Bull into those columns because of War of the Oaks. I've loved some of her shorter works, but never really pursued her otherwise.

Seconding the early Hambly stuff; they're all lots of fun. If you can find Doris Egan's The Complete Ivory, I'd snatch that up (it's sort of sci-fi and sort of fantasy).

I'm reading R. A. MacAvoy's The Grey Horse as a result of this thread. I'm not far enough in yet to say if I like it or not, but it's got an interesting premise.

Claudia J Edwards is out of print and shamefully unknown. Great original fantasy.

I second the recommendation for Doris Egan's Ivory books.

The Seven Citadels books by Geraldine Harris are favorites of mine -- Prince of the Godborn, Children of the Wind, The Dead Kingdom, and The Seventh Gate. In some ways, they remind me of LeGuin's Earthsea books, but they're definitely inhabit their own world. I keep waiting for a reprint!

From Geraldine's web site "The Seven Citadels series is currently being republished by Speaking Volumes in ebook and print-on-demand formats. This is an "author's preferred text" edition contained never before published material."

Tho I fear sounding like an idiot I must ask-what is OOP? 8^(

>24 Vanye:
OOP = Out Of Print

LOL! I should have known that as I have gotten many books by having our local indie books store do OOP searches for me. Oh I am so red in the face! 8^)

23: ringman

Ah yes the dreaded 'Authors Preferred text' editions. Or in other words the 'Editor, I don't need no editor' editions ;-)

>23 ringman: thanks for the update!

Another vote for Karl Edward Wagner! I love the Kane books; I've read them all several times and they never get old! Very old-school swords & sorcery though... you've probably got to be the kind of person who likes old school pulp fantasy like Robert Howard to enjoy them the way I do!

Wagner really never got enough credit, in my mind.