Fantasy Aficionados discussion

I admit I have been bitten by the young adult fantasy bug. There is some really good stuff out there, seriously. Is anyone else reading a lot of YA fantasy?

I know there are not a lot of Twilight fans on the group, so let's not beat the dead horse. There are a lot of YA fantasy novels that are not in that vein. :)

Best book I've read all year is YA. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. The sequel just came out and am eager to read it.

I have to be careful though. I find some YA like The Red Pyramid a bit simplistic in plot and character development.

I don't mind reading writing for younger readers. I like to mix things up. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a more straightforward read. I like the humor aimed at younger audience. It's fresh and non-pretentious.

The YA fiction I've read has been pretty intelligent and sophisticated as a whole. Good YA writers don't insult their reader's intelligence.

I like what CS Lewis said. Basically a children's book that an adult wouldn't enjoy isn't a very good children's book.

If you liked Leviathan, you need to give Boneshaker by Cherie Priest a try. Its steampunk/paranormal/alternate history. Its an exciting read!

I liked the Harry Potter series a lot. No surprise there. The only other YA books I've read were from Neil Gaiman.

There are some others that are considered YA, though I don't agree. Books like Gil's All Fright Diner. I loved this book, but really don't understand the YA tag. The protagonists aren't even young adults! I have no idea why it's considered YA, considering that the humor is similar, if not darker, to Christopher Moore's work.

Otherwise, I've really enjoyed pretty much every YA book I've read, except for Twilight. And yes, I did read the first book to that series. I had to see what the hype was about.

I did try Boneshaker and found it remorselessly grim. I put it aside. I didn't care enough about the hero to keep reading.

I read the first book of Harry Potter and found it okay but nothing to write home about.

On the other hand I thought The Golden Compass and the rest of His Dark Materials to be wonderful.

I also enjoyed The Last Stormlord which is YA for some.

Wow Majkia, you are a hard person to please. What else do you like to read?

Majkia wrote: "On the other hand I thought The Golden Compass and the rest of His Dark Materials to be wonderful...."

that is an awesome trilogy.

Hi Christine.

Hmm, never thought myself that hard to please! Of late I've mostly been reading fantasy, I'm a George RR Martin A Song of Ice and Fire fanatic and rapidly becoming same regarding Erikson's Malazan series.

WRT steampunk I loved The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, The Peshawar Lancers, The Alchemy of Stone and Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series.

My favorite all time series though is Julian May's Pliocene Exile Series.

Majkia wrote: "My favorite all time series though is Julian May's Pliocene Exile Series...."

and that is another awesome series. i have to remember to re-read that one someday.

I'm all for reading YA every now and then. It's more the quality of the writing or the subject that interest me than the classification of the book. There's actually some books that are considered YA that could as easily have been regular fiction. I was a fan of the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane for instance and Harry Potter of course.

Sheri S Tepper's Beauty is an excellent YA novel, one of my favorites.
Inkheart is good. Tamora Pierce writes decent YA.
I don't expect much from YA, while a lot of it is good, they're easy quick reads I mostly use for filler, just something to read in between books of more depth and challenge.

i wonder if anyone has read the john bellairs trilogy beginning with The House With a Clock in Its Walls.

i loved it as a kid. it was nearly as enjoyably when i re-read it earlier this year.

I never heard of it. It sounds good, I added it to my ever growing TRB. Thanks for mentioning it.

they are slim but very atmospheric. the relationships are pretty loveable: there's a feisty young heroine, a feisty elderly granny-type, an odd & mysterious-uncle type, and a surprisingly self-loathing boy hero who is artfully portrayed and particularly three-dimensional. atmosphere is at times genuinely foreboding and even occasionally grim for a kid's series.

I know people these days want everything to be sweetness and light for children, but I remember I loved dark themes as a kid. Still do.

I hope I find the trilogy at my next book sale.

Hey Majkia!

I didn't mean you were a hard person to please in a bad way, but someone who likes things that are not so mainstream like Harry Potter. I love His Dark Materials and Song of Ice and Fire series too. Thanks for your recommendations. I'm relatively new to the fantasy genre myself and am looking for new titles and authors.

I like the darker-themed YA books, typically. I don't care for anything with a Gossip Girl kind of vibe. That was one of the things I didn't love about Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, although I enjoyed it.
I've always been a fan of coming of age novels. There is something very appealing about that theme for, and it never grows old, which is why I actively seek out YA novels. I like seeing the world through the eyes of a young person.

I loved The Blue Sword and it's sequel The Hero and the Crown. Great YA fiction!

I'm reading The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. I really enjoy the style of writing, the characters and the plot. I'm glad I chose it.

MrsJ, I have those on my list to read.

Jackie, I'm trying to be good and read Inkheart first since I own it. Is The Thief Lord better than Inkheart?

I was reading a dragon book by her and for some reason never finished... huh. I'm in the middle of the Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. I loved these as a kid.

Alanna: The First Adventure
In the Hand of the Goddess
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Lioness Rampant

Yeesh! There are so many good authors I haven't read yet! Not enough time!

Lady D, No, Inkheart is much better, it's my all time favorite YA novel.

MrsJoseph wrote: "I loved The Blue Sword and it's sequel The Hero and the Crown. Great YA fiction!"

those two are wonderful!

you may also like Wings of Flame.

Then I'll stick with Inkheart for now. Thanks, Jackie.

Thanks for the rec!

Have you ever read The Dark Is Rising Sequence?

I read one of those, MrsJ. I wasn't that impressed with it. Maybe I wasn't in the mood??

the Dark Is Rising sequence is one of my favorite YA series ever! i've read that second book (The Dark Is Rising) probably about a half-dozen times.

I read the Dark is Rising series.

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "I read one of those, MrsJ. I wasn't that impressed with it. Maybe I wasn't in the mood??"

It could have been that... plus the first one is the slowest one (to me). You really don't get a good idea of the entire story from book 1.

Yeah, book 2 is one of my favorites!

I read the whole series and wasn't impressed with any of the books. They were OK but nothing great, to me. I gave them 2 and 3 star ratings.

mark wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "I loved The Blue Sword and it's sequel The Hero and the Crown. Great YA fiction!"

those two are wonderful!

you may also like Wings of Flame."


I will have to try Wings of Flame. Four of Robin McKinley's books are on my personal bookshelves and I re-read often, these two, plus Beauty and Sunshine.

I don't care for everything she has written, but the ones I do like, it seems as if they have been favorites for re-reading for many years.

Sharon, you just reminded me about Sunshine, I really want to read it.

Oh, I didn't even know The Blue Sword had a sequel — I read it a long time ago.

Jackie wrote: "Sharon, you just reminded me about Sunshine, I really want to read it."

That is absolutely, hands down, my favorite vampire book by far.I've read quite a few of the others but it seems as if they degenerate all too quickly into various kinds of scenarios that involve way too much blood, violence and sex. I can usually handle any or all just fine except when you have all three part of the same scene and being a major part of the plot in addition, it isn't somewhere I want to go.

Sunshine isn't a 'sweetness and light' vampire book but it isn't ultimately grim and depressing or what I would consider degenerate either.

If you like YA adult fantasy you must read the "Darkest powers" series and also "The hunger games" Really good books ^^

I'll have to check out Wings of Flame.

@Matthew - The sequel is more like a prequel. It's the story of Lady Aerin, Dragonkiller.

Ah! Still, I probably should read it at some point, and for that matter some more of the author's work, which I've heard good things of.

Oh man, it's a pretty good book. I've owned several different copies of it. I have two copies right now, lol.

MrsJoseph wrote: "Oh man, it's a pretty good book. I've owned several different copies of it. I have two copies right now, lol."

I have five of Robin McKinley's books on my permanent shelves, three are a bit similar, The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown (as MrsJoseph says, a prequel to the Blue Sword) and Beauty, a retelling of the fairy story. The fourth book, Deerskin, is vaguely set in the same 'world' as Hero/ Blue Sword but different people, darker and a more adult theme, no horses and the last, Sunshine, is urban fantasy/vampire and totally different from the others.

I really didn't enjoy Deerskin at all.

I didn't enjoy it in the same way as the others. Very dark and a very grim/unsavory 'plot hook' ... in some ways entirely too realistic with those descriptions. I read it very rarely. It's one of those that I re-read occasionally because it is well written, I do feel a connection with the main characters ... but I only re-read when I feel the need to get away from a bit too much 'happy ever after' sweetness and light.

I agree, it was very well written...but the subject matter bothered me a lot. I don't think I could read it again but if I did I'd skip certain parts.

I agree, definitely not a pleasant subject and I admit the older I get the less I'm inclined to re-read it. Part of the attraction for me is the very accurate interactions with the dogs ... the same reason I am so fond of her "Beauty" and the Sword/ Hero books and their involvement with the horses.

I loved the animal interaction, too. Have you ever read Mercedes Lackey? She does horses & bird of prey in her Valdemar series.

Yes, she's one of my favorite authors. I read her earlier Valdemar series' many years ago and only recently was re-introduced with her latest Valdemar series which started with "Foundation". The second of that series came out recently as well and I've now started re-reading the earlier Valdemar books as well.

Another author that understands horses, whose fantasy books I've enjoyed tremendously is Anne McCaffrey ... I'm sure some of the interaction with dragons comes from her knowledge of horses. Interestingly enough, my absolute favorite of all of McCaffrey's books is not one of her fantasies, but a modern novel based around an Irish horse farm, "The Lady".

MrsJoseph wrote: "Thanks for the rec!

Have you ever read The Dark Is Rising Sequence?"

Did you read the prequel, Over Sea, Under Stone? I found it to be very good.

I'm currently reading Eragon and finding it to be pretty good. It's very straight forward and reminds me of Harry Potter in ways. (I've already read all of them).

I just finished The Lightning Thief. I liked it and will now be trying to pick up the rest of the series.

I just received Poison Study in the mail today. I also have several Katherine Kurtz books (including Deryni Rising) and Tamora Pierce on my shelf TBR.

I think YA is sometimes a nice break since it is usually so straight forward. Then when I'm recharged I can get back into the deeper stuff.