The Sword and Laser discussion

This was my first Guy Gavriel Kay novel and I loved it! I was trying to come up with other stand alone books that might have been better but am having a difficult time. So many of my favorite stories are at least trilogies if not longer (ASoIaF/Malazan, I'm looking at you).

"The Last Unicorn", "American Gods", I don't know.
What do you think?

For those of you who didn't like it as much as I did, throw some titles at me.

People will rage but I'll say The Night Circus :P

Also The City and the City, The Lions of al-Rassan, Nation, War for the Oaks, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere. That's a good list to start with. There's plenty of good stand alone books out there.

"Weaveworld"(Clive Barker), "Cabal"(Clive Barker), "Hart's Hope"(Orson Scott Card), "Something Wicked This Way Comes"(Ray Bradbury), "Neverending Story"(Michael Ende), "Elantris"(Brandon Sanderson), "Warbreaker" (Brandon Sanderson) "A Song for Arbonne"(Guy Gavriel Kay)...

That's all I can think of for now.

I would actually say Kay's The Lions of al-Rassan which I liked even more than Tigana

Another would be Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was which has further books with the same characters, but each is a stand-alone story.

Stand alone fantasy? Isn't that a contradiction these days?

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings and Leigh Eddings
Territory by Emma Bull

Tamahome wrote: "Stand alone fantasy? Isn't that a contradiction these days?"

You're not kidding. It always seems like I'm checking if a title is part of a series or what I should read before starting. I'm almost to the point of not starting a series until all books are complete.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke would probably get my vote, but I also adore Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was.

Ed wrote: "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke would probably get my vote, but I also adore Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was."

I voted for Bridge of Birds on Listopia, I am hoping that will be a "sword" pick someday!

Elantris is my favorite. Much better than Tigana!

Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn and Peter Straub & Stephen King's The Talisman come to mind as absolutely outstanding single-novel Fantasies. Both have semi-sequels, but are only flimsily connected to the original narratives, and those originals are rock solid whole novels.

Darren wrote: "-Imajica (which was one book when I first bought and read it, and so it's a standalone)
-A Song for Arbonne, hands down my favourite of Kay's novels
-American Gods
-When I was a kid, I loved Faerie..."

I read Imajica when I read it too! Great book that would recommend to everyone here

Magician When i read it it was pre-internet so i had no idea it was part of a series, and i was lucky enough to get the authors preferred edition. As a stand alone book ignoring everything that came after it(which i later did read) it is brilliant.