SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

As much as I like fantasy series books, it's harder for me to handle looking for several books instead of just one. I'm sure there's a lot of just as awesome standalone fantasy novels out there. Which ones should I look out for? I prefer the sword and sorcery genre and the saving the world type of stories but I guess I'll at least consider others if they're interesting enough. :)

I just read The Desert of Souls, you might like that.

I definitely want in on this discussion. I have so many series, and parts of series waiting to be read. Sometimes I just want a standalone book.

I also wish there were more standalone books, especially ones that reflected modern sensibilities.

Unfortunately, the book I'm recommending is not sword and sorcery nor saving the world. It's sort of an early urban fantasy that takes place in a small American college in the 70's. It's based on a Scottish ballad, and there is a subtle form of magic. There's a lot to chew on. It's Tam Lin by Pamela Dean.

I have that on my To Read list! I like most fantasy sub genres. TY

It's old, but Tanith Lee's VOLKHAVAAR may be what the apothecary ordered. Short, too - 192 pages. In the same vein, there's Poul Anderson's THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS and THE BROKEN SWORD. The first is quite light-hearted and the second, by the author's own admission, is "headlong, prolix and unrelievedly savage". My terminally sulky teenage self loved it! I'll second the recc'y for TAM LIN.

I'll second The Broken Sword, that was an excellent read.

If you can track it down, Yves Meynard's The Book of Knights is fantastic.

I can also strongly recommend The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells.

Great! I'll definitely look out for these. Keep em coming!

Guy Gavriel Kay has a host of excellent stand-alone fantasy novels including, but not limited to: Under Heaven, The Lions of al-Rassan, Tigana, and A Song for Arbonne.

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
Stealing the Elf-King's Roses (or Stealing the Elf-King's Roses: The Author's Cut if you have an e-reader)
Among Others
When The King Comes Home
A Song for Arbonne
The Last Hot Time
The Hero and the Crown
Sunshine
War for the Oaks

These don't all qualify as saving the world or S&S, but they are standalone fantasy books I enjoyed. And I third the recommendation of Tam Lin.

This is great! I have some of these on my To Read List and some I actually own, they're all getting moved up the queue. TY

I have a strong dislike for these interminably long modern fantasy series. So I tend to read a lot of stand alone stuff, along with a few duologies and trilogies. For stand alone stuff I can definitely recommend almost anything by Tim Powers but the following are particular favorites of mine:
The Drawing of the Dark - King Arthur gets called back from the dead to team up with vikings and save Vienna (and more importantly a brewery)from invasion by the Turks in the year 1529.
The Anubis Gates - One of the greatest time travel stories ever told, that artfully weaves together secret beggar societies operating in London in the 1800's, Egyptian sorcerers, an evil clown (as if there's any other kind), and the folk legends of Spring Heeled Jack and Dog-face Joe.
On Stranger Tides - If you have seen the movie you may think the book involves pirates, Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth and voodoo. It does. But nevertheless it is an awesome book and nothing at all like the POTC.
The Stress of Her Regard - The night before his wedding Dr. Michael Crawford drunkenly places his bride-to-be's ring on a statue in a garden and unknowingly promises himself to a creature of ancient evil. The morning after his wedding he wakes to find his bride dead beside him. He flee's and teams up with the poets Byron, Shelley and Keats (who have fallen under similar spells)to thwart the creatures.
Declare - Which features Cold War spies, Mount Ararat, demons or ifrits, and the treachery of Kim Philby.

Also, Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner is well worth seeking out.

And most anything by Peter S. Beagle.
A Fine and Private Place
The Last Unicorn
The Innkeeper's Song

Oh yeah, Neil Gaiman has a few gems:
Stardust
American Gods
Anansi Boys

Roger Zelazny also has a few stand-alones (but also some series and some SF but I'll let you dig through the list if you're interested. I love just about everything by him).

Hope you find some good stuff and happy reading!

I forgot to mention — Cory Doctorow (author of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town) has a lot of standalones, though they are mostly SF. Most of them can be downloaded (legally and for free) here or here.

Brandon Sanderson has a knack for original magic systems. I've read two standalone books he wrote, both are great: Elantris and Warbreaker.

If you're not afraid to try older stuff, I've read several times The Ship of Ishtar by A. Merritt, I like the mysterious and poetic way he tells this story, it's like an exotic journey.

And I also agree with Reg at least about The Anubis Gates (I haven't read the others), a great and intricate story I plan to reread soon.

I'd second the Neil Gaiman mentions as well as The Hero and the Crown (which is technically a companion novel/prequel to another book, The Blue Sword, but they both stand on their own). If you like fairytale retellings at all, McKinley has some more standalone novels that I really liked- Beauty and Spindle's End are a few of those.

All of the Robin McKinley books which have been mentioned, particularly The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, both swords and sorcery ...

Another I like very well, I'd call it a blend of swords and sorcery plus fairy tale, is The Fairy Godmother It is the first book of a series but they work as standalones as each book 'stars' a different tale and cast of characters.

More along the witchcraft/wizard/fantasy line rather than swords and sorcery The Wizard's Shadow is an older book. More recently published are The Enchantment Emporium and The Wild Ways plus the Chalion series by Lois Bujold, starting with The Curse of Chalion.

All of these are set in the same 'world' with some of the same families/characters, but different major characters and each can be read as a standalone.

Cool. Any more nice series books that can be read as standalone? :)

Sharon wrote: "All of the Robin McKinley books which have been mentioned, particularly The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, both swords and sorcery ...

Another I like very well, I'd call it a blend of swor..."

I love most of Robin McKinley's books. She's a good writer, and most of her stories are standalone. The only two that are connected that I know of are The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword, but the one connecting factor is so small that, in all honesty, they're pretty much standalone pieces anyway.

Angelof wrote: "Cool. Any more nice series books that can be read as standalone? :)"

Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn: The Final Empire could definitely be read as a standalone.

Amanda Downum's The Drowning City is pretty much a self-contained story.

Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora is the first book of a series, but can also be read as a standalone.

Although it's been 25 years since I read it, I recall enjoying Charles De Lint's Jack, the Giant Killer. He wrote sequels, but the first book is a stand-alone as I recall.

I read it a very long time ago, but I remember that I really liked The Dreaming Tree! By C. J. Cherryh. It's an omnibus of both books but feels like a single novel. I also liked The Redemption of Althalus, by David Eddings.

Legend, David Gemmell's most famous book, can be read as a standalone, and should be in line with your interests. He's also written a few lesser known books in this genre which are completely standalone: Morningstar, Knights of Dark Renown and Dark Moon.

Black Magician Trilogy: The Magician's Guild, The Novice, The High Lord by Trudi Canavan. It is a trilogy and as such not a standalone in the strictest sense but due to its relatively short length I would recommend it anyway as a "standalone" experience.