Old School Fantasy #FridayReads

By Heather A.

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Thank goodness for the long weekend, perfect for reading my days away… I thought my post this week should be about catching up on some old school fantasy novels that I haven’t read yet (go ahead, judge me). My reasoning for not reading some of them is based on the fact that some of these books are great in terms of the history of the genre, but more than anything the authors have now become “problematic faves” where scandal now plagues anything that has their name to it (ahem, Lovecraft). But not all these authors are problematic, nor does this cover all the books I need to read! Alas, it’s important to have their catalog of writing in my repertoire for reference.

Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic masterworks The Hobbit and the three volumes ofThe Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King).   In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in Hobbiton by the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves. He finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the dwarf; Legolas the elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider. J.R.R. Tolkien’s three volume masterpiece is at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale—a story of high and heroic adventure set in the unforgettable landscape of Middle-earth.

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Here is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. A spellbinding novel, an extraordinary literary achievement, THE MISTS OF AVALON will stay with you for a long time to come….

 

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life–Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft, S.T. Joshi (Introduction) Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s unique contribution to American literature was a melding of traditional supernaturalism (derived chiefly from Edgar Allan Poe) with the genre of science fiction that emerged in the early 1920s. The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories brings together a dozen of the master’s tales—from his early short stories “Under the Pyramids” (originally ghostwritten for Harry Houdini) and “The Music of Erich Zann” (which Lovecraft ranked second among his own favorites) through his more fully developed works, “The Dunwich Horror,” “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” and “At the Mountains of Madness.” The book presents the definitive corrected texts of these works, along with Lovecraft critic and biographer S. T. Joshi’s illuminating introduction and notes to each story.