Most Underrated Fantasy series

[Zackery Arbela]

Fantasy is on something of a hot streak theses days, what with the success of GAME OF THRONES and the dominance of urban fantasy/paranormal romance. A Song Of Ice And Fire has been called Lord of the Rings for our generation, and while I don't think ANYTHING can topple the mighty JRR from his mithril throne, GRRM does give the Old Master a good run for his money.

But what about the other series and sagas, the ones that set the blood racing and imagination aflame...yet for one reason or another never really caght up with the genre fanbase, let alone the reading public at large. What are your candidates for the most underrated fantasy series?

I would start with three forgotten serial masterpieces: Barry Hugharts MASTER LI series (featuring a drunken sage-detective in a China That Never Was) Michael Scott Rohan's THE WINTER OF THE WORLD (Finnish Mythology Meets Prehistori Ice Age) and just for the heck of it John Norman's GOR series (purely to stir the pot... )

Course that's my list..any one else care to venture an opinion?

[Tony Richards]

T.H. White's The Once and Future King -- a retelling of the Arthur legend -- has to be one of the best (and most underrated) fantasy novels of all time. But most people only know about the first section of it, The Sword in the Stone ... yep, it was the basis for that so-so Disney movie. But that's only one small part of the novel, dealing with Arthur's boyhood. The rest goes into his adult life, the founding of Camelot, Guinevere and Lancelot, and so on. Seriously, it's a must.

[Todd Trumpet]

This is where I usually throw in--

"THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER" by Stephen R. Donaldson

1.  Lord Foul's Bane (1977)
2.  The Illearth War (1978)
3.  The Power that Preserves (1979)

--though I'm not sure they're exactly "undiscovered".  What I do know is, outside of the internet, I know very few people who have actually read them.  A couple other observations:

- I realize this trilogy is not universally loved.  I've already read some pretty disparaging remarks right here on the KindleBoards.  Many people have a strong adverse reaction to a scene early in Book I that dooms the remainder of the story for them.  I am not one of these people.  While I agree with you that Tolkien reigns supreme, Donaldson is one of the few fantasy writers I've read who "could give the Old Master a run for his money" (I have yet to read George R.R. Martin, but look forward to doing so when his saga is complete).  No, Donaldson is no Tolkien.  But he has a facility with prose that many fantasy writers don't possess, their talents seemingly honed more to meticulous imitation of the genre.  The "Covenant" trilogy is somewhat dark, perhaps even grayer than most, but at least Donaldson knows how to put together a sentence.

- That said, the second chronicles of Thomas Covenant (the sequel trilogy) were an Epic Fail.

Anyway, when it comes to Thomas Covenant, I myself sometimes feel alone in "The Land", isolated atop "Kevin's Watch"...

...surrounded by unbelievers.

Todd

[Zackery Arbela]

I must confess...I never read anything by Stephen Donaldson...always something of a regret.

Part of the trouble people might have had with him was that his main character washer of an anti-hero than a hero. After all, there is an act of rape in the first book, which may have been off putting readers back in those days. I suppose people wanted their things more black and white.

Another good candidate might be Harry Harrison's EDEN trilogy. Technically it's considered scifi, but to my mind it's very much a fantasy series...

[Pix]

This is where I usually throw in--

"THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER" by Stephen R. Donaldson

This is one of those books I keep telling myself I need to pick up again. My Da recommended it to me when I was in my early teens, and I was going through a phase of loving fantasy series. I didn't mind "that scene" really, I thought Donaldson set it up very well, in terms of just what the main protag had been through/would do as a result. It was the following parts, where the victim's mother helped him out with his journey, that caused some cognitive dissonance at my end.

Still, it was a good book. I should look at it again now that I'm older and ostensibly wiser (read: a smidgen more tolerant) . 

With regards to the OP, I'm going to go with all of Robin Jarvis' books. Yes, they're kid's books, but the Whitby Witches, Deptford Mice and Deptford Histories were really great stories. I still love them now, and I suspect I always will, just like Pullman's Northern Lights trilogy

[Seleya]

I must confess...I never read anything by Stephen Donaldson...always something of a regret.

Part of the trouble people might have had with him was that his main character washer of an anti-hero than a hero. After all, there is an act of rape in the first book, which may have been off putting readers back in those days. I suppose people wanted their things more black and white.

If wanting a protagonist who is not a rapist is 'wanting things more black and white' then sign me in.
My problem with the guy is that not only is he a rapist but when he does the deed he is infected with a sexually transmittable disease (leprosy) and he knows it. So not only he couldn't care less about the will of the girl, he is also knowingly exposing her to a potentially fatal illness.

That's when I stopped reading, the only way to make me go on would have been knowing that he died a painful and protracted death.

Then, well, I'm a woman for many of us rape isn't exacly a 'neutral' topic.

[Ann in Arlington]

The rape scene in TC the U didn't bother me specifically: he's in a completely foreign place, no idea what's going on, probably half out of his mind and not at all sure what he's doing and, oh, by the way, suddenly feels more healthy than he has in years.  Forgivable? No. Understandable? Yes.  

HOWEVER, all that aside,  the guy is thoroughly unlikeable.  I can totally see why people would say "Why do I even care?" and give up.  I probably would have done so myself if not for Saltheart Foamfollower.  I mean, I totally get that a main character should have a few flaws to make them relatable. . .but they shouldn't be downright despicable, in my opinion.  I got really tired of reading about good deserving people who he kept stabbing in the back because he was such a poor excuse for a human being.  And, yes, a little tired of them letting him get away with it.

Mind you. . . I read the things 30 years ago. . . .I'm relating the feeling that has stayed with me. . . .

[Zackery Arbela]

Another book that tends to get forgotten nowadays is Nikolai Tolstoy's (yes of THOSE Tolstoys) the COMING OF THE KING, a retelling of the tale of Merlin that draws heavily from the original Celtic influences. Back in the 80's and 90's there was a huge boom in Arthurian fantasy. It was supposed to be the start of a new series, but for some reason no further volumes ever got written.

[Sean Patrick Fox]

I would say the Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny is "underrated" because I suspect not many people read them nowadays. I've read the first three, and they're a far cry from typical fantasy fare. For me, they're a once-in-a-while type of read, but when that times comes I enjoy them a great deal.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

I would say the Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny is "underrated" because I suspect not many people read them nowadays. I've read the first three, and they're a far cry from typical fantasy fare. For me, they're a once-in-a-while type of read, but when that times comes I enjoy them a great deal.

If by "first three" you mean the first three books of the original series, how did you stop there and not read the final two books?!!!

Those five books (at most a few pages more than one G.R.R. Martin tome) are probably my favorite "book" of any genre, and I've been reading them more or less yearly since I discovered them in the late '70s.

(Disclaimer: I am a huge Roger Zelazny fan -- see my sig -- and own everything of his I could get my hands on.)

[Tony Richards]

Another book that tends to get forgotten nowadays is Nikolai Tolstoy's (yes of THOSE Tolstoys) the COMING OF THE KING, a retelling of the tale of Merlin that draws heavily from the original Celtic influences. Back in the 80's and 90's there was a huge boom in Arthurian fantasy. It was supposed to be the start of a new series, but for some reason no further volumes ever got written.

Didn't know about this one. I'll hunt it down. Huge thanks.

[VH Folland]

The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavril Kay (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road). It always surprised me how often it gets overlooked, but it has some wonderful re-working of celtic myth.

[Zackery Arbela]

The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavril Kay (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road). It always surprised me how often it gets overlooked, but it has some wonderful re-working of celtic myth.

Funny thing about the Fionavar tapestry...Guy Gavriel Kay references it in almost eevery other book he has written since. It is the First Of All Worlds...which means everything he writes operates in the same shared universe.

[Todd Trumpet]

Don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll make this my last comment here about Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (since a few people replied to my recommendation above).  Specifically, here's my take on the rape scene in Book I, which seems to be the most polarizing event in the story.  The way I saw it, on top of all the things mentioned by others (extreme disorientation, sudden health) Thomas Covenant didn't believe he was experiencing reality, i.e., he didn't know whether he was awake or even alive.  To put it more simply, as far as he was concerned, it was all just some sort of elaborate and inexplicable dream, which gave him carte blanche to do anything he wanted.  Now, some may argue that even if he thought he was dreaming, this colors his character.  However, I tend more toward the philosophical camp that "no crime can be committed in one's mind".  And even though his situation did turn out to be another form of reality (unless you interpret The Land to be nothing more than a construct of Covenant's mind), he didn't know it at the time, and later regrets his actions.

Whether he's a whiny, downer, anti-hero (or to what degree) is, of course, a matter of personal interpretation.  However, I'll just add that in the long history of "Chosen One" characters, it's pretty much S.O.P. for that character to be reluctant, angry, or (initially, at least) actively against his/her appointed role.

I.e., an Unbeliever.

Todd

[Carolyn62]

The Sword of Shadows series by J V Jones is very under rated. I'm impatiently waiting for the next book.

[AnneBrooke]

So lovely to see the Chronicles of TC discussed - I fell in love with those books years ago and still have fond memories of them - they got me through my teenage years, though I didn't like the latest outing much.

Anne
xxx

[Zackery Arbela]

Here's another candidate...Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series. Very much ahead of its time now that I look back on it. Back then it was also one of the first series written by a female author, which added a different approach to the typical fantasy fare of the time. Much of the stuff being written back them (the ye olde days of the late 80;'s/early 90's) was often little more than a Dungeons and Dragons session put down on paper, with all the good and bad that implies. Very much a testosterone fest...to my mind Rawn's big thing was to mix the conventions of the romance novel with epic fantasy. Pretty common nowadays but back then it was unheard of....

[Andrew Warwick]

The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavril Kay (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road). It always surprised me how often it gets overlooked, but it has some wonderful re-working of celtic myth.

And it is something of a tear jerker as well.  Admittedly I was going through a bit of a rough period when I first red it, but I'm not ashamed to say that for large portions of the last book and a half it left me in tears.

[StephenLivingston]

I'd suggest Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series, Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books are very good too.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.

[Colin Taber]

I really enjoyed Brian Ruckley's Godless World Trilogy, but it is a very dark read and for some too slow. Nonetheless, at the time, I found it both refreshing and invigorating.

Joe Abercrombie is also a good read, his characterisations are great.

Of the indies I've tried, the two that stood out for me (more because what they were doing struck me as fresh) were Moses' The Black God's War and Katie Stewart's Treespeaker.

Mostly I steer clear of what, I guess, could best be called typical or formula fantasy, so can't offer any suggestions in that arena, but I'm sure there's some great hidden gems out there.

[Zackery Arbela]

I'd suggest Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series, Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books are very good too.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.

I've always wanted to read the Wraethru series, but am also a bit nervous. I've heard that Storm Constantine can be a very provocative writer, especially when it comes to sexuality.

[wRiTiNgFiEn]

T.H. White's The Once and Future King -- a retelling of the Arthur legend -- has to be one of the best (and most underrated) fantasy novels of all time. But most people only know about the first section of it, The Sword in the Stone ... yep, it was the basis for that so-so Disney movie. But that's only one small part of the novel, dealing with Arthur's boyhood. The rest goes into his adult life, the founding of Camelot, Guinevere and Lancelot, and so on. Seriously, it's a must.

AWESOME!! I love love love King Arthur tales! MUST look this up!! Thank you for sharing 

[Sean Patrick Fox]

If by "first three" you mean the first three books of the original series, how did you stop there and not read the final two books?!!!

Those five books (at most a few pages more than one G.R.R. Martin tome) are probably my favorite "book" of any genre, and I've been reading them more or less yearly since I discovered them in the late '70s.

(Disclaimer: I am a huge Roger Zelazny fan -- see my sig -- and own everything of his I could get my hands on.)

I enjoy the books, but for me they're not something I can read a lot of at one time. Even though the books are short, it usually takes me a decent amount of time to get through each one just because the writing is so different. So I've been savoring each book one at a time.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

I enjoy the books, but for me they're not something I can read a lot of at one time. Even though the books are short, it usually takes me a decent amount of time to get through each one just because the writing is so different. So I've been savoring each book one at a time.

Hmm...I fly through them like a wino consumes Muscatel. Well, maybe like a wino with hiccups, as I do have to pause here and there to let one of his great turns of phrase sink in.

[BTackitt]

I loved The Gandalara Cycle by Randall Garrett, and would purchase it again in an instant if it were Kindled... No one I know of other than my family has read it.