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The Major Fantasy Authors
- From The past
- William Morris
If you are a fan of epic fantasy and you have never heard of William
Morris then you are in for a real treat. Tolkien is considered
to be the father of modern day epic fantasy but he isn't. It all
started with the publication in 1892 of the William Morris novel
The Well at the World's End. This is an outstanding piece of Epic
Fantasy and it is considered to be the first epic fantasy work
of the modern era. The same applies for another Morris novel titled
"The Wood Beyond the World"
- Edith Nesbitt
A prolific author at the end of the nineteenth century she created
a genre of childrens fantasy literature. It often had normal contemporary
children who engaged in magical adventures and discovered magical
objects. She set the genre for many contemporary writers including
JK Rowling. Some of her notable books are Five Children and It
and The Story of the Amulet.
- J.R.R. Tolkien
A master of the craft that created the complete world of Middle
Earth which included maps, languages and much more. Most notable
works is the Lord of the Rings Series. See the list of Tolkien Books - Tolkien Newsfeed
- Edgar Rice
Burroughs Early twentieth century writer that created memorable
characters and explored different worlds. His most memorable character
is Tarzan. And his most popular series of books include the Barsoom
series which takes place on Mars. The venus series and the Pellucidar
series which takes place within the hollow earth.
- Robert E. Howard
Mid twentieth century writer that was a heavy contributor to the
pulp fiction magazines. He is generally credited with creating
the swords & sorcery genre. His most notable character is
Conan.
- T.H. White
Mid twentieth century writer who penned several books in the
king arthur tradition. The most notable of which is The Sword
in the Stone which ushered in the modern Arthurian novel. Of note
was a posthumous publication of his novel The Book of Merlyn
- E.R.R. Eddison
Considered to be the father of High Fantasy he wrote several books
that influenced authors to come such as Lewis and Tolkien. Of
his highly imaginitive worlds The Worm Ouroboros is one of the
most famous.
- C.S. Lewis
He was a scholor of medievel literature and mythology he wrote
many works in a variety of genres including fiction, religious
fiction and science fiction. His most notable works are the epic
fantasy Chronicles of Narnia.
-The Present Major
Authors
- Terry Brooks
In the late 70's Brooks published the novel The Sword of Shannara.
It climbed to the top of best seller lists and stood there for
years. Heavily drawing on Tolkien this book reintroduced the epic
fantasy to the general public. Brooks continued the Shannara series
with several more books. He has gone on to pen even more series. See his series/books
- Terry Goodkind
writer of the Sword of Truth series which began with Wizards First
Rule This is a solid series that takes a more serious approach
to epic fantasy. The books explore philosophical questions. The
series is currently ten works and an eleventh is scheduled for
release in the summer of 2006 (Phantom) See His series Books
- Robert Jordan
Is the writer of the enormously successful Wheel of Time series
which is currently eleven volumes. He has also written many works
based on the Robert E. Howard Conan character. See the series list/chronology
- Stephen Donaldson
Creator of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series of books which
now number seven volumes and is most notable for its use of the
anti-hero in which the main character maintains a reluctance to
actually take on the mantle of the hero. He has written several
other series in the genre. See the list of his books and series
- Marion Zimmer
Bradley Editor of the famous sword and sorcery series Bradley
is also a prolific writer. Most notable among her writings is
the Arthurian Avalon series which begun with The Mists of Avalon.
- David Eddings
Writer of sword & sorcery and epic fantasy series he is most
famous for the Belgariad and the Mallorean series.
- Raymond Feist
Many of his works are set in the connected worlds of Midkemia
and Kelewan. This is called the Riftwar series and the novels
range over various geographic locations and span centuries. He
began his writing with the first novel in the Riftwar series called
Magician: Apprentice. Another series of note is the Krondor series.
- Robin Hobb
the author of several popular trilogies including The Farseer
Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy
- Stephen King
Although considered to be the master of horror King has published
an enormous body of work in the fantasy genre. He crosses genre
at will and breaks all the rules but notable is his Dark Tower
Trilogy and The Eyes of the Dragon which is classic fantasy.
- L.E. Modesitt
Author of several series most notable are The Corean Chronicles
Set on the world of Corus (or Acorus), where strange and dangerous
beasts roam and people with magical Talent can commit astonishing
feats. Also is the Spellsong Cyle and The Timegod's World which
draws heavily on Norse legend.
- George R.R.
Martin Most notable for his Song of Ice and Fire series which
was begun with A Game of Thrones in 1996.
- Tad Williams
Writer of several fantasy series the most notable of which Memory,
Sorrow, & Thorn which was begun with The Dragonbone Chair
- J.K. Rowling
creator of the enormously popular Harry Potter series which began
with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. These books have also
been transformed into successful movies.
- Science
Fiction & Fantasy books at Amazon
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