10 Most Recommended Single
Fantasies
1) The
Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
2) The
Face in the Frost, by John Bellairs
3) The
Elfin Ship, by James P. Blaylock
4) Little,
Big, by John Crowley
5) The
King of Elfland’s Daughter, by Lord Dunsany
6) In
the Suicide Mountains, by John Gardner
7) Phantastes,
by George Macdonald
8) The
Book of the Dun Cow, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
9) Lud-in-the-Mist,
by Hope Mirrlees
10) The Once and Future King, by T. H. White
Ten Most Recommended Serial
Fantasies
1) The
Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien
2) The
Narnia Chronicles, by C. S. Lewis
3) The
Earthsea Trilogy, by Ursula K. LeGuin
4) The
Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
5) Riddle
of Stars, by Patricia K. McKillip
6) The
Gormenghast Trilogy, by Mervyn Peake
7) The
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
8) The
Biography of Manuel, by James Branch Cabell
9) The
Deryni Chronicles, by Katherine Kurtz
10) The Space Trilogy, by C. S. Lewis
Ten Best Children’s
Fantasies
1) The
Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander
2) The
Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
3) Alice
in Wonderland and Underground, by Lewis Carroll
4) James
and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
5) The
Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
6) The
Jungle Books, by Rudyard Kipling
7) The
Princess and the Goblin, by George Macdonald
8) Bedknobs
and Broomsticks, by Mary Norton
9) The
Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
10) The Sword in the Stone, by T. H. White
Ten Worst Fantasy Novels
That I’ve Read
1) The Sword
of Shanarra, by Terry Brooks
2) The
Green Knight, by Vera Chapman
3) The
Sword and the Satchel, by Elizabeth Boyer
4) Urshurak,
by Jerry Nichols and the Brothers Hildebrandt
5) The
Neverending Story, by Michael Ende
6) Prince
of Annwn, by Evangeline Walton
7) Spellsinger,
by Allen Dean Foster
8) Merlin’s
Ring, by H. Warner Munn
9) The
Sleeping Dragon, by Joel Rosenberg
10) The River of the Dancing Gods, by Jack L. Chalker
“Fry: Back in the 20th
century, I had all five of your albums. Adam Horovitz: That was a
thousand years ago! Now we got seven.” – Futurama.
Every time I think I can put
the file case with The Broadsheet back away into its semi-out-of-the-way
niche, I find myself dragging it out again. This time it was because of the
thought that listing these lists would be pretty much of a ‘state of the head’ assessment
of my experience and knowledge at that period.
On the whole, I can stand by my opinions, though I judge now that I was playing rather fast and loose with the categories of singles and serials. I made the lists basically from what was in my library and from what I’d actually read. There were several then-available books that I’ve read since that don’t appear out of sheer ignorance. And, of course, I couldn’t list any book that had yet to be written. In the one category I would put The Thirteen Clocks (1950) by James Thurber, and in the other Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2004) by Susanna Clarke. I also note that many books on the ‘Worst’ List are now in the Shadow Library, although it was many years, sometimes decades, before I could let them go. In making the lists I was probably more concerned with establishing my bona fides than with any serious critical assessment. After all, when you make an assessment, you make an 'ass' out of what you 'ment.'
And not that it means anything, but this is the 2,250th post! On the 25th, no less.
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