Which recent fantasy novels will be remembered as classics?

[Juiceman]

As a moderator, I agree with Legerdmain on this.

We are a forum dedicated to the discussion and sharing of ideas with regard to actual fantasy writing, whether it be through literature or the screen. It was designed as such, and we absolutely want to keep it as such.

Political opinions are not to be part of this forum. Everyone has their own views, and they need to stay personal in nature.

Please refrain from posting such text on Mythic Scribes in the future.

 

[Vita Numinous]

I love Harry Potter but I have trouble with its consistancy, and I think that would keep them from becoming the almost-mythic, capital "C" classics. You can't use certain curses or else, and then Harry is tossing them with absolutely no repercussion, personal or societal. *sniffle* It's a shame, though, because these are the books that got my son to really start reading chapter books.

 

[At Dusk I Reign]

I think George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire will definitely be regarded as a classic in decades to come. They're the best fantasy books I've read in a very long time, and might even topple LotR from its position in my Top Five of All Time. I just wish Martin would pull his finger out and actually finish what he started. There's nothing more frustrating than watching someone with such obvious talent waste his time on lesser projects while his masterwork is confined to the backburner.

 

[Vita Numinous]

I think George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire will definitely be regarded as a classic in decades to come. They're the best fantasy books I've read in a very long time...

Agreed! But I'm not having fun waiting on the next book. ; x

 

[At Dusk I Reign]

I'm not having fun waiting on the next book. ; x

As time I goes by I have a horrible feeling Martin will do a Robert Jordan and topple off his perch before he finishes. That would be an event more tragic than I could possibly convey in words.

 

[Legerdemain]

I love Harry Potter but I have trouble with its consistancy, and I think that would keep them from becoming the almost-mythic, capital "C" classics. You can't use certain curses or else, and then Harry is tossing them with absolutely no repercussion, personal or societal.

And an absolutely impossible to escape prison that everyone of any import escapes from, demonic soul eating beasts that can be bested by a spell you see EVERY kid master during the series (making prison that much less scary), and I HIGHLY agree with the Societal repercussions... not all rules are creativity stifling bureaucracy; some rules should be followed, otherwise your Harry Potter is a better of two evils. Just this one has the "might makes right" down to a popularity contest science.

That's interesting, I just thought... what if Harry Potter was battling another wizard who was equally loved by good people over a cause with no clear cut answer? Then where where would the hero be? Poor Tom Riddle just needed some lovin' and he'd be back in the battle again...

 

[Philip Overby]

I agree with others to say that George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" is a must read if you like (buzzword) grittier fantasy. I have never been much of a fan of the general fantasy fare, but Martin's series dwarfs just about anything else in style, story, and characterization. It is a shame that he is prolific in things most of his fans don't care for (see: Wild Card series) and seems to take an eternity to finish the books everyone is waiting for with bated breath. Granted, they are absolutely brilliant books, so I say give the man his time.

I have to agree about Harry Potter also, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the series, it is undeniably entertaining. This coming from someone who hasn't read any of the books but has seen all the movies.

And Brandon Sanderson is one to look out for. He's a beast. And with talent to boot!

 

[Donny Bruso]

I think at least half the problem with A Song of Ice and Fire is that it's so popular. It's spawned so many things, calendars, RPGs, board games, comics, TV series, swords, sculptures, minifigures, etc. And of course to maintain the integrity of these things, George is spending his time checking up on them, making sure they are a quality product, worthy of the rights he licenses to them. Unfortunately between that and his insane travel schedule, it seems like he writes maybe one day out of three.

 

[Kelise]

I think Robin Hobb series - I don't know which, whether Farseer or Liveship Traders.. - will become a classic. I hope that Rothfuss does too, and I wish there were more talk of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series.

I haven't yet read Tad Williams or Joe Abercrombie, but they seem to have the following?

 

[Philip Overby]

What I've read of Tad Williams I liked. His Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series seems to be praised a lot. I have the first book, but other books have kept me away from it. Abercrombie has quite a following for a new-ish writer. His style of writing tends toward violent fights, black humor, and unique characters. I recommend his books to anyone who wants more punch to their fantasy.

I'm currently awaiting his new book The Heroes in the mail. Can't wait!

 

[Ophiucha]

It's sort of hard to guess what will be a classic, given the seemingly random nature of longevity. Harry Potter and Twilight will likely have some lasting appeal, not because they are necessarily any good (particularly the latter), but instead because they were cultural phenomena beyond any realistic expectation. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, to name a couple, are excellent writers with great libraries of literature and exceeding popularity in the fantasy community, but have a somewhat minimal mainstream appeal. Everyone knows who Edward Cullen is, but not many people even know who Neil Gaiman is, let alone the names of any of his books or characters.

I mean, look at what is considered classic fantasy novels. Tolkien? He's certainly not the best writer in the genre, and he didn't even start the genre, but he is nonetheless the best remembered in the genre.

 

[Behelit]

Everyone knows who Edward Cullen is, but not many people even know who Neil Gaiman is, let alone the names of any of his books or characters.

I went a couple of volumes deep into The Sandman, I thought it was good but I haven't given any of his novels a chance. I suppose it might be because I have this wild preconception that he writes like Stephen King; characters are human in a modern day world, supernatural element involved, great build up, but weak pay off. Perhaps it has to do with his titles, the covers of his books? I don't know. Then again I've never read Twilight, problem there is I actually know more than I want to know about it.

 

[Legerdemain]

Everyone knows who Edward Cullen is, but not many people even know who Neil Gaiman is, let alone the names of any of his books or characters.

I hope this changes with Neil Gaiman due to his winning of the Hugo, Newbery, Carnegie and who knows what other awards with "The Graveyard Book". Not well known by many people, unless you are parents who buy books for children ages 9-12, or buy those books for yourself. Very good book, many awards, and has the chance to make him a more commonplace name... oh, and the fact they are making a movie from it will most likely help.

Sadly though, many good writers will disappear with time, but many good ones survive...

 

[Mdnight Falling]

Lord of the Rings is already a classic.... Harry Potter is following close behind... I think anything Drizzt Do'Urden will be a classic as well. R.A. Salvatore out did himself with the Legend of Drizzt saga... There are video games with Drizzt in it... and Drizzt was initially merely just another Dungeons and Dragons charactor... Salvatore brought him to life... I hear they are even talking about a movie.. Not to mention the newer series with Drizzt Salvatore started with his son Geno for younger readers is great. my four year old loves hearing about that Drow's adventures. So yes in my opinion, The Legend of drizzt saga will be a classic if it already isn't one

 

[Ravana]

I hate to disappoint, Midnight Falling, but nothing based on D&D will ever be a "classic"—regardless of its merit, sad to say. The mere fact that it is derivative of a game, let alone of a "shared world," will forestall it from being regarded as such.

I'm not saying this is a good thing, much less that it's fair. But that's inevitably the case with such works… and Salvatore knew it going in. That he was sufficiently enamored of the setting and characters to continue working on it anyway, and bring it to life as well as you seem to think he did, is commendable (probably: I'm sure there are detractors who'd say he was just milking a guaranteed paycheck). Salvatore may end up writing other things completely divorced from any D&D setting that will become "classic"; if so, good for him… this will never change the perception of the works he wrote within that setting.

Similarly, there will never be a Star Trek novel regarded as "classic"… nor a Star Wars one, nor Doctor Who, nor any other media franchise. Robert E. Howard's original three Conan books are regarded as fantasy classics; none of the other Conan books, "completed" (read: written in their entirety) by others, are, and no future ones by anyone else ever will be. No new "classic" set in Middle-Earth will arise—the only ones that ever will be considered classic have already been written. Et many cetera. In fact, the closest (and only) derivative works I can think of that might achieve anything resembling "classic" status—and that in a very limited field—are a few of the "Mythos" stories inspired primarily by Lovecraft… and only a very, very few: most are appalling, and have been properly consigned to the festering, pullulating miasma of literary triviality.

That's just the way it goes. And it works, and has worked, both ways: no established author, regardless of reputation, could write a "classic" in a world other than his or her own. J. K. Rowling is as incapable of writing a "classic" set in a D&D world as anyone else is. The list of authors who've written Star Trek novels includes James Blish, Joe Haldeman, Gordon Eklund, David Gerrold (who also wrote a Planet of the Apes novel), Vonda McIntyre, Greg Bear (who, along with Gregory Benford and David Brin, also wrote a prequel trilogy to Asimov's Foundation trilogy), Theodore Sturgeon… and those are just the big names, and even then those are just the ones who set works in the original "generation." Eklund has won a Nebula Award, Blish a Hugo; all the rest have won both, most of them multiple times: Haldeman, for example, has won five of each—among many others. None of their media-derived works will ever be regarded as "classics," even though most, arguably all, of the authors have written other stories that are—classics of SF, at least, and maybe some day as classics, period, without regard to genre. (I keep hoping. Doris Lessing managed to pull in the 2007 Nobel Prize in spite of having written some science fiction.… ) In fact, the only Star Trek work that is likely to ever have the slightest chance of being regarded as a "classic" (of literature, as opposed to of television or movies) was written by Harlan Ellison (whose list of awards is roughly as lengthy as those of all the aforementioned combined); the episode won a Hugo… for Best Dramatic Presentation, not for "writing" per se. (His original screenplay—not the one that was finally filmed—also won a Writers Guild of America award.) Alan Dean Foster is probably doomed to literature's second team for no other reason than because he's written so many novelizations of screenplays; this alone has so badly colored perceptions of him that his original works simply aren't taken seriously.

Nor is having a movie or a video game any kind of endorsement (particularly the latter: a game based on a character based on a game?); all that means is the stuff is marketable. Or at least that someone believes it is: let's face it, the majority of movies, if they make money at all, do it as a result of overseas video sales to people willing to buy anything with an English soundtrack. LotR was recognized as "classic" long before any attempt was made to film it—and its status survived in spite of the first such attempt. The Harry Potter books were filmed because they were recognized as legitimate children's classics; the films did not make them classics. Most of Stephen King's earlier works are considered horror classics in spite of, rather than as a result of, the movies based on them.

Bottom line: the first requirement for something to be a "classic" is for it to be original. Or at least original for that language—as mentioned elsewhere, Shakespeare "lifted" most of his material from previous works in other languages, most notably Italian. It hasn't been held against him. Much.

 

[Ophiucha]

To be entirely fair, the probability of near any fantasy save those few that started the genre and impacted culture in some way is rather slim. Literature has a way of pretending the mystical does not exist. Lord of the Rings will live on for generations because it solidified what fantasy meant to most people. Like the books or not, they are what most consider fantasy to be. In terms of our history, fantasy has had little to no impact on culture save for when it was mythology. We keep around Homer and Sophocles because (a) they are the staples of Western literature, and (b) Greek mythology still has an impact on how things are. We've had a discussion about this somewhere on the forum, in regards to calendars. But The Faerie Queene? Few even know it exists, and the only impact it may have had was introducing us to the old "roses are red, violets are blue" bit, which some dispute. We have some fantasy from Shakespeare, but I reckon we only kept that around for the name.

Harry Potter is going to stick around. People who have never seen a single film or opened a page of the books can likely name at least five characters. It is a cultural phenomena. We have a theme park based on Harry Potter. Perhaps future generations will regard fantasy more highly, but it will likely look back further than our generation for the classics. Mervyn Peake may be brought up. Perhaps Eddison or Dunsany. Those are the 'big' names that have been forgotten by many. In this generation, it is hard to say. Who has influenced the most people? Who has changed fantasy in some way? I don't think anyone is going to say R.A. Salvatore or Paolini. I could see Terry Pratchett. I would think the standards of literature would erase the entire impact of Stephenie Meyer for the betterment of 'fantasy' in the public eye, but let's be honest, she's more likely to be remembered in a few decades than half of the really great authors working today.

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

I believe the Painted Man/Warded Man, once it gets out and more people hear about it will become a classic. It is being optioned for film at the moment and is expected to be the new Lord of the Rings if it gets the green light. If it gets picked up, the book will get a lot more readers. I think the series so far is amazing and the author has created a great world and brilliant characters. I see no reason why it shouldn't become a classic, other than people just not picking it up and giving it a chance.

 

[At Dusk I Reign]

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke is certainly a classic. Whether it will be remembered as such is a moot point. It doesn't contain orcs or dragons so has probably passed a lot of 'fantasy' fans by. That's a shame. Clarke shows wit and imagination, something sadly lacking in most fiction.

 

[Phaelin]

I think The Stand will be one of the classics. It's the best book I've read and there are quit a few. Also contemporary with the engineered virus going awry. It's one of those books where you think except for the paranormal stuff it could actally happen someday. Loved the 5 hr miniseries as well but the (unabridged) copy is way better. I'm still hoping to get an autographed copy if is someday but since I live in Europe my best best for that is ebay.

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[Kriegskanzler]

Harry Potter is definitely on the list.

How about Paolini's work? The Eragon series was good. So was Riordan's Percy Jackson.