Question of the Week: What is your favorite forgotten or unknown fantasy series?
Since we just talked about fantasy in our latest episode of the show, we think it would be fun to see what you all consider to be your favorite forgotten or relatively unknown fantasy series. Let us know in the comments! It doesn’t matter how obscure it is, because either way, we really want to know. But first, here are out favorites: Shaun My mother actually introduced me to one of my favorite series of fantasy novels, which also happens to be a series that very few people have heard of or read: the Duncton Wood series by William Horwood. The books focus on the lives of a complex society of moles, including their mythologies and interactions with other mole communities. They are epic in scale, brilliantly characterized, and simply some of the best books I have ever read. They’re also not typical animal fantasy novels. The moles don’t carry swords and do ninja flips like they do in the Redwall novels or The Chronicles of Narnia. Horwood takes the characters seriously as animals, and then develops a culture out of that framework. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone who likes fantasy. Jen Damnit, Shaun! You didn’t tell me the question was going to be a doozy when you texted me that the question was up and ready for me to answer! Forgotten or Unknown?! I figure you have to have buried your head under a rock to have missed most of the series I have read. Regardless, I think… errgh. It has to be a toss-up between Barry Hughart’s Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and any series by Sean Russell (but particularly his Initate Brother duology). I actually somewhat credit the Initiate Brother with my stationery obsession. Hughart’s and Wrede’s series turn fairy tales on their heads in such brilliant (but entirely different) fashions that you can’t help but be impressed and the Initiate Brother books are epic in scope and blast all of that stupid Leo Grin’s arguments out of the water. It isn’t often that you find an entire series that you can read over and over again (just wait until we have to answer this question about scifi, because I totally have my answer), but I’ve done that with all of the aforementioned titles. Go find them. Read them. You’ll thank me later. There you go! So, what’s your favorite forgotten or unknown fantasy series?
