The Essentials of Fantasy Literature!

Hello Steve. I don’t really read fantasy books. I prefer to read romance books.

Hello, Steve. You have no idea how much we love when you do lists. Or maybe you do (slowly and steadily unsheathing a knife out from my back.) But in your old 50 SFF list you put Rothfuss in there. Would you choose him as essential if he finished the trilogy (let's pretend he's going to finish it, for the sake of argument.) Thank you.

Three things Steve says that drive me BONKERS🤪:
3) Scifi and Fantasy are basically same genre
2) Time travel forward is strictly the stuff of science fiction
1) Avengers #1 ,centered in THE SOUTHWEST, was a dumb, poorly written comic!

Yet more fuel for the TBR fire! Thanks Steve!

Jeez, you had to go and add a bunch of fantasy books to my list!

Great idea for a video Steve!

Hope your 'Essentials' lists will become a new feature. Would love to see for thrillers, mysteries, and even (we ask so much) the crime fiction. Thanks, Steve!

This type of video is always a treat!

Is the fantasy genre necessarily restricted to tales of mystic kingdoms? Are Twilight Zone type stories that take place in modern times, such as stories by Charles Beaumont, Shirley Jackson, or Ray Bradbury set apart in some other genre without a name? Because that’s the type of “fantasy” I prefer.

Clark Ashton Smith was the one that came up with the concept of a Dying Earth in his Zothique stories blurring the line between magic and science. I agree however with your choice of Gene Wolfe and John M. Harrison for this subgenre because Smith's stories sometimes didn't seem that developed and both of them are incredible

Oh boy… you’re not gonna like my review of The Once and Future King. 😅
-T

Great list of books, I was a little surprised not to see Glen Cook's Black Company or Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant at least mentioned.

Which is worse: a boring cover or a bad one?

Thanks, Steve.
No one could do this better. I've read next to no fantasy (or presidental biography), but if anything will get me going, it's your videos.
I've typed the full list below, for quick reference:
the great book of amber (zelazny). the bloody chamber (carter). the complete chronicles of conan (howard). the dragon waiting (ford). the books of earthsea (le guin). elric of melnibone (moorcock). fafhrd and the grey mouser (leiber). his dark materials (pullman). jirel of joiry (moore). the king of elfland's daughter (dunsany). the last unicorn (beagle). the lies of locke lamora (lynch). the lord of the rings (tolkien). the mabinogion tetralogy (walton). the book of merlyn (white). the mists of avalon (bradley). the chronicles of narnia (lewis). the neverending story (ende). the once and future king (white). silverlock (myers). a voyage to arcturus (lindsay). the well of the unicorn (pratt). the worm ouroboros (eddison). the book of the new sun (wolfe). viriconium (harrison).

Lastly,
not so much to make a point
as to kindly infuriate,
I thought i'd chip in
that Philip Pullman, and James Ellroy
writes their manuscripts with ballpoint pens.

I just read "A Wizard of Earthsea" this weekend and loved it. I'd not heard of the John M. Ford book.

I've read most of these essentials, by the way. I especially love Conan, Elric, and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.

Books listed in the video
1. The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
2. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
3. Conan stories by Robert E. Howard
4. The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford
5. Elric books by Michael Moorcock
6. Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber
7. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
9. The Book of Merlin by T.H. White
10. The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
11. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
12. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
13. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
14. Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore
15. The Mabinogion tetralogy by Evangeline Walton
16. The Mist of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
17. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
18. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
19. The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
20. Silverlock by John Myers Myers
21. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison
22. The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt
23. Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
24. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
25. Viriconium by M. John Harrison

Zelazny's Amber series. Thanks for bringing this one up SD! A series of books that doesn't get enough love on Booktube in my opinion.

The Elric books are great.

A lot of new authors for me and some old favorites (Elric, The Mists of Avalon... )...currently my favorite writer in the genre is missing from your list, V E Schwab... but maybe she is too recent for inclusion....

Great choices Steve. There’s a couple there I need to seek out. I hadn’t heard of the David Lindsay book or the John M Ford book.

Is the Sword of Truth series by Goodkind verboten? Back when they were new, I read the whole lot and have reread several times since then. I don't remember why he became looked down upon.

Can you check out, and possibly review, my novels?

My favorite type of Steve video.

“I’m not going to make an essentials list for horror.” …Why must you break my black little heart?

Thank you for providing a great reading list for fantasy books. I hope you’ll do more of these for other genres. The books you mentioned served as a reminder to me of several books I’ve had on my tbr for years and not gotten to yet.

This was great - thanks so much! Gene Wolfe is the sole author in your list that I haven’t read yet.

The Lies of Locke Lamora is great! Glad to see it on the list.

I don't know why, but I was almost sure that a Guy Gavriel Kay book would be on this list.

Steve, I am supposed to be working!!!!

This was a great list of books! I've only read about a quarter of this list, so I have a lot to read! 😅

I love these videos of essential lists

Delightful! My take away from first three parts of Earthsea-cycle which I just read for the first time was: Get off the bloody boat already. 😂

Read:
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (3x) (and I'd put the Silmarillion (1x) on here to - the Hobbit is a given (10x?)
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (3x) - great look at wish fulfillment and the terrible hazards therein)
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (2x) (every book is transcendent - and Lyra the liar - hope the full "Book of Dust" will be also)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (once)(Read it just this year and must return, it's so amazing)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (at least 5x) - (I always get something from these, don't think their too preachy most of the time.)

Reading:
Conan stories by Robert E. Howard (Cimmerian September HO!)
The Gentlemen Bastards by Scott Lynch (just read book 1, hungry for more loyal trickster energy)

Here and waiting for me:
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (the Company of Wolves is a trippy movie)
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Mort D'Arthur (Yeah we studied Arthur in HS, but I don't think we read the original work, maybe wee excerpts. I _suppose I'll start here and work back to Chrestien and Geoffry...and forward to the Wheel of Time)_
The Book of Merlin by T.H. White
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (Just found one with that Sweet Balantine cover - Yay!)
Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore
The Mist of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (I sort of have access since Mum loves them, don't know if I can break it to her about the author...But I wan't to get to it after the main Arthur)
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White

Collecting:
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
Elric by Michael Moorcock (actually have all the Elric, but I'm holding out for the big picture of the Champion Eternal...long ways to go)
Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

Been looking for:
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison
Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay

Not heard of it...fascinating:
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford
The Mabinogion tetralogy by Evangeline Walton (heard of the original of course, but maybe this is the version I should start with, followed bt Lloyd Alexander)
Silverlock by John Myers Myers
The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt
Viriconium by M. John Harrison

Wonderful Steve! Thank you! I have a lot of catching up to do.

Fascinating list, Steve. I personally would have added Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth, Peake's Gormenghast, Cook's Black Company novels, Mieville's Perdido Street Station, John Crowley's Little, Big. Maybe even something strange as James Branch Cabell, pulp like A Princess of Mars, maybe Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland.

That Arcturus cover is not so bad. I kinda like it.

Amazing video! And it’s nice to see Amber first on the list, because for me everything started with that book:) I have added some of the books to my TBR! Thank you.

Have you read ""The Etched City" by K. J. Bishop? I think you would like it.

Thanks for making this, Steve!

Great list and video. But I wished to see Gormenghast here.