Christmas Treats For A Fantasy Fan

It’s Christmas Time! Sometimes it is hard to choose presents for those who lock themselves away in their rooms and read, or are too busy reading to answer your, “What do you want?” type questions – so we at Fantasy-Faction have done some research, polled some fantasy geeks and asked what it is that they want.

So being a fantasy book blog we have some fantasy suggestions for you. In fact, we have six, something for any kind of fantasy fan. One for hardcore fantasy fans, one for fantasy fans of all ages, one for those who want to try something a little bit different than fantasy, one for those who like a lighter fantasy, one for those who like a unique story line, and one to make them laugh. Oh, we also threw in a little added extra too.

Most importantly, we wanted to choose books that everyone who reads fantasy would like. We didn’t pick epics or sequels or books that you need an acquired taste for, this list is a list where you can be sure if it is not on their shelf already, it will be enjoyed.

We have used the review section from Amazon for books we have not read to create the summaries, but the books have come from recommendations on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any more suggestions please, please, please let us know and we will add them to the list!

Hardcore Fantasy Book – Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Black Prism is the first book in a series by bestselling author, Brent Weeks. Having written The Night Angel Trilogy there was a huge number of eyes on Weeks as he entered a new world and had to change the game a little. We are happy to say he didn’t disappoint. The characters are complicated, the magic system is unique, there is never a dull moment and the reader is pulled through the book at break neck speed.

Universal Fantasy Book – Spellwright by Blake Charlton

Whether your fantasy fan is male or female, young or old, they will enjoy Spellwright. Although the story of a young magically gifted individual that is struggling with his powers sounds familiar, it is in fact one of the most unique books you will read. Nicodemus Weal cannot spell and in this world, that’s a problem. A series of languages enable magicians to form magic, and if you can’t spell out the language, you can’t perform anything more than the most basic spells.

He was supposed to be the Halcyon, a magic-user of unsurpassed power, destined to save the world, instead he is restricted to menial tasks, and mocked for his failure to live up to the prophecy. But not everyone interprets prophecy in the same way. There are some factions who believe a cacographer such as Nicodemus could hold great power – power that might be used as easily for evil as for good. And when two of the wizards closest to Nicodemus are found dead, it becomes clear that some of those factions will stop at nothing to find the apprentice and bend him to their will.

Something Different – The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

This is a brilliant read. It is more a dark sci-fi than a fantasy but we wanted to give you something different that the fantasy fan is guaranteed to enjoy. The Wind-up Girl is a detailed, complex, and plausible story. In a post-oil era, the world has grown huge again. Swelling oceans drown coastal cities. Genetic engineering has created both wonders and horrors, often at the same time, like crops bred to survive super-plagues, and yet bred sterile, so that the seed must be bought a new every year. And in Krung Thep, what Westerners call Bangkok, a power struggle rages that may tear the city apart. Those are the elements of the premise, but it barely scratches the surface of this dense, bobbing and weaving story featuring dozens of characters, sudden shifts in viewpoint and narrative leaps, and heady, thoughtful introspection. This isn’t a story you take in idly. It requires your focus, attention, and commitment. It is one that readers will remember and that’s why it is on this list.

A Lighter Fantasy – The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

Convoluted without being dense, Jemisin’s engaging debut grabs reader’s right from the start. Yeine desires nothing more than a normal life in her barbarian homeland of Darr. But her mother was of the powerful Arameri family, and when Yeine is summoned to the capital city of Sky a month after her mother’s murder, she cannot refuse. Dakarta, her grandfather and the Arameri patriarch, pits her against her two cousins as a potential heir to the throne. In an increasingly deep Zelaznyesque series of political maneuverings, Yeine, nearly powerless but fiercely determined, finds potential allies among her relatives and the gods who are forced to live in Sky as servants after losing an ancient war. Multifaceted characters struggle with their individual burdens and desires, creating a complex, edge-of-your-seat story with plenty of funny, scary, and bittersweet twists.

Like to Laugh – Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Kadrey (Butcher Bird) provides biting humor, an over-the-top antihero and a rich stew of metaphoric language in this testosterone- and adrenaline-charged noir thriller. James Stark spent 11 years killing monsters in Lucifer’s arena for the entertainment of fallen angels, but now he’s back in seedy, magic-riddled L.A., trying to avenge his girlfriend’s murder and hunt down Mason Faim, the black magician responsible for getting him sent downtown. He meets with some initial success, beheading second-rate magician Kasabian (whose head becomes Stark’s smart-mouthed sidekick), but he can’t find Faim. Instead he encounters Homeland Security agents, a near-psychotic angel and some odd nonhuman, nonangelic beings called the kissi. Darkly atmospheric settings, such as a posh gentlemen’s club where angels are tortured in an attempt to bring about Armageddon, bring this violent fantasy into sharp, compelling focus.

Christmas Treat – Amazon Kindle 3

Perhaps last year your fantasy fan got you something really special. Perhaps this year they have really been there for you. Or perhaps you just want to give them a real treat. Well for fantasy fans to give them an Amazon Kindle 3 would be like giving a Star Trek fan an evening with William Shatner or a 12-year-old girl a pony, you get the idea. The Amazon Kindle 3 simply has that ‘wow’ response upon its first use.

Just to clarify, it is an ebook reader. And a damned good one. There have been ebook readers before, but this is different. The battery can last for weeks, it is light, it is easy to read, it uses a special e-ink so your eyes never hurt, books can be downloaded onto it within seconds, you can read in the sun, you can browse the net, and we’re just listing the most obvious features. The Amazon Kindle 3 is simply a revelation in books. It has the potential over the next year to do to books what the ipod did for music.

Just to give you a bit more confidence, when writing this article yesterday, I appealed to my followers through Twitter, asking, “What do you want for Christmas 2010 Fantasy Fans?” A good 7 out of 10 said Kindle (most adding something like “it rules!”). So, if you want something that is special, memorable and will get used every day, this is the Christmas gift for you to buy in 2010.

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We hope you have enjoyed looking through our 2010 Christmas Guide. We wanted to bring you a list of books that were a bit less obvious and yet at the same time, guaranteed to be enjoyed by pretty much any fantasy fan. If you have any comments, or if you would like to suggest to our readers another book, please just add a comment! Thanks again for reading and have a good Christmas Fantasy-Faction Fans!

Title image by Matt Dixon.

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