I very highly recommend Perdido Street Station by China Mieville and Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. You should also definitely read The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez. You might not like it more than Spear Cuts Through Water, but it's still incredibly beautiful. I really think you will love all three of these books.
@@Coleton2573 funnily enough, I have had both of those books for YEARS on my shelf haha. I have already read The Vanished Birds, and I didn’t like it as much as Spear but it’s still an excellent book! I will definitely be reading Lord of Light in 2025!
Wonderful video, Zara! I think you gave me language on how to describe go I felt reading Josiah Bancroft and currently Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky, their writing is so beautiful and layered. I will have to look further into the ones on your list!😊
I will add China Mountain Zhang to my tbr. I have the audio for The Spear Cuts Through Water, but it's a bit complex for me to listen to while doing other stuff so I need to get a physical copy
Two of these are favorites, one I really liked and Stranger I really need to read sometime soon. At some point in the future I need to re-read Book of the New Sun - back when I read it, I definitely wasn't equipped to follow more than the surface level story, so I wonder what my experience will be like whenever I get to it again. Awesome list!
I'd say what separates literature from say, pulp, is not so much the quality of the prose (though that tends to overlap) but the depth of craft. You can talk about literature, more than about the plot or how cool a character is. You can think about what it means, what the author is saying through the medium. Basically there's more going on than just what's on the page. Art vs Entertainment. There is more thought and effort infused into the creation so the prose is almost way better because the author cares more (and tend to be deeper people). Thanks for the recs. Lathe of Heaven is my favourite Le Guin scifi
It’s funny you say that Lathe of Heaven feels especially like a sci-fi novel from the 1970s. Le Guin said that the book was her effort to write something in the vein of Philip K. Dick, and he was one of the dominant forces of the decade. So that makes sense that Lathe might feel more typical if it’s time and less timeless than other Le Guin books :) YES!!! New Sun and Olondria!! We gotta get more people reading those! New Sun has been gaining momentum over the last few years, but Olondria continues to be ignored. I do take heart that Samatar’s latest novella (The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain) was published by Tor and is racking up ratings on Goodreads faster than her other works have. Hopefully this will trickle over to Olondria, Tender, etc. A few literary fantasies id recommend: Little, Big by John Crowley-comparable to Olondria in terms of beautiful prose. Not certain if you’ll like it as much as I do (you might; hard to guess), as it’s very low on plot, but it’s gorgeous! Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke-I know you loved Piranesi but I don’t know if you’ve read this alternate history pastiche of 19th century lit. I love it so much that I chose to write my dissertation on alternate history fantasy lit so I could write about it :) Declare by Tim Powers-maybe the best book I’ve read this year, it’s part spy novel, part Lovecraft story, and it’s loaded with literary references and details. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip-effortlessly beautiful prose and deft character work. It’s less complex than the others listed, but still beautiful. Galveston by Sean Stewart-Stewart is criminally under read, to the point that he had to quit writing novels and now writes for interactive games. Galveston is bizarre and beautiful and gritty and smart and mythic and grounded and weird all at once, and his language is super precise.
@@paulwilliams6913 ha, no way! Thanks for that context, makes a lot of sense why it feels that way. Totally agree, esp on Olondria needing more attention. I have noticed a few more folks talking about her, and Tor should definitely help too. Thanks for the recs! Strange/Norrell is definitely on my list! It’s just such a chunky book lol. Will try and read it next year. That’s so cool you did your dissertation on it. I’ll definitely check out the others. A lot of them I haven’t heard of, so I’m excited to research them. Galveston sounds like one I’d particularly like! Thanks so much, Paul!
Just found your channel and subscribed. I read The Lathe of Heaven earlier this year and really liked it. Have you read The Word for World is Forest by any chance? Loved that one too
@bookswithzara it's a short read but a really confronting one. Much angrier than The Lathe of Heaven and I'd be intrigued to hear your thoughts. I have a couple of her big ones that I haven't read coming up as part of a reading challenge I'm doing on the channel going into the new year. Cheers!
The Lathe of Heaven is one of my favorite books!! I haven't heard of any of the others. Have you read Viriconium by M. John Harrison or Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg? I think they're literary
Stone Boatmen by Sarah Tolmie and Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny come to mind. I think fans of BOTNS would like Olondria and Lord of Light. I think fans of Hobb would like Stone Boatmen. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and the books of Patricia Mckillip for more of a fairy tale vibe. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake is kind of pseudo fantasy, but everyone includes it. John Crowley is a little more like magical realism. Ka Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymir is probably his most accessible to fantasy fans. That Lathe of Heaven excerpt is so astute and lines up with my own personal feelings. 🔥
@@mattkean1128 I’m definitely going Lord of Light year. It’s been on my tbr for far too long now! Almost all of the ones you’ve listed are on my list. I especially read want to read TLU and Gormenghast. Did you finish the whole series?
Wolfe and Bakker are probably the only authors where you are swept away by the writing almost distracting from what is being written about. Lathe is my favorite LeGuinn. She has a point, makes it, and moves on. I had to check when it was written after several scenes as they were so topical for today.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Yes!! Love that you read from the books!
@@1siddynickhead 🙏🏽
I very highly recommend Perdido Street Station by China Mieville and Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.
You should also definitely read The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez. You might not like it more than Spear Cuts Through Water, but it's still incredibly beautiful. I really think you will love all three of these books.
@@Coleton2573 funnily enough, I have had both of those books for YEARS on my shelf haha. I have already read The Vanished Birds, and I didn’t like it as much as Spear but it’s still an excellent book! I will definitely be reading Lord of Light in 2025!
@bookswithzara You should read Perdido Street Station in 2025 as well! It's unbelievably good.
heavily second this esp perdido street station 🙌
You have me so intrigued to try all of these!
I can always rely on your channel for good recommendations.
@@samcostello2861 🙏🏽
Wonderful video, Zara! I think you gave me language on how to describe go I felt reading Josiah Bancroft and currently Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky, their writing is so beautiful and layered. I will have to look further into the ones on your list!😊
@@CharMeezy21 thanks so much 🙏🏽 I really need to give GotD a second go!
I will add China Mountain Zhang to my tbr. I have the audio for The Spear Cuts Through Water, but it's a bit complex for me to listen to while doing other stuff so I need to get a physical copy
@@Shelf_Improvement yeah definitely recommend Spear as a physical read! I think you’ll like CMZ, Sheryl!
Two of these are favorites, one I really liked and Stranger I really need to read sometime soon.
At some point in the future I need to re-read Book of the New Sun - back when I read it, I definitely wasn't equipped to follow more than the surface level story, so I wonder what my experience will be like whenever I get to it again. Awesome list!
@@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels thanks! I feel the same with BotNS. I read it all in like two weeks as well. Next time I want to take it really slowly.
Great recommendations! I need check that Jimenez book out
@@andrewhanson405 thanks!
I'd say what separates literature from say, pulp, is not so much the quality of the prose (though that tends to overlap) but the depth of craft. You can talk about literature, more than about the plot or how cool a character is. You can think about what it means, what the author is saying through the medium. Basically there's more going on than just what's on the page. Art vs Entertainment. There is more thought and effort infused into the creation so the prose is almost way better because the author cares more (and tend to be deeper people).
Thanks for the recs. Lathe of Heaven is my favourite Le Guin scifi
@@Merrick you make a good point, and I’m pretty aligned with you.
It’s funny you say that Lathe of Heaven feels especially like a sci-fi novel from the 1970s. Le Guin said that the book was her effort to write something in the vein of Philip K. Dick, and he was one of the dominant forces of the decade. So that makes sense that Lathe might feel more typical if it’s time and less timeless than other Le Guin books :)
YES!!! New Sun and Olondria!! We gotta get more people reading those! New Sun has been gaining momentum over the last few years, but Olondria continues to be ignored. I do take heart that Samatar’s latest novella (The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain) was published by Tor and is racking up ratings on Goodreads faster than her other works have. Hopefully this will trickle over to Olondria, Tender, etc.
A few literary fantasies id recommend:
Little, Big by John Crowley-comparable to Olondria in terms of beautiful prose. Not certain if you’ll like it as much as I do (you might; hard to guess), as it’s very low on plot, but it’s gorgeous!
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke-I know you loved Piranesi but I don’t know if you’ve read this alternate history pastiche of 19th century lit. I love it so much that I chose to write my dissertation on alternate history fantasy lit so I could write about it :)
Declare by Tim Powers-maybe the best book I’ve read this year, it’s part spy novel, part Lovecraft story, and it’s loaded with literary references and details.
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip-effortlessly beautiful prose and deft character work. It’s less complex than the others listed, but still beautiful.
Galveston by Sean Stewart-Stewart is criminally under read, to the point that he had to quit writing novels and now writes for interactive games. Galveston is bizarre and beautiful and gritty and smart and mythic and grounded and weird all at once, and his language is super precise.
@@paulwilliams6913 ha, no way! Thanks for that context, makes a lot of sense why it feels that way.
Totally agree, esp on Olondria needing more attention. I have noticed a few more folks talking about her, and Tor should definitely help too.
Thanks for the recs! Strange/Norrell is definitely on my list! It’s just such a chunky book lol. Will try and read it next year. That’s so cool you did your dissertation on it.
I’ll definitely check out the others. A lot of them I haven’t heard of, so I’m excited to research them. Galveston sounds like one I’d particularly like! Thanks so much, Paul!
@@paulwilliams6913 I’ve ended up adding them all to my wishlist. All sound right up my street! Thanks again!
@ Glad to hear it! I hope they prove worthy of your time and attention :)
❤ Keeping for reference.🎉
@@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD 🙏🏽💙
Just found your channel and subscribed. I read The Lathe of Heaven earlier this year and really liked it. Have you read The Word for World is Forest by any chance? Loved that one too
@@SciFiFinds welcome! I haven’t but it’s high up my list. I’ve got a bunch of her other sci fi that I really need to get through.
@bookswithzara it's a short read but a really confronting one. Much angrier than The Lathe of Heaven and I'd be intrigued to hear your thoughts. I have a couple of her big ones that I haven't read coming up as part of a reading challenge I'm doing on the channel going into the new year. Cheers!
The Lathe of Heaven is one of my favorite books!! I haven't heard of any of the others. Have you read Viriconium by M. John Harrison or Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg? I think they're literary
@@leopercara3477 it’s excellent! I haven’t but I’m going to check them out now :)
@@leopercara3477 both sound excellent! Added them to my list. Thanks :)
Stone Boatmen by Sarah Tolmie and Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny come to mind.
I think fans of BOTNS would like Olondria and Lord of Light. I think fans of Hobb would like Stone Boatmen.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and the books of Patricia Mckillip for more of a fairy tale vibe.
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake is kind of pseudo fantasy, but everyone includes it.
John Crowley is a little more like magical realism. Ka Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymir is probably his most accessible to fantasy fans.
That Lathe of Heaven excerpt is so astute and lines up with my own personal feelings. 🔥
@@mattkean1128 I’m definitely going Lord of Light year. It’s been on my tbr for far too long now! Almost all of the ones you’ve listed are on my list. I especially read want to read TLU and Gormenghast. Did you finish the whole series?
Wolfe and Bakker are probably the only authors where you are swept away by the writing almost distracting from what is being written about.
Lathe is my favorite LeGuinn. She has a point, makes it, and moves on. I had to check when it was written after several scenes as they were so topical for today.
@@EricMcLuen I agree with you on both points, Eric. Have you read any of LeGuin’s other sci fi?
@bookswithzara Left Hand which might have to reread. Found Dispossessed jehile interessting just too long for what she was trying to say.