WHAT? No threads here? I'm shocked, I tell you. Just shocked!

Malus Darkblade and Blood Bowl fans anyone??? As much as I do not care for football (or soccer as I think the UK and Canada call the sport), I could not help but love Blood Bowl.

I've grown extremely fond of works by many authors at BL Publishing. Even though the spelling is a bit different in the USA, many of us are still hard-core fans.

I still say the best novels to be set in Warhammer are two by Kim Newman under the pen-name of Jack Yeovil. Drachenfels and Beasts in Velvet are simply great reads and I'd stand them against the best mainstream fantasy. The themes and style in the two books are a great hybrid of Victorian gothic and classic horror - the perfect alchemy if you ask me.

Of course I really enjoyed the Felix and Gotrek series as well, though was a bit disappointed with Dragonslayer and Vampireslayer. The rest of the series, however, is some of the most entertaining fantasy I've read. I think I'm one of the few people out there who really enjoyed Giantslayer when it came out. Given how much fun his Blackhearts novels were, I'm looking forward to where Nathan Long takes the series from here.

More random musings when I slither back from the day job.

Back and I guess I shall start by mentioning some of my favorite non-BL fantasy authors and series.

At the top of the heap is, of course, Robert E. Howard. You can head back to my author bio to read what an impact he had on me. I still think 'Worms of the Earth' is probably the finest short story in the world and certainly a highmark not just in the fantasy genre but in horror as well. Howard's Little People are the things of pure nightmare.

Other fantasy authors whose work I absolutely enjoy and admire: JRR Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, C. L. Moore, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, Robert Jordan, Henry Kutner, Clark Ashton Smith, and Karl Edward Wagner. There are others, to be sure, but these are the ones who really stand out as I reflect on the contents of my library.

If I had to pick my favorite series, it would probably have to be The Lord of the Rings. I grew up on those books and still revisit them every few years - despite how tedious I find the Tom Bombadil chapters. Others of note would of course be the Chronicles of Narnia, the Jirel of Jory stories, Elric, Fafhad and the Grey Mouser, the Averoigne and Zothique stories, the Conan saga, the Solomon Kane stories. I'd also list the Dragonlance Chronicles in there, though I have small use for alot that was done with the world of Krynn since those novels were first written.

I have to agree, "Lord of the Rings" is great, "The Hobbit" too. I even once swallowed "Silmarillion" when I was young (surprize, checking my nick).

Personally I only read some of the G&F book to cheer for the skaven. I know it is fantasy, but 2-5 vs several hundreds of warriors, however lousy they may be, and they get out alive every time? I know, that I am biased for the Master Race, but G&F becomes rediculous.

Therefore "Vermintime" and "Warpspawn" were refreshing, as "heroes" actually dies sometimes.

I play BloodBowl, and have made feeble attempts of writing a bit of chronicles for 1 of my teams but have to admit, that I never read any. I only know of the Matt Forsbeck (sp?) books, and plan to read at least the first ...... some day. Are they any good? Do they go seriously into the other races, or is it just fanfiction for the humans?

There was a series, years ago, that I followed called Ravensloft. I was disappointed when they ended that series. Of course, Forgotten Realms is a good second, imho.

I enjoyed most of the Gotrek & Felix novels. Unlike the other poster, I actually enjoyed VampireSlayer. I knew that the author had to get rid of Felix's girl somehow. Things were getting too close. I like seeing cameos of her too. But as the Conan series always said (which I stole from my oldest brother and read as a teen): "That is another story."

Oops, since most people here, I am guessing, are in the UK, I should have put a single quote sign before and after that sentence. I always thought America had that backwards. And still do.

I'm a big Bloodbowl fan. I've played it since my early college days in the 1980s. I remember the game when it still used Warhammer Fantasy rules.

In terms of the 3/4 novels that BL published on the game, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. They didn't quite live up to my expectation. I guess I was expecting more football and less antics off the field. Oh well, to each his own...

Anyway, I've always been a big fan of R E Howard. I'm in the middle of re-reading the complete chronicles of Conan. He's amazing, actually. Very few writers can capture a battle/fight scene like he can.

I used to be a big Tolkien fan, and I'm still a fan, but I have to admit, re-reading the LOTR's recently to my son, I found a lot of passages difficult to get through. I agree with you, Clint, the Bombadil sections are excrutiating. It takes Frodo so long to get out of the Shire, if Sauron had moved just a little faster, he'd have conquered the whole country before the hobbits got to Bree. Bakc in middle school, the pages were packed with wonder. Now... not so much. I find Howard has a better re-readability than Tolkien.

In terms of modern writers, George RR Martin is superb, and also relatively new writer Scott Lynch, although he's moving at a snail's pace on his Gentlemen Bastards series.

Most of my influences are less fantasy and more SF, because when I was a kid, I read almost exclusively SF. Robert Silverberg, Harlon Ellison, Clifford Simak, Robert Sheckley, early CJ Cherryh, Pohl Anderson, Asimov. It was only when I got to college did I really put the thumb screws to fantasy.

I am also a huge Robert E Howard fan...sometimes I almost feel the guy wasn't real but a myth or another Homer or whatever. It took me awhile to get into other fantasy but I'm spreading my wings and checking it all out now. I will read almost anything as long as its not set in today's world...I got to live this crud. I like the Warhammer anthologies a lot cause they're pretty close to Howard attitude wise. Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Conan pastiche, Thieves' World, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and classic pulp and sci-fi are some of my fav stuff. I also like the Trailsman adult western series cause he reminds me so much of Conan. Presently I am reading less and watching more films, especially old black and white stuff. I love Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, Buster Crabbe, and Boris Karloff. I'm also rather fond of old tv shows from the fifties. A lot of the newer films with all the computer stuff really turn me off with a few exceptions...I also dig Italian sword and sandal flicks if they are fast paced .

Hmm... fantasy authors...


H.P. Lovecraft: Well, he's not really fantasy, nor do I particularly care for anything other than the unique exploration of New England. Let's include him anyway.

George R. R. Martin: Outstanding writing, he just needs to work faster.

Michael A. Stackpole: Okay, I despised the last book I read, but he's usually good.

Ravenloft: This is also a horror cross-over. I have half the series and I've only disliked two books.

I can't think of anything else right now.

I've been reading all the anthologies I can find...be it Dragonlance, Warhammer, Forgotten Realms, Eberron...whatever. This is an awesome way to find new authors to read and with short stories you mostly avoid long tedious sections where the author goes flat for awhile. I truly love this stuff and there are so many great characters and plots you can explore in the process. I also like the fact you can read two or three tales based in Krynn and then switch over to read few from the warhammer universe..cool. I have been reading in Death and Dishonour and totally dug CL's Brunner tale and Earl's new Florin and Lorenzo mini epic...great stuff!!! This is also a great way for aspiring writers like me to fill my head with hundreds of ideas to mix into my feeble scratchings