by AndaisQ » Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:24 pm
Time for more recs, because I cannot be stopped.
Rick Cook's Wiz Biz, four books that I can find but I wouldn't be shocked if there's more: An intensely generic 1970s high fantasy world is at war with dark wizards and summons a fated champion; they get a programmer from Santa Monica. He figures out how to hack magic. It's a glorious thing.
Readability: High, if you like pulp. Helps if you've actually read the shit he's making fun of, or at least The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, which mocks it similarly but in greater depth.
Warnings: Kinda sexist, in an "isn't it clever how I'm being sexist in a sexist genre" kind of way. Similar mild racism. Occasionally very into itself, in a way that might be called either "self-indulgent" or "masturbatory".
Everything Diana Wynne-Jones has ever written. Please. I don't know if I can fully articulate how much everyone needs to read, and to already have read, Diana Wynne-Jones' full oeuvre.
Naomi Novik's Temeraire, 8 books, apparently still ongoing but I've only read 6: What if the Napoleonic Wars were fought on dragonback? That's all, pretty much. They're so good. I need to go through this again when I have any spoons and finish the series.
Readability: Moderate to low. The reading level is technically YA, but Novik is heavily influenced by the Master and Commander series, which is an agonizingly informative piece of historical fiction, so she's very, very, very into describing how shit works. Which is great if you like that kind of thing! If you're not in the mood, you may have a bad time.
Warnings: Wartime-typical gore, animal death (if sentient dragons count for that), social injustice both in that dragons are not citizens and in that it's the early 19th century and slavery is still a thing. I don't recall off the top of my head, but I think there are moderately sympathetic characters who oppose the protagonist on whether slavery is wrong, which is always super interesting but causes harm to certain readers. Also, it's the 19th century and some Brits go to Africa, so you can guess how that goes.