Epic Fantasy and Magical Realism Recs?

CheG

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With apologies for this being YET ANOTHER recommendation thread!!!

I think my current work is doomed to never get an agent. As one agent put it "Urgh, another fairy book" (basically).

So I reckon I better change tactics! I would like some secondary world epic fantasy recommendations and some magical realism recommendations!

Bonus points if you can also recommend some epistolic novels! I actually found ONE "43 Old Cemetery Road Dying to Meet you" but I'm on the look out for more!
 

JustSarah

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So you like writing about fairies too?:D Awesome.

I don't know about magic realism, but I loved the Poppins books. I'm barely sure what Epic Fantasy is, as it's never really be something that appealed to me. I think my impression as unfairly marred by B movies.

For now children, I loved the first bit of Dune.

So you get the weird effect of Dune meets Mary Poppins boiling in my brain.
 
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Jo Zebedee

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What age group?

Anyway some suggestions. Epic fantasy:

The knife of never letting go by Patrick Ness - it's dysptopian but it doesn't have a sci-fi feel, more of a fantasy. So, not truly epic but it is in scope.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie - epic in feel with a touch of grimdark, it's the start of a YA trilogy and very on the money in terms of the current market.

Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - an oldie but a goodie.

Magical realism is harder.

Jo Walton - Among Others, older YA/crossover adult. Very engaging, very bold and exciting.

Prince of Mists by Zafon. I haven't read it, but he is a God of magical realism.

Incidentally, fairy retellings, whilst a little saturated, are still good YA fare. I'd suggest maybe looking at Angela Carter - she's adult, technically, but can reach down.
 
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CheG

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MG epic fantasy- or at the very least secondary world fantasy with strong world building.

I've read Angela Carter :) Good, good stuff.
 

rwm4768

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Are you looking for epic fantasy for MG audiences?

In that case, you might try out Brandon Mull's Beyonders series. It's a portal fantasy, but it's mostly set in the secondary world.

For a completely secondary world fantasy, you could try the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. It's technically YA, but I feel it has a lot of appeal for slightly younger audiences.
 

CheG

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I checked out Savvy from the library as I heard it was MG magical realism. So I'm reading that.

I will need to go and order books from other libraries in order to get some of the other recs.

Thanks though!

Any one have anything on more epistolic novels?
 

Amadan

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What do you mean by "magical realism"? That term gets misused a lot, and epic fantasy with fairies is pretty far from magical realism, unless you're doing something really unusual and unique (in which case, I'd really like to read it!).
 

Jamesaritchie

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Can't give you her name, but I just heard a very good agent say she was after MG epic fantasy. If she wants it, so will many others.

I've read a lot of adult magical realism, but never any for MG. It strikes my fancy, and I'll have to read some of the suggestions.
 

rwm4768

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As far as MG epic fantasy, you might try The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen or The Shifter by Janice Hardy. They're both upper MG. I haven't read them, so I'm not sure how epic they are, but they're on my list.
 

heza

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As far as MG epic fantasy, you might try The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen or The Shifter by Janice Hardy. They're both upper MG. I haven't read them, so I'm not sure how epic they are, but they're on my list.

I read the first two. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Some far fetched scenarios, sure, but terrific voice.
 

killdeer

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Magical realism is harder.

Jo Walton - Among Others, older YA/crossover adult. Very engaging, very bold and exciting.

Oh, I'm coming in late, but I just wanted to say that this book is WONDERFUL! I think it has the most resonance for people who grew up reading classic SF/fantasy works. It was a real trip down memory lane, and a tremendously compelling story.

Any attempt to describe the plot simply doesn't do the tale justice at all. Suffice to say the story takes a young girl who, due to a combination of her traumatic family history and her strong interest in intellectual/literary issues, feels as out of place as if she were literally not the same species as her peers. Then it shows her attempting to navigate everyday life at school, untangle a family background involving both abuse and great love (from her extended family who nonetheless let her down by refusing to believe or intercede in the abuse), deal with her first crush, make friends and lose them, and oh by the way she sees fairies. Creepy, enchanting, cryptic fairies who want her to do stuff. Really important stuff, probably. Which might get her killed.

And throughout the story, she attempts to make sense of her life at the same time as she attempts to make sense of her beloved SF/fantasy literature...

And I'm still not doing it any justice at all! It's one of those books where you have to read it for it to make sense. FWIW, it won the Hugo, the Nebula, and some other awards as well.
 

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Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie.

There was once, in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. It stood by a mournful sea full of glumfish, which were so miserable to eat that they made people belch with melancholy even though the skies were blue.
 
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CheG

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Ended up with "A Snicker of Magic" and "Still Just Grace" from the library!

Im not sure I'll ever be able to write prettily enough to pull off magical realism! It seems mandatory that it be very literary... *sigh*
 

JoyMC

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Hey - I thought of you as I'm currently reading an epistolary magic realism MG. It's not out until 2015, but I got it through NetGalley, so if you're on there, you could probably get it too. UNUSUAL CHICKENS FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL POULTRY FARMER.
 

CheG

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I don't have a Net Galley account! Isn't it only for bloggers and reviewers? I guess I assumed I didn't qualify and so never even went there...

I started on my MG epistolic. I don't know what I'm doing. Le Sigh.
 

JoyMC

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I'm not sure how selective NetGalley is. I have a once a month slot on a group MG blog, and I'm an "educator" as a homeschooling mom. Those are my credentials and I've been getting approved for lots of stuff there.

Good luck! I'm working on an epistolic too. It's always fun to try something new. :)
 

endearing

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If you're still looking, I wanted to add The Glass Sentence for upper MG epic fantasy. I really enjoyed it :)
 

rwm4768

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If you're still looking, I wanted to add The Glass Sentence for upper MG epic fantasy. I really enjoyed it :)

I just checked that out. It sounds interesting. But how did the author manage to get it published? It's more than 120,000 words long. That's way over what you're supposed to write for upper MG, even in fantasy, and it looks like it was the author's debut.
 

endearing

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I just checked that out. It sounds interesting. But how did the author manage to get it published? It's more than 120,000 words long. That's way over what you're supposed to write for upper MG, even in fantasy, and it looks like it was the author's debut.

I was actually pretty curious about that myself, especially because the beginning, while interesting to me, was also fairly slow. I've read that it's a bit on the fence between upper MG and lower YA, but it seems like it's mostly getting promoted as upper MG. It probably has something to do with chance, but I'm guessing it has a lot of crossover appeal. And, well, I did end up really, really liking it. :)
 

paddismac

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I'm really trying to get into The Glass Sentence, but so far, the only word I can think of to describe it is "ponderous". I'm not getting MG or even YA out of it at all.

I have no doubt that if I had begun to read with the idea that it was adult fiction, I'd be enjoying it, but knowing it's supposed to be MG/YA, I just can't. :Shrug: