> Dave,
>
> Back in the "Fantasy Rant Not Valid" thread
>(specifically
>http://www.rinkworks.com/rinkforum/messages/464.s
>html), you mentioned "...I've got a bunch of
>stuff "in the queue" for reading someday that
>I've been assured breaks away from all of these
>problems. I'll let everyone know how things go."
>
> That stuff you were assured that broke away from
>my main problems with fantasy --
>
> > 1. The pervading feeling that technology has
> >stagnated at a level equivalent to the Dark
>>Ages
> >in England for the last few centuries.
> >
> > 2. Most authors use the same stock character
> >types.
> >
> > 3. Most authors tell the same story.
> >
> > 4. There seem to be few authors that can tell
> >that story in one book. Too many trilogies,
> >cycles, and series.
>
> -- that wasn't Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series,
>was it?
>
> Faux "Curious George" Pas


Oh Lord no. WOT is the very epitome of pretty much all of those gripes. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were the *inspiration* for most of those gripes. I had a lot of people tell me how great they were, but I had an equal number of people tell me how horrible they were, so I wasn't deluded either.

Probably the best example of the type of book I've been told is "good" fantasy is Guy Gavriel Kay's _Tigana_. A number of people on the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.written responded with this book when asked the question "If you could get a Jordan fan to read just one book that would open their eyes to 'good' fantasy, what book would it be."

I haven't read it yet, however, nor have I read any of the others that are supposed to be good (such as George R. R. Martin's _A Game of Thrones_). But, I still promise to let everyone know how they are when I do read them :-)