Fast-paced fantasy?

can I hijack / continue this thread with a request for face paced fantasy with a female lead? co-lead? anyone?

I'd second Tim Powers, but my choice of book would be On Stranger Tides, which has pirates, puppet theater, and Ponce de Leon. How can you compete with that for pace?

And while I'm at it, I'd also recommend John Gregory Keyes' Newton's Cannon, another 18th Century historical fantasy.

Darkness Rising said:

Malazan Book of the Fallen has some of the fastest paced books I've ever read. 7/10 books are out. The first book begins with a slaughter! Erickson puts you right in the middle of his world. His magic system is also the most interesting (besides WoT) that I've seen. Plus the build-ups are really satisfying. The climaxes of most of these books are amazing! Just my opinon.

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Agreeeeeeeed!!!!!

It's amazing that an author can write seven books at a thousand-plus-pages a piece and still be fast-paced, but Erikson is.

efreysson said:

A recurring problem I seem to have with fantasy stories, is how the slow pace of many of them tends to make me lose interest. I put down the first Wheel of Time after several pages of two characters walking through the village

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Samething happened to me. I wasn't into the intro at all. But I kept reading it gets very good. I think I read it like 3 days or something like that. I read the first book just after writing my first series fantasy work since I was a kid. Considering the first book is 800 pages and takes place over a few months, I look at mine that is 265 pages and takes place over ten years. Just a curious observation. I figured I will go back in and be a bit more descriptive here and there.

Bahamutchild said:

can I hijack / continue this thread with a request for face paced fantasy with a female lead? co-lead? anyone?

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Some of the ones I posted (and probably others) have female leads or co-leads. I've marked them in red here:

Shweta said:

Steven Brust. Try Jhereg.
Naomi Novik. Try His Majesty's Dragon.
Patricia Wrede. Try Mairelon the Magician.
Diana Wynne Jones. Try The Dark Lord of Derkholm
Ellen Kushner. Try Swordspoint.
Jonathon Stroud. Try The Amulet of Samarkand.
Megan Whalen Turner. Try The Thief.
James Hetley. Try The Summer Country.
Emma Bull. Try War for the Oaks.
Tim Powers. Try The Anubis Gates.

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Can point out others, if you'd like.

Thanks Shweta, and sure, I'm always open for more suggestions. I hear some of Sassee's had female leads too
Cheers,
Christina