Thread of positivity about fantasy literature. Here goes, authors and books time, and yes, nothing too out there. But here goes, in no particular order.

Earthsea (Ursula Le Guin). Beautiful sparse writing, a whole lot of building with magic, dragons, the power of words, and a view of power. The later books subvert the initial trilogy in an interesting way, and a thread of sadness runs through it.

The Flat Earth (Tanith Lee). Another great prose stylist, but this time lush and sensuous, and building myths as well as stories. There’s nothing else quite like Tanith Lee I can think of in fiction.

The Discworld (Terry Pritchett). Yes, comedy, and at times very silly. But at other times something more than that, with good characters, and an expression of a sympathetic world view, as well as moments I still find genuinely hilarious.

Legend and sequels, the Jerusalem Man stories (David Gemmell). Simple fantasy, constant action, and a high body count. It’s pulpy and none the worse for that. But there is something interesting about redemption and falling into evil there.

The Broken Earth (N.K. Jemisin). Quick but clever, and harrowing reads. Asks the question whether the world even deserves saving.

Middle Earth (J.R.R. Tolkien) You knew this was coming. World building so deep it becomes profound, where every hill and woodland has a story behind it, and the landscape is a series of characters.

Lyonesse (Jack Vance). Wonder and brutality, along with one of the best takes on mythological faeries I’ve read. Vance presents a cruel world, though only a few characters exhibit the cheerful shallow (and yes occasionally nasty) nihilism of the Dying Earth stories.

The Saga of the Exiles (Julian May). I don’t know how this stands up now, but psionic superpowers and alien races in prehistoric earth, and misfit characters taking a leap of faith really resonated with teenage me. Dare I reread?

The Eternal Champion (Michael Moorcock). More action with hints of philosophy, more that fascinated me as a teenager, and was interesting on a broad reread with Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum, managing something different enough in each case. Time to reread again?

Guy Gavriel Kay. I can’t narrow down Kay’s almost-historicals to one or a few. Sometimes he barely files the serial numbers from history, but this allows subtle magic and surprises with major figures, and there’s a real depth of emotion, and examination of the value of art.