Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper (Doubleday). This dark and intriguing novel falls between the realms of fantasy and science fiction, but working as it does with the themes of fairy tales, I’ll include it here—and recommend it highly. Readers with a taste for Angela Carter’s fiction should give this one a try.
Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm (St. Martin’s). Wilhelm is a writer who has quietly given the field some of its very best works. This book was published in the St. Martin’s mainstream list: a fascinating and thought-provoking courtroom drama involving chaos theory.
In addition to the foregoing books, lovers of good adventure fantasy written with wit and intelligence should be sure not to miss Steven Brust’s The Phoenix Guards from Tor Books (a fantasy homage to Dumas and Sabatini) or Michael Moorcock’s The Revenge of the Rose from Ace and Grafton (which Faren Miller aptly described as “sword-and-sorcery a la Dickens with a tip of the hat to Brueghel”). Lovers of fantasy with a humorous bite should check out Terry Pratchett’s Witches Abroad from Gollancz, or indeed any title by this British author; and Patricia C. Wrede’s charming Dealing with Dragons from Jane Yolen Books/HBJ.
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler (Holt), a Magic Realist novel set in the Washington Territory in 1873, has my vote for best first novel of the year. Runners up are: Gojiro by Mark Jacobson (Atlantic Monthly), a bizarre and moving fantasy about a boy and a giant mutant lizard. Moonwise by Greer Ilene Gilman (Roc) won’t be to everyone’s taste, but there are passages of prose that read like the finest of poetry. Other notable debuts: The Illusionists by Faren Miller (Warner), The White Mists of Power by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Roc), and The Spiral Dance by R. Garcia y Robertson (Morrow).
The “Best Peculiar Book” distinction goes to the aforementioned Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock (Chronicle). The runner-up is Spring-Heeled Jack by Phillip Pullman (Knopf), an imaginative YA superhero fantasy mixing prose and cartoons (illustrations by Gary Hovland) based on the nineteenth-century character of the title.
Other 1991 titles particularly recommended, listed by publisher:
From Ace: Phoenix by Steven Brust (fifth in the Vlad Taltos series, not to be confused with the aforementioned Phoenix Guards).
From Atheneum: Sing for a Gentle Rain by James J. Alison (YA time travel about an Indian boy drawn back to the 13th-century Anasazi).
The Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee (excellent YA fantasy in an Arabian Nights-like desert setting).
The House on Parchment Street by Patricia A. McKillip (a reissue of this lovely YA ghost story).
From Avon: Tours of the Black Clock by Steve Erickson (reprint of this 1989 surrealistic novel).
Flute Song Magic by Andrea Shettle (a lovely YA fantasy novel, winner of the Flare Books competition for authors between 13 and 18 years of age).
The Dream Compass by Jeff Bredenberg (a quirky but literary and promising first novel, halfway between fantasy and SF).
Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock (the American reprint of this amazing British novel).
Soulsmith by Tom Dietz (an enjoyable coming-of-age novel set in Georgia).
From Baen: Lions Heart by Karen Wehrstein (standard genre fare but this young writer has a mystical, poetic flair.)
Flameweaver by Margaret Ball (a sparkling historical, a cut above the rest).
From Ballantine: Shaman by Robert Shea (historical Native American fantasy).
The Collapsing Castle by Haydyn Middleton (first American edition of a Celtic fantasy set in a small English village).
From Bantam: King of Morning, Queen of Day, by Ian McDonald (the first two-thirds of this Irish fantasy are excellent and highly recommended).
Great Work of Time by John Crowley (a mass-market publication of this splendid World Fantasy Award-winning novella).
Illusion by Paula Volsky (meatier fare than her previous books; recommended).
From Bantam Skylark: The Golden Swan by Marianna Mayer (rewritten Hindu fairy tale with illustrations by Robert Sauber).
Noble-Hearted Kate by Marianna Mayer (rewritten Celtic fairy tale with illustrations by the wonderful Winslow Pels).
From Del Rey: Perilous Seas by Dave Duncan (standard fantasy fare, but it takes unexpected turns—and Duncan is always a fine writer).
Yvgenie by C. J. Cherryh (the third book in her series based on Russian history and legend).
From Delclass="underline" The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison, with a foreword by Douglas E. Winter, a long critical introduction by Paul Edmund Thomas and a glossary of terms (originally published by Cape in 1922, this is one of the finest fantasy novels of all time. A must read, particularly for those who love the sound of language used well).
From Delacorte: Song of the Gargoyle by Zilpha Keatly Snyder (medieval historical novel by an extremely talented writer of YA fantasy).
From Doubleday Foundation: The Dagger and the Cross by Judith Tarr (well-written twelfth-century historical fantasy).
Nothing Sacred by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (futuristic fantasy about a POW nurse in Tibet).
From Harper & Row: The Dragon’s Boy by Jane Yolen (moving YA Arthurian fantasy).
Dragon Cauldron by Laurence Yep (YA fantasy adventure from this talented author).
From HarperCollins: Quiver River by David Carkeet (a terrific coming-of-age story with subtle magic about a vanished Indian tribe, highly recommended).
From Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: Many Moons by James Thurber (a reprint of the fairy tale with the 1943 Caldecott Award-winning illustrations by Louis Slobodkin).
Wizard’s Hall by Jane Yolen (humorous fantasy for children).
From Holt: Bronze Mirror by Jeanette Larsen (uses the history and myths of China to talk about the nature of artistic creation; highly recommended).
Three Times Table by Sara Maitland (good literary fantasy).
From Houghton Mifflin: Enter Three Witches by Kate Gilmore (entertaining fantasy about a young New York boy raised by witches).
From Knopf: The Dust Roads of Monferatto by Rosetta Loy (a Magic Realist family saga, translated from the Italian).
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (technically this is horror, but this superb dark fantasy about a family of witches over the centuries is likely to appeal to fantasy readers as well).
Among the Dolls by William Sleator (a reprint of this novella with illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman).
From Macdonald: Outside the Dog Museum by Jonathan Carroll (another clever tale, not entirely successful, about the modern shaman Venasque).
From Macmillan Collier: The Satanic Mill by Otfried Preussler (a reissue of this excellent fantasy about a young apprentice’s experience with evil, translated from the German by Anthea Bell—highly recommended).
Witch House by Evangeline Walton (another reissue, from one of the fantasy field’s most beloved writers).