For those of you who have read and enjoyed Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series, I can only share in your dismay at his death.  I know the last novel was done, at least in note form, and will be written, but what a pity it won't be done by the great man himself.

Thank God Zindell didn't die before he finished "War in Heaven".

Zindell is the undisputed master of Science Fiction, at least in my eyes, but his equal in the realm of fantasy is Anne Bishop.  Her Black Jewels Trilogy (Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness) is one of the few sets of books that have brought me as much enjoyment as reading the Requiem for Homo Sapiens Trilogy. Like David Zindell's Neverness, she also has a stand alone book set in the same world, called "The Invisible Ring."  These books would be considered Dark Fantasy and I only recommend them to open minded, mature readers. (As if anyone's mind could be closed after reading anything written by Zindell.)  Like Zindell she has a way with words. They both write as if they were singing to the reader's soul.  If anyone has read these books please post and tell me what you thought of them.  

Another excellent book is "The Walking Drum", by Louis L'Amour.  He is known for his western novels, but this is a different kind of book for him.  Historical Fiction.  I like fantasy and Sci-Fi better than any other kind of fiction, yet The Walking Drum holds a place of pride on my book shelves.  Here's a few quotes from the book:

"You are your own best teacher.  My advice is to question all things. Seek for answers, and when you find what seems to be an answer, question that too."

"They are only actors, you know, and much put upon. They are but the shadows of the roles they play, and often there is only the shadow."

"It is a poor sort of man who is content to be spoon-fed knowledge that has been filtered through the canon of religious or political belief, and it is a poor sort of man who will permit others to dictate what he may or may not learn."

"The favors of great men or women are like blushes on the cheeks of a courtesan--rare, nice to see, but not to be relied upon."

"You have made a powerful enemy, but a man may be judged by who his enemies are, and their power."

"I prefer killing to being killed. One may talk of peace only to those who are peaceful. To talk of peace with him who holds a drawn sword is foolish unless one is unarmed, then one must talk very fast, indeed."

"The mind gathers the grain in all fields, storing it against a time of need, then suddenly it bursts into awareness, which men call inspiration or second sight or a gift."

"Lead on, lead on! A true philosopher will never refuse a lass, a glass, or an hour of conversation."

I hope these quotes will inspire some of you to read this book, for it is a fine tale. a fine tale indeed.

I begin to feel that I'm talking to myself here.

Anyway, as a side note, much like Robert Jordan and his incomplete Wheel of Time (incomplete for now, I hear it is going to be finished soon), Louis L'amour died before he could finish The Walking Drum's trilogy.  We only have the first book. However it is a good stand alone book and well worth the read.  His daughter has said that the second book was going to take place largely in India, and it's fun to wonder what it would have been like.

If anyone has read any of the books that I've been talking about in these posts, please respond and tell me what you thought of them.

Hmm.. I've read the Whell of Time up to the fifth book. I've started on the series again now recently, but were interrupted by a crazy desire for sci-fi, which promptly lead me to begin on Peter F. Hamilton's new Void Trilogy(sadly, the last book doesn't come until 2010, so now I have to wait, I guess x] ). Anyway, I intend to read the whole of Wheel of Time someday.