Best Obscure Books?

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House of Leaves : Mark Z. Danielewski
wierd, wierd book
(variant on a ghost story, so sort of fantasy)

wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_leaves

a scan of a page in the book
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HouseOfLeavesPage134.gif

 

I've always liked Picnic On Paradise by Joanna Russ. She's a feminist SF writer, so you have been warned.

Then there's russian classic science fiction by brothers Arkadi & Boris Strugatsky, like Roadside Picnic, and if you like Iain M. Banks you might be interested in their Hard To Be a God.

On fantasy I'd say 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever' by Stephen R. Donaldson are pretty obscure, but I don't know how mainstream it is around where you guys live.

 

Bridge of Birds, by Barry Hughart
This book should be read by everyone. Folks here like fantasy, this is fantasy in ancient China. I can't overstate how wonderful this book is.

 

The Emperor of Dreams is, I believe, an OOP collection of the entire works of Clark Ashton Smith. Good as a history lesson to catch up on the works of arguably one of the three founders of modern speculative fiction, but not recommended as a read-through in a single sitting.

 

The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West by Mary Stanton. Old, but I've never seen another world like this one. The horse pack dynamics are awesome too.

Also, I second the three books by Barry Hughart, including the Bridge of Birds

 

Everything Neil Stephenson has written except Diamond age is engrossing. For sci-fi types especially Snow Crash is hilarious, with a detailed plot and delightful characters. Cryptonomicon for fans of the history of information tech, though it's way more than that and also full of hilarious bits.

I also recommend The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, though not so much the sequel, Children of God.

 

"Norstrilia" and "The Rediscovery of Man" by Cordwainer Smith. Lyrical like no other.

 

'Anno Dracula' by Kim Newman. Seems to be out of print everywhere... but is really fun. Basically, the premise is Dracula surviving the events of the book, coming to London and marrying Queen Victoria. But in 1888 a mysterious killer called the Silver Knife starts murdering vampire prostitutes...

The Fey books (I read the first 3) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch are really good too. Not sure if they're considered obscure to this crowd, but they are really good fantasy. At times even unpredcitable.

 

@revmaf - "Snow Crash" was a hoot. Great for anyone who liked the Gibson cyberpunk books.

 

I just finished another one: "Nightwatch" by Andrew M. Stephenson. Really interesting, if a bit unfocussed.

[ January 30, 2007, 04:34: Message edited by: Otis ]

 

Brandon Sanderson's two novels, Elantris and Mistborn, are unknown but really sweet. He is very good at creating unique worlds and addictingly awesome characters.

 

Obscure? Garth Nix's "Abhorsen" series. Kate Forsyth's "Rhiannon's Ride" trilogy (book 3 not yet available here in the US). Forsyth tends to write in a scottish accent (lots of "och" LOL) which can be distracting but still a good read. She also wrote "The Witches of Eileanan", a six-book series that happens prior to the "Rhiannon's Rise" series.

Cheers,
Mike

 

I wouldn't have thought so. Seem fairly common and typical to me.

The Axis Trilogy and the Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass don't seem that common. The Wayfarer Redemption (another trilogy) in peticular is quiet a differant Fantasy story from the regular "save the world" sort of thing.

 

The Warhammer 40.000 books in the Commissar Cain series. Pure awesome and quite well-written as well.

 

One more book by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky worth pointing out is The Inhabited Island (aka Prisoners of Power).

I'm about halfway through, just had it added to my evergrowing list of books that "I'm currently reading" ...dammit.

It's really interesting, and time resistant SF although so far the protagonist doesn't strike me as the brightest crayon in the box. As I undestand it though he has quite a bit of development before him still.

 

"In The Country Of The Blind" by Michael Flynn.

Anything by H. Beam Piper, but especially "Space Viking" and "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen."

 

I just started reading Mistborn and I'm enjoying it.

 

Books by Keith Laumer(sorry if these aren't actually obscure).