Questionable Advice

So I gather people are waiting for the next installment of Game of Thrones on HBO?  (I've finally seen season one, on DVD, but am not keeping up with the TV schedule.)

So now the blogs are coming out, suggesting lists of fantasy novels to keep people entertained for the time being.  I came across this one:

A Few Fantasy Books to Tide You Over Until Game of Thrones Returns


I've got to say, it's not a very good list.  While I, myself, have enjoyed some of the books on the list (the Wheel of Time series, Lord of the Rings), it's a schizophrenic collection which suggests the writer isn't particularly familiar with fantasy and just looked at what took up the most space on bookstore shelves.  Dragonlance books, really?  (To be honest, I have not read them, and other than the Malazan books, prefer to stay away from series based on the authors' role-playing games.)

Then, there's this sentence:

"Though the author is now deceased, he is sort of the Tupac of the fantasy world, with posthumous books coming out even after his demise."

They're talking about Robert Jordan.  But the sentence is terribly redundant..."posthumous books coming out after his demise?"  Not to mention the fact that it was already said that he was deceased and comparing him to Tupac.

The second commenter is right on the money; it's a lazy list if it includes Lord of the Rings.  I mean, those movies were pretty popular and it's not as if people haven't heard of them (especially if they're watching Game of Thrones).  And I like the person's last paragraph as well:

"And Wheel of Time being on there is just a bad idea all over - the last thing Game of Thrones readers want to be reminded of is that authors writing insanely epic fantasy sometimes die before finishing!"

Moral of the story...don't read newspaper blogs if you're looking for fantasy recommendations.  Find blogs like mine, or "best fantasy of 2011" lists, or lists of nominees for awards like the Nebulas or the World Fantasy Awards.