Okay, I want to praise the Witch World novels by Andre Norton here. Personally, the novels about High Halleck are my favorite, most especially the "Gryphon" trilogy.
Frankly this was the first fantasy series I read that felt nothing at all like Tolkien. Not that I don't love LOTR, but the intimacy of the Witch World novels really captured my heart. Plus the way so many questions just never get answered, just like in our reality! For example (and this is one I just like), in English history we'll never really know exactly what happened to the Princes in the Tower. And in much the same way we'll never learn about so many secrets vis-a-vis the Old Ones and the mysterious ruins they left all over the place. More, the way people remained people--fishermen and midwives along with warriors and mages. Some issues never do get resolved (like between Elyn and Elys), while cool little details abound--including how so many of the women are *not* drop-dead georgeous!
Myself, I think "Witch World" would make a fantastic series on the SciFi Channel. If LOTR makes as much money as it looks like, maybe that little dream of mine will even come true <i></i>
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