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Best Fantasy Author of New Century?

© Debbie Ledesma

We are at the beginning of a new year, century and millennium. J.R.R. Tolkien is considered the best Fantasy author of the Twentieth Century. His Lord of the Rings brought the Fantasy genre into the light, making it a respectable genre. Who will emerge as the best Fantasy author of the new century? An established writer? Someone new? There are many possible candidates.

One possibility is Patricia McKillip. She has written many wonderful books with unforgettable characters and powerful themes. She won the World Fantasy Award for The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. The Riddlemaster trilogy is a classic of Fantasy. Every new book she writes is a powerful story told in evocative language, producing images that can't be forgotten. She might be the one.

Guy Gavriel Kay could be a possibility. He has created works of Epic and Historical Fantasy that are memorable and richly detailed. Every new book he writes is more detailed and imaginative. Readers are treated to places that we wish might have been. His latest books are part of the "Sarantine Mosaic."

Some Fantasy readers might disagree with this, but Robert Jordan might be a possibility. His "Wheel of Time" series has been popular from the beginning. The latest book in the series climbed high on the Bestseller lists. He has taken a story with a vast setting, realistic characters and many themes, and combined them to create a story that begs to be finished. He has had a great impact on the Fantasy genre.

Mercedes Lackey might be the one. She has written many books centered in her world of Valdemar. Her books have realistic characters and an emotional impact. Every new book she writes is more detailed and improved. She grows with each new book, presenting interesting themes to think about after finishing a book.

Robert Holdstock is a master of Mythic Fantasy. His "Mythago Wood" books are detailed and deeply disturbing. He uses Jung's archetypes of the unconscious to give his images a strong impact on readers. It is a long, but worthwhile, wait for every new book.

Contemporary Fantasy blossomed with the help of Charles de Lint. He might be the Fantasy writer of the new century. His "Newford" stories and other books give a touch of magic to real world settings.

I could go on with many other fine authors of Fantasy. These are my choices for possible best Fantasy author of the new century. What are yours? Enter my contest and tell me your choice. I'm extending the contest until the end of January. Look forward to reading some of your choices. Happy New Year, Century, and Millennium!

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