# Fun, Crazy, Wild, and Over-the-Top Fantasy



## Philip Overby (Nov 1, 2013)

Something I admire about Warhammer (although I haven't read much of it for whatever poor excuse I have) is that it takes fantasy concepts and cranks them up to 11. I like intelligent, thought provoking fantasy now and again, but sometimes I just want to see a dwarven trollslayer go on a suicidal mission to obliterate everything in his path. Call it fantasy on steroids, grimdark, or whatever you want. 

I'd love to see more fantasy that just went all out in every aspect. I'm thinking along the lines of things such as:

Warhammer
Metalacolypse
Superjail!
Korgoth of Barbaria
Heavy Metal
Conan/Red Sonja movies
The Maxx
Willow
The Dark Crystal
Princess Mononoke

Notice I didn't list any books (with the exception of Warahammer and Conan). This is because I don't know of many books that capture these elements. I'm mostly thinking of fantasy that does cool, daring things, but also really goes full tilt. Most of these things I listed either have tons of action, insane creatures, weird demons, people beating the crap out of each other, or weird, surreal elements to them. Something that when you finish reading you may say, "Wow, that was insane."

Can anyone, anywhere help me?


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## buyjupiter (Nov 1, 2013)

Jeff Vandermeer is great for just plain weird. His novel City of Saints and Madmen is just strange. It's a good strange if you know what I mean, and it definitely kept me hooked. It has odd mushroom men that scurry around at night.

I don't know if you like steampunk at all, but there was this great novella called Victoria by Paul di Fillipo that was amazing. My physics prof took that collection of steampunk stories off my desk in college and started reading it.


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## GeekDavid (Nov 1, 2013)

It's not exactly fantasy, but the series that starts with _WebMage_ by Kelly McCullough is a heck of a romp through multiple realities. The action involves a good deal of the Greek pantheon, including the Furies who chase the hero for a good portion of the book. One of the spells he uses to combat them is called Jurassic Gas.


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## Darkblade (Nov 1, 2013)

Dresden Files, it starts as a slightly noir Private Investigator wizard series but with the third book things started getting nuts and has only gotten weirder since then. 

Highlights include a zombified T-Rex animated by a one man polka band, a man wielding a holy sword that he was given by the Arcangel Michael despite being fiercely agnostic, Judas's thirty silver coins are now unholy artifacts that allow humans to make pacts with imprisoned fallen angels, an army of pixies killing a Faerie Queen with box cutters, a bad luck curse killing a vampire with a frozen turkey accidentally dropped from an airplane and many other similar things.


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## Feo Takahari (Nov 2, 2013)

All-out zaniness is a pretty common thing in fantasy webcomics. This is most obvious in urban fantasy--pick any webcomic off the list at Urban Fantasy, and it's likely to be this--but it applies at a lesser frequency to other types as well.

I don't really read stuff that's like Superjail, but if you want something like The Dark Crystal, my first recommendation would be Rice Boy--it's a world that clearly operates on an internal logic, but the nature of that logic can be very hard to discern. It's also a fun and enjoyable adventure.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 2, 2013)

Thanks for some of these suggestions! Some of these I haven't heard of before. 

It's interesting to note that these kind of weirdo stories aren't often told in books, they're either in comics or movies. I guess they just play better to visual mediums?

Jeff Vandermeer: I've heard a lot about him, but I believe he's pretty prolific so I wasn't sure where to start. I guess one of his short story collections would be good.

Paul di Fillipo: I haven't heard of, but I've been wanting to give steampunk a try. 

WebMage: Sounds like something I'd like to check out.

Dresden Files: I started read the first book in the series a while back and liked what I read of it. It got lost somewhere though. I may have to pick up the series again. Sounds pretty wild.

Rice Boy: I think the reason I liked Dark Crystal has a lot to do with imagery. It just had a lot of bizarre images in it that really captured my imagination when I was a child. If Rice Boy has those some elements, then I'm interested in that.

As far as web comics I've enjoyed so far, I liked the Goblins one, Axe Cop, Dr. McNinja, and Order of the Stick. I just like stuff that doesn't take itself so seriously, but still has these crazy images and plots. This is just on occasion. I like serious things obviously as well.


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## GeekDavid (Nov 2, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> WebMage: Sounds like something I'd like to check out.
> 
> Dresden Files: I started read the first book in the series a while back and liked what I read of it. It got lost somewhere though. I may have to pick up the series again. Sounds pretty wild



Let me know what ya think of _WebMage_ and its sequels (there's a total of 5 books).

I just started _Storm Front_ myself. It sounds like just what I need right now.


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## Mythopoet (Nov 5, 2013)

Darkblade said:


> Dresden Files, it starts as a slightly noir Private Investigator wizard series but with the third book things started getting nuts and has only gotten weirder since then.
> 
> Highlights include a zombified T-Rex animated by a one man polka band



I didn't actually read that book but my husband raves about the series. If memory serves, I believe he told me that at one point Dresden actually rides the zombie T-rex. That's gotta be the very definition of over the top. 

You mention the Conan movie, but have you read the Conan stories? They're fantastic. Sword and Sorcery might offer what you're looking for. The Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and Elric of Melnibone stories are also good ones. As for weird/demonic creatures there's always Lovecraft. 

But I think you're right that modern western fantasy doesn't have a lot of that kind of thing. You might need to cultivate a taste for manga and/or anime. Bleach, InuYasha and Fairy Tail are some of my favorites that would meet your needs, I think.


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## Svrtnsse (Nov 5, 2013)

A year or two ago I read Dan Abnet's books about Inquisitor Eisenhorn. It's set in the Warhamer 40,000 setting so it's not strictly speaking fantasy. It's full of amazing bad-assery though and it sounds like something that's fit to be mentioned here.
The first book is Xenos, but you might as well get the entire Omnibus which has all three books.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 5, 2013)

Mythopoet said:


> I didn't actually read that book but my husband raves about the series. If memory serves, I believe he told me that at one point Dresden actually rides the zombie T-rex. That's gotta be the very definition of over the top.
> 
> You mention the Conan movie, but have you read the Conan stories? They're fantastic. Sword and Sorcery might offer what you're looking for. The Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and Elric of Melnibone stories are also good ones. As for weird/demonic creatures there's always Lovecraft.
> 
> But I think you're right that modern western fantasy doesn't have a lot of that kind of thing. You might need to cultivate a taste for manga and/or anime. Bleach, InuYasha and Fairy Tail are some of my favorites that would meet your needs, I think.



I do think it's a shame that I have to go to manga or anime for this kind of thing. I think it could done just as well if writers perhaps took a "pulpier" approach, which I think has made somewhat of a resurgence as of late. Big fan of Robert E. Howard and Fritz Lieber, but you have to go back to the 20s and 30s to find that kind of stuff. Not always, as there are lots of writers doing interesting things in sword and sorcery now, but I know about those people already.

I plan on delving into Lovecraft more as I just got a book that was in storage for quite a while.



> A year or two ago I read Dan Abnet's books about Inquisitor Eisenhorn. It's set in the Warhamer 40,000 setting so it's not strictly speaking fantasy. It's full of amazing bad-assery though and it sounds like something that's fit to be mentioned here.
> The first book is Xenos, but you might as well get the entire Omnibus which has all three books.



I have had Dan Abnett recommended to me before by several people, so maybe I should bit the bullet and get the omnibus. 

I do have a lot of love for the current crop of big name fantasy writers whose names get thrown around a lot (Martin, Sanderson, etc.) but sometimes I just want something that's insane. I read to be entertained for the most part and lot of these shows and movies I mentioned quench my thirst for the kind of weird, craziness I want in fantasy on occasion.


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## Steerpike (Nov 5, 2013)

Abnett is great. I also second the Elric recommendation.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 5, 2013)

I actually got to be in an charity anthology with Moorcock a while back. There were loads of authors in it, but just to be in the same anthology as him was pretty cool. I read some of Von Bek and a little bit of his Elric stuff and liked what I read. He's one of those that has so much out there it's hard to find a place to start. I have _The Dreamthief's Daughter_ here. Has anyone read that one?


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## Steerpike (Nov 5, 2013)

Yes, I've read all the Elric books. My personal recommendation is to start at the beginning, but they're all good.


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## buyjupiter (Nov 5, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> I have had Dan Abnett recommended to me before by several people, so maybe I should bit the bullet and get the omnibus.




I would actually start with Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero. I've read the Warhammer stuff, and while it was fun, Triumff was a rollicking good read. It starts off with the longest, funniest, and over-the-top, description of weather in England. 

Along the same lines as Triumff is Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora series. I really thought it was a fun take on the thief archetype.


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## teacup (Nov 5, 2013)

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It's an anime. It gets so over the top, but stays great. At one part they punch an enemy, and the punch tears a hole in the fabric of reality. Yeah, it's mental. It sounds so stupid (and the logic is funny - liquid space due to it being so compressed for example) but somehow it just works, and it's brilliant.


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## Mythopoet (Nov 6, 2013)

Have you read the Discworld books? They are definitely fun, frequently over the top and deal with a whole range of wild, crazy, awesome tropes.


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## GeekDavid (Nov 6, 2013)

Mythopoet said:


> Have you read the Discworld books? They are definitely fun, frequently over the top and deal with a whole range of wild, crazy, awesome tropes.



I can't believe I forgot the master of parody.


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## Steerpike (Nov 6, 2013)

I've tried Pratchett multiple times and so far haven't been able to force myself to enjoy them


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## GeekDavid (Nov 6, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> I've tried Pratchett multiple times and so far haven't been able to force myself to enjoy them



I tried them three times before I hit upon the secret. You have to keep foremost in your mind that they're parodies. Once you quit taking the books as "serious fantasy" and accept that it's just good fun, they become much easier to enjoy.


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## Steerpike (Nov 6, 2013)

GeekDavid said:


> I tried them three times before I hit upon the secret. You have to keep foremost in your mind that they're parodies. Once you quit taking the books as "serious fantasy" and accept that it's just good fun, they become much easier to enjoy.



Oh. I get that. And in theory it would be the sort of thing I'd enjoy. I like Douglas Adams a lot, and in general the British sense of humor appeals. I was just bored stiff every time I tried to read one.


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## GeekDavid (Nov 6, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> Oh. I get that. And in theory it would be the sort of thing I'd enjoy. I like Douglas Adams a lot, and in general the British sense of humor appeals. I was just bored stiff every time I tried to read one.



Oh, well. Diff'rent strokes and all that.


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## Scribble (Nov 6, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> Yes, I've read all the Elric books. My personal recommendation is to start at the beginning, but they're all good.



I third that! I have read and re-read Elric a number of times. Outside the original saga, I would also recommend Revenge of the Rose& Fortress of the Pearl. 

Moorcock's imagination is literally fantastic. He creates creatively unique situations for Elric to suffer and triumph in.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 6, 2013)

I've broadened my search to a Facebook group I frequent and I got some more responses. I'm wondering if any of you have heard of the following:

Simon R. Green
Christopher Moore
A. Lee Martinez
R.A. Lafferty
Neil Gaiman (not sure he fits in here, but people suggested him)
Tad Williams
Charles de Lint
A.A. Attansio
Robin Wayne Bailey
Lynn Abbey
Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim series)
Stephen Blackmoore
Lee Battersby (The Rat-Corpse King)

If you know anything about some of these authors, please share!


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## Feo Takahari (Nov 6, 2013)

I have read:

Shadows Fall by Simon R. Green. Overplays both the blood-and-guts card and the snarky humor card, and the world never felt entirely cohesive, but it had some nice character interactions. Worth a read just for the odd friendship between Bruin and the Sea Goat.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Unimpressed, but it's apparently one of his weakest novels. (With that said, I've heard he's absolutely terrible at ending stories, and that really came through in A Dirty Job.)

Monster by A. Lee Martinez. I don't think I ever quite got the style of humor it used, but some people really like it. It seems like the kind of thing a Douglas Adams fan might enjoy.

Otherworld by Tad Williams: Quite possibly a better exploration of virtual reality than The Matrix, and definitely has a more interesting cast. Slow in a methodical and purposeful way--be ready to devote a lot of time to this one. I do have one complaint: the social commentary is way too heavy-handed to take seriously.

Charles de Lint: I think I've read a couple of his books. They felt kind of airy-fairy, all sorts of magical things happening without a lot of emotional resonance, and hence without a lot of investment.


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## Steerpike (Nov 6, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> I've broadened my search to a Facebook group I frequent and I got some more responses. I'm wondering if any of you have heard of the following:
> 
> Simon R. Green
> Christopher Moore
> ...



Simons Green's Deathstalker series was fun. His urban fantasy not as much.

I like everything I've read by Neil Gaiman.

A. Lee Martinez's books are decent light, humor books.

Tad Williams I've liked, but I didn't make it through the whole Otherworld Series. War of the Roses is a nice one.

I like Charles de Lint for the most part. I probably prefer Emma Bull for this sort of thing.

A.A. Attanasio wrote a fantasy called Wyvern, that I really enjoyed. I also liked Radix. There is a lot by him I haven't read.

Lynn Abbey's Thieves' World stuff is fun.

Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim novels are a lot of fun to read.

I don't have an opinion on the others.


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## GeekDavid (Nov 6, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> I've broadened my search to a Facebook group I frequent and I got some more responses. I'm wondering if any of you have heard of the following:
> 
> Simon R. Green
> 
> If you know anything about some of these authors, please share!



My experience with Simon Green is that he likes to throw maximum weirdness at the story, even at the possible cost of the plot or any semblance of realism. The high-tech wizardry of his worlds (remembering Clarke's famous adage about any sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic) seems to have few or no hard-and-fast rules, just whatever new effect he seems to want at the time.


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## Feo Takahari (Nov 6, 2013)

I just remembered a book I forgot to mention earlier. Pyramid Scheme by Eric Flint and David Freer has an incredibly zany approach to both Greek and Egyptian mythology, while still grounded in a believable and likable cast. (I've heard Flint is generally pretty zany, but Freer seems to rein him in a bit.)


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## Philip Overby (Nov 6, 2013)

I may be in the minority, but I'm not a big stickler for magic rules. I want them to make sense, yes, but if they don't, it's not a deal breaker for me. I understand that it makes stories more believable and such, but if something is cool, I usually don't say "Wait a minute! That doesn't make sense!" I'll just say, "That's weird" and carry on. I tend to quit novels when they're dry, the pace is too slow, or I'm just not in the mood for them and want to pick them up again later. 

Simon Green sounds interesting, so perhaps I'll give him a try. I'm glad most of the others mentioned have some good and bad about them. I like to hear that when looking for new books because I don't want someone to say, "This book is awesome!" and then I come away disappointed. If I know the flaws going into reading them, I may feel more comfortable giving them a shot. Like I said, slow, generic, uninspired writing is a turn-off for me, so if that's a bad point, I may shy away from it.


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## wordwalker (Nov 7, 2013)

*Definitely* anime, and the manga they're usually based on. These love to push further, and sometimes leave all sense behind in the explosions or comedy, while sometimes they're hard-hitting drama. But at least 60% of the best adventures on film have to be anime, simply because there's so much of it.

The trick is learning which shows are going to go which way. This is a medium (I won't even say genre) where one show has a villain trapping someone in a dreamstate where they live a year in an instant believing they're being stabbed to death again and again. And then there's the show where this








is how a _ninja_ dresses.

--Oh, wait. Same show.


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## buyjupiter (Nov 7, 2013)

Christopher Moore is great, especially his non-series stuff. I especially liked _Lamb_, but that is only for those who have an irreverent sense of humor and don't find non-religious approaches to Christianity blasphemous. _The Island of Sequined Nuns_ is good, and _Fool _is _King Lear_ told from the fool's POV, which was incredibly fun.

I've read almost of all of Gaiman's adult stuff and it can get strange. I'd recommend starting with _Smoke and Mirrors_, which is shorter fiction, and there should be something in there you can really enjoy. As far as novels go, I'd recommend _Neverwhere_. _Stardust _is really good, but _Neverwhere _was odd in a wonderful kind of way. _Stardust _is more of a "mainstream" story.

And Charles de Lint goes along with a bottle of whiskey, a pint of Ben & Jerry's, and a box of tissues. His novels, especially _The Onion Girl_ and _Widdershins _deal with some really horrible child abuse stuff. It was quite rough to read. 

Another thing that I loved for plain zany fun was _Heroics for Beginners_ by John Moore. I think it's more on the YA side of things, and it's really short, but I found it to be a parody of just about every trope there is in the hero's journey.


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