Stand-alone novels - Edit 1
Before modification by Comet Sedai at 01/09/2009 02:32:39 AM
Seeing as the 'Stand-alone' subthread was my favorite, I'm going to start it off myself this time 
Here is a list to get things going:
Lions of Al'Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay--beautiful, lyrical, alterna-history; no apparent 'magic' system. Marvelous.
Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams--My aunt gave me this book when I was a preteen because it is a fantasy story about cats, and I was a 'cat person', and it is a terrific 'coming-of-age' story, including a 'story of the how the world came to be' from the point of view of cats. I really enjoyed it. It's the reason I later read TW's Memory, Sorry, and Thorn series, which is very different.
Watership Down by Richard Adams--I read this after Tailchaser, mainly because the reviews printed within Tailchaser kept saying it was 'Watership Down with cats' (which it isn't, really). So, Watership Down is a story about rabbits, but it is beautifully told. "...where the first primroses were beginning to bloom"
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle--As great as the cartoon movie was, the book is 10 times better. And it's got more satirical bite.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman--it's inconceivable not to love it. Also, it isn't a book about animals or with an animal in the title.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain--Arthurian legend meets biting social commentary. Also not a book about animals.
Neverwhere and Stardust and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Three excellent stand-alones I'd never heard of before wotmania. I actually listed to a CD version of Stardust, read by Gaiman, and it was excellent.
OK, that's enough for now. Your turns.
Here is a list to get things going:
Lions of Al'Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay--beautiful, lyrical, alterna-history; no apparent 'magic' system. Marvelous.
Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams--My aunt gave me this book when I was a preteen because it is a fantasy story about cats, and I was a 'cat person', and it is a terrific 'coming-of-age' story, including a 'story of the how the world came to be' from the point of view of cats. I really enjoyed it. It's the reason I later read TW's Memory, Sorry, and Thorn series, which is very different.
Watership Down by Richard Adams--I read this after Tailchaser, mainly because the reviews printed within Tailchaser kept saying it was 'Watership Down with cats' (which it isn't, really). So, Watership Down is a story about rabbits, but it is beautifully told. "...where the first primroses were beginning to bloom"
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle--As great as the cartoon movie was, the book is 10 times better. And it's got more satirical bite.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman--it's inconceivable not to love it. Also, it isn't a book about animals or with an animal in the title.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain--Arthurian legend meets biting social commentary. Also not a book about animals.
Neverwhere and Stardust and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Three excellent stand-alones I'd never heard of before wotmania. I actually listed to a CD version of Stardust, read by Gaiman, and it was excellent.
OK, that's enough for now. Your turns.