Re: Stand-alone novels - Edit 1
Before modification by Kylia Skydancer at 03/09/2009 10:55:51 AM
Lions of Al'Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay--beautiful, lyrical, alterna-history; no apparent 'magic' system. Marvelous.
To be quite technical, Loins isn't completely standalone...The Sarantine Mosaic books take place within that world, though during a different time period. As does "The Last Light of the sun" I believe.
"Tigana" would be my pick from Guy Gavriel Kay. Hving read pretty much all his books and it's still my favourite.
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.
Abridged or unbridged? Because I'm told the unabridged version can get really boring at times.
Standalone Novels I'd recommend:
Dexta by C. J. Ryan - sexy uninhibited science fiction
Nemesis by Isaac Asimov - I'm think I read somewhere that the book was so well-received he had decided to take another venture into its verse but died before he could do so. More sci-fi obviously.
A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - Reality with a bit of magic thrown in. Half coming-of-age, half I'm-not-sure-what.
Duchess of Milan by Michael Ennis - historical fiction. A look at the politics and goings on of 1490 Italy from the female point of view.
Growing Wings by Laurel Winter - A novella really. Reality with a bit of the fantastic. Not so much a coming-of-age story as the main character is quite young. But it's stark and magical and makes you think.
Hopefully some of those catch your fancy.