John Shirley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think it is. I think it's one of the best of all
> time. (Her newest novel, truly in the WEIRD genre
> of fantasy, Piranesi, is quite wonderful too). The
> prose, the writing, the literary value of her
> evocation--it's just superb. You can forgive it
> for being a best seller. Unlike many best sellers,
> it deserves it...Look at the awards and
> nominations list:
>
> Man Booker Prize 2004 Longlisted [41]
> Whitbread First Novel Award 2004 Shortlisted
> [42]
> Guardian First Book Award 2004 Shortlisted
> [43]
> Time's Best Novel of the Year 2004 Won [44]
> British Book Awards Literary Fiction Award 2005
> Shortlisted [45]
> Nebula Award for Best Novel 2005 Nominated
> [46]
> Hugo Award for Best Novel 2005 Won [47]
> World Fantasy Award for Best Novel 2005 Won
> [48]
> Locus Award for Best First Novel 2005 Won [49]
> Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature 2005 Won
> [50]
> British Book Awards Newcomer of the Year Award
> 2005 Won [51]
>
> Neil Gaiman (no, it doesn't have to be true just
> because he said it) said it was the
> "unquestionably the finest English novel of the
> fantastic written in the last 70 years"
>
> [
en.wikipedia.org]
> _Mr_Norrell
I would be cautiously inclined to agree (I both nominated it and voted on it for the Hugo in 2005), although there has been some excellent fantasy written post-1981, even if you look only at what has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award. It certainly is the greatest fantasy novel
I have read that was written after the year 2000 (with the possible exception of the Fifth Conflux tetralogy, but that is only available in Swedish and Danish).
If Gaiman's statement raises eyebrows, it can be added that (as he has said elsewhere) the stress here is on
English, i.e. the Englishness of the novel. He has explained that he meant (paraphrasing here) "the greatest English-flavoured novel of the fantastic since
Lud-in-the-Mist". And I can buy that.