a Good fantasy book to read?

[Jormund]

I haven't read any good books lately and i'm starting to crave for more, I'd appreciate if anyone has suggestions as to what to read.

to this point, I've read all of R.A Salvatores works, most of Margaret Weis and most of Terry Pratchett (if that even counts), that's for fantasy genre, at least.

So.. any suggestions are welcomed, they don't even have to be fantasy books, anything that's not too "heavy" to read would be appreciated.

[Samurai General]

Lord of the rings is good.:smallsmile:

[Jormund]

bleh, I can't imagine i left that out. Read it, twice. :smalltongue:

[ArchiviesTheQua]

It might not be fantasy, but if your reading crave can be satisfied with sci-fi, Ender's Game is a good book to read.

[Jormund]

Yeh, Sci-fi works too, Cyberpunk doubly so. I'll be sure to check that out. Thanks

Keep em' coming though :smallamused:

[Toastkart]

for fantasy I would recommend Jane Lindskold's Firekeeper saga. The books are very well written and also very intriguing.

For sci fi I would recommend anything by Isaac Asimov. I'd go with the Caves of Steel first, since it's not quite as heavy as his Foundation series. Nightfall or the I, Robot series would also be good choices.

Others come to mind, but they tend to be heavier fantasy or sci fi, like Frank Herbert or Robert Heinlein.

[Samurai General]

Thraxas is good and funny:smallsmile:

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

Sir Apropos of Nothing, by Peter David. Takes a nice jab at the fantasy genre, and makes a decent uppercut as well. :smallwink:

[Vonriel]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a rather avid fan of Raymond Feist's books. I've also read nearly all of Salvatore's books, as well as Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman, so if that helps.

[Lemur]

I'm reading an interesting book right now called The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. It's got Moscow, Satan, naked women, and a talking cat that can use pistols. Oh, and Pontius Pilate, I guess. In short, it's a satire with supernatural stuff going on.

If you're accepting comic books, I'd recommend Bone by Jeff Smith. Rat creatures kick ass.

I'm tempted to mention The Dragon and the George, The Dragon Knight, and the ensuing Dragon Knight series of books by Gordon R. Dickson.

Oh, another good series I remember, the Dragonrider of Pern and ensuing series, by Anne McCaffery.

Edit: Thought of another one. Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en is a classic. There are various editions and translations. If you want the full version (long, but is the best, imo) look for the Anthony C. Yu translation. There will be four volumes worth of story in this case. Other translations highly abridge it and leave a lot of adventures out, but typically fit into a single book (which usually isn't very long).

[Vaynor]

Ray Bradbury

[Dorni]

I cannot reccomend Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time highly enough. It is currently on it's 11th book and not yet complete. It never loses it's flavor - quite the oposite, it only gets better as you keep reading. The fantasy part of the book doesn't overpower the characters, and the sub-plots are many, quite a few are very subtle. I can't reccomend it highly enough.

[Thiel]

If it's "light" reading you want the stay away from The Wheel of Time. It's long, (I think it's about 10000 pages long at the moment) slow and to be honest mediocre at best. Not that it doesn't have it's bright spots though. It has a couple of great characters (Mat and Perrin rocks) and good passages.

In the fantasy department I'd recommend:
The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
Deeds of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

In the SF department:
Vattas War by Elizabeth Moon
The Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

For more check out this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37937) thread.

[McBish]

Good cyberpunk book is Snow Crash. Very good read.

[Raistlin1040]

You said Dragonlance right? Good stuff there. The Edge Chronicles is good.

[averagejoe]

Anything by Philip K. ****. Pretty much the father of cyberpunk (or... something), and a terriffic read, both in its ideas and excecution. Especially Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which was made into the movie Blade Runner. I've never seen the movie, so I can't compare the two, but the book was awsome. I mean, how can you not be interested after just reading the title?

Also, the Song of Fire and Ice books are fairly good fantasy, if a bit heavy on the politics and light on the fantasy. Which I don't see as a bad thing as some might. I thought the series got less good as it went on, but the first book was pretty phenominal. And, heck, who doesn't like books with butt-kicking nine year old girls? The first one is A Game of Thrones, by the way. **** would be better if you're looking for light reading, though, as his tend to be shorter.

[zeratul]

oooh there are so many. Lord of the rings, the deltora quest series, the narnia series, the earthsea series, dracula, and any warcraft/starcraft book.

[J_Muller]

SF:
Forget Ender's Game, the Ender's Shadow series is where it's at. Less SF than political intrigue, but heavy on war and conflict. Excellent series.

The Lt. Leary series by David Drake. Imagine Horatio Hornblower in space.


Fantasy:
-Thraxas. Comedy/Fantasy/Mystery all in one. Very nice.
-If you're looking for something light but fun and very good, the Pendragon series (D.J. MacHale) is excellent.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

Hmmm...Being reminded of lots of other books I've read and enjoyed.

Feist is definitely a good read, although some of his latest books haven'y done much for me. His Rift War Saga and Serpent War Saga are definitely worth it.

I was also taken by surprise by a book I had to read many years ago in college. I can't remember the name of the author, and it's making me crazy, but its title is The Doomsday Book. What was odd was that I *HAD* to read it, which usually becomes a turn-off for any reader. But I found myself *WANTING* to read it. :smallsmile: Alas, this book actually qualifies as sci-fi, not fantasy.

As long as I'm on sci-fi, though, I also recommend Little Fuzzy, by H. Beam Piper. The copyright is 1962, and it's kind of fun to read some of what he thought was science-fiction that have become more than reality today, such as the high-speed tranfer of information. Recording data tapes at high speed. What a goofy idea! You can also see social aspects of the 1950's/60's in the story. Cocktail hour, indeed! :smallwink:

There's just one, wee little problem with my last suggestion. It's out of print. You'll only find it as a used book, or as part of the book The Fuzzy Papers. But if you find it used, it'll likely be cheaper than a new book at a store, and the legal argument about what makes an alien race sentient fascinated me. :smallsmile:

This has been your Babbling Bor.

[J_Muller]

Oh, yeah, I just remembered. A must-read as far as sci-fi goes. Starship Troopers. Read it.:smallsmile:

[Thiel]

I second that.
It's very different from the movie.

[Pox]

And oldie, but a goodie, the Xanth series by Piers Anthony.
I don't even know if the books are in print anymore, but I got about eight of them for a buck-fitty each at the used bookstore. Apparently the sixth one, I'm holding my hands right now ( Night Mare ) was printed (first edition) in JAN 1983. That's about five years before I was born. My uncle got me into them when I was ten.

Wheel of Time, definately. Please. Go read it. Even if it isn't done. Just go read it. Please please please.

The Harry Potter series, believe it or not, is amazingly well written, with lots of medieval lore and VERY excellent plot. (Makes sure you read them in order.)

Dragonlance: Time of the Twins Triology, You don't really have to read other novels to get into this one, to be honest. It helps with the backstory, but it's well explained in the beginning of the first part.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, This book is just... Wow. All of Gregory Maguires books are very excellent (They're some fairytales redone.) but this one takes the cake. If you like fairytales...

...anything by Mercedes Lackey, the author seems to base a lot of the writing and plots on old fairytales ( Cinderella, Snow White, Swan Princess, etc. ), it's not really girly per se, but I enjoy it. Then again, I guess that statement is kind of... moot.

[Reinforcements]

I would say, if you have to pick one series, pick George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, starting with A Game of Thrones. They're really fantastic books. Very mature themes, though (lots of sex and violence), so if that bothers you you may want to skip it (or wait until you're older, heh).

For somewhat lighter fare, try Harry Potter or any series by David Eddings - I'm a fan of the Belgariad. You also can't go wrong with the works of Ursula K. LeGuin. For MUCH lighter fare, I highly recommend Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy, and anything by Lloyd Alexander but especially the Prydain series.

On the sci-fi side, you MUST read Frank Herbert (at least through Children of Dune, the rest isn't so good) and Isaac Asimov (of which there is much).

I will also say this, at the risk of bitter reprisal, that I would actively avoid anything by Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, or Christopher Paolini. That is all.

[Thiel]

I will also say this, at the risk of bitter reprisal, that I would actively avoid anything by Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, or Christopher Paolini. That is all.
I agree.
You've already heard my opinion about Robert Jordan.
Terry Goodkind is a terrible writer IMHO.
Haven't read anything by Christopher Paolini, so I can't really say anything.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

Oh, yeah, I just remembered. A must-read as far as sci-fi goes. Starship Troopers. Read it.:smallsmile:
Seconded! The movie was a joke compared to the book. I've now read Starship Troopers four times over the last few years. :smallsmile:

[AmoDman]

So I had this super long post typed up that got eaten, Argh.

Short story - if you like RAS make sure you read the Demon Wars Saga, his best books, and The Highwaymen spin-off. Also, you might very well enjoy Robin Hobb's style in The Farseer Trilogy, and though it takes some time to pick up, I think Hobb's Liveship Traders Trilogy is even better than the Farseer (only to be read after).

Also, Neil Gaiman is fun, if you like a modern fantasy (I love Neverwhere), though his Stardust it pretty much just a Fairy Tale at novel length.

p.s. *sigh* for the 5 lost paragraphs.

[Melantrist]

I bow down to only three masters: Tolkien(well kinda expected), Pratchett(both humorous and philosofy oriented) and of course Douglas Adams(the Sci-fi Pratchett). Song of Fire and Ice is good and I'd recomend it too. And not to forget Roger Zelazny - The chronicals of Amber(or whatever it is in english)

For God's sake don't waste your time with soap operas like Jordan's Wheel of time!!! I read the first 6 books and I was totally disappointed. And also Salvatore - Drizzt is the biggest drow f*g in whole Faerun!
And I don't even want to mention the name of that four-eyes lousy teenage dork Harry(another cash making soap opera- die Harry, DIE)

[AmoDman]

Drizzt is the biggest drow *** in whole Faerun!

I'm trying to fill in the blank...but seem to be drawing a blank? I assume it's something bad. I happen to like Drizzt, even though the later works have seemed to decline as opposed to his height in The Dark Elf Trilogy.



Song of Fire and Ice is good and I'd recomend it too.

ASoIaF is fantastic, as are several other books and series from the likes of Herbert, Bakker, Wolfe, and the like. However, each of those series has a pretty unique, heavy handed feel to their writing, aka, "heavy," which I don't think the OP was necessarily looking for, though he may enjoy it there are plenty of other quality works out there with a slightly lighter feel to them.

[Spartan_Samuel]

Eric Nylund's Fall of Reach and First Strike. Of course, don't forget to read William C. Dietz's The Flood in between those two.

[Melantrist]

I'm trying to fill in the blank...but seem to be drawing a blank? I assume it's something bad.
I think it's clearer now ;)

[Kallisto]

For a dark and gritty, fantasy-genre book, I highly recommend Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erickson (first book of Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen). There is no "Good" and "Evil" per se in this book, which makes it very interesting and different. The prologue should catch your attention :)

Here is an excerpt, if you wish. http://www.tor-forge.com/Excerpt.aspx?isbn=9780765348784#Excerpt

[Jormund]

Alright, i got a lot of good suggestions, and these should be keeping me busy for a good while, thanks a ton to anyone who replied.

heh, now gone through one third of the first book of the firekeeper saga, good stuff. :smallsmile:

[Jayabalard]

I havn't read it myself yet, but if you like Pratchet, you'd probably like Rankin as well. Very British humor.

[Jorkens]

the earthsea series
These are much underrated in my opinion. Top stuff.

Neil Gaiman is also ace. You can even work your way in via his collaboration with Terry Pratchett - Good Omens. It's got the Pratchett sense of humour grafted onto Gaiman's imagination and storytelling and is therefore great.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Phillip Pullman yet, but His Dark Materials is definitely worth reading.

Oh, and The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany is good if you want a change from widescreen all action modern fantasy. It's pre-Tolkein, and it's understated and focusses on style and atmosphere over character and action and it's lovely.

[chionophile]

The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Lies of Locke Lamora I'd keep saying it, but I think you get the point. New fantasy by Scott Lynch. One of the most fun reads I've ever... read. Light and easy. Pick it up now and win at life.



A Song of Ice and Fire is easily one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. Actually, anything written by George R.R. Martin is awesome. Some of his other stuff is a little lighter if you don't want to start an epic like ASOIAF. Check out Dying of the Light, Fevre Dream or Tuf Voyaging. (Personally, I like Martin's series better than LotR. I found Tolkien to be a little dry sometimes.)

The Amber Chronicles and Lord of Light by Zelazny

Anything by Iain M. Banks, like Excession, Use of Weapons, Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, etc. I started with Excession, but it doesn't really matter. (Note - not Iain Banks. Same guy, but if there's no M., it's not science fiction)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, Glory Road by Heinlein (actually, anything by Heinlein. Although, he does get a little sexist. A product of the period.)

Ender’s Game is totally worth the read. I wouldn’t bother with the rest of the books in that series, though. Very different style than Game, for the most part. The Bean series is closer in tone to Ender’s Game.

Stephen Baxter is good for really hard science fiction (Hard is the opposite of soft, in this case.)

The Nights Dawn trilogy, The Commonwealth pair, the Greg Mandel trilogy and Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton are all amazing.
Um, that’s all I got off the top of my head.

[Lemur]

I havn't read it myself yet, but if you like Pratchet, you'd probably like Rankin as well. Very British humor.

Ach, you made me remember something. If you like Pratchett, you'll also like Douglas Adams. It's Sci-Fi, but The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is a classic.

[Warpfire]

Yeh, Sci-fi works too, Cyberpunk doubly so.

Neuromancer, if you haven't read it already. Father of the cyberpunk genre, according to some.

[Freelance Henchman]

Clive Barker's "Cabal" is a quasi-Fantasy/Horror book that I liked a lot. There's some truly bizarre monsters/creatures in that one, and its relatively short and fast-paced.

It might also be called "Nightbreed" in paperback.

In fact, try most of Clive Barker's older stuff, i.e. the Books of Blood (not at all as hokey as it sounds).

The Sandman adult comic books by Neil Gaiman are also good.

[Mr._Blinky]

Yeh, Sci-fi works too, Cyberpunk doubly so. I'll be sure to check that out. Thanks

Keep em' coming though :smallamused:
If you want cyberpunk, read Neuromancer by William Gibson. It's the book that started the entire genre, and is incredibly well written.

[Toastkart]

Can't believe I forgot to mention earlier, Jane Lindskold's first book, Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls, has been reprinted recently. It's a little on the gritty side, but masterfully written.

Also, Chris Bunch has several series that are military sci fi or fantasy that are pretty interesting. The Last Legion series is more structured military, Star Risk series is more mercenary, and his Dragonmaster series is military fantasy. Good reads all, but maybe take them in small chunks because they do tend to be very similar in plot.

For Heinlein, I'd also like to add The Number of the Beast and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.

For alien invasion sci fi, the Area 51 series by Robert Doherty isn't too bad. It's definitely a different take than most other alien invasion stuff that I'm familiar with.


For some heavier sci fi/fantasy (elements of both) look into the Pliocene Exiles series and The Book of Morgaine, although for the life of me I can't remember either of the authors' names.

[Ishmael]

I got this entire list from my English teacher, who just happened to like fantasy. It's comprised of great books, though slightly more mature compared to the fluff that R.A. Salvadore generally dwells in.

Tales from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series--Erikson.
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
The Bonehunters

The Prince of Nothing, by R. Scott Bakker.

A Song of Ice and Fire (I HIGHLY advise this one. It's the best fantasy series I've ever read, short of Tolkien)
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast For Crows

Eventually A Dance With Dragons will come out. But not now...

Gormenghast novels--Peake.

The Road, and Blood Meridian--McCarthy

Perdido Street Station--Miéville. (I don't like him that much, but that's because he's anti-Tolkienist...)

The above works are magnificent in their own regards, the cream of the crop of fantasy.

[AmoDman]

I got this entire list from my English teacher, who just happened to like fantasy. It's comprised of great books, though slightly more mature compared to the fluff that R.A. Salvadore generally dwells in.

Tales from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series--Erikson.
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
The Bonehunters

The Prince of Nothing, by R. Scott Bakker.

A Song of Ice and Fire (I HIGHLY advise this one. It's the best fantasy series I've ever read, short of Tolkien)
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast For Crows

Eventually A Dance With Dragons will come out. But not now...

Gormenghast novels--Peake.

The Road, and Blood Meridian--McCarthy

Perdido Street Station--Miéville. (I don't like him that much, but that's because he's anti-Tolkienist...)

The above works are magnificent in their own regards, the cream of the crop of fantasy.

I've read nearly all of that and I will challenge you that Salvatore does not "write all fluff." His newest FR stuff has been forced for awhile now, but he was in fact very talented, if flawed, at writing The Demon Wars Saga, especially the wonderfully personal tale of The Highwayman, a book I'd rate highly by any measure.

That being said, Prince of Nothing is in fact the most masterful I think I've ever read, and I've already commented on the quality of most of the others, but these are still not the type of books the OP said he was looking for. I cannot reccomend those mentioned series enough to you Jormund, but if you are not in the mood for heavy handed writing than I'd reccomend you stay clear of all of these until you are!

[smellie_hippie]

Posted in another thread some time ago, but here's my $0.02.

Tad Williams. Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower. They're a long read and the last is split in two books in paperback. Also his Otherland series. I did not care for Tailchaser's Song.

Roger Zelazney. Anything by this man is good sci-fi. I suggest The Black Throne, A Night in Lonesome October, Jack of Shadows and Madwand.

Martha Wells. Death of the Necromancer.

And for the record... I agree that Robert Jordan is a hack. It's my personal taste though, so feel free to disagree with me.

[MaxKaladin]

You may want to try Grunts! by Mary Gentle. It's not your typical fantasy novel (and it's a novel, not a series). It starts with a bunch of orcs who were part of the army of dark in the Final Battle Between Light and Dark(tm) who end up finding a cache of modern weapons and the story proceeds from there.

[DancingBear]

Personally, I'm not too fond of Robert Jordan; I don't have the time to spend reading thousands of pages of fantasy, especially when most of it seems like hackwork- paid by the page, or something like it. R.A. Salvatore severely bothers me, largely because his characters seem to be made up entirely of bling - Drizz't has an onyx panther figurine, a pair of magical scimitars, magic haste bracelets, and god knows what else. In addition, I'm not sure tying oneself to a specific game system is the best way to go, especially considering how unintuitive D&D is.

I enjoy Terry Pratchett for light reading, although his writing doesn't really hold up under serious scrutiny.

To the OP, however, I cannot recommend Stephen King's Dark Tower enough. It has flavorful, complete characters, a sweeping story, a rich set of worlds, and is so chock full of writing tricks and easter eggs (once you've read into Wolves of the Calla) that I'm not sure how King put the whole thing together. There are seven books, many of them quite large, but there are introductions and forewords enough that one can read the books at intervals of months and still be familiar with the story.

[Ruik]

And for the record... I agree that Robert Jordan is a hack. It's my personal taste though, so feel free to disagree with me.See, I liked the first, oh say 5 books (problem is that they all kinda blend together after awhile, and I can't remember what happened in which book :smallsigh:), and the series probably peaked around book 5 really. Winters Heart and Crossroads of Twilight were terrible, put simply. They went nowhere, and did some things with characters that, simply put, were utter crap.

Knife of Dreams though I really enjoyed. Probably the first one I have really truely enjoyed since I his that book 5 mark. I still think what he has done with Rand is... well yeah they have filters and stuff on these boards... but I was happy to see some resolution with the Perrin and Elayne storylines, and Mat is perhaps my favourite character in the series, and I really enjoyed seeing him back in the grove of things, rather than prancing around like an idiot.

"The Golden Crane flies for Tarmon Gai'don!" - perhaps my favourite scene from the book


I enjoy Terry Pratchett for light reading, although his writing doesn't really hold up under serious scrutiny.
wh... why would you say that?!

*cries*

Seriously though, I love Terry Pratchett books...

[Reinforcements]

I enjoy Terry Pratchett for light reading, although his writing doesn't really hold up under serious scrutiny.
I disagree with this pretty strongly. It's a sentiment I hear with some sort of regularity, and I think it might be a case of people going funny = no artistic value. Terry Pratchett is a brilliant writer, especially his later stuff (which is less comedy, but whatever).

[MaxKaladin]

I remember reading the first Wheel of Time book when it first came out and thinking "Gee, this sucks. It's never going anywhere." I suppose I was right in one respect and wrong in another. In one respect, the series is evidently a masterpiece of using tens of thousands of words to get absolutely nowhere but, in another respect, the series has obviously gone somewhere in terms of becoming quite popular.

In either case, I never continued past the first book.

[Don Beegles]

Probably ultimately the best decision, Max. I wish I had stopped after that. I honestly really enjoyed about the first three. Then it just got worse and worse from there until it was a chore to get through them.

And anyone who says that Terry Pratchett is just light reading should be shot. Not only do each of his books have some satirical point about society, there are usually some rather interesting observations about life and such hidden among the humor.

[Castaras]

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn - Tad Williams

A very good fantasy quartet. Yes, it is heavily LotR based, but it is still a brilliant book.

[Sisqui]

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn - Tad Williams

A very good fantasy quartet. Yes, it is heavily LotR based, but it is still a brilliant book.

Mega dittos on that one. (That is where I got my username)

Also, Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony, although I'm not sure if that would be fantasy or sci-fi.

[kpenguin]

If you want some light-hearted sci-fi that is execptionally humorous, try Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels. Don't watch the movie. It was disgrace to the books.

[sethdarkwater]

Well if your looking for a darker, yet humerous read I suggest Champions of Kamigawa: Outlaw. Its one the Magic the Gathering books, that I feel are wholely underrated. Its a fun read, and for me having fun is what reading is about. I'm not one who cares for the alligorical,phillosophical reads. I disdain the Narnia series. Then agian I love Tolkien, ironic. I would also reccomend the redwall series by Brian Jauques. Yes I know they are considered more suited for childeren, but hey its another fun read. P.S. I know my spelling is horrible, but I'm tired.

[Cyrano]

I see a few people have already recommended A Song of Ice and Fire. Good on them. It is amazing, if heavy.

There are two other AMAZING fantasy series' of note.

The first is The Fionivar Tapestry, by Guy Gavriel Kay.
Simply amazing. It may have flavours of the stereotypical "Portal to another Dimension" sorta genre, but it is so much better, so different. You can find everything from Wiccan-heavy imagery to father-son rivalries to immense deity's and winged unicorns.
And we all know unicorns are awesome.
It isn't quite as heavy as ASoIaF, lacking the overtones of, for example, rape. Oh, wait, no, nevermind. Its heavy. But amazing. I cant stress it enough. AMAZING.

The other is The Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman.

An amazing book. Its technically Sci Fi, but reads like fantasy. Basically, the premise is this: 12 centuries in the past, a colony ship from good ol' Earth arrived at a new planet dubbed Erna. the early colonists experienced heavy travails, primarily because Erna, somehow, gave the colonists fears form. Anything that one assumes will happen, will happen. So when an insane member of the colony destroys the ship and all records of Earth history, in the assumption that a meaningful sacrifice leads to a powerful working, humanity is granted concious control over Erna, ie, magic. I cant explain the pure awesomeness of this. It is a wonderful portrayal of the slow corruption (enlightenment?) of a man of God, and a fantastic universe.

[Druid]

If you’re looking for some light fantasy reading I'd suggest the Dreaming Dark trilogy by Keith Baker. It's a good read though the first book feels kind of unfocused up until the end.

[Cade]

For a dark and gritty, fantasy-genre book, I highly recommend Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erickson (first book of Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen). There is no "Good" and "Evil" per se in this book, which makes it very interesting and different. The prologue should catch your attention :)

Here is an excerpt, if you wish. http://www.tor-forge.com/Excerpt.aspx?isbn=9780765348784#Excerpt

Reading this thread, I was waiting for Malazan to be brought up. :) The best book series ever. The characters are many, and deep, the humour is phenomenal, as is the action, the storylines moves, it's basically a working critique on fantasy, it's philosophical, huge (as far as campaign setting, along with everything else), and has a set number of books before it ends, guranteeing some amount of closure. Each book also functions as a stand alone, so you don't have to commit.

[Icewalker]

There are many series set in two worlds written by Tamora Pierce which I found quite good.

Tortall (Which I found better)
The first series, about a character named Alanna:
The First Adventure
In the Hands of the Goddess
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Lioness Rampant

The second, one of my favorites, "The Immortals"
Wild Magic
Wolfspeaker
Emperor Mage
The Realms of the Gods

And the third 4-book series, "Protector of the Small"
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight

Then my favorite of all of them, by far, the two Trickster books:
Trickster's Choice
Trickster's Queen


Then there is another(and very good) series, which she is currently writing, set 300 years before these, Provost's Dog, the first book of which is titled Terrier.


The second world I found slightly less interesting, although I found a few of the books to be extremely good.
Circle of Magic
Sandry's Book
Tris' Book
Daja's Book
Briar's Book

Then the second series, The Circle Opens.
Magic Steps (Sandry)
Street Magic (Briar)
Cold Fire (Daja)
Shatterglass (Tris)

There is a third series, although there is only one book in it so far, Will of the Empress.

I suggest these, and they are best when read in order, although each series can be read out of order, (although I suggest you read each of the 4 books of each series in order).

I found these excellent books, and quite reminiscent of Dnd, in fact I wrote up a class taken from the first world, (link in my sig), The Shang Warrior.

[Castaras]

*Snip*

Seconded. Tamora Pierce is awesome.

Although my favourites are probably the winding circle books, and the Immortals quartet. They are amazing. All Tamora's books are amazing.

[Kiero]

Don't touch anything by Robert Jordan or David Eddings with a barge pole. Jordan doesn't understand the meaning of plot development or characterisation, Eddings seems to like rehashing the same story over and over again.

Steven Erikson's Malazan Empire series is good, though rewards re-reads. The first book is the weakest of the series, the rest of it is written a little later and his writing is noticeably improved. It's also fixed in length, unlike Jordan's hackery of ever-increasing numbers of books with nothing actually happening. Ten books, of which six are published and the seventh is on the way.

I don't read much other fantasy nowadays, but if you want historical fiction recommendations I've got a few.

[Don Beegles]

I've never understood all of the crap that Eddings gets. Yes, he does use the same plot and archetypes all of the time, but the characters who occupy those archetypes are always different, it's a pretty good plot, and he writes it fun enough that you can usually get past the deja vu. Why the hate?

Edit: Just wanted to note that I can't agree enough with the feelings on Jordan, but Eddings seems to have too little love.

[J_Muller]

I've never understood all of the crap that Eddings gets. Yes, he does use the same plot and archetypes all of the time, but the characters who occupy those archetypes are always different, it's a pretty good plot, and he writes it fun enough that you can usually get past the deja vu. Why the hate?


I have similar feelings, except towards Jordan. If you forget that the previous two books existed (and you could skip them without losing anything in the way of understanding what's going on), the series is excellent. Sure, it's not "OMGZORS SO GOOD", but it's not total crap like some people make it out to be. It's the first large-scale fantasy series I got into, and given my experience so far I don't regret the decision.

[Roethke]

Almost anything by Gene Wolfe.

His Wizard/Knight duo is fascinating, lots of fantasy archetypes explored, and you never quite know the rules of the worlds.

I particularly like "Soldier of the Mists" series-- Think Memento, (though it was written years before) but its not a murder mystery. A poor soldier of Xerxes' got clocked on the head, and lost his short-term memory, and is seeing visions of Gods. Maybe better classified as historical fiction, rather than fantasy, but there's a bit of both. A gorgeous look at ancient Greece.

[Kiero]

I've never understood all of the crap that Eddings gets. Yes, he does use the same plot and archetypes all of the time, but the characters who occupy those archetypes are always different, it's a pretty good plot, and he writes it fun enough that you can usually get past the deja vu. Why the hate?

Because I don't pay to read the same story with characters (who themselves are all the same with the serials filed off) who are little more than national stereotypes. That's a bad habit Jordan picked up off Eddings. I don't even see the point in reading it rehashed. If I want to read the first one again, I'll do that.

It's not even a particularly good plot, fairly basic and pedestrian "chosen one goes from callow youth to big damned hero and saves the world" yarn.

[GryffonDurime]

Have my eyes deceived me, or have three pages of fantasy-recommendation rolled on without a mention of Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy? For shame...I highly recommend it to anyone interested in an iceburg full of blonde prophets, anti-Necromancers, and paper airplanes taken to a whole new level.

[smellie_hippie]

Edit: Just wanted to note that I can't agree enough with the feelings on Jordan, but Eddings seems to have too little love.

Eddings gets a bad rap because after you read the first set, every other bok is half full of recaps of what happened in the earlier books. Kinda the same with Feist. I love the books, but I only read them when I have time to kill.... and no requirement for concentration.

[twerk_face]

If you're accepting comic books, I'd recommend Bone by Jeff Smith. Rat creatures kick ass.


Ditto, I absolutely love "Bone". I've read it at least 5 time, maybe 6, and i think i'll start it again tonight :smalltongue:

But for fantasy, I can't believe noone has mentioned His Dark Materials trilogy, i.e. The Golden Compass (Northern Lights in Britain), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. They are some of the greatest books I have ever read. They are second only to the Potter books, and only because those hold a very special place in my heart. They've gotten me through alot. I've been in line for every single one except the first. I have a first edition copy of it.

But anyway. HDM is absolutley amazing. I just went through and reread it, having read it the first time when i was around 10. I am now 16, and it has gained so much more meaning this time around. It truly is a story about growing up and becoming an adult, but it is also an amazing fantasy, a religious satire (of sorts, but not completely a satire, its hard to find the right word), and it's enjoyable to a reader of any age over 8. Go out and read it.

[J_Muller]

Has no one mentioned those?

...I blame myself. I thoroughly enjoyed those books.

[Mistborn]

I hear that Brandon Sanderson guy writes good books...

(Sorry. Couldn't help it.)

Anyway, I'll second the vote for Bone, which is awesome. (Just got copies of the new colored hardbacks from Scholastic, free of charge. Being published has its perks....)

Looking at the original books Jormund liked--Dragonlance, Salvatore--I think that my suggestion would not be something like Wolf (who is great, but not at all the same style.) I'd second the suggestion that you look into Raymond E Fiest. Sabriel (Garth Nix) has also been mentioned, and I think would be a good match.

[Weirdlet]

Cyberpunk? High Aztech. Read it. Love it. Cackle and weep.

The Dresden Files are also entertaining to me- while there's recaps in each book, they tend to actually fit in pretty smoothly. Wizardly noir set in Chicago.

Bone is wonderful, and speaking of comics, I reccomend ElfQuest if you don't mind a bit of sweetness without being overly sugar-frosted.

[twerk_face]

Uch, Elfquest? well, to each his own, but i hated those. they are just TOO sweet for me. Kinda like a cerial like Count Chocula, just way to much sugar added for "flavor" : ))))

[TheRabidWalnut]

The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold.
A quite wonderful selection of Sci-fi, made all the more entertaining because each book is different, and they are all character driven. No technobabble escape clauses here!

Would also like to second the Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Johnathon Stroud. And, of course, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" by Douglas Adams; anyone who hasn't read that one shouldnt be allowed out in society. Or outside at all.

Oh, and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time isn't worth the time it would take to use it as lavatory paper, let alone read. I want that time back!

[tensai]

Weirdlet mentioned the Dresden Files, and I have to second this. The man manages to remove the stick from the paladin's... yeah.

Also, Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. Picked 'em up in middle school, then forgot about them until college.

[Maelstrom]

The Necroscope Series by Brian Lumley... not high fantasy, but still a great read...

[Dragor]

I'd highly recommend Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold by Phillip Reave. It's good for me.
On a Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk side, probably Eoin Colfer's The Supernaturalist, alongside his other works, the Artemis Fowl series. They're ace.

--EDIT--

I'm also on the bandwagon for Garth Nix's Sabriel books, they're possibly my favourite books ever.
Argh! Once I start, I can't stop- The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold. Quite long and a bit confusing, but still an excellent read if you don't read it too fast.

[Holocron Coder]

Well, it's been a while since I delved into fantasy, so I can't suggest much beyond what was presented here. Although you may take a look at the Kushiel's Legacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushiel%27s_Legacy) series:
- Kushiel's Dart
- Kushiel's Chosen
- Kushiel's Avatar

It's basically a twist on the history of our world since like.. 10 BC with different names. Highly sexual in places though, to warn you.

However, Sci-Fi is another matter... I must admit to being one of the people who has subscribed to the Star Wars Expanded Universe and loved every moment of it. Many different authors, but with 100 novels, how can you not find at least one that you enjoy?

Additionally, I doubt many have heard of this series, but the Tenth Planet series was enjoyable. I only read the first book and haven't yet gotten to the second in the series, but it was a good read. Bloody and graphic, in a detached sort of fashion, but still good.

[ampcptlogic]

It appears no one has mentioned Susan Cooper and The Dark Is Rising Sequence.

Depending on the age of the reader, it's either an easy, enjoyable read, or a mind-expanding read. Lots of mythology, some ethics and time-travel, characters who are human and believable even when they're super-human. They're intended as children's books, but I've found that the best children's books, particularly novels, are deep and clever enough for adult enjoyment.

[Cult_of_the_Raven]

you have not read a good book until you have read a little Mercedes Lackey. I revere that author.

but i'd also like to mention 'wizard's first rule' and the Wizard in Rhyme series. both good things to have read.

and if you're craving a little historical fiction along the way, the Count of Monte Cristo is a must-read.

[Reinforcements]

but i'd also like to mention 'wizard's first rule' and the Wizard in Rhyme series. both good things to have read.
Eh, my advice is still to actively avoid Terry Goodkind. It's been suggested that it's probably a good thing he found an outlet in writing, because otherwise he'd probably be a serial killer. I happen to agree.

[J_Muller]

I'd highly recommend Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold by Phillip Reave. It's good for me.

Seconded. I lament the fact that I can't find any of the other books in that series where I live. Maybe I'll have to order them online...

[Weirdlet]

John. Ringo. The man can write, plot, and turn basic premises on their heads and work them like nobody's business. Start with There Will Be Dragons and continue on in that vein. Also- Princess of Wands- he managed to write a conservative ass-kicking heroine who I both believed and liked, and that is hard to do.

[DancingBear]

Damn. I just read Thud. Never mind my Pratchett comments. He's remarkable.

I mean, damn. I wasn't prepared for dwarf culture on that level.

Anyway.

Now, as far as I know, Jim Baker hasn't written any remarkable new books lately, so I'm free to be bothered about him. To wit:

The man can't write.

"I greeted Karen Murphy. She was wearing jeans, a red t-shirt, and a cardigan. She motioned for me to sit down, and I sat." I'm not exaggerating. And the dialogue is awkward and blunt. And so on.

If you willfully ignore the writing flaws, though, it's a very enjoyable read.

His Dark Materials is another very good one, though. I'm fairly sure the Urskan in D&D were based on the panserbjorne.

[Reinforcements]

His Dark Materials is another very good one, though. I'm fairly sure the Urskan in D&D were based on the panserbjorne.
I'm sure there's some kind of Russian mythological beast or something they were both based on.

[Don Beegles]

I agree, Weirdlet. I won't say he's brilliant or deep, but for light reading, he's very good. I've only actually read the March Upcountry series by him and David Weber, but they're phenomenal. Of course, they're sci-fi, but whatever.

[Joran]

A melding of fantasy and sci-fi:

Dune by Frank Herbert.

[Saithis Bladewing]

Go read The Princess Bride.

[Tobaselly]

Villains by Necessity is just shear awesomeness, I'm on my second copy of it and this copy is so worn it's tattered.

Signal to Noise/ A Signal Shattered are excellent sci-fi/cyberpunk reads.

and lastly the Coldfire Trilogy. I mean what's not to like about a paladin who is forced to join up the with the evil vampire/demon who started his religion.

[Haruki-kun]

"The Seventh Tower" by Garth Nix. Series of Six books.

[J_Muller]

"The Seventh Tower" by Garth Nix. Series of Six books.

And not seven, as much as you might expect. Those were fairly solid--Garth Nix generally is, as long as you ignore the blot on his reputation that is Shade's Children.

Another series I can't recommend enough is the Broken Sky series by Chris Wooding. It's a septology (?) that was intended to be published as a trilogy but was split up into seven books, six smaller ones and then the seventh volume collecting books 7-9 (which is the most convoluted way I've ever seen a series published...). It's excellent--the writing is excellent, the fantasy world is inventive, and the characters are great. I think at one point it was going to be turned into an anime, but that fell through, if I remember correctly.

[Jack Scoundrel]

If you like R. A. Salvatore you'll like Micheal Morcock. He writes about a character named Elric. He's very very evil, but in a fun way like Artemis.

[Ramza00]

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. It will blow you away

[anphorus]

Another series I can't recommend enough is the Broken Sky series by Chris Wooding. It's a septology (?) that was intended to be published as a trilogy but was split up into seven books, six smaller ones and then the seventh volume collecting books 7-9 (which is the most convoluted way I've ever seen a series published...). It's excellent--the writing is excellent, the fantasy world is inventive, and the characters are great. I think at one point it was going to be turned into an anime, but that fell through, if I remember correctly.

Someone else has read the Broken Sky books? Hurrah, I thought it was just a few friends and I who checked them out of the library. Very cool books, although I haven't read them since I was about 14. Not sure they might not be a little teenagery.

[M._A._Foxfire]

And not seven, as much as you might expect. Those were fairly solid--Garth Nix generally is, as long as you ignore the blot on his reputation that is Shade's Children.

Yeah, and then there's the Keys to the Kingdom series. It's a little cliched in some respects, but the sheer innovation of the setting is amazing.

He's also got a collection of short stories, including some parodies and an Abhorsen sequel.

[Kiero]

A melding of fantasy and sci-fi:

Dune by Frank Herbert.

Nah, Dune is pure sci fi. Don't bother with the rest of the series, they're steadily downhill from the first.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Fantasy-my fav genre.
Check out: George R R Martin-Song of Ice and Fire series. Soo cool:smallcool:
All Discworld books
Ursula Le Guin
The Belgariad, Mallorean, The Elenium and the Tamuli and the Redemption of Althalus but.....by all Gods avoid his latest and dumbest seies; the elder gods
Terry Brooks Magic Kingdom For Sale! Sold! (his others get enough hype)
AVOID Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter 5 and 6

I am now preparing for all furious disagreements*magic amour* is in place

[Sampi]

You have some strange tastes, CurlyKitGirl, but some good ones, too.

I cannot praise Ursula leGuin in strong enough words. The Earthsea quintet for fantasy - it is one of the best world ever made in the genre. THe first three books are much older than Tehanu or The Other Wind, and I should think them a bit separate from the original trilogy. Don't forget Tales of Earthsea.

Also, she writes very good science fiction. Try The Left Hand Of Darkness. You won't be disappointed.

I'll go and add that George R.R. Martin is also commendable. As is Pratchett, especially the newer ones, especially with Vimes.

[Annarrkkii]

C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy is excellent, starting with Black Sun Rising, on to When True Night Falls, and finishing with A Crown of Shadows. I think. They've been out for more than a decade, but are pretty sound fantasy with a heavy twist of sci-fi, set on the distant planet of Erna, in which a form of magic holds sway.

They were decent on the whole, but I found Gerald Tarrant, the Hunter, to be an absolutely exceptional character, and he alone improved the series vastly.

[Reptilus]

Yeh, Sci-fi works too, Cyberpunk doubly so. I'll be sure to check that out. Thanks

Keep em' coming though :smallamused:
If you haven't read him, William Gibson is pretty much the king of cyberpunk. Well, unless you count Phillip K. **** as Cyberpunk. Then he wipes the floor with Gibson as though Gibson were a cheap, bespectacled mop. Ursula LeGuinn and Michael Moorcock are amazing, and can't be beaten if blatant anarchist messages appeal to you. Bradbury, Aasimov, and Heinlein are all sci-fi darlings, too, and rightly so.
Sephen Erikson, to give credit to a less-known writer, is great.
Robert E. Howard, writer of the original Conan stories and novels is worth a try if you'd like to see Conan as a quasi-existentialist, postmodern anti-hero who's more brain than muscle (though he's plenty of the latter, too), and works as a theif in addition to being a barbarian. His other works are great, too, as long as you remember he's writing in character; some of his characters, being historical figures, are horrifically racist and it can be quite offensive if you don't remember that it isn't Howard talking, but a celtic dude who's been oppressed by Vikings all his life and hates Nordic folk.
In a more magical-realism/outright surreal genre, Haruki Murakami combines noir, science fiction, and pure weird, then puts his tongue hard into his cheek and writes some of the strangest, funniest books around. One of which contains an unbelievably wise precognitive man who exists in an alternate dimension of a rundown hotel and dresses in a Sheep Costume.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Yay*very big smile* Night Watch books rule. There's a new one out soon called Making Money. It's about Moist von Lipwig, eveyones fav postmaster. Don't know how to make links but go to Wikipedia and type Making Money into the search engine

[ZombieEl]

I enjoy most of what David Gemmell has writen. Too bad he died in the middle of his latest trilogy. Other people write fighting in fantasy he writes blood on your face because someone jammed their sward into another dudes throat in fantasy, tastes may vary.

It is my opinion that a majority of books with swords are not violent enough.

[Turcano]

I'm not one who cares for the alligorical,phillosophical reads. I disdain the Narnia series. Then agian I love Tolkien, ironic.

That's not unusual; I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and I don't like the Narnia series, either. Not only is it blatantly allegorical, the tone is suggestive of a children's book (I have problems with The Hobbit for the same reason). And that doesn't mean I categorically dislike Lewis' work either; I like his nonfiction works, and I probably enjoyed The Screwtape Letters way more than I should have.


Damn. I just read Thud. Never mind my Pratchett comments. He's remarkable.

I mean, damn. I wasn't prepared for dwarf culture on that level.

Well, there's quite a bit of that in The Fifth Elephant as well (or are you not reading them chronologically?).

[CurlyKitGirl]

All people thinking of reading Discworld books I recommend you start with The Colour Of Magic and just follow it chronoogically so that you don't get confused when things go out of kilter; and I know quite a few people here already reaf them or are thinking of reading them due to all the praise. Perhaps someone should start a Prtachett thread or if there's already one could someone provied a link. I'm glad that DancingBear has retracted the Pratchett statement*smile* I would have had to sic the Luggage on you otherwiae *evil emile and laugh*

[Kiero]

I enjoy most of what David Gemmell has writen.

Shame his Jerusalem Man trilogy is a blatant rip-off of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

[MethodicalMeat]

I just finished up A Game of Thrones, I highly reccomend it. It focuses less on high fantasy and more on political intrigue though.

[Sammi_Somara]

Oh you've already read all of R.A. Salvatore's books? Well there goes like half of my recommendations down the drawin right there. I'd say, try Lloyd Alexander's books, in particular the Prydain Chronicles.
Also, it may be a little low reading level, but the Land of Elyon series is good.
Another great fantasy/sci-fi writer is Piers Anthony. If you like puns and can appreciate humor woven into good storylines, his books are the way to go.

[Eshu]

Steven Brust's series about Vlad Taltos -- Jhereg, Yendi, Teckla, et al. (I think there's 5 or 6 books now. None are too long of a read, few hundred pages.) Also, To Reign In Hell...although if you're deeply religious and don't like having your views challenged, you probably won't enjoy that one.
Robert Asprin's "Myth Inc." series. Pure fluff, but fun.
Second/third/whatever the Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny.

[Dragor]

Garth Nix generally is, as long as you ignore the blot on his reputation that is Shade's Children.

Huh? I liked Shade's Children- I thought it was a step away from Nix's usual stuff (which I love, but let's be in his shoes: you can't write fantasy forever.)

[AmoDman]

Nah, Dune is pure sci fi. Don't bother with the rest of the series, they're steadily downhill from the first.

I'm glad you dismissed one of the most masterful and classic pieces of fiction out of hand. No, really, I am. And you know it's not like the lines between sci-fi and fantasy are artificial in most instances anyways, and Dune is generally on the same tone as a massively epic fantasy only with technology and a magic of sorts as well as various worlds, religions (read: prohpecies), futurisitc fighting styles mimicing classic swordplay, etc.

[Kitya]

Alrighty, my list of favorites that have not yet been mentioned (many of my faves already have been, including Pratchett, McCaffrey, Heinlein, and Mercedes Lackey).

Number one, if you can handle a heroine, Robin McKinley's "Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword" are both excellent.

2: Gaiman was mentioned for his books, but what about his comic? The Sandman Series is spectacular and I am addicted. I own most already, but have read them all.

3: Fredrick Forsythe's series called "The Crosstime Engineer". In a nutshell, a modern day Polish engineer accidently gets sent back in time a decade or so before the Huns invade. Don't bother with the last two books tho.

4: if you can find this in print somewhere, Carolyn Cushman's "Witch and Wombat". Fairytale characters are real and in their own world, but as less people believe in them, their power is waning, so, they create a fake computer game and bring a bunch of human gamers into their world on an adventure to gain believers and power again. It's funny.

5: Another comic series that is/was excellent, Groo. *chuckles* Older now, but still humorous.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'll go thru our personal library and see what else I can dig up.

[Reinforcements]

Nah, Dune is pure sci fi. Don't bother with the rest of the series, they're steadily downhill from the first.
I don't know about that. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune are both solid. Admittedly though, Chapterhouse and God Emperor are just too friggin' weird.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned him yet, but Piers Anthony's a good read...if you like the sexual innuendo and bad puns that you'll see throughout his Xanth series.:smallbiggrin:

I confess I haven't read any of his more serious work, such as On A Pale Horse.

[PaulTheSamurai]

A lot of great suggestions...

I will add Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay.

[Gygaxphobia]

I'm glad you dismissed one of the most masterful and classic pieces of fiction out of hand. No, really, I am. And you know it's not like the lines between sci-fi and fantasy are artificial in most instances anyways, and Dune is generally on the same tone as a massively epic fantasy only with technology and a magic of sorts as well as various worlds, religions (read: prohpecies), futurisitc fighting styles mimicing classic swordplay, etc.


I have the same sentiment, but less sarcasm. Truly epic and visionary.

I would recommend Robin Hobb, who is along the lines of the ones you've mentioned but a step more mature.
George RR Martin is excellent, but quite a committment for a casual reader needing a 'quick fix'.

[thorgrim29]

-Dune.... was extremely good, up untill god-emperor, the Butlerian Jihad books are pretty good, not epic, but not bad either.
-Jordan... meh, if he could write half as much with the same story, it'd be great.
-A song of Ice and Fire, i cant recomand enough
-The halo books, liberty's crusade and Lord of the clans are very good video game litterature (have'nt read ghosts of onyx, worth it?)
-I'm going to dissagree with almost everyone on Terry Goodkind, the first book was genious work, and the few more after that were very good too, unfortunately it goes downhill into a glorification of the American Way Of Life, badly hidden with fantasy, afterwards, and the storyline is shockingly similar to Jordans (war wizard=male aes sedai, sisters of the light=aes sedai, the whole dream thing, and quite a lot of stuff)
-The gothrek and felix books by william king, dark fantasy, warhammer world, bat **** crazy villains, yes!
-everything by eddings, especially the belgariad, only problem is that the characters all fall into archetypes, the clueless guy destined for great things, the woman who's a great cook, stunningly beutyfull, and more powerfull then most thermonuclear bombs, the old wise guy, etc.... with some variations, but still.....
-Some of the star wars books are woth a read, Ender's game, the elminster books are fun, not genious work, but a fun read,

[Reinforcements]

-I'm going to dissagree with almost everyone on Terry Goodkind, the first book was genious work, and the few more after that were very good too, unfortunately it goes downhill into a glorification of the American Way Of Life, badly hidden with fantasy, afterwards, and the storyline is shockingly similar to Jordans (war wizard=male aes sedai, sisters of the light=aes sedai, the whole dream thing, and quite a lot of stuff)
For me, Wizard's First Rule was already quite ruined by the Mary-Sue-ness of the main character, the ridiculousness of the villain (seriously, his name is Darken Rahl), and the heaps upon heaps of random, gruesome and perverse violence. It just gets worse from there.

Seriously though, anyone who hasn't read A Song of Ice and Fire or Dune needs to stop what they're doing and read them. Right now, because I say so.

[Kiero]

I'm glad you dismissed one of the most masterful and classic pieces of fiction out of hand. No, really, I am. And you know it's not like the lines between sci-fi and fantasy are artificial in most instances anyways, and Dune is generally on the same tone as a massively epic fantasy only with technology and a magic of sorts as well as various worlds, religions (read: prohpecies), futurisitc fighting styles mimicing classic swordplay, etc.

Often they are. In the case of Dune, however, it's not. Straight sci-fi.

[Gygaxphobia]

-Dune.... was extremely good, up untill god-emperor, the Butlerian Jihad books are pretty good, not epic, but not bad either.

I would have said that a story about the culmination of a million year plan to alter the very psyche of the human being leaving it with infinite potential was in fact the very definition of epic :)


Often they are. In the case of Dune, however, it's not. Straight sci-fi.

Voice? Impression? Bene Tleilax? The general can move goes faster than the human eye? Plus all the mystical qualities of the Orange Catholics and the Kwisatz Hadderach seem far removed from standard Sci-Fi.

[Disposablecat]

Going to also recommend the Song of Ice and Fire books. If you like the Cthulhu Mythos at all and you like fantasy/adventure I'd have to recommend the Titus Crow series by Brian Lumley. You can get all the stores in three books. The first is The Burrowers Beneath; The Transition of Titus Crow the second is The Clock of Dreams; Spawn of the Winds and the third volume is In The Moons of Borea, Elysia

[Rincewind]

What was that about Terry Pratchett? :D

Anyhow, read "The Wizard of Earth Sea" by Ursula K. LeGuin

[AmoDman]

Often they are. In the case of Dune, however, it's not. Straight sci-fi.

Did he catch the sarcasm? Anybody's guess. I'm not even touching it. [I]Dune[I] = Win, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, everything a man needs as long as your reading level (no offense) is on par. It's extremely heavy-handed, hard on exposition, over-flowing with plot. You have to be able to enjoy the style to enjoy the amazing-ness.

[Shadow of the Sun]

I cannot stress my love of the Terry Pratchett books enough- if you can, find The Bromeliad, which is an excellent trilogy of novels.

I really enjoy Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga. The writer isn't perfect, but he is still incredibly good.

If you are willing to move into mythology and don't mind poems, The Kalevala and The Ulster Cycle are prime examples of literature.

[TheRabidWalnut]

Go read The Princess Bride.

Seriously, right now. The internet will be dead to you until this life enriching act is achieved.

[Logic]

Add another vote against reading Eragon. The author goes into painstaking detail at all the wrong parts.

Many other things bother me. For one, the dragon does not have a consistant personality, and all the characters have information that it seems should be told to the protagonist, yet withhold it because it makes for a better story.

It reads like a poor adventure from a bad, railroading DM.

[The_Cardinal]

I don't read fantasy any more. I used to when I was a teenager, and the genre still interests me (like probably one in every 3 people on this forum I'm writing a fantasy novel :smalltongue: ), but 99% of fantasy literature produced on the market today is gibberish. Unreadable and infantile.

My recommendations though:

Gormenghast: I liked it and got through about a third of the book until some swine stole it from me. I'm looking for a replacement. Very clever and somewhat creepy.

The Name of the Rose: Heavy reading by Umberto Eco. If you can read it (many don't like it) your IQ will be permanently raised by 2 points.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Fantastic drug inspired drivel. If you call lizards treking through the blood soaked carpet of a casino fantasy, this qualifies.

Gullivers Travels is practically fantasy. Its also one of my favorite books

[Jerthanis]

Well, it's been a while since I delved into fantasy, so I can't suggest much beyond what was presented here. Although you may take a look at the Kushiel's Legacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushiel%27s_Legacy) series:
- Kushiel's Dart
- Kushiel's Chosen
- Kushiel's Avatar

It's basically a twist on the history of our world since like.. 10 BC with different names. Highly sexual in places though, to warn you.


I'm a huge fan of the Kushiel's Legacy series, to the point where I almost am not embarrassed describing them to people. It's low on the magic, with only a few occurrences of magical events, mostly handed down from oaths sworn to archaic gods, or ancient Hebrew (I mean... Haibrew) texts. It actually spoiled me on the Song of Ice and Fire series, because I read it right before I started a Game of Thrones, and I just liked the politics and setting better in Kushiel's Legacy. (SoIaF is still cool, but I definately liked KL better) WAY not appropriate for children, in fact, almost certainly a 17+ only series. The holy decree of the patron god of the main kingdom says, "Love as thou wilt" and it means pretty much what it sounds like. The main character is a person "blessed" by one of the gods to feel pleasure and pain as one... and that also means pretty much what it sounds like. I affectionately refer to the books in the series as Mannerpunk porn vol 1, 2 or 3. I can't recommend it highly enough though, it's really quality writing, characterization and plotting. Absolutely stellar politicking, I've never read better.

Aside from that... I really like Matthew Woodring Stover's "Heroes Die" and "Blade of Tyshalle" books. Also, "Caine Black Knife", a third book in the same series is coming out sometime soon. Sci-Fi/Fantasy amalgams, they deal with morality, acting, dystopian futures, the nature of divinity, personal choice and responsibility... they're both really fantastic. Heroes Die has one of the most exciting climaxes I've ever read. Absolutely fan-freaking-tastic fight scenes. MWS is gifted at making visceral, evocative fights. It's like watching the coolest kung-fu movie you've ever seen in your head.

I'm gonna go in and support Dune as well. I put off reading it for years and when I finally did recently I wasn't disappointed at all. It deserves to be one of the most famous and best selling serieses of all time.

Garth Nix's Sabriel is awesome, and I've been trying to get ahold of/read the sequel(s?) for almost 8 years now.

[GolemsVoice]

Maybe you would like to look at Harald Ever's Caveworld-Saga, but I don't knowif it is that easily available both in England and in ENglish, since it's a german author. But if you can get the books, i would recommend them. Good reading, and with a refreshing lack of "classic" fantasy elements like demons, dragons and might&magic, though those things do play a part.

[Vella_Malachite]

Aaargh, where do I start? (I read 4-5 hours a day, people, so bear with me here).

The Edge Chronicles is awesome. Just looking at the pictures is an experience in itself. (Yay for Chris Riddell). The author and illustrator have also written "Muddle Earth", which is a very good parody of the Lord of the Rings and a few other fantasy books, but mainly LOTR.

The Hythrun Chronicles is truly excellent, but it is very heavy, and it is quite disturbing at times.

The Saga of Darren Shan is quite good, as is the Demonata by the same author.

Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde trilogy and Crowthistle Chronicles are good, if you don't mind that she spends a lot of time describing things.

From Catherine Jinks's collection, I can heartily recommend Witch Bank, Living Hell and Evil Genius.

The Mountain's Call by Caitlin Brennan is not bad.

And, finally, I also highly recommend the Belgariad (series, begins with Pawn of Prophecy) by David Eddings, also the Dreamers (series, begins with The Elder Gods) by David and Leigh Eddings.

Hope that helps.

[alchemyprime]

I don't know if anyone suggested them, but The Scar and Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Fantastic.

[WalkingTarget]

Steven Brust's series about Vlad Taltos -- Jhereg, Yendi, Teckla, et al. (I think there's 5 or 6 books now. None are too long of a read, few hundred pages.) Also, To Reign In Hell...although if you're deeply religious and don't like having your views challenged, you probably won't enjoy that one.
Robert Asprin's "Myth Inc." series. Pure fluff, but fun.
Second/third/whatever the Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny.

I was hoping somebody had mentioned Brust by now. There are 10 books in the Vlad sequence at this point, 3 (or 5 depending on how you define them) in the related Khaavren series (written in a style that emulates Alexandre Dumas), and one outrigger book (Brokedown Palace) that is in the same world but hasn't definitively been shown to impact the rest of the series. The Vlad books (as has been stated) are all pretty short and are written in a modern/conversational style (I think it's similar to Zelazny's Amber books). Much like Pratchett's discworld books, they are each self-contained stories and can largely be read in any order (I personally recommend reading them in publication order rather than in internal-chronological order or randomly). The Khaavren books should be read in order, however, and after you've read at least a handful of the Vlad books so that you're at least somewhat familiar with the world.

It seems that about the only people I know that have even heard of them are people I loaned my copies to, but I've yet to have anybody read but not enjoy them. The first 7 books are available in 3 volumes (3 books/2 books/2 books) which is nice since their such quick reads.

My other recommendations have already been brought up several times by others, so I'll just leave it at that.

[KaLola]

Good books I would recommend:

Rhapsody series by Elizabeth Haydon - She has more on the way in this series, but they have all been pretty good so far.

Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan - Definately worth the time it takes to read all books. He is currently working on the last and final book #12 which he states will be coming out in 2009. Looking forward to that one!

Eragon by Christopher Paolini - A really good fantasy book for someone who started writing it at age 15 and published at age 19. The 3rd book should be out soon. The movie wasn't that great and didn't give much of the story from the first book.

[WalkingTarget]

Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan - Definately worth the time it takes to read all books. He is currently working on the last and final book #12 which he states will be coming out in 2009. Looking forward to that one!


Ummm, I'm sorry to break this to you KaLola, but he died less than two weeks ago.

[North]

Ummm, I'm sorry to break this to you KaLola, but he died less than two weeks ago.

Apparently he had lots of notes and tapes on how he wanted the series to end. So the publishers should be able to finish it still. Wont be as good of course but better then nothing.

[KaLola]

Oh no :smalleek:
I didn't know that. I hadn't checked the dragonmount site in a month or two. How very very sad. Best wishes to his family. :smallfrown:

[WalkingTarget]

Apparently he had lots of notes and tapes on how he wanted the series to end. So the publishers should be able to finish it still. Wont be as good of course but better then nothing.

Oh, well, yes. His wife/editor is privy to all of the details and she's been involved in the series for a long time (if I remember right, she's been his editor for the entire run so far). I don't doubt that something will get published, it was just that KaLola didn't seem to know that he had passed away.

Here (http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/) is Robert Jordan's blog for anyone who's interested in looking through it. His wife/editor Harriet and his cousin Wilson post a lot too and they'll probably be involved in whatever else gets written.

[KaLola]

Thank you for the info WalkingTarget :)

[endoperez]

If you're looking for a read similar to Dragonlance or Salvetore's Forgotten Realms books, Eddings would work pretty well.

Naomi Novik is writing a nice series about dragon-riding in Napoleonic War. His Majesty's Air Force, small two-ton Winchesters, French's dangerous fire-breathing Flamme-de-Gloires, heavy-weight Regal Coppers... Intelligent dragons, vast world not-quite-ours, etc etc. The first books are great, but the author seems a bit unsecure about finishing the war.

[Dr. Magic]

Fans of excellent fantasy should enjoy:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia:The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia:The Silver Chair
The Chronicles of Narnia:The Horse and His Boy
The Chronicles of Narnia:The Magician's Nephew
The Chronicles of Narnia:The Last Battle
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Bone: Out From Boneville
Bone: The Great Cow Race
Bone: Eyes of the Storm
Bone: The Dragonslayer
Bone: Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border
Bone: Old Man's Cave
Bone: Ghost Circles
Bone: Treasure Hunters
Bone: Crown of Horns
Artemis Fowl
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony
Rocketo: Journey to the Hidden Sea
Fables: Legends in Exile
Fables: Animal Farm
Fables: Storybook Love
Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers
Fables: The Mean Seasons
Fables: Homelands
Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days)
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall
Fables: Wolves
Fables: Sons of Empire
Jack of Fables: The (Nearly) Great Escape
Jack of Fables: Jack of Hearts

All have moments of great originality and wonder, not unlike the Order of the Stick, and can be enjoyed many times over.

[Unscrewed]

Personally I like the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. It's not your standard Swords-n-Sorcery type story (It's set in modern day chicago for starters). The writing is very action packed and good. It's a nice blend of Fantasy, Mystery and Action Generes.

[Semidi]

Personally I like the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. It's not your standard Swords-n-Sorcery type story (It's set in modern day chicago for starters). The writing is very action packed and good. It's a nice blend of Fantasy, Mystery and Action Generes.

I'll have to second that one. It's one of few mainstream fantasy novels I'm able to stomach. It's a fantastic series, though my complaints with it are legion. (Every single novel, he goes through the exact same speech with EVERYTHING Wizards aren't allowed to kill people, here's why, the blue beatle sucks, here's why, electiricity goes haywire around me, here's why) I like the blend of modern day stuff with classic magic + some contemporary wicca/crowley stuff.

I'm going to say The Dark Tower by Stephen Kind as my other choice. It's a nice series that blends the fantastic with a sprinkle of suspence and a pseoudo-modern setting.

[Jorkens]

The Name of the Rose: Heavy reading by Umberto Eco. If you can read it (many don't like it) your IQ will be permanently raised by 2 points.

This is a fantastic book. A detective story, a historical novel about the medieval church (and a very accurate one at that) and a deep multilayered fable about the birth of reason all rolled into one? Yes please.

I was going to say read The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany, too, but it turns out I already said that upthread. Oh well, I'll say it again: read The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany.

[Rogue 7]

And, finally, I also highly recommend the Belgariad (series, begins with Pawn of Prophecy) by David Eddings, also the Dreamers (series, begins with The Elder Gods) by David and Leigh Eddings.

Hope that helps.

Agreed on the first, strongly disagreed on the second. I loved the Belgaraid and Malloreon, and to a lesser extent the Elenium and Tamuli. However, after the first Dreamers book, with rabbit(silk, Talen), Longbow(Hettar), and the same cultural archetypes as the other books (Chereks, Tolnedrans are evident), and the fact that I could not make sense of the second book- seriously, it was like a total recap, I stopped reading. Eddings makes good use of the archetypes, cultures, and characters in his first 2 worlds, but the third time around, coupled with worse writing still in the same style, and I was done.

As for Eragon, I enjoyed the first one- I saw the massive amount of ripoffs he made of just about everything (Tolkien in particular), but enjoyed his concept of the dragons and the dragon riders. The second one felt like a frothing fanboy wrote it. The sheer power that eragon had turned me off, as well as the continued stereotypes and incredibly lame "romance" aspect. I'll give you Roran's part incredible as it was, though. I'll probably still read the third, but no more than once.

Other Reccomendations-

Ender's Game, The Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind in one, along with Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant. The first series, apart from Ender's Game, deals with a lot more spiritual, metaphysical type stuff, with a healthy dose of morality thrown in. The second is a lot more political and military- great fun to read if you're a polsci major like me. On a side note, I heard that Orson Scott Card was a major homophobe. I'm curious as to whether or not that's true, because through his writing, I have a high amount of respect for the man.

Harry Potter- all of them. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and dislike strongly the notion that they are children's books. They're not, and even if they are, they're incredibly well-written, descriptive, and expansive. I don't really get why everyone's either in the love 'em or hate 'em camps, perhaps because they're so popular. It is required that you start at book 1.

Dealing with Dragons Series- I forget who wrote this, but it's good, light, humorous stuff. Fun read.

Star Wars novels- I've read the Rogue Squadron series (mainly Michael Stackpole) and the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn, and recommend them highly. They're both good fun sci-fi novels with plenty of action, most of the space battle type. Thrawn also gets into more Jedi stuff, along with grand strategy, but what I do like is that they don't really suffer from "Superweapon syndrome"- there's nothing in the books that's really an Uber weapon of DOOM!.

Dark Lord of Derkholm and Year of the Griffen- again, very good, humorous stuff. Highly recommended.

Artemis Fowl- I enjoyed the first three. The fourth was fairly meh, and the fifth one doesn't exist. If you have a copy, burn it right now. It doesn't exist.

[WalkingTarget]

I was going to say read The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany, too, but it turns out I already said that upthread. Oh well, I'll say it again: read The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany.

Ooo, seconded. I've really liked everything I've read by him so far, especially The Gods of Pegāna and Time and the Gods. Before Tolkien, before Lovecraft and his circle, Dunsany was creating a new mythology and he wrote it beautifully.

[Jauranna]

Dealing with Dragons Series- I forget who wrote this, but it's good, light, humorous stuff. Fun read.

That one is by Patrcia C. Wrede. One of my absolute favorites growing up!

Some of my favorites (and I bet you've never heard of them):
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Dhampir by Barb & JC Hendee

I worked at a bookstore for the last 5 years, and these are my favorites of the fantasy books that came out while I worked there.

[Turcano]

As for Eragon, I enjoyed the first one- I saw the massive amount of ripoffs he made of just about everything (Tolkien in particular), but enjoyed his Anne McCaffrey's concept of the dragons and the dragon riders.

Fixed.

(Sorry if that's even more of a let-down.)

[Rogue 7]

Fixed.

(Sorry if that's even more of a let-down.)

Not at all. What did she write? If someone else has come up with that concept of dragons, then gosh darn it, I want to read it!

[DomaDoma]

The Dragonriders of Pern series. I only liked the first one (Dragonflight), but most people I know liked a good deal more of them.

I'm as much of a Paolini detractor as anybody, but I do like to point out that the Seithr oil was pretty much original.

[FoeHammer]

I forget waht the series is Called but the first book is The Magicians Guild

[Zimmia]

I'll admit to not having read all the old posts, but I'll put my 0.02 in for both The Belagiad and The Malloreon series by David Eddings. I'm not so much of a fan of their later work but this series, with thier creative, quirky characters really offers a different take on the "we have save the world" theme.

[...Pirates?]

I forget waht the series is Called but the first book is The Magicians Guild

I was hoping someone might mention this. The series is called 'The Black Magician Trilogy' and it is written by Trudi Canavan. She also has another series called 'The Age of the Five' (which is slightly better in my opinion). Trudi Canavan is one of my favourite authors, the books are very difficult to put down. This is the section of her website about the books the writes, where you can read extracts from each book from both trilogies:

Clicky (http://www.trudicanavan.com/aboutbooks.php)

[CrazedGoblin]

Lord of the Rings!!!!!!:smallbiggrin:

[PlatinumJester]

The edge chronicles beause it has pictures.

[Lord of the Helms]

Weirdlet mentioned the Dresden Files, and I have to second this. The man manages to remove the stick from the paladin's... yeah.



:smallbiggrin: So true. I for the love of Dio cannot decide if Michael is more Lawful Awesome, or rather Awesome Good :smallcool: . Excellent series, I'm just about to finish the latest book of it.

Has anyone read Butcher's Codex Alera? I'm wondering if it's as good as Dresden Files...

[Flawless]

If you like R. A. Salvatore you'll like Micheal Morcock. He writes about a character named Elric. He's very very evil, but in a fun way like Artemis.

Do never ever compare Michal Moorcock to Salvatore or Elric to Drizzt. And Elric is in no way like Artemis Entreri. But, if you read the books, you'll know that.

EDIT: If you want to read Moorcock, which I can only recomment, you ought to read "Corum, the prince in the scarlet robe" and "Hawkmoon, the history of the runestaff". They're both better than Elric, imho.