Fantasy novels.

[soak]

I'm looking for a good fantasy author. Iv read most of the terry Pratchett series, and i need another series of books. They don't have to be humorous like the Pratchett ones, im really just looking for anything good. Thanks

[Spastic]

If you have never read any of Terry Brooks novels, I would suggest them. The main series is the Shannara series, I think the first book is called The Sword of Shannara, check that out sometime if you already haven't.

[Scrotemeal]

It depends how old you are etc, but I would suggest looking into Tad Williams. He has several serieses and i've personally liked them all so far. Or Garth Nix perhaps.

[Crabstick]

Feist and Eddings are pretty popular, and I like 'em both. Eddings has good strong characters (in the Elenium and Tamuli series in particular) and Feist has written a whole buttload of books, carrying on characters from one to the next. Should keep you occupied for a while.

Terry Goodkind is worth a read too.

[Mr_Beast]

George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. It's a fucking epic and normally I HATE all that dungeons and dragons shite you get in fantasy novels but the thing is ASOIF is much more about political intrigue and very human emotional development than it is about dragons and magic. It has incredibly black and droll humour so if you're coming from a Pratchett angle it'll be really nice and familiar but at the same time it's incredibly exciting, visceral and at times pretty touching. Read it. READ IT! OBEY!

[Crabstick]

normally I HATE all that dungeons and dragons shite you get in fantasy novels but the thing is ASOIF is much more about political intrigue and very human emotional development than it is about dragons and magic.

So it's not so much a fantasy series as a social commentary?

[soak]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I read a book called Monster Blood Tattoo a little while ago that was pretty cool, although its written for a younger audience. Its got a cool plot and setting but there's only 2 books in the series so it ran out pretty fast.

[Mystrangy]

Terry Goodkind is an awesome fantasy writer, i suggest reading The Sword of Truth.

And they are making a tv-series based on the books too, and with the trailer it looks promising.

[Quadros]

There's a little known guy named J.R.R. Tolkien who's quite good. A lot of his stuff has homosexual undertones though.

[Hawke]

Harry Potter is good, especially the last book because everyone dies.

[Cristo]

If you have never read any of Terry Brooks novels, I would suggest them. The main series is the Shannara series, I think the first book is called The Sword of Shannara, check that out sometime if you already haven't.

I didn't like the Shannara series at all. I found it rushed, generic and like a boring old template for each book.

Oh there's a magic "soul stone" that has to be gotten to battle evil, or the magic sword of x to battle the ferocious demons blah blah.

The characters were cold and you couldn't force yourself to like them if you tried.

I would heartily suggest A Song of Ice and Fire, Mr. OP. Lots of blood, lots of gore, very realistic with most of the story being based in a medieval setting and revolving around the politics and conspiracies. It's really great, and anyone who's read it will probably agree.

I thoroughly enjoy Raymond E. Feist, you'd have to start with Magician which is the first book of a series spanning over a century in the world of Midkemia, which is very interesting because in one book you'll be following the adventures of Pug and then 8 books down the line you'll be following that of his sons and grandsons etc.

Dragonlance is very good as well, but I prefer the ones by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, so I'd recommend those. I wasn't particularly keen on the others.

And, of course, one must not leave out Wheel of Time. It spans 12 books, with the 12 coming out sometime next year. An excellent read. I've never experienced character or plot development this good. I'll admit it's very long winded and deviates a lot where it doesn't need too, but well worth the read.

Edit:

Actually Crabstick, it really isn't. It has a lot of political intrigue and conspiracies as mentioned, but it isn't a social study or commentary at all. It is fantasy.

The main plot is that Robert Baratheon, King of the Seven Realms (and Usurper in a bloody civil), is the King. And then he's murdered by his wife, Cersei who comes from a very wealthy and powerful family. What happens then is that a war breaks out between Cersei's family who want to consolidate their power on the throne, Robert's brothers who want to avenge their brother and get themselves on the throne and Rob Stark, who is the Warden of the North but now wants to make the North it's own kingdom like it was in ancient times.

This is all happening while the Wildlings (read picts) and the undead are stirring from beyond the Wall (much like Hadrians wall) and want to invade and take back what was rightfully theirs and also across the sea in the lands of Braavos and the free cities the daughter to the King who was Usurped is conquering those lands and cities and building an army with which she will then sail back and regain her rightful throne.

A lot more than that is going on, in reality but that was just a brief little blurb. It truly is excellent though, and there's lots of assassinations and betrayals and hunts etc.

[Graft]

George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.

I was going to say this one^. If you aren't set on fantasy being wild tales of magic and strange creatures, this is, in my opinion, your best choice. Also, as Cristo said, the Dragonlance books are amazing. Make sure you start with the original trilogy, which is made up of Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. I would recommend The Annotated Chronicles, which contains all three of those novels along with notes by the authors.

[Spastic]

I didn't like the Shannara series at all. I found it rushed, generic and like a boring old template for each book.

Oh there's a magic "soul stone" that has to be gotten to battle evil, or the magic sword of x to battle the ferocious demons blah blah.


Here is where you can tell Cristo did not read the books, at any rate don't listen to him, he doesn't like anything good.

[SODA]

As lame as it sounds, the magic the gathering series of books are fantastic. Every 3-4 books starts a new chapter of the story of the magic multiverse. It starts from The Brother's War then about 20 or 30 books later you arrive at the most recent book Eventide.

Each cycle is usually written by different authors but they sometimes come back and do other cycles. And on the plus side, most of the books are only $8. All of the stories are seperate but related and all take place in the same universe usually on one or more "planes" (worlds) so you can really pick any of the first books in a cycle and start from there, but if you want the full history you should start from the beginning.

[GCBC]

http://www.tvshowsondvd.net/graphics/news3/Goosebumps_Wave1.jpg

[Cristo]

Here is where you can tell Cristo did not read the books, at any rate don't listen to him, he doesn't like anything good.

No, no they were really just horrible.

I gave up halfway through the third book because it was so boring and unoriginal.

You're the one who doesn't like anything good. I think I've had more people here agree with my choice of books, with no-one bothering to comment on the Shannara books. Why? Because they're so shit people can't be bothered to comment, or because they're so bad people can't even get themselves to read the series and/or finish it.

But hey, what do you expect, the guy was in College when he was writing it. He was probably drunk and passed out most of the time so he couldn't put the needed effort into the books.

Also; quit telling me I have shit taste because we don't like the same things. Maybe you're the one with the shit taste, but you never see me resorting to these pathetic little immaturities and saying you suck.

[Scrotemeal]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I read a book called Monster Blood Tattoo a little while ago that was pretty cool, although its written for a younger audience. Its got a cool plot and setting but there's only 2 books in the series so it ran out pretty fast.

I read that too, but they second one was only released recently? So there'll be more following, it was a trilogy right? Hmm, i'll look it up.

Some of these are ones i've heard of and wanted to read but never known if they were good. Awesome, now I'm gonna read them.

[soak]

Iv read the first two, and i hope the author decides to do more than 3 books. Hes made like 50 pages of maps and definitions and all kinds of stuff. Ending it after 3 books seems like a bit of a waste. Thanks again to all the people in this thread.

[Lush]

George R.R. Martin is awesome. I've got to agree with Christo (arg) with everything he's written about the series. It is amazing. I got the first 3 books for Christmas and had them done by end of January, then I went and bought the 4th one in hardcover, and am now still waiting for the end. It kicks ass.
No one has mentioned him, but I'm a huge fan of Guy Gavriel Kay. He doesn't have dragons in his books or anything, but check out 'The Fionavar Tapestry' trilogy, and I super-love 'The Lions of Al-Rassan' also, but it's only one book.
The Dragonlance novels by Weis and Hickman are awesome. There are tons written by others who are not as good. The stories are ok but poorly written in comparison to the original series.
Also, The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. If you've seen the movie and think the books must suck because the movie did, the books are awesome, and hilarious.

[MistyTehMoose]

Neil Gaiman. Why has noone mentioned him yet?

[Spiffy13]

Google Lloyd Alexander. He's the author of the Prydain Chronicles, which me, my brother, and a lot of friends agree was a fantastic fantasy series. They're for teenagers, though, so that might change your decision.

[Cristo]

Neil Gaiman. Why has noone mentioned him yet?

What a coincidence, I was actually looking at his books in a bookshop yesterday. The first time I've ever seen his books in a bookshop actually, he wrote Stardust and then another one, Nevertell I think?

Looks alright, but I'm really busy with Feist at the moment.

[soak]

A lot of the books i read are for teenagers, lol.

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Reason: Lol is not a word

[Salmoness]

I'm busy reading and loving Kate Elliot, but Crown of Stars is a really long story to get through. I'm on book 5 now and the end is still quiet far off. Really enjoying it though!

[Jesterhead]

I was going to say this one^. If you aren't set on fantasy being wild tales of magic and strange creatures, this is, in my opinion, your best choice. Also, as Cristo said, the Dragonlance books are amazing. Make sure you start with the original trilogy, which is made up of Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. I would recommend The Annotated Chronicles, which contains all three of those novels along with notes by the authors.

Yea Dragonlance is a fucking awesome series. Long time since i last read them though. Think i'll have to refresh it ^^ Just love the wierd mage. Something beginning with "F" as far as i remember. Or Tas =D
Heh, allso I didn't understand alot of stuff in Dragonlance since I didn't start with said books =p Called something entirely different in danish. But i think I think I know which books you're referring to.

Think i'll check into some of the books suggested since I havn't read a book in about 4 -5 years. Harry Potter is the only one.

Forgotten Realms is allso a pretty good series. Can't remember which book is the first but you'll discover.

Heh, allso I didn't understand alot of stuff in Dragonlance since I didn't start with said books =p

[Souldrinker]

Eddings is ok, but he writes for a very young audience. He is a great entrance to fantasy but if you're older than 16 you might want to skip him and jump to something a bit more mature.

Robert Jordan was a very contentious author. So many people loved him to death (myself included) but others despise him to death. He writes with a lot of detail some of the time, then with a lot of dribble other times. His world is quite deep, but with probably too much depth as it has led to there being too many characters. Problem is, he was working on the final book of his, what, 12-book series? when he died last year. Word is his wife will finish it, but you never know. So be warned, you may start but never get to finish.

George R. R. Martin is classic. His books can be ridiculously fucking brutal and has already been said he leans more towards a political/humanity style rather than the traditional D&D style. My advice is to go through a few other authors before you get to him.

Robin Hobb is a killer author. Has to series out that I've read - The Liveship Traders and the Farseer Trilogy. Comes up with good storylines and writes nice characters that you get into. My advice is to start with these and then move on to...

Tad Williams. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is an absolutely kick arse series. It can range from funny to quite dark at times, has fucking awesome characters and a very involved story. A must read.

But if you want to read the Master, read Feist. Raymond E. Feist. More than anyone else, this fellow can lay claim to having created the most living, breathing world in fantasy. There'd be almost 20 books set in his world at the moment, spanning something like 3 or 4 generations of characters and none of them - NONE - are anything less than excellently enthralling. This guy has set his world up so that, as long as he can keep churning quality characters out, the world will continue to churn engrossing storylines out. The first book, Magician, can be read on its own so if you want a sneak peek into Midkemia (his world) then maybe start here and see if you like it.

Whatever you do, if you're gonna become a fantasy reader, READ FEIST!

[Cristo]

Souldrinker, in reference to Robert Jordan, his wife and brother are editing the 12th book while they've brought in a relatively unknown fantasy writer to finish it. Brandon Sand or something. I don't know, let's hope they do a decent job it's an epic series.

And you're very right. The only beef I have with the series is there are 7 or 8 MAIN characters and he just can't keep up with all of them and do them justice. FOr example, His [Rand] romance with Aviendha and Elayne, it just seems so hollow. It feels like there is much more realistic love between him and Min and that Aviendha and Elayne are just thrown in as an after thought, since they barely spend any time together.

He also has tonnes of references to great luscious tits and all the female characters are beautiful. He also takes an interesting look on the battle of the sexes and in this world it's apparent that the female sex is the much stronger sex, and when he says "Pillow friends" he doesn't mean friends who lie in bed and talk together and giggle, like I innocently thought. He means full-on teenage, lesbian affair. :heya:

You're also right about Feist. I really love Feist and the world he's created and the fact that the series spans 4 generations and at least 150 years. For example, when Pug is talking Jommy, Tad and Zane about Prince Arutha and I'm sitting and remembering: "Oh yeah I remember reading about that adventure". It's great, it's nostalgic without you ever having been there.
I wasn't keen on the first half of his latest book, "Wrath of a Mad God". He all of a sudden introduced this character he was perfect in every fucking way and followed him for a good 40 - 50 boring pages.

I don't agree with you on George RR Martin. He's personally probably my favourite author due to him being so badass and brutal, but I read the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire when I was 11 and it was what introduced me to Fantasy and the very reason why I still read Fantasy today, so you can easily start with that in my opinion.

Tad Williams as well, I really enjoyed Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and enjoyed the characters and storyline a lot. But I thought it got incredibly slow in the middle of the series when Simon was riding all frozen and half dead through that semi-arctic region and like thinking to himself. I skipped at least 10 pages of just writing in italics.

Have you read the other book by Tad Williams? Set in the present, it's about an average Joe in America and he's transported to the world of Faerie and he's thrown into political intrigue and murder and all that? I thought that was a brilliant read as well because it was so different.

[Scrotemeal]

Have you read the other book by Tad Williams? Set in the present, it's about an average Joe in America and he's transported to the world of Faerie and he's thrown into political intrigue and murder and all that? I thought that was a brilliant read as well because it was so different.

The War of the Flowers. It's brilliant.

Have you read his Otherland series? It's like 5000 pages, but it's rather good. And different to the others again.

[Cristo]

The War of Flowers, that's it, thanks. I always thought it was very interesting and original to call the most powerful houses by the names of flowers e.g. Jonquil etc.

No I haven't read the the Otherland series, I've thought about it but I've still got another 5 or 6 Feist books to go (From The Prince's Buccaneer onwards until Talon of the Silver Hawk).

[Fluzz]

The Dirt Eaters by Dennis Foon. Don't let the title put you off it is badass.

[Souldrinker]

Also check out Faerie Tale by Feist. One of the best stand alone books I've read.

Otherland also kicks arse. As far as I know, he was one of the first to do a good, detailed job with a cyber world. Excellent SF series.

[peasupplyco]

The guy doing book 12 of the wheel of time (brandon sanderson) is really good, you should check out some of his books, they are pretty cool.
Elantris, Mistborn.

[sarahwildes]

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King are brilliant!:)

[peasupplyco]

Stephen King writes fantasy? I thought he only did horror..

[Cristo]

The guy doing book 12 of the wheel of time (brandon sanderson) is really good, you should check out some of his books, they are pretty cool.
Elantris, Mistborn.

Well as long as he knows what he's doing I'm sure it'll be ok.

George RR Martin would have rocked the series with hardcore lesbian orgies including Elayne, Aviendha and Min if they'd gotten him to finish off the 12th book :P

[Water-Sheerie]

Robin Hobb is a killer author. Has to series out that I've read - The Liveship Traders and the Farseer Trilogy. Comes up with good storylines and writes nice characters that you get into. My advice is to start with these and then move on to...


I loved the Liveship Traders. Particularly the way the dragons were done, and the whole culture surrounding the living ships.

I would recommend Charles de Lint. He is a writer of urban fantasy, and his Newford novels are fantastic.

[peasupplyco]

Well as long as he knows what he's doing I'm sure it'll be ok.

George RR Martin would have rocked the series with hardcore lesbian orgies including Elayne, Aviendha and Min if they'd gotten him to finish off the 12th book :P

Heh, he probably would.. that might cause a bit of an uproar with some fans though.. heh

[sinan90]

I'd also go with Robin Hobb, though it seems unlike the other recommendations, I didn't like the Live Ship Traders Trilogy, especially compared to the other two in the trilogy of trilogies.

[Souldrinker]

I would recommend Charles de Lint. He is a writer of urban fantasy, and his Newford novels are fantastic.

Memory and Dream was good, and did he do Greenmantle? That was a good book, too.

Anyone like Katherine Kerr?

[JamesKPolk]

This might be a little hard to find, but Roger Zelazny is a brilliant fantasy author, as long as you can get past the boring begginings of his books. Nine Princes of Amber series have, I believe ten books, and once you get past the first hundred pages of the first one, you will only stop reading at the end of the last. Have only seen one of his books in a bookstore, though- try amazon, pretty sure they'll have him there.


Also, read fucking Tolkein. I am sure you have already, but he is the man that shapes fantasy to this day. If you haven't read LOTR series (other than being the most non-conforming person I know), you really should do that before you read anything else.

Everything that needs to be said about Terry Pratchett has already been said. Big fan too.

[Jamal Crackerman]

Zelazny rules.


Anybody like E.E. Knight? The Vampire Earth series is one of the best I've ever read