Re: Fantasy recommendations
Joe Abercrombie rocks, heroes, first law and red country, all awesome.
Rothfuss is very good indeed, would rather he takes his time and produces good work than rushes out a half added effort though.
Same goes for GRRM
Looking for something new myself now, back reading Gemmell stuff again, saddens me we'll never read anything else by him.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Just started Tom Lloyds fantasy series The Stormcaller. Enjoying it so far.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Currently re-reading the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It's basically Sharpe with Dragons :D
Re: Fantasy recommendations
I have to agree with other posters and say Raymond E Feist books. Have got the whole series, and yes the plots do repeat themselves over the course of the 30ish books in the full series, the characters get to you and I found kept me wanting more and more. Going to miss the whole Midkemian world.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Just gotta post in this thread so I'm subscribed and won't lose it. Will be searching this out as soon as I finish reading the two series I'm working through. Neither are fantasy.
Loved the first three of Feist, felt the rest lost their 'magic' (sorry). Primum Agmen mentioned the Belgariad and the Mallorean, both good reads for children but when I reread later I found the lack of development of any female characters (beyond being either mumsy and easily annoyed Polgara and just easily annoyed Ce'Nedra) was irritating.
Pratchett's work is simply amazing. Can't count how many times I have laughed out loud. Robert Jordan's Wheel of time is excellent except for the last book, it was good but it is a real shame he wasn't able to finish it. George R R Martin's Game of Thrones series is one of the best that I have read recently.
So I just need to finish of the Honor Harrington series and Jo Nesbo's - Harry Hole series and I can get back to this thread.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Terry Pratchett for a relatively easy going and funny read.
Stephen Donaldson if you want to have your vocabulary massively expanded.
Robert Jordan if you want a good long series of books.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
One of my favourites is definitely the dark elf trilogy (or drizzt do'urden series I think they call it these days) by R.A Salvatore. Also, Perter V Brett's, the Painted man (part of the demon cycle series which I think is 3 books so far) are also quite good!
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Raymond E Feist is fantastic...
David Eddings - The Belgariad (and the Malloreon - and the prequels) << my Favs - read them 3 times now
(https://www.goodreads.com/series/lis....David_Eddings)
Weis & Hickmann - the Drangonlance Series, Deathgate Cycle, etc
(https://www.goodreads.com/series/lis....Margaret_Weis)
Re: Fantasy recommendations
I have to recommend SM Reine as an urban fantasy author though I believe that her books are only available as ebooks - it's not high literature but it has compelling themes. I would also recommend Sanderson and in particular the mistborn trilogy as I didn't notice the writing issues that someone pointed out previously.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Hmmmm, reporting back re Wheel of Time - Not really happy right now, got to about book 4 and am seriously finding it difficult to motivate myself to continue...
Rand is the Dragon and it's just "stuff" going on, the plot seems to have lost it's way :(
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Book 3 is awesome, and the best of the series for me, after that its just Rand in a foursome, Rand in a collar, Rand being all powerful, Rand making no sense to anyone but still managing to be awesome *yawn*
I quit around book 7 or 8. Goodkind is too similar to him as well, right down to the collar and so on, but his true love conquers all theme gets really boring after the first book.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Not sure if this has already been recommended but Scott R Bakker's books are awesome! Think the series is called Second Apocalypse. Well worth a read
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Im trying Orson Scott Card's Ender series right now, book one was pretty much as the film with a couple of bits missing in the movie as usual, but book 2, "Sopeaker for the dead" is a bit more difficult, not sure if I'll be able to finish it.
In the meantime, I actually read all of the Harry Potter books and was fairly impressed. I liked particularly the way that she managed to age the writing style to match an initial reader of about 11... Then growing up to book 7 written in a much more "grown up" style. Clever lady.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
I loved the Harry Potter books. I know theres plotholes and silliness etc but they were very well written and thoroughly enjoyable
I liked that she killed off characters, i detest books where the hero goes through minimal discomfort and everything is all right in the end. Nothing shows an authors commitment to the tale more than killing off important characters. (George Martin proves this, again and again and again...)
Re: Fantasy recommendations
Try China Mieville for something different and original.
Re: Fantasy recommendations
I've been reading Brent Week's work recently. I originally started his stuff a couple of years ago with the night angel trilogy, but lost it by the second book. I felt like he didn't know/present a clear picture of where he was going with the plot.
A friend recently recommended that I read his Black Prism series and I'm half way through the second and really enjoying it, plus the third one should be out this year. The magic is quite interesting along with some of the questions it raises about religion. Nothing ground-breaking by any stretch of the imagination but a well written enjoyable and gripping fantasy romp that's just a little different. The magic reminds me a fair amount of Sanderson's Warbreaker if any of you know it (one of my all time favourites).