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Shimmer
8 Posts
If I had to rank those three, A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen would come out as the winner by a very small margin. Mainly because GRRM needs 1283 years for every book. Agreed! Personally, I find it hard to get through fantasy novels that focus on a lot of 'realpolitik.' A good part of Erikson's writing is from the point of view of 'common' soldiers, which is a refreshing contrast to both Jordan and Martin. That being said, I found all three series a great read. | ||
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Hyren
United States817 Posts
On April 13 2011 07:48 Kimaker wrote: The Old Kingdom Trilogy is fucking sweet I second this. They had a "dark" atmosphere to them and the mechanics of magic and whatnot were really interesting. <3 this trilogy. | ||
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Overpowered
Czech Republic764 Posts
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Scodia
United Kingdom588 Posts
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WalrusEsq
United States9 Posts
Since we seem to be doing science fiction as well; I only saw Stanislaw Lem mentioned once, and he's really great. He writes very intelligent, imaginative sci-fi that's always free of that sort of cheesy feeling you can get with the more trashy stuff, and that's often quite hilarious. He wrote in Polish, but from what I can see he's been translated surprisingly well. I read the Futurological Congress and the Cyberiad first, but you probably can't go wrong with any selection. | ||
Daigomi
South Africa4316 Posts
Joe Abercrombie - First Law Trilogy - 4/5 A really fun series, but the characters felt a bit flat to me. I don't mind the characters being based on well known archetypes, but these characters never seemed to make the archetypes their own--they never developed beyond the archetypes. Still, the series as a whole was very enjoyable. R. Scott Bakker - Prince of Nothing - 5/5 Probably my favourite fantasy series. The story is great, but what makes it special for me is how believable everything is. The world, the cultures, and the characters are all incredibly realistic. Most of the characters are dislikeable, but they are dislikeable because they are human and they make human decisions and mistakes. There are no evil or good characters, just characters that make good or evil decisions. The same goes for everything else in the book, there's never any black or white. For example, the war is followed from the perspective of the agressors but at no point is it implied that the war is just or unjust, it is simply the result of a clash of cultures. All in all, it made for a book with characters that I cared about because they seemed human. Cnaiur has to be one my favourite characters ever. Fantastic series. R. Scott Bakker - Aspect Emperor Trilogy - */5 The sequel to the Prince of Nothing trilogy. It only started recently, but the Aspect Emperor was really good. Many of the favourite characters from the first trilogy were removed, but it's probably for the best since they had little room to develop more. The new characters are all intruiging, and the developments that occurred before the first and second trilogy are interesting. I can't wait for the next books! Trudi Canavan - Age of Five Trilogy - 3.5/5 Everything Trudi Canavan writes is enjoyable but quite straightforward. All in all, I'd say Age of Five is a touch better than the Black Magician trilogy simply because it is better paced. In contrast with the Black Magician, all three books in Age of Five are satisfying. For those who have only read Black Magician trilogy, it should be noted that Age of Five is epic fantasy rather than heroic fantasy, so the focus is on kingdoms and the wars between them rather than on a specific character. A definite read if you're looking for something easy and fun. Trudi Canavan - Black Magician Trilogy - 3.5/5 As mentioned earlier, Trudi Canavan is always great fun to read. With Black Magician I felt the first two books weren't quite on par with her other books, but the third book was her best, so in the end the series is just about as good as the Age of Five trilogy. One thing that bothers me about the series (and many fantasy series for that matter) is that the magic system was poorly defined. Still, it's a fun book to read. Orson Scott Card - Tales of Alvin Maker - 3/5 I read this a long time ago and remember really enjoying it. Unfortunately I can't remember too much about it. What I do remember is that I liked the protagonist's powers (he could feel how things came together/were made, so he could construct/deconstruct awesome things), and I quite liked the Native American setting. Can't remember much more unfortunately. Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel'd Legacy - 4.5/5 An exceptionally good series that I haven't seen mentioned before. It's a first-person fantasy series (there are too few of these) which makes it very immersive. The protagonist is a very expensive prostitute whose only super-power is that she's a masochist, which is awesome! The book is pure political fantasy with very little (if any) magic or magical creatures, but because it is first person, the reader follows the political events only through the perspective of the prostitute/spy which things very interesting. The characters are believable and something new, and the book is written superbly. Stephen Donaldson - Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - 2/5 I only read halfway through Book 1, but I didn't enjoy it. For one, I dislike "travel fantasy", where the protagonist goes on a journey across the world and encounters random adventures. it bores me to tears. For another, it was written during that awkward time (same as Roger Zelazny) between Tolkien and modern fantasy where the novels focused more on the fantastical and less on the characters. All in all, it did nothing for me. Raymond E. Feist - The Magician - 3/5 It's difficult to judge The Magician. In my opinion, it's was most important novel for fantasy since Tolkien. It's also pretty good to read. However, it's a bit like watching the sitcom Red Dwarf today. At the time the jokes were incredibly clever and the situations were really creative. Today, all the jokes sound cliched and rehashed because they've been used in every sitcom since 1990. Most of the things that made The Magician interesting have been copied ad infinitum today, and for the other things, the genre was just not as developed in 1982 as it is now. Still, if you're new to fantasy it's a good place to start. David Gemmell - Legend - 1/5 Legend has the weakest characters I've encountered in any fantasy book ever. The characters seem to act entirely based on what their roles are in the story. The good guys are always good, the bad guys are always bad, the rogues are roguish and the knights are chivalrous. As I said at the start, most fantasy storylines are pretty good, and there's nothing wrong with Legend's story. However, the complete lack of thought that went into the characters has permanently scared me away from Gemmell. Lev Grossman - The Magicians - 2/5 I think this book was described to me as Harry Potter with adult characters and adult relationships (in both senses of the word) which sounded pretty awesome. It actually lived up to that, and I really enjoyed the first half of the book. Unfortunately, the second half of the book seems to be a homage to Narnia with the characters going off into an imaginary world where trees talk and the horse race are at war with a race of goats (I can't remember exactly, it was that absurd though). One of the few books where the characters were fine but the story line was ridiculous. Robin Hobb - Farseer Trilogy - 3.5/5 Robin Hobb writes first person fantasy wonderfully, especially so in the Farseer trilogy. The protagonist is an assassin, but unlike most fantasy assassins, he is not amazing in any way--he simply kills people as an occupation. What the first person perspective does is it forces the reader to experience what the protagonist is experiencing, and develop with the character. You follow the character from when he is learns to wield a knife through all the hours he spends training and learning about poisons to his assignments. Nothing happens quickly, but when something does, you feel the sense of accomplishment or the pain of the character much more accutely. Very good books, but not as good a Hobb's later books in my opinion. Robin Hobb - Liveship Traders Trilogy - 5/5 I adore Robin Hobb and everything she's written. Of everything she's written, Liveship Traders is my favourite series and I have no idea why. If I remember correctly it's the only Robin Hobb trilogy not written in first person, which is again surprising since I quite like first person. I think it just epitomizes what makes Robin Hobb great: The books are slow but you are never bored, the characters are not superhuman but they are still awesome, and the story is great fun to follow. Highly recommended for those who have time. Robin Hobb - Tawny Man Trilogy - 3.5/5 I can't remember the Tawny Man that well, even though I read it most recently. The pacing was better than the Farseer Trilogy, but it had a bit too much magic and dragons in for my taste. Still, I remember being satisfied with the conclusion to the series, so if you've read the first two trilogies you should definitely pick up Tawny Man. Robin Hobb - Soldier Son Trilogy - 4/5 I know that most people dislike the soldier son trilogy more than Hobb's other series, but for some reason I found the series fascinating. I've always felt that the best fantasy and SF series are those which make a very small changes to the world, but then develop those changes thoroughly. With the soldier son trilogy, the change Hobb makes is bizarre: The protagonist is painfully obese. However, Hobb takes this characteristic and develops it fully. We get to experience the change in the character and see how the obesity twists the hero's perspective of the world. The character development in Soldier Son is phenomenal. That said, the story is a bit on the weird side, and it's a difficult read because the character struggles so much. I loved it though. Scott Lynch - The Lies of Locke Namora - 3.5/5 I read somewhere that The Lies of Locke Namora us like Ocean's Eleven crossed fantasy, which sounded like great fun. That's exactly what it was. The book is well written, I enjoyed the character and the story, and I couldn't put it down until it was done. The only thing I found slightly disappointing was the conclusion which felt rushed. Still, if you're looking for something fun, this is worth a read. George R.R. Martin - A Song of Fire and Ice - 4/5 I've only read book one so far, and it was excellent. There are some things that bother me though, especially with the characters. As a whole, the characters seem to be caricatures of real people. The evil characters are too evil, the assholes much too douchey, the stern characters too stern, and so forth. Many of the characters also seem to spend a lot of time doing nothing. Ned runs around looking for spies but never finds any, Catelyn spends her time giving good advice that gets ignored, Sansa dreams permanently but never sees what's going on--it's very frustrating. That said, the storyline is exceptional, the characters are developing well, and everything seems about ready to get going. ... To be continued when I have some more time! There's only a few series left to cover, but I still need to study tonight so I'll add those later. Hope someone finds this useful  | ||
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nemo14
United States425 Posts
If you're at all into science fiction, you MUST read everything that Neal Stephenson has ever written. I especially recommend Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age. | ||
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Sir WeenieGuy
Denmark4 Posts
Good fantasy site with lots of recommendations | ||
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BloodNinja
United States2791 Posts
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=195375 I will have to go through this thread later though. I have been looking for a new series to pick up after I finish the Wheel of Time series. Series I liked: Tolkien, Goodkind (although he really lost me later on), and Eddings. I never got into A Song of Ice and Fire. Read the first two books but never got into it. i never could explain it well but I think Daigomi nailed my feelings on the characters. | ||
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junemermaid
United States981 Posts
On April 09 2011 12:07 Aylear wrote: I'd contribute something more worthwhile to this thread, but if the OP didn't touch on my favourite books or series, other people did. Really, I'm just chiming in to approve of this thread and its contents. =P Still, while people have mentioned Terry Pratchett, no one has mentioned Discworld yet, so I will. Read it. Especially the ones about the Night Watch. Seriously. Cannot stress this enough. Discworld is the standard for which I judge any fantasy universe. Although I'd recommend starting with The Witches story arc. | ||
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Wesso
Netherlands1245 Posts
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Manit0u
Poland17431 Posts
My recommendations based on the books I've read recently: Genesis by Bernard Beckett One of the best books I have ever read. Short but packed with goodies. Metro 2033 and Metro 2034 by Dmitry Glukhovsky Simply awesome. Especially if you're a fan of Fallout and post-apocalyptic stuff. Watches by Sergei Lukyanenko Four novels that make for an outstanding story. Excellent reading. There Will Be Time by Paul Anderson A very nice approach to time travel. Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan Brilliant series. Very enjoyable reading. Will add more in the future. | ||
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sc14s
United States5052 Posts
I read all of the "A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson and some other odds and ends books so i was hoping TL could help me find some more good books to read plus this thread honestly really shouldn't die after so many have put so much effort into it.. admittedly i should work on the OP a little more. | ||
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minitelemaster
United States95 Posts
In case it hasn't been mentioned, Michael Crichton books are killer (more sci fi, less fantasy). | ||
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Shockk
Germany2269 Posts
Also, I didn't find the Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series in the list in your OP, by Tad Williams. Great (high) fantasy. | ||
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SupLilSon
Malaysia4123 Posts
Just yesterday I picked up A Feast for Crows, the 4th book in the Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series by George Martin. I'd highly encourage anyone who is even a semi-fan of the HBO show to check out the book. The show is great but the book is even better. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is probably my favorite book series of all time and it started me on a massive Stephen King binge. I remember I was on vacation with my family at Yellowstone National Park and I still couldn't put my book down. I wouldn't characterize them as "good" books per say, but when I was younger I really enjoyed Warhammer 40k books as well as the Ultima series (lol i know) and various other video game books. Just wanted to mention since this is a video game forum ;D George R.R. Martin - A Song of Fire and Ice - 4/5 I've only read book one so far, and it was excellent. There are some things that bother me though, especially with the characters. As a whole, the characters seem to be caricatures of real people. The evil characters are too evil, the assholes much too douchey, the stern characters too stern, and so forth. Many of the characters also seem to spend a lot of time doing nothing. Ned runs around looking for spies but never finds any, Catelyn spends her time giving good advice that gets ignored, Sansa dreams permanently but never sees what's going on--it's very frustrating. That said, the storyline is exceptional, the characters are developing well, and everything seems about ready to get going. Maybe you've delved further into the series since your post, but regardless, I think it's a little unfair to judge the series on only the first book. The more you read the series, the more you realize most characters are far from black and white. Yes, there are some absolute villains and some absolute protagonists, but many of the characters develop more depth and personality as the series moves on. Just like real people, they seem easy to characterize at first glance but the more you get to know them, the more you realize they aren't exactly what you thought. | ||
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
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TheFlock
United States389 Posts
thanks for the bump! I read through the pages and there are so many recommendations, hard to know where to start. Personally I started off reading The Annotated Chronicles in 8th grade (First Three Books of DragonLance) and proceeded to read everything else I could find in the series. Absolutely love it. Also love His Dark Materials! Though the third book literally hurt my brain haha it was crazy Since HP was mentioned, liked the series a lot, and (hope I won't get made of) but I'm currently finishing up The Hunger Games Series and enjoying them a lot. Looking forward to taking some of these suggestions!! | ||
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sc14s
United States5052 Posts
On May 12 2011 05:41 Sir WeenieGuy wrote: http://www.bestfantasybooks.com/ Good fantasy site with lots of recommendations hmm this actually isn't a half bad place to look up books/ series Granted from what i can tell the author(s) of the articles have a bit different taste but they still recommend many books / series that i like certainly worth looking at and i think i'll add it to the OP edit:.. if i could change the OP  wth old posts are un-editable? | ||
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babylon
8765 Posts
At his best, he is hard to describe. I've read all but two of his books -- in the middle of Lord of Emperors and I've got Tigana after that too -- and even though I would say that most of his books have disappointed me, it's because I have such high expectations for him that when he falls short, it kind of just makes me facepalm. And tbh, even his more mediocre books have such an atmosphere of potential about them, it is hard to dislike them too much. His best books are masterpieces. If interested, check out The Lions of Al-Rassan and A Song for Arbonne. I've heard that Tigana is actually his best piece of work yet, but I haven't read it, and I will honestly be astounded if it's better than Lions. His Sarantium series (Sailing to Sarantium, Lord of Emperors) is also great as well, though I haven't finished it yet. I found his other books to fall quite a bit short of the mark. 1. Lions --> Moorish Spain, El Cid 2. Arbonne --> med. Provence, Albigensian Crusade 3. Sarantium --> Byzantine, Justinian I 4. Last Light of the Sun --> Viking invasions of England and Wales 5. Under Heaven --> Tang Dynasty China, An Shi Rebellion And then you have his Fionavar trilogy (LotR) and Ysabel (sequel-ish to Fionavar), which are both kind of odd. I don't recommend these two unless you're actually a fan of his. Again ... they're odd. Other authors of note: Steven Brust (like a Sherlock Holmes novel, except from POV of assassin, very witty), Terry Pratchett (no intro needed), Naomi Novik (dragons in Napoleonic era), GRRM (no intro needed). What little I've read of Robin Hobb, I've enjoyed. Carol Berg is also good from what I can remember and writes some interesting characters, though it's been years since I've read her. Pullman's HDM is nice too if you can get past his preaching. | ||
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