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I have a summer job that allows me to read quite a bit (last summer, I read 6 novels). However, I have absolutely nothing left to read this summer, and going through the book thread, nothing hooked me up at first glance. So perhaps someone can recommend me a good series they've read ? I like 10+ books series.
I have read (and recommend) : The Wheel of Time A Song of Ice and Fire The Sword of Truth The Inheritance Cycle Lotr
I was thinking about buying Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson, as he did a pretty good job coauthoring The Gathering Storm.
Any suggestions ?
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Anything by R.A. Salvatore!
I LOVE the whole Icewind Dale series. I would recommend this to anyone as my number one book.
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The Dark Tower
I'll ask my old roommate for more recommendations and post them here.
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The Belgariad and the Mallorean by David Eddings (first book is very slow but gets to be excellent by the 3rdish one)
~LoA
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R.A. Salvatore was so much fun while it lasted but the dialogue is way too nerdy. I highly recommend A Song of Ice and Fire. Best fantasy series I ever read.
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The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.
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First post here, but I second The Malazan Book of the Fallen series although the first 200 pages can be rough.
Other suggestions are The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie if you want something slightly gritty and The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch which is absolutely amazing.
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Dragon Riders of Pern (Anne McCaffrey) series are pretty good. The Shanara series is pretty good (Terry Brooks) and he also has a bunch of other good series too.
Also, not really fantasy (sci-fi) but the foundation series by asimov is fucking incredible, and everyone should read it. Actually, anything by Asimov is amazing.
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Read Ted Dekker books, I think they're amazing, usually they are mystery.
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Any of David Gemmell's books (alot have recurring characters and are set in the same world). His first book Legend is really enjoyable. In fact all of his novels are enjoyable, I've never met anyone who hasn't liked one of his books. Style is heroic fantasy but he somehow manages to create really believable characters and while the action is usually non-stop he manages to inject a fair amount of philosophy into his stories.
Raymond E Feist isn't bad. The first trilogy starting with Magician is pretty good. After you've read that I'd highly recommend the Empire trilogy co-authored with Janny Wurts. (You mentioned you like long series - basically all of Feist's books are one long series).
Definitely check out The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobbs. This has 2 follow on trilogies. Beautiful books with some very likable characters.
I recently read Way of the Shadow by new author Brett Weeks (enjoyable action and surprisingly gripping though dark at times).
Lastly if you've never heard of him (and most people haven't because he has surprisingly ended up mostly out of print) check out Jack Vance. He has many books to his name, some of them sci-fi and others fantasy. A remarkable author with amazing dialogue. A real master.
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I've read and enjoyed most of the books on your list, and I would recommend The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Unfortunately, it's the first book of an incomplete trilogy (the second book won't come out until March 2011).
I also enjoyed the trilogies from Robin Hobb, as the previous poster suggested.
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I must also recommend The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I've yet to come across another character as real as Fitz. Hobb is such a fantastic writer <3
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Read my series when it comes out! T_T. God I need to go write....
Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy is amazing. Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars series is awesome. Guy Gavriel Kay has fantastic fantasy stand-alone novels. I highly recommend his Lions of Al-Rassan. Also, Storm Constantine's Magravandias series is so lush!!
Some non epic-fantasy recommendations:
China Mieville's Perdido Street Station isn't epic fantasy, but it's breathtaking urban steampunk/fantasy.
Sharon Kay Penman writes historical fiction, but I highly recommend her novel Here Be Dragons. Such beautiful characterization.
It definitely makes me a little sad to see this thread and see these writers aren't getting as much recognition as people like Terry Goodkind -___- and the gagworthy Steven Erikson... But ok, I'll turn off the hate. Please try some of these other writers! There's more to fantasy than just nerdy guys writing LOTR rip-offs!!
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I'm very surprised noone mentioned the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. There's like 37 novels and they're fantastically. Might be too philosophical and clever to some people who can't comprehend. Read "Reaper Man" then you know if you like his style or not.
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Hating on Terry Goodkind is never wrong, but I don't see how Erikson can be lumped in with him. The scope of his world is unlike anything else. At times it's dragonball z meets D&D but you have to give some credit for the enormity of what he's doing. At first I thought the Malazan books were pulpy deus ex bullshit but I've come to really appreciate his ability to craft such a ridiculously huge world and manage so many different characters and story lines.
No other series really has that same level of content, and I'd say about 85% of it is solid. Some of the comedic relief characters piss me off while others I really like, and there's only a few main characters who bother the shit out of me at times.
I'd atleast give the 2nd book Deadhouse Gates a try before deciding if it's for you or not. I could definitely see how someone might not like it, but the first book isn't a good indication of whether you are on the love it or hate it side.
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On May 02 2010 03:01 floor exercise wrote: Hating on Terry Goodkind is never wrong, but I don't see how Erikson can be lumped in with him. The scope of his world is unlike anything else. At times it's dragonball z meets D&D but you have to give some credit for the enormity of what he's doing. At first I thought the Malazan books were pulpy deus ex bullshit but I've come to really appreciate his ability to craft such a ridiculously huge world and manage so many different characters and story lines.
No other series really has that same level of content, and I'd say about 85% of it is solid. Some of the comedic relief characters piss me off while others I really like, and there's only a few main characters who bother the shit out of me at times.
I'd atleast give the 2nd book Deadhouse Gates a try before deciding if it's for you or not. I could definitely see how someone might not like it, but the first book isn't a good indication of whether you are on the love it or hate it side.
OK, that's probably why then. I've only read the first book and quite honestly I didn't care for the scope of the book because if it takes 2 novels just to get a story going... then I don't have a high opinion of the writer. It's the Robert Jordan syndrome. Writers need to be less lazy with the actual CRAFT of writing, and focus less on content IMO. Content's easy to make (for creative people). It's the logistics of getting that story across to the readers in an enjoyable fashion that's important to me.
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Valhalla18444 Posts
On May 02 2010 02:22 BajaBlood wrote: I've read and enjoyed most of the books on your list, and I would recommend The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Unfortunately, it's the first book of an incomplete trilogy (the second book won't come out until March 2011).
I also enjoyed the trilogies from Robin Hobb, as the previous poster suggested.
march fucking 2011?! oh patrick
anyone who hasnt read this book go do so, it's so good
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8748 Posts
On May 02 2010 00:54 iaretehnoob wrote: The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Another vote for this. Just make sure you are a very attentive reader for the first book, perhaps reading a bit slower than usual, because it's easy to get to a point where you think "what the hell is going on." But once you get rolling through the books, they are fucking awesome. Huge payoffs imo =]
lol @ storkhwaiting critique on things he hasn't read. don't care for the scope? how about the scope of your critique? you read one book of a series that is separated from the rest by over a decade and then you judge, not just the whole series, but the author himself? i think you need to learn what the fuck scope is and how to use it.
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