Judging by the other thread, polling our favorite genres, we have alot of fantasy buffs here. What better to do then to talk about our favorite series, author, hero etc? Discuss the books we've read, and introduce others to the books we like!

I'll start. Some of my favorite fantasy books include: George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt, and Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. The shortest of these is four books long, and the longest (not in terms of volumes, but sheer pages) is a whooping 11 books and counting - I'm speaking of the Wheel of Time.

Amongst my selection, I think ASOIAF and the Book of the New Sun may not be as well known. Both are very good series, but quite different from your standard sword and sorcery adventures. ASOIAF has a more medieval theme to it - knights, warring states, political intrigue. Its been compared to the war of the roses in fact. Magic does exist in the universe, but its a lost art and seldom factor into the story. Definitely something you should read if you're looking for fantasy beyond the norm.

The Book of the New Sun on the other hand, is as much fantasy as it is sci-fi. Instead of being set in the past, it explores a future where technology has regressed, and humanity once again exist in a dark ages settings. Remaining artifacts of technology are often treated like magic, but our hero, Severian, carries but a two handed sword called Terminus Est. Its important to mention that Severian is a hero unlike any other. He is an executioner and a torturer, not a noble knight or mage.

Well, these are my favorites and recommendation. What's everybody's?

The Silmarillion...obviously...
compared to the rest...that book is the best i've read...2nd to none!!!
even Durin himself would had said so...

I started out reading David Eddings's books, and I liked them very much, except for the lame endings. Took me 5 attempts before i could finish LOTR (would zzz 5 mins in, hehehe). Dunno why, the next time I read LOTR it wasn't as nice anymore...

Robert Jordan's first series, forgot the name was quite good as well. HAven't had the chance to try Michael Moorcock's books which I heard was quite good.

Has Wheel of Time ended? I read in the papers that the author passed away before finishing the last book and it would be written by someone else instead...



This post has been edited by bruised: Feb 4 2009, 11:21 AM

Yeah, the book will indeed be written by one Brandon Sanderson, based on the notes prepared by Jordan. Wiki has an entry on this here.

Oh, Fantasy is one of my favourite genres!

The only problem is the price. Usually the series come in 3's or more. A bit tough on my pocket to buy one shot like RM100.

I like the Shannara series a lot by Terry Brooks. Not too imaginative yet has an interesting storyline and plot and good style of writing.

The Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman is good too. The Goldan Compass movie was actually good relative to the book. I'm looking forward to the next movie if they were to make one.

Heh, I always considered the Book of the New Sun to SF rather than Fantasy, but it does straddle the barrier. I actively dislike Terry Brooks & Terry Goodkind (both are un-original, and worse BAD writers). Not too fond of David Eddings for the same reason, but I will say that he is good if you want to get a kid to start reading fantasy. The Belgariad, Malloreon, Elenium & Tamuli are the books that got me into Fantasy way back in Form 2. Once I finished them, I was finally able to finish the Hobbit & the Lord of the Rings.


Series I'm currently reading:

Wheel of Time - Author Robert Jordan. Started this when I was in form 3. Hear that Brandon Sanderson is a pretty good fit to finish RJ's series, which honestly was dragging the last few books. Can't really recommend it to any newcomer.

A Song of Ice and Fire - Author George R.R. Martin. An excellent series, but I'm getting a bit concerned at the delay between books and the slowly increasing number of books, so I can't really recommend it in good faith. Wait until it finishes.

The Black Company - Actually an old series by Glen Cook, but they're re-releasing it as a set of collected editions. first 2 collections (The Chronicles of the Black Company & The Books of the South) have been released. Very gritty, military type of fantasy. No destined farmboys or plucky heroes here, just grizzled army vets kicking ass. Really recommended.

The Gentleman B*stard Sequence - Author Scott Lynch. Probably the newest series in this list. 2 books out of a planned 7 have been released. The main characters are thieves, so it's very much like Ocean's 11 meets fantasy. Very amusing, serious & well written. Recommended.

Discworld- Author Sir Terry Pratchett. More a loosely connected satire series than a standard fantasy series, but plays well off the usual rules of the genre (ie, million-to-one odds happen 9 times out of 10...). Hillarious, well-written and makes you think. Very Highly recommended.

And the best:

Malazan Book of the Fallen - Author Steven Erikson. If the Black Company books are gritty, these are insanely so. 8 out of 10 books have been released, and the series is EXCELLENT. Well written, tightly paced, interesting & ridiculously powerful characters and it packs an incredible emotional punch. It isn't really for people who are new to Fantasy, but if you're a fan of fantasy books, this is a must-read series.

Very nice to see a fan of the fantasy genre as well, especially one who has read George R.R. Martin and Gene Wolfe. Your comments on the Wheel of Time and ASOIAF rings true - WoT was honestly going nowhere plotwise for the last 3 or 4 books, and Mr. Martin really needs to pick up the pace of writing. I remember A Dance of Dragons was supposed to be half done at the time of A Feast for Crows publishing, and set to be completed within 6 months. 2 years have passed and still no sign of the book.

Discworld is a series of books I truly want to collect, but am intimidated by the sheer number of volumes already available. If I were to collect them all I would be a poor poor man. I resort to friends and libraries for this series, and have read whatever I could get my hands on. Deliciously funny stuff really.

There was a series of books I never mentioned in my first post: The Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen. Ever read those?

As for Malazan, I'll wiki it and see if I can pick it up.

hey! someone mentioned terry pratchet's works. Despite the huge amount of titles, they focus on different aspects of his fantasy world, and you can collect/read only those you like - personally i like those relating to the Ankh Morpork (pardon my spelling - it's been a while, i really need to start reading again ) and DEATH.

wheel of time. Currently waiting for the last book to be released. A very long story indeed.

I will say The Silmarillion.
Definitely awesome.
I've read LOTR , but this one is way better I think.

I am not sure if anyone of you has heard of Guin Saga (Kaoru Kurimoto, English translation by Alexander O. Smith). The Japanese version is still currently in writing (vol 128 if I'm not mistaken). English has 7 books translated as of now (only the first 5 is available in Kinokuniya).

I find it rather interesting, not too much on sorcery (for now), but there's good adventure with brawls & swords. This series is very popular in Japan, comparable to LOTR there.

I've only read until book 2 for now so I'll reserve commenting too much about it.

This post has been edited by feyhime: Feb 17 2009, 09:42 AM

Heheh, after years on LYN, I finally noticed this forum

My favourite genre is fantasy of course and just to share what I've read and been reading lately:

Series completed that I especially liked:
1. The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, plus the The Silmarillion; and related but not exactly novels: Unfinished Tales, Book of Lost Tales 1 & 2
- this was the very first fantasy fiction I ever read, and it just blew me away and made me a lifetime fan of the genre. I guess I'm lucky to have such a great intro to fantasy.
2. Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
- considering I was an avid AD&D player and DM at the time, it was just perfect.
3. Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
- I really liked the conflict between the two major races, I found the concept quite unconventional at the time (first 4 books set on 4 seperate worlds, and events there leads to the last 3 books).
4. The first Shannara trilogy (Sword of Shannara, etc) by Terry Brooks
- I liked it then, but later stories couldn't sustain my interest.
5. The Belgariad and The Malloreon by David Eddings
- Loved it when I started out but eventually lost interest in DE's work.
6. The Elenium and The Tamuli by David Eddings
- Same as #5
7. Book of Words by JV Jones
8. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams
- Liked the story. He even wrote an adventure/fantasy with a cat as the main character (Tailchaser's Song - I liked it).
9. The Coldfire trilogy by Celia Friedman - my avatar is from the first book's cover (Black Sun Rising)!
- I bought the book because of the cool cover, and was hooked

Series in Progress:
1. Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
- One of my 3 current favourites, been reading since 14 years ago; now anxiously awaiting Brandon Sanderson's finishing of the series. I have to say I was lucky enough to meet RJ in person and have 3 of his books autographed by him
- I just love how the earlier books are so descriptive of the scenery. I kept reading The Eye of the World again and again.. the words are so descriptive I could imagine the scene in my mine so realistically.
- Loved it so much, I am now buying the unabridged audio CDs (audiobooks) to the series (from Amazon US), so I can have it on my iPod wherever I go. At about 20 CDs or so per book, it's a slow and steady effort.
- Re-read it many times and I still can't figure out who killed Asmodean!
2. Malazan Books of the Fallen - Steven Erikson (and related books by Ian Esslemont)
- Simply amazing! One of my 3 current favourites. Extremely complex storyline. I get lost sometimes but it's worth it!
3. Song of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin
- One of my 3 current favourites. I find his potrayal of characters to be so "realistic" that everything is in shades of grey.
4. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
- I started only because he is finishing RJ's work on Wheel of Time, but so far I am enjoying his style.
5. Sword of Shadows - JV Jones
- on pause after the first book, too many to read
6. Shadowmarch - Tad Williams
- on pause after the first book, too many to read

Currently reading:
1. Elantris - Brandon Sanderson
- Brandon's first book IIRC. Unconventional to say the least. Pretty interesting so far.


Books in the queue: - the Malazan books get their turn next
1. Return of the Crimson Guard - Ian Esslemont
2. Toll the Hounds - Steven Erikson

Series in the queue:
1. Otherland - Tad Williams (already bought all the books)
2. Boreal Moon Tale - Julian May (already bought the first 3 books, don't know if there's more coz I didn't read them yet)

As you can see there's a lot of books I haven't read yet... been trying to go through my list but the stack of unread books keeps getting higher
I sometimes read 2-3 novels at a time (one at home - the main book; one in my car - when I am stuck somewhere coz of jam, I can stop for a drink and read; one in my travelling bag - for when I travel for work/holiday, I have something to read on the plane or at the airport).


dishwasher:
A Dance of Dragons is due out Sept this year... I've been waiting for ages for it, since I've pre-ordered it at Amazon (till they canceled it coz the book didn't get published last year as expected).
I've read 2 of Fred Saberhagen's work. My favourite was Empire of the East, and the other was a Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula novel.

Terry Goodkind's work - I started on the novels with Wizard's First Rule but after the 3rd book, I lost interest. Also read a bunch of other authors, mostly in past years when I was desperate for reading material coz I had read everything already published (at the time) by RJ, Steven Erikson and George RR Martin - Angus Wells (ok-la), Melanie Rawn, Dennis McKiernan (ugh... don't bother), Raymond Feist (the Riftwar books were good, but lost interest later – blame it on Steven Erikson for writing so good!).

In the past when I needed a break from fantasy I read espionage/sci-fi thrillers (Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, Craig Thomas), but these days I mostly read historical fiction (Dan Brown, Steve Berry, Valerio Manfredi, Raymond Khoury).

I have read almost every Discworld publication , thanks in part to the John Medley library in Monash Clayton. I still think it's one of the wittiest and funniest fantasy collections yet. I do prefer reading about the Witches, Rincewind and the City Watch, AND DEATH HIMSELF.

I've also gone through some of Larry Niven's books, Ringworld. It's a really fantastic journey.

Somehow I find that there is a real lack of bookstores and libraries when I go back to Malaysia.

I'm also a follower of the Wheel of Time series. Been on this since Form5. Waiting for the last book.

While waiting now into Forgotten Realms (Drizzt's collection, Elminster's saga, Shandril's trilogy (ending kinda letdown), Undead Trilogy (not bad, searching for book2 and book3), Avatar series (kinda slow, 3 to go), etc...
Problem with Forgotten Realms is there are so many different writers and stories that it's hard to know what's good to read.

Also read Ursula Le'Guin Earthsea Quartet which is very nice (borrowed from friend, still looking to buy my own to re-read it ever since)

Oh yeah of course read the LOTR and Hobbit, both are good. Might try the Silmarillion since you guys are recommending it.
Narnia is also nice but is really a children book.

They're showing an anime adaption of Guin Saga this season. Just so you know, assuming you don't.

Wow, didn't realise there's a thread for fantasy lovers here

I'm surprised no one mentioned Raymond E Feist and his Riftwar Saga....I got hooked onto fantasy from his books and slowly got snared by Eddings, Tolkien, and Pratchett

I'm seriously trying to hunt down Steven Erikson's Malazan series, but the local book rental store doesn't have em

I have Magician, Silverthorn and Sethanon, but not the rest of his books. I liked the Magician series a lot, but I never got down to getting the rest of the Riftwar saga, and nowadays, after reading Martin and Erikson, Feist just doesn't measure up anymore.

I doubt you'll find the Malazan books in rental stores. They aren't that famous methinks. I got mine (1-7) from Kinokuniya, cost me a total in the vicinity of 200 bucks or so. Strangely enough, the TOR versions are around 30 bucks, while the other version was 40. Guess which I got.

hehe I still find Feist interesting and I'm really waiting to see how he finishes up the entire Riftwar saga

I did find the Malazan (1-6 i think) at a rental store, but I did the mistake of NOT grabbing it and the next time I went...it was gone!!

I must say , author Raymond E Fiest has a good collection of books. Krondors.

Yes the Riftwar Saga is far the best
another fantasy author that I like is Garth Nix like Old Kingdom Series and Keys to Kingdom

I started with David Eddings. Loved the characters in The Belgariad and Mallorean. Then I went on to Salvatore when I start playing DnD. But I'll never forgive Salvatore for killing Chewbacca (sorry, but I digress). I went on to read Tracy Hickman and Magaret Wies' Dragonlance series. I also tried Ed Greenwood's Elminister series.

I also read the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and the Riftwar saga by E. Fiest.

I guess Fantasy is the only genre that never bores me...

I recommend 2 series
The Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay
Liveship Trader by Robin Hobb
100% satisfaction guranteed or else, i give you a dragon egg.

---

Added on September 5, 2009, 11:22 pmalso everyone welcome to join us in
The Why-Isn't-There-An-SFF-Bookclub Bookclub
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8056546802

Basic Info
Name:
The Why-Isn't-There-An-SFF-Bookclub Bookclub
Category:
Entertainment & Arts - Books & Literature
Description:
A book club for people who dig Science Fiction & Fantasy, based in Petaling Jaya. Geeks unite!

Check out our blog here: http://speculatorspeculator.blogspot.com/

--

We will be reading a science fiction book, a fantasy book and a comic book in a three-month cycle.

Please feel free to suggest more books! Books should preferably not be part of a series, unless it is possible to read them as a standalone. They should be of a length that busy yuppies -- I mean, uh, working professionals would be able to finish within a month. It doesn't matter if we can't shoehorn a book into a particular category, so long as it is speculative fiction. They should of course be available at all good bookshops.

TIP: when looking for SFF, it's often worthwhile to check out Payless or other secondhand bookshops.
Contact Info
Location:
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8056546802

This post has been edited by tender: Sep 5 2009, 11:22 PM

Hmmm, sound like an idea. Let's see if we can pad the membership some...

thanks.
BTW, Snowcrash used to be my favourite fav book, till Diamond Age, till his next book, and his next. Neal Stephenson outdoes himself all the time! anyway Snowcrash is still one of the coolest book in the world!

This post has been edited by tender: Sep 6 2009, 11:47 AM

Heh, how can anyone not love a book where the main char's surname is Protagonist?

BTW, there's Sci-fi thread here as well, in case you're doing a general genre/ spec. fic invites.

BTW, I know there are quite a few Wheel of Time readers here, in case you're in anticipation of the next book coming out in the next month or two, Tor Publishing's community blog has a Wheel of Time chapter by chapter re-read going on here. It's really helpful for catching up on all the minutiae of the world. If anyone knows of any similar re-read project for the Malazan Books of the Fallen as well as A Song of Ice and Fire, I'd appreciate a heads up as well.

This post has been edited by snowcrash: Sep 6 2009, 12:43 PM

thanks, i read till book 11 of WOT and stopped. will sure pick it up again someday...

Inheritance cycle. Got hooked on the 1st book and can't wait for the ending
LOTR. After watching the movie, I kinda interested in the universe.
Forgotten Realms. It's based on game. My criteria of choosing books.
Warcraft. Based on game again.

Now I mostly buy books that have connection with games.

Now I'm just waiting for Guild Wars novels~

Er.. Chewbacca?? You mean the "pech" in underdark right?

I'm been reading a lot of Forgotten Realms lately, just finished Neversfall, Blackstaff, Bloodwalk and Swords of Eveningstar, which is about a group of young friends that went adventuring and eventually becoming the famed Knights of Myth Drannor.
Now looking for Swords of Dragonfire which continues the story in Eveningstar.

i recommend

the Dune series by frank herbert
Tales of the Earthsea by Urusula Le Guinn

If you love good character development, I'd recommend Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy followed by the Tawny Man Trilogy.

Yeah, Farseer and its sequal got superb character, plot, world and idea and everything but....... i like Liveship Trader more, Farseer is too gritty and ultra-realistic and self-torturing, for my type of 'fantasy'. lol.

Hello everyone! First time posting here in LYN.

I am inspired by the recommendations here in this thread. I have looked them up and will definitely keep my eye out for the books!

My first encounter with fantasy genre, at least as far as I can recall is David Edding's Elenium series (I had skipped Belgariad ...!) But the first one that left the most impression till today was the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends. Raistlin - the introduction to my world of an evil character that one can't help but to root for. I could prattle on and on about it but don't think I want to bore people this early

Am crunching through my first Warhammer 40k omnibuses. I got hold of them after remembering my friend waxing lyrical about Dan Abnett. And she is right! Fantastic stuff. Just skimmed through the Darkblade omnibus. Will probably read again after awhile as the action is too much to take on one shot.

---

Added on October 12, 2009, 11:27 pmToday I committed a crime to my wallet. I walked into Mid Valley ....... and came back with 2 books I definitely have to regain some self control.

It is all the fault of a book called Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. I ordered it at Times Bangsar and it didnt come. Well, I guess not my luck. Then a few outings to several bookstore different times and even idle searches turn out zilch. Onwards it stuck in my brain and I HAVE TO HAVE IT. It even infected my friend. Does anyone have this kind of experience before, or is it my cuckoo mind?

I walked into MPH and tada! It's there. Grab.

Walked into Borders to get to Starbucks (the other Sbks has pipe bocor) ......and walked past the Mark Charbourn's Age of Misrule Omnibus. Couldn't believe my eyes. I havent seen a Fantasy Omnibus for a long time, it's a title in my huntlist and it's a cheap RM 56.90 for 3-in-1. Dither a bit. should i or should i not. Borders say this is last copy. Grab.

So many books, so little resources....

Have anyone read the above 2 books? Hoped they are worth my money. Perdido's world building sounds very interesting.

This post has been edited by Persephone: Oct 12 2009, 11:27 PM

Yeah, read Perdido Street Station. Most people tend to appreciate China Mieville more after they read 1000+ fat fantasy trilogy by the likes of Eddings, Feist, Brooks, and Tolkien clones, got tired of dragon, elves and elves and elves again. need a breath of fresh air by China Mieville to remind them that fantasy is about imagination and not only about dragon, dwarf, elf aka sword and sorcery.

That's the same reason that i highly recommend Guy Gavrial Kay's books. Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors (The Sarantine Mosaic Duology), 2 very thin fantasy that hardly touch sword and magic, the only time the protagonist touched a sword, he dropped it clumsily. yet they are 2 of the most satisfying fantasy i have ever read.

and yes, i once must buy a book so much i ordered it from amazon (they out of print), waited until it got in print. cost me RM 13x.xx

wow tender, rm 130+ for a book. I admire your tenacity
What book was tat?

Hey, as I said earlier, I got inspired by this forum's recommendations and Guy G. Kay was one of the authors I looked up. I am now proud owner of Lord of Emperors and now hunting for Book 1.

Why Book 2? Due to books being dastardly expensive, I usually purchased during warehouse sales especially for untried authors. These last few weekends, I went nuts at the Pearson warehouse sale and spent more that RM 1K, that's where I found Book 2. I dread my credit card bill.

I don't mind the usual elves sorcery etc. It is the story weaving and what did the author do with the characters that will get me hooked. But you are right too as in there are a lot of authors with the formulaic Tolkien-esque story. Blur boy/girl with secret, got swept up in events where he/she has no idea what is going on, why-me phase, a old wizard dude came along and teach the way of the Force, suddenly boy/girl turns out to be extremely powerful and is reluctantly (but successfully) saving the world from The Evil One. Some of them are extremely boring (Brisinger) while some are fantastic.

For fantasy slightly different, have you tried :
- Jasper Fforde's books. Most classified him as fiction because it has contemporary setting but I think you can call it fantasy too. Genre line getting blurred.
- Kushiel's Dart - about a woman who likes pain. So-so veering to the nice side.
- Feist's Daughter of Empire Series. My introduction to political intrigue-based story. I reread it 3 times,that's how much I like them. For some reason, I never really like his Magician series (*dodge brickbats*), never understood its popularity.
-W40k Darkblade's books. My most recent read. Elf but an evil one, much more evil than Spider Queen Salvatore-style. I won't mention here the kind of things he did.
- Lies of Locke Lamora. Ok, I read Bk2 Under the Red Skies but not Bk1 (bad habit). About thieves. No dragons or elves so far. More of adventure type, not a good-vs-evil-apocalypse story.

Mmm, once i thought more, will post them on. I got a lot like Ash by Mary Gentle, Jonathan Norell by Susanne Clarke, the Malazans etc that I havent read.

I noticed you earlier heaped praise on Neal S. I was tempted by Quicksilver but it looks like it require a lot of free time and concentration. something I lacked now. Which of his books should I start with?

That was Pauline Kael's For Keeps not SF.

Glad to hear that, and hope you like it. they are still good as stand alones.

Yeah, i get you. actually i am not even a fan of Perdido Street Station or China Mieville. Just that he is one of those guy who champion breaking the formula and i admire him for it. Of course story weaving is the most important aspect of it all. i have come across some Star Wars/Trek, Dragonlance, D&D, Forgotten Realms, RPG Franchise and many such comercially milkable SF books that are surprisingly good reads. and i really don't mind reading another sword & socery, they are so easy to get into, ,quick and easy to finish reading.
my view is that, if its our first 50 fantasies, R A Salvatore, David Eddings, Terry Goodkind, Dragonlance (1st and 2nd Trilogy), Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey and such will blow you away. later on, depending on our taste, Robert Jordan, Stephen Donaldson, George R R Martin, Steven Erikson and many more are all super solid. but after reading them all, there have to be a few that we love most. for me, they are Robin Hobb, Gene Wolfe (Book of the New Sun), Guy Gavriel Kay and a few others.

like Dan Simmons said in an interview, "In a larger sense though, even my "series" such as the four Hyperion novels and the Ilium\Olympos two-volume tale are "stand alones" in the sense that I will finish the story and then never dilute it by tacking on my own sequels or sharecropping them out to other authors. I truly hate that whole idea. This is made relevant only by the fact that I probably could have spent the rest of my life and writing career writing "sequels" to the very popular Hyperion novels -- and probably would have been paid very well to do so -- but even the idea of being stuck in such a rut appalls me.
I like what I once heard Harlan Elison say to a group -- "I'd be satisfied if my literary obituary starts -- 'He never popped out of the same hole twice.'" That would satisfy me as well. "
Most respectable writers will want to write something new. tho not 100% true, but thats a rough guide to choose good writers and good books. after all, exciting new world (world building) is one of the reason why we love fantasy. tho the urge for fans to revisit the same old world is understandable.

haven read him yet, i tend to be slower to read contemporary or literary works (or works by writers who dont think they are writing SF), like those by Margaret Atwood. heard Fforde's good. will try him someday.

Uhm, thanks for the recommendation, i will propably-definitely read it, if only for the, errr so very different sex scene.

i never understood its popularity too. tho his world building is solid and his magic system is one of the best. i never like riftwar saga and such. heard Daughter of Empire was superb very long ago, but after many Feist's solid but not really my type book, i am slow to read him again.

Wikied it. sounds like the thing i like, will definitely read it soon. many books i start from bk2 or 3 too, pretty good way to tell if a series is good or not.

Ash: A Secret History, is one of those (among many other fantasy) very complex, mighty well written books that i tried to read but couldn't finish. they are just not my cup of tea. i got Jonathan Norell but haven't read it too. Malazan Book of the Fallen is super hardcore fantasy that i really liked. read till book 3 but left it for so long that i forgot the plot -- which was more complex than particle physics. which is lots better than Wheel of Time, read till book 10 but i forgot the plot and its exasperating to reread the whole thing. if you haven't read any book of Neal S., Snow Crash or Diamond Age are great to start with. both easy read and super cool. if you like him, then move on to his other books.

This post has been edited by tender: Oct 18 2009, 12:22 AM

Yeah, I tend to view authors like Eddings, Weis & Hickman, Salvatore, Brooks, Feist & even Tolkien as your 'Starter" types. They introduce you to the basics (elves, dragons, farmboys with DESTINY written all over them).

Then you have authors like Jordan, Cook, Le Guin, Lynch, Wolfe & Martin who put a twist to their tales, or bring elements of other genres to the fantasy setting - ie, grittiness, realism, sex, etc.

Finally, you've got you Mieville, Brust, Sanderson, Clarke, Erikson & Morgans, who come in from a completely different approach and lead up to a completely different tone, setting & outcome.

The latter two are certainly more interesting & engaging than the first group, but they share the same problem as all post-modern takes - you have to know the original elements. Frex, the Malazan books are still to me one of the finest works of epic fiction written, but it wouldn't be half as good if I hadn't read a lot of stuff in in the first category.

On Mieville, Perdido Street Station is insanely awesome, though I think it's more SF than Fantasy. Scar is similarly impressive, while the Iron Council doesn't meet expectations. Mind you, it's still better than most stuff by other authors. I just picked up the latest book, The City & The City in S'pore & can't wait to start it, though it's 3 books away on my reading list.

Just a warning though, he's incapable of writing a happy ending.

For Neal Stephenson, reading order is Snow Crash->Diamond Age->Cryptonomicon->*->Anathem

* = You can read The System of the World trilogy here, but only if your knowledge of 17th & 18th century European history is quite solid. Otherwise just go straight to Anathem.

Hehe - I tried a few pages of Perdido just to check out the style of the author. And within a few pages, the hero is having sex with his bug girlfriend. No no , no hamsap stuff, all done tastefully. But taken out of the context (I haven't start the book, am saving it) it did raise my eyebrows! But I am very intrigued by the description of the world building (*wrench book away as it is still very far away in the reading list, I gotta finish those I have started!*)

And the kinky stuff in Kushiel's Dart are all tastefully done too

Ok noted on the "no happy ending" for Mieville. No prob. As I mentioned earlier, I liked Raistlin

I am slowly growing my collection, all those authors mentioned in this thread will be on my radar (I can hear my wallet & bookshelf groan)

I just thought of something. I just visited the pinned thread on how to improve bookclub. But nobody seems to be using this lounge to discuss a book specifically. So I am going to do one. Think of it as a bookclub online, albeit slow. Problem is , when it comes to a book that we can discuss a lot on, i can only think of one : The Wheel of Time. Just in time for launch of Part 1 Book 12.

Other than recommendations, we can post short reviews too.

My Favs:

1. Malazan Series, including those by Ian Esselmont - Great story, well constructed world, witty humor (can't help admire Tehol) and need i add Gods & Ascendants duking it out.

2. Wheel of Time - Used to be 1st but kept dragging and a bit repetitive and detailed. I believe all the details and descriptions of action and surroundings help readers to get themselves absorb into the WOT world since there are gaps almost 2 years between books. But for those rereading the books ( i have reread them all like 3 times, when the 11 book came out, i read everything again from book 1) well it is safe to skip them. Still very interesting and fun to read, especially since the new book is coming out. (eagerly awaiting "The Gathering Storm to hit malaysian shores. does anybody know when?)

3. The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, by writer Greg Keyes - a bit light, not famous, but the story and characters are superb.

Of course I have also read LOTR, hobbit, a bit of Terry Pratchett.

ASoIaF is an OK read, but I read it after reading a lot of Malazans books so it made ASoIaF a bit to real and mundane. Too little fantasy stuff. Hopefully with the dragons appearing and the 'thing'(i forgot who they are, its been 2 years since the last book & I haven't touch them since) outside the wall stirring, the fantasy will pick up.

A few on waitng list and considerng : -
The mistborm series - yes it is becuase Sanderson is helping in finishing WOT.

The Black company - I guess I like gritty soldiers and magics used in warfare. (am i anticipating correctly)

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever - Quite a long series, have anybody read them. any recommendations, pro & cons?

I'm currently reading Unseen Academicals (latest Discworld book).

Fave series are the Discworld series (especially those centering around Sir Samuel Vimes or Moist von Lipwig), A Song of Ice and Fire, and stuff by Neil Gaiman that isn't really all that long (A Graveyard Book, Stardust).



EDIT: About ASoiF, it's not really much on the fantasy part. Sure, it's set in a fantasy themed place, but the story really revolves around the (miserable) lives that the (unfortunate) main characters lead in them, and has been so since the start. I wouldn't really recommend this series to anyone who's looking for MAGIC, ADVENTURE, GODS AND GODDESSES.



Also, I did read the Wheel of Time. I don't know why, I got sick of it by the eighth book. Oh well, I might's well finish the damn thing.

This post has been edited by Darkstalker: Oct 29 2009, 06:37 PM

lol. i felt the same about ASoIaF. but i always felt its my own weakness rather this ambitious and epic book didn't draw me in with pain and realism. i am glad you felt the same.

i tried to read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, but its pretty dark and painful too. not 'gritty soldiers' type of dark but some deep wrongness in the protagonist's phyche kind. all i can say is, its is an acquired taste. love it or hate it. if you like to read about disfigured and deform hero, i would recommend the more upbeat, warm and humour of Miles Vorkosigan series anytime. tho thats is SF not F. according to your taste, my advice is try The Black company, then Mistborm then Thomas Covenant.

---

Added on October 31, 2009, 10:37 pmlol. felt the same here. fantasy cater to all types. some like to fantasize about torture and misery. call me shallow, but i would rather not read about getting crippled and plunge deep into incest and all that stuff. if i want torture, i would get my personal dungeon mistress to sort me out.

This post has been edited by tender: Oct 31 2009, 10:41 PM

everyone gone quiet - what's up folks?

Hi bl_adi - good list you have.

1. Malazan Series, including those by Ian Esselmont - I am saving this up. I got all but book 2, will hunt it down. I read book 1 but was confused by it. Will give it another go later once i got book 2.

2. Wheel of Time - someone on this forum had ordered Bk12 from overseas (Snowcrash - when are you getting your book? Is it here yet?! I'm so excited for you!)

3. The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, by writer Greg Keyes - oo, got this lined up too

Oh, you got Black Company ! I heard about it and I want! Let us know how is it on this forum. I have searched a few stores for the omnibus Chronicles but don't have in stock. You got Book 1?
If you like military, I totally recommend Gaunt's Soldiers. Google it. Er, not much magic though but very gritty.

I'm struggling through my Age of Misrule by Mark Chadbourn, I think this will turn out to be one of those I will abandon halfway.

Heh, maybe everyone's getting bogged down by their reading lists.... I just finished Dust of Dreams, Gathering Storm & Unseen Academicals, I still have The City & The City, Return of the Crimson Guard, Bauchelain & Korbal Broach: The Collected Stories, as well as Matter on the SF side lying around untouched & unread.....

Book 1 of Malazan is very confusing, & if at all possible I would tell people to avoid it & go straight to Book 2, one of the strongest in the series. Apparently Erikson wrote Book 1 something like 10 years before any of the other books, & you can see how unpolished he was as an author for it.

I left a mini review of tGS on the Robert Jordan thread, I'll quote it here:

Black Company - I've got & read the first 2 collections, and yeah, it is very gritty while at the same time being more standard classic fantasy fare then aSoI&F or Malazan.

Thoma Covenant - Ugh. Just ugh. It's a well written book, & certainly a true classic, but once I read it I never wanted to re-read it again. The word for the main character is odious. Every time he thought or said something I either wanted to throttle him or take a bath to wash his memory off.

BTW, anyone here read the Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels? They're not classic fantasy either (best description: Horatio Hornblower, but with dragons!), but they're very good light reading.

ya, after reading this thread i've been busy compiling and reading books on my reading list.

Standard Gritty page-turner Fantasy, with lots of fighting, that i've read (that i remember, lots are forgotten):
David Gemmell's books - Drenai Series in particular. always gritty, military, lots of blood. while not award winners, they are usually page turners.
David Drake's books. (free online) http://www.baen.com/library/
K J Parker's Fencer series. Gritty to the point of being sickening.
L.E. Modesitt, Jr's Saga of Recluce Series. moderately gritty but always easy and enjoyable reads.
All these are extremely easy reads, that i read in between the more 'difficult' and 'complex' fantasy.
Of course Malazan is considered one of the most gritty military fantasy too. and Black company is the real McCoy of military fantasy that i haven yet read.

If anyone read SF, i would rather talk bout military SF. my HIGHLY RECOMMENDED must read military SF are:
Seafort Saga by David Feintuch
The Forever War & Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
Enders Game

Easy reads:(both free online) http://www.baen.com/library/
David Weber's Honor Harrington (inspired by C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series)
David Drake's books. like Hammer's Slammers series.

And my finally compiled reading list: some are rereads.
Dan Simmons - Ilium
Dan Simmons - Olympos
Dan Simmons - The Terror
Guy Gavriel Kay - Last Light Of The Sun
Ian R. Macleod - The Light Ages
Jasper Fforde - Thursday Next bk1 - The Eyre Affair to bk4 - Something Rotten
Jeff Vandermeer- Veniss Underground
Jeffrey Ford - The Empire of Ice Cream
John C. Wright - Golden Age Bk1 - Bk3
John Scalzi - Old Man's War Series
Jon Courtenay Grimwood - End of the World Blues
Kelly Link - Magic for Beginners (free online) http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3187
Martha Wells - Ile-Rien Series
Naomi Novik - Temeraire Series
Neal Stephenson - Baroque Cycle Series
Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Bk1 - The Name of the Wind
Peg Kerr - The Wild Swans
Peter S. Beagle - Innkeeper's Song
Peter Watts - Blindsight (free online) http://www.feedbooks.com/book/976
Philip Pullman - Dark Materials Series
Robert Charles Wilson - Spin
Scott Lynch - Gentlemen Bastards Series (The_Lies_of_Locke_Lamora+Bk2)
Scott Westerfeld - Succession Series
Susanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange And Mr. Norrell
Tanya Huff - Keeper's Chronicles Book1 - Book3
Vernor Vinge - A Deepness in the Sky
Vernor Vinge - A Fire Upon The Deep
Vernor Vinge - Rainbows End (free online)
Little Brother - Cory Doctorow (free online)

---

Added on November 16, 2009, 12:15 am

Special mention to 'The Monarchies of God' by Paul Kearney. Good but not the best fantasy, but he writes one of the best war scene ever. Kearney's gritty-accurate-and-ultra-satisfying-battle-scene alone is nuff to make this series is worth reading.

This post has been edited by tender: Nov 16 2009, 12:16 AM

Hello everyone! I bet I have bump into some of you in Big Bad Wolf sales in the few tables they have on Fantasy/SF. My cupboard is groaning in pain.

Dan Simmons! Good choice. I love the Terror Some parts got me going "huh??" but mostly, I was too engrossed in fates of the men.

I am glad to announce the arrival of Deadhouse Gates in my collection after a loooooong time (no, not from the sale) . Finally! I can continue on Malazan series as its reputation precedes itself.

So many books, so little time! My new motto for the next year or so.

---

Added on December 21, 2009, 10:55 pmI did a hostile takeover and acquisitioned Ender's Game recently Am over the moon about it.

Anyone read the Night Watch series? I caught some of the movies and thought they are extremely overrated. Avoided the books. But recently found out that the books are vastly diff from movies.

This post has been edited by Persephone: Dec 21 2009, 10:55 PM

hi all..

I'm a fantasy buff.. started out on dragonlance, forgotten realms then moved on to authors from all over the place. Terry Pratchett is one of my staple reads, enjoy every book that he's churned out, esp the one written with Neil Gaiman

Hands down my favourite writer was the late David Gemmell, really one of the most entertaining writers i've read. I have most, if not all of his books. His Troy saga was amazing.

Unfortunately he's passed on and I've been looking for a new writer.

Any recommendations to writers with a similar style ? I like reading about very realistic heroes who are inspiring simply because at the end of it all they are just human and their choices made them heroic. Gemmell always captured that flawlessly..

The closest so far I've found was Brent Week's Night Angel Trilogy.



Here's a list of other writers I've read:

George Martin R.R - Got turned off after his major plot twist involving Rob Stark
Robert Jordan - Still struggling through book 1 to my shame
Raymond E. Feist - His new work is stuffy.. and lacks the edge of the original Riftwar saga
Neil Gaiman - So dark that it's frighteningly real!
Janny Wurts - Ploughed through most of her books, lost interest sadly.
Trudi Canavan - Was so so, I have both trilogies of hers.

Just a hella too many to list out... but i'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by iesnek: Dec 22 2009, 01:00 AM

Your read list has a lot of heroic fantasy.

Good Omens - by TP & NG. One of my favs too. Have you tried Terry Goodkind? RA Salvatore - anything on Dritzz?

L.E. Modesitt feels similar to Gemmell is a "they are just human and their choices made them heroic" way. David Drake can sometimes feel like a sub par Gemmell. I read a lot of Gemmell too. there was a time when i see a Gemmell on a book shelve, i used to grab them FIRST as i am 100% sure i will finish them.

I have most of Salvatore's books on Drizzt... haven't caught up with the latest ones yet, i kind of lost the plot after Kingdom of Orcs saga...

Which Terry Goodkind books do you mean? I think he's decent but haven't read much to have an opinion of him..

Thanks tender I shall give L.E. Modesitt a try then!

does anyone know if the dresden files is any good?

not sure, but its quite popular. and a groupie of feeder industry (TV Series, RPG) milk from it. if you are a fan of ubran fantasy, your welcome to try it out and tell us if its any good.

Read the entire series couple of years ago. Re-read it recently as I some free time. It's a pretty well realized pastiche of urban & low fantasy, with a lot of characters & organizations in play. As to the tone... if you like the TV series House, you'll probably like Dresden. He's not as smart, but he's gott a similar attitude. Also amazing is just how much he gets beaten up in each of the books, he's not your typical high fantasy uber-badass type hero - he's just stubborn & gets described (even by himself) as basically a thug.

Contains high levels of snark

I just read The Black Magician trilogy ("The Magicians' Guild, The Novice, The Highlord") by Trudi Canavan and while it's easy to read, I didn't enjoy it. There's... something missing from the story. I liked John Marco's Tyrants and Kings trilogy (Jackal of Nar, The Grand Design, Saints of the Sword) but it's rather unwieldy than epic.

Anyone can recommend a sweeping epic, say about the rise of an individual to a position of power? I like reading stuff with huge clashing armies, political maneuverings in the background and deep characters. I guess I'm too spoiled by Legend of Galactic Heroes.

i'm looking for a good fantasy series to jump into. Browsed thru amazon.com and find robin hobb's series to be highly rated. However no one mentioned them here...

FYI, at least 2 of us mention Robin Hobb, on the 2nd page of this 3 page only thread lol. And we can never recommend her highly enough. she's sublime. If you like superb character development go for Farseer, but one of my all time fav, one of the reason why i read the this genre, high fantasy at its best, is Liveship Trader trilogy.

Just finished this, after seeing a millyun recomendations. Has it's moments, and certainly has potential but the story goes nowhere. I'm kind of unhappy as this made me break my rule about not getting involved in unfinished series....

Hopefully, my next series that i'm gonna start on (Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin) is better. Supposed to work as a standalone novel & has gotten praise from some reliable reviewers....

Also just finishes Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Excellent disposable read, but not as good (or as intrigung a magic system) as in Elantris.

Just came from Borders Penang...can u believe they no longer stock Robin Hobb's books??? grr

Holy crap is it better.

It's an excellent standalone book, & quite surprisingly original. The tone of voice is different to almost anything I've ever read before. Very highly recommended. You can read the sample chapters on the authors website to get a better idea.

This post has been edited by snowcrash: Apr 14 2010, 01:14 PM

Can you not order from them? Or buy on some online bookstore?

---

Added on June 17, 2010, 7:42 pmHave you guys been to BookXcess@AmCorp Mall PJ?
http://www.bookxcess.com/booklist.html

Price in RM, to name a few,
NEAL STEPHENSONANATHEM 24.90
NEAL STEPHENSONTHE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD 17.90
KIM STANLEY ROBINSONBLUE MARS 17.90
KIM STANLEY ROBINSONGREEN MARS 17.90
L.E. MODESITT, JR. ARCHFORM : BEAUTY. 17.90.
L.E. MODESITT, JR. SHADOWSINGER. 17.90
STEVEN ERIKSON
DUST OF DREAMS 19.90
MIDNIGHT TIDES 19.90
THE BONEHUNTERS 17.90
TOLL THE HOUNDS 17.90
LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD THE SHARING KNIFE LEGACY V2 24.90
Books here are cheap and brand new, hardcovers definitely a steal!

This post has been edited by tender: Jun 17 2010, 07:42 PM

DragonLance- My all time Fav

No, Chewbacca as in Man's best friend. Hans Solo's companion (yes the big furry ape-like thingy) in Star Wars. Sorry, apart from being a fantasy b*tch, I'm a huge slut for Star Wars.

Hmm. I wonder why no one's mentioned Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana? Quite one of my personally most memorable reads. Dianora di Certando is rather tragic, no? His Fionavar Tapestry books are less mature than Tigana, shows his roots in editing the Silmarillion as he's rather leaning heavily on Tolkien...

I'm reading the Farseer's first book and as noted here by members, the character development is seriously detailed!

The book really get me hooked up to see what's next and the book being rather thick made me rest assured for it not to end early.

Thanks for the members who recommend this book. I'm eager to read the next two books. Hehe.

i liked Tigana too. It's a good read. it felt indeed more mature than most fantasty when i read it years ago. after reading it i feel like thats what real fantasy should be, one rich compact book, not many multi volume fat empty books.

for me, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, Lions of Al-Rassan are good reads. However, Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors are just sublime. Fionavar Tapestry? i can't finish reading it, maybe it is meant for a younger age group.

My favorite fantasy novel would have to be Magician by Raymond E Feist. The Riftwar saga novels are great reads if you're a hardcore Feist fan, but honestly his new series (The Conclave of Shadows) are a little blah, the first in the series - Talon of The Silver Hawk - being the only exception. It's still can't hold a candle to Magician, but a good read nonetheless.

Robin Hobb's series are great too, but sometimes are a little painful to read because she puts the main characters go through seriously crappy stuff. But still good. She gives her characters so much life that you can't help but think they're you're friends

This post has been edited by etch: Dec 25 2010, 12:22 AM

True, I think a person with less patience can't stand to read the torment Robin puts to the main character. Its unique indeed as the main character is not some super-talented person and having the common deus ex machina element in it.

Apart from that, I am reading the Earthsea cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin. The books are kind of relaxing with no heavy plot and pretty much sorcery are in the books. I wonder if Eragon got the idea of the 'true name' of things from the Earthsea cycle.

---

Added on July 29, 2010, 12:07 amDone reading 3 books fron the Earthsea cycle. It turns out I'm still clinging to Robin Hobb's detailed character development style. In earthsea, you can't really see the development despite of having a good start in book 1. After that, the time gap is too much and before you realize, the main character has become a 40 year old Archmage!

Oh well, some fantasies do turned out a bitter one. ^^

This post has been edited by snowfire64: Jul 29 2010, 12:07 AM

Ah, my favourite genre. Reminds me of the many, many books borrowed from the John Medley Library during my uni days. Used to read about a book a week back then (almost all fantasy).

Eddings, Feist, Wurtz, Le Guin, Kay, Salvatore, Weiss & Hickman, etc... Strangely never touched Pratchett. One of my faves is Gemmell, who is sadly gone and won't have any more from him (read all his titles).

Thanks for all the recommendations here... will look for Malazan series, Robin Hobbs and Liveship Trader.

When you've read Hobb's works (and like it), you get a little spoiled, I think. You come to expect that all books' character developments should be as detailed as they are in her books.

I used to read Pratchett a lot when I was younger. Though recently I read "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch", his collaboration with Neil Gaiman. A very fun read.

I forgot to mention Neil Gaiman earlier. I read his works when I want something whimsical and fun to read.

Neil Gaiman stuff are quirky I like!

For those looking for some rather Victorian fantasy/alternate history-fantasy stuff, you should try:
1. Susanna Clarke: "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell" and her anthology "Ladies of Grace Adieu"
2. Naomi Novik: Temeraire series (up to 5 books so far)

To make things short, my most memorable reads like millions would be LOTR, years before it became mainstream and got me off sci-fi .

Another would be Raymond E.F's Magician.. ahh Pug, i rate him higher than Merlin!! Not sure if anyone mentioned it, apart from Magician i prefered Empire trilogy over his riftwars. Both i love though. My most favourite heroine Mara of the Acoma. Talk about feminism

Currently, reading 4th book of Malazan Empire series. What i think about Steven E's writing and some spoilers below *ALERT*.

Hi, first time in the LYN Book Club. I agree with the poster that said you get spoiled after reading robin hobb's book. She's one of the best author out there. And her Farseer's trilogy is the best trilogy i've read so far. I love Fitz so much in those 3 books. You cry and laugh throughout the books and feel miserable when you get to the end of the book

Another author i recently favor is cinda williams chima. i've only read one of her book so far "The dragon heir" but i'm hook onto the series already. The characters, the plot it really sucks me into its world. The 2nd book just came out in September and I'm scouring the bookstore nearby for it.

Just finished Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy based on a recommendatory here. Very bloody, quite decently written. A bit too much to the "grim & gritty" end of things, especially with the reveal at the end.

It's odd though. It has all the trappings of one, but I cannot honestly consider it epic fantasy. It's viewpoint is just too.... small.

You got that right, you have to keep up with ever changing environment. One time you've been chased by assasins in Darujhistan and suddenly you're doing recon as the bridgeburners. Kinda mind fatigue at first for the first 3 books. I stop to a take a break from the series at book 3.

Spot on! Fitz is the most unfortunate hero ever

I know we shouldnt judge a book by it's cover..but this is damn tempting..and the title lures as well.. Anyone care to comment as i am undecided whether to spend RM40 on it...~

The news has been making the rounds the last couple of weeks, but GRR Martin has more or less confirmed that A Dance with Dragons will be coming out this year, date given : TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2011

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts...785-dragon-time
http://grrm.livejournal.com/199836.html

Fingers crossed, this date will happen!

hello, bringing back this thread from a heavy sleep.

any of you guys know what would be the quickest way to get the new GoT book (A Dance With Dragons) in Malaysia? MPH website says it would be available on September.
And shipping from Amazon takes like two weeks on the more affordable shipping options.

I would not mind getting the ebook either, so if someone knows an online store that is accesible from here, please let me know.

Thanks.

i din realise there is a thread for fantasy books.....was diverted here from another topic. i only read fantasy & sometimes comics likes calvin & hobbes & zits.

currently favourite authors ( highly recommended )...

joe abercrombie
ken scholes
jv jones
peter v brett
patrick rothfuss
george rr martin
robert jordan/brandon sanderson wot
r scott bakker
steven erikson
brent weeks

just bought...

douglas hulick - among thieves
brandon sanderson - the way of kings
blake charlton - spellwright
zits - sketchbook 6, 8 & 9.

i buy my books from acmamall......free delivery in malaysia & sin but best of all always have discount. i usu buy when they hv 30% discount or higher.....delivery abt 2 wks.
you can pre-order books from acmamall as well. tel service quite good...only blemish is the sometimes poor loading of webpage, maybe sometimes too much traffic.

Released in Amazon Today! For those who have Kindle grab yours now!

You probably know by now but in case you don't, ADWD is available at Kinokuniya. Just got it this afternoon and man, it's a freaking big book. I normally avoid hardcovers but life is too short to wait another year for the paperback.

Mmm, yeah, A Dance with Dragons is available at kino. I got mine on the 12th itself. Saw someone reading the book in KLCC park. ASOIAF really has some fans over here.

Unfortunately the book is still sitting unread on my shelf. Need to finish the last 200 or so pages of The Way of Kings first.

Finished Drance With Dragons yesterday. Man, it was massive.... still processing everything.... will have comment when my brain working again.

I suggest Brent Weeks of the Night Angel trilogy. It's quite brutal and convoluted but he ties the story up quite nicely. I only wish he wrote more as the story was left open.

Reading Malazan Book of the Fallen now and must admit that I like it a lot. First book was convoluted but from the 2nd book onwards there's a kind of familiarity that pulls you into the story.

ASOIAF seems to have lost its momentum with ADWD. Story not going forward much and not as interesting as the first 3 books.

For stand alone fantasy books I like Guy Gavriel Kay. Tigana, Last Light of the Sun,

Also quite like Lynn Flewelling's Tamir series and Nightstalker series.

Dragonlance novels are a mixed bunch but always fun to read.

Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy was also quite good.

Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller chronicles also promises to be good, but I fear it will end up like ASOIAF. Fours years between book 1 and 2 already. I think there's still a book 3, but maybe it'll end up being extended like ASOIAF or WoT.

Haven't checked out Robin Hobb and a few others. Have a list of to read books somewhere I need to dig out.

George R.R. Martin ASoIF - hands down the best adult fantasy out there. May not be for someone who's looking for quick and fast action. But for someone like me who has grown tired of reading of tons and tons of LotR and similar works, this series is highly recommended. Its major strength is its characterization and dialogues. Never will you meet such a wide disparity of well-written characters and best of all, there is no clear-cut who's the good/bad guy; it just depends on the point of view.
Plot is intriguing enough, pace - depends on which book of the series. Fighting - brutal and realistic. FYI, I have first read this series in 1994 and have re-read it 3-4 times since. The re-read is a must because the author is a very sly guy; there are hints and foreshadowing throughtout the series, you'll never know what you are missing. Also, re-reading the dialogues are very rewarding too. The only negative thing about this series is the wait. Imagine yourself like me waiting for 5 years for the next book. But Padawan, patience is a virtue, so I shall keep my fingers crossed and hope that the author outlives the series.

Other fantasy series that I have read which is worth mentioning are: Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller chronicles, Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards and to a certain extent a few of Joe Abercombie's works which I enjoyed like BSC, Heroes, Red Country.

Also, other works by GRRM are quite refreshing too in the sense that these books do not fall into the normal cliche like the Fevre Dream, Dying of the Light,etc.

Will keep an eye out for those other authors mentioned above..once i am done with ASoIF..thanks mate!

I am a big fan of Wheel of Time. Currently reading book 10: Crossroads of Twilight.

Other fantasy books I've read includes: Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, Narnia series, Bridge to Terabithia, random Charmed novels, random Angel novels, random Buffy: The Vampire Slayer novels, random Magic: The Gathering novels. I really loved the Kamigawa arc for Magic: The Gathering novel series.

Thanks for all the recommended books in this topic. I plan to check them out after I finish my to-read list. It's a long list and mostly science fiction.

Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series is fantastic.

Novels

Bloodstone (1975)
Dark Crusade (1976)
Darkness Weaves (1978) (editorially altered abridgement published in 1970 as "Darkness Weaves With Many Shades")

Story collections

Death Angel's Shadow (1973)
"Reflections for the Winter of My Soul" - Kane meets an enemy who knows him (sequel to Dark Crusade)
"Cold Light" - a knight's quest to kill Kane
"Mirage" - Kane discovers that death is not the answer to his problems
Night Winds (1978)
"Undertow" - Kane's mistress attempts to escape from him
"Two Suns Setting" - Kane witnesses the death of the last of an elder race
"The Dark Muse" - Kane's poet friend takes inspiration from a journey to chaos
"Raven's Eyrie" - a previous victim attempts revenge
"Lynortis Reprise" - the survivors of a siege meet a betrayer
"Sing a Last Song of Valdese" - a wizard's revenge
The Book of Kane (1985)
"Reflections for the Winter of My Soul", "Sing a Last Song of Valdese", "Raven's Eyrie" and:
"Misericorde" - a girl demands her lover prove himself
"The Other One" - the gods are sometimes merciful; Kane is less so

Thread resuscitation!!

Hi I read half of Magician and loved it. I'm planning to read the rest of the Riftwar Cycle series.


I'm planing to read David Eddings' and Salvatore's. Heard Salvatore is very excellent at writing fight scene.

Thanks, since more than one person think it's good, I'll check it out too.

I also plan to read ASoIaF. Heard that George put a lot of realistic humanity in his novels' characters which is why the series is popular.

Thanks for these perspectives.

__________

Thanks for the thread and recommendations, folks!

I have Riftwar Cycle, Belgariad, Mallorean, Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire but so far I've only read half of Riftwar Cycle's Magician, lol. I'm becoming a bookworm for one, I love fantasy sword-and-sorcery stories, two, I'm trying to learn from the authors how to write an epic fantasy since I'm trying to write my own fantasy sword-and-sorcery stories. So yeah, I have lotsa reading, writing and research to do.

And more recommendations, opinions and reviews from you guys is better. ^^

Cheers!

Try newer stuff like the Powder Mage trilogy, the Stormlight Archive, the Traitor Son cycle, Mark Lawrence's 'XXX of Thorns' books, The Thousand Names, etc. All really good stuff.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out.

This post has been edited by Zefreonnoerfez: Jul 16 2014, 02:06 PM

I'm gonna try Stormlight Archive. Read its info a bit, seems like it has nice storyline. Way of Kings, here I come!

This post has been edited by Zefreonnoerfez: Jul 17 2014, 11:39 PM

The Riyria Chronicles (and spin-offs) by Michael J. Sullivan.




-- Theft of Swords, Michael J. Sullivan



-- The Crown Tower, by Michael J. Sullivan


Someone mentioned The Lies of Locke Lamora of the Gentlemen Bastards Sequence. It's a good series. For something in the same vein but 'lighter':

-- "The Legend of Eli Monpress 1: The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron

This post has been edited by ray123: Jul 21 2014, 01:00 PM