Looking for some good Fantasy

[hopefuldreamer]

Can anyone make some recommendations for me for a good, light hearted, fantasy novel?

Three most important things:

1. Characters you fall in love with
2. A setting that satisfies my imagination and desire for escapism
3. A quest/journey with a happy ending

I love all of Terry Brooks stuff (both the Landover series and Shannara, The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara in particular), Karen Miller's Kingmaker/Kingbreaker books, Across the Nightingale Floor, the Narnia stories etc. I'd love to find more things like that.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Start with Dragons of Autumn Twilight. You'll thank me.

 

[childeroland]

Anne McCaffrey
Susan Cooper
David Eddings
Laurence Yep
Steven Erikson

 

[zanos]

Read Genesis of Shannara, The Wheel of Time, The Sword of Truth, The Warded Man, Mistborn, Harry Potter, Way of Kings, The Name of the Wind.

 

[barton02]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[HLReasby]

I second the Dragonlance and Patrick Rothfuss suggestions.

Wheel of Time, not so much. I got burned out on that series around book 6 when it seemed like Robert Jordan started trying to figure out how to avoid the fate he'd decreed for his main character.

Another one I HIGHLY recommend is Michael Stackpole's Dragoncrown War Cycle. There's a trilogy that starts with Fortress Draconis and a prequel novel called the Dark Glory War. Again, I cannot recommend this books enough.

 

[HULKFish]

You can always download Chapter 1 and 2 of Marlsbeth... They are FREE downloads from the website! The novel is 610 pages of epic quest!

For the PDF downloads, go here: Marlsbeth downloads

You can also download the map, to follow the tale, and appendecies for reference.

 

[Moridin]

Can anyone make some recommendations for me for a good, light hearted, fantasy novel?

Three most important things:

1. Characters you fall in love with
2. A setting that satisfies my imagination and desire for escapism
3. A quest/journey with a happy ending

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan should be right up your alley.
Although the series isn't over yet (last book out January next year) plenty of great characters/arcs, and it's set in a very rich & fully realised world. Jordan was a phenominal world builder & a damn good story teller.

Or for something a bit shorter try Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Planned as 3 seperate trilogies set hundreds of years appart in the same world, the first trilogy is out plus a shorter "inbetween" novel set somewhere between the 1st & 2nd trilogies . A bit darker than WoT but a good read.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Thanks for all the recs guys. I'll definitely check some of them out and report back

 

[zanos]

You might also want to check out Troy by David Gemmell. It's not what you'd light hearted, nor is it categorized as fantasy, but the storytelling is brilliant and probably his best work as a fantasy writer.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

Can anyone make some recommendations for me for a good, light hearted, fantasy novel?

Three most important things:

1. Characters you fall in love with
2. A setting that satisfies my imagination and desire for escapism
3. A quest/journey with a happy ending

I love all of Terry Brooks stuff (both the Landover series and Shannara, The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara in particular), Karen Miller's Kingmaker/Kingbreaker books, Across the Nightingale Floor, the Narnia stories etc. I'd love to find more things like that.

Haven't you posted in the MAVONDURI thread before?

 

[blainelee]

Troy by David Gemmell,sounds so good,I'll check out later.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Haven't you posted in the MAVONDURI thread before?

Sorry, I don't get it

 

[Lucien]

The Riftwar Saga (Magician, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon) by Raymon E. Feist. Great characters, a fair bit of magic, travel between dimensions, dragon riders, awesome books!

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I remember seeing a lot of Raymond E. Feist about back when I was reading Terry Brooks, and thinking they looked good.

Also think I read a couple of David Gemmel books back then too, but my memory of them 10 years later is just gone

Funnily enough tho, I was digging through a box of my books that's under my bed and Gemmel's 'Legend' is in there. I bought it but never got around to it, but I think I might start there.

Also going to order 5 of the suggestions on this thread on friday when I get paid. Not sure which 5 yet tho, and maybe there will be more suggestions by then

 

[Lucien]

This is the obvious suggestion that everyone gives, but surprisingly no one has yet and it ticks all your boxes, but have you read Tolkein? The Hobbit's a very quick and easy read, and if you don't get put off by his detail The Lord of the Rings is one of the most immersive worlds in literature.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Tolkein's a frustrating one.

I got given the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was maybe 10 years old, and I tried to read them, but I got about as far as Bilbo leaving without the ring and I gave up.

How I wish I hadn't. Or that maybe i'd picked them up when I was just a bit older and more capable of getting through them. Because I have this memory of what my imagination was coming up with back then, and i'd love to know what the rest of the book would have felt like.

But it sort of feels too late. Because I fell in love with the movies when they came out as a late teen. I must have seen Fellowship about a hundred times. My friend and I used to sit and speak along with the movie... we knew it word for word.

And when you know the films that well, it becomes impossible not to keep comparing and it takes away the possibility of your own imagination working for you - because all you'll see is the actors from the films and the settings from the films.

I did try to read them again when I was waiting for Two Towers to come out... but I just couldn't get into it.

Maybe i'll try again one day.

Right now i'm looking to broaden my reading though, not revist stories I already know

I just really wanna find those hidden gems that no one ever suggests, but that I would totally adore.

Just like Karen Miller's Kingmaker/Kingbreaker series. I literally picked it up in a charity shop randomly, and I never hear anyone mention it ever in a list of good fantasy books... but I completely loved it. Asher was one of the most likeable and addictive characters i've ever read in my life

 

[Lucien]

I'd suggest trying the Hobbit before the movie comes out then lol.

Alternatively I can recommend The Banned and the Banished series (Wit'ch Fire, Wit'ch Storm etc) by James Clemmens. When I read these I was completely hooked, I'd refuse to go to sleep to continue reading they were that hard to put down. There's quite a wide variety of characters with inter-weaving narratives, and it's very easy to read.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions.

I've had a good read about all of them on Wikipedia and they all sound right up my alley.

Decided to definitely go for:

Dragons of Autumn Twilight - seems like a good ensemble of characters

Wheel of Time - reading the background of that world got be very excited, just the kind of rich history I love

Dragonfight (Anne McCaffrey) - I like the idea of blurring the line between sci-fi and fantasy

Mistborn - I like the sound of the main character, and the world seems quite immersive too

Got one spot left Gonna do a bit more digging and see which one takes my fancy. Might go for Banned and Banished actually... Just slightly put of by the characters name because of The Vampire Diaries

So much easier having a starting block of good suggestions that actually suit my tastes though

 

[Dark Sentinel]

Sorry, I don't get it

It's my book..I tend to ramble about it. But I'm always looking for new readers so if epic fantasy worlds and big battles are your thing, give it a try.

 

[Victarion]

The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd is great if you like something on the scale of The Wheel of Time, but with a more focused narrative. Lloyd takes some of the usual tropes and gives them a unique spin. This novel is something of an epic sword-n-sorcery. Its follow-up, The Twilight Herald takes a decidedly darker turn. Particularly the spellcraft involving comedic plays, each ending in the excessively bloody slaughter of a given God's priest. In fact, the ending of this one is more or less a slaughter for survival as the heroes attempt to make it out of the city alive. My favorite trope inversion involves the stereotypical "prophecy", which he handles quite nicely.

The characters could easily appear larger than life to other inhabitants of this series' world, but Lloyd gives them their own fears, demons and drives that serve to humanize them.

The world is populated by minotaurs, dragons, wyverns, centaurs, Gods, Aspects, daemons, trolls, mutated elves, and a vampire family cursed with empathy for the mortal races.

 

[JewishHobbit]

If you feel you're too late on Lord of the Rings and are willing to give a tedious but rewarding read a try, I'd recommend Tolkien's "The Silmarillion." It takes place in the first age of Middle Earth. It's like the Bible of Middle Earth. Each chapter is a different book containing its own story but all the stories add up to one epic tale. You'll learn how elves, men, orcs, etc. came to be. It mixes fantasy with christianity with norse mythology and just good storytelling.

Warning though, like the Bible, it isn't written in an exciting way. It just gives the story of what's happening without much emotion or dialogue (though there is some) but if you're one who likes to let your imagination run and fill in the gaps then you'll probably like it and will LOVE it in hindsight when your mind can play with it.

Seriously, armies of elves versus armies of balrogs. The mother of Shelob who weaves webs of darkness. Sauron in his earliest days and Morgoth, Sauron's master. The birth of notable elves such as Elrond and Galadriel. Small mentions of things like that has kept my imagination excited for 15 years since I first read it.

I still think to this day that the Silmarillion could make just as epic of a trilogy as the Lord of the Rings, if not more.

Oddly enough... very little mention of Hobbits in the Silmarillion.

 

[Victarion]

Try Paul S. Kemp's original work, The Hammer and the Blade. Its written in the spirit of a sword-n-sorcery tale, and you can read the first 50 pages free. Just Google the title and Sample, and you should find the link.

It starts off with action, but through the setting he manages to do a bit of world-building instead of just having a straight, boring action sequence. He's also got a series about a priest for a god of thieves, called The Erevis Cale Trilogy.

 

[Tanin]

The Last Herald-Mage trilogy is my absolute favorite fantasy books ever.

 

[Alistair]

I won't go over the ones that have already been mentioned, but here is a few that I like as well.

1) The Death Gate Cycle (Not as dark as it sounds)
2) Codex Alera (Dresden Files are awesome too!)
3) Shadowmarch series
4) Avalon Series
5) The Chronicles of Prydain (For a younger audience, but this is the first series I read)
6) Neverwhere

There is just a few that I can think of top of my head.