Looking for some good Fantasy

[hopefuldreamer]

Cheers I've read Neverwhere (loved it ), but will check out the others.

I'm about half way through Eye of the World at the moment and really enjoying it. Definitely the kind of thing I was looking for

 

[JewishHobbit]

Neverwhere... that was a good book. My book club read it a year or two ago and we all unanimously agreed that it was one of our favorites.

 

[Alistair]

Cheers I've read Neverwhere (loved it ), but will check out the others.

I'm about half way through Eye of the World at the moment and really enjoying it. Definitely the kind of thing I was looking for

Eye of the World is awesome! From there it slows down big time, but still a great series neither less. I need to start rereading the series due the last book is coming out soon, and I stumbled upon this when I was 13 at the library (before anyone knew who Jordan was). Moraine will always be my most fave character, IMO next to Thom.

Neverwhere... that was a good book. My book club read it a year or two ago and we all unanimously agreed that it was one of our favorites.

He is a fantastic writer. Have you ready any of his other stuff? Stardust? American Gods?

 

[Victarion]

I'm glad you're enjoying WOT. I tried the first 3 books and it just wasn't for me.

 

[Zaranne]

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.

I agree on The Wheel of Time. I'm re-reading it now, in Book 3, and hearing that the last book will be out next year is music to my ears. I was REALLY worried when I heard that Robert Jordan had died, worried that he hadn't finished the series, because I stopped reading them at about book 8. And I didn't pick them back up until recently. I'm glad I let a lot of time go by before picking it up again, because I forgot a lot!

 

[JewishHobbit]

He is a fantastic writer. Have you ready any of his other stuff? Stardust? American Gods?

Neither of those, but I have read Good Omens and Coraline, both of which were good. I started American Gods but the language was pretty bad and I'm a PG/PG-13 type of guy. Heavy language will turn me off every time.

 

[El Bastardo]

The original poster asked for something light-hearted, and people are recommending Gemmel and Buttfuss? Wow. That'd be like me recommending Martin, Abercrombie, or Kearney (though they're all better writers than the previous latter). Nobody recommended Scott Lynch? (I'm not recommending Scott Lynch, OP - stay away.)

You could try the Noble Dead series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. They're fairly light-hearted, and I think most people enjoy the characters.

I highly recommend Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, beginning with The Furies of Calderon.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I've not read much but if lighthearted is what's wanted maybe a little Terry Pratchet? I'm not a fan but I'm not into humorous books really. Mort was decent.

 

[El Bastardo]

Oh yes, certainly Terry Pratchett.

 

[Samwise Gamgee]

You might enjoy the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. The Sword of Shanarra is the first book....the plot and feel is very much like The Lord of the Rings but it is an easier read. The subsequent novels follow later generations of some of the main characters and are all good in their own right.


*Edit: Sorry, just re-read your first post and saw that you already read the Shanarra books!

 

[JewishHobbit]

I read the Sword of Shanarra and really enjoyed it. My exact quote was, "This is such a Lord of the Rings knock off... but a good one!"

 

[Samwise Gamgee]

I'm looking for a fantasy book as well...I'll tell you what kind of Fantasy works I've enjoyed in the past and maybe someone can make a recommendation:


A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
The Kingkiller Chronicles series by Patrick Rothfuss
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Shannara series by Terry Brooks
The Passage by Justin Cronin (more of a horror book but I feel vampires/zombies overlaps a little into Fantasy)

I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending as long as it's a quality ending.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Have you tried any other Tolkien books? The Hobbit or the Silmarillion? As I've said before, the Silmarillion is almost like reading a text book detailing the events of the First Age of Middle Earth but if you let your imagination run wild it sets up some awesome visuals making it even more amazing in hindsight.

 

[Two-Face Killer]

I didn't see anybody mention/suggest R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series. The last few books have had some less than lighthearted parts but the first few trilogies were really fun. It has the standard D&D party format but it grows into so much more and you really, really care about the characters. I'm still sad about a fringe character that died in one of the battles in one of the middle books, won't mention who so I don't spoil it if anyone happens to be reading it right now

Anyway, definitely worth checking out. Start with the Dark Elf Trilogy and then move onto the Icewind Dale Trilogy, if anybody is interested.

 

[Destructus86]

I really like the Lodestone series

 

[zanos]

The Dark Elf trilogy was particularly good. Icewind Dale was not that great in comparison since that was not focused on Drizzt. At least the first book wasn't; I haven't read the rest of the trilogy.

 

[Two-Face Killer]

The Dark Elf trilogy was particularly good. Icewind Dale was not that great in comparison since that was not focused on Drizzt. At least the first book wasn't; I haven't read the rest of the trilogy.

If you get a chance you should finish it out. I know what you mean about Drizzt and the Dark Elf trilogy but you really start to love Bruenor and Wulfgar (I can take or leave Catti-Brie and Regis to be honest) and their relationship with Drizzt. There are some other characters that become friends of the group that you start to like a lot too.

Or maybe they just aren't as fun to some people as they are to me. No big deal. Either way, happy reading!

 

[zanos]

I'll get to them eventually, as I do want to read the books that come after the Icewind Dale Trilogy. I get the sense those are alot more interesting.

 

[El Bastardo]

I'm looking for a fantasy book as well...I'll tell you what kind of Fantasy works I've enjoyed in the past and maybe someone can make a recommendation:


A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
The Kingkiller Chronicles series by Patrick Rothfuss
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Shannara series by Terry Brooks
The Passage by Justin Cronin (more of a horror book but I feel vampires/zombies overlaps a little into Fantasy)

I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending as long as it's a quality ending.

Read Joe Abercrombie's work, starting with The First Law trilogy, then Best Served Cold, then The Heroes, and Red Country comes out at the end of October.

And read Paul Kearney's The Monarchies of God saga.

I didn't see anybody mention/suggest R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series. The last few books have had some less than lighthearted parts but the first few trilogies were really fun. It has the standard D&D party format but it grows into so much more and you really, really care about the characters. I'm still sad about a fringe character that died in one of the battles in one of the middle books, won't mention who so I don't spoil it if anyone happens to be reading it right now

Anyway, definitely worth checking out. Start with the Dark Elf Trilogy and then move onto the Icewind Dale Trilogy, if anybody is interested.

I enjoy Salvatore's writing, and for the most part they are fun, light reads. But I'd never recommend him while I could recommend better, stronger writers. I'd recommend him after.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Thanks again guys for all the suggestions! I've now got a list that'll probably last me a few years at the rate I read

I'm looking for a fantasy book as well...I'll tell you what kind of Fantasy works I've enjoyed in the past and maybe someone can make a recommendation:

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
The Kingkiller Chronicles series by Patrick Rothfuss
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Shannara series by Terry Brooks
The Passage by Justin Cronin (more of a horror book but I feel vampires/zombies overlaps a little into Fantasy)

I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending as long as it's a quality ending.

I'll recommend Karen Millar's two book Kingmaker/Kingbreaker series (Starts with The Innocent Mage and ends with The Awakened Mage).

Mainly because no one else will, and I think that's sad

I loved it. I don't know if anyone else has ever read it, it doesn't seem to be all that popular.

But it has a completely addictive main character that I genuinely miss now he's gone, supporting characters with whom he has strong relationships; and is just such an easy, enjoyable read.

It's one of those stories where, when nothing much is happening, you almost don't mind, because she paints such a beautiful picture of the setting that's it's just a nice escape for your mind. But when things DO start happening, wow is it an adrenaline filled, emotional rollercoaster.

 

[Two-Face Killer]

I enjoy Salvatore's writing, and for the most part they are fun, light reads. But I'd never recommend him while I could recommend better, stronger writers. I'd recommend him after.

Salvatore is always the first writer I recommend to people looking for something new to read. We all have our favorites right?

I definitely think his Dark Elf line of stories and the Cleric's Quintet are the best of his books vs the Demonwar books. I just felt like those were a little too similar at times and not as fun/exciting.

Has anybody read the Malazan books by Steven Erikson? They seem interesting and there are certainly a lot of volumes in the series but before I invest a million hours reading them I'd like to know if they are worth the effort.

 

[Wyrminarrd]

The Malazan books by Erikson are great but not the easiest read in the world. The thing to keep in mind is that while all the books deal with the same series of events they don't all follow the same characters. So if you like incredibly well thought out worlds with a deep mythology and complex history and character interaction then this is a great series. I really wish that I'd discovered the series later when it was all finished since reading these book one year apart from each other is not the right way to enjoy the series as it makes remembering everything that's happened really difficult

Other series that I'd recommend are:

"Mistborn" trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
"The night angel trilogy" by Brent Weeks
"Riftwar" and "Serpent war" series by Raymond E. Feist.
"Kingkiller Chronicles" by Patrick Ruthfuss

Plus the usuals like "Wheel of time" and "Song of Ice and fire". There are plenty of other fantasy series that I've read and really enjoyed but these are the ones standing out in my mind at the moment.

 

[Two-Face Killer]

The Malazan books by Erikson are great but not the easiest read in the world. The thing to keep in mind is that while all the books deal with the same series of events they don't all follow the same characters. So if you like incredibly well thought out worlds with a deep mythology and complex history and character interaction then this is a great series. I really wish that I'd discovered the series later when it was all finished since reading these book one year apart from each other is not the right way to enjoy the series as it makes remembering everything that's happened really difficult

Other series that I'd recommend are:

"Mistborn" trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
"The night angel trilogy" by Brent Weeks
"Riftwar" and "Serpent war" series by Raymond E. Feist.
"Kingkiller Chronicles" by Patrick Ruthfuss

Plus the usuals like "Wheel of time" and "Song of Ice and fire". There are plenty of other fantasy series that I've read and really enjoyed but these are the ones standing out in my mind at the moment.

I've read all the Song of Ice and Fire books with the exception of A Dance With Dragons, would you say the Malazan books are similar to those? From your description I immediately thought of them (lots of fleshed out characters, vast world with a ton of lore) as a comparison.

 

[Wyrminarrd]

I've read all the Song of Ice and Fire books with the exception of A Dance With Dragons, would you say the Malazan books are similar to those? From your description I immediately thought of them (lots of fleshed out characters, vast world with a ton of lore) as a comparison.

In some ways they are similar though in many others they are very different. The main difference is that each book in the Malazan is it's own book with it's own focus though it all relates to the same over all events. I read these books over many years as they came out and this made it very difficult to remember everything that had happened (Erikson doesn't waste time with reminding people of what has already happened).

My recommendation is to pick up the first one and see how you like it, I was hooked right from the start as I found "Gardens of the moons" to be fantastic.

 

[redmarvel]

You could also try Kelley Armstrong: "Dime Store Magic"