for fantasy book lovers, a series to rival Game of Thrones

[Ken Gargett]

8 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

Might be worth giving the "Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan.  14 novels of high fantasy is plenty of reading material for a lengthy lockdown ....

And for lighter fare, what could be better than to revisit the entire oeuvre of PTerry Pratchett?  Comic genius with the best damn footnotes ever, and a keen-eyed yet humane observer of the human condition.  

alex, ideal suggestion - and my apols, i called him richard jordan above. i am about three in so lots to enjoy.

has anyone mentioned lord of the rings? i suspect only fantasy fans are still reading this thread so everyone will have done so, but i try and reread it once every 5-6 years. and it might be getting close to that. 

[gweilgi]

1 minute ago, Ken Gargett said:

alex, ideal suggestion - and my apols, i called him richard jordan above. i am about three in so lots to enjoy.

has anyone mentioned lord of the rings? i suspect only fantasy fans are still reading this thread so everyone will have done so, but i try and reread it once every 5-6 years. and it might be getting close to that. 

JRRT is always worth mentioning!  I read TLOTR when I was 12, and it has stayed with me ever since.

On a slightly related note: it's not fantasy but rather science fiction, but for anyone who likes preposterous ideas and genuinely good writing (not all that common in these genres, it must be admitted), do look into Iain M. Banks.  I am currently revisiting his Culture books, and they are most excellent.

[Ken Gargett]

36 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

JRRT is always worth mentioning!  I read TLOTR when I was 12, and it has stayed with me ever since.

On a slightly related note: it's not fantasy but rather science fiction, but for anyone who likes preposterous ideas and genuinely good writing (not all that common in these genres, it must be admitted), do look into Iain M. Banks.  I am currently revisiting his Culture books, and they are most excellent.

tolkien and i share a birthday! very different years of course. 

i was also 12. blew me away. 

have read a couple of banks but nothing for ages. 

[SirVantes]

1 hour ago, gweilgi said:

On a slightly related note: it's not fantasy but rather science fiction, but for anyone who likes preposterous ideas and genuinely good writing (not all that common in these genres, it must be admitted), do look into Iain M. Banks.  I am currently revisiting his Culture books, and they are most excellent.

And I would add the same advice that I gave to all those to whom I had recommended the series: start with the The Player of Games (Book 2 in order of publication) and feel your skull stretch with each succeeding book. 

[The Squiggler]

On 3/26/2020 at 7:05 AM, davidv said:

robin hobb is another awesome writer, loved her farseer trilogy series.

 

13 hours ago, gweilgi said:

Might be worth giving the "Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan.

Two more great recommendations.  Farseer kicks off a 16 book series, all of which are quite good, most of which are great.  "Wheel of Time" which, incidentally, was finished by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death, is another classic... a bit pulpy (don't hurt me please ?) in comparison to Tolkien and Erickson who crafted complexly symbolic and deeply philosophical narratives, but vast and vastly entertaining most of the time.  It does meander a bit, but epic fantasy doesn't generally click with those who need instant gratification anyhow.

[The Squiggler]

13 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

tolkien and i share a birthday!

that's great!  The most noteworthy historical figure who shared my birthday was Louis-Philippe I of France

?

[Ken Gargett]

3 hours ago, The Squiggler said:

that's great!  The most noteworthy historical figure who shared my birthday was Louis-Philippe I of France

?

keep searching! 

tolkien, mel gibson, greta T and me. 

not necessarily the greatest array ever collect but tolkien is neat. 

[Chibearsv]

Ken, thank you for the recommendation on the Daevabad series.  I haven't read fantasy since I was in my teens with LOTR, Elric, and the Chronicles of Corum.  I'm about 1/2 through The City of Brass and really enjoying it.  It's definitely a page turner.

[CaptainQuintero]

 So I've enjoyed nearly everything posted and thought I'd add a brilliant trilogy I stumbled upon a few years ago. Deaths Head by David Gunn. 

Death's Head, Maximum Offence then Day of the Damned.

  They're sci fi, superbly written and have none of the usual pretentious nature that the genre usually suffers from. Lots of snort out loud moments, and real down to earth page turners. Kind of like a Sharpe in space, but more grown up.

 

[gweilgi]

Another recommendation: Stephen Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant".  Highly original, well-written, quite absorbing.

[Deeg]

43 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

Another recommendation: Stephen Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant".  Highly original, well-written, quite absorbing.

That was one of my first epic fantasy series, and it remains close to my heart.  Subsequent re-readings over the years have revealed a few annoying idiosyncrasies which I didn't pick up on when reading it as a teenager, but the best moments are incredibly high-level.

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, gweilgi said:

Another recommendation: Stephen Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant".  Highly original, well-written, quite absorbing.

that is a blast from the past. 

[Ken Gargett]

3 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Ken, thank you for the recommendation on the Daevabad series.  I haven't read fantasy since I was in my teens with LOTR, Elric, and the Chronicles of Corum.  I'm about 1/2 through The City of Brass and really enjoying it.  It's definitely a page turner.

really delighted you are enjoying it. was really hoping everyone didn't come back and tell me it was a load of crap. thanks. 

[gweilgi]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

really delighted you are enjoying it. was really hoping everyone didn't come back and tell me it was a load of crap. thanks. 

De gustibus est disputandum ad infinitum nauseamque ... we can and do debate individual tastes and preferences endlessly and to the point of nausea.  But what is not up for debate is our right to our own tastes and opinions.  If someone likes to puff on marmite-flavoured Philipino shortfillers, we could (and probably would) tease them for it but who are we to say that they must not enjoy them?  Same with literature.  Science-fiction and fantasy have a hard enough time being accepted as "proper" literature without being trashed by those of us who like the genre.  Oh, and no, the Daveabad series is far from crap, in my ever so humble opinion.  

[Ken Gargett]

51 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

De gustibus est disputandum ad infinitum nauseamque ... we can and do debate individual tastes and preferences endlessly and to the point of nausea.  But what is not up for debate is our right to our own tastes and opinions.  If someone likes to puff on marmite-flavoured Philipino shortfillers, we could (and probably would) tease them for it but who are we to say that they must not enjoy them?  Same with literature.  Science-fiction and fantasy have a hard enough time being accepted as "proper" literature without being trashed by those of us who like the genre.  Oh, and no, the Daveabad series is far from crap, in my ever so humble opinion.  

completely agree. i love the series, so far. one of my absolute top faves. i put the thread up because i know plenty of people on the forum love this stuff. even if everyone had said i was wrong, it was rubbish, i'll still be reading the last volume the moment it arrives. but i was hoping others would agree. 

[Ken Gargett]

apols if someone has ,mentioned her but was wondering if anyone has read N K Jemisin. some pretty amazing stuff there. 

[GVan]

Ken, Thanks for starting this topic!  I was thinking of doing the same as reading during these times of COVID-19 is really a calming activity that can pass the hours away!  Unfortunately, a good book can sometimes get me in trouble when I can't put it down and lose sleep, forget normal house chores or miss something my wife said to me -- Like, "I took the garbage out for you..... "

 

Agree with the Thomas Covenant Trilogy.  Read that many years ago, had the books so just finished re-reading the entire series.  I remembered reading The Foundation Trilogy - Classic Isaac Isimov - while in college.  Used some of the principles in my Management Models through the years of Business (another story for another time).  Just before all this stay at home hit us, I ordered it on Amazon and it showed up a few weeks back  Really a great re-read that as said by others above, I missed some of the subtleties the first time though (~40 years ago).  Kept me busy for about 4 to 5 days of solid reading!

 

While my favorites are fantasy / sci-fi -- really enjoy the Vince Flynn, Mitch Rapp series of books.  18 of them in the series, had 7 of them, just added 3 more I found on Amazon relatively cheap.  By the way -- I'm "old school" it has to be a hardcover for me -- goes into the Library that someday I hope the following generations of family will enjoy some of the hard covers / series that I have collected.  It may be just a silly wish, the books will probably end up in a GoodWill / Salvation Army store being sold for $1 a book .....

 

[ayepatz]

For those who may not be aware, Thomas Covenant is not just a trilogy - there are 10 books in the series.

I’m about to start Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon Trilogy, as soon as I get finished with False Value, the latest Ben Aaronovitch novel (great stuff if you want some funnier fantasy).

[gweilgi]

4 hours ago, ayepatz said:

For those who may not be aware, Thomas Covenant is not just a trilogy - there are 10 books in the series.

I’m about to start Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon Trilogy, as soon as I get finished with False Value, the latest Ben Aaronovitch novel (great stuff if you want some funnier fantasy).

Aaaronovich is great fun, especially if you're a Londoner (local knowledge helps).  

Altered Carbon is excellent, as is pretty much all by RM ...

[Chibearsv]

Finished The Kingdom of Copper and now it's a waiting game until the final book comes out in June.  At least there's a current break in the action so picking it up again in a couple months shouldn't be too tough.  It's a helluva roller coaster.  ?

[Ken Gargett]

4 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Finished The Kingdom of Copper and now it's a waiting game until the final book comes out in June.  At least there's a current break in the action so picking it up again in a couple months shouldn't be too tough.  It's a helluva roller coaster.  ?

glad you enjoyed them. i'm the same. have the order in, just waiting for it to arrive!

[frenchkiwi]

Been a while but two others i think i enjoyed once upon a time that i can vaguely remember were:

- Magician (riftwar?) trilogy by R Feist

- Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur,  by Stephen Lawhead

but i was spoiled by reading Tolkien's hobbit + lotr by age 9, after that the bar was set too high for everything else it seems.

[BJRPorter]

Feist’s early work is excellent. I read Faerie Tale once a year or so.

Magician Apprentice/Master series is great. Too many offshoots/extensions though.

 

Patrick Rothfuss/Kingkiller is amazing. Extremely well written. Book three, Doors of Stone is scheduled for August 2020.

 

If you like good writing, and long books, read Ken Follett’s Pillars of The Earth series. It is not fantasy, it is based upon fictional characters in European history beginning in the 12th century.

 

Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince series is very entertaining.

 

[clickbangdoh]

I don't think I've seen anyone in the thread mention them, but Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series is excellent. Mix of magic infused with a detective noir type of vibe, especially in the earlier works. Highly recommend.

[Deeg]

46 minutes ago, BJRPorter said:

 

Patrick Rothfuss/Kingkiller is amazing. Extremely well written. Book three, Doors of Stone is scheduled for August 2020.

Since we’ve all been waiting for an agonizingly long time, it’s worth pointing out that date is totally unofficial. Until P.R. himself confirms it I think GRRM levels of skepticism are warranted.