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I fell in love with The Chronicles of Amber when I was 12. I must have read it at least 5 times before even getting to high school. (I still have my 'Science Fiction Book Club" hardbacks :-). This one may have ruined me for some of the more 'typical' fantasy books. I don't have a lot of patience for stories where the heroes are handsome and flawless, the bad guys are ugly and conniving, and moral ambiguity doesn't exist.Another series I love is The Book of the New Sun, which some argue belongs in the science fiction camp instead of fantasy. I think it's at home in both as the shining example of science indistinguishable from magic.
Mod
weird, I don't think so?
Her Farseer series, Tawny Man, and Liveship traders series are classic staples of traditional style fantasy.
Soldier Son is about a world where the second son must become a soldier without choice and work for the King. There is plains magic, which you are first introduced to, and then forest magic, both of which use Nevarre as a pawn in their battle against each other.
Farseer is where a royal bastard is denied his earthly heritage but he has a magic heritage that can't be denied. He is first trained as a royal assassin. Then he finds he has "wit" the ability to mind meld with animals.... Great series.
Adam wrote: "The description for The Book of the New Sun sounds Fantasy to me..."Ah, and that is its genius. On the surface, it's pure fantasy: swords, guilds, towers, etc... But close reading reveals that all the fantasy elements are actually the remnants of long forgotten technology on a far future Earth.
Steampunk? No, not so much. Or even a little. IMHO.
A favorite of mine for its depictation of the Sidhe world and Celtic mythology. The Dreaming Tree, this is two books, The Tree of Swords and Jewels and The Dreamstone. The Book of the New Sun is usually labeled as 'science fantasy' so I think it fits.
I haven't read The Great book of Amber, but that's my husband's favorite scifi/fantasy series. He's been pushing me to read them. I think I just might once I finish the Game of Thrones and The Wheel of Time series.
Mod
How far did you get on the Wheel of Time? I gave up after
a crown of swords. there was too much character drift. Things Rand and others learned as life lessons 2 books earlier kept cropping up as if the lessons didn't happen.
Also, I got tired of keeping track of illogical story arcs that just died for no reason (the museum, the "oliphants", I could go on)
You know, I just started. I'm only halfway through the first book, but I own the first three, so I'm hoping to make it at least that far.
Mod
I hope not to have ruined anything for you!
John wrote: "Shannon wrote: "You know, I just started. I'm only halfway through the first book, but I own the first three, so I'm hoping to make it at least that far." Oops, I'm sorry, I misread you and thought..."No, not at all! Just don't tell me anything about Game of Thrones if you've read it. ;)
I've had the Wheel of Time books for quite a while, but I'm reading them until I've had the chance to buy the second book from GOT. I looked at the book list here and there are a few books that interest me. I also want to read the Princes of Amber series. Unfortunately my local library doesn't carry them.
Mod
and other books by this author. Very well written, compelling and hard to put down.
I love all of David Eddings series. I also highly recommend the Mithgar books of Dennis L. McKiernan. For traditional fantasy I have found him very enjoyable.I will second the Half-Orc books by David Dalglish. A fine, fun, dark read.
Sounds like I have a lot to check out! Just need to start and then finish Princes of Amber!
My favorite fantasy series are:The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher
The Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier
The Bridei Chronicles by Juliet Marillier
The Light Isles series by Juliet Marillier
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
I don't think they were YA ...didn't seem that way to me. Even if they were they were great books.
Adam wrote: "Out of that list I've only read the Narnia books.Jim Butcher's name keeps coming up. Is his stuff YA or otherwise? I ask because of the groups he keeps coming up where YA is popular."
I don't think anyone would consider "The Dresden Files" YA. I haven't read "The Codex Alera" books, but they are a 'coming of age' story, so I guess it depends whose definition you want to use.
I looked it up online and some people did refer to it as YA but it's in the sci-fi/fantasy section at the library and bookstores but I guess it depends who you ask. It is a coming of age story but I didn't see it as YA.
I have a lot of favorite series:The Chronicles of Amber
The Dresden Files
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Iron Druid Chronicles
Kushiel's Legacy
The Mabinogion Tetralogy
The Elric Saga
Jig the Goblin series
I didn't add Lord of the Rings, because I see it as one book and not a series.
Mod
I also finished The Hawk and His Boy and really felt immersed in its world,
Two of my favourite series are The wheel of time by Robert Jordan and the Shannara series by Terry Brooks.
Traditional Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Riddle-Master (other topics)The Dreaming Tree (other topics)
The Tree of Swords and Jewels (other topics)
The Dreamstone (other topics)
The Chronicles of Amber (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Dennis L. McKiernan (other topics)David Dalglish (other topics)
Soldier Son trilogy http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45...
but I read it years before coming here so I don't have a review for it right now.