Any fantasy books as good as this out there?

[Aaron]

It's a very tall order to come up to this level of writing. I'm going to be radical and suggest these favourites.



The reason I'm suggesting these books is due to the fey sense of enchantment in them, which I found in Rothfuss's books also. It's a rare find in Fantasy today, which is hilarious considering that it's what the genre was invented for I think.

[☆Ruth☆]

I have just finished reading the first two Patrick Rothfuss books and enjoyed them so much I can't settle to anything else at the moment! My other really favourite series are Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson), Farseer trilogy + rainwild chronicles (robin hobb), and the Old Kingdom chronicles (Garth Nix). I've tried to make a start on The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams but I'm finding it very hard to get involved with the characters, so will browse through these posts to see what other 'good reads' people recommend.

[RJ]

Ruth- the opening act of Dragonbone is as dry as its namesake. It's a tough book to start but it is totally worth it. There's a reason Ruthfuss chose Williams to write one of the blurbs for Name of the Wind!

[Felix]

All of the above plus "The Night Angel Trilogy" by Brent Weeks. Also "The Codex Alera & The Harry Dresden," books by Jim Butcher are fantastic!

[Kevin]

I just finished The Black Prism by Brent Weeks and I would recommend it to any fan of Rothfuss' books. Excellent book!!

[Ross Willard]

Okay, two series I've read and enjoyed that I don't think I've seen on here: 1. Restoration, Revelation, Transformation, a trilogy by Carol Berg, (I might have the order of the books wrong) and 2. The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. Both are a little bit lighter reading than a lot of what I've seen posted here, but I think both are worth checking out.

[Renee]

I agree completely with whoever suggested Ender's Game. The following two sequels are incredible, as well. Ender's Game and its sequels got my brother interested in reading, just as The Name of The Wind did with you. He started writing his own book after finishing the series.

Highly recommend.

[Salma]

Kevin wrote: "Blood Song by Anthony Ryan."

I totaly agree with this , "Blood Song" by Anthony Ryan is a great read for anyone who liked Name of the Wind.

[☆Ruth☆]

RJ wrote: "Ruth- the opening act of Dragonbone is as dry as its namesake. It's a tough book to start but it is totally worth it. There's a reason Ruthfuss chose Williams to write one of the blurbs for Name of..."

Many thanks rj I will go back to it when I've finished my current book and persevere some more just reading prince of thorns and king of thorns - great books if a tad bloodthirsty

[infael]

I gotta throw Glen Cook's Black Company books in here.

[Troy]

Peter Brett's Warded man series.
Or any of David Gemmels novels.

[Mike]

Loved these books and for years after reading them found nothing that compared until.....Blood Song!!!

PHENOMENAL book as well.

Check it out and come thank me afterward. Lol.

The KKC and this book round out my top three all time favorites!

[Caitlin]

Wheel of Time, all the way.

[E.R.]

Why not try somebody new? If you like Celtic mythology and wonder how it might fit in a contemporary setting try ROAN: The Tales of Conor Archer by E. R. Barr. Set in southwest Wisconsin, it tells of an ancient battle of good and evil now present in our day and time. Check it out on Amazon, with the 5 star positive reviews, or find it on its own website, www.erbarr.com.

[Caitlin]

Oh, Will Wight is new. He loves Jordan, Sanderson, Rothfuss, and all of the other authors listed. He has two books on Amazon right now. Fun and refreshing.

[Stephen]

Frenchie wrote: "What about Terry Brooks The Elfstones Of Shannara and The Sword of Shannara
and

There are plenty of books in the Shannara series. I did not read them al..."

No! While entertaining, they do not come close to the Rothfuss books. The level of character development knocked my socks off, something Brooks, and his Tolkenesque fantasies do not do.

[Stephen]

Paula Volsky, Illusion, and Game of Thrones. I picked up Paula's book because of the Michael Whelan art on the cover. It was a beautifully written book, and the level of character development approaches that of a Rothfuss book.

Regarding picking up books based on their cover, I have found pretty good success following the Whelan covers.

[Godslayer]

Name of the Wind
The Way of Kings/ almost everything by Brandon Sanderson
The Deed of Paksenarrion
The Black Prism
The Wheel of Time
Malazan Book of the Fallen/novels of the Empire
The Painted man
Magician
A Wizard of Earthsea
Codex Alera
Belgariad
Redemption of Althulas
Cry of the Icemark
The Night Watch
Sabriel/ almost anything by Garth Nix
The Ropemaker
His Dark Materials
Animorphs
Night World
Chronicles of Narnia
The Sum Of All Men
Legendeer
Magic Thief
Memoirs of a Dangerous Alien
The Magic of Recluce
..............just to name a few.

[Renee]

thanks for that list, robert, my want to read is growing exponentially. sigh.

:)

[Sara]

My fantasy genre reading hasn't been extensive, but the Lies of Locke Lamora is excellent.

I like Michael J Sullivan's Ririya series. The writing isn't the same tone/quality, but it is solid and the characters are good.

[Robert]

Sara wrote: "My fantasy genre reading hasn't been extensive, but the Lies of Locke Lamora is excellent.

I like Michael J Sullivan's Ririya series. The writing isn't the same tone/quality, but it is solid a..."

I like Sullivan's work as well. Very entertaining.

[Julie]

I loved the Wraeththu series by Storm Constantine.
Also, the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, who finished up the Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan's death. All great series.

[Kevin]

I had stopped reading fantasy for several years until a friend recommended this series. As far as newer series, this is the best of the best.

[Meran]

Butcher's Codex Alera is excellent; I agree with Gene Wolfe's torturer series, and both the Books of the New Sun and the Books of the Long Sun; also his Wizard Knight books AND  the Soldier of Arête books; Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is superb as well as the Dragonbone Chair novels;  there's the Belgariad (based on very old legends) and The Mabinogion (of which there are TWO takes on this old legend, both very good); something more modern and very deep and detailed are The City of Glass series (4 books, I believe Tad Williams) and Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. THAT one will make you learn something ;)

I have more, down in my library ;)

[KingKiller]

I'm surprised there's so much love for the Codex Alera series, I thought it was ridiculously simplistic and I don't even think the twist at the end counts considering that it's so obvious. Thought it was distinctly average.

[J.X.]

Robert wrote: "Loopychicken wrote: "Recommend Twilight and/or Harry Potter if you like Name of the Wind. Nothing like a good ol' fashioned Mary Sue. ;)"

Mary Sue?"

Glad to see I wasn't the only one that bothered...

[J.X.]

John Gregory wrote: "Lots of good suggestions here...Would add Jim Butchers Codex Alera (6 book Series Finished) and Daniel Abrahams The Dragons Path( Dagger and Coin Series 3 out of 5 books out)

Wheel of Time is a go..."

I was also going to mention Codex Alera! HIGHLY recommend that, it's isn't quite as incredibly engrossing as Kingkiller, but it definitely pulls you in and makes you care about the cast and their plights. Then again, I'm only partly through book two... take my opinion with a grain of salt.

[Michael]

No love for the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind?

That's the first thing I'd recommend!

[Ramon]

the farseer books are pretty great mistborn and night angel books are ok but not nearly as good the eregon books are ok as well but farseer is as close as you can get to being as good as the kingkiller chronicles

[Meran]

Throne of the Crescent Moon is the first book out by Saladin Ahmed. He's gotten awards ;)

[Robert]

Tom wrote: "Too many books ..........."

Tom wrote: "Too many books ..........."

Well said!:)

[John Gregory]

I just read John Gwynne's Malice and thought it was better than most.

[L.]

I really enjoyed The Chronicles of the Necromancer series and also ongoing characters in The Fallen Kings Cycle written by Gail Z. Martin. Also The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks the characters have lots of depth. The Death Gate Series was one of my favorites by Tracy Hackman and Margaret Weiss.

[Mark]

Kevin wrote: "Blood Song by Anthony Ryan."
I highly recommend Blood Song.

[Anoop]

you can also try reading / listening as i do to ..

1. the hammer and the sword series..
2. the left hand of god series
3. Among thieves series...
4. Glenn Cook's Black Company.. etc

[Dusan]

I'd second First law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and The Demon Cycle by Peter Brett. First Law is concluded and the Demon cycle was supposed to be a trilogy but it's turned into a five book series (two books yet to come). Of all the fantasy books I've read in the last couple of years these stand head and shoulders above all the rest.

[Godslayer]

Patrick Rothfuss has spent so much time on his books, EVERY sentence has been well crafted, notice how almost everything important has a seven word sentence that anchors and defines it?
The Demon Cycle started out fantastically, but the third book was half repetition and that made it drag so much.
Brandon Sanderson has been hard at work with the INSANE Cosmere universe being interwoven in Stormlight, Mistborn, Warbreaker, Elantris and soon to be loads more series. The scale of it is mindblowing and will probably take 3 decades of hard work to complete. Take a look at the 17th Shard site to come to grips with it.
With the Epic Malazan Book of the Fallen finished, I.C.Esslemont is now hard at work exploring many of the substories and characters that have left us curious.

And The Ropemaker is one of the books that inspired me to read more... and now I need another new bookshelf...

[Abrahem]

I will list books In order of how much i enjoyed them and hope i get some recommendations.

1- blood song - anthony ryan
2- the way of kings - brandon sanderson
2- lightbringer - brent weeks
3 - king killer chronicle
4- ASOIAf - george r.r. martin
5- the riyria revelations - michael j. sullivan
6- the foundation - isaac asimov
7- ender's game - orson scott card
8- first law - abercrombiel joe
9- common wealth sage - peter f.hammilton
10- zero sight series - shier, b. justin
12- the broken empire - mark lawrence
13- demon cycle - peter v. brett
14- The vampire chronicle - anne rice

[Godslayer]

Abrahem wrote: "I will list books In order of how much i enjoyed them and hope i get some recommendations."

You could try the rest of Brandon Sanderson's books, The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon, Sabriel by Garth Nix, and The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

They are some of my best loved series, I hope you will like them.

[Abrahem]

Robert wrote: "You could try the rest of Brandon Sanderson's books, The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizab..."

Thanks. I have red some other books by Sanderson, like the mistborn (liked the first book, hated the rest), also almost finished malazan book of the fallen before I realized I didn't really care for it. I have been wondering about wheel of time for a while. maybe I will try it.

[Nicole]

Brad wrote: "You should read the First Law trilogy. First book is The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie."

I just finished the 2nd and starting soon on the 3rd. very good books. normally I get a bit bored with the start of books, building up the story and all that, this one right in to good stuff while still building up. Just couldnt stop turning the pages

[Anoop]

RJ wrote: "Tad Williams' Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy is superb and highly recommended. Ruthfuss regards Williams highly and has written blurbs for him. MST is considered one of the gold standards for a cl..."

The Shadowmarch series is also equally good; you just have to be patient through the first book and then it picks up pace

[Anoop]

Abrahem wrote: "Robert wrote: "You could try the rest of Brandon Sanderson's books, The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizab..."

Thanks. I have red some other books by Sanderson, like the mistborn (liked the first book..."

Even his short novella "Legion" is a great read.

[Johnathan]

If you are new to epic fantasy books you should try some smaller series before jumping into the sagas. Also i would stay away from dark fantasy at first.

What i would recommend to newer fantasy readers are books like Michael J. Sullivan Ryiria Chronicles and Revelations. Then move on to something like Anthony Ryan's Raven shadow series, and Sanderson's Mistborn.

Then if you are hooked move on to something like Jordan's Wheel of time. ( As a side note Jordan will frustrate you to no end, because he just goes on and on and on and on about even the smallest issue. But if you can push through and finish all fourteen books it becomes well worth the effort.) After Jordan then Martin is a good follow up.

Then if you are still into fantasy then move onto some of the darker stuff like Mark Lawrence.

Well that is my advice take it or leave it.

Oh by the way I would completely stay away from Abercrombie, i wasted a week of my life reading the jerk's book only to be shown that he is ever the pessimist and evil will always win.

[Jute]

Johnathan wrote: "If you are new to epic fantasy books you should try some smaller series before jumping into the sagas. Also i would stay away from dark fantasy at first.

What i would recommend to newer fantasy re..."

You say that about Abercrombie and not about Martin or Lawrence? I find that ...interesting.

[[deleted user]]

I would recommend:
The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb
The Ender Quartet by Orson Scott Card
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

I say these things because The Last Unicorn was a bif influence on Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence and Peter Brett are all from this whole new era of writers that Rothfuss is a part of, the Farseer trilogy is written in a fashion similar to the Kingkiller Chronicle, and the Ender Quartet has a flavor of the subtle intelligence that is similar in Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear.

However, if you just want to get into things that are completely different, there are genres such as Dystopian, historical fiction and horror that have a lot of great things coming out lately.

Something completely different:
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Greek plays
The Dresden Files
Discworld books by Terry Pratchett
Black Beauty
Because of Windixie
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I list all of these massively different things because, as you said, you're new to this entertainment medium and getting a taste of everything will help you find out what you like, Pipim.

Welcome aboard, new reader :)

[Boostamonte]

the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Read them, better than Rothfuss in my opinion, although I love Rothfuss!

[Jack]

Patrick Rothfuss is awfully good, but there are others out there that might satisfy. Read Tolkien and George R. R. Martin. Also, of course, pretty much anything by Robert E. Howard.

As a writer of epic fantasy myself, I would be remiss if I didn't throw in a link for one of my own works, a dark, swashbuckling epic called "The Song of Doom". Here's Part One: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B95VE4Q

Happy reading!

[Johnathan]

Jute wrote:
You say that about Abercrombie and not about Martin or Lawrence? I find that ...interesting.

Well Lawrence's book was just so much better and Martin hasn't finished though if Jon Snow is dead i will stop reading. But yes how Abercrombie ended his book made all the other semi decent books in his series a huge waste of time.

[Salma]

The 5th Wave...

Its not Fantasy , not a coming of age story "Or maybe it is , not sure" , It's not a happy story by any means.

What The 5th Wave is, is a beautiful novel that along with "Blood Song" & "Name of the wind" was one of the novels that were really hard for me to put down.
Give it a try , it's worth it.