Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or just plain Epic: Give me a recommendation of your ONE favorite book and why!

[Ryan]

Mistborn


The world building that went into this trilogy is incredible. The characters are incredible, the story fits the definition of "epic," it has one of the greatest characters to be ever written into a fantasy story. The magic system is unique and complicated yet the author makes it easy to understand. The book moves at a brisk pace and introduces new concepts as you go forward, its the story of an overlooked young girl who only is just understanding her full potential.

[Abby]

I've read and loved Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, and I've definitely been wanting to give the Mistborn trilogy a try. Thanks for reminding me! :)

[Abby]

Fayley, I read Jaran and was blown away by how much I loved it. The relationship between Tess and Ilya is masterfully done. The idiosyncrasies of the nomadic culture are fascinating. I haven't gone on to book 2 yet because everyone's saying it just doesn't compare to the first book. However, I just reread this thread, and I see that it was YOU who originally recommended book 4, which is surprising to me! It was very interesting to see how much I loved book 1 when you are such a fan of book 4. Regardless, seeing your suggestion again has spurred me on to continue the series and get to this elusive book 4. Thanks for a great suggestion! Jaran was one of the best books I read last year.

[Lune]

This thread has added to my huge pile of books to read ;) My all-time favourite fantasy is a very sweet and light and funny retelling of the King Arthur Saga so no Sci-Fi or strange new world but the whole series is amazing and incredibly funny at times (once my friend read my favourite scene (a wedding in the ninth book with two priests trying to outyell each other) and we very nearly landed in the ditch from laughing so hard) My favourite is the fifth The Savage Damsel and The Dwarf the first in the series is The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris.

[Abby]

Lune, thanks for your suggestion. My most recent experience with King Arthur is the TV series "Merlin." It's been pretty funny and lighthearted and I've very much enjoyed it. In part due to how good that show has been, I'd be interested to try more funny and entertaining King Arthur stories. I'll keep your books in mind!

[Abby]

UPDATE
Ryan,
I enjoyed Mistborn, but I liked Elantris and Sanderson's newer series better. I thought there could've been just a bit more in-depth character development in Mistborn. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't really "feelin' it"

[Abby]

UPDATE
Aoife, I read Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest and enjoyed them all. They truly have excellent characters! I found the ending of the trilogy pretty dreary, but I doubt that will stop me from reading (hoping for future happiness to come) the Fool Trilogy. In addition, I love the Fool, so if he’s in it, we’re all set.

Elizabeth, I just read his Majesty’s Dragon, not even realizing that you had recommended it here more than two years ago. I did enjoy it quite well. I love animal human interactions and good characters. Thanks for the recommendation.

Fayley, I got a bit bogged down with An Earthly Crown. There was content I found objectionable. My full review explains my feelings best. However, I am still interested in getting to that 4th book to which you give such high praise. I am going to push through and order the third and fourth book today and I will let you know my feelings! As you might have seen, I found book 1 fantastic!

[Random]

Surprised I haven't run across this thread before.

One of my all time favorites and a bit of Hard SF.

Blindsight by Peter Watts

I personally hate spoilers and, sadly, that means I have a horrible time describing books to other people. :)

What is human?
What is alien?
What is intelligence?

[Abby]

Random, I hate spoilers too! Thanks for avoiding them at all costs. :) Blindsight sounds interesting; I'll have to give it a try when I'm in the mood for some Sci-fi!