SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
Recommendations and Lost Books
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New to Fantasy, Help me discover more gems by adding to my list?
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Elric of Melnibone
Corum
Hawkmoon
etc.
In a line similar to that of Elric, you have the also famous
Geralt of Rivia, by Andrzej Sapkowski.
People usually likes
A wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K LeGuin
(I only liked the first book in the trilogy).
LeGuin has other interesting works, somewhere between fantasy and science-fiction.
Also, if you think you'd like a quite hilarious and tender chinese fantasy, try
Bridge of birds, by Barry Hughart
In another tone, but epic and unforgettable is
The saga of Harry Potter, by JK Rowling.
While I'm on it, I think that sooner or later you must read
The lord of the rings, by JRR Tolkien.
Lastly, One book that sounds nice is
Rules of ascension, by David B Coe.
PS: I think that you may be rewarded if you pick a list of the best sagas in "old" epic fantasy and read the best of Louise Cooper, David Eddings, etc.
Hey Uptick,
I think that looks like an awesome list to dive headlong into fantasy :) I look forward to hearing your thoughts about them!
As a general note, my recommendation is to try to vary your reading by publication date a little. There are some pretty strong cycles in fantasy, and some of them may be your new favorite thing, and some of them you may never want to see again, so mix it up!
That all said, I think Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders, Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, and Jim Butcher in whatever flavor sounds good to you deserve a spot on your list :)
I think that looks like an awesome list to dive headlong into fantasy :) I look forward to hearing your thoughts about them!
As a general note, my recommendation is to try to vary your reading by publication date a little. There are some pretty strong cycles in fantasy, and some of them may be your new favorite thing, and some of them you may never want to see again, so mix it up!
That all said, I think Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders, Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, and Jim Butcher in whatever flavor sounds good to you deserve a spot on your list :)


Codex Alera, starts with Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher, starts with
Mistborn, starts with The Final Empi[book:Fatedre|68428] - Brandon Sanderson
Shades of Magic, starts with A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab
I would also suggest adding in some Urban Fantasy:
The Dresden Files, starting with Storm Front - Alex Verus, staring with Jim Butcher - Benedict Jacka
October Daye, starting with Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire
Miriam Black, starting with Blackbirds - Chuck Wendig
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Fledgling - Octavia E. Butler

I recommend adding:
The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron First book The Spirit Thief
Nightrunner by Lynn Flewelling. First book Luck in the Shadows
The Coldfire trilogy by Rachel Aaron first book Black Sun Rising
The Wars of light and Shadow by Janny Wurts first book The Curse of the Mistwraith
If you like Urban Fantasy I would recommend
Crimes Against Magic by Steve McHugh
Generation V by M.L. Brennan
A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin
Clean by Alex Hughes

Bonus: she's been writing them since 1970, so there's no need to wait for the next one.
I read them out of order, starting with the second trilogy's first book, Camber of Culdi, which is chronologically the first book in the series.

Robin Hobb’s books are some of my all-time favorites, so I hope you enjoy them! I see you have some of them on your shelf but, just in case you aren’t aware, a lot of her series are related. The book you plan to read, Assassin's Apprentice, is the perfect starting point, though, and that first trilogy does tell a complete story. The complete list of related books/stories is listed here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/5409...
I see you have Wheel of Time on your bookshelf, although I didn’t see it mentioned in this post, so that’s a good one to include. I also really enjoyed Daniel Abraham’s Dagger and the Coin series, which I also see you have on your shelf. He has an earlier series, The Long Price Quartet, which I really liked also. It has the advantage of being a bit unique. The first book in that series is A Shadow in Summer.
One author I don’t see on your list or on your shelves is Carol Berg. I’ve read 7 of her books so far and I’ve loved every one of them. Her stories seem to start out deceptively simple but grow increasingly complex and intricate. They're also very character-driven. Her series tend to be shorter, two or three books in length, so they could make a nice break from some of the larger series. I think my favorite series that I've read from her so far was the Lighthouse duology, starting with Flesh and Spirit. I also really enjoyed her related Sanctuary duology (same world, same time frame, different story and different main characters) and her unrelated Rai-Kirah trilogy.
It’s fairly traditional epic fantasy, and I don't see people talk about it often, but I also really enjoyed the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series. That begins with The Briar King and has four books.
I personally enjoy mixing a few standalone books in with my reading as a break from series. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed:
* Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. (I see you have this on your shelf already.) No doubt he's written other standalones that would be a good choice, but that’s the only one I’ve read so far. I really enjoyed it and plan to read more of his work eventually.
* Something by Neil Gaiman. I see you have a couple on your shelves already. I’ve personally read and enjoyed Neverwhere (on your shelf) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (not on your shelf).
* Fevre Dream by George R R Martin. Since you liked ASoIaF, you already know you like his writing style. :)
* Scriber by Ben S. Dobson. I think this was actually an indie, and I don’t normally read those, but I thought it was well-written and interesting.
Sorry, this post turned into a book in itself. :)

Also, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champions books are great, check out Elric of Melniboné for a good start.
And then there's the Conan the Barbarian books by Robert Howard, any of them are great. His Solomon Kane books are lesser known but very weird urban fantasy set in the 1600s. The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane is a decent start for that series.
Patricia McKillip has a terrific lesser-known series about a bard starting with The Riddle-Master of Hed
And of course there are my two fantasy novels Old Habits and Snowberry's Veil

I would also recommend The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne - Malice being the first and great start!

Most of the books I have bookmarked initially have all been the popular series from recent years that everyone are familiar with.
So thanks to everyone for helping me discover some of the older or lesser known books and authors that I have been missing out on! ^_^

Who hasn't been mentioned...?
Books I've read and liked a lot:
Sofia Samatar -- A Stranger in Olondria (now has a sequel, but no more books expected)
https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Olond...
Nnedi Okorafor -- Who Fears Death (standalone)
https://www.amazon.com/Who-Fears-Deat...
Gene Wolfe -- Book of the New Sun tetralogy (starting with Shadow of the Torturer
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Claw-Fi...
Saladin Ahmed -- Throne of the Crescent Moon
https://www.amazon.com/Throne-Crescen...
For modern fantasy,
Lev Grossman -- The Magicians (first of a trilogy)
https://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Nove...
(but the TV show based on it might actually be better)
If you're willing to use the term "fantasy" loosely enough to encompass "new weird", then
China Miéville -- Perdido Street Station (first of a trilogy)
https://www.amazon.com/Perdido-Street...
Books I haven't read yet, but expect to love based on who's recommending them:
Glen Cook -- The Black Company series
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Company-...
Seth Dickinson -- The Traitor Baru Cormorant
https://www.amazon.com/Traitor-Baru-C...
Mervyn Peake -- The Gormenghast trilogy (classic)
https://www.amazon.com/Gormenghast-No...
Stephen R. Donaldson -- Thomas Covenant Series (starting with...)
https://www.amazon.com/Fouls-Chronicl...
From what I've heard, you should certainly read Tolkien's LoTR first, because this series is a bit of a "critique"
Max Gladstone -- The Craft Sequence (5-part series, now complete)
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Parts-De...
Edward Rathke -- Twilight of the Wolves
https://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Wolve...
Jeff VanderMeer -- The Southern Reach trilogy
https://www.amazon.com/Annihilation-N...



I find that just a little surprising. I picture him as something of a curmudgeon.
Ok, he's invited to the island. Imagine him telling stories by the campfire.

Also humorous is the L. Sprague DeCamp The Incompleat Enchanter and the series following.
C.S. Lewis' Narnia Books are for kids but as an adult I still find them wonderful reading. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
I like older fantasy novels mostly, there's a host of them out there. I second the Deryni books, although some might say they are more science fiction.

The lord of the rings, by JRR Tolkien."
Yes. The great gem of fantasy is The Lord of the Rings.
Some additional gems:
The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip
The Wizard's Tale by Kurt Busiek
Operation Chaos by Poul Anderson
One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett is another book I'd recommend, though any other novel by Terry Pratchett could be a good fit.
I can't close this list without mentioning The Graveyard Book, even though Neil Gaiman had already been listed. It's my most beloved of Neil Gaiman's novels and I strongly believe everyone should ead it at least once.
Additionally, based on your list, I think you would also like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell.

The lord of the rings, by JRR Tolkien."
Yes. The great gem of fantasy is The Lord of the Rings.
I would add, the prequel "The Hobbit" introduces Middle Earth and many later characters.

Robin Hobb’s books ar..."
I see that Robin Hobb has a prequel to the Farseer Trilogy called "The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince." It is however, published in 2013 though.
When do you think I should read that book? Should I start that one before the Farseer Trilogy? or is it not an important one at all ? ^_^

I actually haven’t read that one yet myself, as it was published after I’d read the core trilogies. Once she finishes her most recent trilogy, I plan to go back and re-read the whole thing, picking up the stories I missed the first time around.
My understanding is that it tells a background story related to a minor aspect of the original trilogy. It could be more fun to read it after the first trilogy, when the reference has more meaning. But take my opinion with a grain of salt since I haven’t even read it. :) Maybe somebody who has will chime in.

I think I heard about it on Gaiman's blog. When I hunted it down, I was impressed with how well it stood up. I'd say it's worth checking out.






Gifts
Voices
Powers
These stories are billed as "Young Adult" but anyone can enjoy them, and they deal with deep and heavy themes.
They are not adventure stories, but rather, stories of growth and overcoming your own limitations. They are a great example of stretching the genre to be more than just magic and swords, and to expand one's perspective.
Here's my review of the final volume: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Chronicles of Amber
I usually recommend people stop after the first five, unless you're really a completist.
Zelazny's short stories are also worthwhile, and my heart belongs to A Night in the Lonesome October.




Brian Staveley 's Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy!?
Brent Weekes Lightbringer series
Michael J Sullivan's Riyria Revelations

The Name of the Wind goes on my list of well written fantasy, it lends itself to a younger audience (not that that is a bad thing, it is one of my favorite novels.) The biggest downside is the series isn't finished and it has been years since the last book came out.
One series I see no one has mentioned is Terry Goodkind's "The Sword of Truth". It's a little older than a lot of the series you have on your list, but I enjoyed it, it's a complete (I believe) long series (I believe it's around 15 novels) and the series gets an overall rating on goodreads of 4.12.
Enjoy some great reads! It would be cool to see you update this list with what you have read and what you would rate it.

Other classics you may want to check out: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Lilith by George MacDonald, She and Ayesha: The Return of She by H. Rider Haggard, At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror by H. P. Lovecraft, and The Worm Ouroboros by H. R. Eddison. And really I don't think your fantasy education can be complete without Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. There's so much more to it than just a rabbit in a waistcoat.
I heartily second the Elric books (Michael Moorcock pretty much invented the sword-and-sorcery genre), the Solomon Kane tales (kind of an anti-hero), Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, Gormenghast (if Charles Dickens wrote fantasy, this would be it), A Wizard of Earthsea (well, really, any LeGuin is excellent), Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair, and most definitely Lord Foul's Bane and the other chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
I'm THRILLED that someone mentioned Patricia McKillip's The Riddle-Master of Hed and its sequels -- a terrific trilogy that I think doesn't get the notice it deserves.
Not mentioned so far:
Anne McCaffrey's early Pern books (the later ones, not so much). Start with Dragonflight and Dragonquest and see how you like them.
Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar books, starting with The Summer Tree. This is as epic high fantasy as you can get, with big dollops of myth thrown in for good measure.
Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising. Technically a YA book but definitely stands up to reading (or in my case re-reading a bazillion times) as an adult.
Terry Pratchett! How has no one mentioned him in a thread on fantasy authors?? His first book is The Colour of Magic but that can be a little manic for some people. Try Hogfather or Mort for starters. Hugely funny but always with some biting social commentary hidden underneath.
Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen - also YA but I still re-read it. It's got elves and dwarves and all the right stuff.
Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon - who knew the master of horror is also pretty damn good at fantasy?
Mythago Wood - I never know how to describe this one so I won't even try. It's British and has primeval forests.
The Brothers Lionheart - not quite like any other fantasy I've read. It's Norwegian, maybe that explains it. May be hard to find, but for sure worth a read.
Finally (and I can't believe nobody has mentioned this yet, I win I win I win!), The Princess Bride - scary giants, beautiful princesses, daring swordfights, strange beasts, dark forests, attacks on a castle, and of course true love.


Really? Other than the time frame being compressed, I thought it was remarkably similar.

This is funny. I also love the movie, but didn't care for the book. But my reason for that was because I felt the book was exactly like the movie. Too similar. I feel like you should get more out of a book, go deeper. Maybe you get a little tiny bit more from this book, but mostly I felt like I was just reading the screenplay of a movie I'd seen dozens of times.


Really? Other than the time frame being compressed, I thought it was remarkably similar. ."
Me too.

Almost Total Fantasy
Witch World by Andre Norton - an alternate world where sorcery works as well as technology. This is #1 in the Witch World Estcarp cycle. Also by Andre Norton: Year of the Unicorn in this sorcerous world, technology also works. This is #1 in the Witch World High Hallack cycle. If you find her storytelling to your taste, there's plenty to go at.
Also:
The Broken Sword - Poul Anderson - a take on Scandinavian mythology
Weaveworld - Clive Barker horror - fantasy cross-over
Swords and Deviltry- Fritz Leiber: amusing take on sword and sorcery in Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series
Brak the Barbarian - John Jakes - more sword and sorcery
Flashing Swords! #1 edited Lin Carter - collected sword 'n' sorcery (Lin Carter was central to Ballantine's Adult Fantasy line in the 1970s which revived early fantasy authors - some mentioned elsewhere on this thread - for example: worth checking out for the insight brought to the genre is:

Mythic / Heroic Fantasy
Chamiel - Edmund Pearson: Christian mythos - excellent
The Day after Judgement - James Blish: Christian mythos - thought provoking
The Dark Twin - Marion Campbell: Celtic legend merged with a twist of history, myth and lore - again excellent
A Noose Of Light - Seamus Cullen: fantasy with an Arabian Nights twist - entertaining
The Ill-Made Mute - Cecilia Dart-Thornton: fantasy served with twists of Celtic folklore
The Serpent - Jane Gaskell: a retelling of the Atlantis legend
The Crystal Cave (Merlin, #1) - Mary Stewart: a retelling of the Arthurian saga
The Children of Llyr - Evangeline Walton: a retelling of Welsh mythology - part of the Mabinogion
Science Fantasy
The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan: the Wheel of Time
The Eyes of the Overworld - Jack Vance: does his Dying Earth need introducing?
The Man of Gold - MAR Barker - part of his Tekumel gameworld creation; close to Jack Vance in spirit - great science fantasy
Gate of Ivrel - CJ Cherryh beginning the Chronicles of Morgaine
Golden Witchbreed - Mary Gentle: the first part of her Orthe cycle (I blow hot and cold over Mary Gentle)
The Night Land - William Hope Hodgson: no fantasy list can be wholly complete without mention of Nightland a powerful vision (but archaic language)
A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs: a writer whose his planetary fantasies powered many a later writer including...
Michael Moorcock whose output of science fantasy was so prodigious in the 1960s and 1970s, he deserves another mention. Never underestimate Moorcock.

Also I would advise what Allison says and vary the publication date. Personally for me the newer is better and a common trap people fall into is reading all the "classics" and not actually reading and exploring new stuff. Especially when most classics are classics because they started something new and were unique, however they have been done better since and multiple times, many times by the random shlock you can find in the bin.



It starts with The Last Wish it's the perfect teaser for the next books in the series because it contains only short stories through which you dive into this racist, sexist, dark, prejudiced world of monsters! It's so good!
Also, check out Legend it's a classic!
And since you seem to be a fan of dark fantasy, why not check out my favorite The Blade Itself and the rest of The First Law?
Books mentioned in this topic
The Last Wish (other topics)Legend (other topics)
The Blade Itself (other topics)
Riddle-Master (other topics)
Heroes Die (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Carol Berg (other topics)Ben Aaronovitch (other topics)
Michael Moorcock (other topics)
Lord Dunsany (other topics)
Karen Russell (other topics)
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I too am one of them! Although, I did read the books few years before the show started ^_^ Yet, the fact remains, as my first ever Fantasy series, ASoIaF has really shown me the depth and complexity that this genre has to offer. Now, I'm completely hooked; left wanting more, yet completely spoiled by having AsoIaF as my first love. T_T
Below are a list of fantasy books/series which I've bookmarked after some research. If anyone have any good series or books they would like to recommend, I would love to check them out! I like a lot of court intrigue, low fantasy type story, but of course if you look at the list below, I've also listed many of the popular series that are considered high fantasy, so I'm opened to all suggestions!
Currently starting with these two: my goal is to start off with a few shorter and completed series before attempting to start any on-going or long series due to fear of having to wait around for the next installment or being occupied by one series for way too long. At the moment, I just want to explore!
**The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison**
A oen off book that I can finish relatively quickly.
**Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) - Robin Hobb**
A finished series that consists of only 3 books.
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) - Patrick Rothfuss
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) - Brandon Sanderson
The Lies of Locke Mora (Gentleman Bastard #1) - Scott Lynch
The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle #1) - Miles Cameron
Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War #1) - Mark Lawrence
Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire #1) - Mark Lawrence
Traitor's Blade (Greatcoats #1) - Sebastien de Castell
Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations) - Michael J. Sullivan
Curse of Chalion (Chalion #1) - Lois McMaster Bujold
The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) - Brandon Sanderson
Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) - Leigh Bardugo
Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1) - Brian McClellan
The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns #1) - Django Wexler
The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn #1) - Tad Williams
The Killing Moon (Dreamblood #1) - N.K. Jemisin
The Blade Itself (The First Law #1) - Joe Abercrombie
Blood Song (Raven's Shadow #1) - Anthony Ryan
The Great Book of Amber (The Chronicles of Amber #1-10 ) - Roger Zelazny
The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) - Brent Weeks
The Way of Shadows (Night Angel #1) - Brent Weeks
Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy #1) - Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts
Magician: Apprentice (The Riftwar Saga #1) - Raymond E. Feist
Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) - Steven Erikson
The Demon Princes, Volume One: The Star King, The Killing Machine, The Palace of Love (Demon Princes #1-3 omnibus) - Jack Vance
A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows #1) - J.V. Jones
The Warded Man (The Demon Cycle #1) - Peter V. Brett
**Please feel free to make any recommendations !!**