New to Fantasy, Help me discover more gems by adding to my list?

[Uptick]

Many veterans and long time fans no doubt have noticed the influx of newcomers to the Fantasy genre lately due to HBO's hit series: Game of Thrones.
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 !!**

[Shadowdenizen]

Wow.
Way too many good series to name!

Most of these are in the 3-volume range (more or less, though there are a few longer series in there), and are complete or near-complete. Check my shelves for more reccs.

Off the top of my head?
A Night in the Lonesome October [Stand-Alone, HIGHEST recc!]
The Library at Mount Char {Stand-Alone]
Ariel [Stand-Alone, Highly Recced!]
The Dwarves
The Last Stormlord
Prince of Thorns
The Written
The King's Bastard
Shadowmarch
The Inheritance Trilogy
The Deed of Paksenarrion
Acacia: The War with the Mein
Dragon in Chains
The Emperor's Blades
Children of Fire
Stormdancer
Malice
The Wrath & the Dawn
The Way Into Chaos
King's Dragon
The Curse of the Mistwraith
The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
Dragonlance Chronicles
The Dark Elf Trilogy Collector's Edition (The series goes downhill after this, IMO.)
Three Hearts and Three Lions

[Brenda ╰☆╮]

Ha ha..beware asking for fantasy book suggestions in a fantasy book club.
You will have enough to last an eternity.
; )

Many of my favorites are listed in your to read list, so I'll keep silent
...... for now.

However, I do suggest you join us in August for Nine Princes in Amber, since it's on your list anyway.

[Shadowdenizen]

You say that like it's a BAD thing, Brenda!
(And I kept my list under two-dozen, to boot!)
Ha Ha Ha! :)

Oooh, I may have to be in on that Amber read, too! It's been quite awhile since I've read any Zelazny, and the Omnibus is sitting on my shelf gathering dust since the last time I read it....

And I gotta re-read the Elric and Lankhmar stuff sometime soon, too....

[Brenda ╰☆╮]

Not a bad thing at all!

Just a ...NOW ...where do I start, thing!
lol

[Shadowdenizen]

Actually, that's a really valid point.
And potentially some interesting new threads. :)

Given the VAST new influx of Fantasy Readers.. What are some "Good Intro Books/Series" to whet people's appetites? (Much fantasy [particularly the "Epic" style] tends to throw readers into the deep end and expect them to sink-or-swim in digesting not only a cast of characters, but an entirely new cosmology as well.)

My local book store has a "Liked this? Read this?" section of their fantasy shelves. Where they'll link something like "The Eye of the World (1st book in the Wheel of Time series) as a lead-in to The Way of Kings.

(Purely an example... They DO try to push both local and lesser-known-authors who need the exposure over "named" authors.)

[Michael]

Shadowdenizen wrote: "And I gotta re-read the Elric and Lankhmar stuff sometime soon, too....

I read those both series as a teen (many!) years ago and I just recently picked up reprints of both. I've started rereading the Lankhmar stuff (great fun!) and the Elric books is near the top of my "to read" pile.

[Mark]

I didn't read them all...was Jennifer Fallon there?

[Martha]

Hobb has 2 more trilogies to follow Farseer. The Tawny Man trilogy and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Both trilogies are finished or nearly so. Last book in Fitz and the Fool will be out in March 2017

[Shadowdenizen]

Speaking just for myself, of course, I'm not a fan of Fallon or Hobbs, and I can't pinpoint why. YMMV, of course, since many readers seem to love them both!

Also, I just bought a near-complete set of the "GOR" books from Ebay. I'm wondering if they'll live up to my memories!

I think Elric is the best of the Eternal Champion sub-genre from Moorcock, though trying to untangle the (continually revised) chronology is another discussion. (Again, YMMV.)

Sorry, just all over the place today; hopefully I'm not derailing the thread too much! (Slap my wrists if you need to, Brenda; I can take it!)

[Mark]

To this day I still don't know why I bought The Elder God's part of Eddings...was I completing a collection or something? Anyway I still find them mostly unreadable

[Brenda ╰☆╮]

Shadowdenizen wrote: "Speaking just for myself, of course, I'm not a fan of Fallon or Hobbs, and I can't pinpoint why. YMMV, of course, since many readers seem to love them both!

Also, I just bought a near-complete set..."

Hmmm...should I bring out Stormbringer or Grayswandir?

Or perhaps the Vorpal sword !
Lol
You're good. I'm sure you are at least trying to suggest a good starting point.
I like the Eternal Champion for some background, though.

[Shadowdenizen]

I think the actual Eternal Champion cycle is very complex/obtuse for people to get thru as a beginner.

I'd recommend Elric as a start, maybe? The Sailor on the Seas of Fate introduces the concept and some of the assorted incarnations in a fairly friendly (for Morrcock) way.)

It also largely lays out Moorcock's philosophy of Law, Chaos, and the Cosmology, without being SUPER heavy-handed. (IE It's perhaps also the most easily readable of his series.)

[Brenda ╰☆╮]

I ate up the Michael Moorcock books as a teen.

First Erekosë... then Hawkmooon and Elric...The Chronicles of Corum....
I do know my least favorite was Dancers at the end of Time.

[Uptick]

Thanks so much everyone for all the wonderful recommendations!
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! ^_^

[Shadowdenizen]

Now is a great time to be a fantasy fan, as we continue to achieve mainstream penetration. (And that sounded WAY less dirty in my head, I promise...)

And it's also a great chance to recommend and revisit some of the founders of the genre, and those that kept the genre alive and thriving through the decades until now!

I can't begin to list them all, but hats off to (and check out ANYTHING written by):

Anne Mccaffrey
Ursula K Leguin
JRR Tolkien (Obviously)
CS LEwis
Fritz Leiber
Michael Moorcock
Poul Anderson
Robert E Howard
Clark Ashton Smith
HP Lovecraft
Michael Moorcock
Roger Zelazny

Without these stalwarts, it's doubtful there'd even be a "Game of Thrones" or "Wheel of Time"!

[Mark]

I have not read a single book of either.

[Tnkw01]

Uptick wrote: "Thanks so much everyone for all the wonderful recommendations!
Most of the books I have bookmarked initially have all been the popular series from recent years that everyone are familiar with.

S..."

Sorry, Late to the conversation. I would recommend the earlier era authors and books like Terry Brooks. There great for beginners but they seem to loose a tad of there luster after reading some of the Fantasy Masters of today.

[Squire]

My favorite fantasy book is The Worm Ouroboros. It is heroic high fantasy that was written by a peer of J.R.R.Tolkien, In fact, Tolkien credits it with inspiring him to write his fantasies (predating his by about 15 years). It combines a lot of English and Norse legend and verse stylings into an unabashedly romantic fantasy of the grandest literary order. It won't be to everybody's taste, and it is certainly not in the modern mode, but that makes its enjoyment exclusive and I like that.

There's a lot of flash-in-the-pan fantasy tripe out there, but this one as stood the test of time.

I haven't gotten to the other three books in the series, so I can't comment on them.

[Sandra]

I'm late to this too, but I'd like to mention Janny Wurts and Carol Berg, my two favorites. The r/fantasy book club is reading one of Wurts in September and you might want to consider joining that discussion. To Ride Hell’s Chasm. It's a great book and a good intro to her writing. She has the newest book in her big series coming out in September 2017!

[K.S.]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Steven Brust! His Vlad Taltos novels are amazing--think episodic books about a wise-cracking assassin, with bits and pieces of something "epic" connecting the books together. The books can be picked up in any order you want--they're not chronological--but I recommend you start with Jhereg and read them in the order they were published, because it best shows the author's vision.

Also, Guy Gavriel Kay, if you want the sort of fantasy that makes you cry a lot. Beautiful prose in quasi-historical settings. He writes mostly standalones. I recommend people to start with The Lions of Al-Rassan or Tigana although my personal favourite is the two-book The Sarantine Mosaic.