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[Olivia]

Bea wrote: "Hi, does anybody have recommendations for (high-) fantasy series by female authors?
I have read three trilogies by Robin Hobb so far and really liked them, especially the Liveship Traders Trilogy...."

I'm assuming if you like Malazan, that you don't mind dense prose, and having to put in some work to figure things out? Take a look at Janny Wurts' Wars of Light & Shadow, starts with The Curse of the Mistwraith

Female author, high fantasy, lots of books, I've finished the first three books and so far no emphasis on romance and I loved all 3!

Also check out N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season it is not high fantasy, but she's an amazing female author and I just wanted to mention her.

[Shaitarn]

@ Bea We have a read of the Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliott starting in July with King's Dragon; you'd be welcome to join us!

Aside from that I'd recommend the Artefacts of Power quarter starting with Aurian by Maggie Furey or the Tales of Einarinn starting with The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E McKenna.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Bea wrote: "Hi, does anybody have recommendations for (high-) fantasy series by female authors?
I have read three trilogies by Robin Hobb so far and really liked them, especially the Liveship Traders Trilogy...."

Hobb is my favorite author. :)

I second Jemisin, McKenna, and Furey (although I preferred The Heart of Myrial) - all fantastic! I'd also suggest:
Mercedes Lackey Joust
Glenda Larke The Last Stormlord
Jacqueline Carey Kushiel's Dart
Rachel Aaron The Legend of Eli Monpress
Marie Brennan A Natural History of Dragons

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Tuuli wrote: "Hey! I'm doing some kind of reading challenge and one of the challenges on the list is "A book from a country that starts the same letter as your name." So T for me. I was wondering, can anyone rec..."

Sorry, I wish I had something solid to recommend. :/ You could stretch the rules and use "The People's Republic of China" and read The Poppy War - it's a new book I hear is amazing albeit dark. We have a thread in here somewhere about diverse books...

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

Tuuli wrote: "Hey! I'm doing some kind of reading challenge and one of the challenges on the list is "A book from a country that starts the same letter as your name." So T for me. I was wondering, can anyone rec..."

Although I haven't read him yet Wesley Chu is from Taiwan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Bea]

Thanks for the recommendations guys! A lot of these sound interesting.

@Niki: Yes, Robin Hobb is amazing! :)

@Olivia: I like denser books every now and then, I feel like they are much more rewarding once you`ve really gotten into them. In general I like to mix them up with some quicker reads :)

I completely forgot to mention I have read Jemisin´s Broken Earth Trilogy. A good series, even though it`s not my favorite it definitely has some very interesting ideas and characters!

@Shaitarn: Thanks! I`d love to do more buddy reads, I`ll see if I can fit it into my schedule (so many books, so little time ;) )

[Janny]

Tuuli wrote: "Hey! I'm doing some kind of reading challenge and one of the challenges on the list is "A book from a country that starts the same letter as your name." So T for me. I was wondering, can anyone rec..."

Check out Somtow Sucharitkul. Lives in Thailand.

[Shaitarn]

@ Bea Gah, I can't believe I forgot to mention Barbara Hambly! Her Sun Wolf and Starhawk trilogy is well worth checking out, as is Dragonsbane.

[Jessica]

Tuuli wrote: "Hey! I'm doing some kind of reading challenge and one of the challenges on the list is "A book from a country that starts the same letter as your name." So T for me. I was wondering, can anyone rec..."

I haven't had a chance to read any of his stuff yet but S.P. Somtow is a Thai fantasy/sci fi author. I've had Jasmine Nights on my TBR pile for a little bit, sounds really interesting and has some good reviews. It's also famous enough that you might be able to check it out from the library if you didn't want to buy it (there is a kindle version).

[Janny]

Jessica wrote: "Tuuli wrote: "Hey! I'm doing some kind of reading challenge and one of the challenges on the list is "A book from a country that starts the same letter as your name." So T for me. I was wondering, ..."

Same author - S. P. Somtow/Somtow Sucharitkul - he changed his pen name later in his career....

[Jessica]

Janny wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Tuuli wrote: "Hey! I'm doing some kind of reading challenge and one of the challenges on the list is "A book from a country that starts the same letter as your name." So T for me. I..."

Good to know! I only just discovered him a few days ago for a reading challenge on reddit, didn't realize he'd written under other names. Sorry to double mention him. But my rec for Jasmine Nights still works, I don't think anyone else posted it... sorry if it was already mentioned.

[Karishma]

Hi! I'm going on a month long vacation with limited access to the internet and am completely confused as to what books to take with me.

Please tell me your favourite books - will be very very grateful for recommendations.

[Silvana]

@Bea: You have to add Kameron Hurley to the list. She writes great feminist epic fantasy. Start with The Mirror Empire or if you are okay with a bit of SF, then start with God's War (Bel Dame Apocrypha). No fluffy romance, tight writing awesome female/gender-fluid characters.

Also, for more classical take, Lois McMaster Bujold with her amazing World of Five Gods trilogy, start with The Curse of Chalion.

[Bea]

Thanks Shaitarn and Silvana! These sound great as well :)

[Silvana]

Karishma wrote: "Hi! I'm going on a month long vacation with limited access to the internet and am completely confused as to what books to take with me.

Please tell me your favourite books - will be very very grat..."

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Silvana]

Bea wrote: "Thanks Shaitarn and Silvana! These sound great as well :)"

Happy to help, especially for those who want to read more female authors :)

[Quinn]

Hi everybody!! I have been away from from club since one year due to school. I miss this club a lot.. One problem I dont know which book to read first for this club!!!! series or stand alone... Please help! buddy reading??

[Tammie]

Quinn wrote: "Hi everybody!! I have been away from from club since one year due to school. I miss this club a lot.. One problem I dont know which book to read first for this club!!!! series or stand alone... Ple..."

Welcome back Quinn!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Quinn! Glad to see you back. :)

[Quinn]

Thank you Niki and Tammie! Good to be back. I checked to see how many unread topics since I left guess what? 1160!! that is heck a lot!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Hahaha wow we've been busy.

[Quinn]

Oh yeah! that is why i was having trouble pick first book to read for this club

[idiffer]

Are there any ppl with really large fantasy shelves? like 400 titles at least. And NOT urban fantasy. I checked out all the books I wanted out of the multiple fantasy lists here on GR.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

I have a ton of fantasy on my shelves, but unfortunately I haven't taken the time to separate them into their own shelf. :/

[Shaitarn]

@ idiffer Yes; I think I have about 1100 novels in total, possibly a few more, mostly high/epic fantasy with steampunk/UF/horror and a very few historical novels mixed in. One day they will all be books I have read, rather than a lot of them being books that I will read when I get the time.

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Hey everyone! I have a student who really likes fantasy and sci-fi (though not really UF or PNR) that asked for some recommendations. The level of difficulty doesn't really matter, but he finds that if the book is any more than 350 pages, it's hard to motivate himself to get through it as a second language English speaker. Any recommendations for books or series I can pass along to him?

[Em Lost In Books]

The Three-Body Problem...?

[idiffer]

@Shaitarn
Your profile says you have shelved 192 books total

[Dani]

Martha Wells - Murder Bot Diaries series.
Each book is fairly short (novellas). Downside is that only 2 are out; 2 more will be published later this year.

[Shaitarn]

idiffer wrote: "@Shaitarn
Your profile says you have shelved 192 books total"

Ah sorry, I was thinking of my real world physical bookshelves, which are bending and groaning under the weight of books.

[Barry]

@ Jenna : for lightish fun SF, introduce him to Scalzi’s OMW.

For more older / more classic SF, maybe PKD’s works? The Man in the High Castle or Do Androids Dream ...

For a more recent work probably Red Rising (though I think it’s more than 350 pages), since it deals with dystopian theme that is commonly found in recent SF movies.

Or, Ted Chiang’s works are also superb SF and quite short.

Those are what I recommended to a friend of mine who wanted to start reading SF anyway. Hope that helps.

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Thanks for the recs! :) I will pass them along.

[Cor]

Hey everyone,
Can you recommend me some fantasy/magic novel that has male MC and doesn't have romance in it (or has but a little bit on the side)? And that has a well build world/magic system.
Recently everything I click on has either girl MC or is romance related while I just want good adventure. I mean I'm not opposed to romance, but I don't want it to be the main topic of the novel.
Thanks and sorry for grammar mistakes, English is not my first language :)

[Silvana]

The Curse of Chalion by Lois Bujold
Temeraire series by Naomi Novik
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin

[Virginie]

The Whitefire Crossing

[Silvana]

Some Discworld novels too.
The Color of Magic, Light Fantastic, Guards! Guards!, the rest of the Watch novels...
I think The Black Company also had very little romance.

[Bea]

I'd add the Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence
Also the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch in case you have not read it yet (there is some romance in the third book, but the first can be read as a standalone in my opinion)

[Cor]

Thanks, now I finally have something to read *happy happy*

[Laura]

Hi everyone. Could you please recommend me a few good fairytale retellings? I wouldn't mind it if they were a bit more on the grim and dark side. Series would also do.
Thank you. :)

[Tammie]

Laura wrote: "Hi everyone. Could you please recommend me a few good fairytale retellings? I wouldn't mind it if they were a bit more on the grim and dark side. Series would also do.
Thank you. :)"

Heart's Blood A Beauty and the Beast type retelling.

If you like YA you could try these. I really enjoyed them:
Cruel Beauty
Gilded Ashes
Crimson Bound

[Karishma]

Uprooted and Spinning Silver

[Shaitarn]

Mercedes Lackey has a series of books loosely based on fairy tales called the 'Elemental Masters' series, starting with The Fire Rose. I haven't read them so can't comment on their quality.

[Laura]

Thank you everyone. :) I'll try all of these. I actually have almost all of them on my shelves (unread still).

[Karishma]

Hi !

Can anyone give me some good recommendations for some mysteries or action/adventure books?

I have a lot of fantasy reads set up but I would love to diversify a bit too.

Thanks.

[Tammie]

Karishma wrote: "Hi !

Can anyone give me some good recommendations for some mysteries or action/adventure books?

I have a lot of fantasy reads set up but I would love to diversify a bit too.

Thanks."

I'm not sure what type of mysteries you are looking for so I'll suggest several types that I've enjoyed.

Historical mystery series:
What the Dead Leave Behind
Murder on Astor Place
The Cater Street Hangman
The Face of a Stranger

Contemporary mystery series:
Stillhouse Lake
Sworn to Silence

Stand-alone mystery, suspense, thrillers:
Secrets of Southern Girls
Something in the Water
Black-Eyed Susans
And Then There Were None
Murder on the Orient Express
Tell No One
The Disappearing
The Scapegoat
Moonlight Becomes You

Romantic suspense:
The Moon-Spinners
Nine Coaches Waiting
Madam, Will You Talk?
Rebecca

[Brittany]

Laura wrote: "Hi everyone. Could you please recommend me a few good fairytale retellings? I wouldn't mind it if they were a bit more on the grim and dark side. Series would also do.
Thank you. :)"

Im late to the party but if you are looking for others here's a couple:

this one is darker and awesome

[Laura]

Thank you Brittany. I'm gonna start looking for these right now. They seem great.

[C.P.]

Anyone have any older fantasy titles to recommend? I know about a lot of the current stuff, but do you have any favorites that were published 70-90's? I read a few of the Dragonrealm books by Richard A Knaak and really enjoyed them, so I would like to read some more stuff that's a bit older. Even before 70's would be good. I just feel like I'm getting bogged down with all of the modern stuff and want to try something different but still in the genre.

[Shaitarn]

C.P. wrote: "Anyone have any older fantasy titles to recommend? I know about a lot of the current stuff, but do you have any favorites that were published 70-90's? I read a few of the Dragonrealm books by Richa..."

Oh boy - I'm planning on re-reading a whole load of my older books next year, so I've been looking at them recently. OK, you ready for this?!

The Morgaine Saga by C J Cherryh
The Renshai saga (starts with The Last of the Renshai) by Mickey Zucker Reichart (apologies if I've spelt her last name wrong!)
The Legend of Nightfall by the same author
The Golden Key
The godwars trilogy by Angus Wells, starting with Forbidden Magic - a bit old fashioned now, but still good
Thieves' World unless you hate anthologies
If you like urban fantasy with fey rather than vampires/weres most of the Newhaven books by Charles de Lint; Memory and Dream is a good one to start with.
Colours in the Steel by K J Parker
The War of Powers - rather old-fashioned - the male hero is very muscular and has a lot of sex, but there's a strong female character; if you'd like a story that would've been called a 'romp' once, give it a go.
Prince Ivan or The Horse Lord by Peter Morwood; I love his stuff, but he's probably not for everyone.
With some reservations I'll recommend the Cheysuli books by Jennifer Roberson - (the first book is pretty bad; females are valued for their ability to have babies). Anyway, they were all re-released as two novel omnibus editions a few years back; the first one's Shapechanger's Song if you're interested.
The Flat Earth books by Tanith Lee; Night's Master or Death's Master are probably the best ones to start with.

Some of the Forgotten Realms books aren't bad either - Elfshadow or Azure Bonds are both good in my opinion.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know!

EDIT: I forgot these:

The Winter of the World series by Michael Scott Rohan starting with The Anvil of Ice.
The Artefacts of Power novels by Maggie Furey starting with Aurian.
The lighthearted Cloak and Dagger trilogy by Anne Lesley Groell (book 1 Anvil of the Sun).
And a few books by Doranna Durgin: Touched by Magic, the sequel Wolf Justice and Barrenlands.
And I'm like a broken record when it comes to recommending the Sunwolf and Starhawk trilogy by Barbara Hambly (The Ladies of Mandrigyn) - people should be reading those books! And Dragonsbane is also very good (but don't read the sequels!)

If you'd like to do a buddy read for any of those, please let me know!

[Tammie]

C.P. wrote: "Anyone have any older fantasy titles to recommend? I know about a lot of the current stuff, but do you have any favorites that were published 70-90's? I read a few of the Dragonrealm books by Richa..."

I found this list https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7.... There are also links to other years at the top of the list, all the way back to the 30s. Maybe you could find something interesting on one of them.