I'm looking for a fun, action packed fantasy book

[Jason]

I'm looking for a new fantasy book to read (series or standalone, it doesn't matter).

I really love all the books by David Dalglish (he's one of my favourite authors), and just finished the first two Bobby Dollar books by Tad Williams, which I really enjoyed as well.

I'm currently reading The Thousand Names by Django Wexler and I'm getting the feeling it's going to be like Anthony Ryan's Blood Song and Tower Lord, both of which I found kind of boring.

Maybe The Thousand Names picks up, I don't know if I can judge a 500 page book by the first 60 pages.

Any Ideas?

Thanks.

[Geoff]

If you want fun, I'd suggest Theft of Swords by Michael Sullivan. Its the first Ryria book.

[Joel]

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

[Jennifer]

Just wanted to give a great bit endorsement of what the previous two posters said about Ryria and Mistborn. Ryria has just become one of my new favorite series. (I'm working on the second prequel book myself right now) And Mistborn is right up there with my favorites

[ladymurmur]

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick

[Jason]

I have heard of Mistborn. I may check that one out once I finish (or give up on) The Thousand Names.

Theft of Sword does sound like a fun read.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

[Michal]

How about a classic: The Hour of the Dragon

[Dara]

I second The Lies of Locke Lamora.

[Alan]

The Thousand Names is definitely more of a historical military book than a fantasy book. I liked it but it definitely is not like the other books you mentioned. how about Throne of the Crescent Moon? That one is a fun romp about a demon chaser living in an Arabian Nights kind of city.

[Jason]

I think I may give up on The Thousand Names. I'm about a quarter of the way through and it's not grabbing my attention. But I have lots of choices to choose form for my next book. Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions so far.

[AndrewP]

If you liked Tad Williams then try one of his fantasy series.

[Joseph]

The Hammer and the Blade by Paul S. Kemp might suit your particular needs. I'll also add my own thumbs up for both Among Thieves and Hour of the Dragon. Oh, and also thumbs up on Throne of the Crescent Moon!

[Scott]

I'll go old school: The Fellowship of the Talisman by Clifford Simak. I was lucky enough to have a required freshman seminar course in college, and one of the available courses was Fantasy/Science Fiction. This was one of the books assigned, and I'm glad it was, as I'd never read Simak before.

Also that year I discovered the Books of Swords and the Books of Lost Swords by Fred Saberhagen. The First Book of Swords, The Second Book of Swords, The Third Book of Swords and so on.

I would actually recommend pretty much anything from Simak, Saberhagen, and Roger Zelazny. All three do cross genres, though, so if you're only looking for fantasy you would need to check the books out first.

Oh, one more - The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon.

[Misti]

My go to recommendation is Green Rider. I've enjoyed most of the series but I was a little disappointed in the latest book Mirror Sight. It just felt really out of place.

The Eyre Affair is also pretty fun.

[Joseph]

Oh, and of course A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and at least the first several sequels, are some of the funnest and most action-packed books I've ever read.

[Kristina]

Ryria books are really fun, same with the gentleman bastards and everything sanderson... I would add
The Legend of Eli Monpress to this list. I just finished it recently and it was tons of fun.

[Joseph]

And if you don't mind something a little more YA, then Ari Marmell's Widdershins books (Thief's Covenant is the first) would be worth looking into.

[[deleted user]]

I'll suggest some of the Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. Swords Against Wizardry, for example. If I remember right, there are five books in the series.

There's also Howard's Conan books. Lots of action, real page-turners.

[Rich]

Joseph wrote: "Oh, and of course A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and at least the first several sequels, are some of the funnest and most action-packed books I've ever read."

If you'd like to try a fun role-reversal version of Princess, then take a look at Jane Carver of Waar. It's all about fun.

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

[Emily]

Jason wrote: "I have heard of Mistborn. I may check that one out once I finish (or give up on) The Thousand Names.

Theft of Sword does sound like a fun read.

Thanks for the suggestions so far."

Honestly, I have read Mistborn: The Final Empire and I have a couple problems with it. The world which Brandon Sanderson creates is very rich and detailed. And even the characters are fun in the first book. But I was unimpressed with the character development as the series moves on and ended up putting down the third book (The Hero of Ages) out of frustration.

If you're looking for a real page turner, I would echo the other suggestions: The Lies of Locke Lamora. It's not only an interesting world, but compelling and fully-realized characters. Truly a gem.

Something less common you might not have heard of, I would recommend The Lions of Al-Rassan. It's a middle-eastern set fantasy book with lots of page-turny goodness and some really lovable characters.

Additionally, I would feel remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to Assassin's Apprentice. Almost everything I've read by Robin Hobb leaves me drooling for more, and her Liveship Traders series (which is the middle trilogy of a nonology) is one of my favorite books of all time.

Happy reading!

[Michele]

I'm surprised no one has recommended Joe Abercrombie yet. The First Law trilogy is excellent.

And not fantasy but you might like Bernard Cornwell's stuff.

[James]

Joe Abercrombie is not fun! I was just thinking that the other day. He is hard and gruesome and action packed for sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm not having fun when I listen to him...

[Joseph]

Also YA historical adventure, not fantasy, but the Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy series by L.A. Meyer should fit the bill.

[John]

The "Black Company" series by Glen Cook is very good. Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" series as well as the three other novels set in that world are good as well. I also liked the "Mistborn" series and "Stormlight Archive" series by Brandon Sanderson. Those are all good Fantasy novels.

[Jodhan]

Geoff wrote: "If you want fun, I'd suggest Theft of Swords by Michael Sullivan. Its the first Ryria book."

I read the premise and put it on my list. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Jodhan]

One of my go to books series is The dragon crown cycle by Micheal Stackpole. The characters, the world and the story all stand out and come to life. the major twists in the plot that sets off after the prequel will drive you to read through the series!

[Michele]

You might like The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. It's the first in a series (5 so far), steampunk with Sir Richard Burton. I've read the first 3 so far and really enjoyed them.

[Scott]

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan is the most fun I've seen in a book in decades.

[AndrewP]

Scott wrote: "Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan is the most fun I've seen in a book in decades."

Glad to hear that. I purchased it using 15% discount coupon from B&N this weekend.

[Jason]

Thanks for the recommendations for Theft of Swords I just finished reading it and it was a very enjoyable read. I'm diving straight into the next book in the series.

[Kristina]

I see you have a bunch of recommedations, but I just thought of another fun action packed series. Myke Cole's Shadow Ops series is fantastic. The books are described as Black Hawk Down meets Harry Potter. Modern day military with magic. I could not put them down.