Intro to Fantasy

[Joi]

I want to start reading fantasy books. I'm new to the genre. So I'm looking for fantasy books that have great world building and a lot of action.
Thanks.!

[Michele]

Hmm, there's very few that have world building, action, and stand alone but The Princess Bride might fit, by Morganstern.

Miserere by Teresa Frohock

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold is good, not a lot of action though.

Do you want funny or serious, literary or plain prose, urban fantasy or totally made up world, lots or little magic, epic quests or smaller adventures, male or female MC or a mixed group?

Fantasy is a big grab bag of stuff.

[MJ]

I tried... never knew I liked series so much! Sorry.

[MJ]

Oh, wait. I love this one, and re-read it often.
Nimisha's Ship

[Joi]

Michele wrote: "Hmm, there's very few that have world building, action, and stand alone but The Princess Bride might fit, by Morganstern.

Miserere by Teresa Frohock

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

The Curse of..."

okayyyyyyyyy----so do you have any series that are good for beginners?

[Joi]

MJ wrote: "Oh, wait. I love this one, and re-read it often.
Nimisha's Ship"

What are some good series?

[Lou]

Most of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are only loosely connected, though you get a lot of little references in later books. I'd personally start with Guards! Guards!.

[Joseph]

For great fantasy, I'd say check out Mercedes Lackey, I particularly like her Five Hundred Kingdoms series, it starts with The Fairy Godmother.

There's also of course the great J.R.R. Tolkien with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[Michele]

Try the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages

The Belgariad by David Eddings - book one Pawn of Prophecy

[``Laurie]

The Sparrow by Mary Doria RussellMary Doria Russell is one of my favorites.

[MJ]

Melanie Rawn, Dragon Prince series, 6 books (finished)

Katherine Kerr, Deverry series. Has heaps of books and spans over 400 years. Needs heavy thought, flicks backwards through time to different reincarnations. (finished)

C.M Owens, Daughter series (finished I think), Stirling series (still writing), and Faders series (still writing)

Erica Stevens, Captured series. (still writing)

Stacie Simpson, Myths and Legend series (still writing)

Deborah Harkness, All Souls Trilogy, I didn't like the last book, but others did. They're looking to make a movie.

Robin Hobb, Rain Wild Chronicles (finished). Three trilogy before this one, they are all connected by characters or places. Liveships are my fav.

Nalini Singh, Psy/Changeling series (still writing) and Guild Hunter series (still writing). Both fav's.

Julie Kagawa, Immortal Rules series (finished I think).

R.L. Mathewson, Pyte/Sentinel series (still writing)

Traci Harding, the Ancient Future trilogy. The Celestrial Triad. The Mystique trilogy.

Olivia Barrington Leigh, Sun Wolf series (still writing)

... I think I may be done!

[Elizabeth]

The Legend of Eli Monpress

[Kimber]

Terry Brooks Shannara Series. It starts with The Sword of Shannara and continues on...thru gaps in time...

Excellent series and was my true start in the fantasy genre.

[Cumbling Michael]

For my money, one of the best introductions to fantasy (not necessarily the best story, but the best introduction) is Robert Heinlein's Glory Road. Beside being an enjoyable sword-and-sorcery adventure romp, it presents the reader with most of the central concepts and tropes of fantasy, in such a way as not to assume prior knowledge. It's also lots of fun.

[Scott]

Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series is a lot of fun.

[Joi]

Thank you---I will look into all of these suggestions.

[Krystal]

I read tons of fantasy, but also reads a wide variety of a lot of other genres. I could probably help you out if I knew what you typically read now. There are lots of fantasy that also have the underpinnings of other genres and therefore make for a great transition. What's your standard reading fare?

[Joi]

Krystal wrote: "I read tons of fantasy, but also reads a wide variety of a lot of other genres. I could probably help you out if I knew what you typically read now. There are lots of fantasy that also have the und..."

Right now, I read a lot of mystery, crime, and thrillers.

[Krystal]

Alright, give me a bit to think it out and I'll see what I can come up with.

[Sophie]

Terry Pratchett is not beginner fantasy because he parodies a lot of other fantasy books and tropes. He's a great author, though.

[Sophie]

Seanan McGuire's October Daye books are urban fantasy and the main character is a private detective, so they might appeal to your mystery/crime/thriller interests. The first is Rosemary and Rue.

[Joi]

thank you sophie and krystal

[puppitypup]

The Name of the Wind by Patrick
Rothfuss


The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

[Krystal]

Alright, here's a few I've come up with:

For a great way to ease into fantasy, I would personally suggest anything by Susanna Kearsley - she writes mystery-esque stories that all have hints of fantasy. Some have more than others, but they're more tame elements than "high fantasy." They are all mainly set in present day and feature a variety of things from spirits, time travel of sorts, memories of past lives, mind reading, etc. Nothing too exotic but they add this great otherworldly bent to an otherwise standard mystery story. They're definitely what I would recommend to get somebody in the mood for something more fantastical.

Now these next recommendations are far easier to categorize as "fantasy." I've listed a variety of favorites of different types. Keep in mind many of these are the first in series, and several are by favorite authors of mine that, in my opinion, can do no wrong with anything they write, so this list could theoretically lead you to a much larger list of future reads.

More adventure like (think action sequences, "quests" that sort of thing)


With a little political-type intrigue thrown in to spice up the mix


A few that are a really interesting blend of science fiction and fantasy (without getting overly science-y, which I'm not a big fan of)


A few classics that everybody should read, no matter what


And finally, this one just for fun. It's a quick, fun read that's just extremely amusing. I've always loved this book.


I hope something on my list here will spark an interest. I browsed a bit through your read shelf to get a better idea of what you've been reading in the past. I saw several that we had both read and enjoyed, so hopefully we have similar enough tastes that something on my list here will strike your fancy.

Good luck with your new foray into fantasy - it's a wonderful world. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this discussion to jot down any new suggestions others give that look interesting. :)

[Joi]

Yes, yes, yes Krystal. I am adding all of these to my TBR list. Thank you so much.!

[Krystal]

My pleasure! I'm always more than happy to share my book obsession with others. :)

[Cynthia]

Anything in the Valdemar Series by Mercedes Lackey.
More kids reading but still enjoyable are The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I also like Anne Bishop and Deborah Harkness. Terry Brooks is a classic now and JRR Tolkien seems to be the father of the genre.

[Rafi]

Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures Vol. 1is a light hearted fun series.

The Last Unicornis a long time favorite of mine.

The Godmother

Tailchaser's Song
These are great series: The Wayfarer Redemption

and The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness

I assume someone mentioned the Lord of the Rings, and the Harry Potter books.

AS you will see when you start reading, fantasy covers a very wide range. What I would recommend is finding some short story collections, so you can get an idea of which kinds of stories you like. But I don't read many short stories, so I can't recommend one.

[Michele]

Series:

Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising cycle, starting with The Dark Is Rising
Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, starting with The Dragonbone Chair
Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar trilogy, starting with The Summer Tree
Patricia McKillip's Riddle of Stars trilogy, starting with The Riddle-Master of Hed

Standalone, but with others set in same world:
Archangel
Dragonquest
A Wizard of Earthsea
She
A Wrinkle in Time
Enchantress from the Stars

Standalone:
Unicorns in the Rain
Anything by Sheri Tepper, e.g. The Gate to Women's Country or Grass
Waking the Moon
Alphabet of Thorn

[Ibn_shisha]

My very own first ever fantasy, recently rediscovered thanks to this very group, is Kiteman of Karanga.

This is a standalone fantasy (sadly, I would have loved to have seen where the author could have taken it with sequels). Action packed from the start, and quite a unique world-feel compared to many more recent works. The world and characters are clearly picturable without the overly verbose descriptions so prevalent nowadays.

While it is more of a YA work, I just reread it after finding it again here and still found it very enjoyable.

[Nente]

I can't believe no one's mentioned Diana Wynne Jones yet! For a great standalone book, try Power Of Three or Archer's Goon; for a series, Charmed Life is the first of her Chrestomanci series, also very good.

[Nente]

Nente wrote: "I can't believe no one's mentioned Diana Wynne Jones yet!

Oh sorry Krystal, I did a text-search so didn't see your suggestion of The Dark Lord of Derkholm =) But this one already relies on the reader knowing a bit about fantasy and how it goes.

[Andrea]

I always recommend the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. They are fun, romantic, with excellent world building without being dark.

My favorites of the 12 or so.
= A Hunger Like No Other
- Lothaire
- Dark Desires After Dusk

[Krystal]

Nente wrote: "Nente wrote: "I can't believe no one's mentioned Diana Wynne Jones yet!

Oh sorry Krystal, I did a text-search so didn't see your suggestion of The Dark Lord of Derkholm..."

lol, no worries. I've not read much of Jones' books besides the Dark Lord series; I'll have to check out those others you mentioned. :)

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Ok, I need to correct something that Michele said. She by H. Rider Haggard is NOT a stand-alone. It is the first in a 4 books series. However, you can read it as a stand alone.

Try some of Andre Norton's books. She wrote a little of everything, although she is best know for her fantasy and sci-fi. Check out her Witch World series. It's a fairly long collection, but most are grouped together in sets of 2 or 3, or even single books. They are just all set in the same world. At least, until you get to the last 3 or so, where many of the charcters in previous groupings get together to save Witch World.

I'm also going to suggest that you check out the category of Urban Fantasy. Many of the books in that are mysteries with some kind of paranormal/fantasy twist.

In this category are (first book in the series only):

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels series)

Blood Price (Vickie Nelson Series)

Storm Front (Dresden files)

Smoke and Shadows (Tony Foster series)

[Clay]

Lord of the Rings is a great place to start.

[Wendy]

MJ wrote: "Melanie Rawn, Dragon Prince series, 6 books (finished)

Katherine Kerr, Deverry series. Has heaps of books and spans over 400 years. Needs heavy thought..."

The first three Pern books, DragonsongDragonsinger Dragondrums I personally think are more fantasy tham scifi. They can stand alone as the rest of the books go more scifi-ish according to fans though I only read her early stuff.

I agree with the choice of Robin Hobb Liveship TradersShip of Magic The Mad Ship Ship of Destiny (Finished) Though she has other Series books in the same World..

Any Patricia A. McKillip One of my first taste of Fantasy was The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

I also agree with The Last Unicorn Classic standalone

Watership Downis not exactly Fantasy with dragons, magic etc. but it has talking thinking rabbits who go out into the world to seek out a new home. It is one of my absolute favorites. It too stand-alone.

I have been reading Fantasy for years and will be adding some of these on my list!

[Wendy]

OH!! Green Rider Kristen Britain (still writing, but about 4-5 so far. I am awaiting new one.

But of course, Harry Potter series.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

I also like Tom Deitz; I would start with Windmaster's Bane (first in series).

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Alan Garner is another author to try. Although his are more ya or maybe even tweenie than adult, but the stories are good.

Another of the "classic" authors to try is Lloyd Alexander. His Prydain series especially is very good. But then, I liked his writing way back when.

Again, if you don't mind YA/tweenie/NA try Susan Cooper. The Dark Is Risingis the first book in one of her series. Very good book.