Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Introductions - tell us a little about yourself
Hi, Cinda!Congrats on all the accolades from Voya! Very nice!
Hi, I'm Elana and I am 14 years old and I got into fantasy about a year ago and it has become my favorite genre by far. My favorite books are Harry Potter and The Name of the Wind. I have to say I really did enjoy the Heir Trilogy as well. I think the concept of it is really cool. Usually the fantasy books I like the best are the ones with really original and unique worlds along with at least decent writing to keep me turning the page. I have read a lot of Garth Nix and his Abhorsen Trilogy is really interesting but sometimes his writing just moves to slow and bores me. Any suggestions of a good fantasy book? Thanks for the Help!
Cinda! I am excited to see you on here. My brother just gave me Warrior Heir and told me I had to read it.Elana - if you like originality, you've got to try Brandon Sanderson. Terrific pace, and ingenious systems. Elantris is a good place to start, as a stand-alone book, but the pacing is slightly slower than some of his other books. You may prefer the Mistborn trilogy.
Hi, Elana. Apologizing for the shameless self-promotion, but I have a new series launching in October. If you liked the Heir Chronicles, it might be one to consider.
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I also like anything by Tamora Pierce and you might enjoy Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series (City of Bones, etc). Also Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (that's a bit more apocalyptic) These are all YAs.
Shannon, Thanks for your suggestion. The next chance I get I am going to pick up the first in the Mistborn Trilogy.
Cinda, Ok so, After reading and rereading the summary for The Demon King I have become very excited for it. The main characters look like they are going to be quite a pair and the world seems quite intriguing. Once October comes around I will be sure to pick up a copy as soon as I can. It is always a relief when an author I already know I enjoy reading comes out with more books because now I don't have to worry about if I am going to like the writing style and things like that. Thanks for your suggestions and I was wondering if there were any Tamara Pierce books in particular that you enjoyed because when I looked up her books there were quite a few and I had trouble deciding which one I should try reading first.
Thanks Again
Hi Elana..welcome to the group....I'd agree on Shannon's suggestion of Brandon Sanderson. I'm reading the second Mistborn now...
Elana, Re Tamora Pierce recommendations: I really like her new series, though it's a bit different, kind of a police procedural crossed with fantasy. The first is Terrier, the second is Bloodhound, and there is supposed to be a third one, Mastiff.
I also like the Song of the Lioness quartet, Protector of the Small quartet, and The Circle of Magic quartet. There's a start!!
Cinda,It is great to have you in the group.
I have seen your books many times in the YA section, the one I always check. Now, that you are more than a name in a cover I'm planning to pick them up next time I see them.
Elana, if you like unique worlds with good writing you may try The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.
The Shamer's Daughter, The Shamer's Signet, The Serpent Gift, The Shamer's War by Lene Kaaberbol.
And shameless self-promotion: Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban.
Carmen wrote: Elana, if you like unique worlds with good writing you may try The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.
I'll second this rec from Carmen.
I'll have to look for your books, Carmen, when I haunt the YA section.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Almost all of those books are now on my to read list.
Welcome to the group, Elana. Glad you were able to get so many recommendations. We've always got plenty of those :-).
Seeing as these threads are a lot more useful than i expected, I have a kinda random question. A while back I finished reading the Percy Jackson Olympian series ( I think that is fantasy??) and although the books themselves were not that great I really enjoyed the idea of a novel about the Greek Gods. I have been searching for a while trying to find another book about The Greek Gods and all I have found is the Shadow Thieves, which wasn't that good, and then a lot of short stories. The problem is there are a lot of books about the events that are said to have happened in that time period like The Trojan Horse, but I was trying to find something that was a new idea that just included the gods. Does anybody know of such a book?
Hi I'm Tom. I'm 14 years old. Some of my favorite books include The Name of the Wind, the 'Heir' series, and I enjoyed the Hunger Games and Graceling. I also really like Greek Mythology, and most books related to it like the Percy Jackson series, and I'm trying to find more books like that. Any suggestions?
American Gods is the first book that comes to mind, but, as I recall, it includes almost any and all mythology, maybe primarily Norse? It's pretty dark, but I would've been fine with it at 14. Just keep that in mind when you're deciding for yourselves.
JG wrote: "American Gods is the first book that comes to mind, but, as I recall, it includes almost any and all mythology, maybe primarily Norse? It's pretty dark, but I would've been fine with i..."Depends on how much you've been exposed to and how sexual you are at 14 :P There are some scenes in there that might be too much for some teens :]
Wow - you made me think of a story I read when I was a teenage about a girl who went to Greece and, on Delos, had a dream about goddesses fighting. I looked it up and I think it was The Immortal by Christopher Pike. (Anyone else ever read Pike? I loved Pike when I was that age.)It's more sort of horror than fantasy, and probably not at all what you're looking for, but I remember liking it a lot at the time, and just had to share for memories sake. I was quite into Greek mythology at the time, as well.
(As a side note, abebooks really is an excellent place to track down half-remembered book titles.)
While I was browsing around, I also came across the 'Book of the Gods' series by Fred Saberhagen, which starts with The Face of Apollo. The premise seems to be a post-technological world in which the gods return via some maguffin or another, and are, essentially, modern retellings of Greek myths. I've never read them myself, so I make no claims to whether it's good or not. It looks kinda cheesy to me - but it could be fun, and the write-up on amazon says it can appeal to a YA audience.
Elana wrote: " but I was trying to find something that was a new idea that just included the gods. Does anybody know of such a book? Webmage
Cybermancy
Codespell
MythOS
Greetings to all the newcomers, and a special shout-out to our new teen members! I remember the excitement of discovering fantasy and s/f when I was a young teen. Those books formed my tastes that have lasted throughout my adulthood. I look forward to all the new imput.
Mark, thanks for the series!! I am really excited to finally find another series about the Gods. And I was also kinda curious about what your book Off The Map is about? It look interesting but the summary didn't really tell me much.
'Off the Map' is a short story (ebook only) that I did for a contest, where I was the prize. The winner got turned into a character and a story written about her. Sandi von Pier has a tremendous interest in animal rescue, and she likes reality TV shows like Survivor. I put her onto the set of Off the Map, a show that might be called Interdimensional Survivor. She ends up saving the monsters, and in the process breaks the show. This story was a lot of fun to write, and taking apart fantasy stereotypes like elves and trolls, was an added bonus. Thanks for asking.
Carmen wrote: "Carmen wrote: "Val wrote: "Thank you so much for the welcome and the recommendations. Carmen- I just read "Wildwood dancing". Loved it.
I am looking forward to some new reads. I will be scannin..."
Carmen- I am so glad that you liked it. It is one of my favorites. :) Let me know what you find. We seem to have similar tastes.
Hi Val,I recently read Faeries of Dreamdark Blackbringer by Laini Taylor and I thought it was pretty good.
In a totally different vein, try Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by E. Van Lowe. It's fun in a totally 'don't use your brain' kind of way.
Hi, I'm a fantasy geek like everybody elseI'm from the bay area in CA, would'nt live any where else
my tastes are very picky - I like character driven plots
I wana be a writer when I grow up ( I guees that already happened?) um
my favorites include
Pat rofusss
GRRM
Neil gaiman
brandon sanderson
and Keith miller - which nobody has ever heard of - and that makes the world a sad place indead
P.S this is an awsome group
Welcome to the group, Andrew. Glad to have you here. GRRM and Neil Gaiman... Great to hear :-).
Andrew wrote: "Hi, I'm a fantasy geek like everybody elseI'm from the bay area in CA, would'nt live any where else
my tastes are very picky - I like character driven plots
I wana be a writer when I grow up ( I ..."
Hi Andrew - why not tell us a bit about Keith Miller and suggest a title to try?
keith miller wrote a book called the "the book of flying", it has many simularities to the odyssey. There is a good read page of it, top on my listalas, its his only work:(
I have been too busy to dig into my copy of mistwraith, but I plan to
what about you, what would you suggest?
but from what I hear, I'm in the presence of greatness
Andrew wrote: "keith miller wrote a book called the "the book of flying", it has many simularities to the odyssey. There is a good read page of it, top on my listalas, its his only work:(
I have been too busy ..."
If you want a story that has intense involvement with characters, (you liked Rothfuss) I'd try The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, or Karavans #1 by Jennifer Roberson. If you can handle a slower start, try Inda by Sherwood Smith.
If you want the edgy violence of Martin, try any of the fantasies by Mathew Stover, or if you want really edgy and cynical, The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.
If you want in depth characters, a very startling plot, and one of the more amazing and original magical systems going, and don't mind things being not what you think they are - this author is known for striking denouements along the way - Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone by Carol Berg.
It seems like you guys know a lot of books! Do you have any recommendations for a typical teenage girl who love paranormal romance? Oh, yeah, and I also love adventure with a bit of magic.
Janny wrote: "Andrew wrote: "keith miller wrote a book called the "the book of flying", it has many simularities to the odyssey. There is a good read page of it, top on my listalas, its his only work:(
I have..."
I'd also suggest giving Steven Erikson a shot if you like the dark violence of Martin.
Hello all, I'm Chris from New England. My first fantasy novel was the The Cleric Quintet Collector's Edition when I was about 20ish. To that end, I'm a little late to the game. favorites
My favorite Author for fantasy is Anne Bishop - I love her The Black Jewels Trilogy Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness
Biggest fantasy series read
I'm up to book 11 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.
Obstacles
I currently wrestle with finding unique fantasy - fantasy that is not D&D or Tolkenspired. I wrestle with finding Fantasy that meets my maturity level. I once read an excerpt where one said the Dragonlance books were the things that drove you through Junior High. Recommendations???
A Warning for all
If you ever find yourself approaching book 4 of Sara Douglass's Wayfarer series just stop. Seriously, it's such a dramatic departure from the first trilogy I question whether the author was truly the same. Feel free to read my review for more.
Christopher wrote: "Hello all, I'm Chris from New England. My first fantasy novel was the The Cleric Quintet Collector's Edition when I was about 20ish. To that end, I'm a little late to the game. ..."
Christopher - any of the books up for group read here are not Tolkein rips...I recommend any of them, very highly - also, all of the books I listed for Andrew in message 662, and Erikson that John mentioned in 663 are nothing like the usual either. If you choose to try the Erikson series, you need to stick to it through a lot of apparent confusion - it converges very strongly, eventually, but unless you are a very patient reader who enjoys a dark and glorious tone, and would not revel in being bombarded with a lot of exotic detail all at once, it may not turn the trick.
Christopher wrote: "Obstacles I currently wrestle with finding unique fantasy - fantasy that is not D&D or Tolkenspired. I wrestle with finding Fantasy that meets my maturity level. I once read an excerpt where one said the Dragonlance books were the things that drove you through Junior High. Recommendations??? "
There is a Recommendations section for this group that has both standalone and series novels. The list is up in the 40s for series, not including mine, since I haven't posted on that thread and my books are unfortunately not world famous as yet. They would be good places to start.
Hi, I'm Melissa from Texas. I found this club through a friend at work. I usually read low fantasy and folklore stories. I'm a big fan of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and am currently re-reading American Gods. Pleased to meet you all and I look forward to participating in discussions with you.
Hi, I'm Cécile from France. Time for me to introduce myself to this group.I've enjoyed fantasy ever since I've read The Hobbit Or There and Back Again when I was younger. The first book I've read in English was also fantasy: Sorcerer's Legacy.
Besides Tolkien's work, I like to read series: Darkover, Pern, the Six Duchies, these are worlds I like to immerse in, more than once.
Hey all!Well, I am exceedingly new to the Fantasy genre. I mostly read Horror with the occasional Thriller or Mystery thrown in. My fave author is Joe R. Lansdale,which is where my usual genre bend takes place.
As for why I am here within this group, well, I have finally decided to read a book I have been wanting to read since I was a kid. This means I have owned to book for 30 years and am just now reading it! That book would be THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. I am enjoying the heck out of it right now, but am so uninformed on the Fantasy genre that I have come here for a little help on where to go from Shannara. The Horror groups I belong to here on GR do such great jobs on helping newbies to that genre that I decided to see what kind of help the Fantasy groups might be able to extend to me, now that I am one of those newbies!
I have read FELLOWSHIP. I do need to finish off the rest of the LOTR books. I also need to read THE HOBBIT, I know. I have a "cousin in law" who is a HUGE Tolkien fan (he also is an elementary school teacher and wrote his own adaptation of THE HOBBIT for his students and they do the play every year), and he is always on me to read all of the books.
So, that is about it. I sadly won't be able to contribute much to discussions as far as knowledge, but you might be ablt to shape an unformed mass of clay!
Oh, I'm 39, married, two kids, live in Illinois...uhhhh...not too sure what else to say.
Cecile wrote: "Hi, I'm Cécile from France. Time for me to introduce myself to this group.I've enjoyed fantasy ever since I've read The Hobbit Or There and Back Again when I was younger. The first bo..."
Bonjour, Cecile, that is astonishing! Welcome here. I have to say that the publisher doing French translations in your country, Bragalonne, is quite an energetic little enterprise. Do you do most of your fantasy reading in English?
Janny wrote: "... Do you do most of your fantasy reading in English? "Until a few years ago, I read mostly in French and occasionally in English, what I could find in second-hand bookshops in France. Then I spent three weeks in Edinburgh and I came back with my luggage full of books (I found two bookshops with a lot of fantasy and sf).
Now I buy books in English on amazon, so I can reread in English books I enjoyed in French, or read new ones directly in English. So for the moment I read mostly in English.
Reading in English helps me to keep and improve my skill in this language. Now thanks to Goodreads I can also improve my writing skill. :)
Hello! I'm from New York, not the city. After seeing posts on this group from my friends on my GR updates, I decided I had to join since I really enjoy fantasy and the way it makes me feel! I'm interested in participating in group reads and discussing fantasy with everyone! My favorite fantasy authors include: Robin McKinley, Patrick Rothfuss, JRR Tolkien, Juliette Marillier and JK Rowling oh oh oh, and Robert Jordan (Aes Sedai FTW!)
Well, I've fallen way behind in greeting the newcomers. Welcome everyone....I've talked to a few of you already on other threads, but good to see the intros....
oh, and April.....I drafted a fantasy football team last night and named it "Asha'man Balefire", as I gear up for The Gathering Storm....heh...
Chris wrote: "Well, I've fallen way behind in greeting the newcomers. Welcome everyone....I've talked to a few of you already on other threads, but good to see the intros....
oh, and April.....I drafted a fan..."
Chris, that is an incredibly BAMF thing of you to do! (I'm rocking acronyms today, I swear it's not a permanent thing)
April wrote: "Hello! I'm from New York, not the city. After seeing posts on this group from my friends on my GR updates, I decided I had to join since I really enjoy fantasy and the way it makes me feel! I'm in..."That's a very nice list of authors - many of my favorites!
Hello Everyone,By day I make online fantasy games (my company makes EverQuest and many other MMOS).. by night I'm an avid fantasy reader (and writer).
My favorites lately are:
Patrick Rothfuss (fantastic first novel)
Robin Hobb
Peter Brett (The Warded man is a great book)
Steven Erikson (absolutely brilliant)
Gene Wolfe
GRRM
Robert Jordan (may he rest in peace)
Although I do read a lot of other genres, fantasy is always going to be my first love.
John Smedley
Jon wrote: "My question is,'Is there a place here to post Short stories??? "
Go here and click on "my writing." I've never posted anything, but I assume it's easy to figure out from there.
Hi, April! Good to see you here!
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Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Name of the Wind (other topics)The Fault in Our Stars (other topics)
Prince of Fools (other topics)
The Whitefire Crossing (other topics)
To Ride Hell’s Chasm (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael J. Sullivan (other topics)Robin Hobb (other topics)
Patrick Rothfuss (other topics)
Daniel Abraham (other topics)
George R.R. Martin (other topics)
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Oh, yeah... And she's my favorite author too!!