Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Introductions - tell us a little about yourself
Welcome to the group, David and Cody. Looking forward to chatting with you both :-).
Welcome, COdy, David, and Martha.....you all have some interesting tastes in fantasy....I keep meaning to get back into the Sword of Truth....
Thank you John and Chris. I'm am on Terry's 5th book, "Soul of the Fire."
Welcome to the group, Megan. It was actually Maria V. Snyder's recommendation that first drew me to GoodReads. I have her first Study book, but haven't read it yet. It's one of my many (and ever increasing) TBR pile choices.
Welcome aboard, Megan. Glad to hear we're giving you some good recommendations :-).
Hi, my name is Sunet. I am from South Africa. I have always loved fantasy books, no matter the author, as long as it is a good book. I think I have only read some of the main stream books and not so much of the lesser known authors, thats why I am excited about this group, I think I will be introduced to a whole new list of books to read. I usually keep to series that don't have more than 4 books (it gets expensive to buy).I don't get as much time to read as in the past, ever since I got married and had a child (11 months), time has been very scarce.
Hi, my name is martin. I`m from Ireland & enjoy reading fantasy books, although I must admit I haven`t read that many, but I plan to read as many as I can over the coming year. (I would appreciate anyone`s recommendations.) Currently I`m reading `the Dark Tower`series which I think are really really good. Thinking also of reading either À Game of Thrones`or `The eye of the world`next. Any suggestions??
Welcome, Martin and Sunet.Sunet, if you like a series with 4 or less, I'd try Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I've only read the first one so far, but it was excellent.
Martin, it just so happens that The Dark Tower is one of my all time favorite series. Right up there with it are those by George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan. So yes, both of those considerations you have for your next book come highly recommended. Also, see the above recommendation to Sunet.
To both of you I'd recommend our very own Michael J. Sullivan's The Crown Conspiracy & Avempartha. Also are our members Leslie A. Moore Griffin's Daughter & John Beachem Storms of Vengeance. I've read Michael's books, Leslie's first one, and I'm about to plunge into John's first. I'm sure there are several GR authors in this group with great books. This has been a wonderful group to discover new adventures...
Martin wrote: "Hi, my name is martin. I`m from Ireland & enjoy reading fantasy books, although I must admit I haven`t read that many, but I plan to read as many as I can over the coming year. (I would appreciate ..."Hi Martin - if like Dark Tower and you're trying to choose between Martin and Jordan, here's my take:
Eye of the World (Jordan) is a farm boys coming of age, set against an old, worldwide magical conflict. I thought the first book was breathtaking - there are many varied views on the rest of the series - I'd encourage you to seek your own.
A Game of Thrones (Martin) is a political intrigue, with extremely sharp edges and a lot of grit. I thought the first book, also, was brilliant - but you wouldn't read this one for a comfort zone read, and you'd best not be afraid to kill the puppies. The characters aren't cuddly, and the bent of the series continues that way.
Since you like Dark Tower - and may not be afraid of grim, or layers of (oft confusing) complexity, I could also suggest Steven Erikson's Malazan series - expect DARK and grim, though - not for control freaks who have to KNOW NOW, or understand everything all at once. This guy makes you work and swim a quite a bit, before he starts to converge his threads. Some find it hard to get started, for this reason. Many feel the reward is worth it.
All three of these series have their merits - they have very different flavors. I find it helps to see into the work, a bit, to choose - rather than get "I loved it, read it!" or "I hated it, stay away."
You'll know what you are seeking, best.
Welcome aboard, Sunet and Martin. It looks like Janny and Chris have already hit on a coule of series for you both to read. The recommendations come fast and furious around here, so stay tuned :-).
Hello i am Pedro and i am from Oeiras a town near Lisbon in Portugal.I always was inlove in genre of Fantasy ,another one was arthuriana legends.
In terms of books i have some but loves series and solo books and several authors but one that marked more was Marion Zimmer Bradley with the serie of The Mists of Avalon.It was because this book that i started to read.
Thanks for the suggestion Chris, I am looking forward to the book readings and discussions, hope I can keep up... Had a quick look on Amazon at the Mistborn trilogy and it looks, it looks intriguing. Thanks
Hello. My name is Sean, and I've been reading speculative and escapist fiction for most of my 41 years. If it was on the shelves 20 years ago, I've at least tried it.Favorite current works include the lush prose and adult themes of Jacqueline Carey, the war and politics and, well, grit of Glen Cook (and Martin's Ice and Fire), the vivid characterization of Robin Hobb.
Longtime favorites include Katherine Kurtz' Deryni, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser, Zelazny's Amber, Moorcock's Eternal Champion, Moon's Paksenarrion, Kennealy-Morrison's Keltia, Kay's Fionavar Tapestry. All-time favorites include LOTR and Mists of Avalon.
Things I enjoyed on first read but paled for me over time include Eddings' Belgariad, Feist's Riftwar, Anthony's Xanth, Brooks' Shannara.
Being of Irish descent, anything of a Gaelic or Celtic subject is likely to catch my interest; being liberal, anything that is as polemical as Goodkind, or the later Gor books, is likely to lose my interest.
12 years of marriage and reduced discretionary income, and time, have left me largely out of touch with what's currently out there, and most of my current reading is online current events. So I'm certainly interested in hearing about the best of the new books and authors!
Hi Sean - great list! You have a lot of my favorites on there.For superb characters and nice plotting (you like Kay and Hobb, and a bit of grit) I'd try Carol Berg. Her first trilogy is very nice - she has one standalone, and her latest duology, Breath and Bone, Flesh and Spirit - excellent. I'd avoid the one that runs to four books, first out. Also, anything by Barbara Hambly - though not her most recent - has gorgeous prose, great plotting, a bit of grit, and extremely refined characterization. I am presuming you've chased down the rest of Guy Kay. These authors aren't going to read thin, or just like "another" formula fantasy adventure. There will be depths and scope.
There is nothing quite like Zelazny. Sigh.
If you liked Fritz Leiber, though, and you want a fast, light read with a splash of humor and a few good twists, try The Crown Conspiracy - it has a Fafhrd and Mouser style duo, and moves along briskly.
I could recommend the site, too, Fantasyliterature.net - click on "reviews" - you'll see all their reviewers, listed and ranked by star rating - it's quite easy to see, then, which ones share your tastes. They make a strict policy about not spoiling in their reviews. It's a pretty well-thought site.
Raise a Guiness for me, will you? Doesn't ship across the pond well - and is nothing like the same stout, here.
Welcome!
Sean, I like your list, I'm currently rereading The Deed of Paksenarrion now. For those who don't mind reading on the computer and have little discretionary income, try www.fictionwise.com and their e-book assortment, many thousands of books and stories for much less. Satrt with mine. ;)
Thanks Chris. I appreciate your suggestions & will definately keep an eye out for the other books you mentioned.
Thanks Janny for your comments. I`ve heard alright that Steven Erikson`s books are not for light reading all right! I may however give them a read in the future. I think I may read À game of throne`s`next. Thanks again for your comments.
Janny,Thanks so much for the reply. I'll definitely be looking for Ms. Berg's work. I've indeed read the rest of Mr. Kay's works...and while they're all much more derivative than Fionavar (except Tigana), they're well-written enough, and not over-exposed (it's not like there are 50 el Cid retellings kicking around), so that they were well worth reading (and re-reading).
As for Ms. Hambly, I read the Darwath trilogy, Ladies of Mandrigyn, and a few others back in the 80s. Enjoyable, but they didn't make the same kind of impression, good or bad, that keeps me coming back to (or shunning) an author. Perhaps she's due another look though.
Will definitely check out the fantasyliturature site!
And I agree, there's nothing like a pint of Guinness on draft.
Thanks much, Marc! I was delighted, recently, to hear that Ms. Moon is revisiting Paksenarrion and her world in a new book, or books. Sometimes going back is a mistake, but I have the utmost confidence in the author's talent....
Sorry for the late response. Welcome to the group, Sean and Pedro. Glad to have you here :-).
Sean wrote: "Janny,Thanks so much for the reply. I'll definitely be looking for Ms. Berg's work. I've indeed read the rest of Mr. Kay's works...and while they're all much more derivative than Fionavar (ex..."
For another shot at Hambly (she matured after Darwath, and the Mandrigyn was part of a series, more geared to adventure/action with less depth) - try her Suncross duology, which crosses a fantasy world with Nazi Germany's messing with arcane arts, in a very daring and original take, seen from the view of the fantasy world's characters in a world crossing situation - or Those Who Hunt the Night - which is fabulous. I am no fan of vampire books - but this one is stellar. Scary, with a 19th century woman doctor as the heroine, and there is NOT a romance involved - the vampire threatens her husband to get her to solve a very dark mystery - quite well done.
Sean wrote: "Sometimes going back is a mistake, but I have the utmost confidence in the author's talent.... "Some series are so perfect when complete that going back and doing more should be forbidden, just as some movies should never be remade and some songs never covered. The Seventh Sword trilogy by Dave Duncan, or the Well of Souls series by Jack Chalker. Unfortunately Chalker did go back and do more in the series but I never tried to read them.
I'm also a fan of Barbara Hambly, having read many of her books, including the excellent, aforementioned Those Who Hunt The Night. I also enjoyed Dog Wizard, which I think is part of a series as well.
It's the sequel to the Rainbow Abyss, which is the name of a gulf that separates worlds. Mages on one world have learned to cross it to our world, with the usual results. One of my favorite Hambly novels is Ishmael, in the Star Trek line.
Wow lots of new people. Hey everyone! Welcome to the group! I'm kinda returning now that uni is over. Thank the gods... 
Sean, I fell about a week behind on my Goodreads groups, so I'm a little late responding to your post, but I was struck by some of the similarities in our tastes that I felt like I should respond. Carey, Martin, and Hobb are among my favorites, as is Zelazny. Also, I had the same history with Anthony, Brooks, and Eddings. So, here are my recommendations....Along the lines of epic fantasy, I have to recommend R. Scott Bakker's The Prince of Nothing trilogy (which I've just started re-reading). Talk about a deep world and characterization--at times dense prose, but well worth the effort. Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen is also, IMO, one of the best epic fantasy series going right now.
Liking Zelazny, I would recommend Steven Brust's work--he's an author inspired by Zelazny in some ways and a very good writer. The Vlad Taltos series is a pretty good place to start, though the stand-alones To Reign in Hell (a re-telling of Paradise Lost--sort of--from Satan's perspective) and Agyar are also excellent entries into Brust.
Hello. I joined Goodreads and this group yesterday. I would have joined earlier had I known this place existed :) I live and work in the San Francisco bay area and have been a fantasy fan since I was able to read.I look forward to reading and discussing the monthly book nominations. I hope to make some new friends while I'm here and discuss our love of the fantasy genre and reading in general. Thank you for having me
Welcome to the group, Samuel. Glad to have you here.
John,Thanks for the reply. I'm actually working my way through the first Malazan now. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. And Brust, particularly Vlad Taltos (and the Musketeers pastiche), is a favorite. Haven't tried Bakker to date, but I think I've heard good things about him.
John wrote: "Sean, I fell about a week behind on my Goodreads groups, so I'm a little late responding to your post, but I was struck by some of the similarities in our tastes that I felt like I should respond. ..."
Hi. I'm from a small town in Ontario, Canada. I read many genres, but fantasy is definitately one of my favorites. I like to write short fiction and have some stories published on the Internet. I'm currently hoping to break into actual print.My favorite fantasy authors are:
George R.R. Martin
Joe Abercrombie
Robin Hobb
Caitlin R. Kiernan
Brandon Sanderson
Ursula K. Le Guin
Neil Gaiman
China Mieville
Patrick Rothfuss
Raymond E. Feist
Robert Jordan
Welcome, Samuel and Jason...lots of good authors there
Welcome to the group, Jason. Martin AND Gaiman... we should get along great :-).
Hi I'm new here, and I'm also rather new at reading fantasy books except for LOR by J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephanie Meyers Twilight series (which I love), Buffy and Angel books based on those series (another of my faves), and Roswell books also based on that series (which I really like). I like to read, sketch, and most of all write. Right now I'm reading Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, wow I'm loving it! I plan to read more of her. Also, I want to read McKiernan's books but have not yet. Has anyone else read his books? Well that's a little about me. I'm glad to be a part of this group.angel (aka angelswing)
Bobbie wrote: "Hi I'm new here, and I'm also rather new at reading fantasy books except for LOR by J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephanie Meyers Twilight series (which I love), Buffy and Angel books based on those series (ano..."Hi Bobbie -
I've read quite a lot of Dennis McKiernan's work over the years - he does a nice light read with enjoyable characters. I'd tag him adventure fantasy to relax with. There is an interesting inside story behind his first trilogy (which takes a lot after Tolkien, but without the weight and heft) but as his works progress from there, they are anything but imitative. You also do not have to start with that trilogy (The Iron Tower) but could break in anywhere, as most of the titles stand alone very nicely.
I never read a book of his I could not finish - they never bog down.
Which titles were you looking at to start?
His Mithgar books, which are loosely, a series?
His fairy tale novels?
He only wrote one science fiction title I am aware of, all the rest are fantasy.
I'll clue you if I can.
Greetings!I'm Regina from NJ. I'm very new to GR, and was thrilled to find this Fantasy group. Looking forward to connecting with you.
My favorite book (all-time) is The Mists of Avalon, though I started out in the fantasy genre with David Eddings when I was a teen and have always enjoyed fantasy better than any other type. I particularly like books that have a sense of magic in them and deal with interesting twists on theology. I like epic series generally, though perhaps not quite as epic as Wheel of Time.
Favorite authors include: Fiona McIntosh, Jim Butcher, Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Hobb, Jennifer Fallon, Scott Lynch
If I'm not reading, I'm probably taking quizzes on Facebook.
best,
regina
Hi Bobbie,Welcome to the group! You have so many great choices out there. Dennis McKiernan has some great books and I love his stuff. I've read all of his Mithgar books except the very newest one, The City of Jade. I'll read it someday and am looking forward to it very much. I just have to catch up on my reading.
I think you should read the following Dennis McKieran books for sure:
The Iron Tower trilogy--a great Tolkienesque fantasy with fabulous characters--a good introduction to the world and his style. I say, start here.
Dragondoom--one of the best and coolest fantasies I've ever read. Two of the strongest characters and I loved them so much. I will never forget this book.
Eye of the Hunter--great characters. Epic story that covers so much ground in Mithgar.
My least favorite are: Journey of the Fox Rider (a little slow) and Dragonstone (the first book chronologically, but don't start with it in my opinion. Go back later if you're interested). They are just a little too slow, but once again, the characters are awesome.
You don't have to read all of the Mithgar books, but if you love the world, and I think you will, you'll be tempted to dive in with both feet. Savor it, but read them all together, and you'll get more out of it. The Hel's Crucible duology are great too.
If you loved Middle Earth, and want to see the ideas there expanded to the level it could have been if Tolkien had written ten books, read Dennis McKiernan. He is a writer you will fall in love with.
Happy reading!
Paul Genesse
Author of The Dragon Hunters
Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series
www.paulgenesse.com
My name is matthew Morin. I love everything about fantasy books, and when i saw this group i new i had to join. And a great idea it was. I love it here, and i love tov read the commints that people make about great fantasy books. I love robert jordans books (the wheel of time series is the best) and i like to read books by E.E Knight including dragon champion, dragon avenger, dragon outcast, and dragon rule. I would recomend any of those.Cant wait to see some more comments
Matthew Morin : )
Welcome to our fast-growing group, Matthew, Regina and Bobbie.
Hi.My name is Vinay. I am from India. I totally love fantasy fiction. Lord of the Rings is my favorite book. Apart from Tolkien, the other authors whose books I love are- Raymond Feist
- RA Salvatore
- Terry Goodkind
- Dave Duncan
- Fred Saberhagen
- Tamora Pierce
among others.
Recommend most of these authors to people who love Fantasy Fiction.
Thanks,
Vinay
Hi Everyone,Writing from Fairview, PA. Got a link to Goodreads, and am looking forward to perusing the site.
Rob
Welcome, Regina, Bobbie, Matthew, Vinay, and Rob.....this group is really growing...
Welcome to the group, Vinay and Rob. Look forward to chatting with ya.
Hi everyone. I'm Kate, currently living in Norwalk, CT. I've been a fantasy reader probably since my third grade teacher read us the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Some of my favorite authors include (but are not limited to):Jim Butcher
George R.R. Martin
Tanya Huff
Look forward to talking with y'all.
Kate
Greetings to all you newcomers and a special greeting to you, Vinay. I visited India in 2006 and absolutely LOVED it! I hope to be able to return someday soon to visit some of the regions I missed. Leslie Ann
author of Griffin's Daughter and Griffin's Shadow
Hello, I am Sunni from not so always Sunny San Francisco Bay Area. I too work in Hotels and spend all of limited free times hunting down new fantasy books. With a demanding work schedule I have yet to meet like-minded Fantasy readers in my area nor a group that appealed until today! Thank you! I am absolutely out of touch when it comes to fantasy classics though I have been completed sucked into anything Laura Hamilton writes which I know is more on the exotica side. However, I adore Sara Douglass. Ay suggestions along these veins for a fantasy hungry gal?
Hi my name is Caleb and I recently turned 17 Ive been reading fantasy since I was a kid and I still dont enjoy sci fi I live in kingston, TN and I'm homescholed. I dont really go to the library for books because their fantasy selection isnt very extensive I guess I enjoy most a young adult fantasy because they dont usually get all that complicated. I am at the moment reading the sorceress and the cygnet by Patricia A. Mckillip I have already read the sequal I read it and felt the whole time like I was missing part of the story because of how they referred to past occurances so I looked it up on amazon and found out there were two different books before that one.my favorite authors are..
Patricia A. McKillip
Diana Wynne Jones
Robin Mckinley
J r. r. Tolkien
C. s. Lewis
Patricia C. Wrede
Sharon Shinn
Jane Yolen
Sarah Zettel
Frank L. Baum
Piers Anthony
Juliet Marrilier
Gail Carson Levine
Lois Lowry
Mercedes Lackey
Neil Gaimen
Garth Nix
and maybe their not all really my favorites just that they have written my favorite books..........
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Fantasy Book Club
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Hi.. My name is Cody and I am 19 years old living in Paris, TX. My favorite fantasy writer is Terry Goodkind and his series is "The Sword of Truth." I feel welcome :)