[Books] To Read. Fantasy.

[Thandrend]

The Belgariad by David and Leigh Eddings. A fairly linear, traditional high fantasy. Probably my favorite series of all time. The likability of all characters, the plot, the strife, it all adds up to be probably the greatest compilation of story-telling (not writing, Eddings was never a big fan of being called a "writer", but rather a story-teller).

The Mallorean by David and Leigh Eddings. Part two of the Belgariad epic. Very similar plots, almost all of the same characters, but still just as likable as the first series.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. A relatively new author in the scene, I find that his books are very similar to the style of writing I use. He uses human nature as a great driving point behind his books. The second part of the Kingkiller Chronicles was released TODAY. Exciting!

The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. There are a LOT of books to cover here. Terry Goodkind is the very best author at making you absolutely despise one character and absolutely fall in love with another. When you read Wizard's First Rule, you will absolutely fall in love with the female Protagonist, want to be the male Protagonist, and want to murder the male Antagonist. He is great, but expect a lot of time investment to read this series.

The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I know, I know, cliche addition to this list, but the grand-daddy of high fantasy should get a mention, if only for the Silmarillion alone. Granted, Tolkien's writing style is much like listening to somebody's day about every little detail that pertained to their day, lots of respect has to be given to this man. Without him, modern fantasy would not exist as it does now.

Of course, this is just a basic starter list, and there are many, many more I could recommend, I figure the 26 books listed here should be of interest and keep you busy for quite some time.

[Shad0wembrace]

Mmm fantasy books are my favorite!

The Belgariad by David Eddings is amazing. By far one of the best fantasy adventure series I've ever read.
The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning is extremely good. I'm about to finish up book 4 but I have that feeling that once I'm done with all 5 I'll be missing these characters I've started to adore. (Faerie/Gaelic Magic book)
The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey - Read this around the time that my dad died, it's fairly good, pretty decent read. I've heard Lackey's other books are also amazing.
Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks - Though not exactly fantasy read, I think it's def. a good trilogy and I Think you'll enjoy it. It's an assassin/rogue type trilogy.

[Khaowdruid]

Cover looks terrible, I know, but the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks is really really good.

I am also a big fan of most things by Terry Brooks.

[fadingintofall]

The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. There are a LOT of books to cover here. Terry Goodkind is the very best author at making you absolutely despise one character and absolutely fall in love with another. When you read Wizard's First Rule, you will absolutely fall in love with the female Protagonist, want to be the male Protagonist, and want to murder the male Antagonist. He is great, but expect a lot of time investment to read this series.

The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I know, I know, cliche addition to this list, but the grand-daddy of high fantasy should get a mention, if only for the Silmarillion alone. Granted, Tolkien's writing style is much like listening to somebody's day about every little detail that pertained to their day, lots of respect has to be given to this man. Without him, modern fantasy would not exist as it does now.

I 100% agree with everything you said with Goodkind after the first two sentences. Because after Wizard's First Rule, he just did a great job of making every character bland and boring. Yes, I despise Goodkind. That he is held up as a pillar of the fantasy series truly bothers me far more then it should.

And Tolkien... unfortunately, I agree with you. He truly was grandfather to modern fantasy. And the genre is the worse for it. Fantasy would have developed. It was developing before Tolkien, and it would have developed fine without him. He produced an iconic series. And unfortunately he created the modern Tolkienite fantasy authors. The ones who do not have a voice of their own. I have no issue with Tolkien - I don't think his books are bad (I think they are far from good. But he is leaps and bounds above most other fantasy authors) but I blame him for modern fantasy.


And I think I need to reread Eddings. The two books I read by him were... dull, at best. But by the amount of love he receives, I must have missed something.

[Deleted]

I would also say The Name of the Wind is a must read. Also, the second novel (The Wise Man's Fear) just came out today. NotW is one of my favorite books . It's about a man, who is something of a living legend, telling the story of his life over three days.

OMG this
Best book i've ever read for sure. Can't wait to get my hands on The Wise Man's Fear either.

Here's a little review

[ottovon]

Man this topic is great

I spend 4 months every year in the backcountry (for work) with no electricity, phone, etc. So much of my spare time is spent reading, and so I am always on the lookout for good fantasy books!

I started with "the dark elf trilogy". I liked it a lot, but it was a fast/easy sort of read. Interesting to know that this was a prequel, I'll have to look into the rest of the series.

I moved on to "the sword of truth" I was interested in the first 5 books, then they slowed waaaaay down, and took weird turns. Still a very good read, and I would recommend them for sure.

Then I was on to "Song of fire and Ice". Let me tell you, If you want to get into ANY fantasy reading, get into this one. This series has by far been the best I have picked up. I finished the third book highly disappointed cause now I have to wait for the rest of the series. It is a great read, and i'd recommend it to everyone interested in this genre.

I recently read the prequel to the wheel of time series, and am now started on the first book of the series. So far I like it a lot, and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Many people have recommended it to me, so i believe it will live up to its hype.

Also for a short read, try "The once and future king". Its about King Arthur, and its pretty humorous and overall a good take on that subject.

Keep the suggestions coming guys, hope my input helps

[DVS]

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. These are the absolute best fantasy novels ever penned. Do yourself a service and read them immediately!

If you do start with ASOIAF majority of the other books will seem meh...that being said, read ASOIAF

[fadingintofall]

If you do start with ASOIAF majority of the other books will seem meh...that being said, read ASOIAF

Basically this.

[Castif]

Asoiaf is great but george rr martin will die b4 its finished

Mazalan the tale of the fallen is fucking amazing and if you can get through the first book I guarrentee u will love it, book num 7 reapers gale is my fav book of all time and I have read over 1000 books

The dragonbone Chair is the start of the Memory,Sorrow,Thorn trilogy and is very magic lite but is another great read.

The crown of stars is another good one with a decent mix of fantasy types of races, but its pretty brutal in the treatment of some chars and some chars are much deeper than they seem, overall a very nice series

The banned and the banished is another interesting series with one of the few series with a female main character.. it also has probably the most diverse cast of characters in terms of race that Ive seen in any book to date and the big bady is rather interesting.. The first book is called witch fire.

[Callace]

I'll probably get flamed for this...

If you're feeling adventurous...
Some of the classics are better fantasy than the fantasy genre itself.
Hell, why read an Epic book when you can read an ACTUAL Epic!

Dante's Inferno is insanely imaginative and not nearly as horrifying as it sounds. The man invented flaming snow.The new game doesn't nearly capture the scope and creativity.

The Iliad and The Odyssey are probably the most epic duo ever written. Anything that starts with RAGE, GODDESS!! has to be brutal and they are. They'll also teach you to conquer your enemies with the use of force and manipulation. Odysseus is a man's man's man. Just make sure you get a new translation and not an old stuffy one.

Shakespeare wrote some of the most definitive work on magic. The Tempest, Macbeth... many modern wizards are based on the archetypes he created. You get the idea.
(Of course, it helped that people STILL believed in the stuff back then too)

Well, just some food for thought.

[DismalNether]

THE

DEATH

GATE

CYCLE

seven books. super epic. Margret Weiss. Tracy Hickman. Such a twist that make you go 'bwaaa?".

its the most epic thing you'll ever read and i suggest the series to anyone who ever asks this question and i dont think they take me seriously.

That was the first fantasy series I ever read. So. Amazing.

[dougy4t]

Author Raymond e feist start with magician,best series ive read

[Thandrend]

I 100% agree with everything you said with Goodkind after the first two sentences. Because after Wizard's First Rule, he just did a great job of making every character bland and boring. Yes, I despise Goodkind. That he is held up as a pillar of the fantasy series truly bothers me far more then it should.

And Tolkien... unfortunately, I agree with you. He truly was grandfather to modern fantasy. And the genre is the worse for it. Fantasy would have developed. It was developing before Tolkien, and it would have developed fine without him. He produced an iconic series. And unfortunately he created the modern Tolkienite fantasy authors. The ones who do not have a voice of their own. I have no issue with Tolkien - I don't think his books are bad (I think they are far from good. But he is leaps and bounds above most other fantasy authors) but I blame him for modern fantasy.


And I think I need to reread Eddings. The two books I read by him were... dull, at best. But by the amount of love he receives, I must have missed something.

Yeah, I'm no big fan of Tolkien by any stretch of the imagination. I believe the Silmarillion to be his best achievement because I'm a big fan of history, and he nailed it pretty solidly with that work, not so much with Lord of the Rings, or anything pertaining to the War of the Ring. When I say that he's the grandfather of modern fantasy, I mean it just like I said it. High fantasy. There are many different sub-genres of fantasy. His just happened to be the one most people clung to, because of the valiant nature of his novels, that was what people in the 1930's wanted. They didn't want the anti-heroes of today's more "outgoing" (If you please) characters and authors.

As far as Goodkind goes, he's a great author, knows how to make you love or hate certain characters, and he's phenomenal at using the language to move you. That is pretty much where Goodkind ends for me, but it's one of those other cliches of post-Tolkien fantasy. He dared to do some very interesting things, and in some cases (pouring molten copper down a small child's throat) it went just a bit too far. So yeah, I agree with you, he's not the greatest.

As for David and Leigh Eddings. By no means is David Eddings the most astute writer of the past 600 years in the English Language but rather he was exactly what he claimed to be--a story teller. He never claimed to be as learned in the language as Tolkien, or as daring as modern authors. He just had very likable qualities about his writing. Like it was a folk-story you pass down from generation to generation. Strangely enough, the person that gave me the books to read was my father, and I will definitely refer my child(ren) to read his works. By no means is he something you would teach in school, but he's great. I really recommend you re-read at least The Belgariad.

---------- Post added 2011-03-02 at 06:10 AM ----------

I'll probably get flamed for this...

If you're feeling adventurous...
Some of the classics are better fantasy than the fantasy genre itself.
Hell, why read an Epic book when you can read an ACTUAL Epic!

Dante's Inferno is insanely imaginative and not nearly as horrifying as it sounds. The man invented flaming snow.The new game doesn't nearly capture the scope and creativity.

The Iliad and The Odyssey are probably the most epic duo ever written. Anything that starts with RAGE, GODDESS!! has to be brutal and they are. They'll also teach you to conquer your enemies with the use of force and manipulation. Odysseus is a man's man's man. Just make sure you get a new translation and not an old stuffy one.

Shakespeare wrote some of the most definitive work on magic. The Tempest, Macbeth... many modern wizards are based on the archetypes he created. You get the idea.
(Of course, it helped that people STILL believed in the stuff back then too)

Well, just some food for thought.

Kudos for remembering epics. Though you are forgetting some of the other equally famous and equally important epics dealing with magick, ghouls and fantasy topics.

Beowulf comes to mind first.
The Prose and Poetic Eddas are both great references on Nordic Mythology, most of it about the mythical gods of the north battling against the jotun. Definite good reads if you're feeling epicy.

Heimskringla, etc, etc. There's a lot of 'em. Norse Mythology is also where Tolkien grabbed the idea for Gandalf, if not the whole idea of the Lord of the Rings or Middle Earth (Midgard, one of the realms of the Gods, home of Man, meaning literally Middle Earth)

[Brashen42]

Malazan Book Of The Fallen by Steven Erikson is a pretty awesome series.

I'm quite suprised this is the only reply recommending Steven Erikson, his books are some of the darkest i have read so far, also his concept of magic is awesome.

Check him out!

[Noier]

Myrren's Gift - Fiona McIntosh
Body switching, war, murder, crazy shenanigans, and very well written, winner imo

[Brashen42]

Robin Hobb is also a fantastic author, take a peek at The Farseer Trilogy for starters.

[Myci]

A great, wonderful, amazing series is the legend of Drizzt by R.A.Salvatore. The first trilogy is Icewind Dale Trilogy, but there's a prequel set called the Dark Elf Trilogy. I would suggest starting with Icewind Dale, if only because that has the main set of characters, while the prequel is centered on only one character. So it's a little biased for a new reader. This is my FAVORITE series. And it's still being written, with... so many books out already...

David Eddings' Diamond Throne is awesome. It's the story of an estranged Knight come home after a long banishment to protect his liege from magical danger... GREAT characters. The main character is pure awesome on legs.

And Piers Anthony writes the Xanth novels. They're awesome and hilarious, so if you want some humorous fantasy, that'll do ya.

** edit: If none of those sound appealing, look up the site "what should I read next". <can't post links :< >

You go there, type in the name of a book you love, and it'll try to find similar books based on what actual readers think. It's nifty.

what he said ^^^^

[Halicia]

And I think I need to reread Eddings. The two books I read by him were... dull, at best. But by the amount of love he receives, I must have missed something.

The two quintets are high fantasy and can be VERY dry and dull.... until you get into them. If you're going to read anything though, I'd recommend going with The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings first, and if you adore that (complete isolated) novel, you should go on to read their other series from there.

Raymond Feists Riftwars sagas are great. (I especially liked the who Daughter of an Empire series, the feudal japanese styled political machinations were quite enjoyable).

Although I'm a BIG fan of RA Salvatore, I'd be hesitant to refer to any of his d&d novels as 'literature'. Pulp fiction is simply that, and you don't call fast food... cuisine. The Demon Wars saga is of a slightly higher calibur... but even those get repetitive after you've read a few of his books. (although people die, omg!)

[fadingintofall]

As for David and Leigh Eddings. By no means is David Eddings the most astute writer of the past 600 years in the English Language but rather he was exactly what he claimed to be--a story teller. He never claimed to be as learned in the language as Tolkien, or as daring as modern authors. He just had very likable qualities about his writing. Like it was a folk-story you pass down from generation to generation. Strangely enough, the person that gave me the books to read was my father, and I will definitely refer my child(ren) to read his works. By no means is he something you would teach in school, but he's great. I really recommend you re-read at least The Belgariad.

---------- Post added 2011-03-02 at 06:10 AM ----------

For your bit about Goodkind - it was never the going too far that got to me, it was simply that the characters never really seemed to develop. Once again the first book is the exception to the rule, but his writing seemed to me to be like that of a sitcom - the characters start out at a default state, might develop some through out the book, but then in the next book they return to their default personality. And after the first book Kahlan (is that her name? It was something similar and I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment) just got annoying.

I will definitely pick up some from Edding. If for no other reason than I need to educate myself.

Oh - and an author that no one has mentioned, and rightfully so. Tad Williams.
HIs Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy was the first true epic fantasy I ever read. It is still one of my favorites, but I really can't recommend it to anyone. It's cliche, long winded and... well, almost Tolkien in style. I love it to death, and have owned multiple copies of all 4 books (I love that the final book was so long it had to be split up into two copies in paper back. It's the only four book trilogy I know of)... but it's just not that great.

Has anyone read CS Friedman? Is that even the right name? My friend lent me the books long, long ago and I loved the cover work. I picked them up and read them, but I don't remember much.


Oh - another author I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned - Michael Moorcock. He is so influential, yet relatively unknown. Largely in part because his writing style is... well, very British. (read: DRY! No offense to my British brethren) But his work is entertaining. I remember Corum in particular. His Eternal Champion and Elric novels are definitely worth a read.

[Linaver]

Just want to throw in another vote for the Dark Elf Trilogy, I've read it a long time ago but it is by far the most amazing book (yeah I know its a trilogy) I've ever read.