Suggest a Fantasy Novel

[Woot Spitum]

I've been looking find some new fantasy books to read, which is becoming difficult as I have already tried most of the best known authors.

These are some of the authors I have read quite a bit of:

J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
R.E. Howard
Lloyd Alexander
Fritz Leiber
Terry Brooks
Jim Butcher
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
Jack Vance
Poul Anderson
Ursula K. Le Guin
Terry Pratchett
George R.R. Martin

So, any suggestions?

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

If you want an author you will be busy reading for a while, check out L.E. Modesitt Jr. The Recluce Saga is currently on 16 books. He's got three other major series (Corean Chronicles, Spellsong Cycle, and his newest Imager Portfolio) as well as a bunch of S.F. stuff too.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Easy as it is to suggest RR Martin, I'm'a go with Naomi Novik's series on the Napoleonic Dragon Wars.

Perhaps not medieval fantasy, but the books are so meticulously crafted that I find myself enjoying them more than any other works of fantasy I've read in a very long time indeed.

Bonus points if you get the older covers, because they're so much better than the weird white ones I've seen of late.

[Helanna]

After looking at your list of author interests (many of whom I share), all I can say is that if you don't have it, you need to go out and buy The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Right now.

Seriously, I just got it about a week ago after Brandon Sanderson mentioned he got an advance copy of the sequel and was really enjoying it, and it's fantastic.

[The_JJ]

Glen Cook.

And Dan Simmons.

And GRRM.

[Katana_Geldar]

After looking at your list of author interests (many of whom I share), all I can say is that if you don't have it, you need to go out and buy The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Right now.

Seriously, I just got it about a week ago after Brandon Sanderson mentioned he got an advance copy of the sequel and was really enjoying it, and it's fantastic.

This. I want the sequel NOW.

[kopout]

Ever heard of a guy called A. Lee Martinez ? He writes some good stuff. I recommend "A Nameless Witch" and "two many curses" especially. along with "Gill's all fright diner".

[Traab]

Mercedes Lackey has a buttload of fantasy novels, I reccomend anything in the valdemar line. Its broken up into seperate small groups, but id reccomend starting off with black gryphon white gryphon and silver gryphon. Its the start of her worlds timeline. I read them all out of order but it didnt bother me much.

Dennis Mckiernen also has a very lengthy list of fantasy novels. Start with Into the Fire and Into the Forge.

David Eddings is a favorite, I still read his series repeatedly. Pawn of Prophecy is the start of one of his series.

[Woot Spitum]

Forgot to mention George R.R. Martin and Terry Pratchett. I've read a lot of their stuff as well.


After looking at your list of author interests (many of whom I share), all I can say is that if you don't have it, you need to go out and buy The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Right now.

Seriously, I just got it about a week ago after Brandon Sanderson mentioned he got an advance copy of the sequel and was really enjoying it, and it's fantastic.Considering how much I enjoy Sanderson's work, this sounds pretty interesting. What's the story about?

[Mr.Bookworm]

*deep breath*

Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Glen Cook, Stephen R. Donaldson, China Mieville, Patrick Rothfuss, Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, Andrzej Sapkowski, Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Carroll, Eric Nylund, Joe Hill, Clive Barker, Brent Weeks, Raymond Feist, Gene Wolfe, Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Shea, Diana Wynne Jones, Tim Powers, Orson Scott Card, James Morrow, Jane Yolen, Brooke Stevens, Christopher Priest, Phillip Pullman, Guy Gavriel Kay, Graham Joyce, Jo Walton, Jeff VanderMeer, K.J. Parker, Stephen Erikson, Marvin Peake, C.S. Friedman, Garth Nix, Tad Williams, and I know there are a few I'm forgetting. I can elaborate on any of these if you want.


Considering how much I enjoy Sanderson's work, this sounds pretty interesting. What's the story about?

I've read the Name of the Wind four times, and I still don't know exactly how to give a good brief plot synopsis that doesn't sound generic. In one sentence, it's framed as the story of a hero recounting his tale to a record-keeper, but is mostly about the hero as young boy after he loses his parents to Mysterious Evil™ and grows into becoming the legend he'll be eventually.

There's not really a way to do it justice just by telling you about it, though, so go read it. Why are you still here?

[Katana_Geldar]

Considering how much I enjoy Sanderson's work, this sounds pretty interesting. What's the story about?

About a guy called Kvonthe and his adventures, stories and songs right up until his obscurity as the inn-keeper at a backwater. The book is so rich. When you read it, have a glass of methelglin with you.

[The_JJ]

This. I want the sequel NOW.

Agreed.

Sanderson lives in Utah. If I distract him, can you grab the book and get out of there?

We'll meet in the public library later to photocopy it so we can each have one.

(That said, Sanderson's okay, but I Rothfuss could sooooo be the Next Big Deal if he can publish his second friggin' book.)

[Marillion]

Sarah Ash (http://www.sarah-ash.com/extracts/) and Alan Campbell (http://www.alanmcampbell.co.uk/book.htm)

[Katana_Geldar]

Tycho from Penny Arcade has a copy too, a partial one.

[tribble]

Neil Gaiman writes some interesting stuff.

[Zaydos]

Gene Wolfe is good, The Shadow of the Torturer and sequels were excellent.

Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes of Amber series is good or at least the original 5 books (I can't vouch for the latter 5 having not read them).

Michael Moorcock was good, I've only read his Corum trilogies, and his Elric series and preferred the latter. I've heard some things claim Elric was meant as a deconstruction of the heroes like Conan and Fafhrd (replacing strong barbarian with sickly wizard who is sustained by herbal potions/black magic for his sword fights) I don't know if it's true but it did make me think of Leiber and Howard when I read it (then again Leiber made me think of Howard).

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's original Dragonlance Trilogy was wonderful. While there are other D&D novels I enjoyed (the original Dark Sun novel for one, and some other Dragonlance novels), these are the only ones I'd actually suggest as excellent on their own qualities and not because they're worlds I love.

[Helanna]

Considering how much I enjoy Sanderson's work, this sounds pretty interesting. What's the story about?

Like others said, it's difficult to do it justice with a synopsis. Basically, it follows Kvothe's adventures throughout his young life as he struggles to master magic (and learn the name of the wind).

Best aspects in my opinion are a) the characters - they just struck me as being very well-rounded. For example, Kvothe follows the whole "genius kid" thing, but it's not cliched and he's not a Mary Sue because of it. (Also, I really like Bast. He's kind of adorable.)

And b) is the magic system. If, like me, you really enjoy Sanderson's magic systems, you'll probably like this one as well. It's definitely interesting and original, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.


Agreed.

Sanderson lives in Utah. If I distract him, can you grab the book and get out of there?

We'll meet in the public library later to photocopy it so we can each have one.

(That said, Sanderson's okay, but I Rothfuss could sooooo be the Next Big Deal if he can publish his second friggin' book.)

. . . If I fly out to Utah, what do I have to do to get a copy?

And I just realized I got myself confused - I didn't buy the book after Sanderson's recommendation. I got it remembering that Howard Taylor had recommended it highly. What Sanderson did was post a picture of the book just after I finished it, making me think that the second book was already out. And, uh . . . as it turns out . . . yeah, no.

Why isn't it March yet?

[Katana_Geldar]

Because the book comes out in June. :smalltongue:

[endoperez]

Nothing by Weis&Hickman? If that's not an oversight, try Death Gate Cycle.

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elisabeth Moon is hard to describe without spoiling the premise a bit. The protagonist is a Lawful Good young woman who decides to become a warrior, acts like a paladin ought to, and starts manifesting the powers paladins have. Recommended reading for everyone who can't see paladins as team players. The second book in the trilogy changed its theme and seemed to became a generic fantasy romp, but the first one's definitely worth your time.

David Gemmel writes the most awesome action scenes ever. Legend is ten kinds of distilled awesome. If you're not a big fan of fighters brawling and want something with magic-users being awesome, try Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy. It introduces five separate and intriguing magical systems, and demonstrates them in and out of action in various ways.

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart is a fantasy book set in mythical Ancient China. The humour and the unique setting really make it stand out from the crowd.



China Mieville, Patrick Rothfuss, Roger Zelazny, Andrzej Sapkowski, Susanna Clarke, Raymond Feist, Gene Wolfe, Diana Wynne Jones, Garth Nix

Wow, you sure do live up to your name! I've read and recommend the following ones, with short explanations of what their works are like.

Mieville - dark stories, inventive magic types and uses for those magics, and fantastic city of wonders with more problems than humans have words for.

Rothfuss - Name of the Wind is one of the greatest books I've read in a while. The protagonist is a badass bard, of all things. It's a pity he's taking so long to write other books.

Zelazny - Minor gods fighting other minor gods. The Amber series is a classic, but the one-off novel "Lord Demon" made more of an impression.

Sapkowski - The Witcher. Try the "Last Wish" first, his world is quite different from the norm and the short stories give an interesting glimpse into various parts of the world.

Susanna Clarke - Another one-book wonder. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is a fantasy without adventure. "Can a magician kill a man by magic?" Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. "I suppose a magician might," he admitted, "but a gentleman never could."

Raymond E. Feist - lots and lots of books. I haven't read all of them, but Magician book or books (Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master if they're separate) are great, and the others I've read aren't bad either. If you've played the old game "Betrayal at Krondor", it's set in the same world.

Wolfe - Wizard Knight duology is heavy reading. The language is beautiful and fascinating, and the story, while containing all kinds of fairy tale elements, is told almost like a tragedy.

Diana Wynne Jones - young adult fantasy books of all sorts. Dark Wizard of Derkholm is a parody of generic fantasy stories, and as good a start as any of her books. Miyazaki's animated movie Howl's Moving Castle is based on one of her books.

Garth Nix - read Sabriel. It's probably your only chance to have a young female necromancer fight for the good by ringing bells. The fresh take on necromancy was the most fascinating part for me, personally.

[FoE]

I'll recommend Tad Williams as well. Start with War of the Flowers or Tailchaser's Song, which are one-shots. If you like them, then try one of his trilogies.

[Talanic]

You've already gotten quite the handful, but I'll throw in The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. It's first in a series, but the author seems a little stalled. Still, at the very least the first book is worth your time.

Also very nifty was The Painted Man, by Peter V. Brett. He gave a lot of thought to the idea, "What if demons rose from the ground at sunset every night and laid waste to any humans not protected by wards?"

And if you have a ludicrous amount of time and don't mind sci fi with your fantasy, check my sig.

[JonestheSpy]

So, I see Woot has got some excellent classic on his list. Kudos - it seems wayyy too many current fantasy fans and gamers haven't a clue about the foundations of the genre.

To keep it simple I have two recommendations:

Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrel, by Susanna Clarke. Simply put, the best fantasy novel written since Lord of the Rings, in my opinion. Se in the era of the Napoleanic Wars, two magicians bring magic back to Britain after its centuries-long absence. Incredibly well-written and more actual magic - as in wonder, mystery, and enchantment - in a single chapter than all of Harry Potter, Shannara, and everything written by Robert Jordan combined. And it makes Faerie scary as heck, which is as it should be.

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Urban fantasy clearly inspired by Fritz Lieber (among others), it introduces us to the great, horrible, fascinating city of New Crobuzon, a real metropolis with bird people, cactus men, beetle-women, artists, secret police, evil politicians, amphibian dock workers trying to keep up a strike for better pay, underground newspapers, and really strange science that bleeds into magic.

[Lhurgyof]

I've been looking find some new fantasy books to read, which is becoming difficult as I have already tried most of the best known authors.

These are some of the authors I have read quite a bit of:

J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
R.E. Howard
Lloyd Alexander
Fritz Leiber
Terry Brooks
Jim Butcher
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
Jack Vance
Poul Anderson
Ursula K. Le Guin
Terry Pratchett
George R.R. Martin

So, any suggestions?

The Elenium?
Dune?

[Knaight]

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay is a good author who gets a bit repetitive. However, one can classify his books into two categories, The Lions of Al-Rassan, and not The Lions of Al-Rassan. One of these is far better than the other. At its simplest one could say that it is about two good men caught on opposite sides of a war, but that ignores a bunch of important characters, not to mention most of the moral ambiguity.

Tales of the Otori by Some Guy I Don't Remember The Name Of
Tales of the Otori isn't all that amazing, but for light reading it has some advantages. Its well written overall, and certainly has a good plot, furthermore it is based on very low fantasy Japan, without having the obnoxious Japan worship getting in the way of accuracy.

Journey of the Catechist by Alan Dean Foster
The Damned by Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster is a writer of political and philosophical fantasy and science fiction. Both of the titles listed are trilogies, and among the best fantasy and space opera written. Catechist reads like a long and fascinating fable, Damned is a broad evaluation of culture and nature.

[DomaDoma]

S.M. Stirling's Novels of the Change. It doesn't start out as fantasy, per se - the first book is more Alien Space Bats post-apocalyptic, though there are small fantasy elements even then - but after the first trilogy, you've got quests and visions and magic swords and evil cults all up in your business.

Basically, in a single instant in 1998, all modern technology suddenly ceased to work - electricity, explosives, internal combustion and steam. The first concern is that with trucks and tractors gone, securing a food source is top priority. The second concern is that with gunpowder gone, you have to defend that food source with brute force. This has the effect of putting folks with anachronistic skill sets at the top of the heap, and of consolidating some very new, very diffuse, and at times very scary factions where the United States used to be. The first three books concentrate on the Pacific Northwest; after that it pans out; but after the immediate "don't starve to death" plot of the first book, Dies the Fire, it's all more or less about how the hastily-created new states deal with each other. It's quite good.

[WalkingTarget]

Putting in another recommendation for Roger Zelazny - if you like Jim Butcher's style (fantasy stuff, but very modern "voice"), you'd probably like Zelazny. In addition to the suggested titles, I'll throw in Lord of Light.

In the same vein (style wise) you could try Steven Brust. Particularly the books about Vlad Taltos (starting with the Jhereg, Penny-Arcade discussions here (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/6/14/)). The related set of books, starting with The Phoenix Guards, are written in a different style (explicitly as an homage to the musketeer books by Dumas) which are also a lot of fun in a slightly different way.

[Cyrion]

Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels- start with High Deryni. It's in the middle of the timeline, but it's the best entry.

Melanie Rawn- The Dragon Prince series.

Tanith Lee- Some of her stuff's kind of odd, but it's excellent if you like her style. Some of it's pulp fantasy in style a la R. E. Howard, but then some of it's just different. If you liked Conan, check out the Birthgrave series. For something a little more Arabian Nights in flavor, look for Tales from the Flat Earth, starting with Night's Master.

Jack Chalker- Very creative. His best stuff is pseudo-fantasy, but the Soul Rider series may taste enough like fantasy for you, even though the magic is ultimately mathematics. For straight-up fantasy, he's got the Changewind series. I didn't think it was as good, but YMMV.

Piers Anthony- Probably best known for his Xanth series. Read a couple, then move on to something of more substance. His Apprentice Adept series was better, IMO, and has some cool variations on magic.

[BiblioRook]

There's Jim Hines
He has two series. THere's the Goblin series, which focuses on the adventures of this weak pathetic excuse of a goblin which include getting forced into an adventuring party as a guide to starting a war. Then there's the Princess series, which is kinda Charlie's Angels (in the form of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella) in a world were all those fairy tales you heard actually happened (though most details were grossly inaccurate).

I probably have more to suggest, but I'll actually have to look over my collection to figure out ones that weren't already mentioned.

[Holocron Coder]

If they haven't been suggested,

The Name of the Wind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_of_the_Wind), by Patrick Rothfuss

The Warded Man (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warded_Man) by Peter V Brett

[mallorean_thug]

Rather than burden you with an incredibly long list, why don't I just throw out the two up and coming authors I've enjoyed the most recently.

Joe Abercrombie (The First Law Trilogy starting with The Blade Itself, Best Served Cold, and the upcoming The Heroes) -- UK fantasy author that writes character based "heroic" fantasy set in a world with grey on black morality and set out to subvert as many standard "heroic" fantasy tropes as he can along the way. He is also an "anti map guy", not including a map of his world in his books and spending very little time describing geography. Best for his visceral fight scenes and well done character arcs.

R. Scott Bakker (The Second Apocalypse Cycle, starting with the Prince of Nothing Trilogy, starting with The Darkness that Comes Before) -- Canadian philosophy major turned author that writes philosophy laden epic fantasy in a world that closely resembles the 11th century Mediterranean and Middle East. His first trilogy can roughly be summed up as "A man who fits Nietzsche's ideas of the Ubermensch tries to hjack the First Crusade by convincing people he's the Messiah." if of course the first crusade took place in a world with a shadowy conspiracy trying to revive a dark god and both sides had access to wizards. Best for the setting, the philosophy, and the character Kellhus. Just ignore the existence of the author's standalone thrillers.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Michael Moorcock. Because there's no protagonist like a miserable, largely unsympathetic, drug-addled albino one.

T.H. White, because someone needed to do Fantasy better than everyone after could even possibly hope to.

[Woot Spitum]

Lot of suggestions. The Name of the Wind keeps coming up, so I'll probably pick that up.

Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrel sounds interesting enough to get. I remember reading a novel called Death of a Necromancer (can't remember who wrote it) that had fantasy elements set in a industrial revolution time period, and while I thought the story was merely okay, I really liked the setting and would be interested in reading more fantasy that takes place in more technologically advanced settings.

I have been meaning to try Roger Zelazny for some time, so I may have to grab the first book of the Amber series at the very least.

Saw a few more suggestions of things I've already read. I have tried Weis & Hickman, as well as T.H. White. I've also read Dune and all of it's sequels up through Chapterhouse and Heretics (whichever one came last).

Thanks for all the suggestions. This, (along with a few R.E. Howard stories I've been saving for a rainy day), should keep me occupied until Ghost Story comes out.

[Joran]

Neil Gaiman writes some interesting stuff.

Yup, especially if you like urban fantasy.

Good Omens (written with Professor Sir Terry Pratchett) is a must read. Everything else by Neil Gaiman is also great, with Neverwhere and the Graveyard Book being personal favorites.

[TheOasysMaster]

DragonLance!
Maybe not "High Fantasy", like Jordan, Tolkien and Goodkind...
But so enjoyable, especially the books focusing on Raistlin!

[0Megabyte]

The Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew. :smallbiggrin:

What? There are print versions. And while it's more of a "graphic novel" than a "novel" in that form, graphic novels are still novels!

(Seriously, though, I'll add my voice to the list for The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. People on this forum talking about it are what convinced me to buy it. And then preorder the sequel. Thank you, forum!)

[Hawriel]

Steven Erikson

Malazan Book of the Fallen. If you liked Glen Cook's Black company you will most likly like this. One of the books is deditcated to Cook.

This is a very grim and gritty series. No one is safe from death. Also Erikson does not leave cliff hangers. Exept the second to last book in the series. It was to big so he broke it into two. Erikson is an archeolist and an anthropolegist. This background is the foundation on how he builds his world, cultures and religions. Few books actualy let me feel what its like to live in there setting through the eyes of the characters.

The Malazan series was origionaly supposed to be a gaming world for an RPG. It never got picked up so Erikson and his creative partner desided to write the history of that world into a book series. Ian Esslemont is writing for that world as well. His books take place befor Erikson's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Erikson

Juliet E. Mckinna http://www.julietemckenna.com/

The Tales of Einarinn Is the first in three finished series. Einarinn has 5 books. The main character is a young women thief who gets caught it mage tower business. They are written from the point of view of Her and a second character a male swords men. Again this is a truely full world. Her combats are quick and deadly to all invalved.

She is the only fantacy author who has a character that is gay. It's not the main character Livac. He is a wizard. It's not a big deal eather. As a reader you find out he is in love with a man and thats just it. It's a relation ship just like any strate character would have.

The Aldabreshin Compass is a 4 part series based on the same world. I only read the first book and have not found the other 3. Amazon awates and order from me.

The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution Is the third series she wrote. I think its also in the same world. I was in Boarders the other day and looked for Mckinna's name on the shelf I found all three books. I have yet to read them..

She has another series just starting soon.

Out of all of the books I've read I think these two series I enjoyed the most wile reading them. If only an RPG could use magic the way these authors have written it I think it would be an interesting game.