JV Jones
Marco (Something, drawing a blank on last name)
Sara Douglass
Alan Dean Foster
Marco (Something, drawing a blank on last name)
Sara Douglass
Alan Dean Foster
Book recommendations, give 'em to me!
Maerdwyn
First Post
I'll second the recommendation of Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy. His Stonehenge isn't quite on the same level, but enjoyable nonetheless.
If you really want to try Dragonlance, but can't get into the second book, try The Legend of Huma. I actually thought it was one of the best books in the series.
If you really want to try Dragonlance, but can't get into the second book, try The Legend of Huma. I actually thought it was one of the best books in the series.
drnuncheon
Explorer
Hand of Evil said:
Really? I read the first one of her trilogy (The Baker's Boy, I think?) and all I could think of was that it was completely mediocre. Not bad, you understand, but completely unable to stand out in any way.
Back to Dr. M's question...hmmm. I know you didn't care for Jhereg, but The Phoenix Guards has a very different feel from the Vlad Taltos books - if you enjoy Dumas, you should appreciate it. (If not, then stay away.)
Seconded on the Hobb books - the Farseer series has the same kind of politics and betrayal that you got in the Martin books, although with the viewpoint firmly focused on a single character.
Flashman is hilarious. Try our local library - that was where I found them.
Completely unrelated in tone or content to any of the above, I feel like I should recommend my absolute favorite fantasy novel: Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds. It's set in "an Ancient China that never was" and is perhaps the most underappreciated fantasy novel I have come across. It's up there with The Princess Bride and The Hobbit for me (and, like those two books, it is written very like a story being told, if you understand what I mean by that.)
Hope these help!
J
I haven't read The Phoenix Guards, but I can highly recommend Dumas. The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers (and all its sequels) are excellent adventure fiction and great inspiration for adventure gaming, even without magic.
I must strongly second your recommendation! Bridge of Birds is excellent!
The Cardinal
First Post
must read:
Steven Erikson's "Malazan Books of the Fallen":
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
Steven Erikson's "Malazan Books of the Fallen":
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
Another up all night series!
A completed trilogy..and a truly fast read (I mean you just can't put it down once the ball is rolling...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=lib_rd_TFCV/103-3386521-0725406#reader-link
A completed trilogy..and a truly fast read (I mean you just can't put it down once the ball is rolling...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=lib_rd_TFCV/103-3386521-0725406#reader-link
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Ciaran
First Post
Have you really drained George R.R. Martin dry, or did you just go for the Song of Ice and Fire books? If the latter, make an effort to track down some of his short story collections, especially Nightkings and Portraits of his Children. I personally prefer his short fiction to his longer works. His novel Fevre Dream is also quite good.
Other authors (and specific books) to look for:
* Glen Cook: writes some very good, dark/amoral swords and sorcery fiction, which amply demonstrates how you can have a low fantasy story in a high-magic setting. The Black Company, describing the adventures of its eponymous mercenary unit, is especially good, though its sequels don't measure up to the first book. His "Dread Empire" novels are also good. The stand-alone Tower of Fear should still be in stores, and has some nice Middle Eastern swords and sorcery. My personal favorite of his is The Swordbearer, but it's long out of print.
* Roger Zelazny: Not to everyone's taste, he has a dry, yet lyrical style. Some people really groove to his Amber series; if you want to give that a try, just read the first five books and ignore the rest. On the other hand, you might want to start with his short stories; look for a book called Dilvish the Damned, which has some great pure fantasy stories regarding a man who's escaped from Hell. Very nice. His best work is probably the novel Lords of Light, which justly won him his first Hugo award. Definitely worth reading. The most fun might be A Night at the Lonesome October, which is sort of like a fusion of Arthur Conan Doyle, Aesop and H.P. Lovecraft. A lot of Zelazny's other works are weak and self-derivative, so be sure to start with the best to avoid getting the wrong idea.
* Tim Powers: Writes excellent, solid historical fantasy and modern fantasy with historical roots. Kind of like a less indulgent Charles de Lint. (And if you haven't read Charles de Lint, you should; I just don't know his books well enough to recommend any individual ones.) His most famous, and probably best, novel is The Anubis Gates, which involves ancient Egyptian magic, time travel, Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a body-hopping werewolf, and all manner of other strangenesses and weaves them into a mostly satisfying whole. Another good read is The Drawing of the Dark, which is about the Grail legend, the Fisher King, and... beer. His modern fantasy is decent, but not up to his historical fiction, in my opinion.
I may list some more authors later, but first I need to get back to work. It doesn't do itself, you know.
- Eric
Other authors (and specific books) to look for:
* Glen Cook: writes some very good, dark/amoral swords and sorcery fiction, which amply demonstrates how you can have a low fantasy story in a high-magic setting. The Black Company, describing the adventures of its eponymous mercenary unit, is especially good, though its sequels don't measure up to the first book. His "Dread Empire" novels are also good. The stand-alone Tower of Fear should still be in stores, and has some nice Middle Eastern swords and sorcery. My personal favorite of his is The Swordbearer, but it's long out of print.
* Roger Zelazny: Not to everyone's taste, he has a dry, yet lyrical style. Some people really groove to his Amber series; if you want to give that a try, just read the first five books and ignore the rest. On the other hand, you might want to start with his short stories; look for a book called Dilvish the Damned, which has some great pure fantasy stories regarding a man who's escaped from Hell. Very nice. His best work is probably the novel Lords of Light, which justly won him his first Hugo award. Definitely worth reading. The most fun might be A Night at the Lonesome October, which is sort of like a fusion of Arthur Conan Doyle, Aesop and H.P. Lovecraft. A lot of Zelazny's other works are weak and self-derivative, so be sure to start with the best to avoid getting the wrong idea.
* Tim Powers: Writes excellent, solid historical fantasy and modern fantasy with historical roots. Kind of like a less indulgent Charles de Lint. (And if you haven't read Charles de Lint, you should; I just don't know his books well enough to recommend any individual ones.) His most famous, and probably best, novel is The Anubis Gates, which involves ancient Egyptian magic, time travel, Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a body-hopping werewolf, and all manner of other strangenesses and weaves them into a mostly satisfying whole. Another good read is The Drawing of the Dark, which is about the Grail legend, the Fisher King, and... beer. His modern fantasy is decent, but not up to his historical fiction, in my opinion.
I may list some more authors later, but first I need to get back to work. It doesn't do itself, you know.
- Eric
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
I'll list the authors who influenced me the most; and if you like my story hour, you can probably thank these gentlemen:
Fritz Leiber (Lankhmar "Swords" series)
R.E. Howard (Conan-- read them again!)
Michael Moorcock (Hawkmoon... oh, and some guy named Elric)
Steven R. Donaldson (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Listed in the order I'd rank them.
With the exception of the last one, they are all easily-digestible, pulpy tales starring Men of Action and Piles of Dead Bad Guys.
Wulf
Fritz Leiber (Lankhmar "Swords" series)
R.E. Howard (Conan-- read them again!)
Michael Moorcock (Hawkmoon... oh, and some guy named Elric)
Steven R. Donaldson (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Listed in the order I'd rank them.
With the exception of the last one, they are all easily-digestible, pulpy tales starring Men of Action and Piles of Dead Bad Guys.
Wulf
