Fantasy Book suggestions

[drothgery]

They're also of a little more varying quality than some other series. Jhereg and Yendi are by far the best, and Teckla is the worst IMO. The rest, and there's quite a few, run the gamut between those highs and lows.

I'd say Issola is the best (I'm partial to when the series goes off into Epic Fantasy land), but yes, Teckla is definitely the worst. You should not take your own marriage falling apart out on your characters.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Jhereg and Yendi are by far the best, and Teckla is the worst IMO.

You sir, are a gentleman, and a scholar.

Of course, this may be because you share the same opinion as I on the above subject.

I also found Taltos and Issola to be excellent, and have read each about three times. I cannot say how many times I have read Jhereg and Yendi, probably more than ten times each.

Of course, I've read them all, but while I felt Teckla was not good, I thought Athyra was by far the worst.

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You should not take your own marriage falling apart out on your characters.

Would you be able to provide further information?

 

[drothgery]

Would you be able to provide further information?

It's pretty common knowledge that Brust was going through a rather difficult divorce while he was working on Teckla.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Issola is also my favorite. One of the reasons though, wouldn't hold up as well if viewed in isolation. A great deal of what makes Issola great is all the character development that has occurred before the book starts. This lets Brust be economical with his characters' actions and statements, while still saying a great deal, well.

Even Teckla contributes to this. It simply happens to be one of the pivotal "down" chapters where things go to hell in a hand basket for Vlad, not least because of his own failings If the whole thing was a completed work in one giant volume of 17 chapters, then I'd bet people would find Athyra and Orca the least compelling. Yet Orca is fairly decent as a single work.

It is also an unusual series in that Brust is both hampered and helped by writing the books on the cycle. The titles aren't just arbitrary names. The story is supposed to be about something highly pertinent to that house. Perhaps this conceit made Orca and Teckla hard books to write. Yet, that same conceit drives Phoenix, Jhereg, and probably several others. Jhereg might be good even without it, but I don't think Phoenix would be. Dragon is a bit hurt the same way that Phoenix is helped. Dragon works well enough, but it seems a bit contrived to get Vlad involved in an appropriately Dragon-ish story.

 

[Shade]

Charles Saunders' Imaro books seem to hit all your criteria.

Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones is a good, quick read with a small number of interesting characters.

Patrick Rothfuss is probably too long for your criteria, but The Name of the Wind and its follow-up, Wise Man's Fear, are fantastic.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Patrick Rothfuss is probably too long for your criteria, but The Name of the Wind and its follow-up, Wise Man's Fear, are fantastic.

I can confirm this. The author basically stepped into the world of fantasy with an absolutely brilliant first novel, and the follow-on is excellent, as well.

He blends various branches of magic as-nearly-science, a magic school to enter the company of the best of Fantasy, fey, legends, languages, mystery, adventure, action, romance, and comedy together in a whirlwind of characterization and milieu-showcasing that dazzles.

 

[Matchstick]

It's pretty common knowledge that Brust was going through a rather difficult divorce while he was working on Teckla.

I always assumed that was the case, but I never knew for sure til now. That's one of the few books I've ever read where it seemed certain that real life was translating into the author's imaginary world. Oddly, one of the other ones is the latest Garrett book. Except I liked that one, and I didn't like Teckla. I really like when genres cross, like Jhereg and Yendi are fantasy/mysteries. Garrett crosses those two genres too.

Taltos would be third on my list. Most of the rest clump together just below there.

Sadly I don't carry the same stellar impression of Name of the Wind as you guys do. Sorry guys! That was a novel that had the potential to be really truly something special, but I felt he bowed too much to standard tropes. I liked it a lot, it's really well written and the characters are fantastic, but it'll never be in my top list.

 

[catsclaw227]

I really liked CS Friedman's Coldfire trilogy starting with Black Sun Rising:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sun-Rising-Coldfire-Trilogy/dp/0756403146/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316894753&sr=1-4]Amazon.com: Black Sun Rising: The Coldfire Trilogy #1 (9780756403140): C.S. Friedman: Books[/ame]

This series was incredibly well written. Deep, complex characters, a "grand quest" and well written dialog really bring this together.

Highly recommended.

 

[Zaukrie]

I really liked CS Friedman's Coldfire trilogy starting with Black Sun Rising:

Amazon.com: Black Sun Rising: The Coldfire Trilogy #1 (9780756403140): C.S. Friedman: Books

This series was incredibly well written. Deep, complex characters, a "grand quest" and well written dialog really bring this together.

Highly recommended.

Agreed, 100% agreed.

 

[Gronin]

I can confirm this. The author basically stepped into the world of fantasy with an absolutely brilliant first novel, and the follow-on is excellent, as well.

He blends various branches of magic as-nearly-science, a magic school to enter the company of the best of Fantasy, fey, legends, languages, mystery, adventure, action, romance, and comedy together in a whirlwind of characterization and milieu-showcasing that dazzles.

I'm gonna jump in here and agree wholeheartedly. Great read -- flowed along nicely. I had a hard time putting it down.