10 Favorite Fantasy Books/Series + 10 Others

[GreyLord]

Hmm, currently...though it could change...

1. Lone Wolf Series by Joe Dever
2. Way of the Tiger
3. Grailquest
4. Dragonlance (specifically that by W&H)
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Shannara Series by Terry Brooks
7. Riddlemaster of Hed Series by McKillip
8. Redwall series by Jaques
9. AD&D books by Gygax
10. Drizzt Series by Salvatare

Sci-Fi

1. Foundation Trilogy by Asimov (And other foundation books such as Foundation's Edge)
2. Robots Series by Asimov
3. Galactic Empire Trilogy by Asimov
4. Battlefield Earth
5. Norby Chronicles by the Asimovs
6. Horus Heresy WH30K series (I'd put WH40K books, but technically they could all be different series...so...HH is the longest).
7. We'll put Star Wars here (though the movies are probably better, they do have books).
8. Legion of the Damned series by William C. Dietz
9. 2001 series by Arthur C. Clarke
10. Rama Series by Arthur C. Clarke.

 

[Zardnaar]

Hmm, currently...though it could change...

1. Lone Wolf Series by Joe Dever
2. Way of the Tiger
3. Grailquest
4. Dragonlance (specifically that by W&H)
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Shannara Series by Terry Brooks
7. Riddlemaster of Hed Series by McKillip
8. Redwall series by Jaques
9. AD&D books by Gygax
10. Drizzt Series by Salvatare

Sci-Fi

1. Foundation Trilogy by Asimov (And other foundation books such as Foundation's Edge)
2. Robots Series by Asimov
3. Galactic Empire Trilogy by Asimov
4. Battlefield Earth
5. Norby Chronicles by the Asimovs
6. Horus Heresy WH30K series (I'd put WH40K books, but technically they could all be different series...so...HH is the longest).
7. We'll put Star Wars here (though the movies are probably better, they do have books).
8. Legion of the Damned series by William C. Dietz
9. 2001 series by Arthur C. Clarke
10. Rama Series by Arthur C. Clarke.

I thought I was the last fan if Line Wolf left.

 

[GreyLord]

I thought I was the last fan if Line Wolf left.

Not yet...several fans in my family, including two that are under the age of 20!

Not sure if you are following the line still, but they've released books 29 and 30 finally.

 

[Zardnaar]

Not yet...several fans in my family, including two that are under the age of 20!

Not sure if you are following the line still, but they've released books 29 and 30 finally.

Up to a point. Think book 24 was last one I read.

 

[Lidgar]

Amber series by Zelazny
LotR by Tolkien
Elric series by Moorcock
Wheel of Time (first 5 books) by Jordan
Stormlight Archive series by Sanderson
Swords Against... series by Fritz Leiber
At the Edge of the World by Lord Dunsany
Earthsea trilogy by LeGuin
Black company trilogy
Dread Companion by Andre Norton

 

[Sacrosanct]

Prydain series from Lloyd Alexander
Belgariad from Eddings
High druid of Shannara
Dresden series

 

[rogermexico]

These are some great lists, everyone!

Here are mine:

Fantasy/Fantastic

The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Kindly Ones and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Mort by Terry Pratchett (Could put a half-dozen different Discworld novels here)
The Satanic Verses and Haroun & the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
Imajica by Clive Barker
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Tales of HP Lovecraft by HP Lovecraft, selected and edited by Joyce Carol Oates
White Gold Wielder by Stephen R. Donaldson (I thought the way he wrapped it all up was the best part.)

Other fiction

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Forty Stories and Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme
The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
2666 by Roberto Bolano
Ulysses by James Joyce
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
Bear by Marian Engel
What the Crow Said by Robert Kroetsch (this could be in the first list)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (this could also be in the first list)
Underworld by Don DeLillo
The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien
Cathedral by Raymond Carver

Non-fiction

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
A History of God by Karen Armstrong
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
Conjectures and Refutations by Karl Popper
The Game by Ken Dryden
Salt and A Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky
Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln Paine
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan

 

[Cadence]

My top 10 in Fantasy
The Silmarillion by Tolkien
Dread Empire series (the 8 novels + short story coll.) by Glen Cook
Garrett Files series (books 1-6; then not as good) by Glen Cook
The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
Sandman series by Gaiman*
Fables series by Bill Williangham*
Earthsea series (the 5 novels + short story coll.) by LeGuin
The Dying Earth series by Vance
Chronicles of Narnia (books 1-6 only)** by CS Lewis
Black Company series by Glen Cook

Ten others in Fantasy for various reasons...
Dresden Files series by Butcher
Hobbit by Tolkien
Swords of Llankmar by Leiber
Conan novel-s/ettes/ellas by Howard
Mary Poppins by Travers
Neverwhere by Gaiman
The Tower of Fear by Glen Cook
Percy Jackson and related series by Riordan
Harry Potter series by Rowling
James and the Giant Peach by Dahl

Just a few SciFi
Watchmen by Alan Moore***
Passage at Arms by Glen Cook****
Shadowline by Glen Cook****


* The Time 100 Best English Language Novels since 1923 list rightfully had a graphic novel on it, so why not. (See ***)

** Not the Last Battle. I withdraw my vote if that's the only way to get the others on. If only one, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And any order except the original publication order is silly.

*** My favorite book of any type of all time.

**** All set in the Star Fishers universe. The second and third book in the triology with Shadowline aren't as high up for me. Some of the related short stories are excellent.

 

[Blue]

This is inspired by the TIME 100 best fantasy novels thread. I'd like to see what we can come up with for our own list.

The idea is to do two lists:

List One: Your ten all-time favorite fantasy books or series. Not the ones you think have the greatest influence or are "objectively" the best written, but your personal favorites, guilty pleasure or no. Desert island books, if you will.

List Two: Ten other books that you would like to mention, for whatever reason: books you think are great, even if they're not among your favorites; noteworthy or influential books that you wouldn't want to see ignored; honorable mentions, or simply books you think should be mentioned in any such discussion. The key is that this second list is not meant to be an extension of List One, but books that you recognize as all-time greats but aren't on your first list, for whatever reason.

Oh, yeah: count series as a single entry (e.g. Wheel of Time), but separate books that aren't part of one story (e.g. the Hobbit, LotR, and the Silmarillion should be three separate entries).

Maybe if we get enough responses, I'll compile them and create an "EN World Top X Fantasy books."

I've got to run some errands, but will write my lists later. Have at it.

Favorites
Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin
Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch
Kingslayer series by Patrick Rothfuss
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Fitzchiralry books (two series) by Robin Hobb
Broken Earth (Fifth Season. etc.) by N.K.Jemisin
Kushiel series by Jacquelin Carey
Amber (1st and 2nd series) by Roger Zelazny
The War of the Oaks by Emma Bull
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Notable
Fionovar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
Discworld by Terry Pratchett
Khavren/Vlad Taltos by Steven Brust
Black Company series by Glen Cook
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber
The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock
Coldfire by CS Friedmen
Lord of the Rings by JRRT
The Hobbit by JRRT

Younger favorites
(These were definitely on my favorites list when I was younger, but I've changed since)
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (the first books I used to get my youngest into fantasy as well)
The Last Herald-Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lacky (actually, the whole Valdemar series)
Myth Adventures series by Robert Asprin
Garrett P.I. series by Glen Cook
Sparhawk series (2 trilogies?) by David Eddings
Shannara series by Terry Brooks
Xanth series by Piers Anthony
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (both trilogies) by Stephen R. Donaldson
Legend by David Gerrold (is there a series for all those books in the same world?)

 

[GreyLord]

White Gold Wielder by Stephen R. Donaldson (I thought the way he wrapped it all up was the best part.)

I agree in regards to this. He wrote an additional Quadralogy, but it was not as satisfying to me as the other ones. The peak of the series really is White Gold Wielder, and that's probably where it should have been left. The new end...and I won't give away too many spoilers here...just is kind of wonky. He dives full into the idea that it is a dream...and the surrealistic at the end to make it so it works out...but if one really thinks about it too long, it wouldn't really work unless it really WAS a dream...but at the same time, considering the results...it also had to be reality.

With that as the end of the Quadralogy...I found the ending of White Gold Wielder to be much more substantial and a better ending for it all to end than what came later.