Good fantasy reads?

[Zaukrie]

Pretty much anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'd start with Tigana.

My favorite author by far. Seriously. the only one I pay full price for hardbacks for. Wish I hadn't moved and sold off most of my collection. Very bummed about that.

Since I replied and haven't read the answers:

CS Friedman's Coldfire trilogy
I really like the first 3-4 books by Feist
Steven Brust
Lies of Locke Lamora (one of my favorite books)
Glen Cook
Neil Gaiman (though his retelling of the Norse mythology kind of bored me)
Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksanarrion (sp?) is great....the sequels are goodish

For SF......Red Rising and its sequels

 

[Gilladian]

I would suggest Lois Bujold’s World of the Five Gods novels and novellas. They are superb.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Pretty much anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'd start with Tigana.

Just ordered it. Will be here on Saturday. We'll see

 

[Gilladian]

Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion series. Amazing and unique take on a fantasy pantheon.

Curse of Chalion is fabulous! Have you read the Penric novellas? Set between that and Hallowed Hunt, timewise.

 

[Gilladian]

I really enjoyed Katherine Addison’s Goblin Emperor, though if you dislike comple, twisty names, it may not appeal.

 

[Robby24]

I read relatively little fantasy, I will list them with impressions: Glen Cook "The Black Squad" (read the entire cycle, liked it very much, despite the relatively weak literary language), Robert Howard - the cycle "Conan the Barbarian" ("Beyond the Black River" impressed), George Martina - "A Song of Ice and Fire" (5+, except for protractedness, because the author is not immortal), Oldie - "Border", "The Last Life" (I read the last two times, but "Heroes' Refuge" seemed boring). I also tried to get T. Brooks, but he somehow does not suit me. I don't want to read Tolkien, there were enough films)

 

[jasper]

To add
Drew Hayes -Spells, Swords, & Stealth -Npcs 1, Split the Party 2, Going Rogue 3, Siege Tactics 4,
John Ringo -Princess of Wands, Queen of Wands
The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul by Jon F. Merz
The Unsuspecting Mage (The Morcyth Saga Book1) by Brian S. Pratt skip.
Truthwitch By Susan Dennard
Christopher Rowley beware the kindle version is chopped up.
Bazil Broketail, A sword for dragon, Dragons of War, Battledragon, A dragon at World’s End, Dragons of Argonath, Dragon Ultimate,
Lois McMaster Bujold- World of the Five Gods - Penric’s Progress #1, Penric’s Travels # 2,

 

[TwoSix]

Holy smokes I just started reading the first of Robin Hobb's books - Assassin's Apprentice. And by started, I read 100 pages on day 1, and 200 pages yesterday, and just reserved book 2 at the library and will head over to the used bookstore for book 3 in about 20 minutes.

It is so amazing. I am told the rest of the related books are also really good. I think there are multiple trilogies set in the same world of the Six Duchies.

Great world-building, relatable protagonist, excellent "npcs" ie side characters. Villain not yet revealed, but Hobb is slowly peeling back layers in her reveal.

I probably shouldn't recommend the series until I finish at least book 1, because she may fail the ending. However, this book is one of the few that a bunch of my Goodreads friends have all read, and all of them gave it 4 or 5 stars.

Robin Hobb

Author of Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Golden Fool

www.goodreads.com

Fitz is probably my favorite character all-time in fantasy. I can tell you that she in no way fails the ending, it's beautiful and melancholic. It's not everyone's cup of tea, as it can be slow moving and Fitz is assuredly a flawed character, which some people find frustrating. But the depths of the relationships in the book, and how they evolve over decades is truly profound.

 

[TwoSix]

Just ordered it. Will be here on Saturday. We'll see

Tigana is probably my favorite Kay book, although Lions of al-Rassan and the Sarantine duology are right up there. I also have a soft spot for the Fionavar trilogy, although it is admittedly a weaker work overall.

 

[delericho]

I enjoyed J.V. Jones "Book of Words" trilogy. Her "Sword of Shadows" series also started really well, but after the third volume she hit the same problems as GRRM and Robert Jordan - the rate of releases has dropped to nothing, and there was a feeling with the previous (fourth) volume that she'd just run out of steam. Which is a real shame.

I recently read, and enjoyed, Saladin Ahmed's "Throne of the Crescent Moon". It has a distinctly different flavour from the standard pseudo-Europe, which is no bad thing.