Looking for suggestions for good fantasy series to read

[Rackhir]

David Webber has a three book fantasy series - Oath of Swords, War God's Own and I forget the third. The first two are terrific reads, the third... not so much.

As far as Glen Cook goes, in addition to the Black Company books they have been reprinting the Garret series (first three books are out again) which are a Hard Boiled Detective in a fantasy world and are a great read.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Check out David Gemmell, specifically the Drenai books. The absolute best is Legend, his first novel; other good ones are the ones with Waylander and Druss, as well as the Stones of Power series (first two books are Arthurian fantasy, last three are post-apocalyptic gunslinging, and yes they are connected).

Second Glen Cook, both Black Company and the Garrett Files. Also, check out the Nightshade Books' reprints of the Dread Empire series, and his new Instrumentalities of the Night series.

I'll third Martin, though he's begun to fall into the "too many subplots" trap. Still writes well, and the books are nice and long for efficient subway reading.

Brad

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

If you are willing to wait for the concluding book, I recommend the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. Book two just came out last month, so I assume the final book is probably about a year away (at least I think it is the final book).

I resisted reading the first book for a long time, despite it sitting on my bookshelf for months. When book 2 came out, I couldn't resist any longer and started the series. I only wish I had waited because I really enjoyed both books and don't want to have to wait for more.

Another possibility is Sara Douglass' Wayfarer Redemption series. I have not finished it yet, so I don't know if the final books maintain the quality of the first few.

 

[yipwyg42]

I just started reading the Hythrun Chronicles by Jennifer Fallon. There are 6 books broken into 2 series. Medalon is a good read, first book in a couple months that I actually stuck through and plan on getting all her books.

The Demon Child Series

Medalon
Treason Keep
Harshini

The Wolfblade Trilogy

Wolfblade
Warrior
Warlord

The Wolfblade trilogy takes place in the past.

Here is a link to all her books on Amazon.com

http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/10...as=aps&field-keywords=Jennifer+Fallon&x=0&y=0

 

[BadMojo]

Book one was A Game of Thrones? I still havent finished it yet. I remember having difficulty getting through it, but then I seperating from my Fiance as the time... I will have to try and find a new copy sometime and try it again. They do seem very popular.

As much as I like the Malazan books, I would skip them if you don't really enjoy reading George R R Martin. Compared to Martin, the Malazan books are even more, well just more.

What about "The Lies of Locke Lamora"? There's an excerpt on the author's site.

http://www.scottlynch.us/books.html

 

[drothgery]

Very good series, though I havent read some of the most recent books. Are they any good?

I think I stopped at Taltos?

Err... no.

The Book of Jhereg omnibus has the first three (by publication order; some are hard to find as standalones now)

Jhereg
Yendi
Teckla

The Book of Taltos omnibus has the fourth and fifth (by publication order)

Taltos
Phoenix

The Book of Athyra omnibus has the sixth and seventh (by publication order)

Athyra
Orca

And the ones that haven't been compiled into an omnibus yet are

Dragon
Issola
Dzur

In the same universe, and set somewhat earlier (and something of a cross between Dumas and traditional fantasy) are the Khaarven romances...

The Phoenix Guards
Five Hundred Years After
and The Viscount of Adrilankha, which is a novel in three parts
The Paths of the Dead
Lord of Castle Black
Sethra Lavode

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

If you haven't read it yet Farland's Runelords series is damned good
Hill's Cry of the Icemark is also very good, it's a standalone.
Elliot's Spirit Gate is her best novel yet and I'm waiting for the next in the series impatiently.
Claremont's Shadow Star series is quite good but they've been out of print awhile.


Avoid anything written by Gail Martin like the Black Death, and the worst part of it is her ideas have so much potential but she just can't carry them off and gets caught up in pointless circular moralizing.

 

[grimslade]

Gregory Keyes The Briar King is a series I've enjoyed . It cozies up well with Tolkein and Jordan, not so much Goodkind though.

Kate Elliots' Crown of Stars is pretty epic. It begins in The King's Dragon and continues in Prince of Dogs Her newer series Crossroads starts in Spirit Gate and is also a good read.

 

[Richards]

I'd also recommend Gene Wolfe's "New Urth" series:

Shadow of the Torturer
Claw of the Concilliator
Sword of the Lictor
Citadel of the Autarch
Urth of the New Sun

Set a million years or so in the future, on an Earth where human civilization has fallen and risen several times over again, it tells the story of Severian, a young man raised in the Torturers Guild (er, I mean the "Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence"), who becomes a journeyman executioner and travels a world filled with all manner of strange beings and societies. It's got some science fiction trappings, to be sure (many of the creatures he fights originated from different worlds and have been transplanted to Urth), but he's a likeable character with a six-foot sword ("Terminus Est," one of the more distinctive swords in fantasy) and it's an excellent read.

Plus, how many fantasy series feature torturer protagonists? And nice ones at that?

Johnathan

 

[Steel_Wind]

Book one was A Game of Thrones? I still havent finished it yet. I remember having difficulty getting through it, but then I seperating from my Fiance as the time... I will have to try and find a new copy sometime and try it again. They do seem very popular.


What the heck is a duology? I'm not familiar with this term...

Game of Thrones for some people takes until about 120 to 150 or so pages to get "good" - apart from the prologue and first chapter.

But once it does take off - it never looks back. The series is entirely worth that pain - so push through and you will be well rewarded.