My personal favourite is R. Scott Bakker's 'The Aspect Emperor.' I think Brandon Sanderson's 'Stormlight Archive,' should also be included. Edit: Scott Lynch's 'Gentleman Bastard' series as well.
Ah...I almost put Bakker in there. If I'd had an extra poll slot I would have. Wasn't sure how many people knew his books. I like him a lot. The only thing I've read by Sanderson is Elantris, and I really liked that one as well. EDIT: Lies of Locke Lamora is in my "to read" pile.
Ahh... limited poll options. In that case, because Stormlight has just started and Bakker isn't as well known, I think you've got the best choices up. Elantris is my favourite by him, but Mistborn is also excellent. I haven't read enough of Stormlight to form an opinion yet.
Well, they weren't that limited by the site, I just choose to only have 7 options when I made the poll, then thought of more after I'd already created it
Personally, I've read two of the Drizzt books and I feel that while excellent, there is something... lacking. As for the wheel of time, it's simply been pushed too far. My favorite of that series is probably the one where Rand gets the crystal sword, I can't remember what the title is. I also like Matrim, he reminds me of myself xD Does fantasy, for the purposes of this poll, consist also of contemporary fantasy? In such a case my favorite series is "Midnighters", which is a fantastic and original idea that is written in an equally fantastic fashion. If it does not include contemporary, my favorite series is probably "Ranger's Apprentice". Before Will grows up. I like the series while he is still and apprentice, after that it loses something for me, it seems like it was always sort of a drive for Will that he originally wanted more than anything to be a knight, to be a noble.. but loses himself in the life of a ranger apprentice. I miss that.
Yeah, I included the Dresden Files to put in a contemporary/urban fantasy. I don't know Midnight or Ranger's Apprentice. I'll have to look into those.
Really? Ranger's apprentice is a big one. It's basically a fanfic of a history book xD all of the nations are based on real historical nations, which can be a deterrent if you don't like that kind of stuff. However, it is written pretty well. As for midnighters, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. I picked it up at a library with a "Well, there's nothing better to do..." kind of attitude xD But it's a real page turner, very well written.
I think both Dresden files and A song of Ice and Fire deserve the title, but Jim Butcher gets books written on a regular basis so he got my vote.
I don't think that (or even hope) anyone will take over Pratchett after he's unable to write anymore. Sad indeed, he's easily in my top 10 authors Btw, this poll is ridiculously even so far.
I know it is a kids book but I am voting Steve Cole Cows in Action one of the best fantasy series I have ever read.
I'd vote for, A Song of Ice and fire, but lets face it..we'll never see the end of that bloody thing. I'd vote for, The Dark Tower as it's still got another book to come now.
I chose "Other" because while the Song of Ice and Fire is revolutionary within the genre, the Dresden Files are getting better, the Kingkiller Chronicle is marvelous, and the Gentlemen Bastards are friggin' amazing, there is no author who is better at putting me into the world of the story than S.M. Stirling. And he has an ongoing series -- the six-books-long series about Rudi Mackensie and the quest across the Changed land. It is absolutely fantastic, and features some of the same characters as his Dies the Fire trilogy, which is also incredible. We're talking heroes, cool magic, great characterization (a deaf woman, Wiccans, teenagers caught up in an emergency, too many others to list here), extensive knowledge of history which shows in every page (condottieri, Middle-Ages France, armor and weapons and fighting styles and siege engines), and a sheer depth of detail that puts me right into the story. I can't really give adequate tribute to the details he uses, but they are bloody fantastic so I guess I'm obligated to try. The scent of crushed herbiage as a small group of scouts pass through the edge of a forest. The thwap of bowstring on forearm protector just before the solid tock of the arrow hitting the target reaches you. The fierce need for greenage after a long winter, when you've been living on a two-pound loaf of bread per day, dried sausages like flavored tyre rubber, and pickled vegetables, and then the early gardens finally start producing and you have a salad with carrots and three kinds of lettuce and radishes the size of the end of your pinkie, just flavorful enough to provide a hint of spice. The comfortable sense of companionship on a chill January evening, with friends and family around you in the Chief's Hall, and chestnuts and popcorn and cider both hard and non-alcoholic. Songs that go on into the night, with choruses that involve much stamping of feet and clapping of hands. Musical spoons so worn with years of use that they aren't curved anymore, but flat where the backs strike one another. Teenagers leaping for luck over the Beltane bonfires, and whole processions of Wiccans winding up the mountainside to the nemed for the Samhain cermonies. Read S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire, at least, to get a sense of the series -- it is a stand-alone book, even though it starts off the series. So if you read that book, you have a comfortable and satisfying ending, but you also have the option of reading further if you would like.
S.M. Stirling - another author I haven't read. Almost picked up a book of his countless times, but for whatever reason I never did. I'll check his work out.
I voted Wheel of Time, though it does seem to drag on. A Song of Ice and Fire is next on my 'to read' list.
I have read them but I couldn't get into them. The characters did not interest me and the world seemed at times too involved. In the first novel, he drops you into a world filled with jargon you do not understand and characters who die that you do not care about. Honestly, not my cup of tea.
That was one thing I really liked about the first one - Gardens of the Moon. You're dropped right into the action. No time wasted on backstory, you're basically getting the story as it unfolds in front of you, and it is up to you, as the reader, to put the pieces together. I know people who disliked the book for that very reason. I went back and re-read Gardens of the Moon after getting about 5 books into the series, and there were a lot of 'aha!' moments. Fun stuff But even being in the dark on a lot of it the first time through I thought it was a great read. Love the climax.
