Ok, I just LOVE fantasy books, but right now I don't know which to read. The following books are the ones I have already read: Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien Septimus Heap Series (til the 4th book), by Joanne Harris A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis Eragon & Eldest, by Christopher Paolini Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer And there are also some books that catch my attention, can someone tell me the good things about them (no spoilers please): The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King The Belgariad, by David Eddings Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud The Wardstone Chronicles, by ... can't remember (sorry to fans of these books!)
The Dark Tower, Started it in High School, (1978) Just finished last year, well worth the wait. I envy you, you have yet to enjoy the story, I wish I could do it all over again. Funny you should mention The Belgariad, I just finished the second book. Very enjoyable, well worth reading, I'm looking forward to the next. Terry Brooks has a number of great books and trilogies out there, starting with The Sword of Shannara. I think you will find his work most enjoyable. The writing is beautiful, the stories intracate yet easy to follow. My all time favorite, and I strongly suggest reading next is Wizards First Rule by Terry Goodkind. That is followed by ten more books called The Sword of Truth Series, every book in the series is a masterpiece, in my humble opinion. The author is a fan of Ayn Rand, she of the objectivist philosophy and the novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Great stuff. Happy reading!
I've recommended it before here, but I love the "Farseer" trilogy by Robin Hobb. Also the "Daughter of the Forest" trilogy by Juliet Marillier. Also "Wolfskin" by Juliet Marillier.
Oh man, you just opened a can of worms. You're lucky I'm not at home and have my list of books I want to buy handy. The Belgariad is an excellent series, his best one I think. First, start off with anything by Bruce Coville. He wrote juvenile fiction, but my favorite book of all time is Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. Let's see off the top of my head Heart's Blood by Jane Yolen (technically it's sci-fi, kind of like the dragonriders of pern series is, one of the best books ever IMO.) The Dragons of North Chittingdon The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper The Magic of Recluse By L.E Modesitt Jr. Transall Saga by Gary Paulson (Again, it's technically sci-fi, but it's still very fantasy-like) The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings (I didn't like the second half of the book as much, but the first half more than made up for it.) Watership Down The Princess Bride (One of the funniest books ever.) Redwall Firebird by Mercedes Lackey (A must read based off of russian fairy tales) Enchantment by Orson Scott Card (More russian fairy tales) The Once and Future King If you want more I'd be more than happy to dig out my list for you. One hint for finding good fantasy: Look in the juvenile section, not the adult section. They have more good ones. Edit: I'm afraid I would have to warn you away from Wizards First Rule. The stories are good, but the books are pretty dirty.
Too... Many... Books... *-* Well, I think I'll start with the Dark Tower and the Belgariad, but I still want to know more about the Wardstone Chronicles. Are those books any good?
The Bartimaeus Trilogy is hilarious! It's a great series, that will have you cracking up. One of the main characters, Bartimaeus, is a demon, but he's not all bad -- he's pretty funny. Just check them out.
Best series ever: The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy all by Robin Hobb. I cried when I finished the last book because I had spent years of my life reading all nine of them and you really grow close to the characters. They have a bit of everything and are very well written. I do remember a few scenes that were a little on the sensual side, but those aren't commonplace. I definitely recommend these little known books. =) Happy Reading!
The sixth Artemis Fowl book, The Time Paradox, just came out on Tuesday. I don't know if you knew or not but if not, you now have another book to read.
So far, I've been recommended many books that I plan to read, but still no one has said a thing about the Wardstone Chronicles. Someone's making a film based on these novels, so I thought they might be good. No one has mentioned them though. I think they are called "The Last Apprentice" in the U.S.
I'd recommend the Dragonlance series, or the Forgotten Realms series. I see our taste in books is the same; I love all the books you listed.
It seems our tastes are INDEED alike. Forgot to list the following books: - The Dark Elf Trilogy - The Icewind Trilogy - Legacy of the Drow - Paths of Darkness - The Hunter's Blade Trilogy - Cleric Quintet
Ian Irvine - The Three Worlds Saga: The Shadow on the Glass is the first. These books are just amazingly written. He's still my fav fantasy writer. And good news is he's still releasing books but begin with The Shadow on the Glass. Anthony Howerwitz - The Power of Five (Unfinished) Great books, begin with Raven Gate. Christopher Pike isn't essentially a fantasy writer, but his story are worth reading anyway. There was these books I read a few ages ago. They were based on the Ancient Wonders. Each one was about a different one. Can't remember name. (hmm, goes hunting.) Seven Fabulous Wonders by Katherine Roberts. Never read all but liked them. Hmm, most of the ones I thought of now have been mentioned. Hope this helps.
I've read the Wardstone Chronicles, and to be completely honest, I didn't enjoy them at all. They were kind of...I don't really know how to describe it, but the characters were rather cliché and I wasn't fussed on the storylines, which were also very cliché. But those are just my opinions.
Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy, which begins with the book Black. It's a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy, real world and fantasy world. When the main character falls asleep/gets knocked out in one world, he wakes up in the other, and both worlds are in considerable danger.
Too... many... fantasy.... books! Don't know were to start! Oh well, I have plenty of time. And Lucy, again, thanks for the tip!
Well, just for the fun of it, I'll suggest The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It's won quite a bit of awards and attention, and is surprisingly refreshing. But about the Belgariad Series, I don't think it's anything too great. It's just... meh. It's kinda like everything is really stale. The plot's one you've seen hundreds of times, though it's written well. The character's don't undergo any deep character changes, even Garion the protagonist (which is important considering it's a coming of age novel too). And it has a LOTR feel to it in that all of one race are fair and pure, all of this race is evil, this one's greedy, this one's underhanded, etc. It's a good series, but it's bogged down by so many things. I ended up just underwhelmed by it all. Of course, it's my word against many, so might as well snag a paperback at least.
All of what you say is kind of true, but it's still really good. I do think his other books suffer from that a LOT more, to the point where all of his characters are carbon copies of each other.
If you like traditional myth-like stories, filled with ridiculous violence, sex, and drama, I'd strongly recommend the Elric of Melnibone series by Micheal Moorcock. He's a really good and interesting writer, and it's a shame he doesn't get more recognition than he does.
The kind of fantasy that most draws my attention is the... Darn it, so difficult to explain! Fantasy stories that have a subtle touch of dark elements and bizarreness a la Tim Burton, but at the same time feel epic and truly magical. That's why I loved the Septimus Heap series (I know they don't have that touch of sublte bizarreness, but I loved them nevertheless).
And, how could I forget? I think it feels more magical when towns and cities have names like "Bowerstone" instead of "Fala'ut'ol" or something like that. And of course... There should be big, old forests!
I'm almost finished reading "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. It is one of the best books I've ever read! It's the first in a series, but it was only released about a year ago, so it's the only one out so far. The series is called the Kingkiller Chronicle.
