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BookGround >> Best Fantasy Books
| 11/14/09 11:04 AM | |
The James
4 
Member Since: 3/17/09 Posts: 279 |
So glad this thread exists. I've not read much fantasy outside of LOTR, but I want to start, as I'm working on a book with strong fantasy elements and I want to immerse in the genre a bit. |
| 11/16/09 3:06 AM | |
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RobbieH
Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 5130 |
The Stand = BEST BOOK EVA! |
| 12/7/09 2:55 AM | |
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tudorantin
Member Since: 11/18/09 Posts: 4 |
Must read's for fantasy fans are the Thomas Covenant: Unbeliever series by Stephen R. Donaldson. Very dark, very difficult, but satisfying if you can finish. I recently read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It was refreshing in an odd sort of way that I can't explain. Also check out American Gods by Gaiman, as well. Wheel of Time series is excellent for the first 5 books or so, then gets lost in the details. The newest book, released posthumously and being finished by Sanderson, seems to be bringing together all the "loose ends" and gets back to some of the original excitement the series started with. |
| 12/7/09 4:14 AM | |
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Fightin_Chance
5
Member Since: 6/21/08 Posts: 2558 |
tudorantin - Must read's for fantasy fans are the Thomas Covenant: Unbeliever series by Stephen R. Donaldson. Very dark, very difficult, but satisfying if you can finish. I recently read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It was refreshing in an odd sort of way that I can't explain. Also check out American Gods by Gaiman, as well.am i the only person who wanted to smack Thomas Covenant in the back of the head? The bloodguard kicked ass though |
| 12/7/09 10:14 AM | |
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MuaySteve
2
Member Since: 8/2/03 Posts: 3702 |
"am i the only person who wanted to smack Thomas Covenant in the back of the head?" No you are not. |
| 12/7/09 10:25 AM | |
Lymond
46
Member Since: 7/17/06 Posts: 5021 |
slam1523 - First Lord's Fury is about to release Nov 24. I was disappointed with First Lord's. Princeps wasn't terrific either, it was good not great. Strange cause books 2-4 were awesome. Makes me a bit worried for the eventual end of Dresden, which is probably my current favorite series. Iorich, Brust's latest, gets released Jan 5. Hopefully it is a good one. |
| 12/7/09 2:31 PM | |
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tudorantin
Member Since: 11/18/09 Posts: 5 |
MuaySteve - "am i the only person who wanted to smack Thomas Covenant in the back of the head?" LOL It took me 2 years to finish the first damned trilogy. It is satisfying IF you can finish it, in the same sense of getting through anything painful and feeling the relief in the end that it is over. ;) |
| 12/7/09 3:05 PM | |
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MuaySteve
2
Member Since: 8/2/03 Posts: 3703 |
It has been a very long time since I read those books, but I remember not liking them very much. I wonder if I would enjoy them more now as an adult? He was just such an unlikable character. |
| 12/7/09 4:23 PM | |
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Fightin_Chance
5
Member Since: 6/21/08 Posts: 2574 |
MuaySteve - It has been a very long time since I read those books, but I remember not liking them very much. I wonder if I would enjoy them more now as an adult? He was just such an unlikable character. seriously, the bloodguard kept me in it...when Hergrom died (could have been the 2nd set of books) i was pretty pissed off |
| 12/7/09 5:20 PM | |
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tudorantin
Member Since: 11/18/09 Posts: 9 |
Goodkind did well with the first 3 books of his Sword of Truth series, then it's all preachy for 90% of the books. I'm pissed at myself for buying all of them in hardcover instead of doing a book-swap or using the library. |
| 12/9/09 3:11 PM | |
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slam1523
4
Member Since: 5/27/09 Posts: 789 |
Lymond -slam1523 - First Lord's Fury is about to release Nov 24. i kind of liked it. Not the greatest, but I was satisfied with the ending. almost all loose ties were closed, and left some open for possible sequels or prequels. I was a little disappointed with the final fight. it was a little weak, imo. I would like to read Brust's other ones first before I step into that one. But I notice with most of his books, you can read one without having to read previous ones. Ever read the Burning City by Niven and Pournelle? very entertaining and it reminds me of the Brust books. |
| 1/24/10 7:10 AM | |
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phauna
Member Since: 8/1/03 Posts: 293 |
Magician by Raymond E. Feist |
| 1/31/10 7:11 PM | |
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j-money
Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 1837 |
So how was the latest Wheel of Time novel? I'm curious to hear how Sanderson did with this book. |
| 2/6/10 7:48 PM | |
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spg
25
Edited: 02/06/10 7:49 PM Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 9150 |
Can anyone point me to a good standalone fantasy novel? I don't know why everyone thinks fantasy stories need to be 10 book epics. I'm looking for a nice, self-contained story. I liked The Dragon's Eyes by King a lot, which would be an example of this. |
| 2/6/10 10:19 PM | |
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Fightin_Chance
5
Member Since: 6/21/08 Posts: 3032 |
spg - Can anyone point me to a good standalone fantasy novel? I don't know why everyone thinks fantasy stories need to be 10 book epics. I'm looking for a nice, self-contained story. I liked The Dragon's Eyes by King a lot, which would be an example of this.i liked this one alot...read it about 20 years ago though....not a typical fantasy book  |
| 2/10/10 11:47 AM | |
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j-money
Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 1838 |
spg - Can anyone point me to a good standalone fantasy novel? I don't know why everyone thinks fantasy stories need to be 10 book epics. I'm looking for a nice, self-contained story. I liked The Dragon's Eyes by King a lot, which would be an example of this. I personally am a big David Gemmell fan. His stories are action-packed and fast paced. His books are more sword and sorcery type fantasy. Dark Moon and Echoes of the Great Song are two standalone novels of his I really enjoyed. |
| 2/10/10 11:48 AM | |
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j-money
Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 1839 |
Banter -j-money - So how was the latest Wheel of Time novel? I'm curious to hear how Sanderson did with this book. I've been debating on whether to start Jordan's Wheel of Time series or not. Maybe I'll just read up to book 6 and quit. |
| 2/10/10 1:03 PM | |
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Lymond
46
Member Since: 7/17/06 Posts: 5157 |
spg - Can anyone point me to a good standalone fantasy novel? I don't know why everyone thinks fantasy stories need to be 10 book epics. I'm looking for a nice, self-contained story. I liked The Dragon's Eyes by King a lot, which would be an example of this. Not that it is similar to King but Curse of Chalion is one of my favorites and it is a stand alone. j-money, Sanderson did surprisingly well. Thankfully Jordan left a ton of info so he didn't have to be too creative. The book finally started wrapping up some of the too massive plot. |
| 2/12/10 4:11 PM | |
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slam1523
4
Member Since: 5/27/09 Posts: 886 |
Stand alone fantasy: War of the Flowers - Williams A modern man is able to visit fairyland, but finds there's a war going, and somehow he's involved. This one out of all the recommendations below is most like Dragon Eye's, both writing style and topic. Heroes Die - Stover Martial artist and actor, Caine is implanted with a sensory recorder, then is sent to an alternate fantastical universe, and there he kills humans, elves, trolls in entertaining fashion for viewers at home. He is commanded to kill an Emperor/God he has no chance of killing. Treason - Card (sci-fi, but fantasty elements) On a planet, colonized by scientists once charged with treason, one person learns the many powers available to him on his world. This one is like the 36 chambers, but with god-like powers. Gilded Chain - Duncan Set in medieval times, a school for swordsmen are where orphans are raised to be bodyguards for the royal elite. They are magically tied to their charge. One sets out to be the best ever. This one is a serious page turner. I love this book and I hate it. Since i couldn't put it down, I read it in one sitting on the can, and that may have contributed to my hemorrhoids. The Word for World is Forest - LeGuin (a novella and sci-fi, but again, fantasy elements) A pacifist society of forest dwellers are enslaved by humans. After years of subjugation, they learn something new... One of my favorites. Watership Down - Adams About rabbits...and one of the greatest fantasy books of all time. Its like the Odyssey; rabbits are on a quest to find a new home. But the world building is unbelievable, much better done than Jordan or Tolkien, and with less words. Great attention and depth were given to the culture and mythology of rabbits. The animated film is good too. |
| 2/13/10 10:12 AM | |
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Lymond
46
Member Since: 7/17/06 Posts: 5178 |
LMAO @ your Gilded Chain gripe but it is part of a series even though it can be read alone. Duncan's best book, imo, is West of January which is standalone but more sf than fantasy. |
| 2/14/10 9:45 AM | |
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BaldTony
95
Member Since: 12/12/02 Posts: 14958 |
Just finished Book 11 of Wheel of Time. Read the first few and enjoyed them, so bought all the others in one go. Don't like getting rid of books I haven't read so was forced to finish the lot. It just gets really really boring towards the end, which is unfortunate. Book 10 is one of the worst things I've ever seen. This might be considered a spoiler, but it could save you many hours of tedium. This isn't a summary, this is actually what happens over 1000 pages: Perrin thinks about rescuing his wife, but doesn't. Faile thinks about escaping, but doesn't. Mat thinks about leaving Ebou Dar, but doesn't. The Shaido think about leaving their camp, but don't. The rebels think about invading Tar Valon, but don't. And that's it. Couldn't really care what happens in book 12+ to be honest. Will just read a summary on wikipedia |
| 2/14/10 9:47 AM | |
|
hey mes
1
Member Since: 8/23/09 Posts: 232 |
if you guys cant get into the malazan books after the first or the second, read deadhouse gates. It is the best one out of the series imo. fucking brutal shit. |
| 2/16/10 4:35 PM | |
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slam1523
4
Member Since: 5/27/09 Posts: 887 |
Lymond - LMAO @ your Gilded Chain gripe but it is part of a series even though it can be read alone. Duncan's best book, imo, is West of January which is standalone but more sf than fantasy. Duncan is seriously underrated. I read and liked some of his earlier works like A Man of his Word, and The Seventh Sword. But some of the King's Blade books sucked ass, so I've been picky about buying new books by him. Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to pick it up. And I agree with everyone else who has chimed in about this. Wheel of Time has turned into bullshit. I read up to book 6 before I got fed up. Great first 3-4 books though. Just reading those, and I was convinced at the time that this was going to be the greatest fantasy work of all time. So the disappoint is even greater when you realize Jordan had started to cash. such a waste of a good story, imo. |
| 2/17/10 4:06 AM | |
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Fightin_Chance
5
Member Since: 6/21/08 Posts: 3088 |
anyone like the Dragon Prince trilogy by Melanie Rawn? |
| 2/17/10 10:23 AM | |
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Lymond
46
Member Since: 7/17/06 Posts: 5227 |
Fightin, I thought the first book was fantastic. I was pretty damn young when I got it, not too young for my buddy to mock me mercilessly for the cover, and was blown away by it. Great characterization and world building. Felt like it should have been a stand alone though, I didn't think the rest in the series were the same quality. That first book makes it all worth it though. I actually just skimmed through it again the other day when I visited my folks and saw it sitting in my old room. What'd you think? Like the whole thing or overly critical like me ;) |
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