Fantasy Recommendations for the Unenlightened 2

[CyBeR]

Well, Tolkien is and will probably always be my favorite fantasy writer BECAUSE of his fantastic world building and detailing. So yes, I'd be very interested in something that can offer the same kind of immersion and believability. Hehe, I already have the Malazan books lined up on my iRiver and I'll get to them soon enough, just depends on how fast I can finish up with my current queue of books.
Apparently this year I've managed to embark myself on 3 grand series of fantasy books: Wheel of time, The book of Malazan and A song of fire and ice. Wonder how I'll be feeling about them after 2-3 books.

 

[GOLLUM]

Apparently this year I've managed to embark myself on 3 grand series of fantasy books: Wheel of time, The book of Malazan and A song of fire and ice. Wonder how I'll be feeling about them after 2-3 books.

You'll certainly be kept busy with those. I would 'rank' those in the order of Malazan, ASOIF and finally WOT. WOT lost its way a little after about book 7 and in spite of Mr Jordan's tragic demise Brandon Sanderson has seemingly performed a magnificent job in breathing new life into that series, which promises to finish with plenty of fireworks with the final book due out next year I think it is? It should be said of course that Sanderson was provided with apparently fairly detailed notes as to how the main story arcs were to be resolved prior to Jordan's death, so major recognition is obviously due still to Jordan as an artist and key architect of the series. When I first stumbled upon WOT way back in the early 1990s I thought that it was the greatest thing since sliced dragon toast. How time flies eh?...

Cheerio for now.

 

[SciGeek]

Holding out for that final book so I can start from the beginning of Wheel of Time again, should be out in paperback by the time I get there (too tight for hardbacks....)

Although you already have a mountain of books to get through CyBeR if you haven't already Memory.Sorrow, Thorn series by Tad Williams is excellent & similar to Tolkeins character driven work.

 

[CyBeR]

Looked it up and added it to my pile. I think next year I'll be concentrating on large series only and not experiment too much with random authors. I'll probably be done with the Discworld (about 10 novels to go I guess) and see to these others.
Thank you all for the recommendations.

 

[GOLLUM]

Indeed. Let me add my recommendation to Tad Williams' M, S & T. It's excellent and to my way of thinking the best thing Tad has so far done in a very good career to date. His best stand-alone work is War Of Flowers.

If you are looking to series Cyber, also check out Greg Keyes' Kingdom of Thorn & Bone quartet and Kate Elliot's magnificent Crown Of Stars septet as well as Paul Kearney's currently floundering but expected to be completed Sea Beggar trilogy.

 

[Bugg]

Whilst world building is not a necessary pre-requisite for great fiction as has been previously pointed out on these forums, if strongly developed to the point of seeming to be wholly believable it certainly can add a level of gravitas to a series. To this end the world building Erikson employs adds another layer of texture to the Malazan saga to the extent it becomes another living breathing character doing much to complement the main story arcs and dramatis personae featured in the novels. As a gauge it is second only in my experience to what Tolkien achieved with Middle Earth in the field of speculative fiction.

Couldn't have said it better myself

I love the way he hints at huge, earth-shattering events, which everyone seems to know about except you (to begin with, anyway), and how he tosses out seemingly throwaway comments which only become important five, six, seven books down the line. In fact, there are so many revelatory "oh that's what that was all about" moments that at least one re-read is almost essential, I'd say. But then, as you can tell from my username, I'm a bit of a fan - I was hooked from the very first page of GotM

 

[Hilarious Joke]

I love the way he hints at huge, earth-shattering events, which everyone seems to know about except you (to begin with, anyway), and how he tosses out seemingly throwaway comments which only become important five, six, seven books down the line. In fact, there are so many revelatory "oh that's what that was all about" moments that at least one re-read is almost essential, I'd say. But then, as you can tell from my username, I'm a bit of a fan - I was hooked from the very first page of GotM

That's very much been my experience with Malazan as well (though I've only read the first four).

 

[anivid]

Antoine de Saint-Exupery : Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)
I especially like Saint-Exupery’s explanation (in the beginning) about why he wasn’t particulary good in drawing (the drawings in the book is by himself ;-).
It all came back to his first drawing as a child : a Boa constrictor, which has just been swallowing an elephant – so naturally one cannot actually see the elephant - but an elephant-shaped boa ;-)
When showing it to the adults, they always said : What a nice Hat – so he had to explain, and as S-E says : The grown-ups always need a lot of explanations !
But after that experience he gave up drawing – and was forever since blaming it on the grown-ups ;-)
And then the little chapter about the Fox, which gives its definition about « taming » :To tie oneself to another, and the other to oneself
– also giving the recipe for doing it : You need to have patience, and first we start with sitting a little bit away from each other, casting sidelong glances without saying anything, as words are the source of all misunderstandings ;-)

 

[valkener]

I'd be interested in some recommendations. I really enjoyed "The Wise Man's Fear" because of the wittiness. I like smart antiheroes (though not too much of the anti, of course). I also like a lot of bloody action, though not too much gore. I've read LOTR, HP, many Michael Stackpole novels (his fantasy novels are pretty good imo) and of course AGOT though I consider Martin's books to be probably very unique in style.

 

[galhaere]

Im always on the lookout for new quality fantasy (beyond the mainstream). So any recommedations are welcome!

I just finished Endless from Matt Bone myself, a particularly lucky find. If you like good writer craftmanship, believable characters and a story that makes you unable to stop turning pages, definitely read this one.

 

[valkener]

Hey Everyone,
I love witty fantasy. If the protagonist is very witty - it makes it so much better for me. I just finished The Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear which I loved. Kvoth kind of reminded me of Guybrush Threepwood - anyone else feel like that? I also appreciate tons of action and battles.

Any recommendations?

 

[Warren_Paul]

Hey Everyone,
I love witty fantasy. If the protagonist is very witty - it makes it so much better for me. I just finished The Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear which I loved. Kvoth kind of reminded me of Guybrush Threepwood - anyone else feel like that? I also appreciate tons of action and battles.

Any recommendations?

I found Joe Abercrombie's books to be rather witty. Try his First Law trilogy if you haven't already.


James Barclay's Legend/Chronicles of the Raven. About a merc group that are always making fun of each other.

 

[kd5]

I apologize in advance for not reading through 312 posts eek to find out if these have or have not been mentioned but I just wanted to add two to the list of fantasy (I would actually classify them as dark fantasy) books that I have read and that I believe are outstanding, both by Clive Barker: Weaveworld and Imajica. Weaveworld is actually my favorite, but Imajica is pretty darned good too... -kd5-

 

[kulture]

I too apologise for not reading the entire thread, but my favourite fantasy novel is Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. Especially as it is written in a over the top fantasy way, but if you actually go back and re-read it, it has no magic, and no fantasy.

 

[Ökuþórr]

Can anyone recommend me some good urban fantasy books. (Thats the stuff set in our modern world right?)

I was in the middle of trying to write a story in my own world last night/morning, and was listening to a band (Thrice, if anyone cares) and an idea for an urban fantasy popped into my head. I have written 4200 words since then (Yay), but I realise I don't no much about the genre or authors within.

I would like something that isn't about vampires, werewolves, romance and sex (i know, probably a rare thing.) and defiantly not a combination of the four.
Mine is about mythology, Germanic and Celtic right now, but more cultures (Indian, African, Asian and the like) will come into it the further along my story gets.

 

[Clansman]

I would like something that isn't about vampires, werewolves, romance and sex (i know, probably a rare thing.) and defiantly not a combination of the four.

Urban fantasy without vampires, werewolves, romance or sex? That's a tall order. Really, I have no ideas, as I don't read Laurel K. Hamilton anyway, and she is everything you don't want.

 

[Mouse]

Can anyone recommend me some good urban fantasy books. (Thats the stuff set in our modern world right?)

I was in the middle of trying to write a story in my own world last night/morning, and was listening to a band (Thrice, if anyone cares) and an idea for an urban fantasy popped into my head. I have written 4200 words since then (Yay), but I realise I don't no much about the genre or authors within.

I would like something that isn't about vampires, werewolves, romance and sex (i know, probably a rare thing.) and defiantly not a combination of the four.
Mine is about mythology, Germanic and Celtic right now, but more cultures (Indian, African, Asian and the like) will come into it the further along my story gets.

Have you tried Neil Gaiman? Maybe American Gods.

 

[Ökuþórr]

Urban fantasy without vampires, werewolves, romance or sex? That's a tall order. Really, I have no ideas, as I don't read Laurel K. Hamilton anyway, and she is everything you don't want.

I guess that's both a good and bad thing. Bad because there isnt much for me to look into and good because if I ever get published, it'll be something new, or rare at least. Something a bit different.

Have you tried Neil Gaiman? Maybe American Gods.

Not yet. But I've heard alot of good things about it, so its definitely one to check out.

 

[spider from mars]

Can anyone recommend me some good urban fantasy books. (Thats the stuff set in our modern world right?)

I was in the middle of trying to write a story in my own world last night/morning, and was listening to a band (Thrice, if anyone cares) and an idea for an urban fantasy popped into my head. I have written 4200 words since then (Yay), but I realise I don't no much about the genre or authors within.

I would like something that isn't about vampires, werewolves, romance and sex (i know, probably a rare thing.) and defiantly not a combination of the four.
Mine is about mythology, Germanic and Celtic right now, but more cultures (Indian, African, Asian and the like) will come into it the further along my story gets.

How about A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin, or Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch? Neither is what I'd typically call "urban fantasy" - but only because that's the term I associate with fang-bang stuff! Anyway, these are both stories set in modern day London, and are fantastic. Rivers of London is probably funnier, but I think A Madness of Angels is my favourite as the system of magic is just fantastic (and more perfectly sums up the experience of living in London than any "realistic" novel I've read).

 

[D_Davis]

Want some great urban fantasy? Why not start with the best, Clive Barker.

Weaveworld and The Great and Secret Show.