The Master™ said:
Then there is The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind...
Jack, stay away from this if you have no desire to step into a series with no end in sight and an increasing need to beat you over the head with the giant sledgehammer of the author’s Moral Message Of The Week. Like Robert Jordan’s cumbersome Wheel of Time series, the last few books have wandered off from the narrative, focusing on side characters and events unrelated to what began in the first tome, while adding the wonderful (read: sarcasm) device of transparent diatribes about this social ill or that social woe.
If Jordan rubbed you wrong, this will do you no better.
erickad71 said:
You could also try the series A Song if Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. The first book is called A Game of Thrones.
This, on the other hand, has remained focused through its first three volumes, tightly-plotted and on track. It’s grim, adult, and full of intricately woven narratives that create a larger, grander story about the struggle for power. The characters are both likable and abhorrent. We’ll see what the fourth volume brings, but thus far Martin seems to have a better idea of how to get to his destination – telling, and finishing, a great story – than either Goodkind or Jordan.
Bea said:
Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. His "Wandering Fire" trilogy written in the 80's (the first is The Summer Tree) is your basic parallel universe adventure (as in the One Tree) with a hint of Arthurian reference.
You mean The Fionavar Tapesty.
I found it richly written with rewarding characters, though it was sometimes slow going, with the narrative sometimes grinding to a near halt so Kay could linger for ten pages over loss and sorrow. Nonetheless, a worthy read and in the spirit of Tolkien while avoiding the shameless paint by numbers of others who have written epic fantasy in the “spirit” of Tolkien.
And Bea is right. It’s hard to go wrong with Kay. The Fionavar Tapestry is, I believe, his first series of nvels. His work has gotten better each time out. They’re fantasy with a dash of historical fiction thrown in, offering them an air of, “This could have happened in the real world” many fantasy novels lack.
Kelpie said:
You might try "The Broken Sword" by Poul Anderson, if you can find it. It's an old one that gets reissued from time to time. It's dark and brooding enough for anything, includes themes of fratricide and incest, and the writing is gorgeous.
I second this. Wonderful language, a murky, dark tone, and paced just right for a relatively short book. Worth tracking down. I’ve found Anderson’s sci-fi work too heavy on the tech for my tastes, but this I enjoyed.
Halloween Jack said:
i do quite like magic swords, quests etc too.
You like grim and gritty, magic swords and quests, and epic adventure?
Surely you’ve tried out Michael Moorcock’s Elric books? If not, you probably should.
Elric’s people are vaguely (though not overtly) elvish, and Elric himself is a grim, downright nasty character, saddled with the deadly sword Stormbringer and sworn to the God of Chaos. His travels take him across vast lands and through whole continents, where blood is shed and gods die, his whole life filled with killing and tragedy. The pace is very fast, rarely lingering in one place for too long, pushing you from confrontation to confrontation, a series of interconnected, continuing set pieces more than a single vast story. The Science Fiction Book Club offers a couple of compendiums that bring together the original novellas that make up the Elric story; these are probably your best bang for the buck purchase.
If you want grim epic fantasy with magic swords and fantastic creatures, give this a shot.
