Blackflame is a good book. It keeps getting better as series progresses.
Books Fantasy Reads
- Thread starter Alock1
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I haven't read them, but often come across Coiling Dragon and I Shall Seal the heavens being recommended repeatedly. Should give it a go sooner or later.
Defiance is nowhere close to being completed. Book 5 is out and another 10 could easily be written. Still chapters are added on RR. Mage Errant and Arcane Ascension are both brilliant. Try How to Defeat A Demon King in Ten Easy Steps also by Andrew Rowe. In fact all of Rowe's books are good.
I somehow dropped off Wandering Inn after first 2 books. Should get back to it too.
I picked them up when book 5 was released, blew through the lot of them. Then when book 8 came out, i reread the entire series up to and including 8. Then did it again for book 10. I almost never reread books, so 3 run throughs is incredibly rare (granted they're kind of short). Despite the fact that its a bit daft really, you're right, its very addictive.
@DMacgraw I just went through some of your list above.
I Shall Seal The Heavens - Fun read. MC lands a OP item and just keeps lucking into more and more resources. A bit of rinse and repeat events, but still fun read. Only book 1 is free on WW. After that it takes some Karma points or something. I gave up at that point. Quite iffy on plot on characters.
Forge of Destiny - Really good read. Book 1 was in a typical sect school setting, but the world building and character building is phenomenal. There's a lot of social and political machina are interesting to follow. I've read everything out till now already.
I Shall Seal The Heavens - Fun read. MC lands a OP item and just keeps lucking into more and more resources. A bit of rinse and repeat events, but still fun read. Only book 1 is free on WW. After that it takes some Karma points or something. I gave up at that point. Quite iffy on plot on characters.
Forge of Destiny - Really good read. Book 1 was in a typical sect school setting, but the world building and character building is phenomenal. There's a lot of social and political machina are interesting to follow. I've read everything out till now already.
Thanks, @Edgar Allan Pillow .
You've given me the confidence to move both books up on my TBR. I've been following Forge of Destiny and other serials on Royal Road for several years, compiling the weekly posts into Epubs. I intend to read them only when completed.
Just finished The Dragonbone Saga (a trilogy) by Fonda Lee. Loved it. Currently on Book 1 of Arcane Ascension by Andrew Rowe. Starting to pick up speed after the first few infodump chapters introducing the magic system.
You've given me the confidence to move both books up on my TBR. I've been following Forge of Destiny and other serials on Royal Road for several years, compiling the weekly posts into Epubs. I intend to read them only when completed.
Just finished The Dragonbone Saga (a trilogy) by Fonda Lee. Loved it. Currently on Book 1 of Arcane Ascension by Andrew Rowe. Starting to pick up speed after the first few infodump chapters introducing the magic system.
Stop using MC for the protogonist. Brain reads it as something else
There are epubs for FoD in Amazon. It's just picking up stream. Like DoTF or HWFWM, it may run to a 5+ (or even 10+) book series.
Still trying to get to the end of the last book of the Blackwing trilogy. Not sure why I'm not enjoying it to be honest, it's gritty and dark and has a good main character and a decent premise and world.
I just don't look forward to it and so often listen to a podcast instead of the next chapter.
I just don't look forward to it and so often listen to a podcast instead of the next chapter.
The Princess in the Tower (The Hard Blokes of Sparta #1) by Jamie Brindle
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-...the-hard-blokes-of-sparta-1-by-jamie-brindle/
Dave, Chad and Phil, the Hard Blokes of Sparta were unlucky enough to get sucked into a Reality Vortex and end up in the mysterious Level 31. Even more unluckier for them, the level is filled with various types of aliens and monsters far stronger than them, relegating them to working the bottom of the barrel to survive.
When the mysterious Prince Ahmed hires them to rescue a Princess, they jump at it. Kill some creatures, rescue the Princess, what could go wrong, eh? After escaping from their first hurdle, a cockatrice that beat their ass blue, made possible only by some smooth talking, they really need a miracle!
This book is ridiculous and I mean it in literal sense. It silly, it has juvenile off the cuff humour….and it’s glorious! I mean I was laughing from the get go and every time the author take a poke at the tropes, it just gets better. The book does not take itself seriously and neither should you. It was just plain absurd and whole lot of fun!
A very short book at 220 print pages, there’s not much of plot or character building, but the author does an admirable job of introducing us the the world and the out of luck Spartans. One ridiculous scene follows another and I just stopped trying to guess what comes next and just kept the pages turning. A tropey story in a book dedicated to making fun of them.
If you are looking for a palate cleaner between heavy reads or just out for some mindless wholesome silliness and fun, give this a go. I enjoyed this!
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-...the-hard-blokes-of-sparta-1-by-jamie-brindle/
Dave, Chad and Phil, the Hard Blokes of Sparta were unlucky enough to get sucked into a Reality Vortex and end up in the mysterious Level 31. Even more unluckier for them, the level is filled with various types of aliens and monsters far stronger than them, relegating them to working the bottom of the barrel to survive.
When the mysterious Prince Ahmed hires them to rescue a Princess, they jump at it. Kill some creatures, rescue the Princess, what could go wrong, eh? After escaping from their first hurdle, a cockatrice that beat their ass blue, made possible only by some smooth talking, they really need a miracle!
This book is ridiculous and I mean it in literal sense. It silly, it has juvenile off the cuff humour….and it’s glorious! I mean I was laughing from the get go and every time the author take a poke at the tropes, it just gets better. The book does not take itself seriously and neither should you. It was just plain absurd and whole lot of fun!
A very short book at 220 print pages, there’s not much of plot or character building, but the author does an admirable job of introducing us the the world and the out of luck Spartans. One ridiculous scene follows another and I just stopped trying to guess what comes next and just kept the pages turning. A tropey story in a book dedicated to making fun of them.
If you are looking for a palate cleaner between heavy reads or just out for some mindless wholesome silliness and fun, give this a go. I enjoyed this!
I have been re-reading WOT, and I still believe the Rhuidean sequence in The Shadow Rising, not Dumai's Wells is the peak of the entire series and among the best that the genre has produced.
Jordan, despite his many flaws, was superb at that type of scene, see also the The Portal Stone chapter in The Great Hunt.
Jordan, despite his many flaws, was superb at that type of scene, see also the The Portal Stone chapter in The Great Hunt.
The flashbacks? Same for me. Reading them was when it actually hit me as to the actual scope of how big a story and how interconnected these stories were that RJ was writing.
In the nineties and early noughts, when the series was being written, fans on the various discussion forums overwhelmingly considered Book 4 the best book in the series, and that was because of the Rhuidean sequence and the Attack on the Two Rivers. Dumai's Wells is considered by many fans as one of the greatest scenes in fantasy literature, along with the Red Wedding.
I think it is, so many great moments, probably the peak of the Perrin story-line for one.
Exactly this, there had been elements of it before, and brilliant little dream sequences/visions, but that walk back through the history of the Aiel, and how it re-contextualized what the breaking actually meant was just magnificently well done. RJ had a rare skill for being able to establish and make the reader emotionally attached to a character in just a few paragraphs. Which is more than a little ironic given the vast amount of over writing that is also present in his work. He was great at being concise and almost never was.
Those pages are some of the best fantasy ever written. Top drawer material. There's also a very emotional scene with Perrin meeting a blacksmith and helping him out. And in forging the iron, he finds solace and peace by clinging onto the memory of a life that he knows won't come back. Wish we had more of these, instead of tugging breads and tantrums. The Shadow Rising is my favourite WoT book. I also believe that books 4-6, along with the Great Hunt, are the series' absolute peak.
I'm about halfway through Book 2 of Arcane Ascension by Andrew Rowe, and the contrast between it and Cradle couldn't be more stark. I now understand why Will Wight in Cradle decided not to let Lindon pursue runes-based progression. The magic system in Arcane Ascension is based on runes, and the main character's progression is convoluted and abstruse. About 90% of what I've read so far is info-dumps, as a new rune has to be introduced and explained and practiced for every piece of magical effect Corin wants to produce. The story is okay enough for me to keep reading, but I long for the clean, straightforward easily comprehensible magic system and progression in Cradle.
Book 11 of Cradle, Dreadgod, comes out in all formats today.
About halfway through uncrowned and it's just getting better and better really.
I'm done. It's fantastic. Best in series till now.
I'm about 20% of the way through Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself and it's not grabbed me yet.
Most I've enjoyed non Sanderson over the past few years has been Red Rising.
Most I've enjoyed non Sanderson over the past few years has been Red Rising.
Just to be clear, you've finished Dreadgod and you think it's better that Reaper and Wintersteel?
Yeah.
I wasn't too fond of Reaper. Climax aside, it was a bit ok ok.
Wintersteel and Ghostwater we're the next best books for me.
Finished Dreadgod yesterday. I Agree with your assessment. Non-stop action from beginning to end. Sets the series up for an outstanding finale.
I was especially disappointed in Northstrider . I thought he would support, or at least not actively oppose, Lindon's effort to get rid of the Dreadgods and force the Monarchs to ascend. Emriss is excellent in this book, what a Monarch who cares about her people should do. As for Akura Malice and Reigan Shen, I hope Lindon and his team take care of them on Cradle and do not give them the option to ascend. I think Lindon and (probably) Dross have reached pseudo-Dreadgod levels of power after sharing in the Silent King's power. Now that he's taken his team into the time-freeze portal to train, I expect the other team members to reach higher power levels before they come out. My prediction: pseudo-Monarch-level for Yerin, Herald/Sage level for Ziel and Mercy, and Archlord level for Orthos and Little Blue.
Blade it self is weak, particularly the beginning, but it's a great series. Particularly the first half of BTI is weak, as it's just intro to characters without much plot. I advise to finish the first book and then see if you want to continue.
The first law trilogy is better understood as a single book divided in 3 rather than an actual trilogy
Just re-read it and it was not as "good" as I remember. I am going to chalk that up to all the good stuff that has come since that makes it seem unremarkable. This is a good thing! I feel like the age of self-publishing has ushered us into a golden age of fantasy.
Could anyone recommend me a fantasy series to start? I like a rich world but the main things I’m after are prose and character work. Also quite like friendship themes like Harry Potter, or powerful badass characters like Rand. My favourite series of all time are WOT and Kingkiller and I’m really struggling to find something new as booktube seems like a bubble with everyone recommending the same 5-10 series.
No Brandon Sanderson please, I cannot stand the bloke.
No Brandon Sanderson please, I cannot stand the bloke.
Prose and character work, badass MC and strong themes of companionship, you say????
Well, here you go
Prose is clunky for the first ~20 chapters or so. Then it becomes good. Then great. Then amazing. It has everything else in spades
Cheers. Will give it a go, although it may be a while before I get hold of it as my local library don’t have it and I’m too cheap to buy my books.Prose and character work, badass MC and strong themes of companionship, you say????
Well, here you go
Prose is clunky for the first ~20 chapters or so. Then it becomes good. Then great. Then amazing. It has everything else in spades
It's online! And free!
I also only read physical books. One of the reasons I got back into reading is because it stops me looking at a screen for 6 hours a day.1. Kingkiller Chronicles (best prose)
2. Riyria Revelations (best power characters + friendship)
3. Licanius Trilogy (closest to WoT)
Love love love Kingkiller. Rothfuss’s writing style is lyrical and beautiful in a way no other author can match. Will check out the other 2 though. Cheers.
Northstrider is disappointing. When he made that entrance in Uncrowned, it was awesome. But after Wintersteel, he's just a sidekick for Malice and weakest of all Monarchs. Nobody really gives him weightage.
Not sure if Mercy becomes Sage or Herald.
Not sure if Mercy becomes Sage or Herald.
If you want friendship themes and magnificent story telling nothing beats The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards series).
I have tried it. It’s a shame really because I loved the characters and there was some really funny/witty dialogue. But plot wise it just did absolutely nothing for me.
Interesting. Once the plot gets going it turns into an Italian Job type heist plot. Follow up books are just as good. Still ranks #1 on my list of all time fiction books but to each their own (and I sincerely mean that!!).
Someone(s) on here recommended the Divine Cities trilogy which was phenomenal.
Dresden Files
Any recommendations on the Star Wars novels that was declared non cannon? I've heard good things about it, but don't know where to start.
And yes, Star Wars is clearly fantasy, even if the trekkies don't like it being called that.
And yes, Star Wars is clearly fantasy, even if the trekkies don't like it being called that.
1. Thrawn (original not the latest)
2. X-Wing series
3. Darth Bane trilogy
4. Darth Plagueis (this is a bit philosophical but gives great insight into Sidious who became the Emperor)