Quite accurate. Finished book three last night and although there are some annoying repetitive stuff, I enjoyed it as well. On to the fourth one.
Books Fantasy Reads
- Thread starter Alock1
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Quite accurate. Finished book three last night and although there are some annoying repetitive stuff, I enjoyed it as well. On to the fourth one.
Just ordered Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo to take on holiday.
Anyone read them?
Anyone read them?
I've nearly finished the first Steelhaven book. Really enjoying it, I hope the next two are as good.
Anyone else given Ken Liu a go? Just started Grace of Kings and i'm finding it hard to get into.
Haven't read the series but it was highly recommended to me. Over 4.5 on goodreads as well. Please share your thoughts when you complete the books
Will do. I'd never heard of them but came across them this morning and liked the sound of them.
I missed that HarperCollins will be releasing The Fall of Gondolin at the end of August. Christopher Tolkien is 93 now so almost certainly his last edit of his father's work. Will anyone be purchasing this?
Polished off Assail so now 'done' with Malazan again I think. Was fully hooked on the newer 6 books. Bit more approachable and a bit less soul-destroying.
Need something very different as a bit of a palate cleanser now.
Need something very different as a bit of a palate cleanser now.
If you haven't already read The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, give it a try.
Jim Butcher's Brief Cases, book 15.1 of The Dresden Files, is out today.
I recommend giving "Chronicles of Breed" a go, it's classed as grim-dark but it's written in a simple. modern style, all in 1st person narrative.
More importantly for you, it doesn't take itself too seriously.
There are 2 books and the third is due in August.
Divine Cities trilogy. Nothing as refreshing.
Book 1 was good. Finding it hard to complete Book 2.
Loved those, thanks for the rec!
that's absolutely perfect, for some reason thought we weren't getting any more of those! Thanks
I will. The children of hurin was the best middle earth novel for me. A tight fast flowing story. No ramblings on about heritage or poetry in a made up language that lasts 50 pages.
Want to start reading more fantasy. Wasn't sure where to start so started with the Harry Potter's (never seen the films either) as I figured they'd be easy enough reads and a good introduction into the fantasy genre.
Currently on Goblet of Fire. Slow starting but it's getting interesting now. Prisoner of Azkaban is the best of the three I've read so far, thought it was much better paced than the first two (though I enjoyed reading both), and I loved Sirius Black and the Dementors (never seen the films either, so plan on watching them after I've finished the books).
Plan on finishing these over the next month or so, and then looking for recommendations. Was going to do Lord of the Rings but fancy something a bit easier, if anyone has any ideas in mind? Or is LOTR an easy enough read?
Might start the Gemmel books. Read the first one ages ago (forgot it all now) and enjoyed it, there's just that many of them!
Currently on Goblet of Fire. Slow starting but it's getting interesting now. Prisoner of Azkaban is the best of the three I've read so far, thought it was much better paced than the first two (though I enjoyed reading both), and I loved Sirius Black and the Dementors (never seen the films either, so plan on watching them after I've finished the books).
Plan on finishing these over the next month or so, and then looking for recommendations. Was going to do Lord of the Rings but fancy something a bit easier, if anyone has any ideas in mind? Or is LOTR an easy enough read?
Might start the Gemmel books. Read the first one ages ago (forgot it all now) and enjoyed it, there's just that many of them!
If you are starting fantasy, then choose books classed as YA (Young Adult). They will give you a good base on magic systems and you can upgrade as you like.
Percy Jackson, Golden Compass etc are too much for kids and I'd say skip those. LotR may be a bit too sweeping though still doable, imo.
Some recommendations:
Magician by Raymond E Fiest - A single book or two segments depends on publisher - Classic poor boy comes to age and becomes mighty hero story.
Bartimaeus Sequence (4 books) by Jonathan Stroud - Funny, quirky and good read starring a wisecracking Djinn.
Drennai series by David Gemmell - I'd particularly recommend the 3 books on Druss are class! Classic Bruce Willis'esque axe wielding action hero story.
Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan - Slightly more dark than previous and has a bit of social justice elements added in.
Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne - A roller coaster ride in magic featuring, gods, monsters, wizards and a amazing dog. Just plain fun to read
Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini - Young boy comes of age story having dragons, elves and dwarfs!
No particular order. So read up on them and choose whichever tickles your fancy. My choice of the above would be Inheritance Cycle.
Dresden Files or Discworld if you want some light hearted humour, though they will take you some time to finish.
My overall picks for the genre:
Kingkiller Chronicles
Farseer books
Lies of Locke Lamora
If you want something a bit more gritty (grimdark):
Prince of Thorns / Broken Empire:
The Blade Itself
The Black Company
ASOIAF
If beautiful prose is your thing:
Tigana
Anything by Ursula LeGuin
Anything by Gene Wolfe
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Other notable mentions:
Mistborn (not my favourite but undeniably popular)
The Magicians
American Gods
Lions of Al-Rassan
Ah, good choice too. Here are the best of the lot:
Druss series (Classic Bruce Willis'esque axe wielding action hero story):
The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
Legend
Jon Shannow (Post apocalyptic Clint Eastwod'esque gunslinger story)
Wolf in Shadow (1987)
The Last Guardian (1989)
Bloodstone (1994)
Waylander Series (Crossbow wielding Jason Bourne'esque assassin hero story)
Waylander
Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf
Waylander III: Hero In The Shadows
Cheers guys, I'll look into those once I've finished the HP books and decide which ones appeal to me most.
Mistborn, The Kingkiller Chronicles and The Gentleman Bastards are probably the best introduction to the genre, with Kingkiller and Gentleman Bastards being some of the greatest books in the genre.
There are probably better stuff there like ASOIAF, The First Law, The Wheel of Time (essentially Mistbon/LOTR in steroids), but they're a bit harder to read.
Rather than LOTR try The Hobbit first?
You can't go wrong with the Gemmel books. As previously mentioned the Druss books and Waylander series are very good.
Thanks man!
I'll add it to the list. I've been given enough to last me at least a year
Nice one! I haven't read much fantasy for a long, long time.
Hobbit is shit by today's standards regardless of how you look at it. There is no single reason to read that book, especially considering that there are literally hundreds of better fantasy books.I'll add it to the list. I've been given enough to last me at least a year
I wish Rothfuss could have made it past his first trilogy before channeling his inner George RR Martin and stop publishing
Reading around, I think I've settled on the Kingkiller Chronicles next. `
Read The First Law trilogy.
The problem is that it is very likely that there won't ever be a conclusion to the story. When the first book was released in 2007, the author said that he has written the entire trilogy and only has to polish it. Then he released the second book in 2011. And then, he just stopped talking about the book. It is pretty clear that he has had a burnout and it has not been writing for several years, and with time passing it is becoming more unlikely that we will have the third book soon (if ever). The first book is fantastic, but you will want to read the entire story.
The same problem (to a lesser degree) is with Gentleman Bastards series. However, here the author was honest from the beginning, telling that he is suffering from the depression and that the books will be slow. The fourth book seems likely that it will get published next year, and unlike Rothfuss who is acting like his books don't exist and gets offended if someone asks him a question on when the next book will be released, Lynch actually talks with his fans.
It might be a hard introduction to the genre, but it is fantastic. People should read ASOIAF first though. The First Law is a bit less complex but the entire characters are essentially the equivalents of Sauron, Joffrey, Ramsey Bolton, Gregor Clegane and so. Likable, but really shit persons. Going from LOTR when the good ones are oh so pure and good, to The First Law where the most likable character is a torturer is too much of a jump. You need to be realistic about these things.
Thanks, Revan.
Rothfuss sounds like a bit of a cnut.
Rothfuss sounds like a bit of a cnut.
Like my dad used to say, it's better to do something than live with the fear of it.
ASOIAF, in my opinion, is a much harder read than The First Law, due to the sheer amount of characters that are introduced. Reckon anyone could jump into The Blade Itself.
Oh, and Logen is the most likeable character.
More like a very introvert person who suddenly became famous, some people criticized his second book, and he suddenly got a panic attack and is scared to even think about the third book.
ASOIAF is definitely a more harder read, but it has more likable characters. Logen is great, but he is a monster (even more if you read his short story). Like the main characters in the books are: a murderer who enjoys murdering people, a torturer who enjoys torturing people, a manipulative evil wizard, a girl murderer who enjoys murdering people, an idiotic young person who has no clue about anything, and a warrior who abuses and beats his sister. Also, the first book in the series is quite mediocre to be fair. It gets better, and it becomes awesome in the Last Argument of Kings (third book), and somehow even better in the standalones.
I think that people can fully appreciate the greatness of Abercrombie only after they have finished their honeymoon of fantasy genre. You need to read some more traditional fantasy (ASOIAF is not exactly traditional to be fair), and then to jump to Lord Grimdark books.
Mistborn is probably the best introduction to the genre, but the writing of Sanderson was a bit shit back then. Still, it is readable and it has an enjoyable straightforward story, with plenty of likable characters. It isn't near as great as the other books we mentioned, but it is still good.
Btw, I have the First Law (the entire work including the standalones and the short stories), third in my all time favorites after ASOIAF and The Wheel of Time.
I fail to see the problem.
I also have the entire First Law works, which I picked up after ASOIAF. I initially quit that series around book 3 / 4 because of the amount of characters that were introduced. I just couldn't keep track of who was who and ended up binning it.
I had no problem whatsoever with The First Law which, while grim, is a straightforward read.
Mistborn is decent (the first trilogy, anyway, I haven't read any others).
True. You have to be realistic about these things.
It actually took me several attempts at reading The First Law. I got the book years ago and was struggling to get into it, then went to the bar after work one night and forgot it on the bus home in my drunken stupidity. Years later I got the audio book for free and again struggled to get into it, but I persevered and it just got better and better after it clicked. To the point I bought the book again as it was too good to waste on an audio book and it became my favourite series. I'd been reading fantasy for years and found it hard.
On a similar note, I'd been reading The Passage by Justin Cronin last year, but it was really dragging and felt like it was taking ages to get anywhere. So I shelved it for a while. Something posessed me to pick it up again recently and I got myself past the long slog to the jump forward in time and for a while it was excellent, even if it got a bit YA with everyone loving someone, usually Peter. It seemed to get past all the Jesus bothering and became a good post apocalyptic adventure with vampires. The vampire concept was cool and somewhat scientific rather than supernatural, portrayed as a virus and with interesting strengths and weaknesses. I'm now at 95% according to my Kindle and I'm pretty much done with it. It's just devolved into wishy washy nonsense again and I feel like I got what I wanted from the story it's just going to be downhill from here.
Torn between picking up Season of Storms or going for something more sci fi this time.
Okay, a list, cause list are fun and I haven't done one in a while. Revan's fantasy read sagas ordered:
1) A Song of Ice and Fire (George RR Martin) * gd
2) The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan) ef
3) The First Law and standalones (Joe Abercrombie) gd
4) The Realm of the Elderlings saga (Robin Hobb)
5) The Black Company (Glen Cook) d gd
6) Gentleman Bastard (Scott Lynch) *
7) The Kingkiller Chronicles (Pat Rothfuss) *
8) The Stormlight Archive (Brandon Sanderson) * ef
9) The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien) ef
10) The Witcher (Andrszej Sapkowski) gd
11) Long Price Quartet (Daniel Abraham)
12) The Broken Empire and the Red Queen's War (Mark Lawrence) gd
13) Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson) ef
14) The Shattered Sea (Joe Abercrombie)
15) The Dagger and the Coin (Daniel Abraham)
16) Tales of the Ketty Jay (Chriss Wooding) sf
17) Lightbringer (Brent Weeks) *
18) The Second Apocalypse (R Scott Bakker) * d gd
19) Codex Alera (Jim Butcher)
20) Malazan Book of the Fallen (Steven Erikssen) ddd gd s3
21) The Broken Earth (N. K. Jemisin) gd
22) Raven's Shadow (Anthony Ryan) gd
23) The Acts of Caine (Matthew Stover) sf
24) Acacia (Anthony Durham)
* still not finished
d hard to read
ddd ultra hard to read
sf technically science-fiction, but it looks more fantasy than sci-fi
gd grimdark
ef epic fantasy
s3 stopped reading it after finishing the first three books
Other things to know:
- The Realm of the Elderlings is actually a saga containing 4 trilogies and a quadrology. All bar the quadrology are very good, and sagas are related to each other. The reader can stop after each saga, all of them have a good conclusion and you don't need to read the next one.
- Mistborn trilogy is actually just Mistborn Era 1. There is a second saga Mistborn Era 2 (3 books published, another one planned) and there will be another 2 Mistborn sagas.
- Actually the entire Mistborn is part of Sanderson's Cosmere setting, which includes also Stormlight Archive, Elantris (1 out of 3 books published), Warbreaker (1 out of 2 books published) and other planned sagas. In the end, if Sanderson plan is fulfilled we are going to have more than 40 books. The relation between sagas will be a bit like Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation, but it is planned from the beginning.
- The Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy is just the first trilogy in a much bigger planned saga.
- Raven's Shadow first book is excellent, but the third one might be just the worst fantasy book ever.
- People have either a love orgasm or a big dislike for Malazan, there is no middle ground. It is also the hardest saga to read, by far.
- The Broken Earth has excellent reviews but it just didn't have an effect on me. Most of people (especially critics) love it.
- ASOIAF has actually 5 related novellas, 1 encyclopedia and another book not part of the main story which will be published in a few months.
- I love Wheel of Time, but it has significant problems. Objectively speaking, it should not be in the top of the list. I am not objective though, and as I said, I love it.
- The Second Apocalypse is a collection of a trilogy, a quadrology and a planned duology. They follow each other and unlike in the case of Realm of Elderlings, they finish with a big cliffhanger. It is also the most grimdark saga in the genre by far, and it makes the likes of ASOIAF, Malazan, Broken Empire or The First Law look cute in comparison.
- I haven't read many standalones. Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana and The Lions of Al-Rassan are by far my favorites in the genre. Tigana is comfortably in my top 10 fantasy books. I don't like most famous standalones like The Hobbit or Neverwhere. American Gods is okay though.
- Of course, a lot of the modern sagas are more like a combination of subgenres, instead of being purely epic fantasies or grimdark.
@esmufc07 you might be interested in this list during your journey.
1) A Song of Ice and Fire (George RR Martin) * gd
2) The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan) ef
3) The First Law and standalones (Joe Abercrombie) gd
4) The Realm of the Elderlings saga (Robin Hobb)
5) The Black Company (Glen Cook) d gd
6) Gentleman Bastard (Scott Lynch) *
7) The Kingkiller Chronicles (Pat Rothfuss) *
8) The Stormlight Archive (Brandon Sanderson) * ef
9) The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien) ef
10) The Witcher (Andrszej Sapkowski) gd
11) Long Price Quartet (Daniel Abraham)
12) The Broken Empire and the Red Queen's War (Mark Lawrence) gd
13) Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson) ef
14) The Shattered Sea (Joe Abercrombie)
15) The Dagger and the Coin (Daniel Abraham)
16) Tales of the Ketty Jay (Chriss Wooding) sf
17) Lightbringer (Brent Weeks) *
18) The Second Apocalypse (R Scott Bakker) * d gd
19) Codex Alera (Jim Butcher)
20) Malazan Book of the Fallen (Steven Erikssen) ddd gd s3
21) The Broken Earth (N. K. Jemisin) gd
22) Raven's Shadow (Anthony Ryan) gd
23) The Acts of Caine (Matthew Stover) sf
24) Acacia (Anthony Durham)
* still not finished
d hard to read
ddd ultra hard to read
sf technically science-fiction, but it looks more fantasy than sci-fi
gd grimdark
ef epic fantasy
s3 stopped reading it after finishing the first three books
Other things to know:
- The Realm of the Elderlings is actually a saga containing 4 trilogies and a quadrology. All bar the quadrology are very good, and sagas are related to each other. The reader can stop after each saga, all of them have a good conclusion and you don't need to read the next one.
- Mistborn trilogy is actually just Mistborn Era 1. There is a second saga Mistborn Era 2 (3 books published, another one planned) and there will be another 2 Mistborn sagas.
- Actually the entire Mistborn is part of Sanderson's Cosmere setting, which includes also Stormlight Archive, Elantris (1 out of 3 books published), Warbreaker (1 out of 2 books published) and other planned sagas. In the end, if Sanderson plan is fulfilled we are going to have more than 40 books. The relation between sagas will be a bit like Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation, but it is planned from the beginning.
- The Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy is just the first trilogy in a much bigger planned saga.
- Raven's Shadow first book is excellent, but the third one might be just the worst fantasy book ever.
- People have either a love orgasm or a big dislike for Malazan, there is no middle ground. It is also the hardest saga to read, by far.
- The Broken Earth has excellent reviews but it just didn't have an effect on me. Most of people (especially critics) love it.
- ASOIAF has actually 5 related novellas, 1 encyclopedia and another book not part of the main story which will be published in a few months.
- I love Wheel of Time, but it has significant problems. Objectively speaking, it should not be in the top of the list. I am not objective though, and as I said, I love it.
- The Second Apocalypse is a collection of a trilogy, a quadrology and a planned duology. They follow each other and unlike in the case of Realm of Elderlings, they finish with a big cliffhanger. It is also the most grimdark saga in the genre by far, and it makes the likes of ASOIAF, Malazan, Broken Empire or The First Law look cute in comparison.
- I haven't read many standalones. Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana and The Lions of Al-Rassan are by far my favorites in the genre. Tigana is comfortably in my top 10 fantasy books. I don't like most famous standalones like The Hobbit or Neverwhere. American Gods is okay though.
- Of course, a lot of the modern sagas are more like a combination of subgenres, instead of being purely epic fantasies or grimdark.
@esmufc07 you might be interested in this list during your journey.
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How dare you leave Farseer off that list!
Edit: Seen it's 4 on your list. I'll let you off.
Because the entire saga has 16 books.