@Revan What's ef stand for on your list? I've a feeling I should know and the answer is going to make me look stupid. 
Books Fantasy Reads
- Thread starter Alock1
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The first trilogy comes to a conclusion though.
epic fantasy. Updated the legend.@Revan What's ef stand for on your list? I've a feeling I should know and the answer is going to make me look stupid.
Damn it! I should have got that.
Come off it Revan, Hobbit is a classic book. Even if the guy doesn't like the book, it will sustain his interest as it is a short book. Alternatively, he can start it after completing the LoTR series. I'm currently halfway through Reaper's Gale in the Malazan series. I've completed about 5 books and I still can't decide if the author just makes up stuff as he goes along. But it's a good read nonetheless.
@esmufc07 if you haven't completed the LoTR series, you should straight do the Hobbit, LoTR and the Silmarillion books before starting the rest. You can possibly start with LoTR, then start the hobbit and finally tackle Silmarillion. Tolkien books are classics and you won't regret it
What.
How.
...uh?!??!?!
Logen is the most thrilling character for sure. The one that gives the reader the most cool scenes. But likeable?!?!?
About Malazan: it's the single greatest fantasy saga ever written and it's not even close, to the point that it makes almost the entire rest of the genre obsolete. I have a very hard time with finding new fantasy books/series i actually get into after Malazan. Locke Lamora and The First Law are two series i've read after Malazan and liked, so i strongly recommend them too
So if you want to get into fantasy and read a bunch of stuff, keep it for last
So if you want to get into fantasy and read a bunch of stuff, keep it for last
@Revan, I don't know how you judge what is or is not hard to read, but seeing stuff like The Black Company on your list of hard to read series does give me much confidence in your criteria.
I see you have inserted a smiley to (perhaps) indicate that you are you are making that statement in jest. In that same spirit, I'll state that Malazan is mostly incomprehensible rubbish and the Wheel of Time is the greatest fantasy saga ever written.About Malazan: it's the single greatest fantasy saga ever written and it's not even close, to the point that it makes almost the entire rest of the genre obsolete.
Now let's see which of us the majority of posters on this board agree with.
About Malazan: it's the single greatest fantasy saga ever written and it's not even close, to the point that it makes almost the entire rest of the genre obsolete. I have a very hard time with finding new fantasy books/series i actually get into after Malazan. Locke Lamora and The First Law are two series i've read after Malazan and liked, so i strongly recommend them too
So if you want to get into fantasy and read a bunch of stuff, keep it for last
I see you have inserted a smiley to (perhaps) indicate that you are you are making that statement in jest. In that same spirit, I'll state that Malazan is mostly incomprehensible rubbish and the Wheel of Time is the greatest fantasy saga ever written.
Now let's see which of us the majority of posters on this board agree with.
I've enjoyed reading Malazan, but there's only so much that Erikson can suck Whiskeyjack's cock.
No need to ask further opinion. I am objectively right and anyone who disagrees with me is a poopyhead cheesebuttI see you have inserted a smiley to (perhaps) indicate that you are you are making that statement in jest. In that same spirit, I'll state that Malazan is mostly incomprehensible rubbish and the Wheel of Time is the greatest fantasy saga ever written.
Now let's see which of us the majority of posters on this board agree with.
But seriously, Malazan makes the rest of the genre obsolete. Doesn't matterin regards to WoT which was already garbage in the first place(ok, the first 5 books were somehow interesting, and funny in a "wow, this writer is either batshit crazy, or he's never actually met a woman, or even another man, in his life" kind of way)
About Malazan: it's the single greatest fantasy saga ever written and it's not even close, to the point that it makes almost the entire rest of the genre obsolete. I have a very hard time with finding new fantasy books/series i actually get into after Malazan. Locke Lamora and The First Law are two series i've read after Malazan and liked, so i strongly recommend them too
So if you want to get into fantasy and read a bunch of stuff, keep it for last
I see you have inserted a smiley to (perhaps) indicate that you are you are making that statement in jest. In that same spirit, I'll state that Malazan is mostly incomprehensible rubbish and the Wheel of Time is the greatest fantasy saga ever written.
Now let's see which of us the majority of posters on this board agree with.
I think I'd vote Malazan
Not an objective criteria, just how I felt when reading them. There isn't much explanation going on The Black Company, things just happen and they happen fast. It is written as a chronicle, not as a novel.
Malazan is of course much harder. Mainly because nothing makes sense, and the author has deliberately tried to make it hard. And of course, because it fecking sucks.
It is really, really bad without a single redeeming quality in my opinion. It is famous because it is the first 'modern' fantasy book and together with Tolkien's other work (especially LotR) practically invented the genre, but it is a bad book, so unless you're studying fantasy reading, I don't think that there is a point on reading it.
I'm with fishfingers, it's a great book.
Logen is very likable. The Bloody nine on the other hand..
It kind of stinks how Abercrombie never clarified 'the relationship' between Logen and The Bloody Nine. However, that short story on Sharp Ends (Made a Monster) clearly hints that they are essentially the same person, just double personalities. I always thought that is what it is (not him being possessed from some being), so maybe I just interpreted the story the way I thought Logen's character is.
Hey.
You have rubbish taste but fair enough
Thqt said, i don't get the whole hard to read point about Malazan. To me it was a pretty easy read. You do need to read it two or three or four times in order to get everything out of it as there's a lot of stuff that will fly over the reader's head on first reading. But hard to hard? Why? It's not
The Hobbit is a children's book, full of talking animals and nonsense rhyming songs. It's a fun enough read and Tolkien's prose is of course very good, but I liked it more when I was ten years old. However, it is a classic of the genre and certainly not as bad as Revan makes out.
Also, Malazan is a pile of unreadable garbage.
Also, Malazan is a pile of unreadable garbage.
That's always how I saw it as well. It doesn't really explain how he can then handle so much more punishment or become a more effective combatant but I much prefer it to possession or similar.
You really shouldn't. Probably one re-read to get the foreshadowing that the author put in the prose. If you need to read a fantasy book 3-4 times then it just suggests that the books are poorly written.
Disagree. You understand everything you need to understand on first read. And for me it's one of its strongest points, the fact i can read it 4, 5 times and every time the experience is different, everytime i find something new that i missed on previous reads, and the fifth re-read i still just as enjoyable as the first one was
At the end of the day it comes down to personal taste. I can't stand stuff like WoT, Sanderson...turns me right off. I've recently tried picking up John Gwynne's Faithful and Fallen and dropped it 3 chapters into the first book.
Malazan on the other hand resonated with me in a way few books ever did. It really did make the entire fantasy genre kind of obsolete for me. I struggle to find fantasy i like these days, and it's because of Malazan
Well, different people have different tastes.
You've made it clear that you don't like it, but that doesn't mean it is what you say it is though.
When it comes to worldbuilding, Malazan stands clear above the rest. I also agree on re-reading Malazan. There are so many easter eggs and links that sometimes span across books that you pick up on the re-read.
Many find it hard to read because of the writing style. SE isn't really into intros and backstories. He just drops you smack in the middle of a war that spans across, continents, realms, races and time. I liked it.
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I didn't like the Hobbit much when i read it (didn't like the characters basically) but i still think its a good book and worth a read if you're into fantasy. Its a good introduction to the genre and there are brilliant parts in there.
Nope. If that were true, the vast majority of readers would not find it unreadable, which is I think the prevailing opinion other than from select afficionados like yourself. Now, I have read each of the 10 Books of the Fallen at least twice, and half of the others three times. I have participated in a forum where the books were discussed as each was released (this was in the late '90s and '00s) and was on a second forum on TOR recently when a re-read of the entire series was discussed. Yet, I still don't understand what the heck was going on with Heboric and those falling statues. Among others. Easy to understand? Hardly.
Yeah i didn't really get it either, I think i'm kind of ok with that though. They were the crippled gods worshippers was the basic explanation wasn't it?
Yes. What was hard to understand about it?
Where did they come from? How did they become statues? Why do the statues give funky powers? Was Kaminsod an alien god or was he cast down by the known ascendants? The whole thing was a bit wishy washy, which is ok, its philosophical and gives room to wonder or have your own theories but there wasn't much clarity around the whole thing. Heboric and Feners thing in the last book was ... also weird. Not sure what they were trying to do, how the feck either were alive or where they were. Or what they were planning, was getting killed part of the plan?
They came from Kaminsod's world. Doesn't matter. Because Kaminsod's power. Alien God. Yes to the last
What was difficult about that?
Nothing ... but you've ruined it now (jk btw, its actually good to get an answer). Doubt is fun. Fener's plan seems a bit rubbish - could he not have waited till after the fight to turn the T'lann Imass back to life.
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Recently got the free trial of Kindle unlimited and flying through the Shifting tides, which I'm really enjoying.
Any other Fantasy reccomendations included with Kindleunlimited?
I've read Got, LoTR a good while ago.
Any other reccomendations? I plan to try WoT and some of Tolkiens other works.
Any other Fantasy reccomendations included with Kindleunlimited?
I've read Got, LoTR a good while ago.
Any other reccomendations? I plan to try WoT and some of Tolkiens other works.
The First Law. I'm not actually Joe Abercrombie.
You're ready for the First Law then. I'm not actually Joe Abercrombie.
Oh, WoT too, but that it is a larger project (15 books, with at least a couple of awful ones right in the middle).
Robin Hobb, particularly the first trio of her Farseer series. A little emo for some but it has some of the best characters in the genre. Finovar Tapestry from Guy Gavriel Kay as an alternative to LOTR, Tigana from him as a wonderful stand alone novel. Prince of Nothing from Ray Scott Bakker as an alternative to Malazan. Deverry Cycle from Katherine Kerr, Katherine Kurtz did some great stuff that is very hard to get hold of these days, her St Camber trilogy foremost. Really like JV Jones's Sword of Shadows series, but she is having a Martin-esque wrestle with her muse and publishing issues I believe, 5th book has been a 7 years wait already.
What is the perception of the Thomas Covenant series these days? Have not read the recent 3 that he came back to but the lead character was controversial even 20 years ago.
Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander was fantastic for kids, another one that is hard to find these days, tried to get a non digital version for my 9yo nephew last year and it was not easy. That, Narnia then David Eddings stuff, LOTR, and WOT were pretty much my introduction into the genre.
What is the perception of the Thomas Covenant series these days? Have not read the recent 3 that he came back to but the lead character was controversial even 20 years ago.
Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander was fantastic for kids, another one that is hard to find these days, tried to get a non digital version for my 9yo nephew last year and it was not easy. That, Narnia then David Eddings stuff, LOTR, and WOT were pretty much my introduction into the genre.
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Wordery are selling the boxset for just over £20 delivered, online, if you're still looking.
The First Law is what you want. I'm not Joe Abercrombie either, I think.
I am not Joe Abercrombie and I endorse The First Law trilogy