Well I’m craving something in this genre but I’m a bit overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. So many titles and yet I’m not sure what to read. Maybe you can help?
I’m looking for something in a high fantasy setting. I’m not too keen on heavy politics and war driven plots (though, I can read that ). What really gets me is interesting characters, good action and magical creatures.
I’ve loved anything Discworld and I’ve also enjoyed the First Law books by Abercrombie.
I’m finding that Tolkien, Sanderson and George RR Martin appear on every fantasy list I come across, so if you do recommend something I’d appreciate it be something other than that.
I highly recommend the Earthsea book by Ursula Le Guin (I actually recommend all of her books) and the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Frtiz Lieber. Especially if you are looking for something that is a quick read and not a 20 book, 50 billion page series.
Also the Drizzt novels by R. A. Salvatore, while not the same level of quality, are fun.
I’ve read only The left hand of Darkness by Le Guin and I totally didn’t cry, you understand? If at any point anyone tells you that, they’re disgusting liars trying to tarnish my reputation. That aside, I really enjoyed the book and Earthsea was on my list of potential reads. I’ve never heard of the other recommendations, will keep in mind. Thanks
All her hainish cycle books are really good too, which is a very loosely connected shared universe, that left hand of darkness takes place in.
I recently reread The Dark Elf Trilogy after a long, long time and I still quite liked it. It’s funny how differently I see the themes of the first book now than I did as a teenager.
I also remember Weis and Hickman’s Draconlance Chronicles trilogy being a fun read back in the day.
Lots of good recommendations here. I’ll just leave some +1s for a few I’ve seen here that I’ve enjoyed.
Blacktongue Thief: A thief tries to rob the wrong warrior and gets wrapped up in a quest to a distant land besieged by giants. The first of a trilogy, but the ending gives you enough closure to be a standalone read while also setting up where the story will go. Personally, I enjoyed the first-person narration which gives you a colorful look at a somewhat non-conventional fantasy world, although it’s still fantasy. If you liked Abercrombie then you might like this. There’s a similar focus on flawed characters trying to do the best they can. There is some war and politics but they are firmly in the background and far from the main focus.
Legends and Lattes: A retired adventurer opens up a coffee shop in a land that has never heard of coffee. I’m not sure if “cozy fantasy” was a thing before this book, but it’s been held up as an archetypal example. The plot is low-stakes and focuses on the characters and the difficulties of running a small business. Makes a good palate-cleanser between denser reads. No war or politics.
Kings of the Wyld: A retired group of adventurers has to come together for one last job after their leader’s daughter ends up trapped in a city besieged by monsters. Admittedly how much you enjoy this one depends on how novel you find the idea of adventuring groups being treated as rock and roll groups. Like literally being a stand-in for rock and roll bands with groupies, managers, and all of that. I’ve seen some criticism that the book doesn’t have much going for it beyond that which is a bit unfair. Following a bunch of middle-aged heroes past their prime was refreshing and I think the author did some interesting things with the main character who only uses a shield in combat and whose main motivation is to make it back to his wife and daughter in one piece. Very little war and politics.
Also, I don’t think he’s been recommended but you might want to check out Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire trilogy. Admittedly it’s not typical high fantasy and it is somewhat heavy on war and politics, but if you liked the grittier, grounded feel of Abercrombie then you might like it. It is arguably darker though and the main character straddles the line between dark anti-hero and outright villain protagonist for at least the first book. But it might be worth checking out if you really liked the First Law trilogy.
I 2nd Kings of the Wyld. Sequal coming out soon.
Legends & Lattes was fun too, and the sequal ‘Bookshops and Bondust’ is similarly fun.
‘Glory Road’ by Robert A. Heinlein. Takes all the common fantasy tropes and kicks them in the nads.
I love how the other races don’t trust Humans, because we are always in “mating season” and they lose their minds during theirs, so assume we are always loopy because of ours.
I can’t remember the work, but a father is talking to his daughter on her 11th birthday. She’s a very smart and mature child. Dad says that he’s sorry but they aren’t going to be able to have great conversations any more, because she’s going to start maturing and will go completely insane. The daughter promises that she’ll always love and respect him. The next scene is her gothed out, swinging a chainsaw at the family dog.
Nice.
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Ooooh
Terry Pratchett!!
None of the suggestions above talk about comedy fantasy. Is there anyone close to the master? GNU
The Name of the Wind By Patrick rothfuss.
Still waiting on that third book 5o come out though. It’s only been 17 years. It’ll happen any day now. 🥲
My luck it’ll come out the day after I die.
No worries, if you die before me ill come read it at your grave for you.
That’s a good incentive to hang around as a ghost. Unfinished business.
Then while you’re waiting, you can read Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.
At least we have a novella coming out in 2 weeks…
But Rothfuss still owes us the full cast reading of the first few chapters of Doors of Stone. That he set as a fundraiser goal two years ago and promised would be available the following February!
Yeah I’ve given up hope of it ever coming out. Although the bast novella seems interesting.
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini! I’ve read it too many times. It’s a really good hero’s journey and the characters are all really interesting. Plus it’s focused on dragons and magic and elves and dwarves, lots of cool creativity that goes on in the world. And I just really enjoy Paolini’s world-building. He’s very good at it and it stays consistent. There are two wars that I remember, one is a small-scale thing that sets a lot of events in motion, and the other is the big climax at the end of the series. It’s my favourite series next to The Dark Tower. I’d highly recommend it!
Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. On par with Tolkien and Martin IMHO
Came here to recommend this. Favorite fantasy books of all time.
Definitely for people who like verbose fantasy books though.
David Gemmell’s Legend.
He was from a rough upbringing and thought he was going to be dying of cancer and wrote a book about an aged hero of old who was now past his prime.
It was a misdiagnosis and he went on to write a lot more.
They are all excellent, and different enough from what you normally end up reading in the genre to be worth a look. There’s a bit of a more rawness to his books I really enjoy.
Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series is a good one. Unlike most authors in this genre who tend to be overly descriptive and feel the need to develop the lore of every squirrel in the kingdom, Le Guin writes really tight, well thought stories, where every word is important to the story.
Malazan book of the fallen is the best epic fantasy series I’ve ever read
I’ll add a +1 to some mentioned:
- Cradle series - progression fantasy, basically DBZ or Naruto style progression with a magic system, intelligent beasts/dragons, demigods, etc.
- Night Angel Trilogy - street rat turned assassin with magic. I feel like it leans pretty heavily into fantasy tropes, but they’re fun reads.
- Kings of the Wyld - this book is fucking hilarious. The main characters are basically a kickass D&D group but it’s 20 years later, they’re old and fat, and have to go on one last epic adventure.
Might as well mention Week’s Lightbringer series too .
The Diamond Age kinda counts?
I’m saving this thread for later because I’m interested in this genre, I am totally new to books, I haven’t even read LOTR, The Hobbit, Game of Thrones or House of the Dragons books, I have only consumed that through the movies and TV Shows, but seems like there are some really neat suggestions here.
+1 for Cradle already mentioned. I’d add
- The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan
- Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
I love king’s little 80’s music references. The sequal is coming out at some point.
My fantasy go-to series is The Chronicles of Amber. Roger Zelazny was a poet, and it comes out in his prose. Dude evokes visions inside your mind.
The universe is a collection of infinite reflections between order (ie Amber) and the Courts of Chaos. Corwin is one of the nine princes of Amber, an immortal who can travel between the reflections.
I read the first five books of the series every few years. But word of warning, the first book reflects the casual chauvinism of the the time it was written. Worth powering through those bits though.
The last five books are okay, but nowhere as good as the first five.
