For fantasy book readers.

[SpeedZealot369]

I'm in the process of reading the game of thrones series, I'm currently at the end of the second book. I am looking for a really good series to switch to, I was kinda disappointed with thrones, it just has too many different characters and it feels very slow moving.

I've read back in the day the sword of truth series, until book 6 if I remember right. It got kinda repetitive imo. I haven't really read fantasy other then what I've just mentioned. I heard from a friend that the wheel of time series is amazing, so I'm looking into getting that. Any other suggestions? I would love to hear feedback from you guys.

thanks

-sz

 

[SpeedZealot369]

Oh and I've read the hobbit also, a long time ago.

 

[waggy]

The chronicles of thomas convent the unbeliever. it is in my opionion the best fantasy series i have read.


though i hear the game of thrones series picks up after book 2. i haven't read them myself (i have a stack of zombie, sci-fi and end of world books to finish first!)

oh yeah don't get into the WOT series. it starts off great..then book 5 he figured out if he milks it people will still buy the damn books. you get whole chapters of nothing more then "she huffs and tugs her braids and glares at the men". i am not exaggerating either. the book is SLOOOOWWW

edit: the last 6 books could be condensed into 3 books without losing much

 

[GagHalfrunt]

If you think ASOIAF is "slow moving" there's not much you're going to like in the way of fantasy series. More happens in a single chapter of Game of Thrones than in an entire book of the Wheel of Time series. And that is NOT exaggeration.

Maybe try Feist's Riftwar series, that moves pretty quickly and has a lot fewer characters than Martin uses.

 

[Drako]

I liked all of the Drizzt Forgotten Realms books - if your into Dungeons and Dragons lore.

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311622255&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt...=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311622255&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311622255&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311622255&sr=1-2

 

[AMDZen]

I'm in the process of reading the game of thrones series, I'm currently at the end of the second book. I am looking for a really good series to switch to, I was kinda disappointed with thrones, it just has too many different characters and it feels very slow moving.

I've read back in the day the sword of truth series, until book 6 if I remember right. It got kinda repetitive imo. I haven't really read fantasy other then what I've just mentioned. I heard from a friend that the wheel of time series is amazing, so I'm looking into getting that. Any other suggestions? I would love to hear feedback from you guys.

thanks

-sz

If you think G RR Martin's books are slow moving, I think you'll feel the same about "wheel of time".

Try to avoid large series', such as any series that has more than 3 books. These long series' are for the hardcore fantasy enthusiasts, which it doesn't sound like you are.

Some people love the detail and the very intricately woven storyline but you have to really be into the story and that type of fantasy. This is very common in fantasy though as most of its readers love long stories like that. Try and find trilogies or just novels that have 1 or 2 books in them.

 

[corwin]

The Amber series by Roger Zelazny...pretty old but IMHO the best series I've ever read

 

[epidemis]

The amber series is awesome.. ly bad. Stay clear. However I'd recommend Terry goodkind's "sword of truth" series. It's cool.

 

[nageov3t]

I was kinda disappointed with thrones

 

[q011519]

I liked all of the Drizzt Forgotten Realms books - if your into Dungeons and Dragons lore.

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-2

Over the course of a few months I read/audiobook 22 of those books. After finishing the 22nd book (Ghost King) I did not like what happened and I completely lost interest in the series. The first couple of arcs were great but the series starts tapering off as it goes. I don't want to elaborate to much because I'll just being spoiling it for people who haven't/are reading the series.



I personally recommend the "Hyperion" series. I'm on book 3 and it's pretty good. Just an FYI you should consider books 1 and 2 as just one book.

 

[mesthead21]

I liked all of the Drizzt Forgotten Realms books - if your into Dungeons and Dragons lore.

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drizzt-...1622255&sr=1-2

I read these when i was younger, i thought they were awesome.

 

[Worthington]

I agree with the OP.. I'm a pretty avid fantasy reader and I did not like ASOFAI. Too many characters I didn't care about, and he kills off a lot of the ones I did.

WoT is, as people above have said great at the start and then repetitive (Sanderson seems to do well picking up with it though). If you want something less.. minute but still epic in scale try Edding's Belgariad. Easy to read but still very engaging. The original 3 Shannarah series were well done as well.

If you are looking for something a little more gritty Glen Cook's Black Company series is pretty awesome. There is always Moorcock's Elric saga if you want something classic.


Obviously, everything above is IMO.

 

[drebo]

I've always liked The Belgariad and the Mallorean series by David Eddings.

Also, the Riftwar books by Raymond E. Feist are good, though the first two books (Magician) are MUCH better than the last two (Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon).

The Sword of Shannara (the first one) was also very enjoyable. However, the second and third books (Elfstone and Wishsong) are the same story, so they were pretty boring. I haven't gotten around to reading any of the other Shannara books.

Patrick Rothfuss' book The Name of the Wind is excellent, and the second book in the series (Wise Man's Fear) is passable. I recommend reading at least the first one.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I couldn't get into the audiobook version of GOT, but that could be because the monotone delivery of the voice actor was hard to stay focused on. I would listen to chapters of the book and suddenly realize I didn't have a clue who the characters were in the current scene or what the hell was going on. Maybe I'll give the regular books a try.

I recently reread the coldfire series by Celia S. Friedman and while it isn't as good as I remembered it being as a teenager, it's still pretty good. I think I was captivated by the idea of a world imbued with a power that people could use like magic, but also had the power to give life to their nightmares without their consent. It made sense that such a world would remain at a medieval technological level indefinitely because this power could be used to do the things we do with technology and more besides, not to mention the fact that it made devices more complicated than say a bow and arrow operate unreliably. I just found the whole idea of this series fascinating and still do, even though I now realize that it isn't written as well as it could have been.

 

[Paladin]

Highly recommend anything by Feist. Start with the Magician books in Riftwar Saga. The other sagas that take place after (Serpentwar was great, as was Riftwar Legacy) are great reads too.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I was recommended the Dresden Files series, I am midway through the first, Storm Front, and liking it. It's fantasy set in modern times, main character is Harry Dresden, a wizard who helps out the Chicago PD.

 

[KaOTiK]

Black Company by Glen Cook

 

[QuantumPion]

I recommend the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (starting with Assassin's Apprentice). It's in a first-person perspective so there's no jumping around to different characters and plots all the time like GRR and WoT. It has drawn out slow parts where not much happens but a great climax.

 

[brainhulk]

the only fantasy series I've finished is the coldfire trilogy by cs friedman. it was awesome

 

[gothamhunter]

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series
Redwall series
Drangonlance series

Harry Potters make for a good quick read.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I enjoyed these:
> I've always liked The Belgariad and the Mallorean series by David Eddings.

and these:
L.E. Modesitt Jr. - The Magic of Recluce (and a bunch of others set in the same world, over many centuries)
Elizabeth Moon - The Deed of Paksenarrion

 

[bigdog1218]

I really liked Abercrombies First Law trilogy.

 

[ElFenix]

I liked all of the Drizzt Forgotten Realms books - if your into Dungeons and Dragons lore.

drizzt books are some of the worst books i've ever read. full of cliches, characters are predictable, plot lines are predictable.

95% of fantasy books are horrible and only sell because nerds buy them anyway. if you want something forgettable that you'll never have a conversation about except for with pimply grease-hairs down at the comic book store, get a d&d book.

 

[nageov3t]

drizzt books are some of the worst books i've ever read. full of cliches, characters are predictable, plot lines are predictable.

the Forgotten Realms books as a whole seem like the worst Mary Sue offenders in all of literary history.

 

[BladeVenom]

Then go with short stories, like Frits Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. Or Robert Howard's books.