Recommend me some fantasy novels!
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Well, I really enjoyed the Deltora Quest series (actually, all three of the Deltora series) even though I read them well past their age limits. You might also enjoy The Sea of Trolls, another that I read way later than what was recommended on the cover. Honestly, I never pay too much attention to those though, especially not with fantasy books, since the entire point of those is to feed your inner child, right?
The Gomenghast Trilogy by Mervin Peake (Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus alone). Yes, it's about as far removed from 'conventional fantasy' as you can get; yes, Peake's writing style can be a little heavy-going, but still I would definitely put this on a must-read list. There's not any high adventure or world-saving involved, but it's an involving drama with some extremely well-realised characters and a fair dash of dark humour.
It may not have had the level of influence as it's contemporary, Lord of the Rings, but still it's definitely a work that anyone interested in the genre should read.
It may not have had the level of influence as it's contemporary, Lord of the Rings, but still it's definitely a work that anyone interested in the genre should read.
I'm going to recommend what I always recommend when people ask for good fantasy novels: The Deathgate Cycle, by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. They are quite possibly my favorite books of all time (nothing has so far toppled them from that lofty podium, but as a man of science I can't rule out the possibility that such books exist out there, somewhere).
There are two parts to the series, the initial 4 book cycle and 3 closing novels.
There are two parts to the series, the initial 4 book cycle and 3 closing novels.
Yeah, the Farseer Trilogy is pretty good. Shame the sequel trilogy doesn't really live-up to them (I gave-up on it on the second book, after it became obvious the Fritz had somehow failed to develop in any significant way at all in the 15-or-so years since the end of Farseer). Still wasn't as agonisingly unenjoyable as the Soldier Son but the less said about that the better.AboveUp said:
Ahhhh, Gormenghast. I've got a bit of a history with this series. Tried to get through it about 5 times before I actually managed it. I'll admit I didn't particularly enjoy them, as you say they're quite heavy going. The writing style wasn't really up my street, which is why it took so long to read them all. I do still recognise it for being a fantastic piece of literature though. Personal taste aside, there's no way round that.MetricFurlong said:
I can easily suggest the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud. It's just and excellent book trilogy, it has so much detail and little nods to other things (like Aladdin, but it does make sense, not that it's just a nod to something else). Believe me, it's probably some of the best books I have read to date. Note that the cover doesn't make it look that good, just ignore it and read the book! This one really surprised me. I do not want to give much of the plot, let's just say it's like a mix between Harry Potter and Hellboy. And no, it's doesn't contain any wands, Hogwarts, or anything that you didn't like about Harry Potter. Say it has the best moments of those series I mentioned. Curiously enough, Deathly Hallows reminded me somewhat of Bartimaeus, simply because it went somewhat to politics and it was somewhat dark.Rusty Bucket said:
Anyway, I suggest getting these books NOW! If you want me to elaborate a little bit more, you can PM, but I also think there is a fragment of the first 1 or 2 chapters on Jonathan Stroud's website, or was it the Bartimaeus Trilogy official site? Anyway, read them, you WILL enjoy them.
Another book that I suggest is Nothern Lights (a.k.a. Golden Compass), the first book on it's Dark Materials trilogy. The other books aren't that good. Anyway, it isn't like the film, if you saw it, it has more depth to it, and if you haven't seen the film, good for you.
I think those are all my suggestions for now, but I cannot remember more books to suggest.
Seconded, the Bartumaeus trilogy is one of my favorite books ever. Loved the universe it painted.Khaiseri said:
And here is the start of the first book.
The temperature of the room dropped fast. Ice formed on the curtains and crusted thickly around the lights in the ceiling. The glowing filaments in each bulb shrank and dimmed, while the candles that sprang from every available surface like a colony of toadstools had their wicks snuffed out. The darkened room filled with a yellow, choking cloud of brimstone, in which indistinct black shadows writhed and roiled. From far away came the sound of many voices screaming. Pressure was suddenly applied to the door that led to the landing. It bulged inward, the timbers groaning. Footsteps from invisible feet came pattering across the floorboards and invisible mouths whispered wicked things from behind the bed and under the desk.
The sulfur cloud contracted into a thick column of smoke that vomited forth thin tendrils; they licked the air like tongues before withdrawing. The column hung above the middle of the pentacle, bubbling ever upward against the ceiling like the cloud of an erupting volcano. There was a barely perceptible pause. Then two yellow staring eyes materialized in the heart of the smoke.
Hey, it was his first time. I wanted to scare him.
And I did, too. The dark-haired boy stood in a pentacle of his own, smaller, filled with different runes, three feet away from the main one. He was pale as a corpse, shaking like a dead leaf in a high wind. His teeth rattled in his shivering jaw. Beads of sweat dripped from his brow, turning to ice as they fell through the air. They tinkled with the sound of hailstones on the floor.
All well and good, but so what? I mean, he looked about twelve years old. Wide-eyed, hollow-cheeked. There?s not that much satisfaction to be had from scaring the pants off a scrawny kid.
So I floated and waited, hoping he wasn?t going to take too long to get round to the dismissing spell. To keep myself occupied, I made blue flames lick up around the inner edges of the pentacle, as if they were seeking a way to get out and nab him. All hokum, of course. I?d already checked and the seal was drawn well enough. No spelling mistakes anywhere, unfortunately.
At last it looked as if the urchin was plucking up the courage to speak. I guessed this by a stammering about his lips that didn?t seem to be induced by pure fear alone. I let the blue fire die away, to be replaced by a foul smell.
The kid spoke. Very squeakily.
?I charge you . . . to . . . to . . .? Get on with it! ?T-t-tell me your n-name.?
That?s usually how they start, the young ones. Meaningless waffle. He knew, and I knew that he knew, my name already; otherwise how could he have summoned me in the first place? You need the right words, the right actions, and most of all the right name. I mean, it?s not like hailing a cab?you don?t get just anybody when you call.
I chose a rich, deep, dark chocolaty sort of voice, the kind that resounds from everywhere and nowhere and makes the hairs stand up on the back of inexperienced necks.
?Bartimaeus.?
The sulfur cloud contracted into a thick column of smoke that vomited forth thin tendrils; they licked the air like tongues before withdrawing. The column hung above the middle of the pentacle, bubbling ever upward against the ceiling like the cloud of an erupting volcano. There was a barely perceptible pause. Then two yellow staring eyes materialized in the heart of the smoke.
Hey, it was his first time. I wanted to scare him.
And I did, too. The dark-haired boy stood in a pentacle of his own, smaller, filled with different runes, three feet away from the main one. He was pale as a corpse, shaking like a dead leaf in a high wind. His teeth rattled in his shivering jaw. Beads of sweat dripped from his brow, turning to ice as they fell through the air. They tinkled with the sound of hailstones on the floor.
All well and good, but so what? I mean, he looked about twelve years old. Wide-eyed, hollow-cheeked. There?s not that much satisfaction to be had from scaring the pants off a scrawny kid.
So I floated and waited, hoping he wasn?t going to take too long to get round to the dismissing spell. To keep myself occupied, I made blue flames lick up around the inner edges of the pentacle, as if they were seeking a way to get out and nab him. All hokum, of course. I?d already checked and the seal was drawn well enough. No spelling mistakes anywhere, unfortunately.
At last it looked as if the urchin was plucking up the courage to speak. I guessed this by a stammering about his lips that didn?t seem to be induced by pure fear alone. I let the blue fire die away, to be replaced by a foul smell.
The kid spoke. Very squeakily.
?I charge you . . . to . . . to . . .? Get on with it! ?T-t-tell me your n-name.?
That?s usually how they start, the young ones. Meaningless waffle. He knew, and I knew that he knew, my name already; otherwise how could he have summoned me in the first place? You need the right words, the right actions, and most of all the right name. I mean, it?s not like hailing a cab?you don?t get just anybody when you call.
I chose a rich, deep, dark chocolaty sort of voice, the kind that resounds from everywhere and nowhere and makes the hairs stand up on the back of inexperienced necks.
?Bartimaeus.?
Rusty Bucket said:
C.s. lewis, the chronicles of narnia seven book series.
harry potter too... fucking convoluted towards the end.
[sub] fucking narnia films, skipping 1 & 3 [/sub]
YES!!Aby_Z said:
Glen Cook is one of the most underrated Sci-Fi/Fantasy authors out there, and the Black Company books are some of his best. I personally think that the first three plus The Silver Spike are the best of this series. They are definitely a MUST READ.
Check out Ed Greenwood's Elminster series, R.A Salvatore's Drizzt books and the branches out of them.
I absolutely adore that series, and I don't think I've met anyone else who has also read it, sooooo OP read The Night Angel Trilogy!Serioli said:
Plus I would recommend the series by Trudy Canavan for a slightly more magically focussed fantasy. Still awesome, but there is alot more emphasis on particular people, and it's less harsh. She's written The Black Magician Trilogy, The Age of The Five, another book for the Black Magician universe, and the first book in another series is coming out soon where I am
Oh, and EDIT: yes, The Night Angel Trilogy is probably alot more graphic with violence and things that some other books, but I didn't notice it really. It really just is an amazing trio of books, even if it's more "adult" or whatever.
I've only read the Wolfblade ones, none of my local bookshops carry any of the others. The level of characterization makes it really difficult to re-read. Particularly the Makhas, Leila, Starros situation and Eleazar bit.Antjenks said: