Your favorite book series

[Bruin]

What are your guys favorite book series?

Myn at the moment is the Ranger Apprentince Series, I just began book three and it is really good.

(Sorry if this is a copy thread.)

A Song of Ice and Fire.

I read Ranger's Apprentice and I hated it.

Made me want to vomit generic fantasy things out of my eyeballs.

I won't berate the book any more, but what do you like about it? The one thing I did like about it was that Halt wasn't portrayed as being tall and handsome. But the rest of his character and everybody else's (except the bad guys) were pretty Mary-Sue. At least to me.

um... you sure you read it? it said Halt is short and oldish (he has a beard.)

He's not really that old and his age doesn't hamper him at all. He's the same misanthrope every author almost seems obligated to create in every fantasy universe and the author of Ranger's Apprentice almost ignores physics and reality when he made a stumpy ranger being able to take on barbarians by himself. Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

um... its fantasy for a reason... I find it stupid when people get angry for something not being realistic, so what? Does it matter? Does everything need to be realistic? If someone wrote a story that a 17 year old picked up a gun and becomea pro isntantly would that make the story bad just becuase it wasn't realistic?

It is fantasy. Hard-to-believe, non-immersive fantasy.

Part of writing fantasy is creating a world that is believable. You can use "It's Fantasy!" as an excuse, yes. It's a perfectly valid excuse. But if you can't create a world with emotion, with characters people can relate to or characters, plots and actions that are conceivable or make sense, your story will suffer for it.

That's why I didn't like Ranger's Apprentice. It's what's called "Mary Sue" writing, where the characters or plot all benefit the protagonist; generally somebody without flaws or vices who can do no wrong, or if he has, it's justifiable.

 

[HT_Black]

I'd say Pern, but that's not the case.
I'd say Harry Potter, but that is not the case either.
I'd say A Song of Fire and Ice Ice and Fire if I had read those.
I'd say Wheel of Time, but I have not read those either.
I'd say Lord of the Rings, but that simply doesn't sit well with me for some bizzare reason.
I'd say The Book I Wrote, but that's not a series.
I would not say Eragon. Ever.

I liked A Series of Unfortunate Events, though.

... Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

On a totally unrelated note, I can say, armed with with first-hand knowledge, that that is indeed very possible, and in fact probable.

 

[Bruin]

... Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

On a totally unrelated note, I can say, armed with with first-hand knowledge, that that is indeed very possible, and in fact probable.

He deliberately threw himself underneath the hooves of a destrier--horses who are trained to stomp down on enemies when they're under them and generally the nastiest horses Man has ever bred, and came out alive.

Meh. I find it hard to believe it's something that's got a high probability of survival.

 

[Korten12]

What are your guys favorite book series?

Myn at the moment is the Ranger Apprentince Series, I just began book three and it is really good.

(Sorry if this is a copy thread.)

A Song of Ice and Fire.

I read Ranger's Apprentice and I hated it.

Made me want to vomit generic fantasy things out of my eyeballs.

I won't berate the book any more, but what do you like about it? The one thing I did like about it was that Halt wasn't portrayed as being tall and handsome. But the rest of his character and everybody else's (except the bad guys) were pretty Mary-Sue. At least to me.

um... you sure you read it? it said Halt is short and oldish (he has a beard.)

He's not really that old and his age doesn't hamper him at all. He's the same misanthrope every author almost seems obligated to create in every fantasy universe and the author of Ranger's Apprentice almost ignores physics and reality when he made a stumpy ranger being able to take on barbarians by himself. Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

um... its fantasy for a reason... I find it stupid when people get angry for something not being realistic, so what? Does it matter? Does everything need to be realistic? If someone wrote a story that a 17 year old picked up a gun and becomea pro isntantly would that make the story bad just becuase it wasn't realistic?

It is fantasy. Hard-to-believe, non-immersive fantasy.

Part of writing fantasy is creating a world that is believable. You can use "It's Fantasy!" as an excuse, yes. It's a perfectly valid excuse. But if you can't create a world with emotion, with characters people can relate to or characters, plots and actions that are conceivable or make sense, your story will suffer for it.

That's why I didn't like Ranger's Apprentice. It's what's called "Mary Sue" writing, where the characters or plot all benefit the protagonist; generally somebody without flaws or vices who can do no wrong, or if he has, it's justifiable.

Did you only read the first book? From what I see you think the main character can do no wrong and he has made mistakes like everyone else.

 

[Vek]

Aubrey/Maturin Series, otherwise known as Master and Commander series.

Hitchhiker's Guide series.

The Foundation series.

Horatio Hornblower series.

 

[Amyler]

A Song of Ice and Fire.

Here it is, folks, the best that Fantasy has to offer. I've been searching for similar quality like a ravenous beast and everything else falls short.

Although it is a 'love it or hate it' affair (Mainly due to Jordan's entirely unique writing style), check out 'The Wheel of Time' by Robert Jordan. Epic is the word to describe. 13 released books (12 chronological and a prequel set 20 years before the 1st book), a 13th to be released late this year and one last title to end the series after that.

I will just say that Robert Jordan died in late 2007, after finishing work on the 11th serial. Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Trilogy) is finishing the series with the help of Jordan's widow Harriet.

Take a wild guess at my favorite. >.> I'm also a fan of the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman, the Scarecrow and Seven Ancient Wonders series by Matthew Reilly, and I'll stop myself with Derik Landy's Skulldugger Pleasant series.

 

[HT_Black]

... Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

On a totally unrelated note, I can say, armed with with first-hand knowledge, that that is indeed very possible, and in fact probable.

He deliberately threw himself underneath the hooves of a destrier--horses who are trained to stomp down on enemies when they're under them and generally the nastiest horses Man has ever bred, and came out alive.

Meh. I find it hard to believe it's something that's got a high probability of survival.

Hm. That would indeed be hazardous to one's health, and I can't say I've ever done something like that; do you think being stomped by a draft horse at age twelve is a comparable experience?

 

[The_Healer]

Dark Tower Series - Stephen King

Hugely Epic.

 

[thewhitecrow]

the first series that pops into my mind is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. it balances fantasy, mystery, horror, action, and humor in such a unique way that i'm suprised there hasnt been a movie yet.

 

[Whytewulf]

Sword of Shanarra was good. i tried ready the other two books in the main series but with little success

I just started this, hope it's good. 100 pages in.

 

[Arisato-kun]

Does manga count? Because Genshiken takes the cake for me.

http://myanimelist.net/manga/348/Genshiken

 

[Bruin]

What are your guys favorite book series?

Myn at the moment is the Ranger Apprentince Series, I just began book three and it is really good.

(Sorry if this is a copy thread.)

A Song of Ice and Fire.

I read Ranger's Apprentice and I hated it.

Made me want to vomit generic fantasy things out of my eyeballs.

I won't berate the book any more, but what do you like about it? The one thing I did like about it was that Halt wasn't portrayed as being tall and handsome. But the rest of his character and everybody else's (except the bad guys) were pretty Mary-Sue. At least to me.

um... you sure you read it? it said Halt is short and oldish (he has a beard.)

He's not really that old and his age doesn't hamper him at all. He's the same misanthrope every author almost seems obligated to create in every fantasy universe and the author of Ranger's Apprentice almost ignores physics and reality when he made a stumpy ranger being able to take on barbarians by himself. Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

um... its fantasy for a reason... I find it stupid when people get angry for something not being realistic, so what? Does it matter? Does everything need to be realistic? If someone wrote a story that a 17 year old picked up a gun and becomea pro isntantly would that make the story bad just becuase it wasn't realistic?

It is fantasy. Hard-to-believe, non-immersive fantasy.

Part of writing fantasy is creating a world that is believable. You can use "It's Fantasy!" as an excuse, yes. It's a perfectly valid excuse. But if you can't create a world with emotion, with characters people can relate to or characters, plots and actions that are conceivable or make sense, your story will suffer for it.

That's why I didn't like Ranger's Apprentice. It's what's called "Mary Sue" writing, where the characters or plot all benefit the protagonist; generally somebody without flaws or vices who can do no wrong, or if he has, it's justifiable.

Did you only read the first book? From what I see you think the main character can do no wrong and he has made mistakes like everyone else.

Stopped at around the third.

The characters don't have any flaws.

But flaws I mean, there's no drawbacks to them. A prodigal warrior who has the skill of a warrior who's been fighting all his life slays barbarians at what? Age 14?

Give me a break.

The "Ranger's Apprentice" who is a deadeye aim and stops an entire enemy invading army by himself, by way of burning a bridge.

The Ranger himself, whose only flaws are being the cool, anti-social character everybody fears.

These characters have no personality flaws. When they do things wrong, they're always things that are later compensated for. I would have liked to see the boy who threw himself under the horse just die instead of coming out alive. Make a mistake that actually matters for once.

But it's not exactly a "Mature Fantasy" read, especially for someone who's used to things like A Song of Ice and Fire, so I guess it's pointless to hammer it much more.

The only things that got me other than the Mary-Sueness of some parts (most of the parts), was the reference to the real world. Things like "secretaries" who wait outside the offices of kings, as if they're business CEOs. The numerous references to "coffee", etc. etc. I'm nitpicky and fairly pissy when it comes to immersion-ruining things, and whether they can be explained away or not doesn't make a difference to me. It still takes away from the overall quality of the book for me.

 

[Korten12]

Does manga count? Because Genshiken takes the cake for me.

http://myanimelist.net/manga/348/Genshiken

Manga should count, seeing as they are for the most part books just with pictures.

 

[Ensiferum]

For post-modern series my favorite would have to be The Legend of Drizzt (admittedly it has its downs but it has far more ups). For modern nothing can compare to Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

 

[Lord Devius]

Well, everything except The Kingkiller Chronicles. Maybe. Probably.

Damn, got ninja'd.

Though technically it's one book right now, the Kingkiller Chronicles is shaping up to be an awesome trilogy. The fact that it's the author's debut novel is awesome, too.

Check out the Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. If you like it, Day Two is coming in March 2011.

 

[Blue_vision]

Sword of Shanarra was good. i tried ready the other two books in the main series but with little success

Weird, same here. The first book was quite good, but then you get into the 2nd and 3rd books, and it made me want to tear my eyes out, sorry. I don't even know what it was but it seemed like the book was asking me to not to read it.

I don't really do book series, more individual cheesy spy thriller/Da Vinci Code clone novels. But if there's one series that I absolutely love and could read over and over again, it's the Bartimaeus trilogy. I LOVE those books!

 

[Bruin]

... Not to mention a 14 y/o boy being able to get stomped on by a horse and live.

On a totally unrelated note, I can say, armed with with first-hand knowledge, that that is indeed very possible, and in fact probable.

He deliberately threw himself underneath the hooves of a destrier--horses who are trained to stomp down on enemies when they're under them and generally the nastiest horses Man has ever bred, and came out alive.

Meh. I find it hard to believe it's something that's got a high probability of survival.

Hm. That would indeed be hazardous to one's health, and I can't say I've ever done something like that; do you think being stomped by a draft horse at age twelve is a comparable experience?

Was the draft horse in full gallop, was it trained to kill, was it being ridden by the "evilest man in the world" and was it deliberate?

 

[Composer]

growing up?
edge chronicles
it got me into steampunk sorta