›
This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.

What fantasy series should I start on next?

GreatTeacherMacRossGreatTeacherMacRoss
edited July 2012 in Everything Else
So, aside from Bakker I'm looking for a fantasy series to get involved in. I'm open to almost any suggestion. Right now I've crossed Chronicles of the Black Company off my list because I read the first book and it was terrible. I honestly don't see why so many people go bonkers over it, as it's the most cliche fantasy I've read in a very long time.

Erickson's Malazan series is on my radar, and I started reading Gardens of the Moon a while ago, but didn't finish it yet. I'm looking for something a bit less dense as well so I can listen to an audio version on trips.

Kate and I have also gone through almost every single Discworld book, so Terry Pratchett is also checked off already.

Comments

  • DevilUknowDevilUknow
    edited July 2012
    Song of Ice and Fire - I'm sure others have already stated why. Still worth reading if you've already seen the Game of Thrones series.

    King Killer Chronicles (aka Marty Stu gets it together and then, apparently, fucks it all up) - Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear are both great, with the third book rumoured to be out mid-next year. Sort of a fresh different take on the Sword and Sorcery, Harry Potter formula of "young boy is gifted, important bad things happen to him, learns magic, overcomes obstacles and tries to get the girl (but also sexomancy)".

    Wheel of Time - Not very heavy and lots of it.

    The Sword of Truth - haven't read them in ages. I remember them being pretty strong but occasionally schlocky and gross. All the depressing human degradation of a Bakker novel without the poetry.

    Lord of the Rings - just to cover all the obvious bases

    Harry Potter - never read it but people seem to like them.

    Templar Trilogy - not really fantasy but it's got swords and intrigue.

    Dream of Eagles and the spin-offs - also by Jack Whyte. Again, speculative historical fiction but really good.

    The Baroque Cycle - More historical fiction... probably won't pass the "bit less dense" test though...

    Dragonlance - lol jk
    Post edited by DevilUknow on
  • Anthony HemanAnthony Heman
    I do want to get to Name of the Wind sometime.
  • canine224canine224
    The Baroque Cycle - More historical fiction... probably won't pass the "bit less dense" criteria though...
    I second this one, although there are some parts that drag a bit.
  • AmpAmp
    edited July 2012
    I do want to get to Name of the Wind sometime.
    Its pretty good, the Mary Su-ism starts to grate after a while. The world is tight and everything fits together really well. The main character is just unrelatable.

    Post edited by Amp on
  • AmpAmp
    edited July 2012
    Alles Doof.

    Post edited by Amp on
  • okeefeokeefe
    edited July 2012
    The Baroque Cycle - More historical fiction... probably won't pass the "bit less dense" criteria though...
    I second this one, although there are some parts that drag a bit.
    I'm only through Quicksilver, but I would call the Baroque Cycle pretty dense. Having a dictionary nearby is also helpful.
    Post edited by okeefe on
  • ShiamShiam
    If you want something particularly light most of R.A. Salvatore's works are decent pulp fantasy.
    Ursula Le Guin's books are pretty great. The Earthsea series is actually fantasy, much of the rest is SciFi but still good. In particular The Left Hand of Darkness is great.
    The Myth Series by Robert Asprin is light and kinda fun.
    I can third the Baroque Cycle, in both that it's good and is slow at points.
  • canine224canine224
    edited July 2012
    The Baroque Cycle - More historical fiction... probably won't pass the "bit less dense" criteria though...
    I second this one, although there are some parts that drag a bit.
    I'm only through Quicksilver, but I would call the Baroque Cycle pretty dense. Having a dictionary nearby is also helpful.
    Haha, it is funny that you say that. The friend who I borrowed the book from handed me a dictionary with it.
    Post edited by canine224 on
  • GreatTeacherMacRossGreatTeacherMacRoss
    Alright, so far I've snagged the Earthsea audiobooks and also The Blade Itself. We'll see how those fare over the next few weeks/months.
  • RuffasRuffas
    The Baroque Cycle - More historical fiction... probably won't pass the "bit less dense" criteria though...
    I second this one, although there are some parts that drag a bit.
    I'm only through Quicksilver, but I would call the Baroque Cycle pretty dense. Having a dictionary nearby is also helpful.
    Haha, it is funny that you say that. The friend who I borrowed the book from handed me a dictionary with it.
    I also read Terry Pratchett's stuff with Google define handy because there are always a few old-timey words I don't know.

    My mom also really likes the Myth series that Shiam mentioned.
  • YoshoKatanaYoshoKatana
    I enjoyed Raymond Feist's Magician series, though I really only remember the first two books, Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master.

    There's also Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels. Not exactly traditional high fantasy, but they're very light and really hilarious.
  • JasonJason
    Feist's Riftware Saga is good reading for teenagers, including Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon, but they are very simplistic. I have them on my shelves. Also, I would not advise reading further; they get worse and worse after that.

    Better but along the same lines is David Eddings' The Belgariad.
  • jabrams007jabrams007
    edited July 2012
    Two suggestions:

    The Dark is Rising Series, by Susan Cooper, is really great even though it's technically a "teen" or "young adult" series, but in the same way that the Chronicles of Narnia is. There are 5 books in the series, but they're all generally pretty short and you can buy either a boxset or an all-in-one volume to get the whole thing.

    I know YoshoKatana already mentioned the Magician series by Raymond E. Feist, which is good, but generic fantasy, but I actually prefer the Empire Trilogy, by the same author, made up of Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire, and Mistress of the Empire which I found to be much more interesting. This trilogy, while taking place in the same universe as the Magician Series, deals much more with politics and backstabbing than your traditional heroes on a quest story. It has a great female protagonist and is basically feudal Japan in a fantasy setting with some sentient insect people thrown in for fun. Highly recommended but it won't blow your socks off intellectually the way Bakker will, it is thematically closer to George R. R. Martin in terms of following the political machinations of great houses vying for power.
    Post edited by jabrams007 on
  • AprecheApreche
    edited July 2012
    These are very popular. I have the first one, but haven't read it yet.

    The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1)
    The Wise Man's Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two (Kingkiller Chronicles)
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • GreatTeacherMacRossGreatTeacherMacRoss
    edited July 2012
    I started listening to The Blade Itself on my trip yesterday. It's pretty solid fantasy/politiking so far. Not bad at all, but time will tell if it's going to be really good.
    Post edited by GreatTeacherMacRoss on
  • AlexAlex
    Well, I'm late to the party, but here's some ones that haven't been mentioned yet anyway:

    Things by Kate Elliott:
    The Crown of Stars series, beginning with King's Dragon, is quite good but might be on the heavy side. It's seven books, full of medieval church politics, magic, and Vikings. I should emphasize that I mean actually, historically researched, medieval, not Tolkienesque or generic-fantasy faux medieval.

    The (ongoing) Spiritwalker trilogy, beginning with Cold Magic is also good, and somewhat quicker/lighter. It's something of a fantasy alternate history, with an extended Ice Age, Phoenician spies, some "steampunk" elements, and dinosaur lawyers. (It's hard to describe this series in a way that isn't a listing of apparently random elements, but trust me, it works.)

    I'm currently working on Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy - the first book and a half, at least, are solid. He likes his magic systems, and follows through properly on all the implications thereof.

  • ChurbaChurba
    I've been reading Michael A Stackpole's Talion: Revenant. It's honestly quite good, astoundingly so, considering it was his first novel.
Sign In or Register to comment.