OK Fantasy books.

[Shippou-Sensei]

The wheel of time is great imo but I think opinion is divided on this.

Yep

The Wheel of Time self harm thread.

why the fuck am i still reading this? i'm now onto book nine. I'm starting this thread because i didn't want to futher derail the long earth thread my feelings so far i'm still going. part of my soul died when i came up with the pithy summation of the works as "What happens when the...

www.urban75.net

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Do this.

Seconded.

I have now read all her stuff.

Her and a kindle got me through a boring holiday in Ireland.

 

[lazythursday]

I know people really rate the Malazan books but god Garden of the Moon is so heavy going. I got through it but have never been able to get far into book two... it's just too much like hard work in my opinion. Mistborn is Brandon Sanderson isn't it? I just don't rate him at all.

Thanks to whoever suggested the Farseer trilogy though - I have just finished the first book, excellent, quite happy to self isolate for months with the rest of Robin Hobb's work I think.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Right, help me out here. My choice, but which one?

Gardens of the Moon?

The Final Empire (Mistborn 1)?

I enjoyed mistborn.

 

[ChrisC]

Right, I've gone for Mistborn. I've been looking at the Goodreads website and it seems that Gardens of the Moon is quite an undertaking. Brandon Sanderson is thought to be more of a lighter read. So that's my choice.

 

[redsquirrel]

Hope Mirrlees - Lud-in-the-Mist
Barry Hughart - Bridge of Birds
First 3 Earthsea books

And Lord of Light is fucking genius

 

[ChrisC]

Brandon Sanderson: The Final Empire (Mistborn 1).

Wow!!! I'm really enjoying this. Can't put the bloody thing down. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[RhymnRzn]

there's some intriguing and pertinent concepts, and items of knowledge and awareness to be gathered from Prophet comics (and surrounding story lines) issued by Image during the early 90's. there's some pretty cool read alongs found on you tube if cant access the stack of comic books themselves.

 

[PursuedByBears]

Brandon Sanderson: The Final Empire (Mistborn 1).

Wow!!! I'm really enjoying this. Can't put the bloody thing down. Thanks for the recommendation.

I like Brandon Sanderson, he's certainly prolific so there's a lot of his stuff to read and it all ties in, look up Cosmere/17th Shard but beware spoilers....

 

[Spod]

Used to read loads of fantasy now none at all as I cant find anything original. Mostly thinly veiled LOTR rip-offs such as Wheel of Time. Last newish fantasy I read and enjoyed was Lies of Lock Lamora. And that is a fictional historical world rather than meat and potatoes fantasy. No elves or hobbitses (or rip-offs thereof)

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Used to read loads of fantasy now none at all as I cant find anything original. Mostly thinly veiled LOTR rip-offs such as Wheel of Time. Last newish fantasy I read and enjoyed was Lies of Lock Lamora. And that is a fictional historical world rather than meat and potatoes fantasy. No elves or hobbitses (or rip-offs thereof)

Robin Hobb.

I know I’m a stuck record on this, but, still...

 

[Mordi]

Robin Hobb.

I know I’m a stuck record on this, but, still...

A stuck record is still right twice a day, or something like that.

Can I ask how you've found her later work? The original Farseer sequence had a huge impact on me, I'd read far too much sub-Tolkien pulp fantasy (like Eddings' Belgariad or Fiest's Serpentwar stuff) and these books opened up whole worlds of thinking and feeling instead of just the usual maps and magic. Like you, if anyone asks about reading Fantasy those are the books I'd push. I think the Tawny Man books that continue those characters are if anything even better, but after that I've really struggled with her work. I've bounced hard off her Megan Lindholm stuff several times.

I got along alright with the Soldier's Son books, although I don't think they did anything to justify their colonial saviour plot. I think the Rainwild series (which sort of follows on from the Liveship Traders) is supposed to be more Young Adult but it is still massive, slow and deeply dull. And I finished the first book in the last Fool series and decided not to read anymore for reasons I can't entirely remember why.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

They all tie together in the end. well all the ones in the same world.

I found the soldiers son stuff to be the most out there.

 

[campanula]

Ah, I rather enjoyed a monster series by Adrian Tchaikovsky with a nifty conceit involving insect 'kinden' Starts off with Empire in Black and Gold and trundles through another 9 books. My patience with these weighty series is limited (even trilogies get on my nerves) but I sustained my interest with this lot.
I also rather love CJCherryh (apart from her rambling and dull Inheritance series-also fucking endless)...but just about anything else she has written, even some of the slightly twee stuff such as Chronicles of Morgaine is pretty OK ...plus she has written shitloads.
Another vote for Erikson but unlike Dotty, I never warmed to Esslemont.
Guy Gavriel Kay...OK.
Jacqueline Carey - a whole heap of books starting with Kushiel's Dart (mild s&m, alternate medieval Europe. Got through all of them too.
Sherry Tepper. I used to love The True Game series (but thought it was a bit dodge on a re-read), Grass still her best but quite a few of her middle range worth a look (she did eventually veer off into some dreary eco-hectoring with drivel like 'The Margarets...and I hated 'Beauty'..
Lies of Locke Lamorra - Scott Lynch. Annoying tbh. Bloody brilliant first book, 2nd slightly less so 3rd rubbish and frankly, the zillion year wait for the promised 4thn (September- scoff) can go on forever - the law of diminishing returns so be warned.
Christ, there's a lot of tosh though...to find the odd pearl

 

[Mr Retro]

Christ, there's a lot of tosh though...to find the odd pearl

Agree with this. I came on here to have a look for recommendations as good fantasy really is hard to find.

Though it's more YA I still enjoyed Jay Kristoff's Nevernight trilogy. About to start Mage's Blood by David Hair

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Joe Abercrombie.

is the correct answer. Best fantasy writer around at the moment, IMO. Massive thick books to get properly lost in, brilliant characters, and actual fun instead of pompous "look at my elegant world-building" bollocks.