looking for some recommendations...

mariebeth

Hi guys, I'm new to the world of sci fi & fantasy. Up til this summer the most fantasy I'd read was Harry Potter, Twilight & True Blood.

I got hooked on Game of Thrones after seeing the show and I read all the books over the summer. And I've just finished the Hunger Games Trilogy, which I loved.

I'd love some recommendations for more good reads, I prefer books that focus on the story and leave out the excessive descriptions that books such as LOTR have, which to be honest turned me off the genre. So a few recommendations to get started would be much appreciated

Zapp Brannigan

Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" series.

Decoda

Try Raymond E Feist?

Start with "The Magician". First sci fi / fantasy book i read as a kid :P and I have to say i've been hooked on the genre ever since.

DC

mariebeth

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll check them out

OwaynOTT

Anything by terry pratchett. Oh and wheel of time series, very little descriptive text in it.

ixoy

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Anything by terry pratchett. Oh and wheel of time series, very little descriptive text in it.

Except for Jordan's obsession with describing embroidery...

OwaynOTT

ixoy wrote: »

Except for Jordan's obsession with describing embroidery...

Essential to the plot.

..Brian..

Going from the OP, I'd suggest Trudi Canavans The Black Magician trilogy. After that I'd echo Raymond Feists Magician and subsequent Riftwar Saga. Try also David Gemmell's Legend

me-skywalker

Terry Pratchett. Read Nightwatch. Intelligent, engaging, obeservational, witty, some genuine laugh out loud moments and a backdrop of surreal mind boggling sets, characters and events.

Trojan

I'd echo "Magician" by Feist, as well as the next 4-5 books in the series if you like it.

The Farseer Trilogy (which starts with "Assassin's Apprentice") by Robin Hobb would be a very good place to start too.

"The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch could be good too, don't think it's overly prosaic, but recommend the above two before that as slightly "lighter".

Edit: and "The Name of the Wind" by Rothfuss, of course!

mariebeth

Thanks for all the great recommendations everyone. Have just started Feist's 'Magician' and I'm really enjoying it after only a chapter!

..Brian..

Feists early work is amazing. The Riftwar series and more so for me, the Serpent War saga ... fantastic reading. If your still hooked after the first few books make sure you have a go a his collaboration with Janny Wurts in the Empire Trilogy, highly recommended!

Unfortunately Feists later stuff, will let you down. It's sadly lacking compared to his earlier works. While i've still read them all and enjoyed a few of them, it seems to me his just banging out anything to meet contractual obligations with publishers and the overall caliber of his working has slipped

OwaynOTT

..Brian.. wrote: »

Feists early work is amazing. The Riftwar series and more so for me, the Serpent War saga ... fantastic reading. If your still hooked after the first few books make sure you have a go a his collaboration with Janny Wurts in the Empire Trilogy, highly recommended!

Unfortunately Feists later stuff, will let you down. It's sadly lacking compared to his earlier works. While i've still read them all and enjoyed a few of them, it seems to me his just banging out anything to meet contractual obligations with publishers and the overall caliber of his working has slipped

Is his later stuff really that bad?

I think its more a case of your age when you read Magician. Its a great book when you are starting out reading fantasy stuff but after reading GRRM, Abercrombie, Lynch and all the others, it just seems rather bland and boring.


Ive never finished the book but I did read some of his later stuff, the serpent war saga stuff I think, when I started reading fantasy stuff and I thought they were great.

I tried to read Magician this year after reading so much positive feedback about it and I couldn't finish it. The same with Dragonbone Chair.

Sarky

R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series really grabbed me, I thought it was an easy read like A Song Of Ice And Fire.

Playboy

Sarky wrote: »

R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series really grabbed me, I thought it was an easy read like A Song Of Ice And Fire.

The first part of the second triolgy is out and it was great!

ixoy

Playboy wrote: »

The first part of the second triolgy is out and it was great!

As is the second part ("The White-Luck Warrior"), which was also great.

Tym

Can't go wrong with Robbin Hobb. Personally I'd recommend The Liveship Traders trilogy. Some disturbing aspects to it though, but definetly the best fantasy the book I read.

gufnork

Mistborn trilogy. You just have to read Mistborn. I'm a couple of hundred pages into the second one and it's even better than the first.

Best fantasy author i've read, bar none.

ixoy

gufnork wrote: »

Mistborn trilogy. You just have to read Mistborn. I'm a couple of hundred pages into the second one and it's even better than the first.

Wouldn't go that far but it is very enjoyable - 10% of the way through book three, which I'm reading currently.

gufnork

ixoy wrote: »

gufnork wrote: »

Mistborn trilogy. You just have to read Mistborn. I'm a couple of hundred pages into the second one and it's even better than the first.

Wouldn't go that far but it is very enjoyable - 10% of the way through book three, which I'm reading currently.

Of course I'm biased, since I'm deeply in love with Vin(she reminds me of my wife). Hope she doesn't die in the end. Oh cr@p. I really hope she doesn't die in the end!

..Brian..

The Mistborn trilogy is excellent alright, Brandon Sanderson is a fantastic writer and his concepts are very fresh and engaging. Defo worth reading!

shockwave

Just read The Painted Man & its sequel The Desert Spear by Peter V Brett and thought they were very good and original, well worth a look.

Cant wait for the next one to come out (worst thing about new fantasy series is the wait for the next one lol)

mariebeth

Thanks for all the recommendations guys I'm on Book 3 of Feists Magician's series, although now I'm in to my final semester of uni, I might have to give up (:eek:) reading for pleasure for awhile...or at least reduce the amount that I'm doing. I don't think I can actually give up totally...I'd go insane!

astonaidan

I think the fact that no one mentioned LOTR is criminal, Ye all should be ashamed, Anyone who calls them a Fantasy fan must read this:mad:

ixoy

astonaidan wrote: »

I think the fact that no one mentioned LOTR is criminal, Ye all should be ashamed, Anyone who calls them a Fantasy fan must read this:mad:

Probably because everybody - even non-genre readers - know about this one. It was a multi-billion dollar movie franchise, one of the biggest ever, so we kind of assume people are aware of it. This thread is for those titles they mightn't know.

astonaidan

ixoy wrote: »

Probably because everybody - even non-genre readers - know about this one. It was a multi-billion dollar movie franchise, one of the biggest ever, so we kind of assume people are aware of it. This thread is for those titles they mightn't know.

Im aware of this, But op mentioned she/he read Harry Potter, Does the fact it was a movie mean we stop telling people they should read it?? Will we stop saying F&I now because its on tv? or Sword of Truth:pac:

Sleepy

And tbh, there's quite a few fantasy readers who don't rate LOTR. I find the writing ponderous and the story's just not good enough for me to trawl through chapters of singing trees...

OP, since you loved ASOIAF and are short on time, have you looked into GRRM's Dunk & Egg tales? Three novellas following Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg set in Westeros about a hundred years before the time of A Game of Thrones... They're a little light on plot compared to ASOIAF as one might expect from a novella but they paint a great picture of life in Westeros under the rule of the Targaryen's and some bits feed directly into the events of the later books (particularly Dance).

OwaynOTT

astonaidan wrote: »

Im aware of this, But op mentioned she/he read Harry Potter, Does the fact it was a movie mean we stop telling people they should read it?? Will we stop saying F&I now because its on tv? or Sword of Truth:pac:

Sword of Truth should not even be mentioned as a joke. Wizards First Rule was one of my first fantasy reads and its actually okay but the series after that is wrong on so many levels.

I remember something about a chicken...

astonaidan

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Sword of Truth should not even be mentioned as a joke. Wizards First Rule was one of my first fantasy reads and its actually okay but the series after that is wrong on so many levels.

I remember something about a chicken...

Wasnt joking about the books, I enjoyed them thought they seem to be rambling abit now, It was the tv series i was refering to

shockwave

The tv series was terrible in fairness but then again so were the books, the first couple were good but he really dragged them out and the story suffered badly.

Tym

I think Lord of the Ring's is okay. The male characters are very, very good but the female characters are pretty awful. And the plot is awesome, but there's a few things off with the pacing and various other things.

Some would argue that the problems are because the book came from a different generation, but that doesn't mean that we should ignore them and say that it has to stay the best book for all time.

Oh kind of random but I saw Neil Gamons American God's in my school Library today. Hope that means that's a book that will be studied:P

Miguel_Angel

Well, I would say that in Fantasy, you might want to read:

- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clark
It is a very good book even though you have to submerge in a world where people talk in a different way than nowadays, the writer uses a lot of archaisms in English and, for me, as Spanish, it caused some headaches , but I suppose that for you will be fine.

The book wants you to be a very active part of itself, and sometimes you will be looking for references in different books or just on Google.

So, as for Sci - Fi:

- The Old Man's War Series - John Scalzi
* Old Man's War
* The Ghost Brigades
* The Last Colony
* Zoe's Tale

Very well written, direct, explicit, a really good Space - Opera which talks about life, death, battles, fun, love, etc..
This series has some of the most important U-Turns I have seen in a Space - Opera (besides the Vorkosigan Series).

Ambience is fantastic, some theories could be true in a couple of years (whilst other are impossible) and the different races in the plot are A1.


These are my recommendations .

BlaasForRafa

Tym wrote: »

I think Lord of the Ring's is okay. The male characters are very, very good but the female characters are pretty awful. And the plot is awesome, but there's a few things off with the pacing and various other things.

Some would argue that the problems are because the book came from a different generation, but that doesn't mean that we should ignore them and say that it has to stay the best book for all time.

I find it strange that some people think that a medieval world should have the same gender equality as our modern, technological society.

If you look at actual european history from about 500ad to 1300ad which is about the same in terms of technology to what is seen in the Lord of the Rings, women are hardly mentioned at all and certainly not mentioned in any pivotal battles like Eowyn at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, in those terms, LOTR is ahead of where reality was in terms of females.

As an aside, I think the Lord of the Rings (paired with the Silmarillion) is still the best fantasy series of all time. Not only is the story great but there is a beauty in the way Tolkein uses words that I've not seen in other fantasy books since.

Sleepy

Horses for courses BlaasForRafa, I've known 15 year olds with a better command of the English language than I'd consider Tolkien to have. (Then again, I consider James Joyce's writing to be verbose drivel too and most professors of English drool over his writing).

Trankton

The best book of 2011, without a shadow of a doubt has to be Brandon Sandersons "Way of Kings" quite possibly the best book I've read, incredible.

ALso, the Malazan books by Steven Erickson and Ian C Esslemont, truly class, have read them all about 3 times and will go back and read them all again. Good thing is that at least there is closure.

The Wheel of time is alright but can be painful to read at times, I actually think they've gotten better since Sanderson took over.

James Barclay's raven series is good, an easy and enjoyable read. Also, you can't go far wrong with David Gemmil, his Troy series is pure class.

gufnork

Trankton wrote: »

The best book of 2011, without a shadow of a doubt has to be Brandon Sandersons "Way of Kings" quite possibly the best book I've read, incredible.

ALso, the Malazan books by Steven Erickson and Ian C Esslemont, truly class, have read them all about 3 times and will go back and read them all again. Good thing is that at least there is closure.

The Wheel of time is alright but can be painful to read at times, I actually think they've gotten better since Sanderson took over.

James Barclay's raven series is good, an easy and enjoyable read. Also, you can't go far wrong with David Gemmil, his Troy series is pure class.

Glad to hear that since i've "The Way of Kings" lined up after I finish "The Name of the Wind". Have read great reviews about it too. Got to the end of book 2 of Malazan before I just had to take a break. Not that I didn't enjoy them, but they really make your head hurt trying to keep track of everyone and everything. I hear the third one "Memories of Ice" is excellent, one of the best or so I read somewhere.

OwaynOTT

gufnork wrote: »

Glad to hear that since i've "The Way of Kings" lined up after I finish "The Name of the Wind". Have read great reviews about it too. Got to the end of book 2 of Malazan before I just had to take a break. Not that I didn't enjoy them, but they really make your head hurt trying to keep track of everyone and everything. I hear the third one "Memories of Ice" is excellent, one of the best or so I read somewhere.

Way of Kings = excellent
The Name of the Wind = even more excellence
Memories of Ice = again with the excellence

The only way your post could have been more full of excellence , is if you had of mentioned Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Some great books ahead of you. I'm jealous.

mariebeth

astonaidan wrote: »

I think the fact that no one mentioned LOTR is criminal, Ye all should be ashamed, Anyone who calls them a Fantasy fan must read this:mad:

OP here, and I did mention LOTR in my first post, but I mentioned it as the reason why I was turned off the fantasy genre for a long while. For me, it was one case where the movies were a lot better than the books, but that's because I found the extremely long descriptive passages to be tortuous. I prefer books that have a good strong story, with a plot that moves on at a good pace, rather than drags like LOTR did for me.

Trankton

mariebeth wrote: »

OP here, and I did mention LOTR in my first post, but I mentioned it as the reason why I was turned off the fantasy genre for a long while. For me, it was one case where the movies were a lot better than the books, but that's because I found the extremely long descriptive passages to be tortuous. I prefer books that have a good strong story, with a plot that moves on at a good pace, rather than drags like LOTR did for me.

Wll OP if you found LOTR's to have 'extremely long descriptive passages' then I'd avoid Wheel of Time at all costs, as much as I like them there is an awful lot of drivel. Also, the malazan books can hurt your brain, but I absolutely love them.

James Barclay has some really good books, The Raven series is fairly fast and furious. Also, David Gemmils books are brilliant, legend (his fist book) is non-stop.

Another brilliant trilogy is The Night Angel trilogy from Brent Weeks.

But I'm still sticking with "The Way of Kings' as the one to go for.

OwaynOTT

Don't for to wheel of time but go for way of kings. Very similiar books and Way of Kings is unlike other sanderson books. It's nearly 1000 pages.

The Dresden series by Jim Butcher is a light and easy read with some excellent action.

Lablanc

You got to read Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" series, proper grown up fantasy

me-skywalker

Sorry to jump in, I've jut started WoT myself and have seen at least 4 negative opinions about it being over descriptive drivel? Isn't fantasy suppose to have excessive descriptions of the world and characters and behaviours so you can realyl truly feel immersed and that this world actually exists?

Won't change my mind from reading it but I'm enjoying it so far. Especially the description of Thomdril Merrilin gleeman's cloak.

Zapp Brannigan

me-skywalker wrote: »

Sorry to jump in, I've jut started WoT myself and have seen at least 4 negative opinions about it being over descriptive drivel? Isn't fantasy suppose to have excessive descriptions of the world and characters and behaviours so you can realyl truly feel immersed and that this world actually exists?

Won't change my mind from reading it but I'm enjoying it so far. Especially the description of Thomdril Merrilin gleeman's cloak.

Oh it's fine at the start but in later books it just does your (well, mine) head in.

shockwave

I got to book 7of wheel of time and gave up, I found it boring, ponderous,way too long and drawn out and in dire need of a massive edit.

..Brian..

Yea general concensus is the first 6 books or so of WoT are very good but after that the pace grinds to a halt almost and it becomes a chore to read, which is a pity as its a great story. I haven't read the latest boks yet as I want them finished but I have high hopes for Sanderson rescuing the series as he's a fantastic writer. </p>
Jumping into the LOTR argument, I don't rate Tolkien as a great writer at all. He's long winded and his language is unappealing to me. He is the forefather of fantasy but there are so many more mention-worthy authors out there today that he is far over shadowed by todays talent. The Beetles may have created rock and roll but their still shyte!

gufnork

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Way of Kings = excellent
The Name of the Wind = even more excellence
Memories of Ice = again with the excellence

The only way your post could have been more full of excellence , is if you had of mentioned Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Some great books ahead of you. I'm jealous.

The Lies of Locke Lamora, damn. That's another one to add to the list then. I'm gonna have to consider taking a weeks holiday to make a dent in my to-read pile.

Hey wait now... a read-a-thon, now there's an idea

OwaynOTT

gufnork wrote: »

The Lies of Locke Lamora, damn. That's another one to add to the list then. I'm gonna have to consider taking a weeks holiday to make a dent in my to-read pile.

Hey wait now... a read-a-thon, now there's an idea

A weeks holidays might just get you through Way of Kings. To get them all done you might have to consider maternity/paternity leave.

AnCapaillMor

I want to start the way of kings but the next is not scheduled until 2013 and it's supposed to be a 10 parter. Hate having to read and wait on the next. Starting on the book 1 release of saga of the seven suns and subsequent 6 years waiting for each book nearly killed me.

hidinginthebush

I'd give Philip pulmans "dark materials" trillogy a shot OP, starting with the golden compass. Though the third book is the weakest, its still a great story and well told IMO.

I'd also recommended mistborn, it's fantastic (but I have only read the first, I heard the series goes badly downhill after that, no?).

Anything by Neil gaiman is excellent, read them all. Maybe read his collaboration with Terry Pratchett "good omens" as a light introduction to him.

I was never really amazed by Joe abercrombie, I read the first law series and it just felt like something was missing, though I don't know what. David gemell books on the other hand, are excellent, and once again easy to read and very engaging.

OwaynOTT

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

I want to start the way of kings but the next is not scheduled until 2013 and it's supposed to be a 10 parter. Hate having to read and wait on the next. Starting on the book 1 release of saga of the seven suns and subsequent 6 years waiting for each book nearly killed me.

Should also keep in mind that Sanderson has said that he will be working on other projects like his future Mistborn trilogies and that he wont be focusing on Stormlight Archive alone.
I think he said it will be a book every 2-3. So looking at 20-30 for the series to be finished :eek:
Fingers crossed I even last that long.

AnCapaillMor

Yeah its the first thing i read on the alloy of law. Very tempted to do a rip van winkle, sleep for 20 years, wake up and catch up.