great fantasy novels

[matt]

can anyone recommend some really good fantasy books?

i'm having a bit of a renaissance with this genre at the moment after not reading any for years (mainly due to the dearth of quality and abundance of formulaic trash that cluttered up the shelves of the sci-fi/fantasy section of the book shops)

i'm currently reading the following excellent series:

a song of ice & fire - george martin - dark and gripping with more twists than m night shyamalan's entire career (up to a feast of crows at the moment)

the malazan book of the fallen series - steven erikson - epic, complex, and startingly original and thoroughly enjoyable (only read the first two books so far)

so any others i should be adding to my library reservations list?

[mmm skyscraper]

I really like the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It's a retelling of the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. If you don't really like history, don't let the Napoleon stuff throw you off, you could easily change the names of the countries and it wouldn't make much of a difference.

In the UK the first book is called Temeraire; in the US it's called His Majesty's Dragon.

And hopefully the next Martin book will come out soon (fingers crossed).

If you want really tedious fantasy, try Terry Goodkind. I really didn't like it, but it does have fantasy in it.

[the mongoose]

the Great and Secret Show - Clive Barker
the Talisman - Peter Straub and Steven King
the Dark Tower - Steven King
the Neverending Story - Michael Ende (RIP)
:cool:

[Aaron Contreras]

You're already reading the two best big series. Most genre work is crap.
You probably already know these, but you'd probably enjoy:
Glen Cook - Black Company series
Steven Brust - Vlad Taltos series
Zelazny - Amber series

[adam]

Best I ever read was The Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay. Two book series called Sailing to Sarantium and The Lord of Emperors.

Extraordinary books. I re-read them every few years.

They're a fantastic re-imagining of history; the story of a mosaicist in what would have been the tail end of the roman empire around the time that the portrayal of god becomes outlawed. There are moments in those books that give me goose bumps simply recollecting them.

His trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry, is more typical fantasy fare, and it's also extremely good.

[GforGroove]

so any others i should be adding to my library reservations list?

"Hard Boiled Wonderland and the end of the world" by Haruki Murakami.

[mmm skyscraper]

Robin Hobb - Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy

[Sarcasmo]

Martin is genius with what he's doing with his world.

I'm addicted to everything Discworld, too. It's fantasy/humor/fable/satire, and it's absolutely brilliant.

[matt]

Robin Hobb - Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogyfunnily enough i've just finished the farseer trilogy

*SPOILERS*

whilst i really enjoyed the series i was a bit disappointed with the final book as i was expecting some cataclysmic confrontation with the red ships (& also regal) and finding out more about the mysterious white ships & the forging process but felt it kind of left all that till the final chapter and then rushed it. still, looking forward to reading the other two series set in the same world

(edited by stimpee for spoilers - highlight to see: tip -> use COLOR=#C8B090 tag to match background)

[winjer]

Best I ever read was The Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay. Two book series called Sailing to Sarantium and The Lord of Emperors.

Extraordinary books. I re-read them every few years.

They're a fantastic re-imagining of history; the story of a mosaicist in what would have been the tail end of the roman empire around the time that the portrayal of god becomes outlawed. There are moments in those books that give me goose bumps simply recollecting them.

His trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry, is more typical fantasy fare, and it's also extremely good.


Gotta second this reccomendation, though I definatley prefer the Fionovar Tapestry over the Sarantine Mosaic. Kay helped edit the Simarillion, and Tolkien's influence is pretty evident...

Not a big fantasy fan, but definatley love the Kay.

[Tom]

Halfway through A Clash of Kings, superb read so far.

[adam]

I could argue why I think The Sarantine Mosaic is better than The Fionavar Tapestry but, really, I'd be pretty happy if we got anyone to read either of them.

[luke]

I Lyk To Reed Ur Bookz Adem

Started 'A Game of Thrones' last night. Starting off really well.

[Sarcasmo]

The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is far and away my favorite fantasy setting. It's incredibly in depth and well written, and it's not written for the kiddies.

[Aaron Contreras]

I enjoyed Guy Gavriel Kay years ago but now he just comes off as kind've pretentious. I ZzzzzZzz'ed out during the first Sarantine book...might reread shortly.

George R.R. Martin delivers the goods like no other.

If you've read everything in fantasy I'd suggest Steven Erikson. Huge books, decent quality and he riffs off every cliche in the series. Erikson was also an archaeologist and he really leverages his background to the benefit of the series.

[adam]

Yeah, Aaron, I thought his last book was kind of pointless, myself. But you should give Sarantine another go...there's one chapter in the second one that's worth it.