Suggestions are open.

[sHaRp12]

Hello, Im looking for a good fantasy book to read.

Harry Potter and Lord of the rings are not an option. I was thinking of reading the narnia series but I heard Its a little easy to read and more of a kids book. If I am wrong please tell me because Im desperate for a good fantasy story.

Bring on the recommendations.

[cuppajoe_9]

The Narnia stories are indeed very easy to read, and are introduced by author as children's books, but are open to far deeper interpretation.

The Lord of the Rings is the world's best selling fiction book, so that's always a good bet.

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trillogy is very good up until the last page of the last book, and draws in all sorts of contemporary religious debate and quantam theory and suchlike. Good if you want somthing a bit newer.

Hope that helps.

[sHaRp12]

Thank you for your suggestion but Im not interested on Lord of the rings because Ive heard Tolkien's writing is a bit wordy and cumbersome.

Ive never heard of that trilogy you mentioned whats it about? Please comment without revealing too much for I dont want the book to be ruined if I decide to read it.

[cuppajoe_9]

I found Lord of the Rings very easy to read, it just took a long time.

As to His Dark Materials

The first book, The Golden Compass takes place mostly in an alternate reality where the Catholic church is all-powerful and everybody has a visible animal spirit called a daemon (pronounced like demon) which cannot get very far from them withoout intense discomfort for both of them. The main character is a young girl whose name escapes me at the moment. She spends most of the book uncovering a giant papal conspiricy. The daemons are the most interesting part of the book and Pullman does a really good job of describing the social customs associated with them.

That's about all I can tell you without ruining somthing, aside from the fact that Pullman is a radical atheist, and the books almost certainly would've gotten him thrown into jail not too many decades ago.

[Charles Darnay]

The discworld series (that last time I checked the book club is doing for June), although I have never read it sounds interesting.

Narnia is indeed an interesting read, but I highly reccomend any fantasy fan - or reader in general - to read it; you won't regret it.

[Idril]

The discworld series (that last time I checked the book club is doing for June), although I have never read it sounds interesting.


Discworld is an a very good option. They are quick, fun reads and there's like 30 of them so they'll keep you busy for awhile. Neil Gaiman is another great fantasy author, Neverwhere is my favorite of his books and speaking of Discworld, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, the author of the Discworld books, wrote a book together called Good Omens and it is a most excellent book, I highly recommend it...Douglas Adams is good one to try as well, there's the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series but he also wrote a couple novels about Dirk Gentley, a holistic detective, the best by far being The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, that last one being the reason why I have developed such a crush on Thor the thunder god. :D

[Shannanigan]

The Narnia series, though written to be understandable and readable to children, is a fantasy must-read in my personal opinion....you definitely will not regret it if you decide to read it.

I would suggest Robert Jordan, but I've been trying to read his book "The Eye of the World" for almost a year now...it's a really great story so far and I love the characters, but I just can't seem to stick with it whether it be due to the length or the wordy style...

I really really enjoyed (and still am enjoying) Christopher Paolini's "Eragon" series, first book called Eragon, second called Eldest. Great dragon stories, and I'm impatiently waiting for the third and final book to come out.

[britomart]

I'm biased as a local to the setting of the book, but Clive Barker's "Weaveworld" is a very strange thing indeed.

[EAP]

What type of book do you want? standalone? series? are you okay with open depiction of sex, violence and gore? are you willing to invest yourself in an incomplete series? magic heavy? Epic Fantasy? urban setting? character-based or not? is there a page limit? book limit? any fantasy books you have enjoyed previously?

If you can answer some of these questions then I am sure you'll be able to get recommendations better suited to your taste. My standard recommendation is A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. It's a work in progress and might not work well if you have any hang-up's about mature themes in literature.


Oh, and stay away from Narnia and Paolini.

[Chris Weimer]

The Dragonlance chronicles were excellent, in my opinion, if at times a bit simple. I recommend this set from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786926813/neonostalgia-20/002-3967817-8592057) - a very good deal. If you buy that, you only have a couple more dollars to go before getting free shipping as well. And there's a whole series of books to choose from. I'm not a very big fan of most popular literature, but Weiss and Hickman do work magic for me. (pun intended?)

[sHaRp12]

Thank you for your suggestions. Im currently looking into all of them. See which one I would enjoy the most.

As to that question Im looking for a fantasy book with a fictional world and mainly fictional characters like the lord of the rings or Harry Potter except Im looking for something different than those titles.

[EAP]

Juliet Marillier - Sevenwater Trilogy

Jaqueline Carey - Kushiel Trilogy

Glen Cook - Chronicles of the Black Company

Guy Gavriel Kay - Lions of Al-Rassan, Tigana, The Finovar Tapestry, The Last Light of the Sun, The Sarantine Mosiac

Ian R. MacLeod - The Light Ages

Mark Helprin - Winter's Tale

Diana Gabaldon - Outlander Chronicles

James Alan Gardener - Fire and Dust

Simon R. Green - Tales from the Nightside

Robin Hobb - The Farseer Trilogy

Lisa Tuttle & George R. R. Martin - Windhaven

Kim Wilkins - The Autumn Castle

Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time

[sHaRp12]

Have you rad all of those EAP? Which do you think is best.

[EAP]

Yes, I don't recommend a book/series I haven't read myself.

The four best books on the list are Tigana, Lions of Al-Rassan, Winter's Tale and The Light Ages.