recommended fantasy books?

If you haven't read The Chronicles of Amber (sometimes The Amber Chronicles, my copy says 'The Complete Amber Chronicles' on it but that's because it's 10 books in one) by Roger Zelazny...go read it now. It's a 10 book series which comprises of two 5-book series and it's the most amazing thing I've ever read. Addictive, funny, fantasy, amazing character development, very surprising, everything anyone could ever ask for in a fantasy series. Or a book in general.

They're extremely hard to find, however, and though I'm under the impression that they just reprinted them, before that they had been out of print for a long time. I don't even see the reprint very often--I think whoever told me this was wrong.

Aside from that, I'll agree with Gringoire that you should read The Princess Bride. It's very funny, and if you've seen the movie (and liked it), you'll like the book.

Oh yeah I have to agree with malkatoj, The Amber series in amazing. I've never read anything quite like it. Very original. Though to be honest the first "set" (the first five books) are probably slightly better than the second five, though I did love them all.

Amber is one headtrip I'll gladly third.

Another good series is The Old Kingdom, by Garth Nix
you can find out more at the website
http://www.garthnix.co.uk/oldkingdom/default.asp

I also included the discription from the wesite below.

Sabriel is the daughter of the Mage Abhorsen. Ever since she was a tiny child, she has lived outside the Wall of the Old Kingdom - far away from the uncontrolled power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father is missing and Sabriel is called upon to cross back into that world to find him. Leaving the safety of the school she has known as home, Sabriel embarks upon a quest fraught with supernatural dangers, with companions she is unsure of - for nothing is as it seems within the boundary of the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life, and comes face to face with her hidden destiny...

SABRIEL is the first book in a breathtaking new trilogy by Garth Nix.

Now that we have six pages of ideas I'll add one more trilogy anyway because it anamours me right now. I'm currently briefly obsessed with C. S. Lewis and his space trilogy is outragiously fantastic. I adore his clever syntax and style ... but (I'm on the third) the plot just picked up and I can't let go of the book. The first one is called "Out of the Silent PLanet" second is "Pareladra" third is "That Hideous Strength"

Weeeeeeeee

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Originally Posted by avidreader24

I recomend the BARTMAEUS TRILOGY, by johnothan stroud. realy realy goooood :nod:

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ah, yes. i've read it, actually. it's tedious at times, but overall pretty good. the first book is the best. :D

in the period that i was absent from this board, i've also (finally) read the following:
- chronicles of narnia by c. s. lewis -- not too good, imo. the writing style sucks, and the characters are pretty two-dimensional. i'm almost sure it's popular only for the same reason harry potter is popular today.
- the princess bride by william goldman -- it's the kind of story i would write (stupid and all), but it's not well-written. goldman is not a born writer. i like the movie better.

i've been hearing things about george r. r. martin, so i think i'll give him a shot. garth nix, too. (i tend to avoid prolific writers, but hey, it's summer. what the hell.)

I am a great fantasy fan and I agree with underground that the Chronicles of Narnia wasn't that well written. But the story behind it is great.
One of my favourite trilogies is The Kingdom of Thorns and Bones (I think that's what it's called) by Greg Keyes. I also love anything by Lloyd Alexander and some of his stories are more for children (but older people can enjoy them too).
Thank you for starting this thread. It has been vey helpful in expanding my reading list for the summer.

David Eddings novels

Mary Stewart wrote several fantasy themed novels. I have read and enjoyed her version of Arthurian legend.

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The Merlin Trilogy is Mary Stewart's take on the Arthurian legend in three books: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. These books have Merlin, Arthur's wizard mentor, as their focal point.

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The final book in that series (written several years after the Last Enchantment) was called The Wicked Day, featuring a confrontation between Arthur and his son, Mordred.

I know this thread was started some time ago, but I read through and noticed someone mentioning that they did not wish to read stories containing swearing or sexual situations. I read the trilogy as a kid of 8 or 9 (and re-read them as an adult). They contain no vulgar language and sex is touched on very very briefly and not explicitly at all. Some violence, of course, I mean the story is set in the Middle Ages. :)

My favorite fantasy books are The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia. I love most of Robin McKinley's books, such as Spindle's End, Beauty, Rose Daughter, and The Blue Sword. Spindle's End is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty; Rose Daughter and Beauty are retellings of Beauty and the Beast.

Malkatoj said:

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Aside from that, I'll agree with Gringoire that you should read The Princess Bride. It's very funny, and if you've seen the movie (and liked it), you'll like the book.

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I can't echo that enough! The Princess Bride is incredibly witty, humorous, deep, and exciting. I love the movies, but that is a book that, without a doubt, is as purely entertaining as the film! (however it is not without other merits...it is not just mindless entertainment by any means)

IrishCanadian said:

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. I'm currently briefly obsessed with C. S. Lewis and his space trilogy is outragiously fantastic.

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Ooh, I love those! Extremely well written, as you said, but so creative and allegorical as well. I love metaphors and allegories in fantasy, and Mr. lewis is particularly adept at portraying deeper meaning in his work.

ElizabethBennet said:

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I am a great fantasy fan and I agree with underground that the Chronicles of Narnia wasn't that well written. But the story behind it is great.

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I'll have to differ on that one...thought at times the Chronicles of Narnia does not seem well written, remember that they were directed toward a young audience. They are delightful for older people to read as well, especially when you see the powerful allegory in it. C.S.Lewis intended the books to be an allegory of the Bible: the death of Jesus and his resurrection, and then finally the end times in The Last Battle. Anyone who has read his other books is aware that he is very capable of a captivating writing style. However, TCON was for a different purpose.

Roger Zelazny's "Amber" is a 10-book series with interesting, quirky characters. And it has a great concept: that there are multiple "shadow" universes (of which our own is one) that emanate in concentric circles from the one, pivotal, "true" universe where magic reigns. In Amber, members of the royal family take part in all sorts of court intrigue. And they travel through the various universes, often meeting alternate versions of themselves. I also recall a magic pack of cards that was used, each one featuring the face of a different prince or princess. Has been years since I read this series, but it left an indelible impression.

If you like classic fantasy you might want to try "She" by H. Rider Haggard. This is a great adventure story about Queen Ayesha, "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed," who lives in seclusion in her secret, "lost" jungle kingdom. There's a sacred flame that keeps her from aging, which apparently works better than botox! And apparently she has been waiting, literally for thousands of years, for the reincarnation and return of her one true love---whom she murdered, aeons ago! Yada, yada, yada. But it's a good read.

And how about Anne Rice's vampire novels? Admittedly some of them are better than others, but they're all entertaining. I would recommend the original trilogy: Interview With the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and Queen of the Damned. Subsequent sequels, IMO, don't measure up in quality to those earlier ones. But the first trilogy is eerie, strange and (to say the least) thought-provoking. As vampires go, Lestat is an amusing bad boy , the "brat prince" of his species. Somber, introspective Louis may be less dramatic...but even at his worst, Louis will hold your attention too. Between the two of them, these vampire narrators will take you to hell and back!

Mention has been made of Stephen R. Donaldson. I didn't much like his stuff. I tried to get into "Thomas Covcenant" but found these books hard to read. Altogether too dreary. And, as Admin says, the characters are way too one-dimensional.

I'll give a vote for Eddings. The Belgariad and Mallorean aren't the best written books ever, the characters are sometimes a bit one dimensional, but I like them enough to make up for that.

Dragonlance is also good, but I still feel they peaked at the Legends trilogy, with very few real gems after that. They got it back pretty well for the Chaos War series and the War of Souls, I think.

Of this vein of fantasy, my all out, by far favorite is Sara Douglass' Wayfarer Redemption series. It's a little more dark and dirty than most of this style, but I love the push/pull of that. The bad guys do some benevolent things and the good guys do some evil things at times, it really fills in the emotional link with the people in the story in a way that "good over here, evil over here" type characters can't do. I like them so much, I even tell most girls that I date "if we have a daughter, we're naming her Azhure. End of discussion." :D

You should check out "The Imagicators" by Brad Marshland. It's a great new fantasy that just came out.

Now, I'm a big fan of fantasy, but one thing that bugs me about so much of the genre is that all-too-often you have to be born with magic blood. In The Imagicators, all you need is a good imagination, because the power of magic comes from the power of imagination. In fact, the whole world where most of the story takes place was created years ago by a girl from our world who had nothing to do besides imagine it in such detail that it came into being.

I heard Eddings was excellent but I'm about to find out myself. Pawn of prophecy is next on my fantasy to read list. Martin's A Game of Thrones was pretty good. As far as most talented fantasy writer goes I'd have to say Gene Wolfe. Salvatore is the best writer of fantasy action scenes (magic and sword combat and such) in my opinion.

I've just finished a trilogy by John Marco, and I think it was pretty good. The trilogy doesn't have a name, but it starts off with "The Eyes of God", then continues in "The Devil's Armor", and "The Sword of Angels."

I admit though, it did get kinda slow at some points, but I liked the detail he put into it. The characters have to go through the burden of making choices, and everyone knows how terrible that can be. It makes for a really good read.