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Which fantasy series to delve into next?


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With the beauty of cheap deals on the Kindle and a wealth of charity shops in town, I've got a huge backlog it would seem of fantasy novels. I'm currently finishing off the Mistborn trilogy, but whilst reading that, I've just continued to add to the different series I could potentially begin.

 

Here are my options:

 

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (have the first)

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (I have the first)

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I have all three)

The Gentleman's 'person of dubious parentage' Trilogy by Scott Lynch (I have all three)

The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Scott Erikson (I have the first five)

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (I have the first one)

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist (I have the first two)

 

Any suggestions? Realistically, I know it is all about personal preference, but just wanted to get a feel for peoples' opinions on these series.

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Of the ones I have read, I would personally recommend the Farseer trilogy over all of those. It is absolutely brilliant, as are her two subsequent trilogies.

 

Riftwar starts pretty well but the next two books aren't as good.

 

The Wheel of Time I really enjoy, but it is really long, starts to drag at some point around book 8 and I haven't finished it yet so I can't comment on whether it's all worth it! ;)

 

Malazan I started reading but had to abandon as I found it really hard going and didn't get what was going on. Mind you, I did start it at a really stupid time - when my first child was born - so I was probably too sleep deprived to appreciate it. :lol: I will have another attempt at some point.

 

The other books I haven't read, although I have heard good things about Patrick rothfuss.

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Personally, I'd forget all those (apart from Malazan) and go for Joe Abercrombie :D   But that's not what you were asking, so . . .

 

 

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (have the first) - wouldn't bother, it'll be years before it's finished (and the first book is tedious and repetitive beyond belief)

 

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (I have the first) - read the first two books, didn't like it, hated the characters, wasn't going to hang around for more especially as what Michelle says about it is a widespread criticism of it.  Plus, if you haven't got time for Malazan, this is even longer

 

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I have all three) - first two books are very good, particularly the second.  Personally I found the third a bit of a slog.  Still, worth a look.

 

The Gentleman's 'person of dubious parentage' Trilogy by Scott Lynch (I have all three) - only read the first but thought it was great

 

The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Scott Erikson (I have the first five) - think you've already answered your own question on this one.  It's my favourite series but you have to be able to give it the time and attention it needs.

 

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (I have the first one) - not read these but a reliable source (Laura!) rates it very highly

 

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist (I have the first two) - Magician is great.  I gave up halfway through Silverthorn, though.  Again, ask Laura, she knows everything :D

 

 

 

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Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind is perhaps one of the best books I've read. The second Kingkiller book, The Wise Man's Fear, isn't quite as good, but the writing is still amazing. However, it's still uncertain as to when the final book will be released, so you may want to hold of on this one for a while (unless you don't mind waiting).

 

The Farseer trilogy is, as Steve says, very good. I read all three books a few years ago and enjoyed them, but found the third one to be a bit dull. I recently re-read the first one, though, and it was far better than I remembered - I'd solidly recommend giving it a go.

 

The first two Gentlemen B*stards books are simply AWESOME. I didn't rate the third one as highly, but I'd say the series is still well worth your time.

 

As for Riftwar, I'm slowly working my way through every book in that series, many of which are re-reads. The very first book, Magician, is great, but even better is the Empire trilogy: it's set alongside the Riftwar Saga, but focuses on events on the other side of the Rift. Some of my absolute favourite books of all time.

 

And speaking of my favourite books of all time . . . they don't get any better than Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. I'm currently re-reading the sixth book in the series for the third time: they can occasionally be hard work, but they're incredibly rewarding, and the characters are amazing. This series is the most epic of epic fantasies I've ever read.

 

As for your next read, though, I'd say crack on with The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - it's great fun. :D

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I personally found Joe Abercrombie a bit of a drag... *hides* Actually i found it was a weird one, I got them all out the library, forced myself to keep at them even though I was tempted to abandon the series, sort of found them ok when I actually was reading them, but they didn't draw me back in, so I'd go days without reading, but eventually I got through them all. The final book was probably the best of the three I think.

 

Ooh, I'd forgotten about the Empire series. That was seriously one of the best series I've ever read!

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Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind is perhaps one of the best books I've read. The second Kingkiller book, The Wise Man's Fear, isn't quite as good, but the writing is still amazing. However, it's still uncertain as to when the final book will be released, so you may want to hold of on this one for a while (unless you don't mind waiting).

 

So Rothfuss claimed he had the whole trilogy written before the first book was even published, but now he's expanded the scope so much he's saying to expect the third book 'some time before 2025'  :doh:   I'm so glad I didn't start on this series and end up with another ASoI&F on my hands.  Do you think he and GRRM are related by any chance?  Or is it just a beard thing?  :giggle2:

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Here are my options:

 

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (have the first)

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (I have the first)

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I have all three)

The Gentleman's 'person of dubious parentage' Trilogy by Scott Lynch (I have all three)

The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Scott Erikson (I have the first five)

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (I have the first one)

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist (I have the first two)

 

Any suggestions? Realistically, I know it is all about personal preference, but just wanted to get a feel for peoples' opinions on these series.

My thoughts:

 

I've really liked every book I read by Brandon Sanderson. I haven't yet read The Stormlight Archive so I can't comment on this series specifically, but I love a lot of his other books.

 

The Wheel of Time is one of my favourite adult epic high fantasy series. It drags a bit in the middle, but I really enjoyed reading all the books. It is a long series, but I would recommend it.

 

I have The Farseer Trilogy on my shelf but I haven't read it yet. So I can't comment in a positive or negative way. I've heard good thigns.

 

I don't know much about The Gentleman's 'person of dubious parentage' Trilogy.

 

I have read the first book in The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Gardens of the Moon, when I was a teenager and I didn't get on with the book. I found it horribly confusing. I read it in English, and at the time I hadn't yet read many English books, so part of my not liking the book, could be due to that. I did buy other books in the series because people on this forum recommended it so much but I've been reluctant to start it again. To be honest, I don't remember much of Gardens of the Moon. I intend to re-read the book and hopefully I'll like it more.

 

I have the first two books in The Kingkiller Chronicles, but I haven't started it yet (I'm reluctant to start series that haven't finished yet). I have heard good things about this series.

 

I haven't yet started The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. I have the books, and technically seen I read the first book in the series when I was a teenager (at the time I borrowed it from the library). I hardly remember it though, so I'm not really counting it as being read.

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So Rothfuss claimed he had the whole trilogy written before the first book was even published, but now he's expanded the scope so much he's saying to expect the third book 'some time before 2025'  :doh:

 

Good to know! I keep saying The Name of the Wind around and have heard great things about it, but I think I'll hold off for now. ;)

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Hey everyone,  My favourites are: Harry Potter more than anything, dont judge me I grew up with this book and it has shaped who I am, The name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss, if course the Lord of the rings series, The last unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (yup), the Pricess Bride by S. Morgenstern, The Game of thrones series, His dark materials by Philip Pullman, the Bartimaeus Sequence, and the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I feel like I have asked this a million times before but what are your best fantasy novel recommendations given my taste? Some that are NOT only about fighting? (I am female, so I would prefer a balance of fighting, love, etc). I don't mind violence or gore, just hate when the whole story is a single big battle or if the story is so complex to begin with that you can't even bother to keep up with the names.

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  • 1 month later...

Finally cracking and going for the Malazan series by Stephen Erikson:

 

 

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

 

I love the idea of a fantasy world that's got some real world problems: inept dictatorship, domestic oppression, wasteful foreign wars. I like a world that's got a lot of parallels to the real one we live in. Plus the buzz around these is getting hard to ignore. Hope it works out for me.

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  • 6 months later...

Hey everyone,  My favourites are: Harry Potter more than anything, dont judge me I grew up with this book and it has shaped who I am, The name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss, if course the Lord of the rings series, The last unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (yup), the Pricess Bride by S. Morgenstern, The Game of thrones series, His dark materials by Philip Pullman, the Bartimaeus Sequence, and the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I feel like I have asked this a million times before but what are your best fantasy novel recommendations given my taste? Some that are NOT only about fighting? (I am female, so I would prefer a balance of fighting, love, etc). I don't mind violence or gore, just hate when the whole story is a single big battle or if the story is so complex to begin with that you can't even bother to keep up with the names.

Hi. If you like those you might enjoy Robert J Crane's books. He has three series - one modern, urban fantasy called the Girl in the Box, a more traditional fantasy series called the Sanctuary series and modern horror called the Southern Watch series.

I am not a horror fan so haven't read the Southern Watch series, but have read the other two.

For my money he is one of the best writers around. The stories and characters are interesting, with intricate plotting that isn't too heavy to get to grips with.

That combination of characters and story/plotting are what make it for me, plus there is a liberal amount of humour.

And the guy is prolific - he usually has a new book out every two-three months, which if you become a fan, still won't be quick enough!

The first book in each series is usually free if using an e-reader, so you can try them and see if they are for you.

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