bethany725 Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Hi guys! Surprised to see me here in this section?? So I have a friend who need some author suggestions, so she asked me.. but her favorite books are all books that don't really intersect with the genres I read the most, so I come to you humbly! Lords of the Rings is her favorite.. and she loved Chronicles of Narnia. She tried Harry Potter books and thought they were okay, but a TOUCH too child-like for her taste. If anyone can think of any authors/books that are sort in this escapism/fantasy realm that could be good for her, it'd be so helpful if you'd reply and give me a few suggestions for her. Thanks so much, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Eragon by Christopher Paolini certainly pays a lot of respect and owes much to Tolkien's fantasy world A very well written and fluid fantasy tale which expands into a series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Doubtless more will spring to mind after I post this; for the time being, may I recommend: - Keith Miller, The Book of Flying, about a gentle librarian of books only he reads on a quest for wings to win the heart of a winged girl, is quite simply the most stunningly written fantasy book I've ever read. - Neil Gaiman, Stardust, is about a young man who crosses the wall into Faerie to catch a falling star for his beloved, and finds more than he bargained for. Short, sweet, magical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Univerze Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Eragon by Christopher Paolini certainly pays a lot of respect and owes much to Tolkien's fantasy world A very well written and fluid fantasy tale which expands into a series. And if someone thinks HP is too child-like, Eragon isn't? Sorry, but I hated Eragon, is like a nice idea, but just not good enough. I recommend Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time series, a loooong series of big books (always good for escapism), that is set in a sort of medieval world, and deals with magic and creatures like in Tolkien's works. There's the Bitterbynde Trilogy, by Cecilia Dart-Thornton. I have only read the first two, but they're enjoyable books. The Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin always reminded me of Lord of the Rings, particularly in a way where, it was hard for me to read Lord of the Rings, and I never really got through these books either, but I have heard people love them. Katherine Kerr is a writer your friend might also want to look into, she has several series of fantasy books, celtic based mostly, this series involves a lot of flashbacks to previous lives/incarnations of the lead-persons, so if that's your thing, they're great series. Actually, there are a lot of fantasy series that in a way, resemble Lord of the Rings, mostly in plot. You know, ancient evil reawakens, a group of people from different races has to work together to save the world, undertaking some sort of queste. Check this page out, wikipedia always helps me lots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fantasy_novels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 The Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin always reminded me of Lord of the Rings, particularly in a way where, it was hard for me to read Lord of the Rings, and I never really got through these books either, but I have heard people love them.I for instance loved both LOTR and the Earthsea Quartet (Le Guin is a brilliant writer); if your friend liked one she's bound to like the other. Note: the other two I suggested aren't 'similar' to Tolkien as such, but then IMHO neither is Earthsea - they're just really, really good fantasy books which there's no reason a fantasy fan shouldn't enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Univerze Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 ^I still plan to re-read both LotR (since I only got through the first book) and Earthsea, since both have been years and years ago and my reading skills and taste have changed. And the suggestions I made too, aren't particularly too much like Tolkien, just epic fantasy like Tolkien.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I've not read them myself, but I know several people who like Tolkien who also like the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Thank you so much for all of your help! I'm going to copy this thread and send it over to her... I'm sure she'll find something good in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi Bethany. Sorry for coming to this thread so late Your friend won't find much in the way of similar to JRRT, he is of course one of a kind. His style and development as a writer is/was (not sure how to tense this ) rather unique. If your friend has an express interest in Tolkien, she could try The Silmarillion by JRRT, or the Unfinished Tales, or The Children of Hurin. Aside from Tolkien, I second Raven's suggestion of Shannara. Terry Brooks' series are as close to the style and development of Tolkien one can find. Other good fantasy reads are Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and JV Jones Book of Words series. For something more controversial, she could try Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. Although I would have to emphasise these aren't light reads, but rather graphic with some extremely violent and adult imagery. Jordan has already been suggested, and although quite good, there are others I would recommend first, on the basis that Jordan had a tendency to drag things out a little, which can detract from the reading experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 Thanks for the response, Vanwa! No worries.. you're not 'late' at all -- I can send over any suggestions to her as I get them. I'll be fwd'g yours over to her soon -- I appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 No problem, glad to help. Hope she finds something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Another vote for Neil Gaiman ... his writing is brilliant, also Joe Abercrombie's 'First Law trilogy' ... absolutely excellent (though they are a bit gory and graphic in places). Jonathan Stroud's 'Bartimaeous' trilogy was outstanding .. technically they are childrens books but none the worse for that and the children that the story centres around become adults by books two and three. Eoin Colfer's 'Artemis Fowl' books are great too ... combination of real world and fairy world but bought bang up to date. I agree though that Tolkien is pretty unique and nothing else really comes close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelofboox Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 My suggestion is The Ropemaker, by Philip Dickinson - very fantasy-ish otherworldly, with unicorns and valleys and epic journeys through enchanted forests. I think it's a good read, anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lit_Driven_Girl Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 - Keith Miller, The Book of Flying, about a gentle librarian of books only he reads on a quest for wings to win the heart of a winged girl, is quite simply the most stunningly written fantasy book I've ever read. That's a great recommendation. I just added it to my wishlist. The first books that come to mind that your friend might like would be Kristen Britain's Green Rider Series. Green Rider, First Rider's Call, The High King's Tomb and fingers crossed there may be a fourth book soon. Also she may enjoy Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study books. Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study. I might even wager that she would like Secret Sacrament and Time of the Eagle by Sherryl Jordan. Although I believe they are consider young adult. I really enjoyed them. Oh and if I'm not suggesting too many at this point, anything by Patricia A. McKillip would be great. (sorry if this was too many ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I hope you enjoy The Book of Flying, Lit_Driven_Girl - it's a novel I tend to recommend a lot, quite simply because the disproportion between its worth and the knowledge of its existence is enormous. More people need exposing to it I feel, so I'm glad I've tickled your interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzposableheroes Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 A fantasy series I really liked and which is definitely not childish is The Axis Trilogy by Sara Douglass. This includes BattleAxe (The Wayfarer Redemption is the US title), Enchanter and Starman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Terry Brooks - The Sword of Shannara (Highly Tolkienish) Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time series (14 books, 12 done. Close, mythos-wise, but not many open similarities except for the first book, though that's intended.) David Eddings - The Belgariad series (Again, not many similarities, atleast not in the open. But nice nonetheless.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arewenearlythere Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 How old is your friend? Seems like her tastes have matured if she has out-grown the likes of Harry Potter. I know many adults who love and wouldn't read anything else but JK Rowling! Has she tried George RR Martin 'Game of Thrones' it's the first in a series of books called 'A Song of Ice a fire'. There is even a TV series being made about it right now. Very Lord of the Rings-esque I recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Has she tried George RR Martin 'Game of Thrones' it's the first in a series of books called 'A Song of Ice a fire'. There is even a TV series being made about it right now. Very Lord of the Rings-esque I recommend it! It's an awesome series! I second it. But I have issues about it being close to LOTR. Like the reviews say though, it's highly similar to TH White's The Once And Future King. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arewenearlythere Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Great to see another Game of Thrones fan, I guess the series is likened to LOTR because the success of the movies, thats why I read the book in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.