Thread: Any Good Fantasy?

Originally Posted by Olly Buckle

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series are a romp, come to think of it that sergeant in the lower people's recon echelon (Leprechons) reminds me of a certain antipodean bovine some how.

I thought you didn't read fantasy?

These were kids books I read to the daughter, and not standard dragons and heroes stuff either.

i would gladly say brent week's "the night angel trilogy." they are the best books i've ever read (:

The Night Angel trilogy is an amazing work of fantasy. You should check those out.

I'm a fan of "Of Gods and Mortals" by Lauren T. Hart. Lauren T. Hart

I'm stunned to see Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn fantasy is not listed on this thread, it's the absolute best I ever read.

Try the Chronicles of Narnia.

Peter V. Brett's "The Painted Man" is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it

High fantasy for me has to be topped by GRR Martin's ultra-realistic (so long as you discount the dragons and zombies) Song of Ice and Fire. I wouldn't include Erikson's Malazan works in my short list though. I found them a bit too complicated, tedious really, in a genre that is built mostly around straightforward fun.

Low fantasy is headlined by Zelazny's Amber Chronicles and Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. Amber is just one of the most freakishly creative bunches of stories I can say I've ever read, and Butcher seems to have more fun with his stuff than anyone else in the buisness of writing. And there's no way I could leave this thread without mentioning Neil Gaiman. If you've never read American Gods, you need to. Now. It's harsh, disturbing, and utterly enthralling.

The Narnia Series is the best Christian fantasy read. I'm on the second book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Yes, this is the second book, C.S. Lewis's first Narnia-based book was The Magician's Nephew. I recommend this if nobody else already has!

I picked up the first three books of the Inda series by Sherwood Smith, and I really enjoyed them. They had some poor moments - pointless love affairs and the like - but they're good for a quick light read.

Originally Posted by KaitlinMorrow

The Narnia Series is the best Christian fantasy read. I'm on the second book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Yes, this is the second book, C.S. Lewis's first Narnia-based book was The Magician's Nephew. I recommend this if nobody else already has!

The first books are excellent, but it is all wearing thin by the time you reach "The last battle", in fact I think I finished reading that to myself, my daughter had given up by then and was on to other things but I don't like giving up on a book.

Originally Posted by Lord Reecingale

Peter V. Brett's "The Painted Man" is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it

Seconded

Also Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series beginning with Wizards First Rule is fantastic, and I know someone has mentioned it already but Raymond Fiests Riftwar books are excellent.

Graham

Originally Posted by columbo1977

Seconded
Also Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series beginning with Wizards First Rule is fantastic.

Goodkind stole liberally from Jordan and neither of them are too masterful of their art. If it's swords and horses HF your looking for, try David Eddings.

Also, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun (actually four books- the first two can be found in a package titled Shadow and Claw) should definitely be looked at by any prospective sci-fi/fantasy authors. It's incredibly bizzare (transcripts of plays and such appear in the text and Wolfe makes up words to help him describe his world), psychologically dense, and perhaps the single most imaginative thing I've ever read.

I recommend the Xanth series by Piers Anthony which starts with A Spell for a Camealon and if you can take the humor and satire and it has every thing from folklore and mythology like Centaurs, Nymphs, and Demons.

and of course the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis

any thing that is Arthurian like the Merlien Triology by Mary Stewart