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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:27:05 PM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have the whole series, I only re-read the first 4 though. Like you I bought the 1st Edition hardcovers when they came out too- in fact I have #7 signed by Michael Whelan which is pretty cool. I also pretty much only real on my Kindle. At the height of my reading addiction in the late '80s/early '90s, I was mainlining maybe 5-6 paperbacks a week. Two things would get my attention in the bookstore when shopping for my next fix: A Del Rey publishing logo, or a Michael Whelan cover art. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:27:43 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I used to read everything my daughter was going to read before she read it, to make sure it was kosher. She was heavy into what is now called Young Adult, or YA. YA is basically fantasy lite, usually involving vampires or other supernatural creatures in high school. All of that Mormon woman's stuff that was so popular, and then a dozen or so different versions of what I just started calling Vampire Academy Drama, and eventually I stopped reading her shit because it was all just high-school, teenaged drama in a safe-ish, PG-13 setting. Then she started reading Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels. She read them a LOT. Had one under her bed, even. So, yeah--I thought I should probably give those a try, and holy shit--now I know why she kept them under her bed. Women can get really, really descriptive in their sex scenes. Even more graphic with supernatural creatures, LOL. So yeah--no more Anita Blake in our house until after she moved out. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Eh...for me? Not really, it's fine if there's more but it doesn't lessen my enjoyment of the book if it's like "they retired to their chambers" or whatever lol. Oh no, THAT'S fine. Like I said, the alluding to it is a-ok by me. I was just referring to my previous post where over and over it was written like, "Woke up, fucked, had breakfast, car wouldn't start", etc. https://i.imgur.com/r28YxRg.gif Ah yeah. I love Pandora's Star for example but jesus the sex scenes were so uncomfortable in that. They were necessary to the story, but the gratuitous details were NOT lol. I used to read everything my daughter was going to read before she read it, to make sure it was kosher. She was heavy into what is now called Young Adult, or YA. YA is basically fantasy lite, usually involving vampires or other supernatural creatures in high school. All of that Mormon woman's stuff that was so popular, and then a dozen or so different versions of what I just started calling Vampire Academy Drama, and eventually I stopped reading her shit because it was all just high-school, teenaged drama in a safe-ish, PG-13 setting. Then she started reading Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels. She read them a LOT. Had one under her bed, even. So, yeah--I thought I should probably give those a try, and holy shit--now I know why she kept them under her bed. Women can get really, really descriptive in their sex scenes. Even more graphic with supernatural creatures, LOL. So yeah--no more Anita Blake in our house until after she moved out. There are a lot of books in the YA category, that tend to include that kind of stuff. My older brother first discovered the ‘Dark Forces’ series of books in the 80s (YA Horror by various authors). I ‘borrowed’ them, and discovered why he was such a fan 
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:32:03 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: "Dies the Fire" was good, up to the conclusion of The Protector's War (book 4?). After that, it really started going off the rails. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: "Dies the Fire" by SM Stirling is good for awhile. Yeah. That's a perfect description. First couple of books were really good and had me enthused...and then it sort of went generic fantasy novel #9. "Dies the Fire" was good, up to the conclusion of The Protector's War (book 4?). After that, it really started going off the rails. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:32:47 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: At the height of my reading addiction in the late '80s/early '90s, I was mainlining maybe 5-6 paperbacks a week. Two things would get my attention in the bookstore when shopping for my next fix: A Del Rey publishing logo, or a Michael Whelan cover art. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I have the whole series, I only re-read the first 4 though. Like you I bought the 1st Edition hardcovers when they came out too- in fact I have #7 signed by Michael Whelan which is pretty cool. I also pretty much only real on my Kindle. At the height of my reading addiction in the late '80s/early '90s, I was mainlining maybe 5-6 paperbacks a week. Two things would get my attention in the bookstore when shopping for my next fix: A Del Rey publishing logo, or a Michael Whelan cover art. I love Whelan art, and it almost universally means a good book or a good metal album. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:32:48 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Probably writers venturing outside the Women’s/Romance (pseudo porn) genres (ala 50 Shades of Grey) Probably so. I like my music to have every genre mixed up in there but for books, people need to stay in their lane. I've been catfished a few times by descriptions of wild adventure, Gods and demons, wizards and warlocks, humans and fae crossing realms, uprisings following shattered royal bloodlines, the unsuspecting young peasant who discovers they were hidden away at birth and are the last wielder of a now extinct form of power, etc. and it's.....all just filler for badly written *romance.* Sonsabitches. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:38:23 PM EDT
[#6]
I'm actually reading wheel of time now, its alright. It hasnt blown me away, but its been decent enough to keep reading. Funny, back in the day I remember people saying to avoid it b/c it was too gynocentric, now, in these sad, neutered times, its almost the opposite since it at least acknowledges that there are, generally, differences in men and women. Anyway, I don't find it to be the masterpiece some say, but its OK, so far.
Stormlight archive is kind of an odd one. I thought it was written well enough, and the characters are generally interesting and have some nuance, but it just drags too much and too often. I quit on the 3rd, I think, I might try it again at some point w/more of a willingness to skip ahead. Book of the fallen is really just awful. You might consider historical fiction, good historical fiction is kind of like fantasy or sci fi b/c it brings a completely different world alive. The Aubrey-Maturin are some of the finest examples of this, and are some of the best novels ever written, something eveyone should read. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:40:06 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Second the recommendation for Deed of Paksenarrion. Probably the most "realism-centric" take on a D&D Paladin in literature. However, slight caveat. Elizabeth Moon is(was?) a fervent member of the Episcopal Church (which is no surprise, considering the Fellowship of Gird in her books), on the Liberal side. When the ECUSA melted down, this past decade, she didn't take it well, and the emotional trauma she dealt with gets played out in the follow-on series (Paladin's Legacy, in which Paksenarrion is more of a guest star), with the "conservatives" as the bad guys. YMMV, there. That drama is totally absent from the original series, which was written in the 80s. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:40:48 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I made to book 9 or 10 and had to tap out. It seemed like he was introducing new characters/story arcs every couple of pages by then and hadn't made any moves to wrap any of the previous ones up. I decided I was no longer getting an acceptable return on my investment and moved on. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: The Wheel of Time series is excellent and an amazing world. There is a period in the middle where the books get slow and a bit of a slog, but they improve again later. All are worth reading, even if slow in places. I made to book 9 or 10 and had to tap out. It seemed like he was introducing new characters/story arcs every couple of pages by then and hadn't made any moves to wrap any of the previous ones up. I decided I was no longer getting an acceptable return on my investment and moved on. The WoT would be my first recommendation to the OP (epic high fantasy, that might take a year or longer to finish, at a casual reading pace). 1-5, I’d rate excellent. It begins slowing down around 6-7. 8 and 9 were a slog, and my literal thoughts reading the 1st Edition hardcovers upon release, were, “IDGA flying F about all these new side characters being introduced. What the heck is going on with the Main characters? Does RJ not have any idea where he’s going or how to finish the story?”. It starts getting back on track with 10 and 11. 12, 13 and 14 are where Sanderson takes over to conclude the series. The writing in the original 1st releases of the last 3 novels both feel rushed, and had a notable difference from RJ’s writing style. The later edited releases (to include the Kindle versions), read better. Overall, the whole series is worth the time, for fans of the genre. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:43:22 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Cool. I've actually read some of his other stuff. Waiting on the next release on one now to continue a series. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Shameless plug for my BIL, who is the author: The Death Collector series Dark fantasy. He has a twisted mind. Cool. I've actually read some of his other stuff. Waiting on the next release on one now to continue a series. He told me earlier this week his next book is coming out in November. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:43:26 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Probably so. I like my music to have every genre mixed up in there but for books, people need to stay in their lane. I've been catfished a few times by descriptions of wild adventure, Gods and demons, wizards and warlocks, humans and fae crossing realms, uprisings following shattered royal bloodlines, the unsuspecting young peasant who discovers they were hidden away at birth and are the last wielder of a now extinct form of power, etc. and it's.....all just filler for badly written *romance.* Sonsabitches. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Probably writers venturing outside the Women’s/Romance (pseudo porn) genres (ala 50 Shades of Grey) Probably so. I like my music to have every genre mixed up in there but for books, people need to stay in their lane. I've been catfished a few times by descriptions of wild adventure, Gods and demons, wizards and warlocks, humans and fae crossing realms, uprisings following shattered royal bloodlines, the unsuspecting young peasant who discovers they were hidden away at birth and are the last wielder of a now extinct form of power, etc. and it's.....all just filler for badly written *romance.* Sonsabitches. Honestly, this is why I stopped reading fantasy. It's probably not accurate, but it FELT like 90% of the fantasy I read started out this way, with a predictable path of meeting a mentor (who dies before the end of the story), running into his/her eventual paramour who initially dislikes him/her, going on the Great Quest in order to a) develop his/her power and "character" and b) give the bad guy time to align his/her forces against the protagonist, a prequel battle, which our hero loses but learns a great something about himself and also discovers his budding love for said paramour, and eventual final battle that seems insurmountable but in which our hero somehow pulls it out of his/her ass, which somehow involves the death of the mentor, i.e. the Great Sacrifice. Finish up with either of two endings: Either the hero and paramour go off happily ever after, or through a choice made in order to win said final battle, can no longer feasibly be with said paramour, thus sacrificing his Great Love for the Greater Good. It just got old. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:44:25 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Probably the most "realism-centric" take on a D&D Paladin in literature. . That would be Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:48:01 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You might consider historical fiction, good historical fiction is kind of like fantasy or sci fi b/c it brings a completely different world alive. The Aubrey-Maturin are some of the finest examples of this, and are some of the best novels ever written, something eveyone should read. If you like this stuff, Orson Scott Card (of Ender's Game fame) wrote a series dealing with magic realism in the colonial America/revolutionary period that is really, really good. Look up "The Tales of Alvin Maker" series. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:49:57 PM EDT
[#13]
David Gemmell is an author I haven't seen mentioned.
Had some good books in the fantasy realm. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:51:08 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Probably so. I like my music to have every genre mixed up in there but for books, people need to stay in their lane. I've been catfished a few times by descriptions of wild adventure, Gods and demons, wizards and warlocks, humans and fae crossing realms, uprisings following shattered royal bloodlines, the unsuspecting young peasant who discovers they were hidden away at birth and are the last wielder of a now extinct form of power, etc. and it's.....all just filler for badly written *romance.* Sonsabitches. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Probably writers venturing outside the Women’s/Romance (pseudo porn) genres (ala 50 Shades of Grey) Probably so. I like my music to have every genre mixed up in there but for books, people need to stay in their lane. I've been catfished a few times by descriptions of wild adventure, Gods and demons, wizards and warlocks, humans and fae crossing realms, uprisings following shattered royal bloodlines, the unsuspecting young peasant who discovers they were hidden away at birth and are the last wielder of a now extinct form of power, etc. and it's.....all just filler for badly written *romance.* Sonsabitches.  Yeah. I wondered what all the fuss was (both positive and negative), about the Twilight series (never read the books). Ended up watching the movies, and realized after the first 3 movies; “Yeah, these aren’t vampire/werewolf movies. They’re romance for YA, that happen to have werewolves and sparkly vampires. If you view them from that perspective, they aren’t horrible. Not great, but not terrible”. *** granted, I do find it funny when folks describe Star Wars as Space Opera/fantasy vs sci-fi. Can’t really argue that. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:51:54 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The WoT would be my first recommendation to the OP (epic high fantasy, that might take a year or longer to finish, at a casual reading pace). 1-5, I’d rate excellent. It begins slowing down around 6-7. 8 and 9 were a slog, and my literal thoughts reading the 1st Edition hardcovers upon release, were, “IDGA flying F about all these new side characters being introduced. What the heck is going on with the Main characters? Does RJ not have any idea where he’s going or how to finish the story?”. It starts getting back on track with 10 and 11. 12, 13 and 14 are where Sanderson takes over to conclude the series. The writing in the original 1st releases of the last 3 novels both feel rushed, and had a notable difference from RJ’s writing style. The later edited releases (to include the Kindle versions), read better. Overall, the whole series is worth the time, for fans of the genre. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: The Wheel of Time series is excellent and an amazing world. There is a period in the middle where the books get slow and a bit of a slog, but they improve again later. All are worth reading, even if slow in places. I made to book 9 or 10 and had to tap out. It seemed like he was introducing new characters/story arcs every couple of pages by then and hadn't made any moves to wrap any of the previous ones up. I decided I was no longer getting an acceptable return on my investment and moved on. The WoT would be my first recommendation to the OP (epic high fantasy, that might take a year or longer to finish, at a casual reading pace). 1-5, I’d rate excellent. It begins slowing down around 6-7. 8 and 9 were a slog, and my literal thoughts reading the 1st Edition hardcovers upon release, were, “IDGA flying F about all these new side characters being introduced. What the heck is going on with the Main characters? Does RJ not have any idea where he’s going or how to finish the story?”. It starts getting back on track with 10 and 11. 12, 13 and 14 are where Sanderson takes over to conclude the series. The writing in the original 1st releases of the last 3 novels both feel rushed, and had a notable difference from RJ’s writing style. The later edited releases (to include the Kindle versions), read better. Overall, the whole series is worth the time, for fans of the genre. Sounds like I probably made through 9 and said fuck it. I was starting college around then anyway, so I had other stuff on my plate. Maybe I'll take another swing at it with all my free time these days. Of course, I'll have to start over from the beginning to get back up to speed. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 2:56:47 PM EDT
[#16]
BTW, another fantasy trilogy that I found entertaining enough (not exactly high fantasy, perhaps, but falls into the general fantasy genre), is “His Dark Materials”, by Philip Pullman (the movie The Golden Compass, is based on the first of the novels. There’s also a series on MAX).
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:01:49 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: If you like this stuff, Orson Scott Card (of Ender's Game fame) wrote a series dealing with magic realism in the colonial America/revolutionary period that is really, really good. Look up "The Tales of Alvin Maker" series. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: You might consider historical fiction, good historical fiction is kind of like fantasy or sci fi b/c it brings a completely different world alive. The Aubrey-Maturin are some of the finest examples of this, and are some of the best novels ever written, something eveyone should read. If you like this stuff, Orson Scott Card (of Ender's Game fame) wrote a series dealing with magic realism in the colonial America/revolutionary period that is really, really good. Look up "The Tales of Alvin Maker" series. Thanks, I'll take a look at them. Funny you mention Card, I ran into his quora account a while back and started reading through his posts there. His being all excited over the Stormlight archive is what got me interested enough to go check it out. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:13:05 PM EDT
[#18]
The Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney is interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchies_of_God It's gritty low fantasy though. Of the 5 books, 4 are great and the last is trash even according the author. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:19:02 PM EDT
[#19]
I haven't seen it mentioned, but check out the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz.
Close to historical fiction, but plenty of magic vs. church and political intrigue. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:22:07 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That’s one you don’t hear very often. Dark series about an angry leper transported to another realm with lots of power, especially the anger. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant That’s one you don’t hear very often. Dark series about an angry leper transported to another realm with lots of power, especially the anger. Probably because it was written about 40 years ago. It is outstanding though. I may have to go back and read it again. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:29:04 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Probably because it was written about 40 years ago. It is outstanding though. I may have to go back and read it again. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant That’s one you don’t hear very often. Dark series about an angry leper transported to another realm with lots of power, especially the anger. Probably because it was written about 40 years ago. It is outstanding though. I may have to go back and read it again. It’s very good. Haven’t read it in ages- it’d be interesting to re-read, to see how it aged. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:38:18 PM EDT
[#22]
the Elric of Melnibone series by Michael Moorcock.
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:46:21 PM EDT
[#23]
Some of my favorites from way back when.
Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga T.H. White's Arthurian saga Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern and Harper Hall books. Maybe a bit more Sci Fi than fantasy. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:53:01 PM EDT
[#24]
gonna add the following. its not fantasy and its not science fiction but it is an incredible world building set of books that are based on historical events. and very well written. the movie master and commander was based on the first two or three books.
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:53:32 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Some of my favorites from way back when. Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga T.H. White's Arthurian saga Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern and Harper Hall books. Maybe a bit more Sci Fi than fantasy. I'm going to guess you're between 55-60. Dragonriders. Good stuff as a kid (I read the White Dragon first, didn't know it was part of a series). Ultimately--yeah--it becomes sci-fi, when more of the dragonrider's past is revealed. But yeah--I dug it. Anne McCaffrey was a British feminist (if I remember correctly) and it shows in her work once you realize that, but I was still captivated by her Pern series. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 3:58:57 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Honestly, this is why I stopped reading fantasy. It's probably not accurate, but it FELT like 90% of the fantasy I read started out this way, with a predictable path of meeting a mentor (who dies before the end of the story), running into his/her eventual paramour who initially dislikes him/her, going on the Great Quest in order to a) develop his/her power and "character" and b) give the bad guy time to align his/her forces against the protagonist, a prequel battle, which our hero loses but learns a great something about himself and also discovers his budding love for said paramour, and eventual final battle that seems insurmountable but in which our hero somehow pulls it out of his/her ass, which somehow involves the death of the mentor, i.e. the Great Sacrifice. Finish up with either of two endings: Either the hero and paramour go off happily ever after, or through a choice made in order to win said final battle, can no longer feasibly be with said paramour, thus sacrificing his Great Love for the Greater Good. It just got old. Nailed it. I don't mind the formula as long as everything else is very well done. Something that's nevah been dun befoe is exciting but I can also be happy knowing how the story is going to go if there's enough in the details, world building, character building, dialog, etc. to keep me invested. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:03:07 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Book of the fallen is really just awful.  Boo this man |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:07:41 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm going to guess you're between 55-60. Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm going to guess you're between 55-60. 62 so close. Dragonriders. Good stuff as a kid (I read the White Dragon first, didn't know it was part of a series). Ultimately--yeah--it becomes sci-fi, when more of the dragonrider's past is revealed. But yeah--I dug it. Anne McCaffrey was a British feminist (if I remember correctly) and it shows in her work once you realize that, but I was still captivated by her Pern series. I thought this might come up when I posted. Yes, many of the lead characters are women. Ultimately though it was a damn good series. A good story with well developed characters. The Harper Hall series really adds to the story if you read that before The White Dragon. The White Dragon remains one of my favorite books. I have an autographed copy on the shelf my sister had signed at some convention. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:08:54 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yeah. I wondered what all the fuss was (both positive and negative), about the Twilight series (never read the books). Ended up watching the movies, and realized after the first 3 movies; “Yeah, these aren’t vampire/werewolf movies. They’re romance for YA, that happen to have werewolves and sparkly vampires. If you view them from that perspective, they aren’t horrible. Not great, but not terrible”. *** granted, I do find it funny when folks describe Star Wars as Space Opera/fantasy vs sci-fi. Can’t really argue that. For some reason I tend to avoid books that get really hyped up and are everywhere. If, years later, they still have a following and get tossed around as good reads I'll check them out. I never did read Twilight because, although the cover intrigued me, they came out in the blur and haze of having young infants and toddlers and no time to read and by the time I was past that the movies were coming out and didn't seem like something I'd like so I just skipped it all. Never read any of the 50 Shades stuff. I checked out an excerpt once I heard people talking about how terrible the writing was and that was enough for me to know I would hate it. Never read any Harry Potter. We've had some of the movies on in the background from time to time for the kids but I was never able to finish a single one. I know books are always better than the movies but for whatever reason I've just never had the itch for that one. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:16:32 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: David Gemmell is an author I haven't seen mentioned. Had some good books in the fantasy realm. I have some of his books, his writing style can be ''iffy'' at times and leaves you scratching your head. [I read the Sipstrassi ones] |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:28:30 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The Riftwar saga by Raymond E Feist The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny The Books of Swords by Fred Saberhagen Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams The Belgariad by David Eddings Mistborn by Brian Sanderson The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss(Book 3 has been under development for years. He works at the pace of George RR Martin. The first two books are excellent) This   
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:28:34 PM EDT
[#32]
Based very loosely on European geography and "our" world history. There's a nine volume fantasy series by Jacqueline Carey. It's got servant girls who rise to royalty; warrior monks, magic; a metric butt load of some frankly pretty graphic sex; and some great sword and buckler middle age style fighting. Good world building--a sort of Alt/Magical history.
First three books follow a young girl (a whore's get) as she rises to power. Starts with Kushiel's Dart--this is the Phedre series It's followed by the second trio--The Imriel series and then the Third (with some jump in time) with a final trilogy with a druid kinda chick out of "England" that goes across Europe--into China and the Stans. violence; sex; magic; world building--it's pretty darn good. I've read through the series twice |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:38:25 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have some of his books, his writing style can be ''iffy'' at times and leaves you scratching your head. [I read the Sipstrassi ones] Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: David Gemmell is an author I haven't seen mentioned. Had some good books in the fantasy realm. I have some of his books, his writing style can be ''iffy'' at times and leaves you scratching your head. [I read the Sipstrassi ones] Only read his Drenai Saga series. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:39:46 PM EDT
[#34]
Glen Cook's Dread Empire series wasn't bad.
Instrumentalities of the Night series wasn't bad either. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:47:12 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This may seem odd, but consider the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It's a genre-mixer, but very fantastical. The Shannara Chronicles might suit you, too. Monica  I have just about every book in the Shannara series. I still haven't gotten through all of them. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 4:57:56 PM EDT
[#36]
OP checking in. I didn't abandon this thread. In fact I stayed up late last night checking out many of the recommendations.
Thanks everyone. There have been a few mentioned that I have read, but there are tons that I would not have known about if not for the replies. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:03:30 PM EDT
[#37]
I really need to write the fantasy trilogy I've been kicking around in my head these last 25 years...
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:03:41 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Only read his Drenai Saga series. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: David Gemmell is an author I haven't seen mentioned. Had some good books in the fantasy realm. I have some of his books, his writing style can be ''iffy'' at times and leaves you scratching your head. [I read the Sipstrassi ones] Only read his Drenai Saga series. Ah, his gun knowledge is incredibly ''British'' which really means he doesn't know shit and never bothered to do a whit of investigation before he scribbled something down. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:10:14 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Ah, his gun knowledge is incredibly ''British'' which really means he doesn't know shit and never bothered to do a whit of investigation before he scribbled something down. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: David Gemmell is an author I haven't seen mentioned. Had some good books in the fantasy realm. I have some of his books, his writing style can be ''iffy'' at times and leaves you scratching your head. [I read the Sipstrassi ones] Only read his Drenai Saga series. Ah, his gun knowledge is incredibly ''British'' which really means he doesn't know shit and never bothered to do a whit of investigation before he scribbled something down. Thought he wrote all fantasy stuff? |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:12:19 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This series is one of the reasons my wife and I met/got together. We were both readers in a world where there were few of us, and neither one of us had met anybody else that had read Stephen R. Donaldson's masterpiece...let alone loved them. Wearing my white gold wedding ring as I type this. Ur-LORD!!!! Looks around for Vain... |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:16:10 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Probably for the best. Dudes can't write about good sex. Or at least not for woman readers. *forcefield activated  Well, duh. Good sex for a guy is maybe 1/4 page, if that. For women? Chapters and chapters and chapters about flowers and dresses and kissing and mood music and lighting and shopping lists and... 
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:19:28 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Deathlands by James Axler. It follows a group of survivalists 100 years after WWIII destroys most of mankind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathlands Just be prepared for writing thats around a third grade level. I read the first twenty or so books in the series when they came out thirty years ago and finally gave up on them. OP, have you read the Deadtown series? |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:37:09 PM EDT
[#43]
What’s the difference between “high” and “low” fantasy?
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:40:49 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You take that back!  Drizzt could have been so awesome. You know who I liked even better? Wulfgar. But then Salvatore couldn’t keep him dead. You know what else Salvatore can’t do? Write female characters. Fuck Salvatore. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:47:06 PM EDT
[#45]
I haven't read every post in this thread, so forgive me if it's already been mentioned, but my suggestion would be Codex Alera by Jim Butcher.
It's a series that was written based on an online bet. Jim made the argument that a great story was the most important part of a good novel, while someone made the statement that you had to have a great background to make a great story. They challenged Jim to prove them wrong by writing a good story involving a played out premise and a wacky one: the lost roman legion, Aliens and Pokémon Jim took up the challenge and wrote a GREAT (imho) series of books. It's a 6 book series that's finished so you won't die waiting on the next book like Song of Ice and Fire. ETA: Jim Butcher is also the author of the Dresden Files which while not fantasy is a detective noir series set in a modern supernatural world. It's my favorite series ive read (so far). I've read and reread them all so now I'm stuck waiting for a new one to come out every year and a half/two years. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 5:57:09 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: No one has recommended Piers Anthony’s books yet? Wtf. Nevermind. I see some has. Apparently not ironically. But they also recommend Shanarra, which I thought was kinda cheese when I was a preteen. While I liked Dragonlance at that age, it was still pretty cliche. Reminds me of Archie Comics a bit, frankly. My sister had me listen to Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself trilogy. Maybe not full-on high fantasy, but in the ballpark. Lots of grimacing though. Especially noteworthy when the reader pronounced it gri-mace-ing instead of gri-mah-sing. Funny how authors can overuse words. Part of the reason Frankenstein sucked so bad. Well, a small part. The whole thing was a wretchedly written wretched story about a wretch that had to wretchedly suffer a wrenched life and constantly lamented his wrenched state of wretched wretchedness. Fuck you Mary Shelley. I don’t care if you were only 19, the book still sucked. I like you. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister in law. Do you like old cars, model trains, or imitation crab meat? |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 6:04:11 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Wheel of time is popular, but sucks. How Dare You Sir! Seriously, I love fantasy as a genre, but very few works are genuinely art. The LoTR series is a masterpiece. The Earthsea novels are damned entertaining. Both are written for children, though. They're superb when viewed from that perspective. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 6:07:23 PM EDT
[#48]
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Steven R. Donaldson. If you can find them.
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Posted: 7/26/2024 6:39:14 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted: What’s the difference between “high” and “low” fantasy? Mean distance above sea level. |
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Posted: 7/26/2024 6:39:14 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Never read any Harry Potter. We've had some of the movies on in the background from time to time for the kids but I was never able to finish a single one. I know books are always better than the movies but for whatever reason I've just never had the itch for that one. That’s actually another series I enjoyed. A coworker loaned me the first 3 books. I enjoyed them enough, that I eventually bought the set in hardcover. It’s also one of the few movie series that did a pretty good job of transcribing it for the silver screen. Although there are some parts that were omitted, and some that were perhaps out of sequence vs the books (IIRC), for the most part, the movies were pretty faithful to the books, unlike Amazon’s garbage attempt at rewriting the Wheel Of Time series. *** another thing that I found amusing as an avid reader, is observing a new writer’s evolution and maturing, over the course of a series. The first 2 books were rather choppy, and the writing was definitely not as polished (could be the editor, too. I never checked to see if the editor changed over the series). By the 3rd book forward, Rowling’s writing style had improved noticeably. I noticed the same thing with another writer I mentioned in the thread: Franklin Horton. His first 2-3 books were pretty choppy, and the flow was somewhat disjointed. By the 4th book or so, his writing had improved significantly. |
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