recommended authors or series?

[gremlin246]

While we're waiting for the last WOT book to come out, what are some other good series or authors to read? The only other fantasy series I've read so far are King's The Dark Tower, Tolkien's LOTR, and Rowling's Harry Potter.

[Guest Majsju]

Sweet, I get first reply, so I can take the big ones:D

 

A Song Of Ice And Fire - George RR Martin

Sword Of Shadow - JV Jones

The Farseer trilogy, The Liveship Traders trilogy and The Tawny Man trilogy - Robin Hobbs

The Riftwar Saga - Raymond E Feist

[Talya]

I'm reading The Runelords - David Farland (It's up to book 4 at the moment) but they are not too bad.

 

Read Tolkien and Rowling Gremlin but not King are they any good (the dark Towers) can't make my mind up whether to read them or not.

 

Maj haven't read any of yours which ones are the best. Did think about reading A song of Fire and Ice.

 

Guess I'll be okay for books until MoL comes out..... :lol:

[Corki]

Now Tessa, have you been able to get a copy of Book 4 of The Runelords Series, as I have so far failed! But I have so far failed!

 

I will always go on about The Banned and The Bannished series by James Clemens. It has been one of the greatest fantasy series I have ever read! Really good author, and you get in so close with what is happening!

 

I also suggest The Axis Trilogy (it is another name if you are not British, though I can't remember what!) by Sara Douglass. I have read the first two and enjoyed them, and just need the time to sit down and read Book 3! There is also a series after this one, though I don't know much about those books.

[Guest Winespring Brother]

The Axis Trilogy is a great read, but under the only time you should pick up the follow up series would be to throw it on a fire!

 

As for some others, you should definitely read the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, and the Malazan books by Steven Erikson make compelling reading.

 

edit: thanks the dice again for the correction. Unbelievably stupid considering I have them sitting in front of me.

[Guest Egwene]

Gremlin, it depends a bit on your age.

 

Philip Pullman....The Dark Materials Trilogy ( this one would be enjoyed by almost any age group. Well, let's say 10+)

 

Of the ones already mentioned....Robin Hobb is fantastic! (probably best if you are 15/16 at least. I would say they aren't children's books.)

 

Terry Goodkind... Sword of Truth series (The person that recommended it to me said: it is fairly graphic, and he wasn't wrong. I would not recommend it for youg readers, nor for the faint hearted... it would have an 18 certificate if it was a film)

 

Edit: just saw Corki's recommendation of James Clemens...and want to say yes, yes, yes. Read it because the guy at Waterstones recommended it. And liked the fact he said it seemed to really have taken off on word of mouth strength.

[perine]

You can get the fourth book for the Runelords from Amazon, UK has it at least. I can really recommend it! Great series.

 

Robin Hobb - like said before is a great, great writer.

 

David Eddings - Belgarion and the Mallorean are good classics. I like his style to write. Very informative.

 

hmmm.. I must check this Clemens. The books sound interesting... :)

[Taei]

I love Robin Hobb's books.

 

Another author I would suggest is Kristin Britain. I've read Green Rider by her and it's great. I haven't been able to read the sequel yet, First Rider's Call.

 

*Jots down other authors that she needs to check out now*

[Talya]

Corki...I've jsut started reading Book 4 The Liar of Bones...I got it from Amazon (uk) site their price £5.59 and they will despatch in 24 hours.

 

Apparently there are supposed to be another 2 books of the series following his children..(read it on a site of his...can't remember where it was now....might have been officail runelords site!!). Not up to RJ but does in the mean time.

[Guest Majsju]

Tessa, if I would rank the ones I mentioned it would be like this:

Martin

Hobbs

Jones

Feist

 

And of course, don't forget Narnia :)

[Talya]

Maj..

 

Thanks for that...

 

I'm reading Narnia to my six year old (good excuse to read them over again)...next year I'll read her WoT :shock: ....(may take some time.....lol)

[Guest Egwene]

Tessa, once she is a couple of years older, you should try her on Tamora Pierce. Great fantasy for younger readers..especially girls I think.

 

I often have a look on the reader's lists on amazon. Than go to the books and read the reviews. Have found several really good reads that way. Like Tamora Pierce. And though it's written for teenagers, I thouroughly enjoyed them. I may even have order them through the US rather than the UK site as not all books are available here.

[gremlin246]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions so far. Looks like I've got a lot of reading to do. I'll probably start with the Song of Fire and Ice series and maybe move on to Clemenss or Hobbs next. It's going to be hard to keep all the plotlines and characters straight from several unfinished series. It's hard enough with just the WOT. :)

 

Tessa Sedai, King's The Dark Tower series starts off a little dry with the first book, books 2-4 are really good (more of a fantasy feel), and books 5-7 finish a little slower (similar in storyline progression to some of the later WOT books) than the previous ones, but are still good. Overall it was a very enjoyable read, especially since almost all of King's other books tie into the sereis in one way or another.

 

Egwene, I'm 28, so I'm up for anything.

[TheDiceAgain...]

I would echo most of what has already been mentined with a few additions:

 

One word: Dune

 

The Black Company books by Glen Cook. Great reads all (or at least most) and there is a certain moral ambiguity in some of the characters that I really enjoyed.

 

I'd also throw in Steven R. Donaldson's Thomas Coventant books, but with the warning that you more than likely will not like the main character much at all for the first few books.

 

Dragonlance: Chronicles and Dragonlance: Legends, both by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman source of one of my favorite characters of all time, Raistlin Majere. Another good series by these two, The Deathgate Cycle, seven books long and worth every page...

 

P.S. - Erikson's series is called the Malazan Book of the Fallen...

[Jason Denzel]

Do yourself a favor and read the "Otori" trilogy by Lian Hearn. Book 1 is "Across the Nightingale Floor".

 

It's incredible. Even RJ gave it a big thumbs up. We've talked about it several times.

 

Edit:

TheDiceAgain... Good call on DUNE. By far my favorite stand alone novel, ever.

 

J

[Guest Winespring Brother]

I am reading the series by James Clemens at the moment and I am not to sure what all the fuss is about. The books are quite good and move along at a fair old pace, but for me they lack the detail that really brings the great books to life. People may get annoyed sometimes at the way people straighten their skirts in WoT, but such things make the series for me because I can picture the scene so much better.

 

Another series I really enjoyed reading was the Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts. Its quite heavy, like Erikson's books, but definitely worth it.

[Guest Egwene]

Isn't it interesting how we all love WoT, but can have quite varied views on what else we read?!

 

I didn't get on with Thomas Coventant and the one Dragonlance I read didn't make me go out and buy the others.....

 

My husband has read WoT as well, but isn't that keen on the series but waxes lyrical about George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice.

 

One good thing though about Hobb, Clemens, Feist, Eddings and Pullman: each series is completed!!! Maybe some of the others are too, but I am not as familiar with some of them.

[Ruffio]

I liked the Saga of Seven Suns series by Kevin J. Anderson

[Taei]

A couple more for you all:

 

School of Light by Jody Lynn Nye

I haven't read it all, but it looked really good, almost WoTish. :)

 

The Jaguar Princess by Clare Bell

I loved this one. I actually bought it and read it over and over until I lost it. *sigh* It isn't a new book, though unfortunately so you'd have to do some hunting for it. It is Aztec historical fiction, so it may not appeal to all readers here.

 

For the more mature (sexual content warning):

 

The People Series by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear

People of the Wolf, People of the Fire, People of the Earth, People of the River, People of the Lakes, People of the Lighting, People of the Silence, People of the Mist, People of the Owl, People of the Raven, and People of the Moon.

They're Native American historical fiction with some "romance" thrown in (hence the sexual content warning). Only advised for those over the age of 16.

 

And there was another series that I read, and now I can't think of it to save my life, I've searched and searched. It'll probably come to me next week sometime. lol

[Kadere]

Here we go, I love this kinda thread!(These are NOT in order of which is better then which, they're simply in order of how I could remember them)

 

Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind: This series is full of action, brutality, perverse thinking, and it's VERY entertaining. I didn't think it was necassarily well writing FANTASY, but his underlying messages in each book are very well put together, and if you start the first book you're garunteed five more GREAT books, after book 6 the series kinda goes down hill, but it's still entertaining.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin: This series is a must read for ANY fantasy fan. It is the definition of "High Fantasy." The politics, sex, drinking, brutality, and so on are VERY realistic and expertly written. After reading this series you will find a new appreciation for fantasy in general, and possibly even question which is the greater: George or Robert.

 

Otherland by Tad Williams: This is more a science fiction series then fantasy, but I REALLY liked it. It's about 7 plot lines over 4 books, and some might say that they get rather boring and that the ending is dissappointing, but I think you need to judge for yourself. Before I read WoT this was my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series. Very entertaining, and the characters are wonderfully drawn.

 

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams: This series is rather old style, kings, princes, princesses, pot boys, ancient propheseies. It was writing pre-WoT, and you can find a couple of parallels between the series. I'll worn you that there is a scene in the second book which I found VERY desturbing, and had to close the book for 5 minutes (and I've read a LOT of stuff). But the series is excellent and will keep you reading all the way through the HUGE thrid installment.

 

Shadowmarch by Tad Williams: This series only just started, and has only the first installment out now with the next to come in 2007. But it's full of political intrege, and if you're a fan of Song of Ice and Fire, you might like this. Not quite as adult as that series, but a dark and fantastic novel.

 

Redwall by Brain Jacques: This is pure kids entertainment which I've been reading sense I was 9 (I'm now 20). I've read all 18 installments, and I'll admit only . . . 10 of them are really good, but a couple are GREAT (especially Martin the Warrior and The Legend of Luke). Read a couple to see if you can find the child in you again, if you can't move on to something adult.

 

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: The great thing about this series is that reading it at 6 and then at 19 you find something completely new in the story. The religious messages are obvious to the casual reader, but Lewis doesn't offend with his messages. If you didn't read this as a kid, you must read them now to understand children's fantasy, if you read them as a child you should read them again because they're great.

 

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein: What do I have to say to convience you to read the godfather of all fantasy books? If you've seen the movies you should have read them already. If you haven't read this you have no reason to be reading WoT in the first place.

 

The Chronicles of Dune by Frank Herbert: I'm currently reading this series right now and I'm on the fourth installment of six. You should read this series if you're a fan of WoT because there are HUGE parallels between the Aes Sedai and the Aeil and the Dune novels. I don't know for certain if Robert Jordan was influenced by these books, but as a reader I found them inlightening. Though these books are for a mature audience not because of content (necassarily) but because the messages are very tough to fully wrap your head around. It's a thinking persons series.

 

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny: YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS!!! NOW!!!! If you've read A Song of Ice and Fire THIS is where George got his motivation for the series. These books are like reading Hamlet on acid. The fantasy in these books in mind-boggaling and the politics is so intwinned it almost hurts to read. There are ten installments to the series but you can buy all 10 in one boook at your local bookstore. THIS SERIES IS FANTASY! READ IT NOW!!

 

Foundation by Issac Asimov: This is PURE sci-fi. Very thought provoking, very intreging, absolutely excellent. I only read the original trilogy (30 years later he continued the series with a couple more installments) but the first three fascinating. Fans of Science Fiction must read this, it's like the bible of sci-fi.

 

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: I like the first 5 installments and hated the sixth, but I think you just have to read this series. It's NO Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time or any of the rest of these. It's pulp fantasy in my mind. But it's entertaining, somewhat, and to live in this world these days takes reading this series.

 

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis: Not a lot of people know about this series, which is sad. It's MUCH more adult than Narnia, so don't start reading this to your 6 year old. It's about aliens, space, and God basically. Out of the Silent Planet (the first installment) is about our planet's loss of a god, Paralandria (the second) is about Genisis on Venus, and That Hiddeous Strength (the last) is about the apocolypse. But they're VERY well written, VERY thought provoking, and really exciting.

 

Anyway, those are my favorite series. You should all read a couple of them at least.

[Toman Zahere]

I agree with Jason the Otori trilogy by Lian Hearn is an excellent read.

 

Another series aimed at teenagers I've just read is the Pellinor trilogy by Alison Croggon. The first is titled "The Gift" while the second which has just been published is "The Riddle". A most enjoyable read with second book improving on the first. The last book should be really good. The series has good characters, an interesting form of magic, lots of different locations and plenty of action.

[Guest Egwene]

Whilst making suggestions for what to read, I feel there is one 'what not to read'.

 

It's a book called the fifth sorceress and without research on amazon I can't say who wrote it. Because a) I did not finish it and b) I threw it away!!

 

Having shelves full of books.... this does not happen very often, but sometimes you just have to admit you made a huge mistake in your purchase. Actually, I have given away books that I felt I would unlikely read again, but never just ditched one because I would not want to inflict it on anyone else. Be interested to know if anyone else here shares my fate.

 

Trudi Canavan 'The Black Magician Trilogy': Another series which is completed. Aimed at a younger audience it is in my 'Keeps' collection.

 

Maggie Furey 'The Shadowleague': Again, a completed trilogy and worth reading. And it has Dragons

 

Maggie Furey 'Artefacts of Power': I loved it, right up 'til the end. It had all the makings of a Wot series at which point it was suddenly wound up in a couple of chapters. I don't know if this was due to health problems or pressure from the publishers... but I feel a lot of potential was wasted. Still, it's a good read.

 

Further to Raymond Feist: The Empire Trilogy could be read seperately though is probably enjoyed more if read in sequence with the other Riftwar books. But I believe the trilogy really stands out. If you can't read all of them, just pick these three!

 

For fantasy/fiction of a different kind - read Jean M Auel's Earth children series (not yet competed...last book took 10 years!!) it is a ficticious account of one woman's journey in stone age times. Boring, I would have said.... but than she does end up riding a lion.. and well, don't want to give away more, but Auels delivers what a good writer should do. Transfers you to a different time and when you put the book down you have to pinch yourself to get back to reality... A bit too much sex in the later books... nothing against sex, but I don't like it when it is added to sell the book rather than to further the story.

 

Another good read are Kelley Armstrong's books. It's more Horror/Vampire type stuff and for a mature audience. Not something I would normally buy, but I saw a very positive recommendation on amazon which had a link to her website. On there you get a few free e-stories.... and I was hooked. Just had to find out what happened next to those characters. So this one you can actually try out before buying :)

[Corki]

The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb? I read that while in the States two years ago and wasn't impressed. I am hoping the second book, The Gates of Dawn, which I have but haven't read yet, is a lot better.

 

However, this will cause a stir (which I can do often), but I found The Fifth Sorceress a more enjoyable read than the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. I couldn't get into the books at all due to the style of the chapters. I gave up reading the second book as a result, as I got so confused. This is only the second ever time I have done such a thing. The only other being The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which made no sense to me whatsoever!

 

I am also not a huge Tolkien fan *hears the gasps* because I again found it difficult to grasp some of his plot lines, and the "Ye Olde Englishe" didn't help!

[Guest Egwene]

There will be a few gasps. A lot of people have Martin as their first or second choice. I have read the first 4 I think. It's ok, but if I was mad about them I'd have read the latest one which has been by my bed for ages..

 

Suprised that you liked the Newcomb one (yes, that's the one I meant). It wasn't so much the basic idea... that had promise, but I thought it was incredibly badly written. And by the end of book one there wasn't a single 'normal' female in sight. They all get raped, killed, are perverse, dumb, evil etc. etc. And the sorceresses, supposedly incredibly clever, loose their brains completely to sex!? Oh, forgot to mention the hero who at the age of thirty something acts like a big spoiled kid and overnight sees the light. Talk about character development.

 

If I sound a bit worked up ... I really kicked myself that I bought it. I had actually read really bad reviews about one book and really good ones about another. When I got to the bookshop, I'd forgotten which was which. It didn't take many chapters for the truth to dawn on me......

 

I keep my fingers croosed for you, that the second one is better.

[Corki]

Well, I just about prefered Newcomb's to aSoIaF, but I am not a great fan of either. I hope the second one is better. But it has been lying on my bookshelf for a while now, but there again, so many books have gone that way since I have become an unoversity student!

 

Another author I recommend is Sarah Zettel, another slightly unknown author, in my eyes. I can't remember what the name of the Trilogy is, but it is set in a land called Isavalta. That rings a bell. It might be called The Isavalta Trilogy. I really enjoyed books 1 and 3, but wasn't that keen on book 2. I did find parts of the series difficult to understand, but taking my time, I was able to thoroughly enjoy the books.