recommended authors or series?

[loki redfern]

cant remember if iv recomended any of theres yet bit

the lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Across the the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick and The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer are quite good

[Hannibal King]

I liked the magic kingdom of landover series, and the books that Anne Mccaffery and her son do together.

[Werthead]

1) A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin. Four books (of a planned seven) set in a world stricken by extremely long seasons, with a bloody, brutal civil war providing the backdrop for the best epic fantasy ever written. His character-building is incredible and the twists and turns in the story are amazing. The depth of history and his theme of the acquisition, use and abuse of power provides impressive depth to the work.

 

2) The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Six books (of a planned ten). The MBF is a huge story, far larger in scope and scale than even WoT. Several storylines run in tandem, seperated by vast distances, but come together satisfactorily in the sixth volume. Unlike many other modern fantasy writers, Erikson is a very fast writer: Book 7 is out in March and Book 8 is already being written.

 

3) The Prince of Nothing Trilogy by R. Scott Bakker. A complete trilogy, although there will be four sequel books set twenty years later. Bakker's trilogy reads like Lord of the Rings as written by Frank Herbert. Bakker has some amazing writing skill and his prose is incredible. As a teacher of philosophy, his ideas are interesting. However, his story is also somewhat grim and the central tenet of the series - the rise to power of an morally ambiguous Nietzschen superman - may not to be everyone's tastes.

 

4) The Gentleman Bastard by Scott Lynch. The most impressive fantasy debut of the last couple of years. His first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora (of seven), is just a brilliantly fun novel, but with layers of impressive depth and some great storytelling. He benefits from making each book somewhat self-contained with its own story arc, with only a few recurring elements.

 

5) The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. A complete trilogy (published in six books in the US due to their length). Hamilton is now Britain's biggest-selling SF writer and it's easy to see why with this series: a fast-paced epic space opera with great characters, an original, genre-bending storyline and a mix of cynicism (humanity will never go into space unless people can make money out of it) and optimism (the Edenists have developed the ultimate utopian civilisation). The best slice of space opera since Dune.

 

6) The Middle-earth Books by JRR Tolkien. Four books (counting LotR as one). 'Nuff said, except that The Silmarillion is probably the greatest artistic achievement in the fantasy genre to date.

 

7) The Dying Earth Series by Jack Vance. Four books, available in omnibus editions. Fantasy's funniest writer, but at times also its most melancholy. This series of four books set at the end of time moves from hilarity (the adventures of the antihero Cugel in the middle two books) to a more maudlin, poetic examination of humanity facing its end.

 

8 ) The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake. A complete trilogy, often available in a single volume. A towering work of the imagination, set inside a Gothic, city-sized castle where aeons-old ritual defines the parameters of the world, and the evil Steerpike threatens to overturn the old order. Densely-written and challenging, but well worth the effort.

 

9) The Discworld Chronicles by Terry Pratchett. 30 books, more forthcoming. This series of individual comic fantasies has risen over the last twenty-five years to become the biggest-selling fantasy series in the world (bar Rowling and Tolkien, naturally). With such a large number of books, some are naturally a bit poor, but the best books (Small Gods in particular) are illuminating, mixing comedy with impressive ruminations on various facets of modern life, from the Internet to the rise of religious fundamentalism.

 

10) The Great Dune Saga by Frank Herbert. Six books. A highly impressive science fiction saga and Arrakis - aka Dune - was the most impressive feat of SF worldbuilding until arguably Brian Aldiss' Helliconia. Herbert's philosophical ruminations are interesting and his graps of plot and character is incredible in Dune itself, although later books show signs of diminishing returns. The Prelude to Dune Trilogy by his son and Kevin J. Anderson is okay, but nowhere near as good as the originals. The Legends of Dune Trilogy is simply an abomination, horrifically badly-written throughout with predictable storytelling.

 

Stephen Erikson's Malazan Book Of The Fallen series is simply the best fantasy out there at the moment. As much as I love RJ, I've come to prefer MBOF overall; perhaps the fact that he has a dislike of cliffhangers helps some Wink

 

As much as I enjoy MBF, this laudable state of affairs is sadly let down badly by the sixth book, The Bonehunters, which contains an absolute raft of them