Looking for Series Suggestions

[algspkr]

I have been kind of bored and would like a new series to read.  I have read some of The Sword of Truth and A Song of Fire and Ice and was not a big fan of either.  I have read The Sword, the Ring, and the Chalice, and liked it; I am considering getting the rest of her books, but am a little worried that they will be let downs.  I would love a series like Wheel of Time where plot lines are clearly incomplete at the end of each book (except the last I hope) and new concepts are not flung out of right field for each new book and forgotten in the subsequent novels, but the main attribute I am interested in is that the series be complete as I do not need a second Wheel of Time consuming far too much of my thoughts for several more years.

[redarm]

Here is a link to another topic discussing this very thing.  There are a lot of good suggestions here.

 

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,53232.0.html

 

 

To sum up

 

The Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies by Melanie Rawn were quite good.  You can read them seperately or back to back.  They contain many of the same characters but are different stories taking place years apart.

 

Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn was outsatnding.  It's only three books(actually the third was split in two due to it's length)but is well written has strong plot lines and a rich background of supporting characters, places, and history.

 

The Coldfire Trilogy by C. S. Friedman was pretty good.  Pretty original too.  

 

Terry Brooks has written several decent series.  The Landover books are ok.  Of course The entire Shannara series was good too.  If you are looking for a time investment this is the place to start.  They are relatively easy reads but there are quite a few books, the most famous being the Sword of Shannara,  The Elfstones of Shannara, and The Wishsong of Shannara.  The best of all of the series are actually the last written but the first chronologically.  The Word and the Void trilogy begins the story in modern times in the good old USA. The Genesis of Shannara trilogy follows that up a few years later in a post apocoliptic world that gives rise to the world as we get to know it in the rest of the Shannara books.  Those six books were very good.

 

David Eddings wrote several series taking place in the same world and containing many of the same characters.  Again many are an easy read but they are worth the time if only for some of the characters.  Start With the Belgariad and move on from there.  Once you complete the serial books both Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress finish everything off quite nicely.  His other series contain wholly different characters and worlds.  The Ellenium and The Tamuli were good.  His newest series, written with his wife was ok but seemed written for a middle shooler. Simple even by his own standards.  I think it was called The Treasured Ones.

 

The Winter of the World, by Michael Scott Rohan, was really good.  A lot of references to common mythology.  Very original in a landscape that is very familiar, though prehistoric.  A little original magic, adventure,  and some good story telling. well worth it.

 

If you don't mind SciFi The Dune books are worth the read.  The original series begins thousands of years in our future after we have spread humanity throughout the galaxy.  The stories follow a set of characters as they try to survive the elements of the planet Arakis (aka Dune) and the political viper pit of the Empire.  There is a lot of backstory that is not filled in untill you read the other sets of Dune Books so it can be a bit confusing at first.  I am actuially reading through those now and it has been very enjoyable, as many questions I had have now been answered.  

 

Some others of interest are Christopher Palini's Eragon series, though it isn't complete.  Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy,  and though many here hate it The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. It rambles, preaches, and seems to be a blatant ripoff of Jordans WOT series but if you can get past those things and not compare it to anything else it is actually a decent story.  The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock.

 

I'm sure others will have their suggestions but there is a start.  Happy reading.

[whitetrash]

The Black company by Glen Cook ( about 10 books.)

Eldon thompson" the Legend of Asahiel Trilogy

[Mr Ares]

First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (complete, but with further books in the same setting).

Prince of Nothing trilogy by R. Scott Bakker (complete, with sequel series currently being produced).

Long Price quartet by Daniel Abraham (complete).

[algspkr]

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Shadows_Edge]

Some of my fave series that i would highly recommend are:

 

The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks,

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman,

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini,

The Saga Of Darren Shan by Darren Shan(lol),

The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings(and all other books by them),

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix,

 

The only thing that annoys me is that books from 3 of these series have been made into crap movies that really dont reflect the books so if you've seen the movies but not read the books at least give them a try my highest recommendation is for The Night Angel Trilogy its amazing I was totally glued to it.

[Senexx]

I believe this is one you are unlikely to hear outside of Australia and New Zealand:

 

The Second Sons Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon

[Mr Ares]

I believe this is one you are unlikely to hear outside of Australia and New Zealand:

 

The Second Sons Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon

Not as unlikely as you might believe, I've recommended that in the past. A good choice.

[HoppyQ]

Has anyone tried the Runelords series by Farland?  I just started it and it's not too bad so far.

[papertiger]

I hear the Malazan Books of the Fallen, by Steven Erickson, gets pretty good after a slow start. Also, he comes out with one 1,000 page book every year like clockwork. It's already up to ten volumes or so.

[Mr Ares]

I hear the Malazan Books of the Fallen, by Steven Erickson, gets pretty good after a slow start. Also, he comes out with one 1,000 page book every year like clockwork. It's already up to ten volumes or so.

The tenth and final book in this series is due out early next year, I believe. However, this is for a given value of final, as the author not only plans more books in the same setting (prequels and sequels), his fellow author is also writing books in the same setting, and much is set up in the works of Erikson that might be finished in books by another author. As the OP did want completed series, this might be one to avoid for now.

[Ishmayl]

 

Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn was outsatnding.  It's only three books(actually the third was split in two due to it's length)but is well written has strong plot lines and a rich background of supporting characters, places, and history.

 

I cannot recommend this series enough!  It is my favorite fantasy series, I probably re-read it once every two years or so.  I have the books on CD, read by an amazing voice actor, and sometimes just throw on my favorite chapters while I'm working out or drawing.  

 

A word of warning, Tad Williams is notorious in the fantasy world for slow starts.  This series takes about 190 pages to actually get to the action and the plot, but from that point on, it is literally non-stop.  Go get this series now and read it! :)

 

Also, Steven Brust's series about Vlad Taltos is definitely worth reading as well - each book is self-contained, but there is an overall mythology and story that is very nice.  Also, each book is pretty short.

[Theleos]

The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. A good series in its own right, but worth reading just to get a feel for his work, since he is taking over where RJ left off. His other books Elantris and Warbreaker are stand alone books that are also good reads.

 

The Deathgate Cycle was written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman was also good. 7 books set in a very Magical world or rather several Magical worlds that it jumps between. All the same characters all one long story.

 

I would have suggested A Song of Ice and Fire (George RR Martin), it is one of my favorites and I am suprised that you didnt like it. I would urge another look at it if you didnt give it a fair chance.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention the aSoIaF is not complete yet, so you may want to steer clear for a while after all. Nevertheless still a great read.