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Lord-Jaffa · 5 Aug 2009 at 16:22

Malakite said:
Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time just for the sheer epic scope of the series. Although as mentioned the series now will not be finished. RIP.

This is incorrect, the last book (Memory of Light book 12) has been written and is being released in three parts, first part out in november.

Malakite · 5 Aug 2009 at 16:44

Lord-Jaffa said:
This is incorrect, the last book (Memory of Light book 12) has been written and is being released in three parts, first part out in november.

Yeah Antar Bolaeisk pointed that out earlier in the thread. Something i'm very glad off, having invested so much time in the series it would have been a shame not to see a conclusion.

Meridian · 5 Aug 2009 at 17:15

Dano said:
could have been cut to about half the length by removing all the ridiculous waffle

This sums up most fantasy perfectly. It's the only genre I know where editors seem to want the writers to add stuff, not take it out. And it shows - the padding is seldom therefore for any reason but to show how clever the writer is. I blame Tolkien.

M

Meridian · 5 Aug 2009 at 17:18

Random Guy said:
- Orcs by Stan Nichols: Hilarious and off-beat take on fantasy, very dark and very enjoyable

I found this a big disappointment, with the orcs effectively being portrayed as Native Americans with big teeth. Read "Grunts" by Mary Gentle for the story as it should have been.

If lashing of ultra-violence are your thing, Joe Abercrombie's stuff is pretty good; and now Richard Morgan has entered the fray with "The Steel Remains". Anyone who has read "Altered Carbon" and its sequels can guess the amount of gore on show.

M

Last Kronin · 5 Aug 2009 at 17:32

Like a lot of people have mentioned,

Raymond E Feist, think ive read everything hes writing, hes onto a new trilogy
Robert jordan's Wheel of Time ( like people have said Brandon Sanderson has taking over for the last 3 books)
Robin Hobb
Brent Weeks Night Angel Trilogy is quite good and pretty cheap think £4.99 per book
Gail Z Martin Chronicles of the Necromancer
Janny Wurts novels
Adrian Tchaikovsky Shadows of the Apts
L.E Modesitt Jr novels
J.V Jones novels as well

Are a few i can name, by looking around my room.

just Scott · 5 Aug 2009 at 18:28

This thread is very interesting. I quite like the sound of the Wheel of Time series, and the Song of Ice and Fire series. Which would you guys recommend for someone who hardly ever reads?

Liefrich · 5 Aug 2009 at 18:45

H2F Scott said:
This thread is very interesting. I quite like the sound of the Wheel of Time series, and the Song of Ice and Fire series. Which would you guys recommend for someone who hardly ever reads?

Having read both those I think it's fair to say they can be heavy going BUT very rewarding, Song of Ice and Fire is the better series however it may be worthwhile starting on more easy going fantasy like Robin Hobb.

If you're man enough though get stuck into Song of Ice and Fire.

Shamikebab · 5 Aug 2009 at 18:51

H2F Scott said:
This thread is very interesting. I quite like the sound of the Wheel of Time series, and the Song of Ice and Fire series. Which would you guys recommend for someone who hardly ever reads?

I'd recommend the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb as a great starting point. Not only is it a fantastic series but it's very readable for non-fantasy fans.

just Scott · 5 Aug 2009 at 18:57

Thanks you two, i'll check that trilogy out then.

leezer3 · 5 Aug 2009 at 22:39

Makunouchi said:
Agenda?

Basically, the whole business with the two diametrically opposed theologies I suppose.
Jalgang and the Imperial Order & their aims are never portrayed as anything other than pure evil, wheras you've got Westland who are basically free and open

There never seem to be any shades of grey, just black and white.
Shades of grey and the border between good and evil, truth and lies is what makes a good book

-Leezer-

Random Guy · 5 Aug 2009 at 22:43

leezer3 said:
Basically, the whole business with the two diametrically opposed theologies I suppose.
Jalgang and the Imperial Order & their aims are never portrayed as anything other than pure evil, wheras you've got Westland who are basically free and open

There never seem to be any shades of grey, just black and white.
Shades of grey and the border between good and evil, truth and lies is what makes a good book

-Leezer-

A Song of Ice and Fire is what you want in that case

No1newts · 5 Aug 2009 at 23:34

Wyrdo said:
Didn't want to quote myself but have none of you guys read this series? Seriously, rush out and buy it now, it's brilliant!

I found the Thomas Covenant stories OK at first but it became very dull for me after a while, certainly not something I'd recommend.

I'll also echo the recommendations for The Wheel of Time, a Song of Ice and Fire and all of Robin Hobbs books (She has just released a new one - start of a new trilogy based around the world of the Liveship Traders trilogy)

Its unbelievable. Best series I have ever read.

Cant wait for the new book.

It is the most epic series I have read in terms of well... everything. Whilst his writing style tends to get a little too descriptive near the end of the series (which seems to happen to all long series for some reason) it is quite jaw droppingly epic.

Some said Raymond Feist, I will only agree with his earlier work, the modern stuff is pure trash with him contradicting some of his clearly written character statements from earlier books :confused:

Terry Pratchett is fantastic, great books and even better characters.

Robert Jordan is great.

Ever read the Dune series by Frank Herbert? If not read it right now, one of the best pieces of fantasy ever.

Whilst some may massively disagree with this, the Gaunts Ghost series by Dan Abnett for the Games Workshop Black Library is a great series

No1newts · 5 Aug 2009 at 23:41

Malakite said:
Yeah Antar Bolaeisk pointed that out earlier in the thread. Something i'm very glad off, having invested so much time in the series it would have been a shame not to see a conclusion.

Unless it gets molested like the Dune series was at the finish by Herberts son and that troglodyte Anderson.

They could never ruin such an immense series but they took a damn good swing at it, they should both have their hands cut of and their eyes gouged out for crimes against the literary word, that and to stop either of them writing again.

caff · 5 Aug 2009 at 23:44

Phoen1x said:
I can heartily recommend Margaret Wieis and Tracy Hickman's series'. Dragons of Autumn Twilight is the first of a trilogy and a fair old brick when bought together. It is massive in scope, a good old fashioned saving the world fantasy novel. There then comes the Twins trilogy and many one off novels, and another series that continues the Dragons trilogy.

Complicated to explain - lots of books and they jump around in time. The first three are brilliant so highly recommended.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Dragons of Winter Night
Dragons of Spring Dawning.

The world is very rich in lore and history, sounds like exactly what you are after.

Brilliant series. All the characters are superb, but one of the characters, Raistlin, will keep you completely hooked.

Antar Bolaeisk · 6 Aug 2009 at 00:16

H2F Scott said:
This thread is very interesting. I quite like the sound of the Wheel of Time series, and the Song of Ice and Fire series. Which would you guys recommend for someone who hardly ever reads?

Suspension of disbelief isn't as great for "A Song of Ice and Fire" than it is for "The Wheel of Time" as it's not too heavy on the magic aspect whereas in "Wheel of Time" there's some form of magic on nearly every page. For that reason I would say pick up "A Song of Ice and Fire" first but definitely read both. Of course these are both epics and range across several books (16 eventually for "Wheel of Time" and 8? for "Ice and Fire") so perhaps starting off small with something like the Discworld Series would be better. The Discworld Series is a collection of books (30+) by Terry Pratchett yet each book is self contained, though there are a few continuations of certain threads, short but sweet sandwich of fun.

Shamikebab · 6 Aug 2009 at 00:21

Antar Bolaeisk said:
Of course these are both epics and range across several books (16 eventually for "Wheel of Time" and 8? for "Ice and Fire") so perhaps starting off small with something like the Discworld Series would be better.

That made me laugh

I known what you're trying to say though.

Malakite · 6 Aug 2009 at 08:43

caff said:
Brilliant series. All the characters are superb, but one of the characters, Raistlin, will keep you completely hooked.

I agree with this. The Dragonlance books were the first fantasy books I ever read, got me hooked on the whole fantasy genre and I have been ever since. Probaly the main reason for my love of reading and stories as well. This was all down to the great story and characters set out by Weiss and Hickman.

Phoen1x · 6 Aug 2009 at 08:58

No1newts said:
Whilst some may massively disagree with this, the Gaunts Ghost series by Dan Abnett for the Games Workshop Black Library is a great series

I actually completely agree, I will happily pick up anything by Dan Abnett. It's more Sci Fi rather than Fantasy, but the two genres are very mixed up in WH40K mythology. His books on the Inquisitors are fantastic too.

Shamikebab · 6 Aug 2009 at 09:02

If we're allowing some Sci-Fi then the Horus Heresy, just superb.

Fenris · 6 Aug 2009 at 09:29

Just another shout for Wheel of Time, I absolutely love it, it does get rather slow paced from book 7-10 as said but still all very good.

The series is full of perfectly epic moments and cheesy "old time" language, it's also got quite a decent romantic sub plot going for the majority. Lots of characters to like, even more to hate, but what makes the books nice is that each of the main charcters (3) split towards the middle of the series and you explore all 3 of their "adventures" seperately, and as they are all quite differant you get a very varied read.