[Oggy]

I agree, Elena, that is a great trilogy.
Anyway, my recommendation is Raymond E. Feist and his Riftwar.

[Alairic]

Go to my website: www.geocities.com/area51/shire/7091 (http://www.geocities.com/area51/shire/7091)
and read the l;ist of recommended books.

here's a few of my favorites:
FANTASY:


The Master of Fantasy: J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth saga

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series

George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series

Dennis L. McKiernan's 'Mithgar' Chronicles

Mickey Zucher reichert's Renshai saga

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern

Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair trilogy

Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos saga
as well as his follow-up trilogy starting with 'The Pheonix Guards.'

Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga.

Ray Feist and Janny Wurts Co-Authored Daughter of the Empire
Follow-up to the Riftwar saga.

Anything by David Eddings

L.E. Modesitt's Recluce Saga

Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar or 'Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser' books.

Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series.

Anything by David Gemmell.

Harry Harrison's 'Cross and Hammer' series.

R.A. Salvatore's Demon Trilogy

Fred Saberhagen's The Book of Swords saga.

Anything by Tamora Pierce.
But make sure you get the first in a series, or you might get lost.

Janny Wurts' Curse of the Mistwraith and Wars of Light and Shadow line of books

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series.

Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, esp. TIGANA


SCIENCE FICTION

The Dune saga by Frank Herbert.

Anything by Michael Crichton.

The Ender's Game saga by Orson Scott Card.


enjoy!

[Shehzad]

As a seasoned reader of fantasy, my advice would be depend on your taste. My cousin, who's more into the fast-paced, up-there books, would never be able to digest Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" one of my all time favourites, or Guy Gavriel Kay's "Fionavar Tapestry". He would also shy away from fat fiction like Tad Williams. Another freind of mine got initiated into fantasy through Donalson's superb books and can't think of going towards "commercialized trash". I for one, really did not like Piers Anthony, and Terry Brooks did not impress me much either. My advice:

START WITH TOLKIEN!

[deemstar]

Tolkien is the foundation with which nearly all fantasy as we know it is based and is a good area to begin as most have said. He also based much of his work on Mythology and of course that is often an overlooked interest in the realm of fantasy. I would recomend reading up on much Norse and Celtic mythology especially. Elves, Faeries, Dwarves, and Dragons good old fashioned magic are all some of the common elements of fantasy that carried over from mythology.

Other than that, I would also recomend "The Legend of Huma" from the Dragonlance series. It is a great and powerful tale, pure fantasy through and through, where the hero defies all odds in classic fashion. Nearly every main Dragonlance book makes some reference through use of a song or story about and to Huma and his great deeds. Of course I would aslo recomend te rest of the Dragonlance series.

One series I have not seen mentioned here is the Earthsea trilogy. That has always been one of my favorites, especially the last book "The Farthes Shoar." It is trully literature, applying the story's meaning directly to the context of the setting and also to any one in any world, real or not. Good literature of any form should teach you about life's journey in some way.

[Giarc]

Good point deemster....mythology and legends were the precursor reading-material that sparked my love of fantasy.

[Eventine]

Actually, it wasn't the Earthsea trilogy but a quartet.
The fourth book, Tehanu, is an interesting aftermath, and I've always thought that she might have continued on from there.

[Lady Fox]

A word of warning -- Jordan's Wheel of Time books are addictive. I HIGHLY recommend them, but he is on book 9 (out in November) and there is no end in site. I also recommend the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy G. Kay and the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. These are just some of my favs. There is a lot of good fantasy lit out there to choose from. Enjoy the ride!!

[Davis]

Fantasy comes in many different levels. If you prefer something light, try Piers Anthony and his Xanth series. Steven Brust has some excellent works that are humorous, but retain a closer grip on sanity. And Don Callander has some decently silly works.

If you wish the more "standard" adventure areas (boy grows up to be king type) try David Edding and the Belgariad / Malloreon series. Tad Williams and his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series shows this theme a little more "deeply." Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is also an excellent read for this type of fantasy. He can get a bit heavy on the politics though.

Finally, there is some real "gritty" fantasy that will run you through a gambit of emotions. Anything by Stephen R. Donaldson will satisfy this. I encourage readers to look up his history. It shows a lot about the pain he puts in his stories. Tolkien falls under this section as well. In fact, he founded this type of fantasy. Mercedes Lackey and her Herald Mage series covers this topic also.

Many authors write works that vary under different headings. Basically just start reading, eventually you will refine your tastes to the area that suits you.

[Paul_Ashaman]

The first fantasy series I read was David Eddings Belgariad, its a good introduction to fantasy.

But one of the best fantasy series ever I think is Tolkiens Lord of the Rings.

[Alex]

I have to agree with Paul. Eddings is a great author if you're a newbie at fantasy reading. His plots are easy to follow and very easy read. Brooks is very much the same. It was Eddings who got me hooked on the genre. Now other great writers are David Gemmel, R.AS Salvatore, Jordan, George Martin, Sara Douglass, David Farland, Elisabeth Moon..... There are hundreds of fantasy writers out there. You have to find your own favourite.