[dark-knight]

Dragondoom by Dennis L. McKiernan

Any comments on this novel of Mithgar????

What about any of R.A. Salvatores work?
Looking for something after GRRM but not another long series.
Well I was wondering do I have to start Goodkind from the beginning or can I pick up anywhere and not be lost?

[estranghero]

I can definitely recommend McKiernan's 'Dragondoom'.

Granted, DmK's earlier works (the Iron Towers Trilogy and the Silver Call Duology) are blatant rip-offs of Tolkien's LoTR. However, you could almost excuse him because, as he says in his foreword in ITT, he really wanted to write in the same vein as Tolkien to get his next fantasy-fiction addictive fix.

However, his later works have lately become boring, not for the lack of action, but because (1) he takes himself too seriously, and (2) he's become preachy.

It's only in DD that DmK avoids these later mistakes, being serious (almost epic) in style of writing yet at the same time, telling a very good story IMO. Of course, some readers may find his prose a bit heavy-handed and too-detailed at times in this book. However, if you stick with it, you'll read a good tale of a forbidden romance, a war between 2 races (2 kingdoms actually), a eternal blood feud, and impossible feats. A definite recommendation, IMHO.

[Bill]

You should probably start Goodkind at the beginning. The prose in the first novel in the series, though, is especially clunky. But I wouldn't be in any rush to read Goodkind unless you are craving high (pseudo-medieval) fantasy and nothing else will do.

Here are some great stand-alone fantasies that aren't set in a clichéd Fantasyland. I don't know if they are in print or not, but they are classics, and you should be able to find at least some of them in a used bookstore. You can get any of them through interlibrary loan:

Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (contemporary circa 1950s)
Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber (contemporary circa 1970s)
Black Easter by James Blish (contemporary circa 1960s (?))
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers (pirates!)
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (Victorian England)
The Blue Star by Fletcher Pratt (pseudo-Enlightenment)
The Well of the Uniocorn by Fletcher Pratt (actually is high fantasy)
Watership Down by Richard Adams (anthropomorphic rabbits)
Silverlock by John Myers Myers (where stories go to live when the book is over)

All of the above have the virtue that the author tells his story and gets out. That is refreshing in this era of never-ending series, which I admit I'm guilty of reading.

If you are looking for a series, I suggest you read any of the following before you pick up Goodkind:

Any of Dave Duncan's (http://www.daveduncan.com/books.html) series--I really do think the man is great. He writes like a grownup, but still has lots of action and a sophisticated sense of humor.
The Jhereg books by Steven Brust
The Thomas Covenant books by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay

Actually, any fantasy by Brust, Duncan, Kay, or Powers is of the highest quality. I've read 90% or so of everything these gentlemen have published. Anyone who has been reading my postings and believes he or she has tastes similar to mine may want to try them, if they haven't already.

[Barbarossa]

I can only second the reccomendations for Kay, Brust, and Powers (I haven't read Duncan yet...he's on my list).

Kay and Powers especially wrote several stand alones if you want a break from series.

On the other Hand Brusts Vlad Taltos books are most different in style fromn epic fantasy, and can be read independently of each other.

I would avoid Goodkind, or Salvatore if I were you. I only read SoT by GK and while I didn't find it the suckfeast others here described it didn't awake any urge to continue the series.

Salvatore is for me the prime example what's wrong with fantasy as well as what's wrong with media tie ins, it's deriative ****. Don't waste you money on it.

[Rob B]

Avoid Goodkind like the plague unless you want some laughs and to see everything that is wrong with Fantasy.

[SusF]

Ohhhh I forgot about Silverlock. I love that book. I've re-read it many times.

The Onion Girl was a wonderful book by Charles de Lint. It's a stand alone.

Susan

[fortytwo]

Barbarossa quote
"Salvatore is for me the prime example what's wrong with fantasy as well as what's wrong with media tie ins, it's deriative ****. Don't waste you money on it."
It looks like I've had a narrow escape,I had the chance to buy a Hardback of his containing a trilogy (Ican't remember the name) it looked a bargain for £5 but because I knew nothing about Salvatore I decided to investigate further and see if his name had cropped up on this forum.
This explains why there were about a dozen of these books for sale on display!

Thanks,Barbarossa
42

[Warewolf]

I thought that Dragondoom was an outstanding book, although I've been shot down in that regards on other forums (maybe even this one). One of the best standalone fantasy books that I've read. I have yet to read any of McKiernan's other stuff, though.

Salvatore is extremely fun reading if you don't go into it expecting something highbrow. These are very straightforward adventure books, although Salvatore's characters are very vivid, despite the fact that they're pretty one-dimensional most of the time (Drizzt's better than most in this regard). You will never read a better sword fight than one written by Salvatore. A lot of authors seem to have problems balancing the description of the details of the fight with the actual pace of a swordfight. I don't see this with Salvatore. Start with the Icewind Dale Trilogy (Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, Halfling's Gem) and, if you enjoy those, move on to the Dark Elf Trilogy (Homeland, Exile, Sojourn).

[Jon Shannow]

I have got to agree with Warewolf on Salvatore some of his work is very confused and contrived(the Demon books and the Woods out back) but he is a top Author in his feild which I would call mass produced Fantasy. His Drizzt's books are well worth the read the first couple of trilogys are prob. the best you will find in the ForgottenRealms series and the The Cleric Quintet I would say is as good in its way as most books praised here.

I would also like to point out that Terry Goodkind is not the root of all evil He is not as good as Guy Gavriel Kay but then who is I would read Goodkind before I read Stephen R. Donaldson.
The worst you can say about Goodkind is that he takes his politics way too seriously but then so does Martin and any number of Authors with obvious political leanings.