What Book of Series to Read Next: Goodkind, Erikson, Jordan, E.E. Knight

[ukbsktbll13]

I most notably just finished the Song and Ice and Fire and am sad to be done knowing the other two are far from completed. So I am looking to another series to read. Ones I am considering

Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Age of Fire - E.E. Knight
True Blood series of books

Or single books
The Children of Hurin - Tolkien
Under the Dome -Steven King

I am planning on reading all of these at some time, but was looking for any opinions on any of them in particular. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[mjolnir]

Well, you've got a lot of very different stuff there, in some ways. What about Ice and Fire do you particularly enjoy?

You'll find that Goodkind's series has few defenders around here, I think; some folks like it but it comes in for a lot of criticism. A lot of people find it very derivative, but that can be forgiven if the story's good. Less easy to overlook, for me, are a lack of good writing through most of the story, a protagonist who is virtually never wrong, a tendency toward being extremely pretentious [to be fair this does not really start to party hard until later, but once it gets into its groove it is very annoying], and a frequently cringe-inducing approach to torture and sex.

Erikson's Malazan is not my thing, but I'd recommend you try it because it is very well done. It's the polar opposite of Martin's Ice and Fire in some ways: Where Martin keeps the fantastical elements of his story on the sidelines, Erikson lets his fly free and spreads them in a thick layer of sugary frosting across every component of his world. Said world is massive and epic, filled with mighty beings, many of them with tortured minds, and civilizations of vicious warriors each more badass than the one before. The breadth of imagination is massive. We might not get quite as deep into many of the individuals as Martin does, and apparently -- I haven't read enough to say myself -- the continuity goes quite wobbly in spots, but the canvas is staggeringly vast and intricate. Definitely worth trying.

The Wheel of Time is, in some ways, a friendlier series from an earlier era. It's got the epic scope, but the characters we follow through the saga are [mostly -- there are some definite exceptions] either essentially good or essentially evil. Many find that the series goes off track in the middle -- this is less of an issue now, as it is almost complete and, provided all goes well, in just under a year will be readable in its entirety. I'm a fan, but the flaws people grouse about are very real.

Haven't read the rest of the books you list, I'm afraid. There are several recommendation threads on the board here -- including the one that's stickied up near the top -- which are very very helpful. I'd recommend you try those.

Oh, but if you enjoyed Martin, I'd recommend maybe looking into both Daniel Abraham and Joe Abercrombie at some point. Martin himself likes both [and has collaborated with Abraham recently.] Both authors write excellent secondary world fantasy.

[chris777]

I most notably just finished the Song and Ice and Fire and am sad to be done knowing the other two are far from completed. So I am looking to another series to read. Ones I am considering

Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Age of Fire - E.E. Knight
True Blood series of books

Or single books
The Children of Hurin - Tolkien
Under the Dome -Steven King

I am planning on reading all of these at some time, but was looking for any opinions on any of them in particular. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Rob will be here shortly to guide you to the correct threads.

Assuming you ever respond here. (Most people who post once asking these questions are never heard from again) What books have you read? Are you an accomplished reader? Have you read many of the classics(Older Fantasies)? LeGuin? LOTR? Dying Suns?

[Seak]

I most notably just finished the Song and Ice and Fire and am sad to be done knowing the other two are far from completed. So I am looking to another series to read. Ones I am considering

Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Age of Fire - E.E. Knight
True Blood series of books

Or single books
The Children of Hurin - Tolkien
Under the Dome -Steven King

I am planning on reading all of these at some time, but was looking for any opinions on any of them in particular. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I read Sword of Truth after having read A Song of Ice and Fire, Malazan, and others and while I enjoyed it fine, it's nowhere near as good. I think you'll be sorely let down. It's just too cliche. If I would have read it before those I've mentioned, I would have liked it a lot more.

Malazan Book of the Fallen is easily one of my all time favorite series and I put it right up there with GRRM and surpassing George in many areas.

Wheel of Time is awesome, but you definitely have to have some patience. I'm in the middle of the big slow down (book 7) and I have to take breaks in between books. It starts out traditional, but gets complicated and way more than farmer boy becomes king.

[ukbsktbll13]

I really enjoyed the character development in the Song of Ice and Fire. I think I enjoyed about everything about it. This was my first series that had each chapter from the point of view of a specific character. I thought that was an enjoyable change from the traditional way books are written. Really enjoyed the story.

I have read the LoTR. Do enjoy reading have also read all of Glen Cooks Black Company books - not sure if the last two will ever be finished. My main concern really is that the length of these series. Are they easy reads.

I am not sure if you have read any of the Black Company but I felt like they were a tough read. They jumped around a lot and I felt like it took me much longer to read them bc of that. The Song of Ice and Fire started out a little rough but after the first book I breezed through it.

[mjolnir]

I've read the opening book of Black Company, and agree about the roughness. Tough though I found it, though, I think it's a really cool stylistic choice: Croaker doesn't explain things to us. We're just thrown right into his chronicling of the company's attempts to survive and profit in the strange world they take for granted as hardened professionals, and must swim. Erikson's approach to building the world and the way the world's narrated to us in Malazan is very much like this; he's specifically referenced Glen Cook's Black Company as an influence, and thinks very highly of the series.

[ukbsktbll13]

Yes. The Black Company took me much longer than expected but by the end I can say it was a great series. I feel I may read a few books that I've been eyeing and are quick reads first then tackle one of these series.

[ukbsktbll13]

Also is there a certain series from Daniel Abraham or Joe Ambercrombie you recommend?

[Werthead]

Joe Abercrombie's series is called The First Law. Book 1 is The Blade Itself. It's pretty decent. He also has a sequence of stand-alone books in the same world that follow on from it.

Daniel Abraham's series is called The Long Price Quartet. Book 1 is A Shadow in Summer, but you may want to wait for the omnibus edition of the first two books (called Shadow and Betrayal). Abraham is a protege - of sorts - of GRRM and is a very good writer. He also has a current fantasy series called The Dagger and the Coin, but it is incomplete.

I wouldn't read either The Sword of Truth or Under the Dome, which are both awful. Wheel of Time is reasonably good, but it's very long and has some dull books in its third quarter (but the last few books have been very good). Malazan is much more complex than anything else on your list, but is rewarding if you stick with it through the confusing first novel.

[chris777]

Joe Abercrombie's series is called The First Law. Book 1 is Before They Are Hanged. It's pretty decent. He also has a sequence of stand-alone books in the same world that follow on from it.

DECENT? DECENT WERT? =) First Law is the best fantasy trilogy written to date. And that's a fact, not an opinion. Seriously though, I loved that series, and recommend it highly to anyone and everyone.

I wouldn't read either The Sword of Truth or Under the Dome, which are both awful. Wheel of Time is reasonably good, but it's very long and has some dull books in its third quarter (but the last few books have been very good). Malazan is much more complex than anything else on your list, but is rewarding if you stick with it through the confusing first novel.

This is kind of what I was getting at. SoT is pretty simple, basic, dull. If you are hell bent, read it NOW. Before you start getting into the really good stuff, cause by then you will definitely not enjoy it.

As for WoT. That's one of my favorites too. Like was said here, it's pretty bloated, fluff, filler books 6or7-10ish. Once Sanderson starts writing though, the payoff is worth it! He's doing an amazing job.

Malazan is also amazing. But you mentioned Black Company and books that might be long, thick, rough. Malazan is definitely all of these.

If i were you I'd start reading Wheel of Time. Maybe take breaks in between with First Law. If you like First law, read the follow up standalone's - Best Served Cold and The Heroes. I would recommend Malazan, but maybe after you've read some of the others since you need to be in the right mindset when entering the Malazan world.

Some other ones that I think everyone here would agree on recommending:
Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)
Prince of Nothing Trilogy (Scott Bakker)
The KingKiller Chronicle (Patrick Rothfuss)
Gentlemen Bastard Sequence (Scott Lynch)

And to a lesser degree(IMO)---

The Book of the New Sun (Gene Wolfe)
Night Angel Trilogy (Brent Weeks)
Acts of Caine (Mathew Stover)

[mjolnir]

I was trying to be polite, but since other people've said it first ... yeah, Sword of Truth is dire and I'd advise against wasting your time. You should totally decide for yourself, though [the first book is also the best, as I recall, and might well be entertaining.]

I think the first book of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy is The Blade Itself, actually. Before They Are Hanged is book 2.

Yeah, I should've been clearer about Abraham, sorry. The Long Price Quartet is a favourite of mine. I think that omnibus collecting the first two books is actually out in the States now [unless it's been delayed, which is always possible.] The series is a bit quieter, a bit more contemplative than a lot of the other stuff we've been talking about. His new series, The Dagger and the Coin, is a little bit more "mainstream" in terms of epic fantasy and might almost be what I'd recommend trying first, but as Werthead says it's not yet done.

Pedantic knitpicking that doesn't matter for this thread, but I like to give Jordan his due: While Sanderson's executed the story very well and, I'm sure, brought his own flare to the writing of it, the plot he's closing out is still Jordan's. Jordan also got the series' recovery well under way himself, in Knife of Dreams -- the last book he completed, which while a long way from flawless addressed many of the pacing issues fans had with the way the story was moving forward.

Hmm, you say you enjoyed Martin's focus on Character? Ever read Robin Hobb?

Two cents on the other stuff Chris suggested: Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is widely acknowledged as one of science fiction and fantasy's great works and you should absolutely try it, but I cannot really talk about the series because Wolfe does not work for me; it's some sort of a condition. Bakker's series has some excellent points, but my issues with how he's pursuing his take on fantasy have grown markedly with each volume, and are now teetering on the verge of completely eclipsing those things he does exceptionally. I've read the first book of Sanderson's Mistborn; quite fun. It'll take the third book to tell, but I'm inclining toward the opinion that Rothfuss is a genius. Lynch's books're like what would happen if somebody figured out how to toast fun. On a stick. Over a campfire.

[End Of Disc One]

Book 1 of The First Law is The Blade Itself, not Before They Are Hanged.

[Bob Gray]

Joe Abercrombie's series is called The First Law. Book 1 is Before They Are Hanged. It's pretty decent. He also has a sequence of stand-alone books in the same world that follow on from it.

Daniel Abraham's series is called The Long Price Quartet. Book 1 is A Shadow in Summer, but you may want to wait for the omnibus edition of the first two books (called Shadow and Betrayal). Abraham is a protege - of sorts - of GRRM and is a very good writer. He also has a current fantasy series called The Dagger and the Coin, but it is incomplete.

I wouldn't read either The Sword of Truth or Under the Dome, which are both awful. Wheel of Time is reasonably good, but it's very long and has some dull books in its third quarter (but the last few books have been very good). Malazan is much more complex than anything else on your list, but is rewarding if you stick with it through the confusing first novel.

Under the Dome is an excellent book, definitely read it.

[End Of Disc One]

Under the Dome is an excellent book, definitely read it.

Hah when this showed up in my email I thought it was a Werthead post. I was confused.

[Heather Myst]

I should state that I loved the Sword of Truth series so my opinion is different that most of the others here. Song of Ice and Fire is my all time favorite. I thought Wheel of Time was average but I would not recommend the Malazan series. Abercrombie's First Law series and his stand alone Best Served Cold were excellent.