Need help picking new fantasy series to read

[Rob B]

Hi Danielle, you get a box of cookies for adding to one (of the many) existing recommendation thread rather than starting a new one.

With that said, here are some you might enjoy:

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (link to the SFFWorld Sanderson portal with my official reviews of each book in the series) - The trilogy is complete and has received quite a bit of positive buzz both here and in the genre. I passed along copies to my brother-in-law and he enjoyed it quite a bit. You may have heard that Brandon is completing the Wheel of Time.

The Warded Man/The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett - debut novel & first in a series. One of the most impressive debut novels I've read. Starts a bit archetypical (but handled very well) and evolves into its own little beast.

The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks (link to the SFFWorld Weeks portal with my official reviews of each book in the series) - This series has somewhat divided opinions here at SFFWorld but the series is complete and has strong supporters in myself and suciul, among others.

Those are more recent authors.

Some less recent, but still terrific authors and series to check out:

Matthew Stover's Acts of Caine comprised of Heroes Die, Blade of Tyshalle, and Caine Black Knife

Tad Williams: Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and Shadowmarch

 

[Seak]

I know you said you're not a huge fan of series' that are longer than 5 or 6 books, but going by your "loved" category, I have to recommend Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series starting with Gardens of the Moon. It's soooooooo good. And if I didn't recommend it, someone else would.

 

[Bren18]

First Law series was incredible. If you are looking for a bit of violence Joe Abercrombie does a great job of bringing you to the brink of what most can handle. His novel flows in a way that I have not experienced in a long time. His individual characters are written very distinctively and true to what you would expect if you ever met them.

Above all else his battle scenes are described in a way that puts you inside the action. IMO, not comparable to other authors in this respect.

 

[Cranky Hamster]

First Law series was incredible.

Except she's already read it, as noted in the first post.

I feel like in a lot of recommendation threads people just spew out whatever author they're currently enjoying without bothering to actually, you know, read the requester's actual post. Enthusiasm's great and all, but it's a lot more helpful if it's targeted.

Anyway.

Seconded on Painted/Warded Man. It's not perfect and it definitely has some issues (dig up the thread on the book to see if those will be dealbreakers for you), but it's really fun.

I'm not a Sanderson fan. He's so bad at prose that it cripples my ability to read and enjoy his books.

From your loved books it looks like you're interested in secondary world fantasy with a sweeping scope and a fair sense of wonder, so I'd suggest Jacqueline Carey's first Kushiel books, maybe Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy, the rest of Guy Gavriel Kay's work.

Dave Duncan's The Alchemist's Apprentice might appeal if you liked Scott Lynch (Duncan's work is substantially less profane and works with a much lighter touch; it is also more grounded in a real historical setting and less overtly "fantastic"). David Gemmell or Paul Kearney might appeal if you liked Joe Abercrombie (but they are also very heavy on the fighting so maybe not).

Finally, Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint is under-mentioned around here but has an elegance and deftness that deserves more appreciation, so I'll throw it in there as a semi-random recommendation.

 

[Simon F]

I'd second you try the rest of Guy Gavrial Kays books - i also didn't like Ysabel as much as his other books

 

[beniowa]

I'll second Mistborn, The Warded Man, and the rest of Kay's books.

Add,
A Shadow in Summer, Daniel Abraham
Lavinia, Ursula Le Guin
The Last Wish, Andrzej Sapkowski

Someone already mentioned Gardens of the Moon and I want to add that opinions on the book tend to be divisive and they extend to the series as a whole. If you like either of the first two books, you might like some of the rest.

 

[Cranky Hamster]

Oh, good call on Daniel Abraham.

I knew I was forgetting someone. For some reason he's always the one who slips through the cracks of my mind. It's so weird, because he's so good, and yet he's the one I forget about every single time.

 

[danielle]

I just wanted to thank you all for your recommendations! I put them down on a list and I can't wait to get started.

 

[DurzoBlint]

Conn Iggulden!!!!!!! he wrote four books on Caeser and currently has two on Ghengis. technically they are historical fiction but they are very good and well worth it.

I really enjoyed both the Caesar and Ghengis series they are fast paced, take few historical liberties and leave you wanting more. I always look to see what else Conn has put out.

 

[JebStryke]

I always recommend the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, by Michael Scott. It's cool because almost every character is based on a real historical person or a mythological figure. The first book is called the Alchemyst, and the third (of six) book just came out a couple weeks ago.

 

[Alexandria]

Hey there,

So I didn't take the time to see if anyone has already mentioned this because really I'm on a writing binge but I needed a break. So my recommendation is to read The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I was hooked on the show that SciFi channel did, and when my sister said that they were books first, I instantly became a fanatic.

Good luck with your search!

^_^
Alexandria

 

[DurzoBlint]

Hey there,

So I didn't take the time to see if anyone has already mentioned this because really I'm on a writing binge but I needed a break. So my recommendation is to read The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I was hooked on the show that SciFi channel did, and when my sister said that they were books first, I instantly became a fanatic.

I read a few of the Dresden Novels (first 5 or so) and really enjoyed them, which is why I didn't really care for the SciFi channels tv series. The books far outdid the show which ruined it for me. Not enough of the arcane in the show where the book does a fairly good job of throwing it in there.

 

[Alexandria]

The books far outdid the show which ruined it for me. Not enough of the arcane in the show where the book does a fairly good job of throwing it in there.

Ah, but I was lucky to have seen the show first, so when I read the books... they merely enhanced my love for his character and the situation.

Have you found any book suggestions helpful?

^_^
Alexandria

 

[DurzoBlint]

Ah, but I was lucky to have seen the show first, so when I read the books... they merely enhanced my love for his character and the situation.

Have you found any book suggestions helpful?

^_^
Alexandria

Yes, I am reading Brian Ruckley (almost done with book 2 in the 3 book series), I read Battle Royale which I really liked and have purchased for the Kindle GRR Martin but have yet to get to him as I am muddling through Stephen Erikson's Malazan series which I am really enjoying.

Most of the contributors to this forum are quite good and recommending things. My to read pile also includes Lies of Locke Lamora and The Warded/Painted Man. It gets bigger and bigger everytime I check the forum out.

Good luck in your book hunt.

 

[Ady]

Hello all,
I have looked at this thread quite a bit and used many of your excellent recommendations, so thank you all! Unfortunately I am at a complete loss what to read next and I really hope you can help. Here's a run down of what I've read;
ASOFAI
Both Kingkiller books
Mistborn series-
The Way of Kings
Lies of Lock Lamora 1 and 2
First 4 Demon Cycle books
Way of Shadows
First two Lightbringer novels
All Abercrombie
First five WOT books - on a break
First 5 Dresden books
LOTR
I really enjoyed all of these, I especially like interesting magic systems and likeable characters, can't think of anything else at the moment. Any suggestions what next, I'm open to ideas.

Thanks

 

[Skynjay]

Hello all,
I have looked at this thread quite a bit and used many of your excellent recommendations, so thank you all! Unfortunately I am at a complete loss what to read next and I really hope you can help. Here's a run down of what I've read;
ASOFAI
Both Kingkiller books
Mistborn series-
The Way of Kings
Lies of Lock Lamora 1 and 2
First 4 Demon Cycle books
Way of Shadows
First two Lightbringer novels
All Abercrombie
First five WOT books - on a break
First 5 Dresden books
LOTR
I really enjoyed all of these, I especially like interesting magic systems and likeable characters, can't think of anything else at the moment. Any suggestions what next, I'm open to ideas.

Thanks

Well, there are a lot of options for you, because by your list you have only read books written by one gender of our species. So I would go with something by Robin Hobb, Kate Ellitot, NK Jemisen, KJ Parker, Glenda Larke, Juliett McKenna or Kameron Hurley. All of those authors write grittier fantasy such as you mentioned above (though KJ Parker's identity and therefor gender may be unknown).

I bring this up because three years ago my own fantasy reading list looked a lot like yours, and I was missing some of the best stuff out there.

 

[mjolnir]

Some of this will echo what SkynJay's said:

Robin Hobb, The Farseer Trilogy [starts with Assassin's Apprentice]: I can think of few major epic fantasies from the 1990s more completely focused on characters, and the relationships between characters. The pace is sometimes slow, but I found the books worth it.

Tad Williams, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn [starts with The Dragonbone Chair]: This is a castles-and-kings, young heroes-and-destiny type fantasy from the late 80s, but one which started moving more toward a degree of realism and groundedness. I've seen George R. R. Martin credit Williams' series in interviews with inspiring him to take this trend further in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Earthsea Cycle [starts with A Wizard of Earthsea]: Shorter books; characterization nuanced but sometimes a little stark and unapproachable [in the first book]; Le Guin writes like a god.

N. K. Jemisin, The Dreamblood duology [The Killing Moon, The Shadowed Sun]: These two books are set in a city-state where magic is drawn out of people's dreams by a priestly order that wields a lot of social and political power [and is also made up in part of superstealthy magical dreamsucking ninja assassins]. Jemisin's series beginning with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is also well-thought-of by many, and I like many things about it, but prefer this for its interestingly psychological but still kind of concrete magic and well-sketched-out characters [especially in the second book].

Daniel Abraham, The Long Price Quartet [starts with A Shadow in Summer]: I am just spamming this series all over the forum today. Has both a fascinating magic system [which involves a "poet" coming up with a precise description of a concept and then conjuring an elemental being who embodies that concept and wielding their magical power] and strong characters. The story takes an interesting approach to playing out the development of these characters, in that the gaps between the books cover some years each, so we see the cast at very different stages of their lives.

Kameron Hurley, The Bel Dame Apocrypha [starts with God's War]: This is on the grittier end of the spectrum which may have been part of what you dug about, say, Martin or Abercrombie. Brutal bounty hunters. World of bug-powered cars and organ-grafting magicians and flesh-eating sand. All the characters are varying degrees of desensitized to violence and have difficulty dealing with people, and their story is an uncomfortably but interestingly uncompromising one.

Naomi Novik, The Temeraire Series [starts with His Majesty's Dragon]: This series reenvisions the Napoleonic Wars and nautical adventure novels like those of Patrick O'Brien by adding an airforce of dragons; if that sounds inherently fun this is probably for you and if it sounds stupid it probably isn't. Very much light fun, but with some strong relationships and a skillful evocation of the travelling adventure story at its core.

Elizabeth Bear, The Eternal Sky [starts with Range of Ghosts, still in progress]: This epic fantasy story's got a really brisk pace, delivering its emotional beats and action scenes in lean, clipped but impactful writing. The world is fascinating, with each nation having a whole different cosmology and resultant worldview, and the characters feel simple at first, but have gotten under my skin very successfully. Bear's previous series, The Edda of Burdens [which starts with All the Windwracked Stars], might also be a good bet if you like Norse myth and don't mind it when stories base themselves around cannibalizing mythology without contextualizing / explaining that mythology.

Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London [starts with the book titled Rivers of London in the UK and Midnight Riot in the US]: This is urban fantasy in the Dresden vein, with a wisecracking main character, but set in London and based around police investigations. A very fun, often funny take on urban magic, with an overplot that's less apparent than Dresden's thus far.

Saladin Ahmed, The Crescent Moon Kingdoms [starts with Throne of the Crescent Moon, more to come apparently]: This is fast-paced, swashbuckling, monsterhunting fun set in a city which I think I've heard is based loosely on 9th century Baghdad. Some shaky elements, but a great main character, and a great energetic pace and ending. Good times, great promise for the series.

 

[CarlAlves]

My favorites are
1. A Song of Fire and Ice - George R. R. Martin
2. Shannara - Terry Brooks
3. Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan

 

[AmethystOrator]

I'd suggest Among Thieves (Tales of the Kin #1) by Douglas Hulick as well as The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle #1) by Miles Cameron. You may enjoy The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson too.

I also agree with some of the above posters that there are some great female writers out there and imho the best is Michelle Sagara West. As Michelle Sagara she has a long running series called The Chronicles of Elantra and as Michelle West she has an even longer (and imo better) series of series made up of The Hunter's Duology, The Sun Sword series and The House War series.

Afaic, she is the greatest character writer I've yet read in the genre (and that includes the likes of Robin Hobb, Kate Ellitot, NK Jemisen, KJ Parker, and Glenda Larke). As Michelle West she writes Epic and thoroughly original Fantasy that imo stands with the likes of those such as Tolkien & Martin. I really believe that everyone owes it to themselves to sample the world of Michelle West.

 

[Ady]

Thanks guys,
You have certainly given me food for thought Should keep me occupied for quite a while, haven't heard of many of these apart from the Hobb books which I loved. Thanks for taking the time to reply!