Recommended Reading?(Fantasy)

[fuzzygeek]

Has anyone read "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss? I havnt heard much about it, but I have wanted to read it.

Yes; 2/3(?) books are out. The first is better than the second.

[Kelaan]

I love fantasy books, and you might enjoy the Warhammer 40k books, especially the Ciaphas Cain novels. Whaa? 40k and Fantasy in the same realm? Bear with me, it's a bit of a stretch. (I also like sci-fi a lot.)

Warhammer 40k is a future-fantasy world that happens to have space travel, laser rifles, and chainsaw swords. However, the basis for much of the backstory is that warp travel risks dealing with demons, psychic corruption, and a host of other Nasty Things (like tyrannid genestealers), and there are solid fantasy-like elements to a LOT of it.

Humanity worships a god-emperor on earth, who has been kept alive in a coma-like state for over ten thousand years. He is humanity's strongest psychic ever, and acts as a psychic beacon that the entire rest of the Empire of Man uses as a navigational beacon in the Warp. Technology is so old that no one but the tech-priests know how anything works (and they make sure all the machine spirits are appeased with the right rituals and sacred oils).

Enemies include: (I'll surely misspell some of these)
- Chaos cults: humans that try to summon demons from the Warp to this dimension, and when they get unlucky are successful.
- Necrons: aliens bent on exterminating all life.
- Tyrannids: think zerg.
- Orks: Waaaaaaaaagh!
- Tau, Eldar, etc: more aliens.

In the process, your friendly neighborhood Commissar ensures the loyalty of the Empire's troops (or shoots them), the Holy Inquisition has spats between its various Orders, worlds are devoured, cleansed, exterminated, and glassed at the whim of invading fleets.

Give it a shot, if you've never read 40k. It really feels like a fantasy style plot that happens to be set in a world with high-tech weapons. Sandy Mitchell is the author, I believe, of my favourite sets (the Ciaphas Cain novels, specifically the omnibuses Hero of the Imperium and Defender of the Imperium), but there are many others. I'm looking forward to reading some other series set around the Inquisition next.

I also loved the Altered Carbon series of sci-fi novels, but that may not be your thing, since you were specifically asking about fantasy.

[Melathys]

I guess I haven't read enough stephen king to see the formula.

I forgot about eragon. Like potter, its for a younger audience, but its still entertaining. He doesn't get lost in story telling (like Richard Adams can) and instead just tells the story.

And wtf reading wheel of time in 2 weeks. I'm not a weak reader, but ilike to take my time. I read at a fairly conversational pace (a bit faster, but a fair approximation). It took me about half a deployment to read up to the current wheel of time book.

[Fivelives]

I was timed once. I read slightly over 1100 wpm with around 95% comprehension. I could probably go faster, but ehh. I just get kind of absorbed into good books (books I don't enjoy, like textbooks, are WAY slower, around 400wpm or so) and can't help it.

[tullock]

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series (still in progress, 13 books plus additional short stories), and his Codex Alera series(finished, 6 books), are both fantastic imo. I tend to get them the day they are released and read them that day, and to hell with anything else that needs to get done.

Also James Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven, there are 6 that i know of, in two separate 3 part stories. I have only read the first two in this series, but that is because the local book store forever has 1-2-4-5-6 in stock with 3 nowhere to be found.

[Brekkie]

and now that the last book is out, I might have to get to reading the clan of the cave bear series

I hope you're in to graphic smut every 10 pages.

[Fivelives]

And girly graphic smut at that. It's not a "dick" it's any number of euphemisms, same with vag and tits. I lost interest in the series after I learned just what a Mary Sue is. Seriously, next thing you know, Jondalar and Ayla will invent the internal combustion engine and start driving around in sports cars. Graphic smut, I don't mind - I usually just skip over it (seriously, I've got the internet - why would I want it in print too?), but the characters are just WAY too perfect to hold my interest.

[laterna]

I also loved the Altered Carbon series of sci-fi novels, but that may not be your thing, since you were specifically asking about fantasy.

Also, you might wanna read the "Horus Heresy" series of W40K novels. It speaks of the event of what happened before the god-emperor became god, why he's in a coma...

[katraya]

and now that the last book is out, I might have to get to reading the clan of the cave bear series

I hope you're in to graphic smut every 10 pages.

Just read the first 4 and ignore the two newer ones. They're at least 50% rehashing of the first books and really dull.

[Sabindeus]

if you want non-graphic-smut, you could read any book by Piers Anthony. He is one of my favorite perverts.

[Kelaan]

Also James Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven, there are 6 that i know of, in two separate 3 part stories. I have only read the first two in this series, but that is because the local book store forever has 1-2-4-5-6 in stock with 3 nowhere to be found.

http://www.amazon.com/Nightchild-Chroni ... 1591027853

If your local bookstore doesn't have it, there's always Amazon. You can also ask your local store to special order it, if you really care -- they often can/will and will hold it for you.

[kennywu54]

A Song of Fire and Ice series. Start with A Game of Thrones. In my life, I've read RA Salvatore, Hickman & Weis, Crieghton, S King, D Koontz, Anne Rice, A Dumas, Daniel Defoe, Hemingway, R Newton, Orwell just off the top of my head and ASoFaI is the one series/books that I keep going back to over and over.

[KysenMurrin]

Another vote for George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire here.

No one seems to have mentioned Tad Williams yet - his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy is a good one.

Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber is a classic.

Patricia McKillip writes beautiful prose - try out her Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy.

Steven Erikson's Malazan novels (starting with Gardens of the Moon tend toward the sword & sorcery end of the genre, with a good dose of dry humour. Very developed fantasy world with a somewhat complicated system of gods and "warrens", but it's good quality stuff. It's a long series (10 large novels) but the last one is out now so no chance it'll end abruptly.

Given your stated tastes I'll not recommend Scott Bakker just yet, but it is a good quality epic fantasy.

[cerwillis]

I picked up the first book of The Age of Misrule by Mark Chadbourn on a whim and enjoyed all three books. I would imagine that it would be even better for a UK native that is familiar with all of the locations. No idea why there are dragons on the covers of the books pictured on the wiki though.

[Koatanga]

Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar series is quite good, but for my money his Mistress of Empire series is even better.

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders series is excellent, though you could start with her Farseer trilogy as it introduces the world. The only problem I have with the Farseer trilogy is how badly the protagonist gets screwed over time and time again, otherwise it's a very good read.

Anything by David Gemmell is a great read.

The Elric series by Michael Moorcock is very good.

I really enjoyed Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber.

Anne McCaffrey's Pern series is quite enjoyable, if a bit light. Gets a tad threadbare in later books.

Branching into the sci-fi genre, the Honor Harrington series by David Weber is awesome.

Also in sci-fi, I really enjoy Robert Heinlein.

And last but not least, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is required reading.