Can't believe nobodys mentioned Terry Brooks superb Shannara series.
Brooks's characters will stay with you forever..and if your big into your "epic" fantasy this series spans 14 books and over 1,000 years
Also you cant talk about great fantasy without putting in Harry Potter (which is as much for adults as it is for kids). you won't read a book series told at a faster pace and the series is full of surprises
Originally posted by treetalkGeorge RR Martin and Guy Gavriel Kay are the only two modern fantasy authors worth a damn, i think.
oh yes.
I was going to put down Terry Goodkind's 'Sword of Truth' series but Kahlan's propensity for crying every 5 pages is very irritating ...
Robin Hobb's Assassin books are quite good.
Quite like George R R Martin's books, too, but they meander a bit ...
And thats from someone who has read a LOT of very bad fantasy. Bored teenager, 80s, no internet. Sue me.
🙂
R.A. Salvatore writting novels in the Forgotten Realms world for twenty years. What rabid fantasy fan has not heard of Drizzt Do'Urden? Salvatore is a master with his knack for graphic mass battles, well sketched secondary characters, believable one-on-one combat scenes in a world rich with magic and inter-twined multi-storied intrigue. In chronological order:
Icewind Dale Trilogy
Dark Elf Trilogy
Cleric Quintet
Legacy of the Drow Quartet
Paths of Darkness Quartet
Hunters Blade Trilogy
The Sellswords Trilogy
The Orc King (first book of newest trilogy)
Originally posted by MacSwainGood books - haven't read any of the later ones, yet.
[b]R.A. Salvatore writting novels in the Forgotten Realms world for twenty years. What rabid fantasy fan has not heard of Drizzt Do'Urden? Salvatore is a master with his knack for graphic mass battles, well sketched secondary characters, believable one-on-one combat scenes in a world rich with magic and inter-twined multi-storied intrigue. [i] ...[text shortened]... tet
Hunters Blade Trilogy
The Sellswords Trilogy
The Orc King (first book of newest trilogy)[/b]
Like David Eddings' Belgariad series, I personally found the first couple of Salvatore's books a bit ... 'light', but the authors went from strength to strength thereafter.
Originally posted by treetalkI had the exact opposite impression of the Belgariad. I liked it at first but got annoyed when it because an epic adventure. Epic adventure stories annoy me for some reason.
Good books - haven't read any of the later ones, yet.
Like David Eddings' Belgariad series, I personally found the first couple of Salvatore's books a bit ... 'light', but the authors went from strength to strength thereafter.
Originally posted by AThousandYoungThe Mallorean was certainly a bit that way for me.
I had the exact opposite impression of the Belgariad. I liked it at first but got annoyed when it because an epic adventure. Epic adventure stories annoy me for some reason.
Ce Nedra in that series became for me like Kahlan in the Sword of Truth books - a cliched caricature of 'weepy women' ...
Foundation Trilogy ~ Asimov
Time Enough for Love ~ Heinlein
Lord of the Rings Trilogy ~ Tolkien
If ever a book qualified as a must read cant put down, then the paperback of the LOTR trilogy a hefty doorstop in its own right is one book that gets my vote. I read it over a long weekend over 20 years ago. Sadly it was also about the last time I ever read a book for no other purpose than simply to entertain myself. Most of what I read these days are pieces of journalism or random google tangents that always seems to take me ever further away for a few hours before I realize the factoid I was trying to find had still eluded me.
Originally posted by Bosse de NageIn all honesty I didn't finish the 6th book as I just lost interest. The series started good IMO but I just wasn't really interested in how it ultimately ended. Now Donaldson's Gap series is much better I think, and starts with a cracking shorter novel that is fleshed out over the rest of the series (though that is a sci-fi series, so for a another thread!).
Seems like Thomas Covenant has been resurrected--is anybody excited about that?
Can't believe George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series has not been mentioned more - an absolute must-read full of the political scheming and skulduggery of a mediaeval court (with dragons, witches, magic, etc.). All the good guys die and all the nasty people left fight for the leftover scraps - what could be more interesting a story?
Originally posted by MacSwainThe Hobbit's a good one. The story of Perseus is too.
What then, is your fav fantasy book that is sans an epic adventure?
Shadowrun stories are often not epic, though they aren't usually well written. There are short stories about Lysanthe, who was in Thieves' World as well which aren't epic. Short stories generally are not for obvious reasons - for example, Dragonlance short stories. There are some Dragonlance novels about the backstories of the characters, and these aren't epic adventures.
If I remember correctly, Princess Mononoke is non-epic fantasy.