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I am currently re-reading a Mercedes Lackey series, The Obsidion Trilogy. Have any of you read this or any of her other writes? I find the 'magic' system that she uses in this particular series amazing. The plot has a good backstory, the storyline has a good chronological view (none of that dream sequence, flashback nonsense) and has a well defined sense of place.
What are some good fantasy or for that matter any good books ingeneral that you have read lately?
Aw man, I've been waiting for a thread like this. Let's see:
Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg
Keepers of the Hidden Wys by Joel Rosenberg
Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist
Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Leguin
M.Y.T.H. by Robert Asprin
Aw man, I got a bunch more but not enough patience to write 'em down. You should definitely check out the first three, they are amazing!
Ah, the esteemed writes of Rosenburg. I've read a few of his books and they were exceptional political thrillers. I believe the last one I read was The Copper Scrolls, or something along those lines.
Terry Brooks is my favorite Author. His SHannara Books, with a few exceptions, are amazing. I'll go ahead and list them in chronological order, (The only one that was relTeased outside of chronological order was The First King, which chronologically is the first, however was released after the original trilogy.)
The First King of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara.
The Elfstones
The Wishsong
The Scions
The Druid
The Elf Queen
The Talsimans
The Isle Witch
Antrax
The Morgwar
I forget the next three six books in the Shannara though, and I haven't read the last 3 yet. :(
Yeah, that's from the Last Jihad series. He's a good author. Guardians of the Flame were the first books of his that I read. They're mostly fantasy up until the third installment, then they take a political turn. After like the seventh they lose the feel of the original three, but it's well worth getting into the series for the first three books. God they're amazing!
Oh my, I haven't read a multiple trilogy series in quite a while.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
The last such series I read were George R.R Martin books, I can't recall the series name but it was an interesting Knight-themed series. Unfortunately I love magic and the magic in that series was few and far between :( still a good series nonetheless.
Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign books are pretty intense too. Really imaginative.
Hell, the Dragonlance trilogies Chronicles and Legends, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman were my adolescence. :cool: There is nothing spectacular in terms of plot, but Weis' brainchild, Raistlin Majere, was an extremely well-developed character (he is the subject of the latter trilogy, actually); right up there beside Magus in terms of profoundly influential fictional characters. The books are more than worth a read-through, for Majere alone.
For the sake of all that is holy (and Majere's dignity :(), though, avoid the money-grabbing drudgery that is the follow-up series to Chronicles and Legends, including The Second Generation, Dragons of Summer Flame, and The War of Souls trilogy. Several thousands of pages of nothingness and butchery. :mad:
Yeah, I've read the first three. I also read Epicenter, I find his views, in politics and religion, fascinating. I tend to hold to my own beliefs but it's fun sometimes to see what others think about such things.Quote:
Originally Posted by Guardian XIII
Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin is a pretty great series.
The Obsidian Trilogy is pretty good. I read it. I really enjoy the whole aspect of Wild Magic she uses. Her Valdemar stuff is good too but most of it is nothing spectacular.
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a classic. A must read in my opinion. Set in the time of King Arthur, we see the events from perspectives of females. Quite the interesting read as it gives a different side of the story. Bradley does quite the research into Wicca as she uses as the basis for the magic of Avalon and its priestesses.
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is amazingly well written. I can't wait for the second book.
The Chronicles of the Necromancer series by Gail Z. Martin is rather interesting. The first book is Summoner. Deals with necromancy in a more evenhanded way, unlike the typical necromancers-are-evil trope.
Artifacts of Power series by Maggie Furey was like my gateway into fantasy. I really like it. The first book is Aurian. Magic is a rather divided into the four basic elements but with an added twist, they have counter parts!
If you like things dealing with queer issues, both the Tamir Triad and the Nightrunners series by Lynn Flewelling deals with those. Tamir Triad deals with the gender identity while Nightrunners deals with homosexuality. While in the Tamir books the whole gender thing plays a pivotal role in the plot, the homosexuality in Nightrunners is more of a secondary fact of the two male protagonists. (SPOILER)Actually, I think Alec and Seregil are technically bi, but they are a couple nonetheless by the second book.
Actually, there is a lot I would recommend, depending on what sort of fantasy you like.
About the only fantasy series I ever really got into and read completely was The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
It deals with a a war between two races of demigods battling for control over the lesser races. The "good" Sartans end up winning the conflict by sundering the world and creating four worlds based on the four elements. They imprisoned the Patryns (the 'bad" demigods) into a prison world called the Labyrinth and those who reach its end enter the sixth world known as the Nexus that acts as a new beginning for thei rehabilitation.... Obviously things go wrong and much time later, the surviving Patryns are amassing an army in the Nexus. One of them, Haplo is sent to investigate the four worlds and learn what became of the Sartans and to spread chaos among the Mensch (a derogatory word the demigods use to describe the Elves, Humans, and Dwarfs) so that the Patryn leader can come and "save' them.
Its a total of seven books with the first four being exclusively about one of the four elemental worlds. It was a good read.
Wheel of Time Series.
Harry Potter series is really good!
So is the Twilight series! :D
I think I'll have to check out a few of these suggestions, I am particularly interested on the different take on the necromancers.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Summoner of Leviathan
Basically, in the Chronicles of the Necromancer, Necromancer is another name for a Spirit Mage. Now like any mage, they can be good or evil. The gift of Spirit Mage is actually quite rare, so there are few born with it. The plot follows Martris (Tris) Drayke who has inherited his grandma's powers. Basically, Spirit Mages act as a medium between spirits and humans, often aiding spirits into moving onto the next life. They can also make spirits that are normally invisible, visible to others.
The plot begins with a political struggle as Tris' half-brother Jared usurps the throne with the aid of a vampire-like being, vayash-moru, who wants to resurrect the Obsidian King (an evil Necromancer that was defeat by Tris' grandma). The series offers a few interesting characters too, as well as later dealing more with the vayash-moru. While Tris is the main focus of the plot, his friends also play important roles too and are given attention to as well.
The Belgariad and The Malloreon by David Eddings are two five book fantasy series' and are both fairly well written. In addition, Eddings' has a standalone novel called The Redemption of Althalus that is also pretty good.
As previously mentioned The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is amazing and should be read by everyone, everywhere.
The Gentlemen Bastard series contains two books thusfar but will have a total of seven books at the end. The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies are the two out currently, the third book is forthcoming. They are by Scott Lynch.
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is worth the time it takes to read it.
Karen Miller has two series' out at the moment: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker and Godspeaker. The first is a two book series and the latter is an unrelated trilogy. They are both well written for a female author.
When I was younger I remember reading and enjoying Dragon Lance books - if I read them today I'd probably not be that ecstatic about them, but they were some of the first fantasy books I read.
Also, obvious books like Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Brilliant.
I haven't read a great deal of fantasy books, but I have read every single Terry Pratchett book and I adore them all. He's got to be my favourite author by a country mile.
What type of books does he write?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwawr
Good Books? woo-hoo!
OK:
Broken Sky : By Chris Wooding
an Action fantasy about two kids who have almost everything but each other stolen from them by an evil king.
Not exactly original idea, but the world it is set in the the magic system is totally unique. a great book. but it's kinda on the low end of the difficulty scale.
The Night Angels Trilogy By Brent Weeks
"For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art -- and he is the city's most accomplished artist.
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprentencing himself to Durzo Blint.
But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics -- and cultivate a flair for death." -- "The Way of the Shadows" Book 1.
Good ones. Look into Discworld.Quote:
Originally Posted by UnbreakableWillWhat type of books does he write?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwawr
Seconded Dragonlance. It's like saying Star Wars is food Sci-Fi, but not as many people have read it, it's really good. Especially if you are a fan of the setting/DnD.
The A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin is far and away the best fantasy series I've ever encountered. It's ruined me for most other fantasy novels, though, as I find myself using ASoIaF as some kind of standard to hold the rest of the genre to (which is totally not fair).
Thank You!!! That's the series I was talking about earlier! The Hound was one of my favorite characters.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouch!
I reallly don't like Fantasy books, I mean, could someone say 'editor', but out of the ones I HAVE read, I kind of enjoyed Terry Goodkind's 'Wizard's First Rule.' I forget what the series was called. 'Sword of Truth', possibly, but I am not certain.