Good Fantasy Books?

[Unbreakable Will]

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?

[G13]

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!

[Unbreakable Will]

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.

[NeoCracker]

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.

[G13]

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!

[Unbreakable Will]

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.

Oh my, I haven't read a multiple trilogy series in quite a while.
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.

[G13]

Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign books are pretty intense too. Really imaginative.

[Vice Nebulosa]

Hell, the Dragonlance trilogies Chronicles and Legends, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman were my adolescence. 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.

[Unbreakable Will]

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!

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.

[Madame Adequate]

Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin is a pretty great series.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

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.

[Wolf Kanno]

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.

[Tama2]

Wheel of Time Series.

[Aydin]

Harry Potter series is really good!

So is the Twilight series!

[Unbreakable Will]

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.

I think I'll have to check out a few of these suggestions, I am particularly interested on the different take on the necromancers.