Some recommenations for newbies

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Some recommenations for newbies

Postby ghost_rider » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:27 am

Hi guys, I'm new here. This is a great forum, I'm glad I stumbled upon it. :grin:

Also, I wish to become a serious fantasy reader. I've read a few books, but not many.
So I guess I'm still newbie as far as fantasy is concerned.

Can you recommend me a few good books please !!!
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Postby daw » Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:55 am

Hi ghost_rider. It's a difficult question to answer because of the sheer diversity of fantasy writers. I'm not sure what type of fantasy book you're looking for but here are three:
    -Barbara Hambly (she writes fantasy, mystery, and historicals so you may want to look at barbarahambly.com for plot synopses). I'd suggest starting with the Silent Tower.
    -Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance -Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning - This trilogy started the whole Dragonlance series but you can just read these 3 to get started).
    -R.A. Salvatore's Icewind Dale trilogy.

Oh, make that four: Steven Brust's Khaavren books - Phoenix Guards is the first and you can read it as a stand-alone book - is written in the style of Dumas. His Vlad Taltos books are also good (these are written in a first person narrative) and he has a sense of humour.
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Postby spiralspirit » Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:41 am

David Eddings wrote a pretty good set of books with the standard adventuring group, magical jewel, etc, starting with pawn of prophecy.

Robert Jordan (now deceased) wrote a great series called the Wheel of Time, whose ending is now in limbo. Its one of my favorites.

LE Modesitt has a great (if formulaic) series in the Recluce world, starting with "fall of angels".

Theres a fairly decent collection of urban fantasy thats quite nice. Wizard of Pigeons (don't remember the author) was a great book.

For darker stuff, Laurell K Hamilton's "Anita Blake" series is decent, as is Lilith Saintcrow's "Dante Valentine" series. Everyone has read Anne Rice, just because she has written that much. Theres a vampire series (blood ties) by Tanya Huff that I loved, as well as a "wizard for hire" style series by jim butcher called "The Dresden Files". PN Elrod also wrote one in the vampire vein called "The Vampire Files" about a vampire gangster.

More books appear in this subgenre all the time, but the ones i mentioned are pretty staple. Most of these involve vampires or demons or something like that.

There are tons of books out there...read any types to begin with just to see what you like best. The important part is to keep reading!
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Postby daw » Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:17 am

If you're looking for a vampire book, Those Who Hunt the Night is the best one I've ever read bar none.
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Postby WareWolf » Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:42 am

A similar question was asked before, here:
http://read.forumsplace.com/message3976.html

You can try there for more recommendations.
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Postby zajhein » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:08 am

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind is a very popular series. Starts with Wizard's First Rule and has a very good plot with interesting characters.

Discworld by Terry Pratchett is kinda zainy and changes main characters a lot through the long series, but overall is quite funny and interesting.

Lord of the Isles by David Drake is a good series with tons of magic and monsters but can be a bit slow at times.

A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin is very well written with amazing characters and story, but no central plot compared to most fantasy series.

Kingkiller by Patrick Ruthfuss starts with The Name of the Wind which is the writer's first book but almost everyone seems to like it while it's been winning lots of awards. It can be a little awkward in writing style but turns into the First of a great new series.

Dune by Frank Herbert is similar to The Wheel of Time but is a great series with more Sci-Fi in it, and a better writing style.

Shannara by Terry Brooks is said to be a great series, but I've personally never read it. Though from what I've heard I probably will sometime.

All of the Above are more traditional fantasy series with magic and monsters in ancient times. The rest are a little different type of fantasy.

The Dark Tower by Steven King takes place in the present sort of and involves some very strange yet interesting fantasy aspects that make it unique. Though it's hailed as one of the best series by fans, some people have a hard time getting through it with all the twists and turns in it.

Dirk Gently by Douglas Adams is another unique fantasy series involving a detective, Norse gods, time traveling, and ghosts. If you've read the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy it's similarly hilarious and strange, but very good.

Homecoming by Orson Scott Card is somewhat Sci-Fi like Dune but takes place in a more mystical setting with unidentifiable powers and fate unlike usual sci-fi.

The above are some of my favorite but there are others such as The Chronicals of Narnia by CS Lewis, Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and all kinds of others.

There are many other single novels from authors such as Neil Gaimen with his books American Gods, and Neverwhere. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, William Goldman's The Princess Bride, Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Daniel Quinn's Ishmael.

And if you can't decide, just pick whichever is easiest to come by first.
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