Fantasy books

HStallion · Jan 26, 2018

chaostrophy said:
Agreed, this is a fantastic series.

I'm reading this now and enjoying it so far:

It's sort of urban fantasy/steampunk. Really imaginative.

His trilogy of Bas Lag novesls are excellet starting with Perdido Street Station. They're not straight fantasy by any means and include everything from scifi to horror to some scathing political commentary. Just remember when reading China Mieville and his take on fantasy to remember this quote: Tolkien is the wen on the arse of fantasy literature. There is a lot more to this rather inflammatory "hot take" of his in the link provided but he does not care for the lasting influence of Tolkien on the fantasy genre.

Redcrayon · Jan 26, 2018

Most recently, I read all four books of Sebastian de Castell's 'Greatcoats' series, and found them to be excellent, fast-paced evocative of The Three Musketeers with a touch of magic. I really can't recommend them enough if you're looking for a newish fantasy author that can write decent fight scenes and dialogue, there's some lovely character progression before book four rounds off the arc for now. Start with Traitor's Blade.

Mistle · Jan 26, 2018

I tried reading GoT and nearly finished the second book before I decided that while I didn't hate it, it just wasn't for me. There were just too many characters and plot threads and such. None of it was bad, I did enjoy it, but it was just a bit too much for me to easily sink my teeth into.

But this thread has inspired me to give fantasy books another try. I saw the Abercrombie recommendations but instead of The FIrst Law I went with the Shattered Sea trilogy. Fingers crossed it's more up my alley!

Lady Catherine de Bourgh · Jan 26, 2018

Sonicbug said:
CS Friedman has several fantasy trilogy series, but you're probably thinking of the Coldfire Trilogy. Dark fantasy.
Lyonesse is my fave, Jack Vance was an amazing writer.

Yes Coldfire. I really liked how she plays with the concepts of good and evil. The plot forces them to team up and they do it with a very understandable lack of enthusiasm and some trust issues that give a very nice tension to the stories. The second series I was thinking of is Magister.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh · Jan 26, 2018

GreenMonkey said:
So Feist is kinda up and down over the years, like some others like Terry Brooks have been.

Magician is great... the Empire Trilogy (co-written by Janny Wurts) which you mention above is peak Riftwar in my opinion. Serpentwar is also quite good (I esp. like Rise of a Merchant Prince).

I think we own like around 10 books from the series. I stopped buying them when he started writing more like backstories in existing characters/events. Gave a bit of a filler vibe.

WaffleTaco · Jan 26, 2018

Geido said:
Stormlight Archive is ruling my life right now. The world building and magic system is sublime!

Is there a point where this book gets good? Like it's needlessly complicated, not easy to follow, and not very fun to read.

RoninRay · Jan 26, 2018

I am reading through the dresden files and have American gods and neverwhere to get to.

Does anyone have any good contemporary fiction they would recommend?

Lady Catherine de Bourgh · Jan 27, 2018

RoninRay said:
Does anyone have any good contemporary fiction they would recommend?

Maybe 22-11-1963 by Stephen King or the stand? Those are both set in a more contemporary setting but still with fantasy elements.

Karsticles · Jan 27, 2018

Don't stop on book 1 of Dune.

Pixel Grotto · Jan 27, 2018

The Grizz said:
I have the first book on my Kindle but have yet to start it. Is it good, like really good? I'm always tentative on beginning a long running book series, as my time is limited.

Well, if you like westerns, post-apocalyptic stuff like Into the Badlands, Borderlands, Wasteland or Fallout I think it's worth it. Also worth it if you are already a fan of Stephen King or are getting into his work. The Dark Tower books are essentially the framework that show off the multiverse where all of his other novels take place in. The story goes from being a fairly standard adventure about a gunslinger who's searching for a fabled dark tower, then gets into crazy dimension-hopping territory with characters emerging from our Earth. One book even has robot assassins who look like Dr. Doom (they're described as such) and throw bombs which look like the Golden Snitch from Harry Potter.

So, things get pretty meta by the end of the series, and the ending is a little controversial. But I think the world that King created is still fantastic, and the whole series honestly made me like the western genre more.

FYI, the first book may seem a little slow and weird, because King originally wrote it when he was twenty-something. Stick with it, and books 2 and 3 will get increasingly more interesting. Also feel free to check out the Marvel comic series illustrated by Jae Lee that provides lots of awesome backstory about the main character, Roland.

MopDog · Jan 27, 2018

My experience with Malazan was this:

Enjoyed Gardens of the Moon in a Bloodborne kinda way (in fact, it's got a striking number of similarities to the Souls series in terms of lore and atmosphere), where I went along for the ride and didn't particularly mind being lost. My main issue with the book was the characterization. I had trouble telling one character from another.

Deadhouse Gates was such a huge improvement over Gardens of the Moon that I could hardly believe it was written by the same author. That's not an exaggeration. Erikson's prose improved dramatically during that decade-long period between books. In turn, his characterization was much better, and I got a better sense of a few recurring characters' personalities after one or two lines in DG than I did in all of their appearances in GotM. Deadhouse Gates is morbid, gritty, and I loved it. I'm also a sucker for desert settings.

Memories of Ice is another improvement on the writing front, and it features some of the best battles I've ever read in a fantasy series. However, I am not a huge fan of the main Bridgeburner crew, and didn't really care to read about Paran and Whiskeyjack again. I'm one of the few who really liked all the new characters in Deadhouse Gates.

During Memories of Ice I started catching on to some of Erikson's writing quirks and recurring themes. I could sense how each story was going to be setup in future books. I grew tired of the philosophical musings by every character, big or small. When I learned future books have even more philosophy it instantly soured my intention to read the rest of the series. Basically, I knew what I was getting into, felt like I experienced enough of "Malazan," and made a deliberate effort to stop after Memories of Ice. I spoiled the remainder of the series for myself and all my fears came true. That even at the end of the tenth novel, many readers still asked, "Wait, what was all this about? Who is the Crippled God again?" That's not clever or interesting writing to me.

Now, I see Stormlight Archives brought up a lot. I really do think ASOIAF is an ace series, and you can tell because it attracts a wide range of discussion about the world, about the characters, their intentions and so on. It isn't just, "Which character is more powerful?" Is Stormlight like this? Does its plotting compare to ASOIAF? Does any series have plotting that encourages such rich discussion and fan theory (aside from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings)?

Lady Catherine de Bourgh · Jan 27, 2018

MopDog said:
Does any series have plotting that encourages such rich discussion and fan theory (aside from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings)?

I would say the four series about Fitz and the fool by Robin Hobb. Her world and story building are top tier. I am still amazed how all the books connect and the over arching plot line isn't revealed until the last book (which I am reading now).

Also the wonderful diversity in characters. I have read and reread them over the course of twenty years and every time I connect the story in new ways. Like Harry Potter and Lord of the rings these stories feel more like friends than mere books.

Edit:typo

Hambulance · Jan 27, 2018

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan is awesome.

But IMO, you should leave the rest of the trilogy to your imagination!

Incandenza · Jan 27, 2018

If you haven't read The Broken Earth Trilogy yet, I'd strongly recommend it. There's a reason it's won the Hugo twice in a row and will likely win a third. Such an ambitious work.

Wracu · Jan 27, 2018

WaffleTaco said:
Is there a point where this book gets good? Like it's needlessly complicated, not easy to follow, and not very fun to read.

No.

Sanderson is largely garbage. I wouldn't call the books complicated though, the opposite really. Some of his dialogue between certain characters is far below Twilight level and almost cringed me out of the latest installment several times.

They're massive bloated tomes where the only real plot all happens right at the end.

Wracu · Jan 27, 2018

MopDog said:
Does any series have plotting that encourages such rich discussion and fan theory (aside from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings)?

Bakker's Second Apocalypse.

Mr.Beep · Jan 27, 2018

Goes to recommend the First Law Trilogy, OP is reading it yes, yes a hell of a series.

Guys I'm trying to do the audio of Gardens of the Moon and it's so dense audio wise. Should I just actually read it, cause I've so many good things regarding the series?

Doesn't help the narrator is fucking not even close to Stephen Pacy who brought the audio of First Law to life so well and each character felt so different.

Vulcano's Assistant · Jan 27, 2018

WaffleTaco said:
Is there a point where this book gets good? Like it's needlessly complicated, not easy to follow, and not very fun to read.

I find the series really entertaining as long as there is dramatic irony present. They are extremely long, but they almost have at at all times at least one "can't wait to see their reaction" to something you already know going on.

I would say it gets good as soon as the main characters surround themselves with people whose reactions you start to anticipate and want to see the cat out of the bag.

Geido · Jan 27, 2018

WaffleTaco said:
Is there a point where this book gets good? Like it's needlessly complicated, not easy to follow, and not very fun to read.

I think I kinda understand this. It took a while for me to get into it as well. The world seemed weird and there was way to much to keep track of.

At a certain point it just clicked for me though. For some reason these books have a buildup were the first 50% is just okay, the next 30% is pretty awesome and the last 20% blows your mind like

Ned Stark getting beheaded

I'd totally recommend sticking with it, but it might not be for you.

Gallows Bat · Jan 27, 2018

Wrote a blog about my favourite fantasy series a while ago, not gonna copy n paste the whole thing so I'll just list them:

Robin Hobb – Farseer Trilogy

Brandon Sanderson – Mistborn Series

Brandon Sanderson – The Stormlight Archive

Joe Abercrombie – First Law Trilogy

Daniel Abraham – The Long Price Quartet

Michael J Sullivan – Riyria Revelations

Raymond E. Fiest & Janny Wurts – Empire Trilogy

Brent weeks – Lightbringer Series

Steven Erikson – Malazan Book Of The Fallen

Robert Jordan – Wheel Of Time

All worth your time. Just finished the demon cycle series which had some good moments but ultimately cropped out towards the end.

gforguava · Jan 28, 2018

A couple more series that are left of center:

The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan, about a dragon Naturalist and her adventures across the world to study the majestic beasts.

and

The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler. The name of the game here is Napoleonic wars style fantasy, all muskets and cannon fire. The most amazing thing is how energetic and vivid Wexler can make the battles, from my layman's perspective that last thing I expected was for the books to be full of fairly accurate combat(the importance of the square formation versus cavalry and stuff like that) and that it would end up being thrilling. Now I can't vouch for the whole series yet but I really enjoyed the first two that I've read.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh · Feb 1, 2018

Paertan said:
I dragged them out as well. Didn't want to finish them but could not stop reading. A bit sad that Robin is done with that world. Hope you like the ending. I also finished Feist Riftwar Cycle series so I leave that world behind as well. Those are the two major author I have followed from my youth. Feels weird.

I finished it. It was beautiful and she was able to hold the suspense right until the end. And then the end was there and so were the tears.

Fou-Lu · Feb 1, 2018

I am a HUGE fan of the fantasy genre. Even the lesser books still give me more enjoyment than a lot of other literature. I used to think I wanted to be a fantasy author, but I don't think I have enough drive to write every day. I manage a couple times a week.

I just read the 'A Man of His Word' series by Dave Duncan, a series from the early 90s. It was quite good in some ways, but what was most disappointing is that Duncan couldn't write a female character to save his life and one of the two main point of views was a young woman. Also the names are bad (main characters are Rap and Inos). Oh well, it was a quick read and had a cool magic system.

I have a HUGE stack of new books in various series I have been reading that are waiting for me: The Infernal Batallion by Django Wexler, The Core by Peter V. Brett, The Fall of Dragons by Miles Cameron, The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan, Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb, Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan, Dead Man's Steel by Luke Scull, The Mirror's Truth by Michael R. Fletcher, The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams.

citrusred · Feb 1, 2018

gforguava said:
My favorite is easily the Riverside series by Ellen Kushner and company. There is nothing like opening a fantasy novel and finding it to be almost completely devoid of the trappings of the fantasy books that I had absorbed until then, there would be no elves or dwarves here, no 'end of the world' style stakes to the drama, just a city full of people. I had no idea that a fantasy novel could exist like this or that, partly(largely?) thanks to Swordspoint(the first Riverside book) there was a whole subgenre of like-minded works(the wonderful 'Fantasy of Manners').

In the Riverside stories the rich scheme and back-stab and jockey for positions of power while the poor live in the older part of the city, the series titular Riverside. The romances were queer as often as not, delightfully foreign to the genre staples of the day. And for every duel in a back alley there was a social event where the affluent would wield words as weapons, I'm certain I'm not the first to say something to the effect of "A rapier in one hand and a rapier wit in the other."

And the fact that the series got an unexpected second wind with the Tremontaine serial is maybe the best surprise I could've ever asked for. I knew no one who even read any of the books and somehow Serial Box came along and basically said "Here is some more of that thing you, and seemingly only you, love."

Thanks for this, just read the first one and it was really enjoyable and the premise of the second one sounds great.

Semi-related does anyone know of books like the Goblin Emperor where its mostly day by day storytelling in a persons life? The only other example I can think of is Robin Hobb's books but she always runs everyone through the ringer and I'm not always in the mood for that.

Grizzel Greedigut · Feb 1, 2018

I see a couple mentions of Shannara, which is decent ... But who can resist Magic Kingdom for Sale ... Sold! Written by the same author !!!

HStallion · Feb 1, 2018

Grizzel Greedigut said:
I see a couple mentions of Shannara, which is decent ... But who can resist Magic Kingdom for Sale ... Sold! Written by the same author !!!

I heard Brooks returned to the series and I am scared to look up what he's done considered what he did to the Shannara series.

StrangeADT · Feb 1, 2018

1000 Needles said:
I'm currently on a Brandon Sanderson kick. His Mistborn series is very accessible, and I highly recommend it. He is absolutely top notch when it comes to creating unique magical systems, and Mistborn has 3 that are unique, yet tie together brilliantly

I have some pretty serious misgivings with his writing though. I find most of his books could really use some trimming and some toning down of the repetition. It's just so repetitive. And I absolutely hated how the first mistborn series ended.

OrdinaryPrime · Feb 1, 2018

Fou-Lu said:
I am a HUGE fan of the fantasy genre. Even the lesser books still give me more enjoyment than a lot of other literature. I used to think I wanted to be a fantasy author, but I don't think I have enough drive to write every day. I manage a couple times a week.

I just read the 'A Man of His Word' series by Dave Duncan, a series from the early 90s. It was quite good in some ways, but what was most disappointing is that Duncan couldn't write a female character to save his life and one of the two main point of views was a young woman. Also the names are bad (main characters are Rap and Inos). Oh well, it was a quick read and had a cool magic system.

I have a HUGE stack of new books in various series I have been reading that are waiting for me: The Infernal Batallion by Django Wexler, The Core by Peter V. Brett, The Fall of Dragons by Miles Cameron, The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan, Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb, Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan, Dead Man's Steel by Luke Scull, The Mirror's Truth by Michael R. Fletcher, The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams.

As a big fan of FitzChivalry Farseer I think his continued adventures are a little long in the tooth. I don't quite remember if Assassin's Fate is the end of the second or third trilogy but I kinda hated how she tortured the poor guy (and how she tortured most of her main characters) over and over again. The Fool remains one of the best characters I have ever read though.

The Witchwood Crown I found to be a bit disappointing as a long time lover of all things Tad Williams, yes even the Otherland books which are similar to things like .hack. And I was in love with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn enough to be on some random message board for years talking about how amazing the ending of that trilogy is. Man Tad nailed that so well.

I felt like Brett started really strong with his Demon Wars epic but the ending fell flat for me. Hopefully you feel differently.

Grizzel Greedigut said:
I see a couple mentions of Shannara, which is decent ... But who can resist Magic Kingdom for Sale ... Sold! Written by the same author !!!

I was really disappointed when I read Shannara, especially the early books. I know fantasy books are largely derivative as it is, but his particularly stuck out. And I felt none of the characters were interesting or noteworthy. Even staples like Allanon just seem so one dimensional.

1000 Needles · Feb 1, 2018

StrangeADT said:
I have some pretty serious misgivings with his writing though. I find most of his books could really use some trimming and some toning down of the repetition. It's just so repetitive. And I absolutely hated how the first mistborn series ended.

I'll admit I found some of his writing in Mistborn a little jarring, but ultimately felt it was worth setting aside. And some of his choices in the second series were... interesting. Like Wax being a

Coinshot who uses guns. Why?

. But it's not going to be for everyone, and that's ok too

Loving the Stormlight Archives right now though. Way better than Mistborn, imo

Jag · Feb 1, 2018

Redcrayon said:
Most recently, I read all four books of Sebastian de Castell's 'Greatcoats' series, and found them to be excellent, fast-paced evocative of The Three Musketeers with a touch of magic. I really can't recommend them enough if you're looking for a newish fantasy author that can write decent fight scenes and dialogue, there's some lovely character progression before book four rounds off the arc for now. Start with Traitor's Blade.

I'll have to add this to my Goodreads list. Sounds good.

gforguava said:
The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler. The name of the game here is Napoleonic wars style fantasy, all muskets and cannon fire. The most amazing thing is how energetic and vivid Wexler can make the battles, from my layman's perspective that last thing I expected was for the books to be full of fairly accurate combat(the importance of the square formation versus cavalry and stuff like that) and that it would end up being thrilling. Now I can't vouch for the whole series yet but I really enjoyed the first two that I've read.

Big fan of Wexler's series. Very much a gunpowder fantasy like the Powder Mage series, but different enough to be able to enjoy both.

Atraveller · Feb 1, 2018

Count me in on another The Goblin Emperor recommendation. It's an unique take on court intrigues in the age of gritty low fantasy, The Goblin Emperor is heartfelt and fulfilling.

Xagarath said:
Gritty adult fantasy based on economics and empire-building instead of sex and violence

Astonishing adult fairy-tale inspired by eastern European folklore. Possibly the best straight-up fantasy novel of the last few years.

Yes to Traitor and no to Uprooted. I'm tired of "the special" protagonists in books, and Uprooted didn't seem all that keen to explain her special-ness.

Bengraven · Feb 1, 2018

Ice and Fire
Farseer
Prince of Thorns/Broken Empire
Abhorsen
Gentlemen Bastards
Kingkiller
Dying Earth
Black Company

Rand a. Thor · Feb 1, 2018

Since this seems like a good place to ask:
Bought a random book to balance out a gift card one day, The Magic of Recluce by Mondesitt. Read it last week, and kinda enjoyed it despite the simplistic writing. Should I continue with it?

Paertan · Feb 2, 2018

Lady Catherine de Bourgh said:
I finished it. It was beautiful and she was able to hold the suspense right until the end. And then the end was there and so were the tears.

Glad you liked it :) The last trilogy is not my favourite work by Hobb but it sure is Hobb. Gonna read them alla gain sometime. Or listen to the audiobook. Will be exciting to see what she does next since she will be leaving that world.

zon · Feb 2, 2018

The books about Eddie LaCrosse by Alex Bledsoe should have been mentioned by now. Shame on you guys.

They've become my favorite fantasy series. No worlds that need saving, no evil gods that must be defeated. Just a sword jockey who accepts jobs and does his best to see them through.

The Black Company by Gleen Cook is also an awesome series.

Lies of Locke Lamora is good. Mistborn series are good too. Legend by David Gemmell is definitely worth reading.

GreenMonkey · Feb 2, 2018

OrdinaryPrime said:
As a big fan of FitzChivalry Farseer I think his continued adventures are a little long in the tooth. I don't quite remember if Assassin's Fate is the end of the second or third trilogy but I kinda hated how she tortured the poor guy (and how she tortured most of her main characters) over and over again. The Fool remains one of the best characters I have ever read though.

The Witchwood Crown I found to be a bit disappointing as a long time lover of all things Tad Williams, yes even the Otherland books which are similar to things like .hack. And I was in love with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn enough to be on some random message board for years talking about how amazing the ending of that trilogy is. Man Tad nailed that so well.

I felt like Brett started really strong with his Demon Wars epic but the ending fell flat for me. Hopefully you feel differently.

I was really disappointed when I read Shannara, especially the early books. I know fantasy books are largely derivative as it is, but his particularly stuck out. And I felt none of the characters were interesting or noteworthy. Even staples like Allanon just seem so one dimensional.

Alannon is like not-really-honest-Gandalf. Bastard has his own agenda and tells people what he needs to. I like him. Sword is very derivative though of LOTR. Elfstones is good as is Wishsong. I really like the Scions 4-book after that. I dropped the series after the Jerle Shanarra, IMO, he starting making really bad fake-outs and happy endings. I like up to the end of Scions though.

Paertan said:
Glad you liked it :) The last trilogy is not my favourite work by Hobb but it sure is Hobb. Gonna read them alla gain sometime. Or listen to the audiobook. Will be exciting to see what she does next since she will be leaving that world.

Maybe I'm a little over-attached as they are my favorite books, but damn, the end of the saga sure brings the tears, and I never cry from books.

Jag · Feb 2, 2018

GreenMonkey said:
Alannon is like not-really-honest-Gandalf. Bastard has his own agenda and tells people what he needs to. I like him.

Druids are very under represented in modern fantasy. (except for that meh Hearne series Iron Druid and that's a modern day Druid)

I blame D&D. Oh yea, barkskin and thorns. And shillegahala (however it's spelled) Really badass.

I actually named my female WoW Druid Alannan.

Matrix XII · Feb 2, 2018

Geido said:
Stormlight Archive is ruling my life right now. The world building and magic system is sublime!

For me, Brandon Sanderson is just amazing.

Read The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance and Oathbringer OP. You won't be disappointed.

Also read the Mistborn series. It's very good too.

Bengraven · Feb 2, 2018

Lady Catherine de Bourgh said:
I would say the four series about Fitz and the fool by Robin Hobb. Her world and story building are top tier. I am still amazed how all the books connect and the over arching plot line isn't revealed until the last book (which I am reading now).

Also the wonderful diversity in characters. I have read and reread them over the course of twenty years and every time I connect the story in new ways. Like Harry Potter and Lord of the rings these stories feel more like friends than mere books.

Edit:typo

Agreed

I don't know of few other series other than maybe Wheel of Time or Ice and Fire that has the same kind of passionate fans.

Characters in those books become friends and loved ones.

Fritz · Feb 2, 2018

hobblygobbly said:
If you understand German or in the process of learning it and want to immerse yourself then I recommend Bernhard Hennen's "Elfen" books, because there are multiple series in the same shared universe but different time lines for each series.

They are great classic high fantasy books in themes, but they're really creative nonetheless and very well written stories. They're translated into a few other languages but not English which is so weird because it would do well. They are very popular among German speakers.

On a similar note that's why it's good to be able to understand more than one language because you open up a whole new world of books with each one. Sometimes there are other language editions, like what happened with The Witcher, but most don't.

Die Elfen (The Elves) https://www.goodreads.com/series/44617-die-elfen

Drachenelfen (Dragon Elves), this is a prequel to the above. https://www.goodreads.com/series/90339-drachenelfen

Elfenritter (Elven Knights) https://www.goodreads.com/series/45591-elfenritter

I know it says dont judge a book by its cover but goddam are those generic as titles.

Ganhyun · Feb 2, 2018

So, I'll recommend a few other series.

Someone mentioned Mercedes Lackey's Herald Mage Trilogy, but all of her Valdemar books are pretty good/decent reads.

Her Obsidian Trilogy with James Mallory is pretty good too.

If you are willing to give smaller authors a chance as well I'd recommend Terry Mancour's Spellmonger series. He runs into the issue alot of smaller authors do where sometimes things get edited badly, but the story is worth the issues in my opinion. Hes written several books and some short stories and stuff in that universe and has plans for an additional 10 books minimum.

The quality varies at times, but the Anne McCaffrey Pern books are fun too.

Hilbert · Feb 2, 2018

My sister recommended The Prince of Nothing series to me. (3 books, all published.)

I am enjoying it quite a bit. Just started the 3rd book last night.

Morrigan · Feb 2, 2018

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I found Prince of Nothing to be absolutely insufferable. Some of the most pretentious dreck I've ever read, and the canon misogyny is just gross.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh · Feb 2, 2018

Paertan said:
Glad you liked it :) The last trilogy is not my favourite work by Hobb but it sure is Hobb. Gonna read them alla gain sometime. Or listen to the audiobook. Will be exciting to see what she does next since she will be leaving that world.

I don't know if she will be completely leaving the world. In an interview with the Guardian (link at the bottom) she says that the world goes on but this big part is over. I went to seek it out after reading the last few pages of the book and seeing the open ended questions about the future ahead for some of the characters. I dearly hope so.

https://www.google.nl/amp/s/amp.the.../28/robin-hobb-books-interview-assassins-fate

Edit: added link to interview

Paertan · Feb 3, 2018

Lady Catherine de Bourgh said:
Edit: added link to interview

Oh cool! Great news. Thanks.

cyberninja · Feb 3, 2018

Vestal said:
Dragonlance!!!

Yes!!! My favorite book ever.

Sir Garbageman · Feb 3, 2018

Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch and Patrick Rothfuss are my favorites in the genre right now. Highly recommended.

Chainshada · Feb 3, 2018

Happy so many are recommending David Gemmell. I didn't read much as a kid, was in the school library in Year 8 or 9, made a bet with a friend about who would finish a book faster, I think it had to be 400-500 pages minimum. Finished it 3 days later. Went through his entire bibliography by graduation (I think 30ish books?)

Glasgow Mega-Snake · Feb 3, 2018

Fritz said:
I know it says dont judge a book by its cover but goddam are those generic as titles.

That's more the publisher's fault

Apparently Stan' Nicholls' "Orcs" series was a huge success in Germany... so Heyne (the publisher) decided they needed series about all the other classic fantasy races, too. And soon some publisher's joined in on the fun

So we got a flood of mostly generic Tolkien rip-offs (some okay, some terrible, some pretty good)... There's Die Zwerge (The Dwarves), Die Elfen (The Elves), Die Trolle (The Trolls), Die Zauberer (The Wizards), Die Kobolde (The Goblins), Die Drachen (The Dragons)...

In short: Beware of German high fantasy with generic titles

Lady Catherine de Bourgh said:
Did he also write a series on dwarves? I remember reading that after recommendation of a German family member.

Edit: that could also be by Markus Heitz now that I am thinking about it.

Yeah that was Markus Heitz. As to the details, see above

If some of you are still interested in German fantasy, Cristoph Marzi is a really good author. I don't think many of his books have been translated, but they are absolutely worth reading, great atmosphere and really unique and creative

weemadarthur · Feb 3, 2018

Mitchman said:
Since this seems like a good place to ask:
Bought a random book to balance out a gift card one day, The Magic of Recluce by Mondesitt. Read it last week, and kinda enjoyed it despite the simplistic writing. Should I continue with it?

I find Recluce to be a fascinating series. It somehow manages to be a gripping read, and then when you look back at a particular book, you realize almost nothing happened during the whole thing. But the magic system is quite interesting, and the interactions across the world due to the varying philosophies also adds depth. It can drag a bit by having so few characters.

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