Your Favorite Fantasy

[aphex]

These books were awful... It was like physical torture. Sorry. Each to their own and all, but... Ick..

I feel that way about a lot of these books, but I don't really feel compelled to shove that in anyone's face. Black Company and Malazan Book of the Fallen are great.

[Pale Horse]

I've fond memories of the Winter of the World series, by Michael Scott Rohan.
The Anvil of Ice (1986)
The Forge in the Forest (1987)
The Hammer of the Sun (1988)
The Castle of the Winds (1998)
The Singer and the Sea (1999)
Shadow of the Seer (2001)

I've only read the first three, though.  Wasn't aware that more had been written.

Looks like I've got some reading to do.

S.M. Sterlings Nantucket series is great, as well.
Island in the Sea of Time
Against the Tide of Years
On the Oceans of Eternity

And his Emberverse series, set in the same..eh..universe, as the the Nantucket books.
Dies the Fire
The Protector's War
A Meeting at Corvallis
The Sunrise Lands
The Scourge of God
The Sword of the Lady
The High King of Montival
The Blood of the Sun
The Given Sacrifice

[Tuannon]

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

I would say Before They Are Hanged is a good one as well, reference a certain war over a certain mine.

A lot of characterizations that would match up well in Zalanthas as well.

But then again, a lot of Fantasy characters would match up fine with a bit of modification.

[Ourla]

Robin Hobb's "Liveship" trilogy.

[valeria]

I have way, way too many favorites.  My most favorite new fantasy that I've read recently was the Night Angel trilogy, by Brent Weeks.  I also loved the cover art.

I don't really have any post-apocalyptic desert setting books in my collection, but I may have to start finding some.

[SMuz]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Conan the Cimmerian short stories. A nice compilation is

Yes, they're somewhat racist, very sexist, poor/minimal descriptions, but I love it. A lot of good, swift swordfighting, scary magick, and the pace of written action isn't slowed down by excessive, irrelevant descriptions. Just my thing.

[Fool]

Colleen McCollough's Masters of Rome series.

From Lucius Sulla, Gaius Marius and Pompey the Great to Julius Caesar, Marcus Crassus and Cicero then on to Marc Antony, Austugus Caesar and Cleopatra.

Lotsa great scheming, politics, and backstabbing. I don't know that much about history but supposedly the author followed the rule of only make stuff up that would mesh with accepted histories, so its like educational. Well, at very least I learnt something from the Latin swear words in the glossary. Sesquiculus: more than one arsehole. Heh. From memory that one was levelled at JC suggesting that he whored himself out for favours so much he needed an extra hole.


The Malazan book of the Fallen series I also like, but people I suggested it to have been turned off by the first book. Theres a lot of backstory and world history and not a lot of lube used to ease the reader in. Was the authors first novel, he gets better.


The Wounded Land is the first book of the second of Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeleiver trilogies. The harsh and broken landscape of the world where nature is out to get you with scattered groups of human settlements is similar to Arm. The first Thomas Covenant book Lord Foul's Bane sticks out in my mind for the way you're never quite sure the main character who's a leper in 1960's USA is just imagining this strange land he finds himself in. Its a very different take on fantasy. Also the persucution the main character suffers for being a leper could make great fodder for mutants, or gemmers, or even breed characters to get into what it like to be systematically shunned due to fear and ignorance.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. - It's a fantastic debut novel, I demand you all read it.

Nearly anything by David Gemmel, he's a master of heroic fiction. You just can't help but love his heroes.

These two choices are absolute A+.

[Bogre]

Fourthing Black Company, Song of Fire and Ice, and Liveship/Assassin's Quest

Too add something new: Harry Turtledove's Roman Legion chronicles.

[th3kaiser]

Richard Morgan - The Steel Remains (A just plain thoroughly badass subversion of the fantasy genre.)


My list also includes any and all sequels to the above books.

Just wanted to say thanks, Morghan. I've since devoured nearly all of this author's works and have enjoyed -all- of them. I demand more recommendations.

[Jingo]

I just started Black Company.

I can see why armers recommended it.

[Akaramu]

Definitely Song of Ice and Fire, I have no other Fantasy favourites. Everything else just seems cheesy in comparison...

[Red Ranger]

It isn't exactly fantasy but I thoroughly enjoyed The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and the book definitely puts the reader in the extreme dog eat dog, dying world mindset of Zalanthas.

Red Ranger

[Fathi]

It isn't exactly fantasy but I thoroughly enjoyed The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and the book definitely puts the reader in the extreme dog eat dog, dying world mindset of Zalanthas.

Red Ranger

His Blood Meridian is pretty Armageddony, too.

For those who haven't read it or heard of it, Blood Meridian is a dark, gritty western set in the American southwest, written from the POV of a teenage runaway who's just trying to survive everything the desert throws at him. The story's approach to gang violence, tyrannical authoritarian characters, and the main character's nomadic lifestyle all strike me as pretty Zalanthan.

[brytta.leofa]

... The Road by Cormac McCarthy ...

His Blood Meridian is pretty Armageddony, too.

Does it have, well, quotation marks in it?

[Solifugid]

... The Road by Cormac McCarthy ...

His Blood Meridian is pretty Armageddony, too.

Does it have, well, quotation marks in it?

It sure doesn't.

[brytta.leofa]

... The Road by Cormac McCarthy ...

His Blood Meridian is pretty Armageddony, too.

Does it have, well, quotation marks in it?

It sure doesn't.

I picked up (literally picked up, not bought) a copy of The Road at Barnes and Noble.  I read three pages.  I thought to myself, "This is, ultimately, too lightweight a subject to be worthy of a less-entertaining treatment than S.M. Stirling has given it."  I put it back down.

[WarriorPoet]

I picked up (literally picked up, not bought) a copy of The Road at Barnes and Noble.  I read three pages.  I thought to myself, "This is, ultimately, too lightweight a subject to be worthy of a less-entertaining treatment than S.M. Stirling has given it."  I put it back down.

You missed out. While it's not a masterpiece of anything, it's very entertaining and worth a read.

My biggest problem, aside from the lack of proper punctuation and slightly repetetive dialogue, is that he doesn't go into much detail about the -why- of the setting. It's hot. Ashy. Fucked up... That's about all you get.

Still, I'll probably read it again in a few years. I enjoyed it.

[Is Friday]

I consider The Road a masterpiece. I can enjoy it for being so simple and powerful.

[path]

For some reason Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere always reminds me of the 'rinth.

Kushiel's Dart by Jaqueline Carey always puts me in mind for some political intrigue.

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsinger reminds me a little of Poet's Circle and bardic training.

Ursula K. Le Guin wrote one, Always Coming Home, which is great for getting into a tribal mindset.


Those are what come to mind, off the top of my head.

[spicemustflow]

For some reason Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere always reminds me of the 'rinth.

Ursula K. Le Guin wrote one, Always Coming Home, which is great for getting into a tribal mindset.

Can only agree on both.

[Kol]

Terry goodkind: Sword of truth series,

before anyone starts ranting about the series, i hated it.

I love these books because of the depth he goes into in creating the world, and the struggle between the new world, and the old world after the barrier comes down can be likened in a way to Zalanthas, especially the fall of the main city of the midlands, with the occupation of tuluk.

[Gobbleneck]

The Pilocene Exile Saga reminds me a lot of Zalanthas, for the following reasons:
-Uhh...

Well, I'm really not good at elaborating.  Just read this amazing series and you'll find out why.
It's also more like Arm with a sci-fi and more modern twist to it.

My three favorite fantasy reads:
-THE PILOCENE EXILE SAGA O: <
-Liveship Traders [I really hope she starts making good books again]
-Farseer Trilogy I guess... I just really don't want to say Song of Ice and Fire.  I loved the books-out-so-far, but for some reason, I have a really bad taste in my mouth about it now.

Black Company is up there, but I only liked the first book.

[spicemustflow]

Also, you simply can't avoid pulps if you're into "sword & sandals & sand" type of low fantasy.

Some short stories of Clark Ashton Smith.

Robert E. Howard, the king of pulp and Conan, the king of, well, everything. A must read. I think these are originals, not shat over by L Sprague & Co.


For some truly weird and quality stuff, I already hawked the Books of the New Sun, with the most amazing post-post-post apocalyptic setting and a hero that cuts off people's heads for a living. The book is presented as his diary and as such, is very subjective and sometimes inaccurate because of his tendency to overestimate his eidetic memory or, simply, to lie. It comes as unbelievably gritty without trying too hard.

Ursula is already mentioned, what else... can't think of anything right now

[WarriorPoet]

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. - It's a fantastic debut novel, I demand you all read it.

I'll put my stamp of approval on this.

After submitting, this morning,  to the3kaiser's demands, I'm now about 250 pages into this after a little over five hours. Wonderful world and telling. I'm just sad there isn't another, or another dozen, to go get once I finish it.