Recommend some nice, easy fantasy reads please

[ThePowerOfMe]

I used to love reading fantasy as a teenager. I particularly loved The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
I seem to have been reading a lot of thrillers recently and am a bit fed up of them. So, any easy fantasy books to get into?

(I have an 18 month old that is a v bad sleeper so I'm constantly tired. Needs to be a book that's easy to pick up please!)

The Earthsea Trilogy (which has expanded to tetralogy) by Ursula LeGuinn.

Have you tried Anne Mccaffrey or Mercedes Lackey? Very easy to get into, easy to read when the brain just needs to be soothed.

Thanks! Off to check them out....

When I want a lighter read I usually go back to stuff I read as a teenager.

I've just been enjoying "The Unlikely Ones" by Mary Brown which I found a fairly easy read, I think if it was published now it would be targeted as a young adult read (might have been at the time, but I don't remember).

But, when you say "easy to pick up" do you mean easy to buy? Because I had to get it second hand from Amazon, though it was readily available and not expensive.

I've enjoyed some of Tom Holt's humorous fantasies, especially "Expecting Someone Taller", "Who's afraid of Beowulf" and "Flying Dutch".

Charles de Lint's "Moonheart" I remember as being quite fluffy and nice though there were some battles in it.

Also the novelisation of "The Tenth Kingdom" mini series was good fun.

Terry Brooks's Magic Kingdom of Landover is pretty light going. His Shannara series not so much, and they suffer from irritatingly helpless female characters in places.

I'd also recommend Sheri S. Tepper's Marianne trilogy.

I enjoyed the Game of Thrones series if you haven't read.

Tanya Huff's keeper Chronicles are good fun, especially the first one 'Summon the keeper'. Keepers are humans born with special powers, their job is to repair the holes in the fabric of the universe where evil leaks through. Clare has to close a hole in a small run down bed and breakfast, and has other problems to deal with, including a sexy French ghost.

'sorcery and Cecelia' by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer is good fun. it's set in a sort of alternative regency England where magic is part of everyday life, and lots of people have magical talent. there are two sequels 'the grand tour' and 'The mislaid magician'.

'Who's Afraid of beowulf' by tom holt is very amusing, it's about a young archaeologist who disturbs a viking ship burial and finds herself having to help the vikings defeat their ancient enemy.

Terry Pratchett's discworld series is good fun, i particularly like the ones about the witches - Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, and my favourite, Witches Abroad.

I really enjoyed Jodi Taylors St Marys books, think the first one is called just one damn thing after another. Nice lighthearted but still well written and a female lead

Under the skin

Second Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt also Diana Wynne Jones

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan (and the sequels). Enojyable easy reading.

The Strangeling's Tale has great reviews on Amazon

Have you tried Neil Gaiman?

Also have you read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern? Not really fantasy but certainly magical and one of the most wonderful books I've read in a long time.

Definitely Anne McCaffrey - her Pern novels are wonderful. Iirc, Dragonflight is the first one - the basis of the series is a world where men, mounted on dragons who they communicate with telepathically, using the dragon fire to fight off stuff that falls from space - called thread - that causes huge damage if it lands.

I like all the L E Modesett jnr Recluse ones (although the singer ones are okay too).

Anne McCaffrey - The song who sang

I third the Terry Pratchett books - I love the Witches and Rincewind.

Try Ursula Le Guinn's 'Changing Planes' - a collection of short stories; will make you think differently about sitting in airports !

Also Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders, very good indeed, though the second trilogy is not so good. Her old books (written as Megan Lindholm) are good too.

I don't remember Thomas Covenant as being easy!

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, starting with The Eyre Affair. And yes, Pern.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I'll start looking at them on Amazon.

When I said easy to pick up, I meant that its easy to get into and doesn't require too much thinking!
I read Thomas Covenant years ago. I don't mind 'heavier' books but I'm just not up to them at the moment.

Robin Hobb - brill stuff, I'd probably start with "Assasins Aprentice"
David Eddings - pretty easy to read The Belgariad is the first set of 5
Raymond E Feist - Magician and following - I've lost track of them!

I also repeat the recommendations for Terry Pratchett and Jasper Fforde if you like a bit of humour.

I recently enjoyed Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy.
Patrick Rothfuss - "The Name of the Wind" - really excellent I couldn't put it down.
Must plug (as ever) Guy Gavriel Kay - his high fantasy trilogy the Finovar Tapestry might suit or "Tigana" or "A Song for Arbonne" if you want a stand alone book.

YY to Guy Gavriel Kay, I have everything he has ever written. Eddings - the Belgariad and Malloreon are good light entertainment, the Elenium is OK, after that the standard drops to abysmal and repetitive pretty quick.

If you liked Thomas Covenant have you read 'The Mirror of her Dreams' and 'A Man Rides Through'? I really enjoyed those.

Yay as well to Eddings' 'Belgariad' series. Light and fun.

I utterly adore 'the name of the wind' by Rothfuss (and the sequel) but wouldn't have said it was easy to get into. Ditto for Guy Gavriel Kay.

The McCaffrey books are all v easy to get into... And has no one mentioned (ahem) the Harry Potter books

Anything by Patricia McKillip or Robin McKinley.

Currently enjoying Tanya Huff's Valour books - more sci fi but good.

I also would recommend Raymond E Feists The Magician and also the follow on books especially The Empire series. I keep going back to them every couple of years.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is one of my favourite series of books of all time.