Just got into fantasy, any recommendations.

[Tessliketrees]

I have always been a prolific reader who would give anything ago apart from fantasy and sci-fi. I made an exception for a couple of fantasy books a year ago and am now hooked.

I have read a fair few more recent offerings but am coming up against more and more shite now. Any recommendations?

[GrouchingTiggerHiddenSomething]

Love this thread, many of my favs already mentioned and some I will investigate further.
Need to mention Guy Gavriel Kay - his high fantasy trilogy is called The Fionavar Trilogy (The first one is "The Summer Tree") but I would probably start (as I did) with one of his stand alone books "Tigana", "The Lions of Al-Rassan", "A Song for Arbonne" - oh actually they are all great so enjoy!

[CaurnieBred]

Anne Bishop's Jewels Series: has characters you really care about.

[LadyCatherinesshades]

If you want to try urban fantasy the Rivers of London series are Kate Griffins Matthew Swift novals

[moonlight1705]

I don't know if this even counts as fantasy but have you tried the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman?

I've also started the Nevernight series by Jay Kristoff which I'm enjoying.

Might save this thread so I can pick up the ones I've missed

[BookWitch]

the Katherine Kurtz Deryni series

Soupdragon!
I've never heard of anyone who has even heard of this series let alone love it as much as I do!
Currently re-reading "King Javan's Year" at the moment.
I just counted up there are FIVE trilogies, plus King Kelson's Bride.
Which is your favourite?

[SoupDragon]

I’m not sure I have a favourite. I think I preferred the ones before Kelson although my favourite character is Alaric :)

It’s years since I read them though as I moved from paper books to a Kindle

[SoupDragon]

I need to get up in my loft and dig through my book collection

[Personwithhorse]

Terry Pritchett and Phillip Pulman

[Personwithhorse]

Sorry to Sir Terry - Pritchett!

[BookWitch]

@SoupDragon

Like Alaric, but I think Duncan is my favourite. Reading the earlier ones at the moment and feeling the need to mother Javan and Rhys Michael!

[Believeitornot]

Another WoT fan here. Might dig these out for the millionth re read.

Also Robin Hobb’s Fitz books. I nearly died and went to heaven when I realised she’d written a third trilogy on him recently.

Tad williams - Memory, Sorrow and thorn

[lessworriedaboutthecat]

Question for WOT fans did Moraine ever come back.

[ommmward]

WoT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT




Yes she did.

Do you want to know how? It's a massive massive spoiler. If you want to know, I'll PM you.

[lessworriedaboutthecat]

Please let me know, she was one of my favorite characters and I gave all 13 books I'd bought to the Oxfam shop.

[Indaro]

David Gemmell. Start with Legend or Waylander.

He's my absolute favourite author and I was devastated when he passed away. He was so well respected in the fantasy world that there's a whole awards ceremony in his honour which gives new writers a chance to showcase their work.

His wife (Stella Gemmell) co-wrote a couple of his books and finished his final novel, she has the same addictive style of narration where you look at the clock, realise it's 3am and say "just one more chapter"

I also enjoy David Eddings, Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks and James Barclay (if you like David Gemmell then James Barclay will be very comfortable reading)

Welcome to the genre

[ommmward]

I've PMed you :)

[HannaSolo]

I've just finished the last book in the Peter V Brett Demon Cycle series.

I've loved it and would definitely recommend it.

First book (of 5) is The Painted Man.

It's set in an implied post apocalyptic world where demons rise from the earths core every sunset until sunrise.

The remaining humans rely on defensive wards to keep the demons from their homes which can be fallible. Fighting wards have been lost in time and without them there is no way to kill or injure the demons.

The story is set between the northern greenlands and Krasia in the desert where the dwindling human populations reside. They are culturally very different.

The story is told from the perspective of 5 main protagonists. 3 men and 2 women. The first book focuses on the Greenlands and the second on Krasia. Honestly, it's brilliant. Such great characters (the women especially) and a really well written story.

Blurb for book 1...


The stunning debut fantasy novel from author Peter V. Brett.
The Painted Man, book one of the Demon Cycle, is a captivating and thrilling fantasy adventure, pulling the reader into a world of demons, darkness and heroes.
Voted one of the top ten fantasy novels of 2008 by amazon.co.uk?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21.

Sometimes there is very good reason to be afraid of the dark…

Eleven-year-old Arlen lives with his parents on their small farmstead, half a day's ride from the isolated hamlet of Tibbet's Brook.

As dusk falls upon Arlen's world, a strange mist rises from the ground; a mist that promises a violent death to any foolish enough to brave the coming darkness, for hungry corelings - demons that cannot be harmed by mortal weapons - materialize from the vapours to feed on the living. As the sun sets, people have no choice but to take shelter behind magical wards and pray that their protection holds until the creatures dissolve with the first signs of dawn.

When Arlen's life is shattered by the demon plague, he is forced to see that it is fear, rather than the demons, which truly cripples humanity. Believing that there is more to his world than to live in constant fear, he must risk leaving the safety of his wards to discover a different path.

In the small town of Cutter's Hollow, Leesha's perfect future is destroyed by betrayal and a simple lie. Publicly shamed, she is reduced to gathering herbs and tending an old woman more fearsome than the corelings. Yet in her disgrace, she becomes the guardian of dangerous ancient knowledge.

Orphaned and crippled in a demon attack, young Rojer takes solace in mastering the musical arts of a Jongleur, only to learn that his unique talent gives him unexpected power over the night.

Together, these three young people will offer humanity a last, fleeting chance of survival.

[HelenaJustina]

Yes to Pullman as well, read Book of Dust as soon as it came out. Amazing book

[HumpHumpWhale]

If you don't like poorly-written female characters, stay away from David Eddings. I did like them at about age 9 but haven't found they stood the test of time. Raymond E Feist's early stuff was good but he ran out of ideas way before he stopped writing. If he even has. I liked Magician, and the daughter of the empire series, which he co-wrote with Janny Wurts.
I also like Lois McMaster Bujold. They're just a lot of fun. More sci fi than fantasy in general, although she has a couple of fantasy series.
Sheri S Tepper is GREAT. Feminist/ecologist themes. Her most recent book appeared not to have been edited AT ALL - one whole section was repeated with only small changes but I loved Grass, Beauty, The Gate To Women's Country, the Margarets, and Raising the Stones.
I find George RR Martin misogynistic, self- indulgent, and very very creepy. Lots of not very consensual sex with young teenagers. And explicit rape. And girls falling in love with their rapists. Plus way way way too long.

[HannaSolo]

Don't know if it's been mentioned but The Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown is good.

Set in the future where society has "evolved" and people are segregated by their colour status. Golds are the leaders, Pinks entertain, yellows are medical and reds are at the bottom of the social order etc etc

The reds are based in mines in Mars in poor conditions drilling for Helium 3 to enable Mars to be properly colonised. They are brainwashed into believing they are forging a better future.

The issue is Mars was colonised centuries ago (unbeknownst to them) and they are simply slaves producing the most valuable fuel in the now colonised solar system, which is run from Luna (the moon) by the Gold hierarchy.

The story follows a "low red" Darrow who by virtue of a tragedy learns the truth and joins the red resistance and is tasked with "becoming" a Gold to infiltrate it's ranks.

[Believeitornot]

I gave all 13 books I'd bought to the Oxfam shop

[Fad]

My genre of preference seems to change over the years. I read sci-fi in my teens and fantasy in my late teens and early 20s and never since (I'm now 59). I haven't seen anyone mention one of my favourites at the time Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series? Although written 40 years ago I don't suppose they have dated as they inhabit a made up world.

Oddly now I think I'd hate fantasy.

[ILookedintheWater]

Clive Barker: For amazing women go for 'Imajica'. His themes are so original. 'Weaveworld' is a more digestible than Imajica but both are excellent.

[Tessliketrees]

BabCNesbitt we enjoyed The Goblin Emperor but alas we felt our enjoyment was marred by constantly getting mixed up between people, places, titles, names and groups. Nevertheless we thank thee (if you don't mind the informality). I actually really liked the "we" "thee" etc stuff and loved Maia himself but the editor should have really put a stop to some of the made up words and names, you couldn't even tell if they were male/female or even -in some cases- a whole group of people.

Now The Assassins Apprentice has gripped me by the hair and pulled me in fast. There seems to be no end of these books on Amazon so I may be gone some time....

[Liskee]

Totally love the Deverry series by Katherine Kerr. The series is literally the only actual physical copies of books that I own anymore, and I've only kept them because they're so beloved!

This is a great thread. So many notes on a post-it because of it!