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?

Saved the thread to make a shopping list! I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Naomi Novik - Uprooted, and the Temeraire series. Also A Darker Shade of Magic (I’ve read the second in the trilogy too but not the third). And I love Pratchett but the earliest ones are a bit meh - start with Wyrd Sisters or Guards! Guards!

Pretty sure everything I was going to recommend has already been mentioned but I'll highlight a few I particularly like...

Gentlemen Bastard series by Scott Lynch
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
First Law series by Joe Abercrombie
Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (the best fantasy book I've read that's not part of a series)

PuffinsSitOnMuffins

Read and loved Uprooted. I am going to give those dragon ones a go but don't really fancy them which is daft because I said the same thing about The Farseer Trilogy which is amazing.

Seriously it is brilliant and I am gutted that I ignored it for so long. It reminds me a lot of ASOIAF only without the unremitting hopelessness.

ASOIAF has actually spoiled me a bit, as much as I have been enjoying Farseer I find myself trying to hold back from engaging too much because I am waiting for everybody to die suddenly.

It made me realise just how sick I am of "gritty" "dark" stuff. It's all a bit of a one trick pony to be honest. Now that everything seems to kill people off left right and centre it doesn't even have shock value anymore. It's not as if Farseer is all sweetness and light, it manages to show the horror of war without killing off beloved characters or raping and torturing somebody every other chapter.

So massive thanks to all those that raved about Robin Hobb, I am on the 3rd book of the first trilogy and it's fantastic.

Ok, in no particular order, here are the authors of fantasy novels that are on my shelves (I do have other types of books
Raymond E Fiest
Janny Wurts
JV Jones
Terry Brooks
George RR Martin
Pip Vaughn Hughs
Ben Aaronovitch
Melanie Rawn
John Masefield
Ursula Le Guin
CS Lewis
J RR Tolkien
Niel Gaiman
Terry Pratchett
Stephen Donaldson
Trudi Canavan
Marrion Zimmer Bradley
GP Taylor
Sara Douglass
Phillip Pullman
JK Rowling
Anne McCaffrey
Douglas Adams
Tad Williams
Alan Garner
Robin Jarvis
Robin Hobb
Tamora Pierce

Some of these are aimed at young adults/ teens, but I have enjoyed, and given shelf space to all of the authors.

Hope it inspires you!

Second HumpHumpWhale - Lois McMaster Bujold is great. The Curse of Chalion and and Paladin of Souls (strong female lead) are pure fantasy. Her space opera series is also super, the Miles Vorkosigan series. Warrior's Apprentice has one of the strongest female chars I've ever read.

Ursula K Leguin, The Left Hand of Darkness and others

Not Fantasy exactly but Iain M Banks wrote sci-fi/fantasy crossover and he's amazing. Inversions is probably the closest to fantasy though some of the other - Look to Windward etc - are stunning.

great list hump. Dragonflight was great, though later books fell off in quality. Also a strong female lead!

Uprooted by naomi novik is brilliant too.

Catching up on this thread (which I’ve bookmarked for inspiration) and was going to recommend Uprooted. The Temeraire series are also good - historical novel/fantasy mash-up.

Just spotted Dragonflight in the post above. I was a massive fan of Anne McCaffrey in my teens, though she seems to have fallen out of favour. Her books are getting harder to get hold of these days (had to replace one that had dropped to bits recently).

Also, coming back to Dragons of Pern series middle aged, the non-consensual sex depicted makes me really cross & has hampered my enjoyment of the first book, despite being infrequent and in a specific context.

yes that does sit uncomfortably now, agreed.

I adore the Robin Hobb books, if you've read the Farseer Trilogy go with The Liveship Trilogy next, then the Tawny Man trilogy. They're all connected. They're my absolute favourites!

I also love The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein (hope I've got her name right).

Liskee, the Deverry series were the first fantasy books I read (not including tolkein), when I was a teenager. I was on holiday in the Lake District at the time and it just made them more magical.

Adding to the mix -

Anyone tried Patricia Kennealy Morrison? I absolutely loved her Keltiad books (Silver Branch, Copper Crown, Throne of Scone and some later additions), stunning.

Also love the few books I have found from Janet Kagan, Hellspark is one, she also wrote one of the best Star Trek books- Uhura’s Song.

Also an old one, Zenna Henderson’s stories of the People - Pilgrimage etc are worth trying to track down.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, will keep me occupied for a while

Robin Hobb is excellent. I also like Trudi Canavan and Tanya Huff.

The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. One of the best things I've read in decades.

Obvious but... Lord of the Rings

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

The Dark is Rising

Narnia

John Gwynnes The faithful and the Fallen series are simply amazing reads....

Anyone read these who'd recommend something similar?

The Alan Garner books are supposedly children's books but I think they are short but satisfying reads for adults too

Jsut read Uprooted by Naomi Novak, mothercupboard recommended it.

It's really good! High Fantasy, strong female lead.

Gormenghast

The Black Magicians Trilogy by Trudi Canavan

A Court Of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas (marketed as NA but fantastic, as is her Throne of Glass series)

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Just reread Eddings' Elenium and Tamuli, going on to Belgariad and Mallorean. Thinking about the ending of Seeress of Kell gives me goosebumps...

It's so sad he lost his passion once Wife Leigh died (and he'd acknowledged her as non-named co-writer on everything), and that he, himself, is dead

On to Garion and that devilish old wizard.......!

David Eddings was good when I read fantasy

@NerdyBird

I just read the last in the series of Age of Assassins it was brilliant! That series is one of the best I have read. I just thought I would tag you in case you didn't know it was out.

Agree Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea books are brilliant as are Alan Garner's novels. I want to put in a word for Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series. Bryant and May are detectives based in London working for the Peculiar Crimes Unit, the stories weave in fantasy, magic, the supernatural and myth such as that of Herne the Hunter. They're spooky, funny and mysterious, full of wonderful descriptive scenes and cultural/literary references (but not heavy just fun to work them out), excellent hybrid fantasy/detective novels.