Fantasy Series

[PutAwayWet]

The Golden Compass thread got me thinking - is anyone else into Fantasy series? Here are my favorites:

George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire'

Most definitely my favorite books that I've ever read. Excellent characters, great complex and interwoven storylines, yet quick moving enough not to get bogged down in details. I even named my dog after one of the characters.


Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time"

The first real series I ever got into. Great story, but his writing style can be a bit cumbersome. Not that it's an issue anymore - He died while writing the supposed last book in the series. Yep, 11 books of buildup to #12, which he won't write. Supposedly he outlined the story and what was supposed to happen and hand-picked someone to finish it for him... we'll see how that works.


The books that got me hooked were "Treason" and "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

Lately I haven't really found any good series to read. I don't really like books that focus on 'magic or dragons' - I like books that are well written stories with well developed characters that don't take place in reality. Any suggestions?

[mscotch]

I like books that are crappy written with seemly characters that don't take place in reality. Any suggestions?

Any of the past year political books by any of the current front runners should work.....sorry for the quote liberty, I couldn't resist.:D

[jerman]

I recently got hooked on the Dresden series by Jim Butcher. They are a lot of fun.

[ironspoke]

I finally finished the Riverworld series by Farmer (this was about a year ago). I started it several times dating all the way back to high school but always abandoned it.

I loved the journey...but was a bit disappointed at the end.

[rockyrider]

Farmer's Riverworld early part of the series were great, that's what got me reading Mark Twain. It did seem that the ending was a bit cobbled together or made up without the detail that existed in the rest of the story. It's almost like the greatest idea for one book didn't quite stretch to the very end.

George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series has been quite good, but I was disappointed we saw almost nothing of Daenerys and the dragons in the last installment. The fifth book is way behind on delivery.

The Harry Dresden TV series has been running on the Space Channel up here, another Canadian production set in Chicago.

[Jay13]

George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series has been quite good, but I was disappointed we saw almost nothing of Daenerys and the dragons in the last installment. The fifth book is way behind on delivery.


I've been a fan of The Song of Ice and Fire for a long while now...
Martin split the 4th book because it was becoming too long. Instead of dividing it in half chronologically he split it by character. It resulted in character ommisions like Daenerys and John Snow... The 5th book is supposed to get back to their repective stories. Of course the 5th book is a couple years over due now. Martin posted an update in January on his website saying (again) that it would be done this year. We'll see. In the meantime I am anxiously awaiting Dance with Dragons like everyone else. :(

[Jay13]

Lately I haven't really found any good series to read. I don't really like books that focus on 'magic or dragons' - I like books that are well written stories with well developed characters that don't take place in reality. Any suggestions?

What up Paw! Have you read any of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series? It isn't as good as Ice and Fire, but it isn't bad. Goodkind just recently published the final novel too, so if you're a closure freak like me you won't have to wait to find out how it ends...

[RandomDood]

Stephen R Donaldsons, "Gap" series, and the Thomas Covenant, series.
Glen Cooks, Black Company series is always a classic.
But for my cash, you cannot beat the Gor series by John Norman


I just realized that I'm showing my age. :D

[Jay13]

Another series I liked a lot are the Hyperion and Endymion books by Dan Simmons. The first two were published late 80s early 90s and the other two were published about 10 years later. More Scifi than fantasy, but cool stuff. Worth a look.

[PutAwayWet]

What up Paw! Have you read any of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series? It isn't as good as Ice and Fire, but it isn't bad. Goodkind just recently published the final novel too, so if you're a closure freak like me you won't have to wait to find out how it ends...

Hey there! Sorry to hear about you guys losing Razorback too - it's hard to believe half the places I rode when I was there are now closed :(

As far as the Goodkind stuff - I've read most of them (except the last two, I think). They were good at first, then got really lame (comparable only to a soap opera), then the last one I read got better again. I like his story, but I think his writing is often hurried and contains some filler. Now that I know the series is done I'll have to go out and get the last couple books...

I'll see what I can find cheap on Amazon from those others. Thanks for the suggestions, fellas.

[Jay13]

Hey there! Sorry to hear about you guys losing Razorback too - it's hard to believe half the places I rode when I was there are now closed :(

As far as the Goodkind stuff - I've read most of them (except the last two, I think). They were good at first, then got really lame (comparable only to a soap opera), then the last one I read got better again. I like his story, but I think his writing is often hurried and contains some filler. Now that I know the series is done I'll have to go out and get the last couple books...

I'll see what I can find cheap on Amazon from those others. Thanks for the suggestions, fellas.

Yeah man, losing RB sucked majorly. Oh well, life goes on... I agree with ya about Goodkind's stuff. The earlier books were by far the best. He got a bit repetitive too. On the other hand, having now read the whole series, I think it's overall pretty decent and he ended it pretty creatively (if a bit conveniently) Anyway, happy reading.