Fantasy Series Fans

[Cdw]

Im trying to decide what series to dive into next.  Any of you Huddlers have any good recomendations?

Ive read LotR, ASoIaF, first 6 of Realm of the Elderlings (could continue on with this), First Law, Saxon Tales (up to book 5, not fantasy but historical fiction which I like also)

I was leaning toward King Killer Chronicle or maybe the Witcher books (are they all translated?)

So, suggestions?  I'll go with whatever gets the most votes, even if its not on my list or even not fantasy - As long as I havnt read it aleady.

[Bronn]

11 hours ago, Cdw said:

Im trying to decide what series to dive into next.  Any of you Huddlers have any good recomendations?

Ive read LotR, ASoIaF, first 6 of Realm of the Elderlings (could continue on with this), First Law, Saxon Tales (up to book 5, not fantasy but historical fiction which I like also)

I was leaning toward King Killer Chronicle or maybe the Witcher books (are they all translated?)

So, suggestions?  I'll go with whatever gets the most votes, even if its not on my list or even not fantasy - As long as I havnt read it aleady.

Kingkiller Chronicle is great and has a show/movie/etc. in the works to accompany, but it isn't finished.

One of my personal favorites that I always recommend is The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch, but it isn't finished yet either.

Both Rothfuss (KC) and Lynch (TGB) are on par with, and at times way better than, GRRM. All three are ahead of Abercrombie's First Law, which was good also.

Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy was one of my favorite reads. You can get all three books in one now.

Right now, I'm in book three of Michael J. Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series (Age of Myth, Age of Swords, Age of War, etc.) It is the most current book but, unlike most of today's genre authors, he's already completed the series ahead of time and has three more books scheduled to come out within the next two years. I really like the characters and the world he builds, and I'd put him just under the top three authors in the genre (GRRM, PR, SL.)

If you want to branch out a little, I can never recommend Hugh Howey's Silo Series enough. It is dystopian Sci-Fi which is probably tied for me with fantasy as my favorite. Supposedly it is also being developed as a TV show for AMC. Howey's standalone Sand book is also really good and, at one point at least, was being developed into a TV show.


If I had to compare all of these recommendations to more familiar works:

Kingkiller Chronicle - a little bit Harry Potter (university setting in parts,) a little bit Pan's Labyrinth (a look into other realms/realities,) and a lot of originality.

Gentleman Bastards - kind of like Pirates of the Caribbean (in the characters, and a lot of the setting in the second book) meets Robin Hood meets Renaissance Italy.

Night Angel Trilogy - Kind of a a standalone mix of GoT and Kingkiller Chronicle. I really liked it up there with them tbqh.

Legends of the First Empire - A little bit like a prequel to all your favorite fantasy universes in one. There's influence from everything.They've got a dude that is kinda like Conan the Barbarian. They've got a guy that is kinda like that mutant/deformed dude in 300 (but this one, so far at least, is a good guy.) There's some Wizard of Oz influence. Dwarves. Elves. Giants. There are very strong female leads, which is refreshing. There's a Joffrey type character.

Silo Series (Wool, Dust, Shift) - Kind of like The Village, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Fallout (the video game series) and a sprinkle of strong female lead.

Sand - kind of like a Mad Max/Tatooine environment. People use vibrating "dive" suits to loosen the sand and reach the cities of the past, buried beneath their feet, hoping to find trinkets and valuable items to sell and trade. Four siblings face various threats and have to survive in this dystopian world where water is scarce and sand is aplenty.

[Cdw]

2 hours ago, Bronn said:

Kingkiller Chronicle is great and has a show/movie/etc. in the works to accompany, but it isn't finished.

One of my personal favorites that I always recommend is The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch, but it isn't finished yet either.

Both Rothfuss (KC) and Lynch (TGB) are on par with, and at times way better than, GRRM. All three are ahead of Abercrombie's First Law, which was good also.

Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy was one of my favorite reads. You can get all three books in one now.

Right now, I'm in book three of Michael J. Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series (Age of Myth, Age of Swords, Age of War, etc.) It is the most current book but, unlike most of today's genre authors, he's already completed the series ahead of time and has three more books scheduled to come out within the next two years. I really like the characters and the world he builds, and I'd put him just under the top three authors in the genre (GRRM, PR, SL.)

If you want to branch out a little, I can never recommend Hugh Howey's Silo Series enough. It is dystopian Sci-Fi which is probably tied for me with fantasy as my favorite. Supposedly it is also being developed as a TV show for AMC. Howey's standalone Sand book is also really good and, at one point at least, was being developed into a TV show.


If I had to compare all of these recommendations to more familiar works:

Kingkiller Chronicle - a little bit Harry Potter (university setting in parts,) a little bit Pan's Labyrinth (a look into other realms/realities,) and a lot of originality.

Gentleman Bastards - kind of like Pirates of the Caribbean (in the characters, and a lot of the setting in the second book) meets Robin Hood meets Renaissance Italy.

Night Angel Trilogy - Kind of a a standalone mix of GoT and Kingkiller Chronicle. I really liked it up there with them tbqh.

Legends of the First Empire - A little bit like a prequel to all your favorite fantasy universes in one. There's influence from everything.They've got a dude that is kinda like Conan the Barbarian. They've got a guy that is kinda like that mutant/deformed dude in 300 (but this one, so far at least, is a good guy.) There's some Wizard of Oz influence. Dwarves. Elves. Giants. There are very strong female leads, which is refreshing. There's a Joffrey type character.

Silo Series (Wool, Dust, Shift) - Kind of like The Village, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Fallout (the video game series) and a sprinkle of strong female lead.

Sand - kind of like a Mad Max/Tatooine environment. People use vibrating "dive" suits to loosen the sand and reach the cities of the past, buried beneath their feet, hoping to find trinkets and valuable items to sell and trade. Four siblings face various threats and have to survive in this dystopian world where water is scarce and sand is aplenty.

Thanks for the recommendations and descriptions!  All of these sound pretty interesting and worth checking out.  Youre giving Rothfuss and Lynch some pretty high praise so I may go with those first, in particular Gentleman Bastards with the description you gave.  Also, Silo sounds pretty good, might be a nice change of pace.

[Arroz con Panther]

Have you read any of Brandon Sanderson's stuff? I thought his Mistborn Trilogy was good. I'm reading Elantris (his first published book) now. Now, that he has multiple series out, people are finding out that they're all connected in that they take place in the same universe, but different worlds. Apparently, if you dive into them you'll discover how they all connect or something.

Of course, if you want to spend two years reading a series, you could read The Wheel of Time. There are 13 books in the series, I believe. The author passed away before finishing it. He designated Brandon Sanderson as the author to finish the series (2 books?) and fans were very receptive. I think I gave up in book 6. I wish I hadn't. The setting and magic system was really fun, but they're really, really long books and there are slow parts. I've heard if you make it to the final books that it's worth it.

[Cdw]

1 hour ago, Arroz con Panther said:

Have you read any of Brandon Sanderson's stuff? I thought his Mistborn Trilogy was good. I'm reading Elantris (his first published book) now. Now, that he has multiple series out, people are finding out that they're all connected in that they take place in the same universe, but different worlds. Apparently, if you dive into them you'll discover how they all connect or something.

Of course, if you want to spend two years reading a series, you could read The Wheel of Time. There are 13 books in the series, I believe. The author passed away before finishing it. He designated Brandon Sanderson as the author to finish the series (2 books?) and fans were very receptive. I think I gave up in book 6. I wish I hadn't. The setting and magic system was really fun, but they're really, really long books and there are slow parts. I've heard if you make it to the final books that it's worth it.

I have not read Mistborn but have heard before that its a good series, I should have said it was also one I was considering.  As for Wheel of Time, I'm not sure if I want to start, its a hell of a commitment.  Ive heard good and bad about it - that some of the books are great and that some are worth skipping.  I do love world building and getting immersed in the authors universe so it has that going for it.  I had that entire series on my kindle and was actually going to read it, unfortunately I lost the kindle several years ago.

[SOJA]

I'm reading Oathkeeper the third book of the stormlight archive and I've really enjoyed all the books. Would recommend

[SOJA]

I'd enjoy if we had a good fantasy book and sci fi book threads on the huddle. trying to read more this new year 

[Cdw]

3 hours ago, SOJA said:

I'd enjoy if we had a good fantasy book and sci fi book threads on the huddle. trying to read more this new year 

Enough suggestions in this thread to keep busy reading for a year or more, so hitting that goal will just take finding the time.  I used to read scifi when I was younger, mostly Star Wars, wouldnt mind reading some other scifi.

I just ordered the three Gentleman Bastard books, will dive into those when they get here.  Now that Sanderson has two votes, Ill dive into one of his series after GB.

[Bronn]

15 hours ago, Cdw said:

Enough suggestions in this thread to keep busy reading for a year or more, so hitting that goal will just take finding the time.  I used to read scifi when I was younger, mostly Star Wars, wouldnt mind reading some other scifi.

I just ordered the three Gentleman Bastard books, will dive into those when they get here.  Now that Sanderson has two votes, Ill dive into one of his series after GB.

I hope you enjoy Scott Lynch's stuff. Let me know how you like it. IIRC it was @Crixtala that I got into his books a while back, too.

Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen are one of the best fantasy duos I've ever read. And that's after only 3 books.

Book two is probably my favorite, as it more "piratey." But I really liked all three. I'm hoping he'll finally get book #4 out this year too, so maybe you're jumping in at a good time.

 

[Crixtala]

@Bronn always has the best Fantasy recommendations and i'll second everything he just posted above... only one i haven't jumped into yet is Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy, but i love his Lightbringer series, so that is high on my to-read list

oh, and i haven't gotten into Howey's Sand yet, but somebody randomly pulled it off of my amazon lists this year and it winded up being a christmas gift

i have been majorly slacking in reading lately, but Sand and a few graphic novels i've also acquired recently will hopefully get me back into the swing of things again so i can take another stab at the fourth Lightbringer book i never finished

[Cdw]

7 hours ago, Bronn said:

I hope you enjoy Scott Lynch's stuff. Let me know how you like it.

Thanks, I will definitely give my thoughts on it once I get to reading it

 

 

[Cdw]

7 hours ago, Bronn said:

I'm hoping he'll finally get book #4 out this year too, so maybe you're jumping in at a good time.

Hope so, dont want to get GRRM'd lol

[Cdw]

By the way, if yall have interest, I'd suggest checking out the series Ive currently been reading, The Saxon Tales, by Bernard Cornwell.  Its not fantasy, but its got plenty if battling and even a bit of 'magic'

Its basically a loose telling of how Wessex survived the Viking invasion and how England emerged.  All this told through the eyes of the (fictional) son of a Saxon lord, raised by danes, who ends up in service to King Alfred, but is torn between the two cultures and also on a quest to reclaim his usurped home.

The books are short and fast paced, make for quick reads and its been fun for me in becoming more aquainted with the different regions of England.

And as a bonus, theres a show with three seasons thus far on Netflix, The Last Kingdom, its worth a watch.

[Bronn]

10 hours ago, Cdw said:

By the way, if yall have interest, I'd suggest checking out the series Ive currently been reading, The Saxon Tales, by Bernard Cornwell.  Its not fantasy, but its got plenty if battling and even a bit of 'magic'

Its basically a loose telling of how Wessex survived the Viking invasion and how England emerged.  All this told through the eyes of the (fictional) son of a Saxon lord, raised by danes, who ends up in service to King Alfred, but is torn between the two cultures and also on a quest to reclaim his usurped home.

The books are short and fast paced, make for quick reads and its been fun for me in becoming more aquainted with the different regions of England.

And as a bonus, theres a show with three seasons thus far on Netflix, The Last Kingdom, its worth a watch.

I actually just finished season 3 of The Last Kingdom last night, lol.

It is a very good show. I have several characters that, because of the good acting, I really really liked. I'll second the recommendation for this, and I am probably going to try and get the books, too.