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Post by Bannanachair on Dec 12, 2017 17:26:32 GMT -4
I want to create a list of all the best epic fantasy series, both the bestsellers and the ones that, while relatively obscure, are of incredible quality. I'll begin with what I can think of off the top of my head, and you guys can add more. However, I just want all the fantasy actually read by people here. If you haven't read it, but have only heard about it, it doesn't count.
Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmirilian, by J.R.R.Tolkien
Shannara, by Terry Brooks
The Wheel of Time, by Robert Joradn
A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R.Martin
Cosmere, by Brandon Sanderson
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, by Tad Williams (fun fact: the third book in this series made it onto Wikipedia's list of the longest books ever written, at half a million words)
The Inheritance Cycle, by Christopher Paolini
Narnia, by C.S.Lewis
And my personal introductions to the genre:
Beast Quest, by Adam Blade
Deltora Quest, by Emily Rodda
I don't know whether to include fantasy set in contemporary times in the real world, like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl, on this list, so I won't for now and I'll come to a decision later.
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Post by Bannanachair on Dec 12, 2017 17:38:11 GMT -4
A quick footnote: I've only read the original Shannara trilogy, the Scions of Shannara and the First King, I haven't read the whole thing. I've also only read Elantris and the first book and a half of Mistborn, from Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. You don't have to have finished the series for me to include it on this list.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2017 18:07:52 GMT -4
what counts as epic fantasy?
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Post by Bannanachair on Dec 12, 2017 19:29:15 GMT -4
It's like the supreme court ruling on what counts as pornography: You know it when you see it.
I've been using that as a get-out-of-explaining-things-free card for a while. It works surprisingly well.
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Post by Tikobe on Dec 12, 2017 21:26:42 GMT -4
Hmm... I don't remember too many books of this sort. My interest in reading has declined since I moved to Arizona. Partially due to the fact that I've had two books stolen from me.
However, I do remember that my favorite series back then was the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.
Edit: Should also mention the Book of Swords series by Fred Saberhagen
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Post by Duck14 on Dec 13, 2017 9:57:38 GMT -4
Deltora was one of my gateways as well.
Discworld by Terry Pratchett.
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Benzo
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Post by Benzo on Dec 13, 2017 10:06:13 GMT -4
I really, really want to read the tales of Geralt by Andrzej Sapkowski.
I don't think the games pick up until around Baptism of Fire, his... 4th book?
I hear The Last Wish in particular is beyond amazing. And I don't know one person who has read them and played the games, then tell me the games are better. And somehow, they make Yennifer less of a bitch while Triss becomes a crazy stalker, I guess? You can tell Geralt and Yen are perfect for each other, but by God did I find her unbearable in-game. Hell, with 2 and 3, it felt like the developers really wanted the player to end up with Triss. I need to know why that's wrong/insane to think.
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Post by Baise-moi on Jan 28, 2018 19:51:58 GMT -4
Pretty sure putting Inheritance up there with some of those is considered blasphemous to most people.
A fair amount would skewer you just for suggesting Inheritance is good at all.
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Post by Bannanachair on Jan 29, 2018 3:34:18 GMT -4
Pretty sure putting Inheritance up there with some of those is considered blasphemous to most people. A fair amount would skewer you just for suggesting Inheritance is good at all. It’s very well known, I see it in all libraries I go into, it has a movie adaptation and it’s sold really well. I personally don’t like it very much (though I haven’t tried reading it since I was really young, so I only vaguely remember it), but I’m including it due to how well its sold - some people clearly like it very much. |
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Post by Duck14 on Jan 31, 2018 3:43:24 GMT -4
Pretty sure putting Inheritance up there with some of those is considered blasphemous to most people. A fair amount would skewer you just for suggesting Inheritance is good at all. It’s very well known, I see it in all libraries I go into, it has a movie adaptation and it’s sold really well. I personally don’t like it very much (though I haven’t tried reading it since I was really young, so I only vaguely remember it), but I’m including it due to how well its sold - some people clearly like it very much. It probably sold well more because of publicity and how easily it can be consumed rather than its contents. After all, the first book was written while the author was 15 and it shows (not holding age against him). |
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Post by Bannanachair on Jan 31, 2018 4:31:07 GMT -4
It’s very well known, I see it in all libraries I go into, it has a movie adaptation and it’s sold really well. I personally don’t like it very much (though I haven’t tried reading it since I was really young, so I only vaguely remember it), but I’m including it due to how well its sold - some people clearly like it very much. It probably sold well more because of publicity and how easily it can be consumed rather than its contents. After all, the first book was written while the author was 15 and it shows (not holding age against him). So what do you think about the quality of, say, Siege of Dorthol (written when I was 14) versus Eragon (written when Paolini was 15)? |
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Benzo
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Post by Benzo on Jan 31, 2018 10:15:53 GMT -4
Seems kind of weird to try and compare a self-contained book with an open RP, doesn't it? I get that you're trying to stroke your ego a bit, but at least be sensical about it, eh?
That's like comparing a book to a movie; Obviously, the book tends to win because you can do a whole hell of a lot more with it.
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Post by Bannanachair on Mar 5, 2018 23:38:09 GMT -4
Oh cool, Tad Williams is writing more Osten Ard books. If you guys haven't read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, you should, because it's a great trilogy with dragons and knights and princesses and magic swords, and now it's getting new books that are sequels. I'm planning on doing a reread, if I can remember how I read them to begin with, and then picking up the new books, which seem to be coming out at the rate that new books in A Song of Ice and Fire aren't very quickly.
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Post by Bannanachair on Jul 6, 2018 21:40:25 GMT -4
I've started reading Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson and it's really good. I highly recommend it.
I also forgot to put the Drizzt books by R. A. Salvatore on the list when I first made it, but I read it about two-ish years ago and, while it was enjoyable, I didn't think that it was anything special.
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Post by Bannanachair on Oct 15, 2018 11:09:39 GMT -4
Oh cool, Tad Williams is writing more Osten Ard books. If you guys haven't read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, you should, because it's a great trilogy with dragons and knights and princesses and magic swords, and now it's getting new books that are sequels. I'm planning on doing a reread, if I can remember how I read them to begin with, and then picking up the new books, which seem to be coming out at the rate that new books in A Song of Ice and Fire aren't very quickly. I did not find how I read them originally, but the other day I purchased a new copy of The Dragonbone Chair (the first book in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn), and I started rereading it this afternoon and I'm already 100 pages in. It is just as good as I remember. I can't even remember how young I was when I read it the first time - maybe eleven or twelve. Either way, I remember being in awe at Osten Ard in a way that my first few fantasy series (which were aimed at kids) didn't manage to do. Hell, I think I wanted to explore Hayholt myself, and to befriend Simon Mooncalf and go adventuring with him. I've forgotten lots of the book in the almost-half-my-life since first reading it, so it's an interesting combination of things that are unexpected due to memory loss and revisiting old friends and familiar places. |
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