Anyone got any fantasy books to recommend?

Page 1 of 1 [ 15 posts ] 

roygerdodger
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,527
Location: High Point, North Carolina

19 Dec 2010, 11:32 pm

Especially the ones that are similar to "Harry Potter" "The Chronicles of Narnia" of "His Dark Materials"?



conundrum
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 May 2010
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,922
Location: third rock from one of many suns

19 Dec 2010, 11:40 pm

These aren't all that similar to the ones you mentioned, but here are some of my favorites:

-THE MISTS OF AVALON (feminist take on the Arthurian legends), THE FOREST HOUSE (Celtic-era Great Britain after the Roman invasion), THE FIREBRAND (the fall of Troy from Cassandra's P.O.V.) and THE FALL OF ATLANTIS (exactly what it sounds like) by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

-THE DRESDEN FILES series by Jim Butcher (about a wizard named Harry Dresden who is also a private detective in modern-day Chicago. Fantasy genre skillfully combined with detective genre.).

-GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (about an angel and a demon who are good friends, the Antichrist and the near-Apocalypse. Really.). This may be more like tongue-in-cheek (think MONTY PYTHON and Douglas Adams) sci-fi.


_________________
The existence of the leader who is wise
is barely known to those he leads.
He acts without unnecessary speech,
so that the people say,
'It happened of its own accord.' -Tao Te Ching, Verse 17


Spyral
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Age: 49
Gender: Female
Posts: 210
Location: Norman, OK

20 Dec 2010, 12:00 am

conundrum wrote:
-GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (about an angel and a demon who are good friends, the Antichrist and the near-Apocalypse. Really.). This may be more like tongue-in-cheek (think MONTY PYTHON and Douglas Adams) sci-fi.


That book is fantastic! Why, oh, why has there not been a movie yet?

On that note, I'd also recommend the Discworld series. Probably lighter than the books the OP mentioned, but really interesting if you "get" that British sense of humor.

I'd also mention the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. More adult than Potter or Narnia, but an interesting series (the first five or so were really good). There was a TV series, Legend of the Seeker, that roughly follows the first book. It's probably my favorite pure fantasy series (i.e., one that is serious and does not take place on Earth).


_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."


chaotik_lord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 597

20 Dec 2010, 1:57 am

OH! I've got one . . .

The above are all great, but as for something with a similar quality . . .

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. I don't remember the order, and the bookshelves are about ten feet away so I cannot be persuaded to stand up for their particular order, but all of the titles end with the word "Dragons." Trust me on this . . . I have the Dark Mark tattooed on my arm, so I'm completely immersed in the genre. Anyway, it's the best inexplicably obscure example of similar fiction I've ever found. In fact . . . I read it before the others, and HP kept reminding me of it somehow.



Chronos
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Apr 2010
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 8,698

20 Dec 2010, 3:29 am

roygerdodger wrote:
Especially the ones that are similar to "Harry Potter" "The Chronicles of Narnia" of "His Dark Materials"?


The White Mountain Trilogy.



ElfMusic
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 64
Location: Northwest Texas

20 Dec 2010, 5:42 am

I really like Charles DeLint, but it's hard to suggest which book to start on, since you meet many of the same characters (in his fictional city of Newford) throughout his novels so you might miss out if you start with one of his later books and know in advance what happens to different characters. On the other hand, in every book his writing seems better than the one before. Maybe check out one of his early short story anthologies like The Ivory and the Horn or Dreams Underfoot .

In addition to Good Omens mentioned above, both Gaiman and Pratchett are really good fantasy authors individually. As for Gaiman some notable novels include Neverwhere, American Gods, and Anansi Boys. "Chivalry" by Gaiman is one of my favorite short stories. The Discworld series by Pratchett have many characters reappearing in different books, but they're a little more self-contained. I particularly enjoyed Soul Music and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.



Ambivalence
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 8 Nov 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,613
Location: Peterlee (for Industry)

20 Dec 2010, 9:34 am

Bluebear!
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
The Phantom Tollbooth


_________________
No one has gone missing or died.

The year is still young.


Moog
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Feb 2010
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,671
Location: Untied Kingdom

20 Dec 2010, 9:42 am

Perfume, by Patrick Suskind.


_________________
Not currently a moderator


roygerdodger
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,527
Location: High Point, North Carolina

20 Dec 2010, 2:17 pm

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. :D



Moog
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Feb 2010
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,671
Location: Untied Kingdom

20 Dec 2010, 2:27 pm

If you have tastes towards magical fantasy, I'd give Carlos Castaneda a crack. His writings are purportedly non fiction, but there's a lot of debate and doubt. Accounts of the real or not, they are fascinating and entertaining.


_________________
Not currently a moderator


richie
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 9 Jan 2007
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 30,142
Location: Lake Whoop-Dee-Doo, Pennsylvania

20 Dec 2010, 6:20 pm

Image
The Vintage Bradbury
by Ray Bradbury.


_________________
Life! Liberty!...and Perseveration!!.....
Weiner's Law of Libraries: There are no answers, only cross references.....
My Blog: http://richiesroom.wordpress.com/


Erisad
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jul 2010
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,058
Location: United States

20 Dec 2010, 6:32 pm

Any of the Drizzt Do'Urden series by R.A. Salvatore. :)



Psychopompos
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Feb 2010
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 617
Location: France

21 Dec 2010, 2:57 pm

The Elric Cycle (Moorcock).


_________________
Alum dare, dolere, id Hephaestus, id ire / Pro profundis fati / Pro pulchris infernarum profundis / Pro pulchris omni fati brachium / Pulchris profundis infernarum servi fati / Profundis, profundis fati


nissa_amas_katoj
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Female
Posts: 68
Location: Daggett, upper MI, USA, Earth

23 Dec 2010, 8:18 am

My own favorite fantasies are Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, any one except 'The Hastur Lord', and Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series and her Vows and Honor series.

I also love The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers, you can read a generous free sample on Amazon.com. I did and I was hooked!



Idiotchief
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 25 Dec 2010
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 260
Location: houston tx

26 Dec 2010, 5:58 pm

Any thing by R.A, Salvatore, Orson Scott Card or Steven Brust.


_________________
This is my guilty pleasure.