Topic: Good Ol' Fantasy Novels are hard to come by

[obsidian]

well, i'm a noob here, but i thought i'd start out with a thread i knew a little somethin' about. i appreciate a good novel, and i've found i have an innate desire to read good ol' fantasy novels (ie LOTR by Tolkien). in my search i have happened upon quite a few decent ones... and of course, so losers, too. i thought maybe i could list ones i know of, and hopefully someone can recommend some others.  there are two keys to my enjoyment of these novels: first, they must have a good story line, but they also must be at least fairly well written... here's a list of ones i've enjoyed (not in any particular order)

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series (i think there are 10 now)
Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series (i think that one's got 7)
George R R Martin Game of Thrones (and the 2 sequels)
Stephen King The Dark Tower series

those are just a few of the best i've found... if you can recommend others, i'd be more than willing to try them out!

thanks

[drakkenkorin]

personlly, i don't like king, i always loose interest by the 3rd chapter.

my favs:
David Eddings's The Belgariad: Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardy, and Enchanters' End Game

Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga: Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon

I almost forgot Janny Wurtz and Feist's Riftware - The world on the other side series: Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire, Mistress of the Empire.  This series takes place at the same time (pretty much) as the Riftwar Saga, but on the "other side."

keep in mind: IMO, others may disagree.

for Feist's work you can look here.  for Eddings's work you can look here.

also, i've noticed that eddings work has lessened in quality since he's been writing with his wife - case in point, The Dreamers series.  they pretty much copied the personalities and characteristics of previous characters in his other works.

also, as for plot - i mean c'mon, its fantasy, it's always gonna be good vs. evil.

[edit] b/c i forgot some stuffs.

[Govtcheez]

The Sword of Shannara series (Terry Brooks) is pretty good.  The spinoffs, not so much, but they're readable.

I've never read the WoT series, but I've heard that as you get further and further into the series it gets pretty obvious he's just stringing people along so he can write more books.  Is that how you felt?

edit:

Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga: Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon

These, too.  I'm only read Apprentice and Master, but they're great.

edit again: Oh yeah, I used to be a big fan of Michael Moorcock - the Elric series and Hawkmoon were all really good.

[obsidian]

yes, with the WOT series, about the first 5-6 were great, but in book 7 and 9 especially, you go 600 some odd pages for the novel, and NOTHING happens. he's definitely struggling to finish the story, and i've been disappointed with the last couple.

i have actually read the first two of feist (apprentice and master), and they are great books. it's been so long that i didn't realize there were more... i'll definitely have to get back into those again.

i'm currently reading brooks... i read the elfstones of shannara, and i just finished the scions of shannara, and i'm reading the druid of shannara now, but they seem to be losing their grip on me now... lol

thanks for the suggestions, guys.

as for stephen king, i agree with you for MOST of his books, but the dark tower series is written from such a different point of view, and there are SO many things thrown in that are completely brain-twisting that it's kinda cool. i recommend everyone to read the first in the series, The Gunslinger, and if you like that one, you'll like the rest. you'll either love it or hate it, but it's totally different than the rest of his writings (although there are references throughout the series to about 18 of his other novels which i've never read... thankfully, the references are not key to the plot).

[Govtcheez]

> thankfully, the references are not key to the plot

Or when they are, they're explained, like everything with Father Callahan.  That reminds me - I need to finish that series.  I still have the last 2 books to read.

[obsidian]

i know what you mean... i haven't read song of susannah yet since it just came out, and then i've got to get book VII The Dark Tower when it's published... almost there!

[Govtcheez]

The Dark Tower's been out for months...

[Mike]

I truely enjoyed the Incarnations of Immortality Series by Piers Anthony.

[obsidian]

The Dark Tower's been out for months...

shows how long it's been since i've read the series... when i read book V, it was 2 months before song of susannah came out... lol

a little behind the times, huh?

[Ken Fitlike]

I read Feist's Magician a few years ago and thought the guy had sat there taking notes while playing AD&D with his friends...

I read the first Shannara book when it was published - whenever that was - and thought it overlong mush; I think it was part of the 1980's fantasy explosion, though, of which Eddings was a product/contributor. I didn't think much of Eddings ability - he could create decent enough characters but they seemed ultimately unidimensional to me; he also seemed to be a one-story writer. He was also guilty of using the ubiquitous 'kitchen lad who would be king' (Tad Williams is another overblown abuser of this particular lack of originality).

I liked Moorcock a lot: he's probably the crappiest writer I've ever read but his ideas were stunning.

If you're looking for "...a good story line, but they also must be at least fairly well written" then look no further than your own countryman's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (originally published as I. Lord Foul's Bane, II. The Ilearth War and III. The Power that Preserves but is, I think, available as a single volume) and the follow-up Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (which are every bit as rich and complex, originally published as I. The Wounded Land, II. The One Tree and III. White Gold Wielder), by Stephen R. Donaldson. He's currently working on the third chronicles, the first of which has already been published but it's been about 20 years, so.... His Mordant's Need is quite interesting, too (2 vols, I. The Mirror of her Dreams and II. A man Rides Through. Donaldson is technically excellent - he really knows his craft and is utterly original in his deployment of the familiar fantasy archetypes. He also knows a good hook but, unfortunately, just the one so, if you read any of his stuff beyond the Chronicles, you'll see he has a disquieting fixation with.....

I'd suggest David Gemmel's Legend; he's written a number of books but that one, while not outstanding, is still a decent enough read.

If you haven't read Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea books (I. A wizard of Earthsea, II. The Tombs of Atuan, III. The Farthest Shore and IV. Tehanu) then treat yourself. They are childrens books but they are nonetheless excellent. For that matter, so is Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.

[Govtcheez]

> shows how long it's been since i've read the series... when i read book V, it was 2 months before song of susannah came out... lol

Heh, yeah - King wrote SoS and TDT basically back-to-back and they ended up being published about 6 months apart.

> I liked Moorcock a lot: he's probably the crappiest writer I've ever read but his ideas were stunning.

That's a good way to put it  My adolescent mind wanted bloody bloody battles, and boy howdy did he deliver.

[Ken Fitlike]

My adolescent mind wanted bloody bloody battles, and boy howdy did he deliver.

For that, I read:

Conan found an arm and broke it....crimson spray...crushed skull...

But, yes, Elric's soul-slurping Stormbringer was the sword you wanted to own before lightsabres were invented.

[obsidian]

@Ken Fitlike -- excellent... just the type of direction i was looking for. i will definitely check them out. i'll be travelling for about 40 hours in the next two weeks, so i'll have to bring a few good books to keep me company!

[Govtcheez]

You might also want to check out some of King's other books relating to the DT series.  Salem's Lot (where Father Callahan's from), Insomnia, IT, The Stand, and Hearts in Atlantis all tie back to the series very directly.  Little Sisters of Eluria (a short story in "Everything's Eventual") does, as well.

[obsidian]

yes, i've actually read hearts in atlantis and little sisters. i've also read most of the stand, and i got a copy of insomnia, but i couldn't get into that one. it's amazing the genious (or psychosis) that king portrays in the workings of all of the plots and characters.