Fantasy Book Club discussion

I've finished Wheel of Time, caught up on Game of Thrones and read everything Sanderson has put out. And Omg loving Kingkiller Chronicle. Also done with Tolkien, The Gunslinger, Narnia, Blegaried. Been reading fantasy for 25 years or so if that helps place what I've probably already read :)

What am I looking for? Longish ( not xanth or discworld) fantasy that isn't depressing. Extra points if it has actual humor. This is my gloomy season so I need something light. Help a girl out with some ideas.

wow. something light . . .have you tried Naomi Novik's Temeraire series? Dragons during the Napoleonic Wars is pretty cool. Jim Butchers' whole Harry Dresden series is really good, too.

Ok. Added Naomi Novik. Thank you.

I just read Storm Front actually. Do things pick up for Harry? I've got the next two on hand already.

Jennifer Roberson's Tiger and Del series springs to mind immediately. Plenty of adventure, two great characters, and some quirky humor in particular to do with rumpuses with a very contrary stud horse.

Anything by Patricia McKillip - she doesn't write series, (only a trilogy and a few that tie loosely) but her books are not depressing.

I highly recommend Fortress in the Eye of Time and sequels by C. J. Cherryh - not depressing a bit, though not humor.

Martha Wells'

The Cloud Roads was fun and lighter than many with some humorous touches here and there. I have not yet read the sequels, though I will be.

Oh, there's also P.N.Elrod's Jack Fleming or Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire series or Moira Moore's "Heroes". All three are terrific fun

Angela wrote: "Ok. Added Naomi Novik. Thank you.

I just read Storm Front actually. Do things pick up for Harry? I've got the next two on hand already." Things go up-and-down but they;re great reads even when you're on the edge of your seat

Angela wrote: "Ok. Added Naomi Novik. Thank you.

I just read Storm Front actually. Do things pick up for Harry? I've got the next two on hand already."

They get better with every book
.Brent Weeks
Joe Abercrombie
Sara Douglass

Kristen Britain
Karen Miller

The War of the Blades series is only two books,Dragon Fate and Dragon Blade, but they are both 130,000 -140,000 words, so they may or may not meet your definition of "long". They're light, and there is absolutely some actual humor in them in places, although they aren't primarily humor like Terry Pratchett.

It sounds like Joe Anercrombie is right up your alley. The humor is biting and it can be a bit dark and depressing, but Joe's work is phenomenal. Give it a shot.

Ok. Pulled your bookshelf up. We seem to have similar tastes.

I refuse to read the Green Rider series until it is finished. :D And, much to my son's chagrin, am digging in my heels on The Wheel of Time as well.

Some works off the beaten path:
K.E. Mills's Rogue Agent series - Not great, but it is entertaining
Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares series - If you enjoy sarcasm, she is a riot. Her books are not overly long, but the series is complete in 6 books.
Michael J Sullivan Riyria Revelations
Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge series
Elizabeth Moon's Paksennarion series - no humor here, but it is an awesome trilogy - with a 2nd set in the same world.

Good luck!

Not particularly humorous, but Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters series is pretty good. Don't know how you feel about vampires, but I really like Mary Janice Davidson's "Queen Betsy" series. 6 ft tall, blond with a major shoe fetish.

Wow. So many places to start. Thanks so much everyone :)

I would recommend Another Fine Myth by Robert Lynn Asprin, which starts his Myth series. It is pretty humorous and long.

David Weber's "Oath of Swords", "The War God's Own", etc are pretty light with a very original hero. I also like E.E. Knight's Age of Fire series - told from the dragons' POV

Lots of good stuff in this thread! I highly recommend the King's Blades -and spinoff King's Daggers-series by Dave Duncan.

Carolyn wrote: "Lots of good stuff in this thread! I highly recommend the King's Blades -and spinoff King's Daggers-series by Dave Duncan."

Duncan is terrific! Really liked Blades. Dragonriders goes on FOREVER and now Todd is carrying on with the series his mom started. Good stuff; Darkover is really good, too.

Kevin wrote: "I would recommend Another Fine Myth by Robert Lynn Asprin, which starts his Myth series. It is pretty humorous and long."

I read some of these years ago but they somehow fell off my radar. I recall enjoying Thieves World, too. I'll revisit Asprin.

Jaq wrote: "Have you done The Dragonriders of Pern yet? Or Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books?"

I read Pern although another comment on this thread makes me think there might be more now. I'll look at that. The only Marion Zimmer Bradley I've read is The Mists of Avalon which I loved as a teen. I'll look at her again.

Thanks again everyone, I'm going to write out a list and take it to the library when I take my little one to toddler story time today.

Nowhere near the gravitas of Wheel of Time or Tolkien and just a trilogy — but Jig the Goblin cracked me up (and the author a recent Hugo award winner).

"If you think it’s hard being a hobgoblin or a human, try living a goblin’s life for a while. In fact, try imagining what it’s like to be the runtiest goblin in the caves, the lone worshiper of a god who’s been forgotten for thousands of years, and the target everyone points to at the first hint of trouble.

Try picturing yourself as Jig the goblin, and see how you like it. . . ."

website for series at http://www.jimchines.com/novels/goblins/ ; goodreads series at http://www.goodreads.com/series/52486... ; omnibus version is

(I see you've found Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice—those series of series are going to suck you in for quite a while!)

Not necessarily hilarious but other juicy, lengthy series/worlds to get sucked into (1st is rather soap oper-y):

*

Shorter series and trilogies:
** ***

*says series #3 but is the one to start with; read a few into the Miles Vorkosagen series before picking up 1&2 which are his parents getting together tales. Sometimes one or more free at publisher's website http://www.baenebooks.com in their free download library.

**lighter on the fantasy end and for some reason has spawned a lot of ripoffs if sounds familiar.

***tenser but very much sf despite the z-word, maybe 2% of series actually has a zombie encounter

Oh crap, where is my head, the Miles Vork-however-you-spell-it series is hilarious despite being clever. The Warrior's Apprentice as mentioned above is the starting point.

Ah!! I've been on a reading phase as of late so I have a lot of really good ones. Last year I started at the same series list as you!

So here you go....

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I whole heartily agree on Ambercrombie and Robin Hobb suggestions. Although I have not read the liveship books by Hobb. ----


1. Mark Lawerence has some dark fantasy. (Quite dark... but he is up there on my list. )Prince of Thorns

2. Brent Weeks The Way of Shadows is an excellent complete trilogy is excellent and as it's complete I'm a fan of not waiting for books to come out. His current series has a great world building and magic system on par with Brandon Sanderson there are two out now. The Black Prism

3. Peter V. Brett: The Warded Man I looked this book over in the bookstore a few times and didn't get it. But it's an amazing dark fantasy world. Well worth reading.

4. Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick impressed me, but it's still taking a little while to get to the next book.

5.The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch is a solid new author I would highly recommend.

6. Courtney Schafer's books are pretty solid.

7. I second Michael J. Sullivan's Theft of Swords since it's very east and worth reading.

8. Raymond E. Feist is a fun author if you haven't tried his books out.

9. Daniel Abraham has an older series I'm not finished, but I read The Dragon's Path which was quite well done.

10. Trudi Canavan's The Magician's Apprentice is worth reading.

11. I just finished Blake Charlton's Spellwright and I enjoyed reading it.

12. Garth Nix's Sabriel and Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana and The Lions of al-Rassan are all classics in my mind.

13. Jon Sprunk is a pretty enjoyable read although I only read Shadow's Son

14. David Gemmell's Legend

15. Paul Kearney has some good books. The Mark of Ran and The Ten Thousand.

16. Elspeth Cooper's Songs of the Earth was surprisingly great.

17. Someone mentioned Karen Miller, I read her series it's worth reading. Although I can't help but put it on the bottom of my list.

--- Anyways sorry to overload you with suggestions, but their pretty solid books!

I'd like to add The Morgaine Saga by CJ Cherryh

I loved the Morgaine Saga, and Robin Hobbs's Farseer Trilogy. Another excellent, lighter read is the Lands of Loam books by A.E. Marling. It starts with Brood of Bones.

I also really liked The Legend of Nightfall, which has a sequel, though I can't say it thrilled me as much as book one.

A great complete fantasy series that isn't too dark is Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn by Tad Williams. It's sort of a trilogy(the last book was so huge it was released as two seperate books).