Fantasy Book Club Series discussion

Hello, my name is Russell and I taking an AP Literature class. I have been assigned an author/genre study and I chose fantasy and the ways authors build unique cultures and worlds. I need to read four book pertaining to my subject and I have already read the Lord of the Rings trilogy (the whole trilogy counted as one book) and Dune. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what books I should consider for my next books. If this group is not the place to ask this question, please direct me to another one. Thank you.

There are thousands of titles you could try! So many authors, so many worlds... Depends on how much time you have on your hands. The worlds of Jordan, Martin, Hobb or McCaffrey are amazing but they are series of multiple books. The same goes for Erikson or even Pratchett. If you have the time... a lot of time, they are all amazing!
But I can think of a few that comprise of three books or less.
The Mistborn trilogy by Sanderson - starting with Mistborn: The Final Empire ,
the Rai-Kirah series by Berg - starting with Transformation ,
and The Fionavar Tapestry by Kay - starting with The Summer Tree .
Also the same author's Tigana which is only one book and one of my favorites!
I am sure that you will have a lot more suggestions. I hope I helped some... Good luck!

Brandon Sanderson writes amazing worlds, his book Elantris is a stand-alone novel, but his Mistborn Trilogy is my favorite. (And if you like him read all his books, what will really blow your mind is that all of his mainstream (not novellas or YA) books are in the same universe or Cosmere)

Brent Weeks also builds a complex world and culture in The Night Angel Trilogy. Book 1 starts in one city, and expends into an entire land by Book 3

try anything by Sara Douglass or Trudi Canavan

both are great world creators.

Rules of Ascension by David B. Coe or

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop. The series has a matriarchal culture that plays an important role.

Well, there are tons of great fantasy books out there, but for some with very *unique* cultures and worlds, try:
The Darkborn series by Alison Sinclair
Books of the Raksura series by Martha Wells
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

other classics include:
the Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin
the Narnia series by CS Lewis

Since you are looking at it from an academic viewpoint, I think it is important to separate the pioneers from the followers. Tolkien & Herbert were trend-setters. To the extent possible, try and get four different trend-setters. You may also want to distribute your authors across countries (US, UK, Asia), sub-genres (epic, dark, urban, etc) and time (1950-1989, 90s, 2000 onwards).

1. Tolkien, Le Guin, CS Lewis are examples of earlier writers who built classic worlds.
2. Sanderson, Rothfuss etc are examples of newer writers of darker worlds who emphasize magic systems. I think Sanderson describes his world more than Rothfuss does.
3. If you want to cover urban worlds aimed at young audiences, you may want to consider Harry Potter, Narnia and similar worlds.
4. If you are willing to go into SF, Asimov's world can be an option. The Elijah Bailey books are set in a culture where robots have polarized society. It is a striking contrast to Hebert's Dune.

Happy reading!

Russell wrote: "Hello, my name is Russell and I taking an AP Literature class. I have been assigned an author/genre study and I chose fantasy and the ways authors build unique cultures and worlds. I need to read f..."

Hello Russell! I'd have to say that Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts' "Empire" series is one of the most Culturally based series I've ever read.

Just my two cents...

Mists of Avalon

Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence

A couple sries came to my mind.

First is Steven Erikson's series Malazan Book of the Fallen which begins with Gardens of the Moon. It's a massive series but is extremely rewarding.

I also recommend checking out R. Scott Bakker's series The Prince of Nothing. This series has influences in both Dune and Lord of the Rings. It also happens to be one of my faves.

I would second the recommendations for Anne Bishop's Dark Jewels series (you can stick with the original trilogy for the purposes of your paper) and Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy.

Although, since you're analyzing culture, if you read Mistborn you really ought to continue to The Alloy of Law; it's the 4th Mistborn book and first of an unfinished duology BUT advances the civilization of the original trilogy by 300 years. No doubt some good analysis waiting to happen there!

My other suggestion would be Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series. You could get enough material for your paper from the first book but the complete series is really excellent in world-building, character, and culture.

Be sure to let us know what you choose!

Thank you all for suggestions. I did choose to read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Great book, great suggestion, thank you. I now need one more book to read and while all the suggestions are helpful. I am looking for a stand alone novel, I don't have time for a whole series (unless its two books, 300 words each). Those who did suggest stand alone novels, I am looking into them. Thank you.

I also need to find three minor works centering around my original question.

Russell--I recommend Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. The first book, WIZARD'S FIRST RULE, creates an engaging new culture and world. You likely will find yourself caught up, so prepare for a journey of about 8000 pages from start to finish.

try this.

Talion by micheal stacjpole is a stand alone novel

Sorry for double post on cell and not my computer. The book is in two perspectives one a boy being trained to be a justice and him being older tracking down a killer.

Ooo, yes, Talion: Revenant is a great choice. Stackpole is very handy with the classic "hero journey" story but the worldbuilding in that particular stand alone book was excellent.

Honestly for the OP I think the Harry Potter books would be excellent choices, because:

A) Popular and so the teacher will likely be able to go along with your argument without hitting up wikipedia, if he hasn't read an obscure title.

B) Culture is a central theme of the series. Muggle culture, and the fascination it holds for the Weasley family. The Occulted Culture (bonus points for discussing the etymological/semantic roots of "occult"/"cult"/"culture") of the wizarding world. The culture of Hogwarts, with its societies and sorting hats and then its secret societies like the Order of the Phoenix.

C) They're easy reads. OP may even have read them already, or at least seen the films.