Rothfussians discussion

Okay, since reading the Kingkiller Chronicles, I've become obsessed with trying to find a similar series, so I've been through quite a few series lately. There are quite a few coming of age fantasy series out there but I can't seem to be able to get into a majority of them and it's really frustrating. Best book I've come across is Blood Song by Anthony Ryan, would recommend it, looks like it might take a while for the sequel to come out though. I've read The Demon Cycle and The Night Angel trilogy and enjoyed them.

I've tried and not liked...

Codex Alera series (nothing about it really in my opinion)

Attempted to read the Mistborn Trilogy, finished the first book but wasn't interested enough to continue. The Way of Kings is on my to read list though. The same thing happened when I finished the Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, something missing from this series and I didn't really like the main character, which is never a good start...

The Left Hand of God - meh

Out of boredom I randomly tried reading Chronicles of the Necromancer by Gail Z. Martin, got half way through the second and gave up.

I'm like 40% into The Lies of Locke Lamora and I am not feeling it either.

Need help. Don't want to re-read the Kingkiller Chronicles or ASoIaF until the next books have been given a date so that's out of the question as well. I like books that are dark and are about tragic characters (i.e. Kvothe). I also prefer books with male protagonists, I went through a YA phase a while back and have had enough of female POVs.

I had this same problem... and it seems that no matter what I started... I hated EVERY BOOK because it wasn't about Kvothe. It usually takes me a week before i can pick up a new book... AND recently I've discovered some!!

Check out the Warlord Chronicles series by Bernard Cornwell. It's a historical fiction approach to the Author mythos, and is even reminiscent of KKC... the story is told in the first person by a general of Author, and it's him telling the "true" story behind the common legend. the three books were a lot of fun to get through, and i intend to read them again soon-ish

The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett.
it's a pretty dark fantasy tale... I'm only a quarter of the way into the second book, and it's a lot of fun so far
[[oops, didn't notice that you already read these books... either way, i'll keep it here for others who are in a similar situation, and looking for interesting books]]

Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny
I love Zelazny protagonists, they are usually pretty "eh, I'll take care of it, or kill it when i need to"

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
this above all the others will really fill your need to sub-text. none of the other books are close to Rothfuss' ability to write almost as much subtext as there is text. This book is fantastic! I really can't sing enough praises for it... as a single book it's as utterly enjoyable and unique as the first two KKC books

I'm reading Edding's Mallorean and Belgariad, its coming of ageish. It's okay. But I wouldn't really call it dark. It's pretty predictable too.

If you haven't read Harry Potter, thats very coming of age and it gets darker and darker as the series goes. I loved it, but I was also a teenager when I read it...so...hard to say now.

A book you will most likely enjoy that isn't a fantasy but none the less amazing, coming of age, and on par with both KKC and ASOIAF is Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. That book was worth 15 stars. I'm serious about that.
Another coming of age like this one is My Name is Asher Lev. Hella Dark for a book about a Hasidic Jewish Boy.

Bradbury's Farenheit 451 is great if you haven't done that yet. I consider it fantasy. It's not really coming of age, more of coming to your senses. Plus great writing.

I started Weis' Dragonships of Vindras, it was coming of age, and dark in my opinion. I liked it. Would love to finish it except I can never seem to find the sequals. (ANNOYING!)

eh...thats my two cents.

I didn't mention that the Warlord Chronicles is a coming of age story as well. it starts with the narrator as a child as he raises in Authors favor...and encounters trials of his own.

seriously, I highly recommend this series

I agree with all the recommendations above. Some others that might work would be.

- The Last Herald-Mage series by Mercedes Lackey. A little Dated but still a pretty good read IMO.
- Magician: Apprentice and the rest of the series by Raymond Feist. Great series for the first 4 or 5 books. Gets a little tired after that though.
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I wouldn't say the rest of the series is coming of age, but the first book pretty much is. Still one of my favorite books ever.
- Refugee by Piers Anthony. This is the 1st book in the Bio of a Space Tyrant series. Definitely a coming of age story, full bio in fact.
- Another Fine Myth Book one of the MYTH Series by Robert Lynn Aspirin. Not dark at all. More comedy and goofy really, but lots of fun.
- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. First book in the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. Great coming of age series.

That's all I have for now. I'll more if I think of any.

Cheers.

You could also try Lev Grossman's The Magicians series. There are 2 books out so far and they're quite dark coming of age fantasy tales.

I first got into reading Mercedes Lackey with the Collegium Chronicles http://www.goodreads.com/series/52236.... And then ended up reading most of the Valdemar books. YA books can be difficult, especially because of the constant love triangles, a shoddy plot device IMO. Although, I am looking forward to Sanderson's Rithmatist, the first 3 or 4 chapters of which I read on Tor. I agree Ender's Game is a must read. Time Enough for Love by Heinlein is good to, although it's got more of a memoir feel, than coming of age.

Aztec by Greg Jennings. Good story follows a male POV its the story of the Aztecs and the MAin character explorations. Little slow in the beginning but you fall into the story. My best advice is to branch of of fantasy for a book or two and then pick one up. It will buffer your expectations from two of the Best authors around. Westies is a good true crime story about the irish in New York during the Gambino Family times. Under and Alone is the true story of Undercover agent who joins Biker gang. I have read a couple of these but different Undercover Agents and this By Far is the Best. True story of Billy Mcqueen.

Book: Under and Alone By William Queen........ Book:Westies: Inside New Yorks Irish Mob by T. J. English......... Alot of people enjoyes this fantasy Book i Personally didn't..Book: Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell By Susanna Clarke...... Aztec By Gary Jennings ...... Fantasy Book with a couple of Diff. POVs i enjoyed it Called book: Broken Man Triology by Russel Kirkpatrick....... If you HAVENT READ the Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis it is a older Classic by and a Must read is The Lord of the Rngs by J.R. Tolkien (even if you saw the Movies The book is different without alot more detail. Classic and Must read if you haven't it will fill that void.) DONT know how to make them links for the books or i would have. Sorry. Let me know what you think.

Surely you've read Harry Potter?

The book that always came to mind when folk wondered what's similar to the KKC is Midnight's Children. I'm just finishing it up again and, yah. More magical realism than fantasy and yet...

thistlepong, is that another term for "urban fantasy"?

Books that are written in a realistic way but incorporate unexplained magical elements are considered magical realism. One of the big differences between fantasy and magical realism is that fantasy is often set in another world or the system of magic is explained and understood by readers. With magical realism, the story may seem very realistic except for a few magical elements. These magical elements are simply accepted within the realistic framework, no attempt at explanation. They often come across as rather mysterious. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is an example of magical realism. It's kind of a squishy term though so please feel free to correct me if anyone thinks I've strayed from its proper definition.

As for a great coming of age fantasy series, I would recommend His Dark Materials. It's YA and the protagonist is female but it's a wonderful trilogy.

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander is a classic of the genre and should be read by everyone. Incorporates elements of Welsh mythology which has some interesting elements.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. Another staple of the genre. This one has Arthurian elements in it if I recall correctly.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin. If you're interested in naming, this series deals with it extensively.

Ions wrote: "thistlepong, is that another term for "urban fantasy"?"

In a word: no. Manda's response is as good or better than any I would provide. The magic's often integral to the story but not so much necessary to functioning of the world?

Like, in Midnight's Children, eighty years of history on the Indian subcontinent occurs exactly as recorded (+/- any particular national perspective), but Saleem's story is chock-full of magic, science fiction, and mythology. Heck, he might even be lying.

In some ways it's a field stripped fantasy. You have an unreliable narrator who, um, talks about his verity and the construction of stories... in a frame story that takes place after the important bits of the narrative... and on and on...

Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence both write excellent books in dark settings with male protagonists...give them a go

Thank you for all the recommendations, will definitely go through them over the next few weeks. I've been convinced by a friend to start The Way of Kings so I'm going to get through that first now that I've finished my thesis.

I've read Harry Potter (who my age hasn't!?) and His Dark Materials.

Joe Abercrombie has been on my to read list for a long time and will be tackled sometime in the next few months.

Lev Grossman's The Magicians series (though the really low rating is a bit off putting?), The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams and The Riftwar Saga stick out to me but I'll work my way through looking at the other books as well.

Once again cheers for all the recommendations, I'll report back when I've read some!

I din't mention Abrecrombie as it isn't a coming of age story, but it is dark and then some. Quite awesome really :)

Along those lines I would also highly recommend the Joe Pitt series (first book is Already Dead) by Charlie Huston. Also quite dark and fun.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is a really good series. It's not a coming of age story but more of evolving character story line. It's really dark, dark, kickass, and good. And there are 14 books so far. Each better than the last.
Jim and Patrick even hang out from time to time.

And the narrator for the audiobooks is soooo good. He sounds just like how you would imagine the main character. Except for book 13. Some other guy did it and it was terrible!

Thomas, you mentioned the Dresden files, and that brought something to mind. It was the short run tv series of Harry Dresden that introduced me to Jim Butcher. Lately, I have found not many people knew about the tv show. I wish it ran longer, it was pretty good. Staying somewhat true to the books I have read. However, I have not read all of the books, they get little pricey.

Pet peeve about the Dresden Files...Doesn't Harry in the first book talk about how vile/horrible a being has to be in order to use magic to kill someone? Doesn't he, in subsequent books, do that an awful lot? (My memory is bit foggy, but I seem to recall that happening an awful lot.)

In any case, aside from the beginning of the first book, I don't remember the author making such a big deal out of using magic to kill.

There is one whole book about that topic later in the series. You can't kill mortals with magic

Thomas wrote: "There is one whole book about that topic later in the series. You can't kill mortals with magic"

..don't you mean "you are not allowed to kill mortals with magic"?

Bill
I think you are thinking about using magic on somebodies minds? Apparently it damages the "soul" or something..
Burning someone to a crisp with a fire-spell shouldn't be a problem.. (unless the white council finds out)

In any case, the first couple of books are more case files, and somewhat removed from the overall plot-line the story gets into later.. It was Butchers first books, and I doubt he had foreseen it would turn out as it did when he wrote them, so i can excuse a couple of mistakes/discrepancies if there should be some..

He means, in relation to one of the laws of magic, that you cannot directly use magic to kill a human. As when you use magic, you have to believe in the reason you are using it for and when you use it for evil it fundamentally changes your personality as it's tied into your life force.

It seems a bit strange though when he kills magical creatures in pretty disgusting ways but that's okay :P

It is possible then.. It's just not good for you..
The same as messing with other peoples minds and such..

Doesn't he also (view spoiler)[ burn down an entire vampire coven with living human food in it and everything? but i guess semi-accidents doesn't count :P (hide spoiler)]

I've read a LOT of the books you all have listed and though there is some great writing and talented authors out there I've decided that I am simply forcing PR to give us what we want by holding my breath. PR is too nice a guy to let a fan perish in such a childish way. I'm certain of this.

So, Mr. Rothfuss... Unless you want to see me passed out and sorely imbarrassed, I recommend you release the final book. Or Else!!!

=)

Lucas wrote: "You could also try Lev Grossman's The Magicians series. There are 2 books out so far and they're quite dark coming of age fantasy tales."


Great suggestion! I didn't realize the second one had already come out. that will be going right onto my Kindle.

Amber wrote: "I'm reading Edding's Mallorean and Belgariad, its coming of ageish. It's okay. But I wouldn't really call it dark. It's pretty predictable too.

If you haven't read Harry Potter, thats very comi..."

I read all of Harry Potter as an adult and loved every minute of it. I'm so happy to see My Name is Asher Lev on your list--such a gorgeous book!

I am half way through The Way of Shadows by Brent weeks. It's pretty good. Definitely a coming of age fantasy story. Deep, dark, intense, and original. Going to read this series while I wait for Jim Butchers next book, Skin Game. And going to read Jim Butchers books while I wait for Pat's next book. Are there any other authors like these, that I should run out and get their books?

I've tried and failed to finish some of the same book you listed in the first post. I enjoyed the hell out of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Great story and so funny! (Plus Pat likes them, so there's that...)

Also the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. It's categorized as young adult but PLEASE don't let that deter you. They are fantastic books!

The Dresden Files? Honestly they don't start getting good till about book 3 or 4.The real story starts around then that's why. Mystical creatures and world saving type stuff.

I'll recommend a lesser known work here.


Mage's Blood by David Hair

This is book 1 of a planned 4 book series called The Moontide Quartet. Kinda reminiscent of Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, but I wouldn't say it borrows any elements. Has multiple POV characters and a world which can be compared to Europe and Asia. Atleast for 2-3 major characters, it's a coming of age tale.

I'm so happy to see My Name is Asher Lev on your list--such a gorgeous book!



Yes, I agree, it was my favorite book for a long time. Pretty much until I read KKC. LOL. The second book is really good as well. I believe it's called "The Gift of Asher Lev"

I enjoyed both immensely, such lovely writing, the pain of the character is conveyed so beautifully.

have you read Mists of Avalon? (Marion Summer Bradley) or The Fionavar Tapestry (Guy Graviel Kay) Not classic coming of age but love them both!

Amber wrote: " I'm so happy to see My Name is Asher Lev on your list--such a gorgeous book!



Yes, I agree, it was my favorite book for a long time. Pretty much until I read KKC. LOL. The second book is rea..."

I haven't read The Gift of Asher Lev--it's going on my to-read list. I agree about the pain being conveyed beautifully!

Oh yes Beth, if you liked the first one, the second is just as enjoyable and also Potok does just as good of a job painting the emotions of the character.

(I'm so punny, bahaha)

Amber wrote: "Oh yes Beth, if you liked the first one, the second is just as enjoyable and also Potok does just as good of a job painting the emotions of the character.

(I'm so punny, bahaha)"

You are, indeed! :-)

Amber wrote: "Oh yes Beth, if you liked the first one, the second is just as enjoyable and also Potok does just as good of a job painting the emotions of the character.

(I'm so punny, bahaha)"

I just noticed your avatar. I love Spike. So much more interesting than Angel.

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson and Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. but i must warn you, none of these series are anything like the KingKiller chronicle.

I really enjoyed A Cast of Stones by Patrick Carr. Prob the best new fantasy IMO of '13. The 2nd book, The Hero's Lot comes out / is out early summer.

The Black Prism Is Good because it has two stories in one. One is a Kip's coming of age story, and The other is the adult Gavin's struggle.

His Dark Materials is a good one. Not really like KKC, I agree, but still I thought the whole concept was pretty interesting and original.

@Beth - Yes, Spike is around 1000X more awesome than Angel. I just finished watching both Buffy and Angel recently so I'm having my fangirl moment about 10 years later than I should have....

Did I miss seeing the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan recommended? You might also like The Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan.

Agree with Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence and The Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks. My favorite is Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings. Worth the read but takes a little to get going.

Amber wrote: "His Dark Materials is a good one. Not really like KKC, I agree, but still I thought the whole concept was pretty interesting and original.

@Beth - Yes, Spike is around 1000X more awesome than Ang..."

It's never too late for a Spike fangirl moment.

HAHAHA!

This is true. Never to late, nor to often. :)

Amber wrote: "HAHAHA!

This is true. Never to late, nor to often. :)"

Amen.

While I liked The Golden Compass I thought the rest of the books in the Dark Materials series were utterly horrible. There were so many awesome places he could have taken the series, the way he went was just disappointing. That's just me though, lots of others like them so give it a try.

Another coming of age series I remembered is the The Deed of Paksenarrion which is kind of different with a female lead. It's a great journey from start to finish.

You spike fans polluting the thread!

"You're scared, ashamed of what you feel. But you can't tell the ones you love, you know they couldn't deal"

lol. God help me but I love BTVS.

Forgive my ignorance but what is spike?

Spike is the sexiest vampire that ever lived in a fictional universe.

He's a character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - my personal favorite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_(B...