Book Haven discussion

When browsing for a fantasy novel, which type do you tend to go for?
Ex. Dragons, Mages, Elves,Nymphs, Dwarves, Etc.

I am personally drawn to Mages! I have found so many great novels with mages in them. I also like Dragons...

I actually will not read anything with elves, dwarves, or wizards in the description. LOL. I find it campy. No young boys or quests either.

Mages, I don't mind. Dragons have almost been killed for me by now, since fantasy authors have abused them miserably (at least do it with imagination).

I've not read much fantasy, although I enjoyed Magic Study and Wicked Lovely. So i suppose faeries and magic are my bag. I haven't read Lord of the Rings depite growing up a stones throw from where some of it is based, but, I did read The Hobbit when i was about 7.

LotR is old hat. There's been so much since those books. I don't like that a discussion of fantasy always leads to LotR, not that I'm blaming you, Adrienne. LOL.

Sorry it's was the only fantasy book/series i could think of :), is Mists of Avalon classed as Fantasy? Perhapes I need to check on the Fantasy Listopia?

I also tend to avoid Elves. They're usually written the same by everybody and I don't think they're that special. I read one series with elves and that feels like enough.

I've been leaning more towards magic and mythic fantasy. Less other-worldly creatures and more human beings.

Adrienne, Mists of Avalon is fantasy, but you might want to try Patricia Briggs, Melanie Rawn, Jacqueline Carey, or Louise Marley. I think you would like one of those. :) They all have romances. They're not explicit, but they're not "sweet" either, LOL. ;)

LaTrica, by mythic fantasy, do you mean stuff like Gaiman? I feel like those stories are not true fantasy, just dressed in fantasy clothes where the fantasy element's just used as a tool for the plot or a message in what ends up being something very similar to our world. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I prefer books that genuinely explore imagined lands or peoples, etc.

New User thanks for the recommendations, I've heard of Patricia Biggs,but,not the others, so I'll check those out.

I like fey, mages, elves, swords, sorcery, strong female characters, epic sagas, quests

I was thinking more Greg Keyes with his usage of less traditional not as human creatures and Gods. I haven't read any Gaiman.

I also like faeries.

Oh, I see what you mean, using gods and goddesses, etc. I like that too, particularly when it's as well done as Keyes does it.

I'm surprised at how many people like fairies. The closest I've gotten to a book about fairies, is nymphs. LOL
I'm not too keen on books about elves either, but I did like Christopher Paolini's series. It had elves, dwarves, and dragons in it. I didn't think I would enjoy it, but my brother-in-law forced me to read it. I ended up loving it!

I haven't read that many books with fairies. Only Cecilia Dart-Thornton Bitterbynde series and Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner. These fairies were kind of interesting. Morally ambiguous. I wouldn't mind reading more books about them but think I may find them one-dimensional.

THomas the Rhymer was a fabulous book!

I haven't read any recently with "fairies," the kind from pop culture, but I have read books with the Fair Folk/Sidhe. They were not small, cute, or friendly, LOL. If anyone is interested, I recommend Juliet Marillier. She writes the original (mostly disturbing) legends of the Sidhe. Historical (Celtic) fantasy.

I don't read much fantasy these days except for Neil Gaiman and that sort.

But back in the day, I went through a phase where that was all I read. Especially ones involving unicorns. I remember reading a lot of Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, Anne McCaffrey, and some Terry Brooks.

More recently, I read Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle, and I'd definitely recommend him.

I haven't been as much into fantasy as I once was...but it still holds a soft place in my heart. :)

Oh, another excellent fantasy involving the sidhe and probably more suited to readers who prefer a modern fantasy: Tom Deitz's David Sullivan series. Good stuff.

new_user wrote: "I haven't read any recently with "fairies," the kind from pop culture, but I have read books with the Fair Folk/Sidhe. They were not small, cute, or friendly, LOL. If anyone is interested, I recomm..."

Urban fantasy. I am starting to recover my love for the high fantasy/quest type stories. I love books about the Fae. The more evil the fae, the better. LOL. Anything that takes an old myth or folktale and spins an interesting story around it.

Yep, Danielle, it's urban fantasy, but it's nothing like most of the UF we read nowadays. It's more epic fantasy, only the hero's from our world and kind of discovers the fae and then madness ensues. I really liked them.

I like epic fantasy, but not the typical quest ones so much. There's some really good stuff. Robin Hobb writes amazing fantasy about a royal bastard who becomes an assassin for the crown (the goings on are much bigger, but that's the barebones). Her characters are very developed in comparison to a lot of fantasy, and it's pretty mature.

Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned Elizabeth Bear's books about the fae. Very dark. So much so I couldn't enjoy the book. Consider yourself warned, LOL.

I haven't read a whole lot of Fantasy, nor do I know much about the category but I've got Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and GRR Martin's books on my TBR, but haven't actaully got around to reading any of them. Also I jsut looked up Greg Keyes website, and will probably get some of his books as well.

And CL Wilson's Fading land series I think is technically paranormal (or at least that's how it was marketed) but for me, I always stick it in the Fantasy Romance category, and it's among my favorites ... One of those books/series that make me thankful I'm a reader :)

Sobia wrote: "I haven't read a whole lot of Fantasy, nor do I know much about the category but I've got Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and GRR Martin's books on my TBR, but haven't actaully got around to reading a..."

You should def. read some of Greg Keyes books! He is amazing!

- Urban fantasy/dark fantasy
- Romantic fantasy like briggs ( pre 'Mercy' stuff), Maria Snyder,Lisa Shearin and Michelle Sagara
- Whimsical (not too) epic fantasy, like Neil Gaimen and Charles de Lint.

I seem to be allergic to high fantasy, so I stick mostly to these 3 sub-genres.I don't usually mind which characters are involved; but I'm wary of mages.

new_user wrote: "Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned Elizabeth Bear's books about the fae. Very dark. So much so I couldn't enjoy the book. Consider yourself warned, LOL. "

Are you talking about the Promethean Age books? I have the first one. Oh dear. I would like to read Robin Hobb. What is the first book in the series? I am very intrigued with assassin heroes/anti-heroes.

Yep, the Promethean Age books, Danielle. You might want to wait until you're in the mood. If it's any consolation, she is a good writer.

Yep, the first book is Assassin's Apprentice, and it's one of my favorites, so I highly recommend it, of course. :D The main character is very real and fleshed out.

The only complaint I've come across with this author from people who didn't enjoy her work as much is that the main character can be weak. Mind you, that's not an accident. It's only occasional and only because the main character is meant to be a flawed, real guy, but it bothers some people who are used to knights in shining armor.

I like flawed characters very much. Thanks for the information. I'm going to snag a copy of Assassin's Apprentice the next time I hit the bookstore.

Oh, I forgot. The Suvudu Free Library is offering The Assassin's Apprentice ebook for free, if you're interested. But it's one of those you probably want to have in your hands, LOL.

Cool. Thanks for the heads up. I do like the print books better. But it's good to have options. :)

I best fantasy (though that's not the only label this book can wear) was Dark Elves by Jet Mykles. I don't shop for a particular theme but just for a story I think I will like.

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I like fantasy, I would say my fave would be mages, but I like dragons and fairies also.

I'm into werewolves/vampires/witches. I do enjoy the faeries though. I have read Karen Marie Moning first two in the Fever series and am waiting for the next one from my library.
I love a good "girl kicks butt" story.

Elvia wrote: "I'm into werewolves/vampires/witches. I do enjoy the faeries though. I have read Karen Marie Moning first two in the Fever series and am waiting for the next one from my library.
..."

Have you read the "vampire academy" series by Richelle Mead? Its YA, but it is very good. Plus the there is some major "girl kicks butt" in that series! :)

Hm... Do those books I call "vampire porn" and "werewolf porn" count? lol

I prefer swords and sorcery, witchcraft, humorous fantasy (Terry Pratchet). I did enjoy the Chicks in Chainmail books, and loved Darkover and Pern, both of which started as perfectly good fantasy series, and then became perfectly good Science Fiction series.

stormhawk wrote: "I prefer swords and sorcery, witchcraft, humorous fantasy (Terry Pratchet). I did enjoy the Chicks in Chainmail books, and loved Darkover and Pern, both of which started as perfectly good fantasy s..."

I love humor in my stories. Frankly it's more realistic to laugh at the absurdity.

I read an excerpt from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series one time, and I have been wanting to read it ever since. But that is a HUGE series, lol.

Joy wrote: "Have you read the "vampire academy" series by Richelle Mead? Its YA, but it is very good. Plus the there is some major "girl kicks butt" in that series! :)"
I have actually started that series. I have read the first two and will start three when I get it from the library. It's a very good series so far...and from what I read in the synopsis of the upcoming books I'm going to love those too!

Terry Pratchett is one of my favorite authors ever!!! Bonfire, once you start Discworld, you'll be hooked. Start with the Light Fantastic. I have all of the Discworld books. Except for the latest Tiffany Aching book. And if you love (adore, worship) Terry, also check out Neil Gaiman. He's my new author crush. Also, if anyone is WoW nerd like me, the books are really good and give a lot of great back story to the game. And there's elves and orcs and mages and all that fun stuff!

Oh and I forgot, Robert Asprin's Myth books are so funny.

BonFire wrote: "I read an excerpt from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series one time, and I have been wanting to read it ever since. But that is a HUGE series, lol."

I felt the same way a few years ago. But I started reading them and I read an average of two a year because there's so many. I use them as my light reading after a heavy, dark read. I'm reading them in order, mostly, but you can skip around which is great. The greatest thing about the series is that it doesn't take itself seriously.

Kristina, you should read the Tiffany Aching books. I love them! I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan too.

Other than the Terry Pratchett series, I also like reading books with the Faerie Folk. I'm not the sort to stick with the wizard/troll/epic adventure type of fantasy but I did read LOTR and enjoyed it for the most part.

the kind of fantasy novels that really captures my attentions are those that have mages, and other extraordinary creatures in them. vampires, witches, wizards, dwarves, fairies anything as long as the story is good I will read it.

HI to all. I'm new here

Hi Malen! Welcome! :-)

IaD is actually paranormal romance. :)

I have no idea what my favorite brand is (i love them all), but I'm kind of getting sick of vampires (there's just to many of them).

I recently started to really enjoy books with fallen angels/archangels... Has anyone else tried them?

Yes, I find that theme so fascinating, Joy. So much potential! Which ones have you read?

Anna wrote: "I have no idea what my favorite brand is (i love them all), but I'm kind of getting sick of vampires (there's just to many of them)."

Mmmm. Me too, although if I do find a vampire book that someone who has the same taste as me says it is good, usually I will go out and read them.
But to be honest, ever since Twilight came out that's the only brand of fantasy everybody has been talking about. But secretly, I really love the good vampire books that are out there.

I will read pretty much anything when it comes to what brand of fantasy I am reading. As long, as it captures my interest and ends up being a good book- I will pretty much go back for more.

I like Vamps,Demons,etc-almost everything but the animals.Feehan had a scene in one of her books of a horrible sounding were that was raggedy and ugly and drooling and I haven`t been able to read one of her books since ,or one with the animals in it.
And I do love her previous books-I think Jacque may be my all time fav PNR hero.