Fantasy Aficionados discussion

Hello everybody! Welcome to the group. Fantasy Aficionados is a friendly place for people to come and discuss the one thing we all have in common. Our love for fantasy.

All the folders in the group are posted in alphabetical order. There you can find our monthly reads (of which we have two each month), or you can look for your favorite authors or books. Don't be shy. As a member, you are welcome to start your own threads!

So, please, let us know who you are. And who are your favorite fantasy writers?

I will start. I'm Jason and I'm an avid reader. I read many genres, but have read fantasy for close to twenty years now. I also write stories of my own, some of which are published.

My favorite fantasy authors are:

George R. R. Martin
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
Joe Abercrombie
J. R. R. Tolkien
Neil Gaiman
Ursula K. Le Guin
Robin Hobb
Patrick Rothfuss
China Mieville

Hey, thanks for the invite. I love fantasy, but I'm still getting my feet wet with the more traditional fantasy. I've read a lot of urban fantasy, though.

My faves:

Ray Bradbury
Patricia Briggs
Jim Butcher
Simon R. Green
Ilona Andrews
Ann Aguirre
Diana Wynne Jones
CS Lewis
Madeleine L'Engle
Patrick Thomas
Kelley Armstrong
Kim Harrison

I hope to get lots of recommendations!

Thanks for joining Danielle! And welcome. You're the first member! :)

Glad to be here! Thanks for starting the book.

Feel free to create your own folders and topics if you want. I could use the help right now...lol. :)

You did it! Good for you. Thanks for the invite.

When I think of fantasy, I think of all those books in my library with dragons and forests on the front covers. I don't think of writers like Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis or Ray Bradbury, so I guess I do read some fantasy, although I'm not a hardcore fan. I'm here to get suggestions.

If you need a moderator, I'm game. Either way, I don't mind helping out.

Hi Tressa!

Awesome! Thanks for joining, Tressa! And welcome.

Yeah, fantasy does take on many different faces, or sub genres. It was one thing that I was faced with when I started this group today. I was like, "Oh shit, do I just do epic fantasy (those books with the dragons on the covers), or what? LOL So, I decided that since I like to read both epic and other sub genres, I'd make the group friendly to all sub genres.

Maybe we could make folders for the different sub-genres?

I'd be interested to see all the sub-genres of fantasy. It's like with sci-fi, I don't like the hard/military sci-fi, but love books like Ender's Game or books that deal with time travel.

I read one a few years ago where a wealthy man and a woman scientist travel back to early man times, and bring a wooly mammoth back to the present. I never can remember the name of that story but it was really good.

And I read Darwin's Radio and loved it.

Maybe I don't know I like fantasy? :-) Maybe I can learn to like it better.

Make a folder for whatever you want! So long as it's fantasy oriented. :) I want this group to be totally organic.

I think you might be a fantasy fan, Tressa!

Hi, I enjoy all different types of fantasy, from mythological to sci-fi. I love stories that stimulate my imagination. Thanks for letting us know about this, Jason.

No problem! And thanks for joining, Thoa!

Feel free to create a folder and/or topic on something you'd like to see discussed!

Jason, if not, maybe I'll become one. I keep trying to get my hubby to join GR. He has been devouring sci-fi and fantasy since he was a young kid. He's an encyclopedia of knowledge about these genres. He'd be an asset to any SF or fantasy group here. But he won't join.

Hello everyone! I grew up reading fantasy: The Dragonlance books, the Shannara books, Raymond E. Feist's series, The Belgariad, etc. The most recent I've read is George RR Martin's Ice and Fire, though I'm not going to reread it until the final book comes out.

I don't like the Wheel of Time series. I liked the first few books the first time I read them, but subsequent rereadings when new books came out first bored me, then angered me. And I didn't make it very far into Terry Goodkind's series. I guess at this point I have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth around fantasy.

So I'm hoping that I can find some recommendations for new fantasy that doesn't suck! I have absolutely nothing against the genre and I hope there are books out there that can push my buttons without being too cliched.

Hi Thoa and Brainycat!

Welcome again, Brainycat!

I can see what you mean by Jordan's WoT. I love it, yet hate it at the same time. His books could be so much shorter with, especially in the later books, so much more content.

Agreed, Jordan was a master storyteller in desperate need of a vicious editor.

I am a lover of all things fantasy. I have always enjoyed mythology, sword/sorcery, heroic fantasy, and scifi. I have been more into fantasy and paranormal romance lately but they are all in one way or another fantasy.

A couple favs:
Lord of the Rings trilogy J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I also enjoy RPG video games. I play mostly on the xbox 360.

A couple favs:
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (xbox)
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 (xbox)
The Bard's Tale (xbox)
Kingdom Hearts (I know :))
The Legend of Zelda games (N64/Wii)
Champions of Norrath (ps2)
Champions of Norrath Return to Arms(ps2)
Dragon Age: Origins (xbox 360)
Fable (XBOX)
Fable II (X360)
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (WII) (again I know lol)

I look forward to hearing not only recommendations for good books but also hope for any RPG video game recommendations! (I have the following consoles: N64, Gamecube, PS2, Wii and Xbox 360 ( i keep the old consoles for the classics! Just feels better then using the wii controller for the older games)

Welcome BlackDaggar! I hope you like it here. Feel free to create threads and/or folders of what you'd like to see discussed here.

Hey SMBD! Glad to see you here! :)

@jason & BC~ thank you.
~SMBD

Hi! I'm Jen. I am really just starting to read fantasy, and can't wait for some recommendations!

Some of my favourite authors are:

Patricia Briggs
Neil Gaiman
J.K. Rowling

Hey Jen! Glad you're here!

Welcome Jen!

Hi all :)

I read a but if everything really Though horror and fantasy are my favorite genres overall.

My favorite fantasy/ urban fantasy authors are:

James Clemens
Kim Harrison
Mary Brown
Laurell K Hamilton
Neil Gaiman
Ray Bradbury
Bill Willingham
Clive Barker ( known for horror but most of it is actually dark fantasy)
J K Rowling
Jacqueline Carey
Serena Valentino
Ted Naifeh
Diane Duane
Tanith Lee
CLAMP
Christopher Golden
Hideyuki Kikuchi (writer of the Vampire Hunter D novels)
Kelley Armstrong
Gregory McGuire
Terri Pratchett (most fond of his witch books)
Roald Dahl
J R R Tolkien (oddly The Hobbit is my fav)
Tad Williams

I've had Patrick Rothfuss and Simon R Greene recommended to me and I do intend to get to those before too long.

I highly recommend this book:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87...

and there is also a sequel.

Brainycat wrote: "Hello everyone! I grew up reading fantasy: The Dragonlance books, the Shannara books, Raymond E. Feist's series, The Belgariad, etc. The most recent I've read is George RR Martin's Ice and Fire, th..."

Hey Brainy :) What type of fantasy is more your style? I know that a lot of the high stuff isn't for me while others are.

I ran into problems with Jordan too. I knew I'd read the first and 2nd but then I had a big gap of time between and ended up rereading book 3 before i realized I'd already read it. This process of being uncertain of what book I was on and having to read a chunk to sort it out left me feeling frustrated with the books and I've since taken a hiatus.

SuckMyBlackDagger wrote: "I am a lover of all things fantasy. I have always enjoyed mythology, sword/sorcery, heroic fantasy, and scifi. I have been more into fantasy and paranormal romance lately but they are all in one wa..."

PS2 is chock full of Japanese RPGs which are more story driven than say Baldur's Gate which is action driven. Do you have a preference between these styles? My brother is a major RPG hound and I love them too but haven't gotten to play anywhere near as much as I'd like. I played Suikoden, Secret of Mana, Saga Frontier, Final Fantasy VII, and Grandia on PS2. More recently I started a game in Fable 2 which I like a lot better than Fable.

Jen wrote: "Hi! I'm Jen. I am really just starting to read fantasy, and can't wait for some recommendations!

Some of my favourite authors are:

Patricia Briggs
Neil Gaiman
J.K. Rowling"

Try Kim Harrison she's awesome urban fantasy and also writes a very original world.

Heck most of my list might be good for you

Hello all,

I was pointed in the direction of Horro Aficionados through a book recommendation from another group. I was so overwhelmed by how friendly and fun the site was, I joined immediately. When Fantasy Aficionados was mentioned, I may have even squeeled a little. I'm a long time fan of epic fantasy, and have spent the past couple of years, (thanks to goodreads recommendations), getting into more subgenres.

My favorite authors are:

Brandon Sanderson
John Scalzi
Patrick Rothfuss
George R R Martin
Joe Abercrombie
Lois McMaster Bujold
Neil Gaiman
Guy Gavriel Kay
Michael Sullivan
Tad Williams
Stephen King (wrong genre, I know)

and am quickly falling head over heels in love with

Peter S. Beagle
Cherie Priest
Dan Simmons
Kage Baker

Hey Lauarel! Glad to see you here!

Hello, My mom is a fantasy artist and I have lived with fantasy almost all of my life. I make masking tape weapons (Blackfeather.deviantart.com)
She is my mom but my weapon is posted there. I play World of Warcraft and I write fantasy. I love the nature and I make up my own sword moves based on nature. Anything fantasy I love. It helps me get away from my stressful world. My parents are divorced and have been for 5 years.
This is just a little bit about me.

@Amanda: I like fantasy where the magic is difficult and using it costs the wielder. And I like stories where we start with the hero as a young person and watch them grow up and change. And I like (to steal a term from RPGs) cross-classed characters. It's easy to draw up a big hulking fella and stick a sword on him and call him The Fighter, and some scrawny smartass with a book becomes The Mage. I'm more interested in stories driven by characters that are multidimensional.

I really liked the Fire and Ice series, as the influence of magic was minimized, and the characters were well rounded, with conflicting emotions and so forth.

What I never understood about the WoT series was how Rand didn't change - sure, he was the Dragon Reborn and had himself a throne and all... but seriously, he was still EXACTLY the same kid who left the farm two years prior. According to the story, he hadn't even gotten laid yet! WTF?!?!?

Welcome all the newest members! Wow this thing is rapidly growing! Cool.

@Amanda Yeah Fable2 is a good one.
I am into story based hack in slash. Kinda like Fables game play. I enjoy having control of my character and I love being able to find new equips and weapons. Does that make any sense? lol. Have you tried Dragon Age? Its a keeper I also enjoy Circle of Doom. I got my start on Baulders Gate and Champions of Norrath and they are still my all time favs. I like Mass Effect (scfi) and have Mass Effect 2 (been reading too much to get to that one yet.) I never really played these types of games until I married. We would argue all the time about him and those damn video games so eventually he got wise and made me play with him. I was hooked!

Do you play on Xbox360 Live?

Yeah, but who makes MASKING TAPE WEAPONS???

You got yourself a cool person here.

Who needs stuff like that when you have a ps2 and a bro who does real life rp with you. Or who makes MASKING TAPE WEAPONS.

Welcome Laura, Laurel, and Amanda! Thanks for joining!

I love your lists, btw!

tyvm, mine is the best though.

Thanks for the welcome Jason - very glad to be here!

Ooh, thanks for mentionining Tanith Lee, Amanda! I love her. Welcome to all the newbies.

Brainycat wrote: "@Amanda: I like fantasy where the magic is difficult and using it costs the wielder. And I like stories where we start with the hero as a young person and watch them grow up and change. And I like ..."

@ Brainy :

Egad Rand never changes? WTF?

You may like James Clemens. I loved Wit'ch Fire and it's sequels because they change over time. The main character gets her powers as a young girl and a great deal happens as a result. There's a lot of change for all the characters trust me. If you've never tried Tad Williams you may also like him. My brothers a fan of his Otherland books (sci-fi fantasy) and his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn books which start with the Dragonbone Chair.

SuckMyBlackDagger wrote: "Welcome all the newest members! Wow this thing is rapidly growing! Cool.

@Amanda Yeah Fable2 is a good one.
I am into story based hack in slash. Kinda like Fables game play. I enjoy having contro..."

@ SMBD : Lol, Todd's a gamer too and is always trying to get me into his favs. That's how I wound up starting a save in Bioshock :). I haven't messed around with Mass effect but I admire its story from what I've seen of it. Todd owns Dragon Age and yes I think i will be playing it down the road. I just have to make some space in my reading time to get more game time and make more time for writing. Being the mom of almost 5 year old also kicks my butt as far as time.

I have a silver account on live but no gold. DogmaticWit is my name on there and Todd's is deathzmeasure, he does have gold.

Todd plays mostly shooters but he likes games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age too.

Jason wrote: "Welcome Laura, Laurel, and Amanda! Thanks for joining!

I love your lists, btw!"

No problem :) This is shaping up to be a fun group, congrats :)

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Ooh, thanks for mentionining Tanith Lee, Amanda! I love her. Welcome to all the newbies."

My favs are the Book of Paradys

Amanda wrote: "SuckMyBlackDagger wrote: "Welcome all the newest members! Wow this thing is rapidly growing! Cool.

@Amanda Yeah Fable2 is a good one.
I am into story based hack in slash. Kinda like Fables game p..."

LOL I hear you on the time restraints. I have an almost 5 yo and almost 3 yo. They go to bed very early so thats when normally get to read or play. I cant remember my gamertag. But my husbands is ILOVEMYWIFEDOTCOM I think.I will have to check. Yes we both have our own xbox and our own gold accounts...Tragic isn't it. LMAO

SuckMyBlackDagger wrote: "Amanda wrote: "SuckMyBlackDagger wrote: "Welcome all the newest members! Wow this thing is rapidly growing! Cool.

@Amanda Yeah Fable2 is a good one.
I am into story based hack in slash. Kinda lik..."

Lol Could always be worse. I've known people that were so wrapped up they lost track of how old their kids were, that's nuts!

Mine goes to bed late and gets worse in summer when there's no school schedule to keep him on track. I get my gaming and reading where I can between his and Todd's schedules (Todd drives taxi). It's Nikolai's b-day today so he's officially 5 :)We've been playing Castle Crashers on live the last couple of days (my son and I) I like it quite a bit :)

@amanda LOL Castle Crasher! WE played the shit out of that little game. It's cute though a little gross at times LMAO :)

SuckMyBlackDagger wrote: "@amanda LOL Castle Crasher! WE played the shit out of that little game. It's cute though a little gross at times LMAO :)"

Yep the animals running from the black forest boss at the Mill had to be one of the goofier scenes. Fits the humour of the game though.

Hi there! I'm Spooky and I'm new!

I like Robin Hobb and Katharine Kerr very, very much.