SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi all...new here!

I'm looking for some new fantasy recommendations that my wife and I would enjoy.
We are both avid readers across many genres, however fantasy is our favorite.
We've pretty much tapped out the local (small) bookstore of good authors, time to start ordering online.

To give you an idea of what we like (and who we've read), I'll make a list of authors we like below.

Steven Erikson
TOLKIEN J.R.R.
Terry Brooks
Terry Goodkind
Robert Jordan
Russell Kirkpatrick
Ian Irvine
Ian Irvine
Sara Douglass
ROBIN HOBB.
Kate Elliott
Elizabeth Haydon
Lois McMaster Bujold
George RR Martin

Hi Mark. Nice list there. Based on those authors, I'd mention the following:

Tad Williams
Joe Abercrombie
Patrick Rothfuss
Brandon Sanderson
Scott Lynch
Brent Weeks
Peter V. Brett
Raymond Feist
Janny Wurts
Guy Gavriel Kay
Roger Zelazny

Let me recommend Greg Keyes and Jane Linskold

Thanks for the recommendations folks, we'll download some samples to our kindle to see who we like and make some orders.

Kage Baker exists in the same sort of space in the back of my brain as Lois McMaster Bujold. . .

And a lot of people I know who love Robin Hobb & George R. R. Martin also love Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series. However, that one I never recommend without some caveats: (1) It has graphic depictions of sado-masochistic sex; (2) Prostitution is depicted as a sacred act; and (3) There is an altered version of Christianity that is certainly heretical. All of those things are vital to the plot (and I think done very well) but I know they're hot-button issues for people so I like to provide a warning with my recommendation.

The only book you need is Drizzt, and The Crystal Shard.

So, seems to me your favorites are in the epic fantasy/saving the world vein. With that in mind, I have made a list. Most of these are along those lines but different somehow: say, they involve anti-heroes, or they are fantasy of manners, or there are elements of the carrier bag style.

Steven Brust's Dragaera series. Starts with Jhereg (collected in The Book of Jhereg), but there's also The Phoenix Guards, which is set in the distant past of the same world.

Roger Zelazny's Amber series. The Chronicles of Amber collects the first five books.

Caroline Stevermer's A College of Magics and When The King Comes Home. If you like these I would recommend reading her collaborations with Patricia C. Wrede, which begin with Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. And if you like those, give The Magicians and Mrs. Quent a try.

Robin McKinley, specifically The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Blue Sword was published first, but is chronologically later than Hero, and IMO Hero is the better book.

Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker. This is a story about how personal motivations lead to world-shaping events. I will say that I didn't like where this ended up going, but YMMV.

Seconding the Kage Baker recommendation. Particularly The Anvil of the World.

Older books, but still very good: Roger Zelazny and the Chronicles of Amber series. There is a paperback omnibus with all 10 books.

Stephen R. Donaldson's several Thomas Covenant series are basic for fantasy lovers.

Based on the authors you've named I would say that you prefer Fantasy that belongs to Epic Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery, which isn't too far from my own taste even if I've moved more into Urban Fantasy lately.
I can highly recommend L. E. Modesitt's Recluce saga. You may also like David Farland and his Rune Lord series.

...also I have to ask; is there a reason you listed Ian Irvine twice?

Martin wrote: "...also I have to ask; is there a reason you listed Ian Irvine twice? "

Lol, oops!
Mistake, never noticed it till you pointed it out!
Though Irvine is pretty good, maybe I sub-conciously want to get his name out there :)

After reading Jordan, I really fell into Steven Erikson's Malazan Books of the Fallen...World building all from a POV build. Some critics think it has TOO MANY various story arcs going on, but I love it.

I've only read one of Erikson's Malazan series, but I thought it was excellent.

One of my favorite authors right now is Jim Butcher. He is famous for his Dresden Files series, which is Urban Fantasy set in present day Chicago--I'm not sure if that would really be up your alley--but he also does an epic fantasy series called Codex Alera that is pretty decent. I would recommend Dresden over Codex Alera, but I enjoy them both.

I really enjoy Dresden Files too Mike. It's written with SO much humor.

Have you read any of Trudi Canavan

If you Like Terry Brooks then you might also like David Eddings. The Belgariad & Malloreon as well as the Elenium and Talmuli are easy and humorous reads.

I'd also recommend C.S. Friedman. Her Colfire trilogy is truly amazing. It has one of the best antiheroes in fantasy; Gerald Tarrant, and it is extremely well written.

Another great series is the Black Jewels by Anne Bishop. Really original world and unforgettable charaters.

If you're in for something different: Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee is a wonderful series. It's a unique dark fairy tale. The Books are currently being republished, with the third coming out 2011.

I'm with Betelgeuze on Friedman and Bishop. I'd also say give Christopher Stasheff's Warlock series a try, starting with [Book: The Warlock in Spite of Himself]. I've see Janny Wurts mentioned a few times in here, but once more can't hurt. Also, try Michael J. Sullivan, starting with [Book: The Crown Conspiracy]. I think you can only get it online, but it sounds like you're up for that. As a capper, you might enjoy my book, [Book: Storms of Vengeance]. Happy reading.

Betelgeuze wrote: "If you're in for something different: Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee is a wonderful series. It's a unique dark fairy tale. The Books are currently being republished, with the third coming out 2011"

i used to love Tanith Lee, but haven't read her in years. the last i read were the first two volumes of The Secret Book of Paradys, but i had trouble getting hold of the second half of the sequence. i must search them out...

Hi

If you love Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion, you might like my new fantasy series, Icarus Rising.

Please check out my website davidpauly.com for a synopsis and excerpt. I would love to receive your comments and feedback.

Hi. I'm only familiar with a few of the authors you have mentioned. But here's my list of some you may like.

E.R. Eddison

Fritz Leiber

Charles R. Saunders

Milton Davis

David Anthony Durham

Some excellent suggestions already on this list!

I will go with some not mentioned.



Green Rider series from Kristen Britain.
The Hidden Stars: Book One of The Rune of Unmaking series from Madeline Howard.
A Wizard of Earthsea series from Ursula K. Le Guin.
A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham.
When Dragons Rage by Michael Stackpole.
In the Shadow of Swords by Val Gunn.

I'll second Britain's Green Rider series. I quite enjoyed it.

Anything by Michael Swanwick.

I'm not sure Michael Swanwick is fantasy- seems more SF- but his Bones of the Earth was FABULOUS, MEMORABLE.

Yeah, Swanwick usually does fantasy, except for Bones of the Earth and some short stories. Most of what he writes is pretty good.

New here, too, and embarking on a learning journey, but here is what I know: Seconding McKinley and Wolfe. Peter S. Beagle is a literary necessity. I worship at the feet of Diana Wynne Jones. I think she's more influential that anyone pays attention to. Her YA is where it is really at. She creates complex plots that are yet entirely character driven. Feel like Neil Gaiman has gotten a little too into himself lately, and he should keep to adult writing and picture books. YA is not his thing. Still he is original and lyrical. Nalo Hopkinson's first and award-winning book Brown Girl in the Ring mixes Sci Fi elements with solid, startling and original fantasy. She's like no one else in an all good way.

Mark wrote: "Hi all...new here!

I'm looking for some new fantasy recommendations that my wife and I would enjoy.
We are both avid readers across many genres, however fantasy is our favorite.
We've pretty m..."

Piers Anthony's Xanth series. Fun stuff with a ton of puns (many provided by his fans). No big secret: Xanth is suspiciously similar to Florida where Anthony lives and the "Gap Chasm" is a ditch in his back yard.

Kriss Erickson's Brodantia series (eBooks)

McCaffrey's Pern series

I second the recommendation of Anne Bishop's "Black Jewels" novels by Betelgeuze and John. It should also be added that PhoenixFalls' caveat applies equally to Anne Bishop; she has quite a heretical take on the Biblical characters Satan, Lucifer and the archangel Michael (though they are slightly renamed) and there are scenes of sadomasochistic sex, though only a few. I'll also add Octavia E. Butler's "Xenogenesis" series and Patrick Rothfuss' "Kingkiller Chronicles" to the list.

Yeah-the Caveat for Black Jewels is even stronger than for Kushiel...Kushiel at least the sex is part of the plot, I couldnt even finish Bishop

I've penned a fantasy novel which is doing rather well. I'd appreciate any feedback? Jake West - The Keeper of the Stones Available online everywhere or at smashwords as an ebook. April's recommended read. Thanks

Great! Congrats. Should this be a new threat? I'm chat stupid. You have your own blog where you talk about writing and reading and link to other cool writer people, right? You can sell ebooks straight off some sites like blogger. I hear it makes a difference.

Mark, this is a little late, but I didn't see anyone else mention Sherwood Smith. I think you would like her Inda series.

Mark, I've just read Trail of Deceit, and would recommend it enthusisatically. It's a mystery - and a really good one too. It had me scratching my head, right to the end, and I'm pretty good at solving mysteries. When the answer finally came, it wasn't at all what I was expecting, which was really refreshing. I just hate plots that are obvious from the start.

There's also a real mystery connected to the book. One of the authors died before it was finished, leaving a lot of unanswered questions. The other author has done an interview about it all on his website (www.lastsafeseasons.com), and that interview is a really good read. I felt really sorry for the guy who died. The circumstances of his death were terrible.

Anyway, read the book. It's great.