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Dragonlance-series by Weiss and Hickman
Test of the Twins-3 books series (Dragonlance) by Weiss and Hickman
The Korndor books (Magician-Apprentice, Magician Master, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon, etc) by Raymond E. Feist
Lord of the Isles by David Drake (for grimmer fantasy)
The Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin (for really grim fantasy)
The Myth, Inc. books by Robert Aspirin (for light hearted fantasy)
Anything by Simon R. Green (opinions may vary)
Personally, I would avoid the Wheel of Time books for someone you are trying to introduce to Fantasy literature. I ENJOY the genre and that series just pisses me off.........
W<
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Quote:Heh, my first thought when seeing this list was "anything but Salvatore".
Well, I was only like 10 or so when I was reading his stuff, but my cousin who liked them as starter books is 26, and just about to finish law school. She was not a reader at all before though, so her experience was limited. I only mentioned it since it seemed relavent, but I haven't read any of his more recent books.
Quote:See, I liked the depth, as I was pleasantly surprised to find that many fantasy/scifi books were as well written as some of the books from the "other side" of the bookstore. If I'd have started with something simpler, I might not have picked up a second book.
I've seen many people who are not regular readers be put down by the size of most of the complex, epic fantasy that I read nowadays. Often I like to read or reread a book from David Gemmel, just for the sake of a quick enjoyable read, but the books I enjoy most are those I can sink my teeth into, such as George R. R. Martin's current work. A beginner may be more willing to start with a quick trilogy, with satisfactory conclusions, then read something such as the Wheel of Time, or Tad Williams works.
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Well, it's a good idea to know your reader before you recommend books. :)
Why can't we all just get along
--Pete
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Quote:Thank you, everybody, for your suggestions! I haven't read most of what was mentioned, so maybe I'll just point her towards this list! I'm currently on book two of the Sword of Truth series, and I love it so far (a little too much torture... but it's still good). I want to read the Wheel of Time series, but I think I'll wait until it's finished or the author is dead. Whichever comes first.
I know people are probably going to hate me for this, but I couldn't read The Fellowship of the Ring because it bored me. I read the Hobbit and loved it, but I just couldn't get into Fellowship. The whole thing with Frodo getting the One Ring and then waiting around for another 15 years kind of irritated me.
I don't think my friend is a heavy reader, but she reads more than the average person (meaning, she actually has read a book before). She says she likes books about "life." She also thinks elves and all that stuff are silly. In some books, yes, I'd agree with her, but some authors do it so right!
Would anybody agree that David Eddings' Belgariad series would be a good starting point? And while we're at it, anybody have any book suggestions outside of the fantasy or sci-fi genre?
-Brascait
I'd definitely recommend Eddings as a good starting point. It's a very easy to read style of writing. Plus, with 5 books in the Belgariad, 5 more in the Mallorean, the Elenium and Tamuli trilogies and a myriad of other books there's plenty to keep the reader busy.
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If you're trying to introduce someone to the fantasy genre, I'd recommend staying from long series, at least initially. Glancing at the average's bookstore's fantasy shelf you might think fantasy authors were incapable of wrapping up a story in a single book...
For light-hearted fantasy, I definitely recommend Terry Pratchett. Stay away from the Rincewind discworld books; the ones featuring Death, the city watch, or the witches are much better.
Don't go near Tad Williams. IMO the guy is overrated. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is padded and repetitious; Otherland is even worse.
There are some very good "children's" fantasy series out there, of which Harry Potter is the most well-known but far from the best. You probably know already whether your wife would be interested in reading the books or not. But for similar (and better written books) in that particular sub-genre, I suggest Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy and Jonathan Stroud's Bartiameus trilogy.
For a non-fantasy (at least in the traditional sense) book thats worth reading, try "Life of Pi" (it won the Mann Booker prize a few years back).
Chris
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Quote:The Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin (for really grim fantasy)
I love the series. Full of tragedy, but full of detail too.
<span style="color:#33FFFF">Nynaeve <span style="color:#33CC00">70 Draenei Priest <Emeritus>, Stormrage
<span style="color:#33FFFF">Riselar <span style="color:#33CC00">60 Night Elf Druid <Emeritus>, Stormrage
<span style="color:#33FFFF">Dynatos <span style="color:#33CC00">60 Dwarf Warrior <Emeritus>, Stormrage
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Not too much that hasn't already been mentioned, but I'd like to re-emphasize Dune as one of the greatest books ever written.
Other than that, I was surprised no one brought up CS Lewis' work, as it is considered classic by most, and definitely not dense.
If you want to get something with a definite pedigree, you could try something a little...older. Shakespeare's The Tempest probably qualifies for the genre (as well as a good bit of his other stuff).
But ultimately, you should know your friend better than any of us here. Does she read light stuff for fun, or quality stuff? Humorous? Dark? Fantasy comes in all flavors, last I checked, even some that never end (Jordan). I've been on a Sci-Fi kick of late, myself, and I find the older stuff that has survived to date is MUCH better than most of its modern analogues (with a couple of notable exceptions). Aside from Tolkien and Lewis, I don't know of too many older fantasy novels, but Sci-Fi author crossover is a pretty good place to start, Heinlein being perhaps foremost there.
Oh, and Dune.
--me
(PS, try Dune)
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Quote:Not too much that hasn't already been mentioned, but I'd like to re-emphasize Dune as one of the greatest books ever written.
Other than that, I was surprised no one brought up CS Lewis' work, as it is considered classic by most, and definitely not dense.
--me
(PS, try Dune)
When you say C.S. Lewis I am guessing you are talking about the Narnia series. Not bad, but I read that when I was about 9, so I would consider that more of a kids book (religious symbolism and whatnot included).
I didn't mention Dune because 1) it's more sci-fi than fantasy and 2) it can be really, really hard to get into (especially if you have seen either the SciFi Channel's movie verison or the original move version). Not a bad read, but I dunno if I would point a beginning fantasy reader in that direction. But that's just me.....
W<
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Quote:When you say C.S. Lewis I am guessing you are talking about the Narnia series. Not bad, but I read that when I was about 9, so I would consider that more of a kids book (religious symbolism and whatnot included).
Yep, but since most of the books mentioned here are extremely dense for people who do not like the genre, I thought something a little less time-consuming might be appropriate. Kids books or not, they're still considered "classics".
Quote:I didn't mention Dune because 1) it's more sci-fi than fantasy and 2) it can be really, really hard to get into (especially if you have seen either the SciFi Channel's movie verison or the original move version). Not a bad read, but I dunno if I would point a beginning fantasy reader in that direction. But that's just me.....
I fully agree. I just really, really, REALLY like Dune. (Could you tell?)
--me
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Well, at the "classic" level, I would put:
Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. La Guin
At the "random" mention level (in addition to Jack Vance's excellent Dying Earth/Cudgel's Saga series):
Lord Valentine's Castle, Robert Silverberg
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
Swords and Deviltry (Fafhred and the Gray Mouser), Fritz Liebler
Elric of Melnibone, Michael Moorcock
Fellowship of the Talisman, Clifford Simak (just because I like Simak)
...
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Quote:Well, at the "classic" level, I would put:
Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe
From what I've read of La Guin (which is admittedly not a whole lot), that might be the point you want to start. Though probably classifiable as SF and/or Fantasy in the abstract, she's pretty non-fantastical--plot progression is normally in terms of characters rather than setting-based. I'd plug Orson Scott Card on the same principle, but he seems to swing both ways in terms of random weirdness being inserted to drive the novel, though I like almost all of his work (just not the hardcore mormon plugs).
--me
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Quote:Elric of Melnibone, Michael Moorcock
Fellowship of the Talisman, Clifford Simak (just because I like Simak)
...
Argh! How could I forget Elric??!! Also the Hawkmoon books by Moorcock are very good intro reads.
W<
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03-29-2007, 09:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-29-2007, 09:55 PM by Occhidiangela.)
I'd add a couple of not previously mentioned:
Short and Sweet
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
The Damiano, Damiano's Lute, and Raphael by RA McAvoy
Long and enjoyable
Assassin's Apprentice/Royal Assassin/Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
Lyrical
The Swordsmith
Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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