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I have a friend who says she doesn't like fantasy. I want to convince her to read a fantasy novel or series that would get her interested in fantasy. I was already able to get her at least recognize sci-fi as something worth looking at by having her watch the first season of Battlestar Galactica. Now I want to get her into fantasy books.
That's where you come in. What books would you recommend to a fantasy newbie to get her excited about the genre? Perhaps a top three would be most effective. Suggestions? Thanks!
-Brascait
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Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. It's a modern fairy tale sort of thing (borrowing a bit from Russian folklore), with some culture clash business. Maybe that's not exactly what's being looked for here, but the whole thing is quite a good bit of fun, in my opinion.
I haven't read much fantasy in years.
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Quote:That's where you come in. What books would you recommend to a fantasy newbie to get her excited about the genre? Perhaps a top three would be most effective. Suggestions? Thanks!
-Brascait
Much depends on how you like your fanstasy; it can range from funny-absurdist to deadly depressing.
The best introductory fantasy I can think of is the Chronicles of Amber series by Zelazny. I's well-written and takes fantasy from the initial viewpoint of a contemporary person. I recall it was my entry point into the genre. It starts with "Nine Princes in Amber".
Some others that I like, in rough order of accessiblity:
"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust (Starts with "Jhereg", possibly it's best to end there:))
"Dilvish the Damned"/ "The Changing Land" by Roger Zelazny
"The Dying Earth" by Jack Vance
The Black Company series by Glen Cook
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Try out Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright, and the follow on book Fugitives of Chaos by the same author. Not quite your typical fantasy book, but well worth the read. I am waiting on the third book in the series to come out. Another good one is the Everworld series by K. A. Applegate. There are thirteen books in the series, but they are quick, fun reads.
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That was me, a few years ago. My husband introduced me to the genre. Now, I wish I could remember what the early books I read were that did the trick.
I think it was mostly the classics. Although they're not easier to read than your "average" book, I found the depth of the story and the quality of the writing to be a big plus.
So, I think my first books of the genre were probably-
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Dune (since you mentioned BSG, I assume we can mix fantasy and sci-fi here)
The Mists of Avalon
The route might not work for everybody, but it worked for me. She'd probably have to like to read, in general, before tackling any of those.
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--Pete
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Piers Anthony. Xanth series.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
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Quote:Piers Anthony. Xanth series.
This was my immediate thought as well. Xanth
Being a highly prolific sci-fi/fantasy author (which some may argue means more fluff than substance, YMMV), there are many directions to take with just his many series alone.
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It's not fantasy, but Jack L. Chalker writes wonderful epic sci-fi that is very easy to get into for those not "into" the genre. I recommend The Quintara Marathon, which spans three novels.
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Does she like a little humour in her reading?
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are great reading, with many chuckles interspersed with the 'fantastic' events and peoples.
And you may call it righteousness
When civility survives,
But I've had dinner with the Devil and
I know nice from right.
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Hi,
Quote:That's where you come in. What books would you recommend to a fantasy newbie to get her excited about the genre? Perhaps a top three would be most effective. Suggestions? Thanks!
It depends on the type of reading she likes to do in general. Two selections from Poul Anderson come to mind. If she likes a light, easy read, try Three Hearts and Three Lions. If she prefers epic stories with more depth, try The King of YS. Both are excellently written unlike most of fantasy (Sturgeon's Law applies squared to fantasy;))
And I'll second the suggestion for Nine Princes in Amber which is an excellent work by Roger Zelazny. But be warned, it is the first book (of an excellent series), as I found out at about 1 AM the night I finished it and realized that I'd have to wait until the bookstores opened the next day to find out what happens next. Perhaps you'd be better off to get the whole series (I've seen it as a two (three?) volume set). The sequel series is, IMHO, not as good, but still excellent.
Perhaps my favorite (non-Tolkien) fantasy of all time comes from an unusual source. Robert A. Heinlein was very much a hard sf author, but his Glory Road is a perfect fantasy novel. Or perhaps it is sf based on math -- but either way, say 'hello' to Igli for me:)
Good luck,
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?
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Quote:Does she like a little humour in her reading?
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are great reading, with many chuckles interspersed with the 'fantastic' events and peoples.
If you want to try this approach I suggest not starting at The Colour of Magic/The Light Fantastic, even though they are the first Discworld novels. Both books assume at least some understanding of the average fantasy setting to get most of the humour and have a different style from the rest (close to Equal Rites though).
Better starting points would be either Mort, Wyrd Sisters (possibly Equal Rites) or Guards! Guards!
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Wow, I've never read a good portion of these suggestions, which kind of shocks me. I have well over 200 fantasy novels sitting on the shelves beside me right now.
Like many people, the series that got me into Fantasy was the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Other suggestions:
The Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks. The series is written sets of 3, each somewhat independent. Though I'd suggest starting from the first novel (First King of Shannara), you can start with any set of 3 and not feel like you've missed anything.
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. This may not be the best introduction series as it's quite long (10 books to date), but the first couple of books had me hooked.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Same situation as Sword of Truth. It has 12 books currently in print (1 of which is a Prequel), and the 13th, and last, (hopefully) on the way.
There are a number of others I've read by George R.R. Martin, Tad Williams, David Farland, Robin Hobb, Orson Scott Card ... my list is pretty endless and it grows by the week.
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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
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How could I forget?! Elizabeth Moon: The Deed of Paksennarion. Excellent novel! There are others such as The Legacy of Gird that she wrote afterwards which is also good. I highly recommend them.
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I would recommend C.J. Cherryh's "Fortress" series ... Fortress in the Eye of Time, Fortress of Owls, Fortress of Eagles, Fortress of Dragons (a bit under par for the group). Some of her sci-fi is also good, the Chanur collection, Downbelow station, and Merchanter's Luck. However, Cyteen and 40,000 in Gahenna (yes, the same name as Judaic "hell"), are on the bleh and depressing side (both are glimpses at worst aspects of humanity ... sort of like "Lord of the Flies," John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemmingway thrown together:P)
Dennis L. McKiernan isn't too bad, a bit Tolkienesque, but overall not too bad.
Tad Williams is ok, just expect most everybody to die. I have read is Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series "The Dragon Bone Chair," "The Stone of Farewell," and "To Green Angel Tower." The first two aren't bad, the last is a *large* work requiring 2 paperbacks. The size of the last part isn't the problem, the problem is the hurried feel of it, and the fact that being a named character in the first 2 is the kiss of death:P
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03-27-2007, 02:35 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-27-2007, 12:37 PM by Baajikiil.)
I've actually read every single book mentioned in this thread, and I recommend practically all of them(though I did give up on the wheel of time series...). The only thing I have to mention is that I recently had a cousin, who is not really a reader, begin her sojourn into fantasy reading. She started with R. A. Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy(which expanded into several more books than a trilogy) and was completely hooked by them. She had also never played AD&D, although the books are set with one of its worlds.
They were also some of my first readings, and although I consider R. A. Salvatore to be Fantasy Lite now, he is an excellent starting point.
Xanth or the Belgariad are also good choices, although Xanth requires a peculiar sense of humor after you've read a dozen or so of them. I would also consider David/Leigh Eddings books to be Fantasy Lite, and also decent starting books.
EDIT: I still don't like the flow of a few sentences. Eh.
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03-27-2007, 02:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-27-2007, 02:40 AM by Griselda.)
Heh, my first thought when seeing this list was "anything but Salvatore".
Why can't we all just get along
--Pete
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Quote:Heh, my first thought when seeing this list was "anything but Salvatore".
I started reading with Dragonlance Chronicles. The reading is much simpler than LotR or Dune if your just trying to get her started off, and has a fairly good story too, but I've read better. The next trilogy in the series, Legends, is pretty awesome, but without reading the original trilogy, you'd be missing out on a lot of back story between some of the main characters. I also enjoyed the Dark Sword trilogy and Death Gate Cycle series. Some of the other books I've read have had some truly deep and engaging moments, stories of epic proportions in the fantasy genre, but these stories are not for beginning readers of fantasy novels, as the depth and intricy of these stories might actually be a detraction to an only mildly interested party. This is why I don't recommend Lord Of The Rings or Dune to start... But who know, I've been wrong before :P.
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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.
YMMV, of course.
Why can't we all just get along
--Pete
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I'd suggest Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. It is well written, accessible, very good, and doesn't have elves (although it does have dragons).
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