Fantasy: reliable content

[mtbikemom]

Thanks, Kaz!  It's on the list.

Just got my first Bujold book in the mail from Amazon and looking forward to some reading time this week. 

Hobb's Assasin's Apprentice got a bit bleak for me, but the payoff was worth any tedium in the middle.  Looking forward to book 2.  Read Brandon's review of book 3 of the Farseer Trilogy, though, and I'm hoping to find a sound recording for that.  Would it be advisable to just skip it? 

Thanks again for all suggestions.  These should keep me diverted for a long time.  Keep 'em coming!

[Bookstore Guy]

read the first 3 Hobb trilogies and then stop.

[Silk]

The second book in the Farseer trilogy was by far the bleakest, I found. I mean, I enjoyed the book... and then I had to go listen to happy music and read other stuff for a while before I picked up the third.

 'Course, I didn't actually HAVE the third book when I finished the second.

[mtbikemom]

But do I really need to read Assasin's Quest (Farseer book 3) before going on to Hobb's next trilogy?  Would it be like skipping CoT in the Wheel of Time (not that big a deal since not much really happens) or would I miss too much?  i.e., is there continuity between AQ and the first book of trilogy 2?

Royal Assasin is bleaker than book 1?  Oh, Lord.  I still liked "Apprentice" O.K., but will keep the happy music handy, Silk.  tx 

[Peter Ahlstrom]

There is some continuity between the Farseer and Liveship trilogies but you don't actually learn that until reading book 2 of the Fool trilogy.

[RavenstarRHJF]

I'm also going to plug Elizabeth Moon for both her Deed of Paksennarion, and her more recent Kylara Vatta, and Familias series.   
Mercedes Lackey is very good, and often does very good collaborations with other authors like Larry Dixon, Ann McCaffrey, etc. 
Piers Anthony's Xanth series is a bit juvenile (in the fact that the books are riddled with, and depend on, puns), but still enjoyable if you're in the mood for something silly.  Jasper Fforde isn't quite as bad as Anthony, but still on the silly side.
I've always enjoyed Patricia C. Wrede and Madeleine L'Engle- the latter tends toward, but isn't quite, new-age.  Her books are, at the very least, thought provoking.

Outside the SF/F genre, a good author for lighthearted romance is Georgette Heyer, particularly since you like period books.

[mtbikemom]

Thanks, Ravenstar!  Good suggestions all.

[Patriotic Kaz]

Someone pointed out to me that there is some innocent creature (ussually a water nymph or the like) similar to a girl in early puberty described as desireable towards the end of many Xanth books... making Mr. Anthony a closet perv... I laughed, and having read 3 books in the series, conceded he had a point.

[Silk]

Mmm. Some icky racial stuff in the Xanth books too. Well, so I've been told by people who remember the books better than I do. So maybe take my comment with a grain of salt.

[RavenstarRHJF]

Hmm... I don't remember anything that specific- other than the fact that sexuality isn't something he glosses over.  But it's been several years since I read any of the books- I kinda grew out of them.   I do remember that innuendo is something he really enjoys. 

But the racial stuff- the only thing I really remember was his referencing of the "waves" of settlers and I put that down more to the nature of Xanth itself than anything racial.  I.e. Xanth being a very literal place (hence the puns) the Black Wave was composed of black people from Africa.

[Silk]

I don't think it was anything overt. More in the way he represents his non-human races and such.

Again, though, I haven't read the books in at least ten years, and I only ever read three or four of them anyway. So... while people whose opinions I respect have mentioned that there's a lot of icky racial stuff going on in the books, they could be wrong.

[RavenstarRHJF]

Could be it's there and I just didn't pick up on it.  Looking back, I grew up pretty sheltered and naive...

[Asundar]

I'm surprised no mention is made of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series. The depth of the characters in those novels is, in my opinion, amazing and unprecedented. The story lines and the philosophy are excellent. And the balance between overtly sexual and not is very, very well drawn.

To be honest, I think Melanie Rawn ranks as amongst the best fantasy writers ever, as great as Jordan or Sanderson.

[mtbikemom]

The list grows, with some interesting observations.

I'm nearing the end of Royal Assassin and listening to Rothfus' Name of the Wind as I drive.   Both good.  Hobbs' RA has not been too terribly bleak, maybe because Silk warned me and I expected worse.  There is a lot of sweetly-written extra-marital sex in this book, though, but I'm reading it anyway.  Not sure I'll make it through the final Farseer book after reading reviews.  Lots of other better stuff to read, thanks to you guys!

Oh, and I'm a Storm Leader this November in Half Moon Bay!  Stoked!  Just found out. . . .

[haperez]

is so good to see that i was not the only one that felt the same way about the first book... i am about to finish assassin quest and so far i think is pretty good not so slow like the first one so i think you should read it. I am in the same spot as you, dont know if i should read the fools trilogy first or the live ship traders trilogy.

Thanks, Kaz!  It's on the list.

Just got my first Bujold book in the mail from Amazon and looking forward to some reading time this week. 

Hobb's Assasin's Apprentice got a bit bleak for me, but the payoff was worth any tedium in the middle.  Looking forward to book 2.  Read Brandon's review of book 3 of the Farseer Trilogy, though, and I'm hoping to find a sound recording for that.  Would it be advisable to just skip it? 

Thanks again for all suggestions.  These should keep me diverted for a long time.  Keep 'em coming!