Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Books => Topic started by: mack on March 16, 2010, 09:36:37 PM
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Okay I have hard time finding new series to read as I have read most of the major and popular fantasy series on top 100 list. Here are the ones I have read so far and have in my to read pile please help with new series to enjoy! Thanks.
All Brandon Sanderson
Wheel of Time
Night Angels by Brent Weeks (great series)
Song of Ice and Fire (new books take long time coming :) )
Dragonlance
Dark Elf
Lord of the Rings
Harry Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (great modern wizard tale)
Codex Alera
Harry Potter :)
All Star Wars (sci-fi but you know star wars is awesome)
New Sun
The Name of the Wind ( one of the best starting books in a series ever)
Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
Joe Abercrombie
Robin Hobb
Sword of Truth
Gunslinger
Percy Jackson
Belgariad Series
Pendragon
Bartimaeus Trilogy
Earthsea
Thanks for reading I desperately need new books and if they are on audio books even better.
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I, for one, recommend the dying earth series by jack vance.
There's only three books, all of which are contained in "Tales of a dying earth" collection, but it's worth the read. It's my favorite fantasy series.
It's also a pretty definitive one. It influnced the magic system of dungeons and dragons (called the "vancian system" after jack vance) as well as a few other things.
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Anything by Roger Zelazny deserves a read. The Corwin saga (Amber 1-5) is probably the most essential Zelazny read.
Ee, I'll have to look into that. :)
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An easy to read fantasy series that is so far really good is the Study Series by Maria V. Snyder. I'm only on the second book (Magic Study) but so far the series as wowed be. And to the benefit of fans of this series she has written two books in a trilogy set in this world that take place after this trilogy so that's five books for your enjoyment!
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@eerongal: George RR Martin edited a book recently of short stories set in dying earth. Have you read them? Are they good?
I just started reading Stephen Erickson's series. Alot of people on here like it. The first book is Gardens of the Moon. I have been busy so I am only about 100 pages into the first book. It is more dense than the other books you posted about. I am kind of confused about what is going on. The posts on here say I will figure it out about half way through the book. Alot of people on here seem to like it.
Try Stephen R Donaldson's series on Thomas the unbeliever. They are old.
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you can get all 10 of zelazny's amber series in one big paper back for like $15. it is called the big book of Amber. I have it on my shelf. I have not read it yet.
The first 3 books of Stephen Kings The Gunslinger series are great, but then the series goes down hill. That is science-fiction/fantasy with a Stephen King twist. The first 3 are great. The main hero is a hero out of an old western, but there are monsters, witches, etc in it.
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Lois McMaster Bujold's series that are based in the same world: Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt
If you like those, you'll also like her sci fi series with Miles Vorkosigan, beginning with his parents in Shards of Honor, Barrayar, then start with The Warrior's Apprentice (but a lot of his adventures come in books with several books in one, so titles may be confusing).
These aren't 'epic' but they are great to read. Miles is a fascinating and hilarious character to read.
There's also the S.M. Stirling series that begins with Dies the Fire. It's post Apocalypse when all of the sudden gasoline, gunpowder, etc stop working and everything is thrown back into medieval times.
Try Stephen R Donaldson's series on Thomas the unbeliever. They are old.
My husband read those when he was in high school, so I have copies of those sitting on my shelf. I read most of them, and really didn't care for them. I had a hard time liking Thomas.
If you really want to get 'old' then there's the Xanth series by Piers Anthony or the Terry Brooks original Shannara series or Kingdom for Sale Sold.
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you can get all 10 of zelazny's amber series in one big paper back for like $15. it is called the big book of Amber. I have it on my shelf. I have not read it yet.
The first 3 books of Stephen Kings The Gunslinger series are great, but then the series goes down hill. That is science-fiction/fantasy with a Stephen King twist. The first 3 are great. The main hero is a hero out of an old western, but there are monsters, witches, etc in it.
I liked all of the Dark Tower books. Great series. Hated the ending.
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@eerongal: George RR Martin edited a book recently of short stories set in dying earth. Have you read them? Are they good?
I have not. I know a couple different authors have published works in jack vance's universe (which he whole-heartedly endorses. For example, there was another "offical" sequel to eyes of the overworld that came out before jack's Cugel's saga), but I've only read what vance himself has written in regards to the dying earth series.
Though, i would be very interested to see how they turned out. The way jack wrote these books is highly unique, in regards to the perceptions and interactions of the characters. I would be surprised if anyone could reproduce how he did it accurately, and convincingly.
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Start on Pratchett if you like satire. Most of his Discworld books are episodic, so if you want something that's an actual series, read the Bromiliad trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings. Still, you can't really go wrong with Pratchett. A good intro book would be Good Omens which he wrote with Neil Gaimen.
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If you want to make a big commitment, try Hunter's Oath by Michelle West. It has one sequel but then leads right into the Sun Sword Series which has 6 long books which then leads into the House War series which has two books so far.
For another big time commitment, there's the Malazon books by Steven Erikson and Ian Esslemont. Glen Cook has several series, all of them good. Martha Well's has the Fall of Ile-Rien series---you should start with the prequel, Death of the Necromancer.
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I enjoyed Raymond Feist's Krondor series for the most part.
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Has anyone else read these? I have thought about reading them for a while.
Night Angels by Brent Weeks (great series)
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I've read the first book. Loved it, but haven't managed to acquire the second yet.
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Night Angel Series by Brent Weeks: http://www.timewastersguide.com/review/1692/The-Night-Angel-Trilogy
I've read Feist's Magician books and Daughter of the Empire books and loved those.
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How can you possibly have read 100 fantasy series of books when you only list over 20?
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You might try Michael A. Stackpoles Dragon Crown Cycle (1+3 Books) or his "Age of Discovery" series (3 books). Good reading.
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How can you possibly have read 100 fantasy series of books when you only list over 20?
Um... clearly that's not a complete list...
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How can you possibly have read 100 fantasy series of books when you only list over 20?
Um... clearly that's not a complete list...
Yeah thats not a complete list for one thing the star wars I have read could be considered 10+ series but I really meant over 50+ series for sure and many that aren't complete yet... or very recognizable.
Thanks for all the suggestions most are on my list to get when I next go to used book store. Thanks a lot!
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How can you possibly have read 100 fantasy series of books when you only list over 20?
Um... clearly that's not a complete list...
one, two, skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred! Looks complete to me! :D
But seriously, though, i read that as he's saying he's read most, if not all, of the books on the top 100 list that are fantasy, and wants more recommendations. Not all the books on the top 100 list are fantasy.
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Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard books are worth reading.
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Scott Lynch is Young Adult right?
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Scott Lynch is Young Adult right?
Not even close.
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It boggles my mind how not young adult Scott Lynch is. Sigh.
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I got 2 scotts mixed up. I got him mixed up with Scott Westerfield.
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I got 2 scotts mixed up. I got him mixed up with Scott Westerfield.
Just because little things like this bother me for no reason, it's Westerfeld. It's like when people say "Steven Erickson" when it is actually "Erikson." It must be some form of anticipatory fear of having someone spell my name wrong in the event I ever become absurdly famous.
But yeah, Westerfeld is YA (and pretty decent), while Lynch is dark fantasy with lots of adult content (and his novels are awesome).
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I got 2 scotts mixed up. I got him mixed up with Scott Westerfield.
Just because little things like this bother me for no reason, it's Westerfeld. It's like when people say "Steven Erickson" when it is actually "Erikson." It must be some form of anticipatory fear of having someone spell my name wrong in the event I ever become absurdly famous.
Don't worry, if you become famous, i will now habitually spell your name wrong on purpose. So be content in the fact that I will most assuredly be correct in the spelling of your name, and just refusing to do so.
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Oh, come on. Leave alone the Bockstore Guy.
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noooooooooooooooooooooo!
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@Bookstore: I am a techy. We have absolutely no skill at grammar, pronunciation, or spelling.
I will probably continue to annoy you with stuff like this. I am guessing that you are annoyed at the use of the word "techy".
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No, why would a word like techy or techie annoy me? It isn't a person.
Anyways, the original poster here may be interested in checking out the blog Nick and I maintain that reviews all sorts of new novels. We review most of the stuff people are recommending, as well as a bunch of stuff people are leaving off.
Elitist Book Reviews (the link is in my sig.)
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I like Bookstore guys book review site. It is very good.
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@Bookstore: I am a techy. We have absolutely no skill at grammar, pronunciation, or spelling.
I will probably continue to annoy you with stuff like this. I am guessing that you are annoyed at the use of the word "techy".
I am, but only because it's actually spelled 'techie'...
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No, why would a word like techy or techie annoy me? It isn't a person.
Anyways, the original poster here may be interested in checking out the blog Nick and I maintain that reviews all sorts of new novels. We review most of the stuff people are recommending, as well as a bunch of stuff people are leaving off.
Elitist Book Reviews (the link is in my sig.)
I have been reading that blog before I came to this site :)
Its great !
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techie or techy are not really dictionary words anyway...
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How can you possibly have read 100 fantasy series of books when you only list over 20?
Um... clearly that's not a complete list...
Yeah thats not a complete list for one thing the star wars I have read could be considered 10+ series but I really meant over 50+ series for sure and many that aren't complete yet... or very recognizable.
Thanks for all the suggestions most are on my list to get when I next go to used book store. Thanks a lot!
My mistake. I guess I read your post too quickly. I'm currently have the same problems looking for new fantasy authors. Try books by Lois McMaster Bujold, Alex Bledsoe, John Flanagan, Peter Brett, Kristin Cashore, David Gemmel and J.V. Jones.