Books Favourite fantasy books

Ceit

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As the title says. Hard to pick out the standouts but some of the ones I love would be

Lord of the Rings- JRR Tolkien (Hard not to love it).

Serpentwar Saga- Raymond E. Feist (probably the first darker one I remember reading after happier heroic fantasy).

The Black Company- Glen Cook (always fun to read the story from the bad guy's perspective. especially when it's a mere henchman).

The Warlord Chronicles- Bernard Cornwell (a mix of low fantasy and historical fiction but still a great read).

Conan the Barbarian- REH.

Monarchies of God- Paul Kearney (great dark fantasy series).

There's bound to be more but that's all I can think of right now!
 
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Gotta say Terry Pratchett will be dearly missed. I loved his books. They were so imaginative and crazy at times. A must read for all the young at heart.
Ehrm... The Belgariad series by David Eddings. I've not finished it... :') but I really liked it so far. it feels a bit 'standard' imo but I have no clue why I never finished it.
A friend once coaxed me to read Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want to Save the World, and dear lord it was quite a hilarious read. Again I only read the first book...
I lavish in the writing of R. A. Salvatore, again didn't read all of his fantasy books, but what I did of his early work I loved.
There's clearly a pattern with me, not my finishing books e-e

Most of mine that i read are more...happy I'd say =P There's probably so many series I'm missing out, it's just nowadays I'm more into reading romantic realism. (nothing to do with romance in the love sense)

There are some other fantasy books from classic writers I want to have a go at. Can't remember the authors...
 
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We'll just get it out there that I'm a Harry Potter fan. Not much more needs to be said about that.

I also loved the His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass, the Amber Spyglass, and the Subtle Knife

Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones for the show people)

Lord of the Rings

Chronicles of Amber series - highly recommend it for those that don't mind reading a story written in first person POV. Really interesting plots and very unique fantasy setting, IMO.
 
Nidraak Pratchett is fantastic. He can do serious stuff as well as the comedy. Some of the books like Night Watch can be very poignant. I read Belgarath the Sorcerer but never touched the other ones in the series.

Velaeri I loved Northern Lights but not so much the other books, i think I was just a big fan of Lyra's world! I think I have a Chronicles of Amber book around somewhere so I need to give it a shot.
 
You guys need to read The Obsidian Trilogy and The Dragon Prophecy trilogies.

Both are cowritten by James Mallory and Mercedes Lackey. Their style is fantastic.

I'm less a fan of The Phoenix Trilogy that they cowrote as well in the same universe, but mostly because the protagonists in that series are pretty whiny.
 
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Dherra I'll have to give them a gander so! I know the authors but haven't heard of the series.

Ah I'd be the same, a whiny protagonist makes for a tough read.
 
Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist. The books have inspired every part of my roleplaying experience in fantasy. I was never big on reading but one vacation I was told to read Magician. Within the week I had wasted my vacation reading Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon. I hardly left the cabin. I was entranced. I still continue to re-read the books and listen to the audiobooks. I'm utterly in love with the series. The Empire trilogy is my favorite of them all.

I'm very excited to see where the TV adaption goes.
 
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I started off with the Serpentwar Saga Haelen Blacklocks , Erik's war against the Emerald Queen was an addictive read. I've read the first of the Empire series, the look at the Tsurani was really cool.

I love that collaborative one he wrote, Honoured Enemy, the smaller scale story worked very well. Great insight to the dark elves and it gets across how brutal the war in the north is.
 
OOOOOH! Saw this and about leaped out of my chair for joy! Books are the best! OK, so here's the list:
The Belgariad Series by David Eddings - Great standard fantasy with a few refreshing twists and his characters are some of the best!
LOTR and Silmarillion - Can't not list these gems!
Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski - Fantastic! Current all time favorite
Drizzt Do'Urden series by R.A. Salvatore - Really, really good ones here and there are A LOT, got me into D&D
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson - Just got into these but have read all that have been printed and am loving them!
Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson - Not your typical fantasy but still the first few are really good.
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson - Struggling to make it through the first book in this one but it's been good so far

I think that's about it, probably forgetting some and will update accordingly. There's quite a few already listed in this thread that I've not heard of before and will have to try, thanks for the recommendations!
 
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Hey Poe

I've read Belgarath the Sorcerer but not tried the rest of the series.

Agree absolutely on Tolkien's stuff :)

I've read the first Witcher book and I enjoyed the games too. Very enjoyable, their take on elves is fantastic.

Not read but heard alot about Drizzt and the rest of Salvatore's books.

Same about anything by Brandon Sanderson. Only read his books that finished the Wheel of Time.

Thomas Covenant...fucking hell, never met someone else who's read them! So bloody depressing but with some great moments. The Warward marching to Doom's Retreat, the quest for the Staff of Law, they terrified me at first (I think I was too young the first time I read them).

I have several of the Malazan books on my shelf, I'm going to start them someday. I've heard they're a slog but I'm determined.

I appreciate the suggestions as well. We've all rread different stuff so it's good to compare.
 
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Dragonlance Chronicles were a great read, although I can't say I finished the whole series, and Elminster's the Making of a Mage!!!
 
I enjoyed Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy quite a lot. Really shaped my adolescent love of dark and new ways to invent fantastic worlds and systems of magic. Plus necromancy is always cool.
 
As much as I love many of these books, I am a little sad to see so little representation of female fantasy authors here, so here are a few of my favorites for your consideration:

Ursula K Le Guin - best known for her Earthsea Cycle (4 books), but any of the books or short stories from her Hainish Cycle are also wonderful (my favorites are Rocannon’s World and Solitude), as is Lavinia (a novel). You may also enjoy the Annals of the Western shore young adult trilogy (I particularly enjoyed the first book, Gifts).

Jacqueline Carey - best known for her Kushiel series, which is phenomenal, but I have the sense that this group might enjoy her Sundering books (Banewreaker and Godslayer), which have a similar plot to LotR but are told from the perspective of the orcs.

Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy - recently completed, fantastic

Naomi Novick - best known for her Temeraire series, which combines history with fantasy (the Napoleonic wars fought with dragons), but her standalone novel Uprooted is a lovely coming-of-age novel.

Catherynne Valente - I would steer you towards Deathless, a lovely retelling of a Russian fairy tale, but you may also check out her Fairyland series which is adorable and very light reading. The Orphan’s Tales books are somewhat heavier, but well done.

Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus is quite good.

Charlie Holmberg - the Paper Magician trilogy is well done, and I also enjoyed her novel Followed by Frost.

Happy reading, all!
 
I'm a major fan of LoTR, as it seems to be for many here and out there.

Also the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I'm still tracking down the books to read, despite having access to internet (I enjoy a bookhunt!)

Having stories with multiple parallel universes/dimensions is also a favorite of mine, and thus I recommend, Shattered Remnants of a Dream by Dan Luffey. Originally the novel was on Fictionpress, but it seems to have been published a long time ago last I checked. It's not the most masterfully written book out there, but it gave me a foundation for my own gigantic omniversal setting. Just check it out, might be worth a read!
 
Wow, I'm quite surprised no one has mentioned Philip Pullman or Terry Brooks! Terry Brooks in particular is one of my biggest inspirations. Particular favourites of mine are his Word and The Void trilogy, and his Genesis of Shannara trilogy. The Voyage of Jerle Shannara trilogy is incredible as well. Non-Shannara works of his that are incredible as well include his Magic Kingdom of Landover series!

As for Philip Pullman, the His Dark Materials trilogy is amazing.

Huge fan of Garth Nix as well! The Abhorsen Trilogy (and the rest of The Old Kingdom series) is brilliant, but I'd say my favourite book of his that I've read is probably Shade's Children!

Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series is amazing as well. These are the books that inspired The Witcher video game series and upcoming Netflix show! There's a fair few books in this series and I've yet to reach the end, which I'm quite content with at the moment because I don't want it to end!

There's far too many books for me to choose a favourite, but those are pretty much the top of my list!
 
I liked some of Terry Brooks but the Shannara stuff dragged on a bit. Liked Elfstones and Scions though.

Old Kingdom is brilliant. Only read the first trilogy but the necromancy and the conflict with Ancelstierre is fantastic.

I loved Dark Materials as a kid but I think Northern Lights is the only one I still like. I enjoyed the setting of Lyra's world the most. I thought it got weaker as the series went on though it had some amazing parts overall.

Witcher is class too.
 
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I agree about the Shannara stuff dragging. I think there's like two trilogies I haven't read yet, the most recent ones he's published. The Word & The Void is probably my favourite of the Shannara books. It had the perfect blend of modern realism and fantasy, and I absolutely loved John Ross as a character. The Genesis of Shannara was a great bridge that tied The Word and The Void to the Shannara series and, again, it had some memorable characters, particularly the two Knights of the Word Logan Tom and Angel Perez, although it kinda felt like the elves were really shoehorned into that story.
 
Age of Fire series by E.E Knight I believe. Its a great story about three dragon siblings trying to survive the hunting of their species and insider threats. Each of them has their own stories and their own paths which is really interesting. Highly recommend and I am not giving too much up bc spoilers are everywhere!
 
Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Silmarillion, but also of LotR. Another series are the Paksworld books by Elizabeth Moon. Deed of Paksenarrion for example is my favorite in those.
 
Really the only good ones that I really like that I don't think have been mentioned are books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
From Tarzan to John Carter/Warlord of Mars.
And there is also books by Robert E. Howard and the Conan the Barbarian series.
 
I have many favorites but my all times are land of stories, percy jackson and the olympians, and rangers apprentice

my all time fav is percy jackson and the olympians and every book by the arthur
 
My favorite books, without a doubt, are the works of J. R. R.Tolkien. I read the Hobbit for the first time when I was 13, completed the Lord of the Rings at 16, and now I’m finally reading the Silmarillion.

Though Tolkien’s work can be best described as the cornerstone of how I imagine fantasy settings, there are other books that helped me think beyond Middle Earth.
  • The Black Company- I really like settings that are a grimdark, especially when told from the perspective of mercenaries who don’t question the morals of their employers.
  • Harry Potter
  • The Dresden Files- Magic and monsters in a modern setting is cool.
  • The Kingkiller Chronicle- The system of magic created by Rothfuss had me wanting to learn more.
  • Game of Thrones- I enjoy stories being told from character’s perspective.
  • Conan the Barbarian- Classic sword & sorcery.
There are certainly other books I didn’t mention, but the ones listed above are my other favorites