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Enjoying Sanderson and Rothfuss to an incredible extent - which fantasy series next?
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TheWarrior
Banned
If you like Sanderson, the Riyria books are fun. I really enjoyed the series.
Spikematic
Member
The things I'd do to get the third Stormlight book in my hands. WoK and WoR are probably my fav books.
Anyway, glad to see Dagger and Coin mentioned. They're not as well known as some of the other series mentioned here but I found them extremely entertaining. The writing is very easy to get into (if that makes sense) and the books are comparatively short and to the point, with very interesting characters in a very intriguing fantasy world. I highly recommend these to anyone.
Anyway, glad to see Dagger and Coin mentioned. They're not as well known as some of the other series mentioned here but I found them extremely entertaining. The writing is very easy to get into (if that makes sense) and the books are comparatively short and to the point, with very interesting characters in a very intriguing fantasy world. I highly recommend these to anyone.
Jag
Member
Yeah, that's Daniel Abraham who belongs in the conversation with Sanderson and Abercrombie. He also co-wrote the fantastic Expanse series which is a very strong sci-fi pick to add to the list!
The First Law is like a quicker, snarkier, but still similarly violent style a-la ASOIAF. Enjoyed it. His other books/series are also fairly good.
The Gentleman Bastards starts off with a pretty awesome first book. It's more lighthearted than the others, or at least more clever but least world weary, I guess you'd say? The next two books aren't quite as good as the first, however, but still worth the read IMO. Who knows if Lynch will finish the series, though.
ASOIAF needs to be read, though. Whether you watched the show or not.
jackissocool
Member
MALAZAN
Absolutely phenomenal long-form story telling. Get on it. Plus all the books are out so no waiting on authors.
Absolutely phenomenal long-form story telling. Get on it. Plus all the books are out so no waiting on authors.
TheWarrior
Banned
I'll 3rd or 10th Dagger and Coin. Really enjoyed that series.
That's basically a Most Popular list you'll get on just about any fantasy oriented site, so just about anything in it is a good entry point.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Definitely not for everyone. I read three of the books before bailing just because it didn't really do anything for me and I found it kind of... over the top at times.
The Night Angel Trilogy - I'd personally either stay away from Brent Weeks or make him one of your early reads. He's a very basic writer and his stories are kind of trashy and YA in a not particularly great way.
The Black Company - A good read. Likely inspired a lot of the gritty modern fantasy that followed.
The First Law - I'd make Abercrombie's first trilogy another one of your early reads. It's his first story and he can spend a bit too much time saying "Watch how I turn this trope on its head!" But he can be a very good read at times.
The Gentlemen Bastards - Decent beginning that goes downhill fast. Probably not worth a read unless you just really find yourself loving the first book.
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher has released 15 Dresden books in just over 13 years. They're okay if you're looking for trashy, pulpy fun.
The Riyria Revelations - Generic fun. Would also make this an early read if you want to like it.
Wheel of Time - Try the first one and see if you're willing to suffer through the flailing bits where Jordan gets a bit lost in his own story.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Definitely not for everyone. I read three of the books before bailing just because it didn't really do anything for me and I found it kind of... over the top at times.
The Night Angel Trilogy - I'd personally either stay away from Brent Weeks or make him one of your early reads. He's a very basic writer and his stories are kind of trashy and YA in a not particularly great way.
The Black Company - A good read. Likely inspired a lot of the gritty modern fantasy that followed.
The First Law - I'd make Abercrombie's first trilogy another one of your early reads. It's his first story and he can spend a bit too much time saying "Watch how I turn this trope on its head!" But he can be a very good read at times.
The Gentlemen Bastards - Decent beginning that goes downhill fast. Probably not worth a read unless you just really find yourself loving the first book.
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher has released 15 Dresden books in just over 13 years. They're okay if you're looking for trashy, pulpy fun.
The Riyria Revelations - Generic fun. Would also make this an early read if you want to like it.
Wheel of Time - Try the first one and see if you're willing to suffer through the flailing bits where Jordan gets a bit lost in his own story.
Right?? Favourite character? So many good ones to choose but mine is
verity
And damb this first law trilogy looks good, need to get that
Jag
Member
You do. Loved Farseer, but really love the First Law series. Glotka is fantastic.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
same time as the next game of thrones and half life 3
lol the nice thing about being a fan of Sanderson is the man must be part machine in regards to his release schedule. In terms of sheer quantity of releases across all of his series, there's always something just down the pipe with him.
DarkChronic
Member
I highly recommend Glen Cook's The Black Company -- it's a fun ride with a mercenary company that has a heart of gold. They're fast paced and pretty tropey (like Rothfuss) -- honestly, you should know if you'll like them within the first page or two of the first (eponymous) novel. The publisher has the first chapter available online ( http://www.tor.com/2013/06/05/the-black-company-excerpt/ ), which should be plenty to allow you to make up your mind. I'll reproduce the first paragraph, just to give thread-readers a taste of Cook/Croaker's dry humor:
He never runs out of this stuff. (Well, not until The Silver Spike.)
The Book of the New Sun (Shadow of the Torturer being the first book) is not especially comparable to the other works being described here. It's far denser, significantly more complex, and requires familiarity with obscure mythological/religious/historical elements to comprehend on anything more than a cursory level. Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist is an easier read, as it only requires familiarity with the Greco-Persian wars, the various tribes and city-states of the region/period, and Ancient Greek mythology. The writing itself is also simpler, and Latro (the narrator and protagonist) unlike New Sun's Severian, is not intentionally deceitful in his accounts.
Glen Cook's The Black Company said:
He never runs out of this stuff. (Well, not until The Silver Spike.)
The Book of the New Sun (Shadow of the Torturer being the first book) is not especially comparable to the other works being described here. It's far denser, significantly more complex, and requires familiarity with obscure mythological/religious/historical elements to comprehend on anything more than a cursory level. Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist is an easier read, as it only requires familiarity with the Greco-Persian wars, the various tribes and city-states of the region/period, and Ancient Greek mythology. The writing itself is also simpler, and Latro (the narrator and protagonist) unlike New Sun's Severian, is not intentionally deceitful in his accounts.
I felt exactly same way. Loved Name of the Wind, but throughout all of Wise Man's Fear,
there wasn't a single problem that Kvothe wasn't immediately solved by throwing his unmatched wit at it or sexing it right. Those chapters where he is literally teaching a sex goddess a thing or two about how it's REALLY done felt to me like I was reading some really bad slash fiction.
xxANTIMONITORxx
Member
The quoted post is a really good summary of all the series you mentioned. I wanted to comment on a couple and reframe another from my perspective.
The First Law Trilogy is tremendous fun, and entirely worthwhile reads on their own. There are a few standalones in the same world that are all worth reading but to me, Abercrombie's "The Heroes" is the real reward of reading the First Law Trilogy. It gets to tell a self-contained tale, that is all the more enhanced by knowing the world already. That book is fucking great. Ever read the "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara? It is a great novel about the Battle of Gettysburg that takes you into fictionalized narratives of some of the soldiers and generals of that battle, where each chapter is told from a different characters perspective similar to ASOIF. I thought "The Heroes" was the pinnacle of his First Law world explorations so far.
I think the Dresden books don't get enough respect. To call them trashy pulpy fun is a little reductive. I know what Verdre means, but while they may certainly pulpy and are definitely fun, I have always admired how Butcher manages to make ratchet up the tension and consequences for his characters mercilessly and honestly but without making miserable people any less fun to read about. And at no time are any of the consequences "rolled back" easily the next book, "easily" being the most important word here. Also, they have the most effective first-person narrative I have ever read, at least in terms of making you a modern-day badass gumshoe wizard. Read a few and tell me you don't snarl, "Fuego!", every time you light a flame of any banal sort! It's a benefit, that Butcher cranks them out so hard and so regularly.
I powered through the Riyria books because a friend really loved them and gave me the omnibus as a gift and because once I start a book, unless it is god awful, I always finish them. My version was a large 3 books in 1 omnibus so that counts as one book, and thus, I finished it. I consider it wasted time.
And now for the reframe. The Wheel of Time is near and dear to my heart and I won't lie, I love and know those books enough that their sometimes significant faults are part of their charm as much as they are frustrations. I put the first six books in the series up against any epic fantasy series. The books do turn uneven and sloooooooow books 7-9, book 10 is almost out right bad and very little happens until the very end, book 11 is a a bit of a return to form, quick pace, shit happening... and the Robert Jordan, the author, dies. Here's the good part: Brandon Sanderson was the young talented writer chosen to wrap it up by the Jordan estate, based on extensive notes that Jordan left behind. He wraps it up very well, especially considering that he hewed to the notes exactly as much as possible, although it still takes him 3 more huge books to do so. The final book is an excellent end to the series and while it does have it's faults, it doesn't really disappoint. I say read through at least the second book before you decide that it is not for you. If you love it and continue, the lesser back half of the series will also be improved for a binge reader because you won't have to wait 3 years between books.
Sorry this got rambling. Obviously, this was something much more interesting to me than work today!
AngmarsKing701
Member
The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
I read the 1st book and it's dense as fuck. A ton of characters, very tough to keep track of. That being said, everyone who has pressed forward to book 2 says things become epic from thereon out. I just haven't gone back to it.
The Night Angel Trilogy - Brent Weeks
Solid but forgettable in my opinion. I thought the first book was the best in the series, and from there things tapered into pretty standard fantasy fare.
Dark Prism - Brent Weeks
Haven't read this one, mostly because I didn't love Night Angel, but I hear good things.
The Black Company - Glen Cook
Excellent. If you want to know what the guys on the front line are doing while the sorcerors battle it out, then this is for you. Gritty, very well written.
The First Law - Joe Abercrombie
One of my favorites. Definitely dark. It's the rated R version of fantasy, with some of the most badass combat scenes. There's also some fantasy tropes turned upside down throughout, which I really enjoyed.
The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb
Another favorite. You'll get a ton of love it/hate it reactions here on GAF. I personally found Fitz's story to be captivating.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn - Tad Williams
A friend of mine saw me reading LotR one day, some 20+ years ago, and she recommended this to me. Amazing series, though the end book is a haul and a half and needed to be split into two paperbacks to encompass tying up all the loose ends. I'm hoping to re-read it soon because Williams is returning to Osten Ard.
The Shadowmarch Series - Tad Williams
Haven't read it, but the first two books are sitting on my bookshelf staring at me.
The Gentlemen Bastards - Scott Lynch
I have 200 pages left in Lies of Locke Lamora. It's an amazing debut. I hear the follow ons are not as strong, and that's a bummer, but I can see where recreating what he's done with Lies would be a tough feat to duplicate.
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin (watched the first three seasons on TV sadly)
The first two books are amazing... back when GRRM still wanted to keep this to a trilogy or maybe four books. And then we hit bloat city... and imo maybe started to pull out of the dive in Dance, though Dany was turned into a Twilight character. This wouldn't be at the top of my list, especially since it'll be at least 20 years before the whole thing is complete, provided GRRM lives that long.
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Didn't like the first book. Never went back.
The Riyria Revelations - Michael J Sullivan
Haven't read it.
Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (I understand it goes to shit at some point but how good are the good books?)
Some really great books in the first 5, although you'll have to deal with quite a bit of Jordan's take on women, which has aged poorly since he started this. Once you get into books 6/7 you're on the Wheel of Time, where you think you might never have read anything that could possibly drag on and on and on without ever accomplishing much. I failed to get past 7 or 8, I can't remember for sure... I hear when Sanderson swooped in to rescue it the series ends quite well.
And anything else you want to share. I have seen the three LotR movies and have little interest in reading through them again as I didn't enjoy them that much.
I don't know if you're completely set on series, but there are a few stand-alones I'd recommend:
Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn
Guy Gavriel Kay's A Song for Arbonne or The Lions of Al-Rassan. If you like those he has many other works, including a recent duology set in China... but he's gone a bit away from having a ton of fantastical elements in his works.
As for other series:
Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy is amazing
I read the 1st book and it's dense as fuck. A ton of characters, very tough to keep track of. That being said, everyone who has pressed forward to book 2 says things become epic from thereon out. I just haven't gone back to it.
The Night Angel Trilogy - Brent Weeks
Solid but forgettable in my opinion. I thought the first book was the best in the series, and from there things tapered into pretty standard fantasy fare.
Dark Prism - Brent Weeks
Haven't read this one, mostly because I didn't love Night Angel, but I hear good things.
The Black Company - Glen Cook
Excellent. If you want to know what the guys on the front line are doing while the sorcerors battle it out, then this is for you. Gritty, very well written.
The First Law - Joe Abercrombie
One of my favorites. Definitely dark. It's the rated R version of fantasy, with some of the most badass combat scenes. There's also some fantasy tropes turned upside down throughout, which I really enjoyed.
The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb
Another favorite. You'll get a ton of love it/hate it reactions here on GAF. I personally found Fitz's story to be captivating.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn - Tad Williams
A friend of mine saw me reading LotR one day, some 20+ years ago, and she recommended this to me. Amazing series, though the end book is a haul and a half and needed to be split into two paperbacks to encompass tying up all the loose ends. I'm hoping to re-read it soon because Williams is returning to Osten Ard.
The Shadowmarch Series - Tad Williams
Haven't read it, but the first two books are sitting on my bookshelf staring at me.
The Gentlemen Bastards - Scott Lynch
I have 200 pages left in Lies of Locke Lamora. It's an amazing debut. I hear the follow ons are not as strong, and that's a bummer, but I can see where recreating what he's done with Lies would be a tough feat to duplicate.
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin (watched the first three seasons on TV sadly)
The first two books are amazing... back when GRRM still wanted to keep this to a trilogy or maybe four books. And then we hit bloat city... and imo maybe started to pull out of the dive in Dance, though Dany was turned into a Twilight character. This wouldn't be at the top of my list, especially since it'll be at least 20 years before the whole thing is complete, provided GRRM lives that long.
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Didn't like the first book. Never went back.
The Riyria Revelations - Michael J Sullivan
Haven't read it.
Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (I understand it goes to shit at some point but how good are the good books?)
Some really great books in the first 5, although you'll have to deal with quite a bit of Jordan's take on women, which has aged poorly since he started this. Once you get into books 6/7 you're on the Wheel of Time, where you think you might never have read anything that could possibly drag on and on and on without ever accomplishing much. I failed to get past 7 or 8, I can't remember for sure... I hear when Sanderson swooped in to rescue it the series ends quite well.
And anything else you want to share. I have seen the three LotR movies and have little interest in reading through them again as I didn't enjoy them that much.
I don't know if you're completely set on series, but there are a few stand-alones I'd recommend:
Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn
Guy Gavriel Kay's A Song for Arbonne or The Lions of Al-Rassan. If you like those he has many other works, including a recent duology set in China... but he's gone a bit away from having a ton of fantastical elements in his works.
As for other series:
Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy is amazing
Jag
Member
This man knows his stuff.
Whiteblade999
Member
I've read most of these. Responses in bold.
My recommendations would be Celia S. Friedman's Coldifre and Magister Trilogies, The Earthsea Trilogy, The Deed of Paksenarrion, The Tarmir Triad by Lynn Flewelling, Tigana by GGK, and Lyonesse by Jack Vance.
That should cover the very basics and you can go from there. I would check out the fantasy subreddit if you get a chance too, they have good taste.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Dresden Files is my all-time favorite fantasy series. It takes a couple of books to get rolling, but once it does, it's unstoppable. Basically the Grand High Poomba of noir-flavored urban fantasy, and with good reason. There's an extremely well balanced escalation of threat and power throughout the series, and it's not done yet.
Also worth checking out Codex Alera, the author's other major series.
Definitely skip ASOIF. Hugely overrated, though I loved them when I was in middleschool. Also looking increasingly unlikely to be finished.
Also worth checking out Codex Alera, the author's other major series.
Definitely skip ASOIF. Hugely overrated, though I loved them when I was in middleschool. Also looking increasingly unlikely to be finished.
I highly recommend The Farseer Trilogy. The original books are one of my favorite fantasy trilogies. The character developments are superb and the world building is also very good. When reading it, you realize how often fantasy books take influences from the series.
The First Law trilogy was pretty entertaining. I loved the first two books but hated the direction the third one went in.
If you don't mind reading from a female perspective, Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series is a huge guilty pleasure of mine. Very quick to read and enjoyable plotlines.
I hated reading Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley. I don't see it on your list but I wouldn't recommend it.
I tried getting into the Gentlemen Bastard series due to the absurd amount of reviews it has, but I can't make it through the first book.
Up next on my list is probably The Riyria Revelations (thanks for that). At some point I will take a stab at Malazan, however I'm honestly a little intimidated by it.
The First Law trilogy was pretty entertaining. I loved the first two books but hated the direction the third one went in.
If you don't mind reading from a female perspective, Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series is a huge guilty pleasure of mine. Very quick to read and enjoyable plotlines.
I hated reading Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley. I don't see it on your list but I wouldn't recommend it.
I tried getting into the Gentlemen Bastard series due to the absurd amount of reviews it has, but I can't make it through the first book.
Up next on my list is probably The Riyria Revelations (thanks for that). At some point I will take a stab at Malazan, however I'm honestly a little intimidated by it.
Incandenza
Banned
I'll recommend Guy Gavriel Kay (especially The Lions of Al-Rassan), The First Law Trilogy, ASOIAF, and The Dark Tower.
Malazan was cool in spots but was also incredibly bloated. I kind of regret the time I spent reading it.
Malazan was cool in spots but was also incredibly bloated. I kind of regret the time I spent reading it.
The Dresden Files is a decent but thoroughly mediocre urban fantasy series that just happens to be some of the most well known. The characterization is a little shallow and the plotting is frequently repetitive, and there is an undercurrent of internal sexism and chauvinism in the way the main character treats women and the way female characters are written that never really goes away, never mind the persistent and tonally jarring Male Gaze. Also, despite the series being set in Chicago, Jim Butcher doesn't actually know much about the city. This shows in things like how there is apparently only one black man in all of the city.
I don't want to be an urban fantasy hipster, but theres definitely better series out there.
I don't want to be an urban fantasy hipster, but theres definitely better series out there.
Robin Hobb's Elderling saga is absolutely something every fan of fantasy literature needs to read, at least the Fitz trilogies. Really awesome stories filled with superb characters, lots of political & increasing mystical intrique, great & shocking twists and everything hits just that much harder in the latter books when you've been basically following these people since they were young and into their middle ages.
Jest Chillin
Member
The Lightbringer (Dark Prism) series is really good. The magic system is very Sanderson-like and Brent Weeks improved quite a bit from his Night Angel series, which I wasn't really fond of.
moojito
Member
It's good that you didn't want to derail the reading thread with your post about books, lordy they hate books in there.
Anyhoo, honorary shoutouts for The demon cycle and Temeraire series. They're both very good, and I liked most of the stuff mentioned in the OP.
edit: oh, and Blood song is awesome. I was getting similar vibes from it that I did from the name of the wind.
Anyhoo, honorary shoutouts for The demon cycle and Temeraire series. They're both very good, and I liked most of the stuff mentioned in the OP.
edit: oh, and Blood song is awesome. I was getting similar vibes from it that I did from the name of the wind.
Agreed, like someone else said, it is a very good coming of age story. The span of time that goes by with these same characters really helps you get attached. An I'd say more about the time stuff but I don't want to spoil.
I loved the characters, I loved seeing them go through their lives, I loved seeing this damn kid do his poor bastard stuff.
I'm on the 7th book in the main Malazan series and have read two of the books written by the other author that tell some background stories. It's probably my favorite fantasy series and I haven't even finished it yet. The storytelling and world building is fantastic. Huge scope though so if you are looking for a more focused story might want to hold off on this for a bit but you should read it at some point.
higgsboson1997
Member
I'd say don't go A Song of Ice and Fire. There is a very high possibility that it may never get finished in book form. Also, the first three are good, but I find four and five severely lacking, which doesn't bode well for the rest of the series. It sticks out to me quite a lot that GRRM hasn't written anything that I thought was great in almost 15 years.
Gentlemen Bastards has the same problem in that the series is not able to maintain its quality. I will say, though, that you should still at least read The Lies of Locke Lamora from the series - it's brilliant and words well as a standalone.
Memory, Sorry, and Thorn - a classic fantasy series that is slow going initially, but is ultimately a very endearing adventure. Good change of pace from today's fantasy.
Wheel of Time - the first 6-7 books are a pretty good epic fantasy adventure, and I think after LOTR, they set the norm for your multi-volume epic fantasies that authors still emulate today. The books hit a slouch in the middle section from 8-10 (although 9 is still kind of OK), but books 11-14 are great. The last three were completed by Sanderson after Jordan's sad passing, and are probably the best in the series.
The Dresden Files - not a big fan of the first two as it seems kind of repetitive and I'm not a fan of some of the character motivations, but I heard it gets a lot better later on.
The Farseer Trilogy is pretty good, but it is heavily, heavily character focused, so your enjoyment depends on how much you value plot in a fantasy series.
I've not read it, but have heard good things about Malazan (if people are able to persevere with it) and the First Law.
Gentlemen Bastards has the same problem in that the series is not able to maintain its quality. I will say, though, that you should still at least read The Lies of Locke Lamora from the series - it's brilliant and words well as a standalone.
Memory, Sorry, and Thorn - a classic fantasy series that is slow going initially, but is ultimately a very endearing adventure. Good change of pace from today's fantasy.
Wheel of Time - the first 6-7 books are a pretty good epic fantasy adventure, and I think after LOTR, they set the norm for your multi-volume epic fantasies that authors still emulate today. The books hit a slouch in the middle section from 8-10 (although 9 is still kind of OK), but books 11-14 are great. The last three were completed by Sanderson after Jordan's sad passing, and are probably the best in the series.
The Dresden Files - not a big fan of the first two as it seems kind of repetitive and I'm not a fan of some of the character motivations, but I heard it gets a lot better later on.
The Farseer Trilogy is pretty good, but it is heavily, heavily character focused, so your enjoyment depends on how much you value plot in a fantasy series.
I've not read it, but have heard good things about Malazan (if people are able to persevere with it) and the First Law.
Mango Positive
Member
I loved the Wheel of Time books, but they do drag towards the late middle. The ending is totally worth the slog though.
The Malazan books are NOT for everyone. I tried to read the first 100 pages of book one 3 times before I finally powered through it. They don't spell anything out for you. Once the basic universe rules begin to kind-of-sort-of make sense, it gets better. Then you meet Karsa Orlong and you're on board.
The Malazan books are NOT for everyone. I tried to read the first 100 pages of book one 3 times before I finally powered through it. They don't spell anything out for you. Once the basic universe rules begin to kind-of-sort-of make sense, it gets better. Then you meet Karsa Orlong and you're on board.
Avoid Malazan book of the fallen. It's terribly overrated. Way too many characters, and far too much world building. If you are a fan of DBZ though then you will love Malazan.
I'm going to disagree with this and say it only gets worse. The author has like 500 different characters, but in the end I only really cared for a handful of them. Way way too much world building.
I'm going to disagree with this and say it only gets worse. The author has like 500 different characters, but in the end I only really cared for a handful of them. Way way too much world building.
Malazan
The world is confusing and can be difficult to understand. He doesn't really hand out a map to make it easier, and a lot of rules are "hearsay" and don't seem definite.
That being said...
The world is massive, truly creative, and very, very interesting. The characters are probably the best I've ever read and for me they make GoT, Wheel of Time, etc. characters look shallow and or boring. The author finds great ways of convincing, sardonic humor into bleak, tragic situations.
*after a bloody, civil war battle*
"With that, Listar stumbled away. Wareth stared after him. No lies. Well, that's no proof against being stupid.
Shit, I forgot to ask about Rance."
Finally, it will have you reading for awhile. There's 10 mainline books. The main author is working on a trilogy preceding the original novels by 300,000 years right now (many of the characters are shared) and will be working on another trilogy following a character from the main series later. A different author publishes books in the universe using some of the same characters, resulting in another ~5-6 books for you to read. There's a couple of novellas on side-characters too.
Erikson does take a while to get to things, but it's something no authors really do to his extent. He sets up everything, so that it can start off slow, but it never slows down after that until the resolution.
One last thing - its not super trope-y in terms of characters and races. There's a massive amount of races and peoples, some of which resemble Tolkien-esque figures, but its not as blatant as WoT and only one race can be readily attributed to others.
edit: I just finished the 2nd in the trilogy today - that's where that quote came from. There's plenty of others on Goodreads.
edit2: I know I've wrote a lot on this, but to sum it up (my progression was what yours might be OP. I started with Kingkiller Chronicles, then jumped into WoT, Game of Thrones, Gentleman Bastards, etc) the series I just mentioned seem to be books that are about a character or group of them. You may not like the characters or you might, but they're generally focused on a certain viewpoint. Malazan, on the other hand, builds a world and has brilliant characters. Its hard to describe the difference and I'm sure people will disagree, but that's my 2c. Some great Malazan characters that I think are the best in fantasy are Fiddler, Whiskeyjack, Kruppe, Tehol & Mael, Iskaral Pust, Karsa, etc.
Whiteblade's post sums up my viewpoints pretty well.
The world is confusing and can be difficult to understand. He doesn't really hand out a map to make it easier, and a lot of rules are "hearsay" and don't seem definite.
That being said...
The world is massive, truly creative, and very, very interesting. The characters are probably the best I've ever read and for me they make GoT, Wheel of Time, etc. characters look shallow and or boring. The author finds great ways of convincing, sardonic humor into bleak, tragic situations.
*after a bloody, civil war battle*
"With that, Listar stumbled away. Wareth stared after him. No lies. Well, that's no proof against being stupid.
Shit, I forgot to ask about Rance."
Finally, it will have you reading for awhile. There's 10 mainline books. The main author is working on a trilogy preceding the original novels by 300,000 years right now (many of the characters are shared) and will be working on another trilogy following a character from the main series later. A different author publishes books in the universe using some of the same characters, resulting in another ~5-6 books for you to read. There's a couple of novellas on side-characters too.
Erikson does take a while to get to things, but it's something no authors really do to his extent. He sets up everything, so that it can start off slow, but it never slows down after that until the resolution.
One last thing - its not super trope-y in terms of characters and races. There's a massive amount of races and peoples, some of which resemble Tolkien-esque figures, but its not as blatant as WoT and only one race can be readily attributed to others.
edit: I just finished the 2nd in the trilogy today - that's where that quote came from. There's plenty of others on Goodreads.
edit2: I know I've wrote a lot on this, but to sum it up (my progression was what yours might be OP. I started with Kingkiller Chronicles, then jumped into WoT, Game of Thrones, Gentleman Bastards, etc) the series I just mentioned seem to be books that are about a character or group of them. You may not like the characters or you might, but they're generally focused on a certain viewpoint. Malazan, on the other hand, builds a world and has brilliant characters. Its hard to describe the difference and I'm sure people will disagree, but that's my 2c. Some great Malazan characters that I think are the best in fantasy are Fiddler, Whiskeyjack, Kruppe, Tehol & Mael, Iskaral Pust, Karsa, etc.
Whiteblade's post sums up my viewpoints pretty well.
Imp the Dimp
Member
I'm past
Kvothe's time in the Fae realm and I didn't mind it too much. His encounter with Cthaeh at the end of his Fae stay was really exciting.
I'm already dreading to be done with Kingkiller 2.
After a bit SciFi i'm ready for fantasy again. Since this man has 10000 series floating around, which Sanderson series is considered the best or one of his best? With which one should i start? (only finished ones please).
To OP:
Malazan: I like it but a lot of loose ends after finishing it and the middle of the series veers off a bit till it comes around. Some really really epic moments and clashes though. A little to inflationary with the age of some characters...
Wheel of Time: Tour de force.... it took me a loooooong time finishing it. You are going to hate some female characters and also it's good to have a sheet of paper to write down the 1000 side characters popping up when it gets into filler territory but overall an really epic story. If you like fantasy it should be a must read. Just stomach the weaker/boring parts/books and hang on till the end.
First Law: Strenght are the characters but don't expect to like anyone of them.
I would add the Powder Mage trilogy as "to read":
To OP:
Malazan: I like it but a lot of loose ends after finishing it and the middle of the series veers off a bit till it comes around. Some really really epic moments and clashes though. A little to inflationary with the age of some characters...
Wheel of Time: Tour de force.... it took me a loooooong time finishing it. You are going to hate some female characters and also it's good to have a sheet of paper to write down the 1000 side characters popping up when it gets into filler territory but overall an really epic story. If you like fantasy it should be a must read. Just stomach the weaker/boring parts/books and hang on till the end.
First Law: Strenght are the characters but don't expect to like anyone of them.
I would add the Powder Mage trilogy as "to read":
But the OP hasn't read enough to HAVE expectations. I think this is where some folks underappreciate First Law. You really need to have a depth in fantasy to see where he is twisting things.
I'm pretty old, so I have a lot more fantasy touchstones set in the 70's and 80's. If you are new to fantasy I'd recommend LOTR as it set the stage for virtually everything. Robert Howards Conan stories are also critical reads. Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone is awesome as well. Then I"d hit up the classic Dragonlance trilogy (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, etc) as that series, cheesy as it is, is a definitive DnD fantasy story with some really mature and emotional moments that justify it. I also like McKiernan's "Iron Tower" trilogy (and his other stuff) but that is very 80's centric, much like Eddings and probably too simplistic for an adult reader.
Donaldson's Convenant series (at least the first two before the pretentiousness set in) are exquisite, totally different from almost everything else.
Of the OP's list, I'd set Malazan at the top, if you can manage it. Fortunately there are several forums that can walk you through each book. It is the Dark Souls of fantasy series. Cook's Black Company is very good as well. Can't go wrong with Tadd Williams though I think the Shadowmarch series will appeal more to a new reader. I love Abercrombie but it really helps to know that he is mocking the genre with a really dry wit.
Wheel of Time, oh boy. It's like an all you can eat buffet of hamburgers, hot dogs, and mac n'cheese. All good stuff, just really middle of the road and endleesssssss. ASOIAF is fantastic, but at this point the show is a better vehicle for consuming it IMHO until GRRM finishes the damned thing or officially calls it quits.
You can't binge Dresden, else it all starts to repeat itself, at least till the later books where it kinda helps due to tall the call-backs and side characters. I use them as palate cleansers between weightier books. Same with Iron Druid, Monster Hunter International, or other "urban fantasy" stuff as they are usually pretty quick reads without a lot of mental heavy lifting.
AngmarsKing701
Member
After a bit SciFi i'm ready for fantasy again. Since this man has 10000 series floating around, which Sanderson series is considered the best or one of his best? With which one should i start? (only finished ones please).
To OP:
Malazan: I like it but a lot of loose ends after finishing it and the middle of the series veers off a bit till it comes around. Some really really epic moments and clashes though. A little to inflationary with the age of some characters...
Wheel of Time: Tour de force.... it took me a loooooong time finishing it. You are going to hate some female characters and also it's good to have a sheet of paper to write down the 1000 side characters popping up when it gets into filler territory but overall an really epic story. If you like fantasy it should be a must read. Just stomach the weaker/boring parts/books and hang on till the end.
First Law: Strenght are the characters but don't expect to like anyone of them.
I would add the Powder Mage trilogy as "to read":
The Mistborn trilogy (Mistborn, Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages) is a great starting place for Sanderson. The trilogy is complete. There are other Mistborn books, but they take place later with different characters from the original trilogy. That original trilogy is quite good and will give you a feeling for Sanderson's writing.
I'm old too... and while I finished Donaldson's Covenant series, I thought it was meh. Other than that, some great suggestions here.
Someone else that doesn't get enough credit is Terry Brooks. His original Shannara trilogy is a bit too much like LotR (in fact, the Sword of Shannara is almost plagiaristic), books 2 and 3 are an improvement. Somewhat similar to McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy, which was basically an LotR re-hash because he wanted to write sequels to LotR and he was denied the rights.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
what happened to joe abercrombie? I devoured all his stuff and then it's kind of vanished. 
I really enjoyed all his books. he did some young adult stuff recently, but I can't be assed trying to read YA.
I really enjoyed all his books. he did some young adult stuff recently, but I can't be assed trying to read YA.AngmarsKing701
Member
what happened to joe abercrombie? I devoured all his stuff and then it's kind of vanished.
He took a break from grimdark adult to do grimdark YA. I read the first of that trilogy and while I considered it good, it was PG-13 Abercrombie.
He recently published a collection of short stories.
He is supposedly going back to adult fantasy, potentially in the same world of the First Law, though jumping forward a bit in time (iirc).
PG-13 nothing. Half the World would be rated hard R.
AngmarsKing701
Member
That's good to know. Like I said, I read the first one. I should jump back in and read the other two.
iceblade997
Member
I came across this list some time ago (the Cosmere is apparently the name for his universe). Elantris is a standalone, the Mistborn books are meant to be a trilogy of trilogies, and the first two trilogies are done (book 6 came out at the beginning of the year). Another really highly rated book by the looks of it is Way of Kings, but that is a series that is far from finished (10 books, 2 done), so just letting you know about that one if you want to put it on your radar.
I'm relatively new to fantasy and haven't read Elantris, but did read the Mistborn Trilogy (well the first one) just recently and that was my first exposure to Sanderson. I really enjoyed it as well, and it hooked me in after struggling (for other reasons) to get into the first book for a while. Once it did I didn't want to let go. The first book is IMO the best and the other two aren't *quite* as good but it is still a very fun read.
Can you elaborate more on your thoughts of the Powdered Mage trilogy? Also, how bad is the slowdown in Wheel of Time in the middle, in your opinion? I'm hoping to get to it soon but still need to finish a couple of books first.
if you're speaking about the Wax and Wayne books those aren't a Trilogy in fact the fourth and final will be coming out soon.
iceblade997
Member
What I believe Loke13 is saying is, Max and Wayne isn't the second trilogy in the trilogy of trilogies of Mistborn. It's rather a small side project that grew out of proportion and is now a bridge between the first and the second trilogy.
Second trilogy is supposed to be present times and the third trilogy will be futuristic.
Second trilogy is supposed to be present times and the third trilogy will be futuristic.
These 2 trilogy's are great and I would recommend them as well. For my own suggestion I would add the Mageborn series by Michael G. Manning and the Godling series by Brian D. Anderson to your list.
I'd definitely recommend all those bolded. Haven't read the rest of the list but those are incredibly solid.
For the record, I've read like 6 books of Malazan and decided it's trash. Nobody ever needed an editor like that writer does. Deadhouse Gates was a really solid book, though.
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