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[ZiZ]

Most favorites have been discussed in the thread already, but I'd like to add another voice to:
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's urban fantasy, about a Wizard Detective currently living in Chicago. The books are episodic, with every book covering a certain event or case, but things that happen in each book carry on to the next. I like the character development and the characters.

Also quick question to anyone who's read The Gentleman Bastards, I've been meaning to read the it but the series hasn't finished yet and I hate reading books that end with cliffhangers or too many unanswered questions and I'm forced to wait for the next release. Should I wait or just go for it?

 

[Liljagare]

Oh, and Nine Princes in Amber.

 

[suzu]

The First Law Trilogy
The Black Company
The Stormlight Archives

 

[irriadin]

Well there are a ton of vampire/werewolf/witch in modern times series with stuff like True Blood but not sure you're looking for stuff like that and honestly the quality of many is suspect, but there are some gems in there.

Its not a series but I'd recommend Kraken by China Mieville as a really out there modern fantasy. Also has some great Villains in Gos and Subby.

Thanks, I've read The City and the City by Mieville, and I liked that a lot. I've added Kraken to my wishlist.

I'm a big fan of the Pax Arcana series by Elliott James. The protagonist John is a lot more self aware than Harry Dresden, which means that he knows where he's weak and screws up, tries to patch those holes, but also knows that he won't necessarily succeed even as he tries.

The action is generally much better or at least less repetitive: since John is a werewolf instead of some badass spell flinging evoker, he's basically human-normal compared to other supernatural creatures with the exception of his speed and reflexes. That means that he fights with guns, melee weapons, martial arts, and his own smarts and knowledge of his supernatural rivals. Someone who can bench press a truck and kick a hole through concrete is much less of a threat if you know how to effectively blind them and use their own body mechanics against them. Whereas every goddamn fight scene in Dresden involves fuego or Harry discharging his kinetic rings at a baddy, who then goes flying.

Also, the cast of characters is far more diverse and balanced, and supporting characters are actually allowed to do things that contribute to the plot. This includes John's eventual monster hunting partner and love interest Sig, who refreshingly is treated as an equal to John in terms of characterization, plot, and and kickassery.

Lastly, the chapter titles are hilarious.

Thanks for the detailed post, that sounds pretty awesome. I think Dresden has great fight scenes, but the earlier books definitely are big FUEGO spam-fests (seriously, listening to Storm Front, Fool's Moon and Grave Peril on audiobook, I swear every other word out of James Marsters' mouth is fuego.)

Pick up anything by Neil Gaiman. Neverwhere, ocean at the end of the lane, anansi boys, American Gods are some of the best Urban Fantasy I've ever read.

I've read both American Gods and Ocean. I liked the former and the latter is among my all time favorites. I should probably read more Gaiman =p

 

[Darryl]

what are some suggestions for people who want book separation anxiety?

 

[Seductivpancakes]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Gonna grab a few from Amazon. Going to start with Kingkiller, Broken Empire, and Black company.

Going to try the rest when the semester is over.

 

[Team Alucard]

The series got progressively worse as it went on (especially after she started trying to intertwine her witch series into it) but the first three are still classics to me.

 

[Fusebox]

The First Law Trilogy is probably my favourite fantasy series in recent times, I just finished Mistborn last night (first book) and that was pretty enjoyable too. Couldn't get into the Black Company as much as others do though.

 

[norm9]

The first fantasy series I fell in love with is The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. Even the Lord of the Rings trilogy couldn't topple it as a kid.

 

[Althane]

Most favorites have been discussed in the thread already, but I'd like to add another voice to:
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's urban fantasy, about a Wizard Detective currently living in Chicago. The books are episodic, with every book covering a certain event or case, but things that happen in each book carry on to the next. I like the character development and the characters.

Also quick question to anyone who's read The Gentleman Bastards, I've been meaning to read the it but the series hasn't finished yet and I hate reading books that end with cliffhangers or too many unanswered questions and I'm forced to wait for the next release. Should I wait or just go for it?

Since you like the Dresden Files, check out the Sandman Slim novels by Kadrey. They're what Dresden would be like with less magic and more firepower.

As for the Gentleman Bastards, I've read the first two and they each work fine as standalones, although the second one is kinda cliff-hanger-y? There's an unresolved plot thread that ties into the Republic of Thieves, but I don't have a desire to read Republic of Thieves yet (see comment about Sandman Slim). The first one definitely can be read as a standalone.

 

[Haly]

what are some suggestions for people who want book separation anxiety?

What is "book separation anxiety"?

 

[ZiZ]

Since you like the Dresden Files, check out the Sandman Slim novels by Kadrey. They're what Dresden would be like with less magic and more firepower.

As for the Gentleman Bastards, I've read the first two and they each work fine as standalones, although the second one is kinda cliff-hanger-y? There's an unresolved plot thread that ties into the Republic of Thieves, but I don't have a desire to read Republic of Thieves yet (see comment about Sandman Slim). The first one definitely can be read as a standalone.

Thanks, I'd never heard of sandman slim, will definitely check it out.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

what are some suggestions for people who want book separation anxiety?

Melanie Rawn, Exiles Trilogy. The second book was released in 1997. I mean, you'll totally miss out on the first 19 years of waiting, but who knows how many more there could be?

best bromance in fantasy

Anyone who's looking for best bromances should absolutely read Lynch, but my fave example is in The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman.

I find women authors and YA Fantasy to be significantly overlooked in these types of discussions, so I will also say that anyone looking for a good Fantasy read should be adventurous and get outside of your comfort zone.

In the YA Zone, my life has been immeasurably enriched by such authors as Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley, Tamora Pierce, and Garth Nix. There are many excellent writers who hit both the YA category and more adult books, such as Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

 

[H.Protagonist]

I second a lot of the books people are suggesting, but you seem to have similar taste to me, OP, and I really wasn't keen on The Name of the Wind, hated Hobb's Fitz saga with a passion, and even at my lowest I struggled to enjoy Jim Butcher's self-insert wizard fanfic (Dresden files). Butcher's Codex Alera was decent, though. I also really wanted to like the Black Company, but...

- Abercrombie's First Law is good, but Best Served Cold was just unpleasant (to me).
- Lie of Locke Lamora (Only that one, as mentioned below)
- The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone (Greg Keys - see below)
- Stormlight Archives
- Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Currently reading The Steel Remains and it's gritty, bloody, and nicely cynical. The main character is also a rare one. First gay lead I've ever come across and it's really well done.

I tried Riyria Revelations right before this, hunting for decent fantasy like you, and man... Started off well, but soooo generic and disappointing by midway.

I'll just share some recommendations from working 10 years in retail books. A lot of the heavy hitters have been covered like Robb, Sanderson and Rothfuss, but I'll add in a few.

Scott Lynch - The Gentlemen Bastard Sequence

• The Lies of Locke Lamorra
• Red Seas Under Red Skies
• The Republic of Thieves
• The Thorn of Emberlain (coming this year?)

Humourous orphan thieves and their (mis)adventures. They try not to be jerks...but they are jerks. The series was highly touted upon release, and signed a crazy book deal that was near unheard of at the time. This was perhaps a burden to Lynch, and it took him something like 5/6 years to write the third novel. If Patrick Rothfuss was the next big thing in Fantasy after GRRM, Lynch is probably fairly close behind though his strengths lie more in humour and dialogue. Basically, if you like GRRM, you'll like this. EDIT* Saw this mentioned in another post.

Joe Abercrombie - The First Law

• The Blade Itself
• Before They are Hanged
• The Last Argument of Kings

2006/2007 was a great year for modern fantasy with Rothfuss, Lynch and Abercrombie. Abercrombie is the grittiest of the three authors and probably ranks in my opinon a notch below Lynch. Still an entertaining read as he takes on the 80's fantasy stereotype and kind of brings to the modern day. Barbarians, wizards, all the fun stuff. "Found floating by the docks" is a classic line in this series. He has also written other stand alone novels, I'm fairly certain they take place in the same universe.

Greg Keyes - The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone

• The Briar King
• The Charnel Prince
• The Blood Knight
• The The Born Queen

Hit the mark on the head in a time when the market was dying for GRRM to write another book. Keep in mind the excruciating wait from Storm of Swords (2000) to A Feast for Crows (2005) created a huge black hole in the market with people want to know what was going to happen next. Enter Keyes. While not a rookie author by any means (I think he has mostly stuck to licensed works, Bablyon 5, Star Wars etc) this series could have been great. Think of it as GRRM if it were less political, with slightly more fantasy, and less mature in terms of sexual themes. Yes, on paper it sounds like every other fantasy book with a more PG-13 rating, but he did it oh so well for the first three novels in the series. Not really sure why it went off the rails in the fourth, but we used to push this series pretty hard as a stop gap for GRRM.

These are all great except I really, really felt disappointed by the books that followed the Lies of Lock Lamora. It was such an amazing book, everything I wanted in a fantasy novel, and then the story just sort of meandered around pointlessly without any of the fun stuff. I even gave the third a try after the second because of the strength of the first, but...meh. So sad.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

 

[Solideliquid]

This trilogy right here. Read them when they came out in mid 80's and still my favorite go to fantasy novels.

Why aren't these (and Twins trilogy) available on kindle/iTunes?

 

[blame space]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5vzXyHLDyA

 

[Easystride]

Discworld - Terry Pratchett. I have actually cried real tears from laughing so hard from this series. I still have quite a few left to read, though.

 

[suzu]

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

I liked:
The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

In my backlog:
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

 

[Kahoona]

The Lightbringer series seems to be under appreciated. I love the magic system in it.

 

[Fletcher]

Thanks for the suggestion on Stormlight Archives! Bought it today as I was looking for a good fantasy book and made it through first chapter. Pretty rad so far.

 

[Ratrat]

My favorite is Ice and Fire. I haven't been able to find anything nearly as enjoyable since and have kind of fallen out of love with the genre.


I recommend:
The Black Company
The Witcher
The Magician
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel
Perdido Street Station and The Scar
Wicked

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

Hard one!
Most obvious are Earthsea and the Drizzt books.
One of the protagonists in Richard Morgan's Land Fit for Heroes trilogy is a black woman.

 

[Kin5290]

Drizzt is not actually black, though.

Building off of Sandman Slim, I thought that Craig Schaefer's Daniel Faust series is very similar (anti-hero/anti-villain, more capable with guns than able to sling fireballs) but is overall better written and has a better supporting cast.

Faust's internal voice is also a bit less of a noir cliche.

 

[Haly]

Well I'd say Earthsea's characters are native american, if I had to assign any real life ethnic analog. They're described as "red-brown" in the books.

And Drizzt is a dark elf. Not in the spirit of what Blasian is looking for I think.

I would say Traitor Baru Cormorant but I'm not sure if Baru and her ilk are black or Polynesian.

EDIT: Oh, well, there's always Anansi Boys. Probably the most explicitly black cast of characters in fantasy that I know of, it dealing with West African folklore and all.

 

[H.Protagonist]

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

The Steel Remains has a black protagonist. She's not the main-main character (There are 3 that get POV sections: Ringil, Archidi (her), and Egar), but she gets plenty of chapters all to herself and is pretty awesome.

Perdido Street Station also has a black main character.

 

[Althane]

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

3 Parts Dead.

Main character is a magician-lawyer. She's black according to the cover, but it doesn't really play much into the story. But she's bitchin'.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

A fire and Ice series by Martin
The Belgariad novels by Eddings
The black company By Glen Cooke

 

[Ratrat]

I get that he's not human, but darkelves are played by black actors on screen and I've never imagined them as white people with black skin.

I think I got Ged and Vetch mixed up.

There are books like Darren Shan's Demonata and The Thin Executioner with protagonists that are described as being dark brown, but I'm not sure what race they are supposed to be exactly.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

3 Parts Dead.

Main character is a magician-lawyer. She's black according to the cover, but it doesn't really play much into the story. But she's bitchin'.

I've seen it recommended twice on this page. I don't see how y'all like it. A year ago Slayven name dropped it and I decided to rent it and another book from the author. Author overdid it with the metaphors in the first three chapters and even after that, nothing grabbed me and I just ended up bored.

Turned out Slayven didn't like it either.

 

[Darryl]

What is "book separation anxiety"?

potter depression

 

[Althane]

I've seen it recommended twice on this page. I don't see how y'all like it. A year ago Slayven name dropped it and I decided to rent it and another book from the author. Author overdid it with the metaphors in the first three chapters and even after that, nothing grabbed me and I just ended up bored.

Turned out Slayven didn't like it either.

Will agree it's not for everyone. I found it engaging with a cool concept for a world, and to me a cool worldbuilding concept covers a great many sins.

But yeah, there's enough literature out there that it's no tragedy to not like it. But it's a thread to recommend what you like.

Me, I can't get into Mieville at all.

 

[Darryl]

Melanie Rawn, Exiles Trilogy. The second book was released in 1997. I mean, you'll totally miss out on the first 19 years of waiting, but who knows how many more there could be?

what a hilariously obscure book to answer with. I wish I could have been there to wait with you

 

[Regiruler]

Wheel of Time from 2-6 ish and then 9, 11-end is absolutely fantastic (1 isn't bad but it's definitely a lot different than the rest of them, and it's moderately annoying in how intentionally vague it is). The prequel, new spring, was pretty ok too but I think something in there left a bad taste in my mouth. Forgot what exactly. There are some things in the series in general that naturally ick some people out, and unfortunately they don't go away.
There's a great short story called River of Souls that you should read with or before the last book, because it has a semi-spoiler in it.

Stormlight Archives has been absolutely stellar so far, but only 2 books are out. Words of Radiance has my favorite fight scene in all of literature: it's well written and would make for absolutely amazing movie.

 

[Retromelon]

Favorite would def have to be the discworld book where sam vimes goes back in time, it was a very poignant read.

I read a book when i was like 11 called the chronicles of amber and it was this huge, rambling tome that was incoherent to me at that age. I remember there was a guy named corwin who had 8 brothers and they were princes of a magical world and he for some reason wanted to depose one of his bros to be the king. He fought his way up a mountain with ever dwindling forces and gary stu swordsmanship until he was finally captured and thrown into a dungeon. The rest of my memory of it is totally vague

 

[DTJAAAAM]

I remember really enjoying The Eye of the Hunter by Dennis L. McKiernan back when I read it. Kind of wish I'd read more of the books from the same universe.

 

[irriadin]

The Lightbringer series seems to be under appreciated. I love the magic system in it.

Brent Weeks certainly improved a lot from his Night Angel series. I've read The Black Prism, looking forward to starting The Blinding Knife soon.

 

[HStallion]

The Steel Remains has a black protagonist. She's not the main-main character (There are 3 that get POV sections: Ringil, Archidi (her), and Egar), but she gets plenty of chapters all to herself and is pretty awesome.

Perdido Street Station also has a black main character.

This may seem dumb but I read Perdido Street Station a couple times but I never realized the protagonist was black. Might go reread it again and see how I kept missing that. I mean I guess it's nothing when he is banging a lady with a scarab for a head.

 

[Monocle]

The Silmarillion is amazing and it makes The Lord of the Rings so much better. It's packed with cool concepts and connections. This book is really an anthology: a creation story and an era-spanning epic split into episodes that detail the history of the planet, the origins of its different races, and best of all the activities of the most powerful beings in the world as they settle their continent, contend with a great evil that eclipses even Sauron, and do all the bold adventurous incredible things that living legends do. If nothing else, you'll learn why ancient figures like Galadriel, Elrond, Sauron, and Gandalf are far more badass than you thought.

The Lord of the Rings is just a fragment of the epic historical tapestry that Tolkein created. I enjoyed the Silmarillion much more than any of the other books in the series.

Honorable mentions that are easily worth the time investment:

The Book of the New Sun (Followed by the unmissable mindblowing sequel that ties it all together: Urth of the New Sun.)

A Song of Ice and Fire (AKA the Game of Thrones books. Better than the show.)

Harry Potter (Better than you'd expect. Surprisingly consistent. Both series of audiobooks are great too.)

the Wraeththu series (This one's kind of weird. It centers on an androgynous middle sex with magical abilities that's become the dominant species in lieu of humanity. Very erotic and dramatic, full of compelling characters. Hard to describe properly, but I consider it a hidden gem. If you care, Neil Gaiman had nice things to say about this series.)

Not sure if it counts but the Redwall series is wonderful, it a bit formulaic in the later books. I mean, it is aimed at a young audience. Bryan Jacques certainly knew how to write an absorbing adventure. His descriptions of food are exceptional. My favorites are Redwall, Mariel of Redwall, Outcast of Redwall, and especially The Pearls of Lutra. I love this series. It meant a lot to me when I was younger.

 

[causan]

If I may recommend the works of Brandon Sanderson :

His epic fantasy series is called Stormlight Archives:

Though a great starting point is with another fantasy called Mistborn :

This right here. I read a lot of fantasy but I can not get enough of Sanderson's Cosmere universe. I also recommend Warbreaker and The Emperor's Soul from him.

 

[Mephala]

Malazan book of the Fallen, even if hard to get into and the first book being the weak link, is extremely rewarding as the characters and battle scenes are a blast to read.

As a kid of course it was Harry of the Potter

I really love the Malazan series. I went into it straight out of Game of Thrones almost 10 years back now and it was a fantastic ride. I certainly understand the criticisms many have but I feel that it was worth every bit.

The series is straight up video gamey.

 

[KonradLaw]

Dresden Files. But that's urban fantasy

From regular medieval-like fantasy I my favorites are Conan in R.E. Howard's version, Codex Alera, Malazan and Legend of Legendary Heroes (and this is despite the fact that it's fan translated, I just love those characters this much)

 

[studyguy]

I really love the Malazan series. I went into it straight out of Game of Thrones almost 10 years back now and it was a fantastic ride. I certainly understand the criticisms many have but I feel that it was worth every bit.

The series is straight up video gamey.

Malazan is basically getting dropped mid way into someone's fantasy table top game once every couple months/years. It bugged me the first time and Gardens of the Moon is still among my most hated introductions to a series ever.

 

[Raggie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWvGdRcXQJ4

Robin Hobb is always on the top of my recs list. She's got it all: fantastic fantasy words that are believable and something different from the usual. Realistic characters ou care about. Villains you love to hate. Plenty of unexpected plot wists. I just keep coming back to these books.

You read just the Fitz books if you don't want to commit to a very long series, but I'd really recommend reading all the books set into the same world. In order:

The Farseer trilogy
The Liveship Traders
The Tawny Man trilogy
The Rain Wild Chronicles
Fitz and the Fool

 

[besada]

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemsin
African Immortals series by Tananarive Due (in production for a series adaptation)
Octavia Butler. So much good stuff. Start with Kindred.
Charles Saunders Imaro series (Black Conan, basically, but fun reads)
Walter Mosely also has two books of science-fiction/fantasy short stories, often featuring black protagonists.

 

[Carcetti]

Another vote for Tigana, by Guy Gavril Kay.

It's also much less black and white than that description would make it seem. Almost all of the characters are complex and flawed in believable ways, and it raises the questions about where the line is between justice and vengeance. In addition, it has some incredible writing, some of the best prose in fantasy in my opinion, and some very memorable scenes that I think I should let anyone interested in reading it discover for themselves.

I have a hard time coming up with definite lists for books but I guess this would be my pick. Kay sets a really good sense of place, history, and customs throughout the book, and the Mediterranean setting works so much better than the usual fantasy tropes. Protagonists are not typical your typical resistance fighters, the villains are interesting and entertaining. The book tells a better story in a single book than most fat fantasy trilogies manage to do in 3000 pages.

It's quite a romantic a story, and there's a huge amount of feeling that makes it feel like an 'epic' fantasy even if it's quite low key in its fantasy aspects. I liked this story when I was young and I still feel like returning to it now years and years later, even if I've read a lot of fantasy I might consider 'better' in some 'this should get a book award' sense.

I guess it feels just magical.

Also, the blurb on that cover is just terrible. It's not 'packed with action' at all, and that would be missing the point. Some of the action parts are even off-screen because POV characters are not there to see them. It's about pride and its cost, nationalism, history, not swinging swords.

 

[MedicUnderFire]

Nearly all the ones I like have already been mentioned, but also really love this series.

 

[DeadRockstar]

Mostly echoing other's choices here, though I don't know if Elfland's Daughter was mentioned.

Conan the Barbarian - When I bought these a few years back there was only one version being published that didn't suffer quality dilution through the inclusion of other author's rubbish, in addition to Howard's originals. I don't know if that's still the case but it's worth paying attention to.
The King of Elfland's Daughter
Gloriana - Others have mentioned Elric but I think this is Moorcock's strongest book.
Earthsea series
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Lankhmar series
Lyonesse
Virconium - Originally this was multiple books but I read it recently as an omnibus. A bit reserved and unstructured at the start but it becomes clear why the series was so influential when it finds its footing.
Riftwar Saga - Of all the suggestions, this is the one I read the furthest back. I loved them as a young teen with no idea how they might hold up today!

Also if we're talking kids books, His Dark Materials > Harry Potter.

 

[Khoryos]

Can anyone recommend me any fantasy novels with a black protagonist?

It's Urban Fantasy, but the main character in the Rivers of London series is a black policeman

Spoiler

and trainee wizard

.

I'm a big fan.

Also, it's hard to recommend these books because objectively, they aren't very good... but I love them, and always have.

The Forest Kingdom series by Simon R Green.

 

[H.Protagonist]

This may seem dumb but I read Perdido Street Station a couple times but I never realized the protagonist was black. Might go reread it again and see how I kept missing that. I mean I guess it's nothing when he is banging a lady with a scarab for a head.

It's only mentioned in passing once or twice I think, so easy to miss. It says a lot about the state of literature though that we just assume a white lead unless it's blatantly waved in front of our faces. :/

 

[Slayven]

I've seen it recommended twice on this page. I don't see how y'all like it. A year ago Slayven name dropped it and I decided to rent it and another book from the author. Author overdid it with the metaphors in the first three chapters and even after that, nothing grabbed me and I just ended up bored.

Turned out Slayven didn't like it either.

Will agree it's not for everyone. I found it engaging with a cool concept for a world, and to me a cool worldbuilding concept covers a great many sins.

But yeah, there's enough literature out there that it's no tragedy to not like it. But it's a thread to recommend what you like.

Me, I can't get into Mieville at all.

The writing gets in the way of itself. Cool world and interesting concepts, but the purple prose is choking