/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.4909910]

Just finished reading this gem.
ITT: God-tier fantasy books/series

[Anonymous No.4910109]

[Anonymous No.4910114]

[Anonymous No.4910119]

[Anonymous No.4910122]

>>4909910

oh man, did you read all three? Bayaz is so fucking boss

[Anonymous No.4910135]

>>4910119

this sounds really interesting, which translation did u read

[Anonymous No.4910143]

>>4910135
I read it in italian, cause it's my mother toungue, sorry for not being helpful

[Anonymous No.4910348]

what happened to Aliz in the Heroes?

[Anonymous No.4910806]

>>4910122
Bayaz was such a dick.

Black Company series is pretty god tier.

Demon Cycle is also pretty good, don't know if it reaches god tier.

[Anonymous No.4910867]

>>4910806
>Black Company series is pretty god tier.
>>4909910
>God-tier fantasy books/series
>Blade itself

What's god-tier about these? I'm reading Blade Itself and it seems like a toned down version of Conan, but with worse writing.

[Anonymous No.4911075]

The Blade Itself would have been a lot better if it actually had a plot and wasn't just half of Act 1 of an arc that doesn't even finish until the end of Before They Are Hanged. And even that doesn't go anywhere. As it is, it's just a collection of character portraits.

[Anonymous No.4911228]

Is The Heroes just more stuff about the northmen trying to beat Bethod? Because that plotline dragged on for so fucking long in The First Law and I honestly couldn't give two shits about any of those characters anymore. Dogman was fine, but I don't want to read another 500 pages of Black Dow being a cartoon character. And knowing Abercrombie, there will probably be no resolution to anything that happens. I really just want to jump straight into Red Country, since it sounds like Best Served Cold but with more Logen.

[Anonymous No.4911379]

>>4909910
Abercrombie's three stand alone follow ups are better than his The First Law Trilogy. The Blade Itself is the weakest of the three, Before They Are Hanged is the best one in my opinion,

I just finished Red Country yesterday and it was bloody brilliant.

I've just started the Broken Empire series, does anyone know (well think) if this trilogy is any good?

[Anonymous No.4911411]

>>4911228
The Heroes is about yet another rebellion in the North against the Union, albeit a short one. And Black Dow is the leader of the North in it, so if you don't like Dow you will be disappointed in that regard.

That said it was probably one of his better books, Red Country is the best one, but I wouldn't say it was like Best Served Cold but there is one resemblance in the fact that revenge is an element of the story, just not the focal point of it.

it has nothing to do with Bethod though, because Logen smashed the fuck out of his skull in The Last Argument of Kings

[Anonymous No.4911466]

>>4910109
I enjoyed Empire of the East.
He is a good Author.

[Anonymous No.4911484]

>>4911379
>I've just started the Broken Empire series, does anyone know (well think) if this trilogy is any good?
It's meh, I read this first then read Empire of the East later, if you ever read Empire of the East it's like a foundation or building block that Mark Lawrence took to raise his Broken Empire Trilogy... I was shocked to see how similar the books were.

[Anonymous No.4911529]

>>4909910
>God-tier fantasy books/series
I don't know about God tier but I really enjoyed them.
The stars.

[Anonymous No.4911542]

>>4910806
>Demon Cycle is also pretty good, don't know if it reaches god tier.
Demon Cycle is iffy.
It's really average in print form, but the Graphic Audio production is fucking elder-god tier.

[Anonymous No.4911552]

The Gentleman Bastards would be God-tier if the third book wasn't so fucking boring.

[Anonymous No.4911578]

>>4911552
>The Gentleman Bastards would be God-tier if the third book wasn't so fucking boring.
>600+ pages of thirsting for gingers.

Did you think the end was cliche? I HATE endings like that. leaving the bad guy defenseless but alive and he comes back and kills you cliche

[Anonymous No.4911586]

>>4911529
>he likes George Really Retarded Martin

[Anonymous No.4911625]

>>4911586
It was probably the rape.

I read it expecting magic and was really fucking disappointed, it's filled with intrigue and battle but very, VERY little magic. I'm sure if we took all the mention of magic in all 5 books it would add up to less than a chapter.

Doesn't change the fact that these books tithed me over when I didn't have any good books to read so meh.

[Anonymous No.4911638]

>>4911578
Not REALLY a cliche.
I mean, he wasn't spared as a mercy, or to prove that the protagonists are "not like him". He was spared because Locke thought that he had basically loopholed the code that the mages live by.
The biggest problems with the third book are"
Sabetha is a massive bitch.
Jean is in the background most of the time.
Starts out with ANOTHER Lamora bitchfit
All the main characters were completely irrelevant to the events of the story.
Also, it felt weird that Jean never really got any time to grieve after the second book.
I did enjoy the flashback stuff, mostly because of the twins and the general antics of the group.
My god Sabetha was poorly written. Looks like the divorce really fucked that character.

[Anonymous No.4911673]

>>4911638
>I mean, he wasn't spared as a mercy, or to prove that the protagonists are "not like him"
I was talking about the third book and the mother leaving him alive and him coming back to fuck everyone over. Locke thought he was done of him. That WAS a cliche.

[Anonymous No.4911708]

>>4911625
Congratulations, you've realised asoiaf isn't fantasy, at least not predominantly.

You should learn to dispense with perceptions and expectations when reading a book.

[Anonymous No.4912015]

>>4909910

[Anonymous No.4912034]

>>4912015
It's the *Doritos burp*, ahem, best

[Anonymous No.4912097]

>>4912034
to hell with you

[Anonymous No.4912130]

>>4911708
it is really his fanfiction of being at a renfair.

[Anonymous No.4912247]

>>4911228
No, it's about the North vs the Union. It's really good, up there with Best Served Cold and certainly better than Red Country. Don't skip it.

[Anonymous No.4912251]

>>4911625
>I read it expecting magic and was really fucking disappointed, it's filled with intrigue and battle but very, VERY little magic. I'm sure if we took all the mention of magic in all 5 books it would add up to less than a chapter.
You must be knew to the genre. You'll get over that in a couple of years, hopefully.

[Anonymous No.4912861]

>>4911708
>Congratulations, you've realised asoiaf isn't fantasy, at least not predominantly.
When I read book one and got the Walkers I thought that the series would be good. I don't mind a little intrigue but that book push it to the limit.

[Anonymous No.4912877]

>>4912251
>You must be knew to the genre
This >>4911529 is mine..... I'm not new to it, I've enjoyed books like The Blade Itself, Joe Pitt Casebooks and The Riyria Revelations and they had little to no magic or unexplained events that could be mistaken for sleight of hand or coincidence when compared to the Ice and Fire books.

[Anonymous No.4912890]

awesome scifi cum fantasy series. They get pretty shit after the initial trilogy though.

[Anonymous No.4912891]

>>4912890
Good god, that fucking title.

[Anonymous No.4912895]

I haven't delved outside the most influential fantasy books. I'm wondering if there are any standalone works worth my time since every writer in this genre seems unable to contain his work in a reasonable length and has to make a long-ass boring series.

[Anonymous No.4912903]

>>4912895
Peep the blurb for the books in this list >>4911529 and see what you like. What ever you haven't heard of or read before that is.

P.S Some of those books started out good but turned to shit or the author couldn't write to save his/her life.... Yet they were "hyped" or did well enough in book sales to merit an audiobook version.

[Anonymous No.4912904]

>>4912895
give this one a whirl

[Anonymous No.4912969]

Patrick Rothfuss anyone?

[Anonymous No.4913022]

>>4912969
check >>4911529

[Anonymous No.4914829]

>>4909910
The Blade Itself is mediocre, please read better fantasy.

[Anonymous No.4914990]

>>4912861
How the hell is intrigue a bad thing? It's one of the best things about those books.

[Anonymous No.4915530]

>>4914829

Like what?

[Anonymous No.4915539]

>>4914990

I didn't know who to trust and root for. One moment a character is being heroic the next he does something immoral and or foolish.

GRRM needs to flesh out his characters before he writes these stories because he keeps changing his mind.

The intrigue is too much because whenever a plot line ends the characters end up in another dilemma, there's no relief or reward...blah

[Anonymous No.4915578]

>>4912969

It's not very good. It starts in a very cool way, becomes interesting, then it literally turns into Harry Potter. The 2nd book starts in a way that tries to say it's not Harry Potter, plot becomes darker but it has too much filler and suffers from the fact nothing happens in the middle of it. It ends in a promising way, but the third book will probably not be satisfying.

[Anonymous No.4915591]

Heard this series is really good. Starts in a 'childish' way, but seems to have been intentional, since it's childish during the innocent years of the protagonists and becomes increasingly darker as the story goes and as the protagonists grow up.

>>4915539

8/10, will get some people.

[Anonymous No.4916074]

>>4915539
Try Rothfuss or Jordan next, they should be easier for you to understand.

[Anonymous No.4916195]

>>4912969
>audiobook
>splitt in two
But yeah, it's good. More self-conscious than 99% of fantasy with some sweet ass prose.

[Anonymous No.4916403]

Assassins Apprentice and then tawny man,

I loved the first law trilogy but robin hobb's trilogy is my favorite fantasy trilogy of all time.

[Anonymous No.4916823]

>>4916403
This makes it sound like you should skip the Liveship trilogy, which would be a terrible mistake.

[Anonymous No.4917359]

>>4912247
Is Dark Tower really worth it? I couldn't finish the first book, it was so dull.

[Anonymous No.4917551]

>>4917359
If you couldn't do the first, drop it.

[Anonymous No.4917552]

>>4916823
>>4916403
Feel free to skip the Rain Wild Chronicles though.

Fool's Assassin was great though.

[Anonymous No.4917583]

I started The Earthsea Cycle last night and it's good so far, but there's a long way to go. Does it stay good?

[Anonymous No.4917761]

>>4917583
Yes

[Anonymous No.4917830]

Malazan Book of the Fallen for fuck's sake

[Anonymous No.4917847]

>>4915578

I really enjoyed both books. I never really got the feeling that "nothing happens" because Kvothe is generally interesting in whatever situation he's in. I can understand not particularly enjoying the Maeyer/Ademre portions but I had no qualms. It's really not a book going any one direction, just telling a man's life story with excellent prose.

[Anonymous No.4917856]

>>4911529
torrent pls

[Anonymous No.4918970]

I can't say it enough but Imajica by Clive Barker. Completely unique and constantly destroys your expectations. If you want a fantasy epic with beautiful prose, horror, comedy, weird sex, and weirder monsters check it out.

Is The Wheel of Time worth it? I always see it mentioned as one of the greatest fantasy tales of all time but I've never heard why. Whenever I see people on /lit talk about it it's about how much filler there is...

[Anonymous No.4918986]

[Anonymous No.4918994]

I just finished Last Argument of Kings.

This entire trilogy is one 300 page novel stretched out to 1700 pages. Everything that needed to happen went down in the beginning of The Blade Itself, and the end of Last Argument. Everything in between was about a hundred pages worth of neat little character moments that ultimately resulted in absolutely nothing. None of the characters evolved except for two, and only slightly. Every plot thread that didn't involve Bayaz and, at the very end Glokta, was completely irrelevant. It was like a low fantasy version of Wuthering Heights.

I enjoyed the characterization but holy shit, I just spent a week reading a trilogy that barely had any plot whatsoever. I don't know if I even want to move on with the standalones anymore. It was like the opposite of Black Company.

[Anonymous No.4919003]

>>4918986
You're joking?

[Anonymous No.4919011]

>>4919003
Tell me why I'm joking

[Anonymous No.4919026]

>>4919011
Goodkind sucks.

[Anonymous No.4919027]

Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe

Fucking terrible. Started it again to get a second read. Way too much literary bullshit. Still don't know what's true or not. The whole thing reads like an extended nightmare. The made up words were bad, but the esoteric real words were worst.

[Anonymous No.4919033]

>>4912895

Elantris. Very good fantasy standalone book.

[Anonymous No.4919037]

>>4912895
Tigana

[Anonymous No.4919040]

>>4919026
Tell me why Goodkind sucks and all the other writers mentioned in this thread don't

[Anonymous No.4919050]

>>4919040
Mary Sue protagonist and preach, preach, preach. It only gets worse.

[Anonymous No.4919060]

>>4919050
The protagonist's name is Richard actually

[Anonymous No.4919081]

>>4919060
Perhaps you think that I haven't read all of his books? I'm aware of the protagonist's name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue

[Anonymous No.4919082]

>>4919027

This is the first time I've ever seen someone say they didn't like Shadow of the Torturer. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list. Seems like everyone I've spoken to about it, from genre fans to literary snobs, are on Gene Wolfe's nuts 24/7.

[Anonymous No.4919097]

>>4919081
Why did you read all of his books if they suck so much?
And what does that say about your ability to judge whether a book is good or not?

[Anonymous No.4919102]

>>4919082
Oh yeah, I know. I heard about it here. It has a unique and clever style. I spent more time dissecting sentences than I ever have. He's a master of ambiguity. I get the feeling it requires multiple readings, but it sucked the joy out of reading. I never once understood the motivations of the protagonist, besides the base necessity of fucking women and making money.

[Anonymous No.4919110]

>>4919097
Because I was young once. I have grown as a reader. In fact, I grew as a reader while reading his writing, and it was clear to me that he grew worse with every piece. I wanted them to be better, but you don't always get what you want.

[Anonymous No.4919130]

>>4915578
>2nd book is darker
Niggwatt?
The second book is "Kvothe fucks everything with a moist hole".
The first book was dark, and the prologues and interludes that aren't Kvothe telling his story promises the third book will be were shit gets grim. I'm worried - given the shit-gasm that was the second book - that Rothfuss will write something that tries-way-too-hard-to-show-kvothe-fucking-up-but-isn't-all-that-bad-really and then Kvothe goes off to sulk, where the story picks up again.

[Anonymous No.4919143]

>>4919130

Only on the 2nd half. The first half is all about 'torture' and being fucked, in a non-sexual way.

Anyway, regarding the third book, I fear the same thing. I'm sure Rothfuss will fuck up the story about the Nazgul (you know who I'm talking about, I can't remember their names) that killed his parents.

[Anonymous No.4919148]

I'm literally plowing through these books. I'm 5 books in and if anyone's read them I'd like to have a few things clarified. Spoilers ahead.

At some point Lady mentions the only way to kill one of the Taken for sure is to cut them to pieces, burn those pieces and spread the ashes. Why didn't she do that with Soulcatcher?
Also, why would she believe the Limper to be dead after Croaker ambushed him?
Why the fuck didn't Croaker try to call Soulcatcher by name when she kidnapped him? He had one chance out of three.
If Croaker named Lisa after busting Shapeshifter and Stormcaller why did she retain her powers?
Who was the Forvalaka that One-Eye tortured killed after the battle at Charm?

[Anonymous No.4919161]

>>4919148
What books?

[Anonymous No.4919166]

>>4919161
>>4919148
Forgot my damn image. Remind me to upload before I write, Anon.

[Anonymous No.4919191]

>>4919166
Upload before you write.

[Anonymous No.4919220]

>>4919097
I actually enjoyed the first three books. By the fourth I was starting to get frustrated with the "something's stopped Richard and Kahlan from being together the very next day after their last adventure" formula but I was still invested in the characters and overarching plot. After reading Faith of the Fallen I had to just give it up. That book was just some strawman Randian masturbatory aid.

"Wow this statue made by the perfect man has shown me the errors of communism!!!"

One of my friends is a masochist and finished the rest of the series for laughs and based on what I've heard from him about Chainfire I made the right choice.

[Anonymous No.4920745]

>>4919027
>severain goes to a place and meets 5 people
>some stuff of no consequence happens and he leaves
>severain goes to a new places and meets 5 new people
>the 5 new people are actually the same 5 people form the last place but they're in disguise because INTRIGUE
>nothing happens so severain leaves and goes to a new place and meets 5 new people
>it's actually those same 5 assholes who are fucking with him for no reason
>one of them is the king of whothefuckcares
>plot starts happening
>end of novel

[Anonymous No.4920765]

>>4917856
>torrent pls
They are all audiobooks, that is about over 130GBs.... I don't have Google fiber.... get a Private Tracker

[Anonymous No.4920785]

>>4919148
Because Croaker has no power, you need power to use someone's "name".

Also Croaker thought he would be able to use Soulcatcher, if she isn't fucking with him, she is fucking with someone else.

ALSO GET HYPED HE IS RELEASING ANOTHER BOOK SOON I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENSSSS

>Who was the Forvalaka that....
Either shapeshifter's previous apprentices or the actual animal. Remember the Forvalaka is a real animal.

[Anonymous No.4920798]

>>4917856
See?

[Anonymous No.4920799]

>>4917552
I've read the first 3 Rain Wilds books. I really should read the last to complete it, especially with new Fitz novels coming out soon, but can't bring myself to do it.

>>4917359
First book is very different in tone to the rest of the series. Whether it's worth it or not... well, the last few books take a pretty big downturn in quality. It probably depends on how invested you get in the characters and mysteries.

>>4918970
>Is The Wheel of Time worth it?
Subjective of course, but I didn't bother finishing it. It got too bogged down in the details somewhere around book 7.

>>4918994
Sounds like you'd enjoy the standalones, since the plot is dealt with in one book as opposed to being stretched out to three.

>>4919027
Why are you re-reading it if you disliked it?

[Anonymous No.4920806]

>>4920799
>Why are you re-reading it if you disliked it?
Because autism that's why.

[Anonymous No.4921150]

[Anonymous No.4921190]

House M.D.

[Philosophag !!aEGgSI04zUm No.4921224]

>>4911529
Abhorsen series was awful.

[Philosophag !!aEGgSI04zUm No.4921234]

>>4909910
>Nobody has posted Erikson yet.

Do you even Fantasy?

[Anonymous No.4921302]

I love Abercrombie as much as the next guy, but let's be honest here, he's nowhere near god-tier. God-tier fantasy would be The Book of the New Sun, The Earthsea Cycle, The Worm Ouroboros, The Lord of the Rings, Gormenghast, Lyonesse and The Once and Future King.

[Anonymous No.4921309]

Why are all fantasy covers awful? I mean, do they even appeal to anyone?

[Anonymous No.4921310]

>>4911529
Night Angel is terrible. Seriously sucks. I do not understand why everyone loves that series. The Demon Cycle had a good first book but the second book was shit.

[Anonymous No.4921355]

>>4915591
Yeah feist is good. The over all series is mostly heroic style fantasy with elements of high fantasy. He expands the world a lot but during each novel it has a pretty narrow character focus. He does a few big battles here and there and there are some long living characters that show up a few times.

I love Jimmy the Hand it has a bit of an oliver twist, twist to it.

I really like the empire series he co-authored with janny wurts, its a fantasy/political hybrid set in the enemy world beyond the rift.

[Anonymous No.4921379]

>>4916823
I keep saying this, liveship is hobb at her best.

>>4917830
>>4921234
erikson goes without saying

he is the /lit/ fantasy god, we sorted that shit out a while back

[Anonymous No.4921440]

>>4921150
People really, really hate Republic of Thieves.

I enjoyed it a lot. Especially in the context of Lynch struggling through dealing with divorce.

[Anonymous No.4921445]

>>4921379
>he is the /lit/ fantasy god, we sorted that shit out a while back
/lit/ fantasy god is gene wolfe actually

[Anonymous No.4921471]

>>4920799
>I really should read the last to complete it, especially with new Fitz novels coming out soon, but can't bring myself to do it.

If you've gone that far just go on ahead. The last book has some fairly decent payoff.

[Anonymous No.4921485]

>>4920785
>Because Croaker has no power, you need power to use someone's "name".

Oh. I wished he'd mentioned that. Unless I missed it.

Then why didn't Goblin or One-Eye do Lisa in?

[Anonymous No.4921498]

>>4921379
No way. Erikson is great but there are some serious flaws to his writing.

[Anonymous No.4921545]

>>4921224
you're awful

[Anonymous No.4921557]

>>4921498
Agreed. Part of the reason I didn't include Eriksson in my list >>4912247 is that he has rabid fanboys who recommend him in every thread. I'm surprised it's taken them so long to turn up to this one.

He's pretty good - in terms of building up amazing climactic sequences in seemingly every book, he may be unrivaled - but as you said, there are some deep flaws and they caused me to lose interest in the series after 4 books.

[Anonymous No.4921610]

>>4921557
>they caused me to lose interest in the series after 4 books.

Are you me? At book 5 I just couldn't be fucked to go through the same thing again. Maybe I'm weak sauce but I like some continuity in my cast, or at the very least I'd rather not have to read two novels about some completely new place before I know what the fuck happens with the people I've been following since book 1.

Say what you want about GRRM, but he can keep a narrative going smoothly despite a fucking huge array of characters.

[Anonymous No.4922595]

>>4921557
You should put Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet on your list. Also, Gormenghast and The Worm Ouroboros should be there. Other than that, that is a great list. Great to see Mieville, Hobb and Beagle get some recognition.

[Anonymous No.4922644]

>>4921557

You are way into books about gay dudes.

[Anonymous No.4922677]

>>4912247
Whats so good about the Engineer trilogy?

[Anonymous No.4922710]

>>4921440
Me too. As someone who briefly worked in theater, I loved the entire past arc and was surprised how true it was to theatre at points.

I'm a bit tired of the whole Falconer thing though, I just don't think he has that great villain potential.

[Anonymous No.4922964]

Right now I'm reading through a bunch of literature I've had backlogged, but some day I want to just read an enjoyable fantasy series.


Seems like two good choices would be The Black Company, and according to this thread, what OP posted. Which would be better for just an enjoyable read? What would be some other series /lit/ would recommend?

[Anonymous No.4923305]

>>4922964
Abercrombie.

I don't often like fantasy, but he's pretty good.

[Anonymous No.4923315]

The Scavenger Trilogy by K.J. Parker

[Anonymous No.4923464]

>>4911529

>his dark materials trilogy

my dark skinned comrade

[Anonymous No.4923807]

>>4923315
Whats good about it?

[Anonymous No.4925690]

>>4922595
>Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet
I've read it - I thought it was decent but I don't get why it has such acclaim online.

Haven't read Gormenghast or The Worm Ourobros yet.

>>4922677
>>4923315
Difficult to say why I like the Engineer trilogy, to be honest. There's just something I really enjoy about Parker's writing.

Why do you keep asking?

[Anonymous No.4926005]

>>4918970
>Is The Wheel of Time worth it?
Yes, if you're interested in the psychoanalysis of the female mind. It can get a bit tedious halfway through because Jordan really delves into the brain of a lot of supporting characters, slowing the plot down. When re-reading (when you don't want to rush through the book for the plot) the series gets incredible depth with links and forshadowing starting from the very first chapter.

As the main character is destined to go mad, the story gets a bit dark toward the end. This is what sets the Wheel of Time apart from other fantasy behemots: the constant awareness that the POV you're reading is from a madman.

[Anonymous No.4926020]

>>4925690
>Why do you keep asking?
I see that set of books everytime I go over to my used bookstore and was thinking of checking it out.

[Anonymous No.4926041]

The First Law trilogy was extremely disappointing. The best thing I can say about it is that the characters are very well written and distinct. The problem is that Abercrombie isn't a good storyteller. The plot is near nonexistent. And just when you think there might be some character development, the "point" of the trilogy forces them all back into the same characters they were at the beginning of The Blade Itself. I felt like I read nearly 2000 pages of nothing happening just to have Abercrombie tell me that people don't have the power to change the world or themselves, and that sometimes long arduous journeys are pointless.

[Anonymous No.4926046]

A Song of Ice and Fire.

There, I said it.

[Anonymous No.4926168]

>>4909910

This.

[Anonymous No.4926237]

>>4921485
Its possible that naming her wouldn't reverse her transformation possibly because shapeshifter locked her in the form to control her.
The books have a decent amount of potholes like one of the taken being in the south when hes supposed to be imprisioned in the barrowlands

[Anonymous No.4926490]

>>4921234
>Nobody has posted Erikson yet.
>posts "Abhorsen series was awful."
>looked at my pic >>4911529 to do it
>didn't see Malazan
>being this much of a fagget

[Anonymous No.4926502]

>>4921310
>The Demon Cycle had a good first book but the second book was shit.
It was probably the incestuous rape that sold the second book the reader.. I know it sold it to me.

[Anonymous No.4926572]

>>4912247
Can someone explain to me why The Lions of al-Rassan is classified as fantasy? The only thing different from the real world was the two moons. Everything else about the story was just Jews, Christians, and Muslims by another name living in the Iberian Peninsula.

[Anonymous No.4927242]

>>4926572
Jews, Christians, and Muslims by other names living on planets that don't exist is about 90% of epic fantasy.

[Anonymous No.4927276]

>>4919060
Ha! 10/10

[Anonymous No.4927280]

My favorite fantasy novel

[Anonymous No.4927420]

>>4927242
Other than the planet not being Earth, even though for all intents and purposes it is Earth, I'd probably classify it as a historical fiction book because it was so obviously based on the Spanish reconquista. The Jaddites have spanish names and the Asharites have arabic names. Esperaňa is Espaňa, Cartada is Cordoba and, if I recall correctly, they cross the peninsula and go into the desert to find the Berbers. No magic is involved whatsoever. Just because the planet has all the same flora and fauna as Earth but technically isn't Earth doesn't make this a fantasy book.

[Anonymous No.4927540]

>>4927280
holy *tips*!

[Anonymous No.4927726]

>>4926020
Give the first book a go. Parker isn't for everyone. She has a very dry style and her stories and characters are very dark, without being gritty.

>>4926572
That's why I put it in that section along with Parker. The fact that they're set in a fictional world means they get classified as fantasy, however for Parker's work that is the only fantasy element. Lions of Al-Rassan does have magic, albeit only one instance - there's that one kid who can see the future.

[Anonymous No.4927795]

>>4927726
>Give the first book a go. Parker isn't for everyone
Alright I'll pick it up tommorow. Thank you.

[Anonymous No.4927800]

>>4927280
3edgy5me

neckbeard fagit lol

[Anonymous No.4927838]

>>4927800
you're attempt at flippant dismissiveness doesn't hide the fact that you felt the need to reply to such an obvious bait.

pro tip: your post was exactly what he was after.

[Anonymous No.4927939]

>>4927420
GGK himself thinks so, though. Look up his Bright Weavings site, the interviews and essays and such.

Excerpt:
> First of all the genre allows the universalizing of a story. It takes incidents out of a very specific time and place and opens up possibilities for the writer - and the reader - to consider the themes, the elements of a story, as applying to a wide range of times and places. It detaches the tale from a narrow context, permits a stripping away, or at least an eroding of prejudices and assumptions. And, paradoxically, because the story is done as a fantasy it might actually be seen to apply more to a reader's own life and world, not less. It cannot be read as being only about something that happened, say, seven hundred years ago in Spain.

[Anonymous No.4928602]

>>4921445
i read pretty much excluively fantasy and gene wolfe i cant get through he seems alright just no plot just a series of short stories lumped together

[Anonymous No.4928735]

>>4928602

>no plot

Dunno if bait.

[Anonymous No.4928830]

>>4928602
You probably read shit-tier fantasy then.

[Anonymous No.4928838]

>>4928602
Stick to what you enjoy, bro.

[Anonymous No.4929812]

>>4911529
Iron Druid was fucking awful. It started promisningly enough, but got progressively more awful until I finished the one where they start off the book by killing Ratatosk and everything went downhill from there in a Marty Stuish soup of bad pacing.

[Anonymous No.4929932]

how has nobody mentioned discworld?? ;_;

easily my favorite fantasy series ever.

>>4918970
books 1-3 = god tier
books 4-6 = very good
books 7-9 = i'm only reading these because the first 6 were so good
book 10 = didn't even fucking read
book 11 = getting somewhere
books 12+13 = better than jordan was doing but not amazing or anything
book 14 = disappointing as hell

it would be elder god tier if it didn't drag out so fucking long.

the shaido aiel storyline was a monstrous waste of time and could've been taken out of the story in its entirety with nothing lost.

also the seanchan shit around too much. like, yeah, they're scheming and plotting... i don't care to read about every single thing they do in the meantime though.

it was a worthy read and the first 3 books are still a pleasure to read, but only because i know what's coming after them so i don't have to trudge through it.

[Anonymous No.4930369]

What do people think of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone? I've almost finished the first book and it's been pretty enjoyable except for Neil's chapters. The guy is super bland (last of his clan, the number one swordsman, full of virtue, handsome and charismatic, women want to bone him, those who bully him get their asses kicked by him etc.).

[Anonymous No.4931633]

>>4917359
Short story, no. A little longer story, maybe.

I liked the premise for the Dark Tower. This epic journey through a broken world that is somehow connected to ours. Sadly Stephen King squanders his attempt - as he puts it himself - at his "Lord of the Rings".

He does not focus on the things that I find the most interesting which is the fantasy world. I couldn't give two more shits about New York in 60 - 80's. Also the pacing is so slow and convoluted that sometimes you feel it like a chore just to get to the part where a secret or brilliant idea is revealed by Roland.

I have read 5 books but now I am taking a break. It seems the quality of the books drops with the new ones so that is sad to see.

[Anonymous No.4931678]

>>4926041
You just described why I like the First Law Trilogy so much. Dat ending. Cathartic as fuck.

[Anonymous No.4931921]

>>4931678
Eh. It's well trodden territory. It just felt like a waste of time for me.

[Anonymous No.4932125]

>>4931921
“I bought you from a whore. You cost me six marks. She wanted twenty, but I drive a hard bargain”

[Anonymous No.4932139]

>>4930369
I've read the first book. I guess it was OK. I've had the second book for years but I haven't managed to gather the enthusiasm to read it yet. Part of that is indeed because of Neil.

[Anonymous No.4932558]

>>4932125

That was what I liked about it. Those character moments where, through dialogue, Joe shows you exactly who every character is, what his or her motivations are, what they're afraid of, what they hate and how intensely they hate it. But that is all the trilogy is, in between long, drawn out battle scenes of no consequence. I wish it was just condensed into one book of nothing but these moments. Half of Before They Are Hanged is a long, drawn out journey across the continent that turns out to be completely irrelevant to the plot and is treated as if it never happened by the end of the book.

What we get out of the journey is amazing character interaction and the beginnings of character growth, like Ferro softening up and learning to be comfortable with sleep, Jezal being less of a selfish ass and actually appreciating people, Logen learning how to feel for another woman after losing his wife, etc. All of that is complete negated by the next book where everyone reverts to their former selves, and that's fine. That still makes for an interesting and really affecting read. But that stuff is the only stuff that makes the trilogy worth reading, and it amounts to maybe 300 or 400 pages. The trilogy is 1400 pages of fluff.

[Anonymous No.4932570]

>>4932558
>The trilogy is 1400 pages of fluff.

But all fantasy is fluff, you'll hardly find anything actually substantial in most books, but Abercrombie at least manages to make it entertaining and to keep you reading.

Not everything has to be relevant to the main plot all the time, I like it when fantasy writers give themselves a breather and don't do just plot plot plot plot plot plot like you apparently want him to do.

[Anonymous No.4932597]

>>4932570
>But all fantasy is fluff, you'll hardly find anything actually substantial in most books

So? Most other fantasy is shit. You think that makes it okay to write a shit book as long as it's in that genre? Nah. I value originally and creativity. Lazily tossing about meaningless boring fluff for pages and pages on end doesn't impress me.

>I like it when fantasy writers give themselves a breather and don't do just plot plot plot plot plot plot like you apparently want him to do.

Literally the exact opposite of what I said. How did you manage to read 3 books when you can't even read 2 paragraphs?

[Anonymous No.4932603]

>>4932570
he said he wished the whole book was character focused. not that he wished the whole book was plot focused. learn how to read please.

[Anonymous No.4932608]

>>4920745
It's deep because he's Jesus.

[Anonymous No.4932793]

I liked Piers Anthony a lot when I was younger. His Xanth series has been mentioned on /lit/ a few times.

[Anonymous No.4933037]

>>4932603
Yea, and it shows. The First Law trilogy just feels like characters dancing around infront of a white wall.

[Anonymous No.4933186]

>>4911529

In general I agree with your taste. I didn't like His Dark Materials and Night Angel, though. Although Brent's Lightbringer is p good, a vast improvement over Night Angel.

[Anonymous No.4933643]

>>4933186
>Lightbringer is p good, a vast improvement over Night Angel.
It's the magic and Black "Armor" that sold me to the series. I like intelligent suits that can hold a conversation with you. Blue Beetle(Jaime) is one of my favourite comics for that same reason.

[Anonymous No.4934265]

[Anonymous No.4936488]

Disappointed noone's mentioned this

[Anonymous No.4936542]

[Anonymous No.4937493]

>>4934265
My nigga. You read Crimson Campaign yet? He makes up for the lack of field battles in the first book.