What are some good fantasy/adventure books and/or authors?

Answer 1

This one is urban fantasy.Dresden file book series by Jim Butcher.There are 8 books in the series beginning with stormfront.It narrates the story of Harry Dresden,chicago's only professional wizard who works as a detective.He stands between the general population who is ignorant about the supernatural world and the monsters - vampires,werewolves,fallen angels,fey.He is aided by Bob,a talking skull.Karrin Murphy-a police officer and Thomas-a white court vampire.

Dragonjousters series(joust,alta,sanctuary) by Mercedes Lackey.The setting is ancient Egypt.Hunger, anger, and hatred are constants for young Vetch, rendered a brutally mistreated and overworked serf by the Tian conquest of his homeland. But everything improves when a Tian jouster requisitions Vetch to become the first serf ever to be a dragon boy. His training is intense, and his duty clear-cut: to tend his jouster, Ari, and his dragon, Kashet. He discovers that, because Ari himself had hatched Kashet, the dragon is different from others that have been captured live in the wild and must be drugged to be made tractable. Vetch finds he really likes and understands dragons, and soon he becomes the best dragon boy of all. He still harbors anger, however, toward the Tian invasion. Could he, perhaps, hatch a dragon, and then escape to help his people?

I liked the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey.The books I liked in the series are Exile's honor,Exile's valor and Take a thief.

The review given below is about Exile's honor.
Valdemar and Karse have long been enemies. The Karse have made an art of it, sending bandits to plunder Valdemar, having their priests train the people to believe that anyone with a Herald's Gift is a demon in need of death. Alberich of Karse, newly-made captain and gifted with a handsome white stallion, has never formally committed himself to battle with his hereditary enemy. He has the gift of foresight, which he has long tried long to hide, but cannot when he sees that a village is about to be attacked and destroyed. He rallies his men, and saves the lives of many, only to forfeit his own. Two men who wanted his commission take advantage of the situation and have a Priest condemn him as a demon. They throw him in a small barn, planning to burn him to death. His white stallion charges in to save him, but he is still badly burned. This stallion, a Companion named Kantor takes him to Valdemar, where he is healed... only to find himself facing a whole new set of problems.

Mercedes Lackey's Take a Thief is the tale of Skif, a young orphan reminiscent of Oliver Twist, making his way in the knock-and-tumble neighborhood between two of Haven's outermost walls. Skif is intelligent, good-hearted and creative enough to forage up three meals a day in a place where food is scarce and kindness almost unheard of. After a chain of events leave him homeless, Skif lands in the lair of Bazie, an Faginish ex-mercenary who trains thieves...until he is "Chosen" by one of Valdemar's magical horses and becomes a Herald serving the Queen.

Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera, Book 1) by Jim Butcher.(From Publishers Weekly)At the start of Butcher's absorbing fantasy, the first in a new series, the barbarians are at the gates of the land of Alera, which has a distinct flavor of the Roman Empire (its ruler is named Quintus Sextus and its soldiers are organized in legions). Fortunately, Alera has magical defenses, involving the furies or elementals of water, earth, air, fire and metal, that protect against foes both internal and external. Amara, a young female spy, and her companion, Odiana, go into some of the land's remoter territories to discover if military commander Atticus Quentin is a traitor—another classic trope from ancient Rome. She encounters a troubled young man, Tavi, who has hitherto been concerned mostly with the vividly depicted predatory "herdbanes" that threaten his sheep.Thinking that Amara is an escaping slave, Tavi decides to help her and is immediately sucked in over his head into a morass of intrigues, military, magical and otherwise.Warning:A character gets raped.


Allan Cole wrote the Timura triology.(review from Amazon)
Warrior Iraj Protarus was a boyhood friend of Safar Timura, who, raised to be a potter, turned out to have an at first unsuspected talent for sorcery. The visions they share and the battles they fight side by side as they set off on a journey impeded by intrigue, enemies, plots, betrayals, adventures, and all the other trappings of the fantasy quest are the basic stuff of the book. Eventually, Iraj has a throne and Safar is his high magician, but realistically, the tale cannot end there, for the friends have hardly seen the last of the host of enemies who customarily badger the possessors of power.

Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the Mars novels and the tarzan novels.There are 11 novels in the mars series beginning with 'a princess of mars'.Captain John Carter of the Confederate Army is whisked to Mars and discovers a dying world of dry ocean beds where giant four-armed barbarians rule, of crumbling cities home to an advanced but decaying civilization, a world of strange beasts and savage combat, a world where love, honor and loyalty become the stuff of adventure. The later books are about his son Carthoris,daughter Tara etc.John carter is a recurring character in all these books as martians live for 1000 years.

The best among the Tarzan novels is 'Son of Tarzen.' Jack,the son of Tarzan shared his father's love for apes.He was only trying to help an ape escape to Africa from his cruel trainer.However he got involved in a murder and couldn't return home.He chose to live in the jungle with the apes.Its a fascinating book.The social system among the intelligent giant apes,Korak's relationship with Miriam are all interesting stuff.Its a great coming of age book.

Answer 2

Avoid Robert Jordan at all costs....his first few are good, then after about book 5 it becomes garbage. He completely lost me in tedium. The guy wants to keep writing books, so his story, which should have been over 2 - 3 novels ago, will just drag on and on.

Start with Tolkien. He's the classic that everyone else follows. Make sure you read the Silmarilliion

Some other good ones are...

The first three Shannarra novels by Terry Brooks, starting with Sword of Shannarra.

George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones series.

The Chronicles of Amber--Zelazny

Patricia McKillip's Heir of Sea and Fire..the series starts with the Riddle Master of Hed...totally awesome.

Glen Cook's The Black Company and all following novels

Elric of Melnibone -- Moorcock

McKiernan's Iron Tower Trilogy -- pretty much Tolkien clones here, but they are still fun.

Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy.

Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga

The Once and Future King, but T.H. White (awesome)

Those should keep you busy...

Answer 3

I could name off the usual (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, etc...) but I am sure that if you are a fantasy buff you have already read all those. Some lesser known (but just as popular) are Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series & Alan Dean Foster’s The Taken trilogy, & Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy (Eragon, Eldest, & the third is yet to be released. They are just as good but somehow are not publicized as much.

One to watch out for this autumn is The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party (ISBN 0763624020). It is only going to be two volumes. But the first one is really good.

Refer to link for more details:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0763624020/ref=nosim/103-0993575-7777461?n=283155

Answer 4

David and Leigh Eddings, many volumes including
The Belgariad, the Malloreon, Diamond Throne,
Ruby Knight, Sapphire Rose, The Tamuli. The
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Other authors
include Marian Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey,
Clifford Simak, Theodore Sturgeon (these last two
are science fiction), etc. etc. Personally I don't
care for C.S.Lewis, and think Asprin's Myth series
is rather juvenile. Alan Dean Foster and Raymond
Feist are a couple of other good science fiction
authors.

Answer 5

Ender's recreation by Orson Scott Card Incident at Hawk's Hill by Allan Eckert The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (you're a touch previous for this, yet i surely nevertheless love studying it) A Wrinkle in Time (or something) by Madeleine L'Engel in case you want Harry Potter you ought to like: His darkish substances (3 books) The Golden Compass, the smooth Knife, and The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman (they're making a movie of the first e book, it comes out in Dec)

Answer 6

Harry Potter, King Fortis the Brave, Eragon

Answer 7

Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis

Answer 8

the Dragon of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Answer 9

There is a great series by Robert Lynn Asprin - it is the "MYTH" series. The first book is called "Another Fine Myth" They are about magic and wizards and other dimensions, but they are hilarious! I laugh out loud every time I read one.

Answer 10

The Robin McKinley books!

Answer 11

Harry potter and The Sword of truth series by terry goodkind