What's the best fantasy book you ever read?

Question

Need a really good book or trilogy. Thanks

Answer 1

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury comes close, except, of course, for the classic and as yet unmatched "Alice In Wonderland/ Through The Looking Glass" duo usually published under the same cover.

But "Alice" is not what modern readers are usually thinking of when they refer to a good escapist fantasy, as this was a work featuring whimsy, nonsense, satire, plays on words, and other forms of humor expressed in both poetry and prose.

This feature made Lewis Carroll's classic book more a work of humor and subtle exposition of human foibles-- all fantasy yet fantasy not its primary focus-- no more than Douglas Adams' "Restaurant At The End Of the Universe" has a true science fiction focus.

Adams' very popular book is a humorous work parodying now-shopworn science fiction themes, and, in large part, is a parody of Isaac Asimov's writings, prominently including allusions to the "Foundation" series and his robot stories. The exposure the Asimov series got through its extreme popularity made it a fit candidate for parody, and Adams exploited it delightfully!

All of these books are among my favorites, but, for a fantasy whose focal point IS fantasy, not humor, I still would pick "Something Wicked This Way Comes".

Answer 2

While there have been some great suggestions (huge Dranglance/Lackey/Asprin/Eddings fan myself) I would like to suggest a few not as well known (to most people) authors out there.

The Harry Dreden Files - Jim Butcher its Matlese Falcon meets the Keystone Cops meets magic. They were recommended to me and I found them to be funny without being over the top and a quick paced read.

The Ghatti Tales - Gayle Greeno There are only five of these total in two sets but I have enjoyed them over and over. Be prepared for knee high cats butting into everyones lives.

The Bone Dolls Twin - Lynn Flewelling (this is the first in the Tamir Trilogy, the final one is finally out) This is a bit darker series about a girl child being hidden through magic so she appears as her brother so that the kingdom can be saved.

The Dark Jewels Trilogy - Anne Bishop A very dar series about a creature named Witch born to save the world. She has another trilogy about a second world called Pillars Of The World thats is also a great read but in my opinion Dark Jewels is the better of the two.

Be warned, the last few mentioned are very dark books with some subject matter that make make a few people squirm (not sex or anything but just dark thoughts)

And while people have mentioned Lackey's Valdemar series I also suggest Joust (first of three so far), Fairy Godmother and The Black Swan (both stand alones), and her Bardic Tales series. All of them are great reads.

If you want something short and dark, I suggest Red Rose, Black Thorn and the other two or three of those (ruby Slipper, Golden Tear I can think of) they are updated dark fairy tale compilations for adults.

Answer 3

Magician by Raymond E Feist. It is the first in a brilliant trilogy. Also The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones there is another book that follows on afterwards, completely different but must be in the top five of Fantasy writing

Answer 4

I would recommend reading the "Sword of Shannara" series by Terry Brooks. I really enjoyed the Tolkien books as a child, but found them to be inferior to Brook's series after rereading them as an adult. This series is not for the faint of heart as it involves some vicious battles and intense detail. The series is long and continues today from it's roots in the 1970's. Mr. Brooks continues to come out with additions to the series. The series is broken up into groups of 3 or 4 books per generation of characters. Although I also enjoyed Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, it required you to reread the prior books in the series to keep up with the plot. I found it much easier to get into the subsequent books in the Shannara series than the Wheel of Time. I guarantee you will be hooked after reading the first book, "The Sword of Shannara". It has been republished many times since the 1970s and should be easy to find in either paperback or hardcover.

Answer 5

I have read allot of fantasy novels
If you haven't read the Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore you simply must the books that spring from that series are also very good
I also really enjoyed The Elric Saga by Micheal Moorcock these aren't nearly as well known but they are excellent
both of these series are rather dark but the writing and character development is far superior to that found in most fantasy novels

Answer 6

Hey some of Madeleine L'engle's stuff is amazing...I'd recommend A Wrinkle In Time, A Wind In The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, An Acceptable Time, and possibly The Young Unicorns...they're really good.

Answer 7

The Valdemar novels by Mercedes Lackey
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Pern Books by Anne McCaffery
The Belgariad and The Mallorean by David Eddings
The Elenium and The Tamuli by David Eddings

These books are GREAT FUN!!!! Enjoy!

Answer 8

I love Mercedes Lackey, David/Leah Eddings, Terry Brooks, RA Salvatore, Anne McCaffrey, Philip Pullman, Brian Jacques, George R. R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, Tolkien =)

Answer 9

I really enjoyed the Harry Potter series bc they were easy to read and exciting. You also get really connected to the characters and see them as friends after going on their adventures with them (yah, and I am 25 years old and still feel that way!).

For more of an adult read thats still exciting, page-turner type and easy to read, I loved Jasper Fforde's "Thursday Next" series. Its about a female cop that can jump into books. Fforde is very witty and had me laughing out loud at times. He also has subtle puns, like how he plays with names (the lead character is Thursday Next, her boss is Braxton Hicks, etc). Theres like 4 or 5 books in that series I believe, and he just started the "Nursery Crime" series, which has different characters, but written the same way. I love his stuff.

Answer 10

The Dark Tower series by Steven King, best if you read it out of sequence starting with book 2; "The Drawing of the Three" then book one; "The Gunslinger" then proceed with the series in order from there, enjoy.