Recommend a few fantasy novels for me

[wufwugy]

Here's the story: I used to be a fiend for fantasy material like that written by R.A. Salvatore and Terry Brooks, and always wanted to write my own material but never stuck to it for various reasons. I'm at the point now where I have such a strong sense of plot structure and characterization and a unique voice in prose that if I didn't put pencil to paper, I'd be wasting my talents. However, I haven't read any novel, much less a fantasy novel, in almost a decade. I feel the need to brush up on how the genre works today as well as prose in general

So recommend to me a couple fantasy books that you really like

[NightGizmo]

I assume you've read "The Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan? That's still my favorite fantasy series. It's finished now (finally), but it's a 14 book commitment. More recent books that I've really enjoyed:

I loved the first 2 books that have been released for the "Kingkiller Chronicle" trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind / The Wise Man's Fear). But his writing style feels a lot different from other fantasy books I've read.

Something that feels more traditionally fantasy: Brandon Sanderson's "Elantris" (if you want a single book), or his "Hero of Ages" trilogy.

[wufwugy]

I never read Wheel of Time because I recall its fans being too frustrated. I spent most of my time on the Drizzt Do'Urden novels primarily and Polgara/Belgarath novels secondarily.

Elantris looks like it might be precisely what I'm looking for.

[MadMojoMonkey]

HUGE 2nd on Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (RIP), et. al. Huge plotline, dozens of major characters, all of them distinct and well developed characters, epic fantasy fiction at its finest.

If you're willing to be seen in a comic book store, the Sandman series by Niel Gaiman is excellent by any standard. I am devotedly NOT into comic books or graphic novels, but this one was thrust under my nose and I was hooked in a couple of pages.

For that matter, I've never been disappointed by a Neil Gaiman read. Neverwhere was excellent.

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind is notable. I can't sing it up in the same post as Wheel of Time, though. Sword of Truth is a fine read, but nowhere near the scope of WoT.

[NightGizmo]

I never read Wheel of Time because I recall its fans being too frustrated. I spent most of my time on the Drizzt Do'Urden novels primarily and Polgara/Belgarath novels secondarily.

Elantris looks like it might be precisely what I'm looking for.

There are 2 books in the middle of WoT that are god-awful slow, which sucked when you had to wait another few years for the next book. I reread them this past year and you end up flying through those two books, knowing it gets better soon. The other 12 books in the series, however, are amazing so don't let those slow 2 books deter you from a great series.

Drizzt is awesome, I didn't read those until after college but once I read the first I devoured the entire series. The Belgariad/Mallorian are good, but I haven't read those since junior high, I don't think. Another series I liked around that same time was the "Riftwar Saga" by Raymond E. Feist. I have to reread some of these old books I have on my shelf someday

[NightGizmo]

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind is notable. I can't sing it up in the same post as Wheel of Time, though. Sword of Truth is a fine read, but nowhere near the scope of WoT.

"Wizard's First Rule" was really good, but I felt like each successive book was worse. I stopped after the 3rd, which I didn't find that exciting. I just checked and saw that he has written 11 in the main arc -- does it get better again, or is the first book really the best?

[wufwugy]

Salvatore has written several Drizzt books I never read because he wrote them after I quit fiction. I also got a little upset with some of the developments. Drizzt in the Dark Elf Trilogy was such a raw, rustic badass, but in latter books I felt he began to lose that

[NightGizmo]

Some of the later Salvatore books in the Drizzt universe have Artemis Entreri as the main character -- did you read those?

[MadMojoMonkey]

"Wizard's First Rule" was really good, but I felt like each successive book was worse. I stopped after the 3rd, which I didn't find that exciting. I just checked and saw that he has written 11 in the main arc -- does it get better again, or is the first book really the best?

It's a fairly straightforward knight/wizard quest with an archetypical do-gooder as the main character. Well, all of the main characters are rather canned.

Umm.. I take back my recommendation.

[wufwugy]

I recall Artemis being a significant character in a few, but probably not in the way you mean. It appears the last one I read was Passage to Dawn or The Silent Blade

[NightGizmo]

Check out "The Sellswords" trilogy -- the two main characters are Artemis and Jarlaxle.

[rong]

Does Sandman slim count? It's way more fun than those lotr types iyam.

[kiwiMark]

I agree with the Terry Goodkind rec, the sword of truth series was badass. I was still enjoying the series at book 3 but I do kind of remember in later books it feeling like it got to the point where he'd dropped a lot of pretense and was just preaching his world-view through the main character as hard as he could.

Growing up I fucking lurrrrved David Eddings, this is/was normally my #1 rec when people want to read fantasy. Prolly most notably the Belgariad series, but also the sequel series and the series that he wrote between those two. This was years ago though, so I can't speak to how they hold up. I remember feeling he'd lost it by his (much) later standalone The Redemption of Althalus too, so don't go for his newer stuff prolly.

And I started finally reading WoT a year or so ago after resisting it for so long because if someone's reading a book about swords and bitches and magic they're always reading WoT and the contrarian teenage girl in me resists that. Can confirm that the series is badass.

[kiwiMark]

Oh if you're an 11 year old girl looking to get into feminism I can also recommend the Alanna the Lioness series by Tamara Pierce.

If you're iffy on feminism but christianity has pull, Narnia ldo

[spoonitnow]

ol expert wufwugy back to it again

[BennyLaRue]

I have such a strong sense of plot structure and characterization and a unique voice in prose

I feel the need to brush up on how the genre works today as well as prose in general

If #1 is true, you don't need #2.