Amph Recommend me some good fantasy series.

My god, what is with fantasy series have massive books in massive series? I see the pure length of them which makes me pause a bit before picking one up. Of the astronomical amount of uber-long series, which one is the best? Which ones have some literary merit and isn't a LOTR rehash? Most importantly, which one is worth reading a dozen thousand page novels?

 

Dark Tower

Song of Ice and Fire

Also the Caine series by Matthew Stover.

Speaking of which, when is Caine Black Knife coming out?

 

The Elenium and The Tamuli by David Eddings.

Three books each, and they're great genre fiction. Fun, fast-paced, gory in all the right places and exceptionally authentic-feeling for a world containing trolls, ogres, magicians and gods who interact freely with their (and everyone else's ...) worshippers. I'd recommend them to anyone.

Either series can stand alone, though I'd say that the Tamuli experience is enhanced if you've already read the Elenium.

 

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is absolutely brilliant. Golden Compass, Subtle Knife and Amber Spyglass. They're a must read.

 

So glad you asked

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series

Sara Douglass' The Wayfarer Redemption series

Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series

Sharon Shinn's Samaria novels

Those are the only 5+ book series I can think of, but there are plenty more really good trilogies.

 

Start with Magician by Raymond E Feist and go from there.

 

just never try reading my biography. or thoughts. you would die of boredom.

 

As was said already: Dark Tower and Song of Fire and Ice.

You simple must read Greg Keyes Kingdome of Throne and Bones books! It is my most recommened! They are a real treat to read.

Also Erikson has a great series out called Malazan Book of The Fallen which will have 10 novels when completed.

Gene Wolfe is a terrific author as well. I recommend The Knight and The Wizard. His Sci-Fi books I would recommend The Book of the New Sun.

The Chronicals of Thomas Covenant are good.

Also I really enjoyed Harry Turtledoves Darkness series. It is WWII in a fanatsy setting with Dragons and Magic. 6 books in length.

There are many many great novels out there.

 

Ian Irvine's Three Worlds Cycle series, consisting of 2 four-book tetralogies thus far.

 

Dark Tower is pretty good so far. I just started reading it. I didn't realize it was a 7 book series.

 

Anne McCaffrey's Pegasus Trilogy, and the Tower and Hive series(read Pegasus first, as it directly ties into the Tower books)

I could never get into McCaffrey's Pern books, but I really liked these books.

 

The original trilogy was awesome. The second not so great. Supposedly, Donaldson is writing a third now.

 

Which ones have some literary merit and isn't a LOTR rehash?



The Book Of Words Trilogy by J.V. Jones

 

Bah, Excellence already took my suggestion.

The Troy Game by Sara Douglass is also quite good.

 

I wasn't so crazy about the Troy Game series, especally at the end, but Sara Douglass is an amazing author.


I fotgot to say earlier, but The Saga of Recluse by L. E. Modesitt is very good. It takes almost all of the first book to get interesting, but I loved the second on. They're all a little confusing at first, but you'll catch on to his writing style quickly.

 

There's only one I read:

The Temeraire Series, starting with "Her Majesty's Dragon."
It sounds stupid, but it's really good:

Basically, it's a recreation of the Napoleonic Wars, had dragons been real, and used in combat. It details the adventures of a British naval captain who intercepts a ship carrying an unhatched French dragon. He's forced to be it's rider, and must adjust to life in the British Arial/Dragon Corps.

It's really a satisfying series. It's well-researched, and it strikes the tone of the period incredibly well, from the details of naval life to the mood of the British in the face of Napoleon's conquests. The deviations from history are few, and really quite pleasant when they do happen. On the "fantasy" side, Novik creates some really interesting dynamics around the human/dragon interactions, so that the whole thing is just a delight to read.

I've never really like fantasy, but this series is really exceptional.

 

Some of those recommendations are just trilogies. What constitutes a series, five or more books?

 

The Temeraire books are great fun, especially if you're a history nut.


I'm a big fan of Scott Bakker (Prince of Nothing trilogy), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, Elantris), Robert Silverberg (Lord Valentine's Castle), George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire series), Neil Gaiman (Sandman graphic novels), Bill Willingham (Fables graphic novels). All highly recommended.


Didn't like the Dark Tower much.

 

I haven't read the last one yet

That naval dragon thing sounds cool...I might have to check them out.

 

Oops Well, you need to read it, then


Another good series is the Acorna series. It's written by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball, and later by AM and Elizabeth Scarbrough. It's really both sci-fi and fantasy, but a great read either way.

 

These are good, my favorite AMC books in fact, but she'd be horrified if she heard you call them fantasy. They're science-fiction, soft sf, but sf nonetheless. Just because there's telepathy doesn't mean there's magic.

For pure fantasy, I'd recommend Robin Hobb as an author. I read her three best-known trilogies, The Farseer trilogy, The Liveship Traders trilogy and The Tawny Man trilogy. These all take place on the same world, but can be read independently if you wish. Her new Soldier Son trilogy has the first two books out, but I haven't read them yet. I do know they're unrelated to the others, though.

 

You are right, they are more sci-fi than fantasy, I was just pointing out that they are a shorter series.

 

There's also Alastair Reynold's Inhibitor series. Hamilton has a trilogy and will have another in the same timeline. You've also got the Foundation series, though I've not read those rusty books.

Fantasy wise, there are two trilogies in Sean Williams and Shane Dix's Books of Change, if I'm right. If you've got a teardrop of integrity I'd strongly advise avoiding the Symphony of Time series.

 

Eragon (the inheritence trilogy) it's awesome!

 

They're just by Williams, they aren't a collaboration. And there are two series: Books of the Change (trilogy), for young adults, and Books of the Cataclysm (four books), which are aimed at older readers. Dingo likes them.