Fantasy Book Rec's

[crunchy_mama]

I have never been much of non-fic reader but recently thanks to interest from reading to my son have started reading more for myself. To my surprise really I find that I am in love w/ fantasy type of books- what I have read and really enjoyed:
- City of Ember series
-the Giver
-The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (cannot wait until the 3rd book comes out- loved- loved- loved this!)
- Graceling (just read this yesterday and it was fabulous!)
- Out of the Silent Planet(currently on the 2nd of this trilogy)

on que is Gregor the Overlander series by Collins as well- thought since I enjoyed Hunger Games so much I would give it a try.

anyway, any recs for me for books along these lines?

[zinemama]

You've got to read Ursula le Guin's Earthsea books. The first three are:

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore

They were originally meant as a trilogy, but then she came out with the fourth, Tehanu, and a couple more after that.

Le Guin is one of the best authors (some say the best) of SF/fantasy we have in the U.S.

[Masel]

Try Robin McKinley esp Hero and the Crown.

[crunchy_mama]

Oh, I am excited already! Will be adding all of these to my list to read- it looks like my library only has the audio recording of the Wizard of Earthsea- how bizarre- hopefully I can get it ILL though.

[raksmama]

I prefer Urban Fantasy. The Twilight Saga got me started last Spring. I went on the the Sookie Stackhouse and The Mercedes Thompson series. I am now reading Charles De Lints' Newford series. It is my favorite.
I have not read a lot of High Fantasy aside from LOTR but am thinking about giving it a try.
One fantasy book that I really enjoyed was Bear Daughter by Judith Berman

[raksmama]

Oh I just reread the OP about reading to her son.
My son Loves the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
The first is the Lightening Thief. I enjoy them.
Have you tried Diana Wynne Jones books? She writes fantasy for children but that adults like too. Howl's moving Castle is one.

[*Jade*]

I loved the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, they kept me captivated for weeks!!!

My second favourite would be the Rift War Saga series by Raymond Fiest, also really good.

[savithny]

Megan Whalen Turner: "The Thief," "The Queen of Attolia," and "The King of Attolia" (three books, related, helps to read them in that order).

Don't read the Amazon blurbs on the 2nd two before you've read the one beofre, since there are spoilers.

OLD urban fantasy, but classic: Emma Bull's "War for the Oaks." Also "Finder," if you can find it in print. Separate books, not a series.

Kim Harrison, "Dead Witch Walking." Also the beginning of a series. Urban Fantasy.

I 2nd-3rd-4th anything by Diana Wynne Jones. They're kids books but they're magical. DWJ is seminal in the genre - JK Rowling was strongly influenced by her, Neil Gaiman loves her.

Oh, speaking of which - Neil Gaiman. Magical fantasy, both urban and non. He's a league of his own. He's written adult fiction and graphic novels for yeras, but just won a Newbery for kid fiction for "The Graveyard Book."

YA again, but so well done: "Sea of Trolls," by Nancy Farmer. There are sequels if you like it.

Robin McKinley -- "The Hero and the Crown" and then "The Blue Sword" and then anything else, though you need to know there are no more sequels to those first two, the rest are mainly retellings of fairy stories (she's got two versions of Beauty and the Beast - one was her first published book, the other was written years later from a much more mature POV.)

[Traci mom23boys]

OP- I loved all those same books!

I recently read *The Carbon Diaries* series and loved it too.

*Birthmarked* was recommended by the YA librarian, she said it was the best book she has read this year. I have it on hold with the library.

*Wise Child* & *Juniper* by Monica Furlong are 2 of my favorite books

I also liked *The End of the World as We Knew It* & *Dead & Gone*, a third may already be out.

*The Gift Moves*

Enjoy!

[Theia]

I discovered my love affair with fantasy books last summer. I really enjoyed "The Snow Queen" by Joan D Vigne and the follow-up, "The Summer Queen".

Then I read the first Wraeththu trilogy from Storm Constantine that starts with "The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit". I really liked it also.

I bounced around reading stuff like Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, Marion Bradley and her fantasy stuff some which was co-authored with Diana Paxson... most of these books were not super recent since I was just using the local library.

Even though I really liked Wraeththu and the Snow/Summer Queen books (which have tones of sci-fi), I really was more pulled to the fantasy with faeries, elfs, and majik. I loved books by Katherine Kerr in her Deverry series.

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by jalilah

Oh I just reread the OP about reading to her son.
My son Loves the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
The first is the I ightening Thief. I enjoy them.
Have you tried Diana Wynne Jones books? She writes fantasy for children but that adults like too. Howl's moving Castle is one.

I am just up to series like Magic Tree House w/ Luke(he is almost 6) we have read some longer(up to about 150 ), but none near that length, but I will keep it in mind.

[crunchy_mama]

thanks everyone for the recommendations- I am bookmarking this so I can keep coming back for ideas!

[raksmama]

Here is some more info on Diana Wynne Jones.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/j/diana-wynne-jones/
Yes,I also heard she was a big influence on JK Rowling. I loved Howl's Moving Castle and plan on reading more of her books even though they can be found in the childrens' section!
I find the www.fantasticfiction.co.uk site very helpful for finding books.

[annettemarie]

Moving out to the main forum since this isn't a systemic study of any one particular book.

[Otterella]

If you like your fantasy funny, Terry Pratchett is king. He has the power to move me to tears of laughter even when I'm in public and people think I'm crazy. The only thing I warn you of is once you fall head over heels in love with his books, your heart will be broken. He has been diagnosed with a very aggressive genetic form of Alzheimer's (he's only 62), and doesn't have very many books left in him before he won't be able to write any more. Fortunately he's been VERY prolific and there are a lot of books to get through before you run out.

[hildare]

Originally Posted by zinemama

You've got to read Ursula le Guin's Earthsea books. The first three are:

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore

They were originally meant as a trilogy, but then she came out with the fourth, Tehanu, and a couple more after that.

Le Guin is one of the best authors (some say the best) of SF/fantasy we have in the U.S.

I was gonna post this too!!!! I totally agree, anything at all by her.
for the kiddo- the phantom tollbooth, lightning thief books, the invention of hugo cabaret ( i loved this one)..

[Comtessa]

Originally Posted by *Jade*

I loved the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, they kept me captivated for weeks!!!

I read many of these too -- good stories, yes, but I stopped reading them after two or three because they're really graphically violent and carry a fairly obvious contemporary political message. Too much for me. And definitely not for sharing with a child.

Originally Posted by savithny

Robin McKinley -- "The Hero and the Crown" and then "The Blue Sword" and then anything else, though you need to know there are no more sequels to those first two, the rest are mainly retellings of fairy stories (she's got two versions of Beauty and the Beast - one was her first published book, the other was written years later from a much more mature POV.)

I love love love Robin McKinley's retellings of fairy tales. They are charming and thoughtful. I've read both "Beauty" stories many times.

Appropriate for children and adults:

There's a marvelous fairy tale spoof series by Patricia Wrede - the first in the series is Dealing with Dragons - just fabulous and really fun. (The princess asks for a job as a dragon's princess 'cause she's tired of learning nothing more interesting than embroidery and dancing. Then she has to convince all the tiresome knights to stop coming to rescue her. It's very funny.)

A bit old-fashioned, but great Arthurian/contemporary stories in the Harry Potter vein, is Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series.

There are gazillions more wonderful fantasy titles for kids and young adults. Eragon is fun, as is City of Ember and the subsequent stories in those series. Harry Potter, of course. And the Wrinkle in Time trilogy is a must-read for any human being living on the planet at this moment in time, I think.

Appropriate for adults but not children:

I've been enjoying the Kushiel's Dart series - actually a set of three trilogies, I think - by Jacqueline Carey. They call it "historical fantasy" - reads like alternative historical fiction with only a mild dose of magic to make it interesting. Lots of explicit sexuality in these, makes them a raunchy, really fun read.

Not quite fantasy, more realistic historical fiction than anything but with a healthy dose of mystery and magic, is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. You will not be able to emerge from these if you start reading them. You will be up all night reading. You will let the bathwater get cold 'cause you can't stop reading long enough to get out of the tub. Consider yourself warned.

[Goddess's mom]

My list of "anything by these authors is good" authors:

Terry Pratchett (my go to man)
Mercedes Lackey
Tamora Pierce (young adult but good for grown ups too)
Robin Hobb
Robin Mckinley
Diana Whynn Jones


Dianne Duane's "Support your local wizard" series is great
The Golden compass series
and OBVIOUSLY the Lord of the Rings!

[JessicaS]

I like the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix (I bought the first book initially because I liked the cover, I was delighted when it turned out to be excellent ) (they are young adult books)

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams

The Belgariad Series by David Eddings

The Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny (my son was nearly named after one of his characters but he seemed to fit the other name better)

Some Marion Zimmer Bradley is always nice

The Black Company by Glen Cook

I like The Phoenix Guards and the rest of that series by Steven Brust but you have to get his humor. It helps to have read some Dumas, he wrote his books like the Three Musketeers books are written

I did enjoy the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud (young adult/kids books)

Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is nice (ok for young adults/kids) in that one you cannot miss the foot notes. The foot notes are hilarious.

My dd *loved* the Percy Jackson books

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is fantastically hilarious.

The Dreaming Tree books by C. J. Cherryh

Dune by Frank Herbert and the others in the series by him. I haven't read the stuff that was written by people other than Frank Herbert.

[weliveintheforest]

someone recently lent me Name of the Wind which was quite good