Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi everyone!

Lately I've been on a quest to find finished series. This is especially important for me in fantasy - I hate having to wait several years for the next book in a series, as I will have completely lost my excitement by the time it comes out.

Do you have any finished fantasy series you would recommend? I'm mainly looking for ones that came out in the last decade or so.

You might try Deborah Harkness. A trilogy that's finished, kind of urban fantasy romance, I liked it. First book is A Discovery of Witches.

If you don't mind YA, Patricia C. Wrede has an alternate history trilogy (finished), kind of Little House on the Prairie meets A Natural History of Dragons mash up. First book is Thirteenth Child.

I am currently finishing up the Spirit Walker Series, which is an awesome mashup of fantasy, steampunk, and alternate history. I think it's especially a great read for females. It starts with Cold Magic.

These sound lovely, thank you Michele and Heather!

One of my favourites that noone has ever heard of is the A Trial of Blood and Steel series by Joel Shepherd. First book (of 4) is Sasha. It has very little magic (no mages or gods) and is about an exiled princess who is also a military prodigy and her role in a continent spanning crusade-like war.

That sounds very interesting. Thanks Kevin!

I really liked The Wayfarer Redemption series by Sara Douglass. I found the first part of Book 1 hard to get into, but after that I loved it. The Wayfarer Redemption

Kim Harrison just published the final book in her Hallows urban fantasy series. It features a witch, a vampire and a pixie. Plenty of action, drama, and mystery.

Angela - Oh, this looks interesting, thank you!

Michael - Kim Harrison is one of my all-time favourite authors :D I haven't read all of the books yet, but now the series is finished I will. Thanks for the reminder :D

well start with the classics...

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Malazan Book of the Fallen By Steven Erickson
Harry Potter by JK Rollins
Tawny Man or Farseer by Robin Hobb

Is the Wheel of Time series finished now? I thought there was this guy that kept writing new books for it.

I have to say that Rollins is the most original misspelling of Rowling I've ever seen

Celine wrote: "Is the Wheel of Time series finished now? I thought there was this guy that kept writing new books for it.

I have to say that Rollins is the most original misspelling of Rowling I've ever seen"

Yes it is finished. "This guy" is called Brandon Sanderson. :p He was hired by Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan's wife and editor to finish the series, which he did in 3 books bringing the total to 14 in the main series and 1 prequel. There won't be any more.

One of my favourite series is the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. The series comprises six books. As far as I know the series is now completed. I have to say that the most apt description of the series is pokemon and legions combined. If that doesn't get you curious then nothing will.

Acacia: The War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham is a finished epic fantasy series with a unique world. The characters are a bit reminiscent of the Starks, but I really liked it and always recommend it to anyone looking for a finished series.

Robin - Ha, you do know how to sell it! I've read some of his Dresden Files books, but I haven't tried Codex Alera yet. Thanks!

Talitha - Well, I like the Starks, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. Acacia sounds good, I'll add it to my TBR

Marcus wrote: "well start with the classics...

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Malazan Book of the Fallen By Steven Erickson
Harry Potter by JK Rollins
Tawny Man or Farseer by Ro..." I wanted to say that I am reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson right now! It is so good!!! I am trying to read the whole series!

I read the Codex Alera and definitely see the Pokemon angle!

I feel the Dresden Files have just kept getting better and better, the most recent few books are truly awesome.

The main series of Malazan Book of the Fallen finished with The Crippled God, and there are several more sub-series coming out now that deal with lots of the backstory.

The Night Watch is more than worth a read, as is The Deed of Paksenarrion and Night Angel.

Also, The Old Kingdom series

Celine wrote: "Robin - Ha, you do know how to sell it! I've read some of his Dresden Files books, but I haven't tried Codex Alera yet. Thanks!

Talitha - Well, I like the Starks, so that's not necessarily a bad t..."

What did you think about the Dresden files? I really do fully recommend the Codex Alera series. I wish Jim Butcher would write more books in the series.

Robert wrote: "I read the Codex Alera and definitely see the Pokemon angle!

I feel the Dresden Files have just kept getting better and better, the most recent few books are truly awesome.

The main series of Mal..."

Would you recommend Malazan as a good series. I don't want to read an awesome first book, then have the series go downhill, because I'll have to read the full series even though they maybe bad just to see what happends. What do you think the best Dresden book is so far?

Robin wrote: "Robert wrote: "I read the Codex Alera and definitely see the Pokemon angle!

I feel the Dresden Files have just kept getting better and better, the most recent few books are truly awesome.

The mai..."

i have read 5 books of the malazan series. starting the 6'th.
the first three are really great. worth the read. 4 or 5 stars for me. the 4'th and 5'th are also quite good just not as much. but im still continuing with the series.

You'd have to track them down used, but there's always the late Louise Cooper -- she wrote the Time Master trilogy (The Initiate et al.) and the Indigo series (beginning with Nemesis) back in the 1980s and 1990s.

Malazan book of the fallen, wheel of time, lord of the rings. The broken empire.

Personally, I am reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen #1. It is really good!!!!!!

I think with all the positive comments about Malazan, I'll give it a try. I'll let everybody know what I think whenever I actually get around to reading it. That maybe some time though, my TBR list is getting out of control.

Thank you for all the lovely suggestions! Got a lot of series to check out

L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero's Daughter series, Prospero Lost, Prospero in Hell, Prospero Regained

John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos: Orphans of Chaos, Fugitives of Chaos, Titans of Chaos

After finally reading The Complete History of Middle Earth, i can now gladly say i have read all of Tolkien's books (father and son). Although i still need to go through the maps and atlas's ...

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Wayfarer Redemption series by Sara Douglass

These two mentioned above Id like recommend as well.

The one I also personally liked is Deathgate cycle series by Margaret Weis

I remember loving the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix but its too long ago, so the story line is a bit lost to me ( sounds like a re-read to be planned! )

Great recommendations, thank you! I have yet to read anything by Margaret Weis, I heard so much about her books

Love the Inheritance cycle and witch and wizard series. Right now trying to finish maze runner series and im going ro read the legend series.

I just read the live ship series Robin Hobb created. There was so much I loved about the first two books. The author's knowledge of the sea and sailing and the actual concept of live ships. There were a few moments of imagery that knocked my socks off, "a flash of ... and dirty soles and the boy disappeared around ..." etc. Another amazing skill of Hobb's was the ability to portray multiple sides to an issue. So characters pitted against each other were all validated by Hobb's ability to get into their heads as narrator and share their thoughts. However, I was surprised to find a few areas that I was not overly satisfied with. The actual description of physical characteristics and settings were lean. I would have preferred more visual imagery there. And I found the books long. So long, that I never finished the third one. However, if you love immersing yourself in a story, there is certainly a solid world created by Hobb's for the live ships.

Looks like I'll have to read Malazan too :)

Tales of the Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding! It's a very fun steampunk adventure series that many people say reminds them of Firefly. It's really good. )

Want to add my own recommendation for Codex Alera. Really enjoyed it and it had an epic ending.

Wheel of Time, honestly, I was let down by the last book.

The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness

Carol Berg has several complete series. I've read and can recommend all of them. Also adding recommendations for the Mistborn trilogy and the Malazan series. Kate Elliott also has several completed series which I've also liked ok (including Spiritwalker, mentioned above), but her endings just don't quite work for me.

I just finished The Trysmoon Saga and really liked it. It's actually one single story in 4 volumes. Ascension, Duty, Hunted, Sacrifice. The first ebook is 0.99 and the rest 2.99 on Kindle, and it's also available on Kindle Unlimited for free if you want to give it a try first.

I'm going to suggest you try Duncton Wood by William Horwood. It might be a fantasy world populated by - of all things - moles... but it's first class epic fantasy in my opinion. Written in the 1980's. There are six books in the Duncton Wood series. The first book can be read happily enough on its own, although it is part of a three book 'trilogy'. Books 4-6 are essentially a second 'trilogy' based in the same world. Happy reading :-)

Duncton Wood:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

One that I haven't seen mentioned yet, is the Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan. A great sword and sorcery tale that's 6 books long. Each book builds on the next, the first couple are pretty standard fantasy but the stories get better and better, really great characters and story

The Magicians by Lev Grossman was a very intriguing series. The main character makes it hard to root for him, but I was drawn to him and his issues. Really cool magic and story but I think it's one that you either love or hate

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson is one of my favorites of all time. Very much the story of an anti-hero who is also hard to live. But some excellent world building goes on in it.

Scott wrote: "One that I haven't seen mentioned yet, is the Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan. A great sword and sorcery tale that's 6 books long. Each book builds on the next, the first couple are pretty..."

I second Riyria Revelations wholeheartedly - definitely rated as one of my favourite series.

I'll add my accolades to the Ryria books. Some of my favorites and definitely my favorite from the past 30 years.

I didn't know the Riyria Revelations were complete! I keep hearing lovely things about the books. Will have to get on that :D

Celine wrote: "I didn't know the Riyria Revelations were complete! I keep hearing lovely things about the books. Will have to get on that :D"

Yeah, there tends to be some confusion with the series, I know I had some. There are two separate series in that world: Revelations and Chronicles.

The Revelations are a six-book series that's totally complete. And then the Chronicles are prequels that were published after, showing the beginnings of the MC's from the Revelations.

You can probably read the Chronicles first, but I think they work better in publication order. One of the best duos in fantasy

Ah, thanks a lot for explaining that Scott! That was indeed what was getting me mixed up. In general I think books work best in publication order, cause that's how the original reading experience was meant.

How about the malazan book of the fallen? It's a complete 10 book epic.
I am only on the first book but I've read high regard for this series from many people as one of the most epic fantasy stories ever

I also recommend the Riyria series. Wonderful books and the two main characters are among my favorite in all of fantasy. I also recommend the Chronicles of Siala starting with Shadow Prowler . It's a trilogy and it's a tad different. Russian fantasy at it's best.

I'll toss my vote in as well. I love the Riyria books enough to read them more than once - and that's saying a lot.

I just started reading Riyria and I would definitely recommend it as well - so much fun!

Tnkw01 wrote: "I also recommend the Riyria series. Wonderful books and the two main characters are among my favorite in all of fantasy. I also recommend the Chronicles of Siala starting with [book:Shadow Prowler|..."

Both series sound interesting. Riyria caught my attention last month and I'm definitely interested in reading more Russian/Eastern European fantasy, a genre I haven't explored much yet.