Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library discussion

I read Robert Jordan, Tolkein, and Patrick Rothfuss and enjoyed their work. I am new to the fantasy world and would like some tips of what I should be reading next.

Tony, since I haven't read anything by Jordan or Rothfuss myself, I probably don't have a complete picture of what you like; but I have read Tolkien. I think you'd like Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara series, starting with Sword of Shannara, because he's very much influenced by Tolkein (he finds more of his own voice in his Magic Kingdom of Landover series). R. A. Salvatore is another writer who owes a lot to Tolkien; I can recommend his Spearwielder's Saga, starting with The Woods Out Back.

You might also like Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga, beginning with Magician: Apprentice. That work doesn't have Tolkien's quest structure, but it does feature wizards and is definitely epic fantasy.

Hi you may enjoy Trudi canavan trilogy The Black Magician Or RA Salvatore books are good.He has several different series going.The forgotten reals series are also good.Each book is written by different people and there are a lot of different series.
Linda

Gavrielle Guy Kay, all what he have written are more or less good stuff.

Ursula Le Guin, her books about Earth Sea are really good. More or less classics.

Katharine Kerr, good stuff, but be warned there are a lot of books in here series about Deverry.

Lois McMaster Bujold's books about Chalion are well written.

Sara Douglass is one of my favorites!! Just finished Terry Goodking Sword of Truth Series and would recommend it!

I have to agree with these recommendations. But i was never really hooked into the fantasy wordl until i read the original three Dragonlance books, they are slightly cheesy but a fun read with exciting characters, at least in my opinion. they are by Margret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. they are not classics but a must for any fantasy reader. What i though unique about them is the description of the mechanics behind magic. (Not to miss lead; there is not that much detail in the first three book alone but rather over the entire series, about 100 books written by various authors.) I hope you enjoy them!!

Jordan, Tolkien, and Rothfuss are all epic fantasy authors, so I'm assuming you want more of the same.

Robin Hobb's The Farseer trilogy and Liveship Traders trilogy.
Steven Brust's Dragaeran novels.
Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy.
Gregory Keyes's The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series.
Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen saga.
R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy.
George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Martha Well's Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy.
Mathew Stover's Acts of Caine series.
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

I'll also second the recommendations of Guy Gavriel Kay and Lois McMaster Bujold.

On the epic Fantasy end of things, if you would like to branch out I would recommend.

Elizabeth Moon's Sheepfarmer's Daughter Trilogy

Kristen Britain's Green Rider and First Rider's Call

Also if you like those, Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon and all the rest of the books in that series would probably appeal.

Have fun reading.

(Hmm, my post apparently vanished, trying again...)

Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" trilogy beginning with The Dragonbone Chair is excellent high fantasy and not too derivative (Sword of Shannara is OK, but IMHO it has very little original in it, being almost entirely recycled Tolkien, and not even well-recycled at that, like all too much fantasy out there. The appetite for quality fantasy these days clearly exceeds the supply!!).

Also a second "woot" for the Guy Gavriel Kay books, especially his first trilogy beginning with The Summer Tree.

For some "lighter" fantasy you might try E. Nesbit -- Half Magic and Magic by the Lake are quite fun reads (YA).

You might try the Belgarid saga by David Eddings it spans around 6-7 books so it is kinda of long but what I rember of it was very good. You also might try Dennis L. McKiernan two of his books that come to mind are the Caverns of Socrates (scifi/fantasy mix) and the Voyage of the Fox Rider (Tolkien fantasy). Also as previously mentioned Terry Pratchetts Disc world is funny and is also very good and the Dragon Lance Chronicles books are also very good. one last suggestion is the Lawerence Watt-Evans books that are set in land of Ishtar. The two I can remember the titles of are The Night of Madness and The Misenchanted Sword. Hope this gives you some ideas. m.a.c

I second Gregory Keyes with the first book being The Briar King. Another long series that is completely worth reading is The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles 1-10 Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. Zelazny did a lot of fantasy, sci fi, and overall excellent writting. For something light, you might like Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere: A Novel.

I would also suggest getting into comics, specifically Fables (Vol 1: Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile). Great series though it is not high fantasy.

Has anyone ever heard of R.A Salvatore?

Yep! I've read a few of his books. While some of his action scenes fly over my head (not a big fan of that), I like the plot.

I'm a big fan of the Legend of Drizzt.

Thats like saying, " Has anyone heard of Jesus Christ? " at a revival.

Some great ones here. I would also rec Luthiel's Song for a good fem hero.

I'm not sure what the etiquette is on these boards for self-promotion, but I have a couple of fantasy novels and short stories out there. You might also like Surviving Serendipity, by Jacquelyn Sylvan, also with a strong female lead. Wen Spencer has a very different take on elves in her Tinker series. Curse of Chalion and the Paksennarion (not sure if I spelled that name right) books were already mentioned but can always be mentioned again. The Seventh Sword trilogy is the best of Dave Duncan's fantasy work. His Man of His Word quadrilogy and the follow-up Handful of Men quadrilogy are well-written but not to the same level.

I'd recommend the Recluse series by L.E. Modessit. An excellent series, best first read in the order he wrote it, re-reads in chronological order are fine.

Lasairfiona mentioned Zelazny's Amber series, which is fantastic. I also liked Bentancourt's series which is a 5 book prelude based on the Amber series, although some don't. Also, be warned the publisher went out of business & the 5th book's rights were bought up & it likely won't be published.

Marc, thanks for letting me know you have some books out there. I will check them out.

Ian Irvine's three world cycle is excellent. It starts with "A Shadow on the Glass" I've read the first quartet, and couldn't put it down.

Yep Sword of truth is a good one to start!!

This thread seems a bit old, but I'm interested in trying some fantasy books and I'm not sure where to start. I like medieval type fiction. Apocalyptic fiction will also do. I really am enjoying the Game of Thrones, although I'm only on the second book- Clash of Kings. Any other recommendations?

In no particular order:
Robin Hobb
Robert Jordan
JV Jones
Jennifer Fallon
Tad Williams
David Eddings
Lois McMaster Bujold
Raymond Feist
Brandon Sanderson
Steven Erikson
Patrick Rothfuss
Scott Lynch

I don't really read apocalyptic fiction, so this is basically a list of medieval-inspired epic fantasy. The length of series and individual books varies, as does the writing style. These are all very popular authors. There are some other good suggestions in the posts above as well.

Thank you, I'm excited to look at these and try them out!!

Hi Angelica! Full disclosure--I'm an author. My books are what I call Games of Thrones for chicks. Seeking Solace, the first of the Solace trilogy is out now, but will be featured for free on Midlist and Bookbub starting June 11th so you'll be able to pick the ebook up for free on all major sites. Seeking Solace: Book I Solace

game of thrones, the fire within Endor's game, Percy Jackson, cane Chronicles, maximum ride, gatekeeper.
They are all great!

Excellent, I can't wait to start my summer reading!!

Definitely Game of Thrones
As others have done recent ones, thought i'd recommend some of the classic oldies but goodies
Anything by Fritz Leiber
Mary Stewarts Arthurian trilogy
Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy
T H White's Once and Future King
The Worm Ouroboos by E Eddison
Donaldsons Thomas Covenant series - if a bit depressing
Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy

The Diviners is really good, by Libba Bray. Also, daughter of Smoke and Bones series by Laini Taylor is good.

Brandon Sanderson is my favorite fantasy author. The Mistborn trilogy is fantastic and all of his magical concepts are very different from ones I have read or heard about.

Michael J Sullivan - starting with Theft of Swords

Scott Lynch - starting with The Lies of Locke Lamora

Yeah, Michael J Sullivan is awesome.
Brandon Sanderson is just plain amazing. Start there with pretty much anything, but you're best bet would be Mistborn: The Final Empire, or The Way of KingsHe's the author that finished up The Wheel of Time after Jordan passed.
Brent Weeks is another solid choice. Start with The Way of Shadows
Robin Hobb is always good. You should check out the The Complete Farseer Trilogy: Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest

Anthony wrote: "I read Robert Jordan, Tolkein, and Patrick Rothfuss and enjoyed their work. I am new to the fantasy world and would like some tips of what I should be reading next.

You might give Michael J. Sullivan a try, his Riyria Revelations series is awesome!!


"

How about the best fantasy science fiction? Dan Simmons - "Hyperion" is 5-stars. Check it out. There's four total in the series. The first two are the best. It will blow you away.

For a really fun set of short fantasy from the '30s:

The Crossroads


♥,
Cat at Galaxy Press

For those who want to explore new fantasy territories/authors, I'd suggest Legends and Legends II both edited by Robert Silverberg. The anthologies feature short stories by well-known authors (Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Terry Pratchett et al) in their signature worlds. Just be careful because there are quite a few editions floating around (some are split over 2 or 3 books).

Edited to add: I'd be remiss if did not mention that one of George R. R. Martin's Dunk and Egg tales is in each volume. Two volumes = two tales, of the three that are currently out. The third is in an anthology edited by Martin called Warriors.

There are so many great fantasy books. As a writer I was inspired by:
The lion the witch and the wardrobe
Narnia series
Harry Potter series
Lord of the Rings
-to name a few.

Terry Pratchett. Always worth it. Clever, funny and fantasy. :)