Good fantasy books?

[friend of]

Hello, I'm looking to break into the genre. If there's any good fantasy books you could recommend I'd appreciate it. Thanks

 

[eclipsenow]

The Taliesin, Merlin, and Arthur series by Stephen Lawhead. (Aka "The Pendragon cycle.") He's a Christian fantasy writer with various moral reflections on character and the seasons of life smuggled into his stories. This one is set at the sunset of the Roman empire, and retells the Arthur tale.

Also, for a fun secular read, anything by Brandon Sanderson. He wondered what would a fantasy story look like if the Dark Lord actually won? So "Mistborn" is set in a medieval world that's dark and full of volcanos and ash, basically like Mordor, but there are reasons for it all. The heroes burn metal to use magic - so have to carry around little vials of fluid with different metal powders in them to drink before expending energy. It's fascinating, and the plot resolves around both the characters and the unfolding laws in a way that makes total sense in hindsight, but escalates in a totally unpredictable way at the time. I love that, especially when I can't fault the logic.

Finally, remember that Tim Keller read Lord of the Rings annually. It's just such a great description of hope in the darkness.

Enjoy! And bookmark this thread to get back to us if you read any of these - even if it's a year later - as I'd love to hear what you think!

 

[friend of]

some of my favorites

Thanks a lot man

 

[keith99]

The Dresden Files series by Butcher.

Urban fantasy that uses a lot of the old tales.

 

[Danny&Annie&theChristmas]

Hello, I'm looking to break into the genre. If there's any good fantasy books you could recommend I'd appreciate it. Thanks

I wrote a Christian fantasy adventure story titled Danny & Annie and the Christmas Tree. I'm thinking of writing a sequel and possibly a series.

 

[keith99]

The Callahan's Crosstime Salon series is interesting, though for me a bit personal.

The setting is a rather unusual bar and each book is a collection of short stories. Most of the time it centers on someone new who walks in and finds what they need.

The personal part is when I was young I did my own brake job, which resulted in my left front tire passing me as I was entering the freeway. Unlike the story, no one was killed. But other details matched, if not exactly, on the important parts.

 

[Petros2015]

I really enjoyed Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King recently; not like his usual horror stuff - there was a very clear good vs evil theme. I think it was written for a daughter/family member, and it left me feeling inspired and had an unexpectedly satisfying climax

 

[friend of]

I really enjoyed Fairy Tale by Stephen King recently; not like his usual horror stuff - there was a very clear good vs evil theme. I think it was written for a daughter/family member, and it left me feeling inspired and had an unexpectedly satisfying climax

Ill look into it. thamks

 

[Petros2015]

Ill look into it. thamks

Oops! "Fairy Tale" was another one that was recommended to me by a stranger, I have not read it yet. The one that I read was "Eyes of the Dragon", just realized that last night loaning it to a friend. I have edited my previous post. Sorry about that!

The Eyes of the Dragon is a fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King, first published as a limited edition slipcased hardcover by Philtrum Press in 1984, illustrated by Kenneth R. Linkhauser. The novel would later be published for the mass market by Viking in 1987, with illustrations by David Palladini. This trade edition was slightly revised for publication. The 1995 French edition did not reproduce the American illustrations; it included brand new illustrations by Christian Heinrich, and a 2016 new French version also included brand new illustrations, by Nicolas Duffaut.[1]

At the time of publication, it was a deviation from the norm for King, who was best known for his horror fiction. The book is a work of epic fantasy in a quasi-medieval setting, with a clearly established battle between good and evil, and magic playing a lead role. The Eyes of the Dragon was originally titled The Napkins.[2]

I would not say that magic played a lead role in the book; other than that the villain was a force of evil which liked to wear guises as it attempted to influence history for the worse, and in this case was the King's wizard. Heart played a lead role. I don't recall the human characters resorting to magic.

The Eyes Of The Dragon Quotes (3 quotes)

3 quotes have been tagged as the-eyes-of-the-dragon: Stephen King: ‘Can you read this word, Peter?'...'It says GOD.''Yes, that's right. Now write it ba...

www.goodreads.com

 

[P1LGR1M]

Hello, I'm looking to break into the genre. If there's any good fantasy books you could recommend I'd appreciate it. Thanks

Just wondering if you've read Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara? It's a bit of a take-off of the Lord of the Rings, but as he develops the series it takes on slight Sci-Fi overtones. The first two books, though, had at least enough of a Tolkien feel that I enjoyed them. I liked the Elfstones of Shannara as well. My brother got that one for me for Christmas the year it came out. He wrapped it up and put it under the tree. Well, I carefully unwrapped it every night and had it read before Christmas morn.

Watched a few of the Elfstones of Shannara series and hated it. Completely different world than what you find in the book.

If you like humor, Piers Anthony's Xanth series (at least the first one) might be worth checking into. I haven't read any of his newer work, I was a kid when I read those. He also has the Adept series, if I remember correctly. That one is primarily fantasy with Sci-Fi elements.

I might also suggest Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish. This is fantasy without overt elements such as dragons, wizards, etc.