Favorite Series not written by Tolkien

[Wolfshead]

Ok, fair enough, I will trust to your accuracy :p

Loamhedge will probably go in before the lot of them, it's where they lived before the abbey was formed.

[Goldberry]

Originally posted by Scatha
The Riftwar saga, written by Raymond E Feist. (5 books)
The snake war saga , same author. (4 books)

Raymond E. Feist is a totally AWESOME author.

[Goldberry]

I just finished reading 'The Blue Sword' By Robin McKinley, and it was so good I can't stop thinking about it. I read the prequel, 'The Hero & the Crown', about a year or so ago, and I am thinking of re-reading that and 'The Blue Sword' again right away.

[Talierin]

I reread both of them yearly, heehee, they're awesome! They're permanent residents of my beloved bookshelf. :)

[Arrhia El.]

Has anyone read the Farseer Series by Robin Hobb?... I have read one of her 'Tawny Man' series and am wondering if The Farseer one is worth reading.

[DurinLongBeard]

:o :D

I have read every single book in the Redwall Series and absolutely loved each one. Although, I did not know he was publishing another book. And you say he is, and it is called "Loamhedge". Do any of you guys know what the plot is or anything yet or what the release date is? I'm to lazy to look it up for myself but if anyone knows...?

[Eliot]

Nope, I haven't heard a thing about it. Just found out that the title will be Loamhedge. I bet it will be pretty interesting, like all of them.

[Lindir]

Originally posted by Arrhia El.
Has anyone read the Farseer Series by Robin Hobb?... I have read one of her 'Tawny Man' series and am wondering if The Farseer one is worth reading.
Yes, they are very worth reading, but you really should have read the 'Farseer' series before 'Tawny Man'. Too late now though.

[annalovesviggo]

I love Philip Pullaman and Harry Potter! LOTR is obviously better but they are also interesting reads.

[FrankSinatra]

This thread has linked me back to a book i thought i had lost!

I borrowed 'The Dark Is Rising' from the school library, years ago, and i have always been trying to find its title ever since.

Thankyou!

Is anyone here a big 'Wheel Of Time' reader?

Any views on the new edition to the series, and when it will end?

[Talierin]

Have you read the whole series of DiR, FS? *loves them*

I've read up to #6 of WoT, before I got totally confused and quit, heheh... I didn't like them all that much.

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by FrankSinatra
Is anyone here a big 'Wheel Of Time' reader?

Any views on the new edition to the series, and when it will end? Me, I've got as far as book 5, currently waiting for part 6 to come into the library, been waiting since October :mad:

Book 10 came out in January, and if I remember rightly, I was told there would be 13 books in total.

There's a WoT thread on TTF -

http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=5483

[FrankSinatra]

Thanks Craig, i'll take a look.

I dont think Mr Jordan knows when to end this series.

But personally i enjoy a long read, so i dont mind it continuing.

Do you not get really frustrated when a good book or series comes to an end!!

If that happens to me, i pick LOTR again to fill the gap.

:)

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by FrankSinatra
I dont think Mr Jordan knows when to end this series.

But personally i enjoy a long read, so i dont mind it continuing.

Do you not get really frustrated when a good book or series comes to an end!!
I was told he said 13, but I can't remember exactly, so don't quote me.

Long reads, great, you really get to know the characters. But when they end is possibly one of the worst things on earth, knowing there won't be any more of it!

[FrankSinatra]

A tinge of regret is always felt when one reaches Bree for the last time.

That is why i enjoy 'Wheel Of Time' by the time one has finished the full current series, the beginning is forgotten, therefore an excuse to read again sometime!:D

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by FrankSinatra
That is why i enjoy 'Wheel Of Time' by the time one has finished the full current series, the beginning is forgotten, therefore an excuse to read again sometime!:D That's a very good point :) And at my current rate, I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a good few years to finish the series :( I really ought to just buy the books...

[Lindir]

Originally posted by CraigSmith
I was told he said 13, but I can't remember exactly, so don't quote me.

I believe Jordan said he would try to finish them in 12 books, but I don't think he'll manage to do that. I think 13 is a fair estimate. So we're looking at about six more years at the current publishing rate. They used to be well worth the wait, but the last one was a huge disappointment.
It is seriously annoying to read book series that are still not finished. I'm not only waiting for the next Jordan, but also for the next Martin, Hobb and Jones. Someone once said that from now on he would only read books by dead authors, and I can quite sympathize with that.

[Wolfshead]

Please remember here I have only read 5.

It will be interesting to see how they end. I can't really see Rand destroying all the Aiel, killing loads of people and breaking the world. That would not be a happy ending, and it needs a reasonably happy finish to it. But will he completely undermine the prophecies?

We shall see. I look forward to it :)

[FrankSinatra]

Have you read the 'Crossroads Of Twilight' Lindir?

Dont give me any spoilers, but what did you think of it?

[FoolOfATook]

I can't believe that I didn't mention this sooner- Neil Gaiman's series The Sandman. The only comic book series that rivals Maus and Watchmen, in my opinion, as well as being the first (and possibly only, I'm not entirely sure) comic book to win a non-comic fiction award.

[Lindir]

Originally posted by FrankSinatra
Have you read the 'Crossroads Of Twilight' Lindir?

Dont give me any spoilers, but what did you think of it?
Yes, I've read it. I was disappointed with the lack of developement. It felt most like a setup for the next book, which isn't any comfort, as that will likely take another two years to finish. Before the next one there will be a new and revised version of New Spring (which I haven't read yet), so there's no reason to think the next book will come earlier than expected.

[FrankSinatra]

Its better marketing on the publishers part to make the customers wait a while - increaed anticipation means more pre-orders and more £'s.

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by Lindir
Before the next one there will be a new and revised version of New Spring (which I haven't read yet), so there's no reason to think the next book will come earlier than expected. What's New Spring? Another Jordan novel?

[FrankSinatra]

Good question, what is 'New Spring'?

[Wolfshead]

Ah ha!
Before the war against the Shadow began, the Aes Sedai hunted the land for the Dragon Reborn. It was the destiny of one warrior and one of the most powerful Aes Sedai to find him. But first they must find each other. NEW SPRING is the powerful story of how the events of the Wheel of Time series came to unfold.
From http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1841492604/qid=1046973565/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/202-5102448-2032668

I might have to read that someday :)

[Turin]

Hey CraigSmith change your sig!

[FrankSinatra]

Why, Turin?

[Eliot]

Because it can be offending to Christians. Why not?

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by turin56
Hey CraigSmith change your sig! I've already had an argument about this with someone. If you are offended by it, don't read it, I am not deliberately trying to offend Christians, I just happen to think it is true, and it's a good quote.

If a Mod tells me to change it, I will, but none have told me to do so. Anyway, it's literature. So long as it's literature it's alright :p

Ah, yes, I shall add The Warlord Chronicles (includes The Winter King, where the sig comes from) by Bernard Cornwell to my list of favourite series'.

[FrankSinatra]

Tough if it offends Christians.

I am a Christian, but a Christian shouldnt be offended.

We dont have to always be politically correct do we?

[faila]

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I advise all those over the age of 13 to read them.

[Turin]

Well if you aready had a complaint about it from someone else I think you should change it just for the sake of peace.

[Melko Belcha]

Demon Wars Saga by RA Salvatore

The Demon Awakes
The Demon Spirt
The Demon Apostle
Mortal
Ascendance
Transcendence
Immortals (4/28/03)

[Lindir]

Originally posted by turin56
Well if you aready had a complaint about it from someone else I think you should change it just for the sake of peace.
No, he should not. I will be really offended if he has to.

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by turin56
Well if you aready had a complaint about it from someone else I think you should change it just for the sake of peace. No, it wasn't a complaint, it was a query as to whether I really disliked Christians (I don't). If people got offended, well, that's your tough luck, basically. Learn to be more tolerant.

Anyway, I've changed it now, not because people didn't like the old one, but because I felt like a change.

[Turin]

Well I see you already changed it so I'll leave you alone.

[Halasían]

The Black Company series by Glen Cook. (http://www.sflis.org/cook/black-thumb.html)

The Books of the North series:

Black Company
Shadows Linger
The White Rose
Annals of the Black Company
The Silver Spike


Books of the South series:

Shadow Games
Dreams of Steel
Bleak Seasons
She is the Darkness


I went through the 8 pages and saw no mentiuon of these great books. They are different and maybe too dark for some, but if you are looking for something different, give them a read.

The Black Company is the first book to read. Here is more on this fine series. (http://members.tripod.com/~blackco/)

[Firawyn]

"I saw Star wars at least eight times......" Really I did! My favorite books to read are series. To pick just one...no can do! Here's a list of SOME of them.

Star Wars
Narnia
The Seven Sleepers
Artimus Fowl
Arthur (not the cartoon, it's a fantisy)
Nancy Drew
Hardy Boys
Alferd Hichcok and the Three Investgators
ect.

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by Sabeen
Arthur (not the cartoon, it's a fantisy)Are you trying to say the cartoon series isn't a deep, highly involved dark age fantasy romance? Well, maybe you are. But that program is good, well, when you're young :)

I haven't read any of the Arthur you speak of, however, I like the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. They're all based around Arthur, and they give a much more realistic picture of the time. Very good.

[Firawyn]

Originally posted by CraigSmith
Are you trying to say the cartoon series isn't a deep, highly involved dark age fantasy romance? Well, maybe you are. But that program is good, well, when you're young :)

I haven't read any of the Arthur you speak of, however, I like the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. They're all based around Arthur, and they give a much more realistic picture of the time. Very good.

I AM NOT YOUNG!

The Arthur series I'm talking about is by Keven Crossley-Holland. In the first book(The Seeing Stone) Arthur finds out that he's adopted and that his real dad is his uncle that tried to kill him! Sucks, huh? He finds out lots of other stuff too but I wont tell! Very good middle age story for children 12 and up. And up. Adults would enjoy it too!!

PS.........the ant-eater Arthur is creepy!

[faila]

I earlier said that my favorite series was Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series. Has any one else read these books?

[Eliot]

Nope. Never even heard of em'.

[7doubles]

"Dune" rules!!

[7doubles]

the "Sandman" graphic novels are great also "the chronicals of Cain" are exalent.

[Firawyn]

Originally posted by faila
I earlier said that my favorite series was Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series. Has any one else read these books?

Havent read um. Sound cool though.;)

[Novuriel]

I love Robin Hobb's Farseer series and her Tawny Man and Liveship as well. I think someone mentioned on one of the earlier pages - and yes, you should read Farseer.
I love Isobelle Carmody's Obernewtyn and Darkfall series, though she takes soooooooooo long to write them!
Just recently I read the first in a trilogy, "The Bone Doll's Twin" by Lyn Flewelling. I ended up reading it in three days or so, so I recommend it, especially to Robin Hobb readers. :D

[arisen pheonix]

ok ive probably posted here before but my mind has changed

The cold fire trilogy by cs freidman is my favorite i absolutely loooooove gerald tarrent

[Talierin]

Originally posted by Novuriel
I love Isobelle Carmody's Obernewtyn and Darkfall series, though she takes soooooooooo long to write them!


Ooo, yeah, I've read the first three book of Obernewtyn, but the 4th book hasn't been released in the USA yet! :mad: I need to go look it up again and see when it's coming here... good stuff though, I really enjoyed them.

Anybody read Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen by Garth Nix yet? I love those too!

[Novuriel]

Originally posted by Talierin
Ooo, yeah, I've read the first three book of Obernewtyn, but the 4th book hasn't been released in the USA yet! :mad: I need to go look it up again and see when it's coming here... good stuff though, I really enjoyed them

Really? The 4th one (The Keeping Place) has been out in Australia since 2001 or so. Isobelle Carmody is Australian, but I would have thought it would be out in the USA already.

[Talierin]

It might be, like I said, I needs to go look again.... sometimes it takes 6 months to a year to get the aussie and british books here. Really annoying, especially when a couple of my favorite authors are aussie or british.

[Rhiannon]

I think it might be just out in hardback, if it's out at all. I have the second one- Farseekers?- but haven't been able to get a copy of Obertwyn (curses!)

[Sador]

Terry Pratchett's Disc World novels. Funniest fantasy ever.
I liked Julian May's Saga of the Exiles. Good mix of Hard SF and Fantasy.

[Beleg]

Eek, Currently Villette by Jane Austen.

[Rhiannon]

Villette isn't by Austen, is it? *is panicky- was sure she knew at least the titles of all Jane Austen even if she hasn't read them* I haven't read Villette (it's on my list), but I could have sworn it was by someone else, even if I don't know who they are.

[Aerin]

Villette is by Charlotte Bronte. :)

[Rhiannon]

Whew! I thought it must have been one of the Brontes, but wasn't sure. Charlotte's the one I can stand (Jane Eyre). Emily is the one I can't (Wuthering Heights- shuuuudder).

[Courtney]

I love Wuthering Heights! It's much darker than Jane Eyre. Some people actually think that their brother wrote the first part of it and that is why the narrator switches from the male to the female.

[Beleg]

Now here is a right insane person here. I really am hopeless. I was downloading something of Jane Eyre when i wrote that post. How hopeless of me. So how many of you Place Villette over Wuthering Heights or Vice versa?

[Rhiannon]

Well, I haven't read Villette yet, but I can tell you that I utterly loathed Wuthering Heights. I was twelve at the time, though, and I've been told I should read it when I'm older and I'll like it more then, but I really doubt I will.

[Courtney]

How can anyone loath Wuthering Heights?! I absolutely loved it! Maybe you had to read it for a class. That might explain it...:)

[Aerin]

Wuthering Heights was a lovely book! You really should read it; it's such a complex, lush, and rich story. (If you can't tell, I'm in love with it. :D)

Jane Eyre was also very good, although I think I liked Wuthering Heights a little more.

Austen's books number among my favourites - I own half a dozen of them! This on a tight budget.. hehe

Right now, I'm on a Dickens kick. I've read Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby (I claim him, by the by, for any others who happen to frequent Readerville. :D). Next on my list is A Tale of Two Cities, then Great Expectations... and whatever else I have stacked on my precariously perched bookshelf that hangs above my bed, waiting for the right moment to come crashing down and smash my skull. :rolleyes: ;)

[Courtney]

Oh but what a lovely way to go! Surrounded by all your favorite books!:)

[Aerin]

Heehee, yeah. Almost as good as Death by Chocolate. :D

[Rhiannon]

Well I did loathe Wuthering Heights- and I read it on my own, too. Maybe at a later date I'll change my mind, but I was absolutely disgusted by pretty much all the characters. Pompous, overblown people *mutter mutter*. I much prefer Austen- like Sprout (from Readerville) said, "I should probably give WH another chance, but at the time I was very irritated with all these overblown obsessed shrieky people, and very glad to get to P & P, in which everyone was slicing everyone else up with quiet calm conversational filleting knives, as God intended." But to each his own. I also loathe Dickins, though I've been told I'll probably like Tale of Two Cities in spite of that.

[Aerin]

:eek: You don't like Dickens?!?!:eek:

That's horrible!! Charles Dickens had such a mastery of the language, and such a wry humour and wit in his works... how can you not like him?! *beats you over the head with a spoon* Take that! :p

Seriously, however, I think you should read Nicholas Nickleby; it's a very engaging story, and has well-fleshed out characters.

Then again, I am the kind who, at 10 years of age, read The Count of Monte Cristo four times in a row, for fun.... :D

[Talierin]

Dickens sucks. :D

[Rhiannon]

...but Dickins characters are so cardboard-y and irritating...

I'll try again. I promise.

...later.


Then again, I am the kind who, at 10 years of age, read The Count of Monte Cristo four times in a row, for fun....

I've been meaning to read that. It's in the stack. I'm kind of wishing I had started on the classics earlier, but I probably wouldn't have liked them. When I was ten I was re-reading The Deed of Paksenarrion for the second time; and I think that was the year I discovered McKinley. I know I was reading Redwall and Patricia C. Wrede already.

[Eliot]

Originally posted by Rhiannon
I know I was reading Redwall and Patricia C. Wrede already.

You mean the Redwall series? That's pretty good. I've read the whole thing once. I can't wait for Loamhedge to be published. :)

[Rhiannon]

Originally posted by Eliot
You mean the Redwall series? That's pretty good. I've read the whole thing once. I can't wait for Loamhedge to be published. :)

That's the one! I still haven't got Triss yet, because hardbacks really aren't in the budget...I don't want to get it in paperback, though, because I collect them. This is my brother and me with Brian Jacques, way back when Marlfox came out; That was a long time ago. I look less stupid now ;) He had us put our hands on his shoulders so, he said, we couldn't give him rabbit ears.

[Eliot]

Wow. He's pretty old. I'm amazed at how aged he is. Well, I'm probably only surprised because all of the pics I've seen of him were from the mid-80s. :)

When you say that you haven't gotten Triss yet, do you mean you haven't read it, or you haven't bought it? If you haven't read it, you so need to. I'd say it's one of the best of the whole series. :cool:

[Aglarthalion]

My favourite series not by Tolkien is the Myst Trilogy. The first two books, Myst: The Book Of Atrus, and Myst: The Book Of Ti'ana are by Rand and Robyn Miller and David Wingrove; the third book, Myst: The Book Of D'ni is by Rand Miller and David Wingrove.

Yes, I am a Myst freak. :p

[Rhiannon]

Originally posted by Eliot
Wow. He's pretty old. I'm amazed at how aged he is. Well, I'm probably only surprised because all of the pics I've seen of him were from the mid-80s. :)

When you say that you haven't gotten Triss yet, do you mean you haven't read it, or you haven't bought it? If you haven't read it, you so need to. I'd say it's one of the best of the whole series. :cool:

He is older, but he's absolutely wonderful. Great fun :) And I haven't bought or read Triss yet, woe is me!

[Zale]

I remember when I used to 'collect' the Redwall series. I lived in France at the time, & we had to order them through the "Book Club". I used to get annoyed because as soon as I got one book, the next had been written & published.
It soon became apparent to me that after the first 5 or 6 they became incredibly similar, so I sold all 9 (as it was then; just after the Pearls Of Lutra) to my brother, and moved on to bigger things. Starting with Robin Jarvis.

[Rhiannon]

That's what my brother did (sold all of them of to Outcast of Redwall to me for $12). I recognize the repetition, but it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the books, so it changes nothing.

[Talierin]

I have all of them up to uhhh... the one before Triss... I still read them as they come out, but mostly for the nostalgia, heehee... I grew up on them. They do get old after awhile though.

[Eliot]

Originally posted by Talierin
They do get old after awhile though.

True. But, I still like them. I read all 15 published books in only a few months. :)

[Zale]

Redwall was good to me when I was young. It introduced me to the world of fantasy. That, I could not do without.

[Aerin]

It seems that people, as they grow older, lose touch with the simpler side of fantasy. As Jacques himself puts it, they're just "good yarns."
Even though they're written for children, I still enjoy them immensely! And yes, I am collecting them in hardback. :D

While foraging in the kitchen today, I was reminded of a wonderful book I read... and oddly enough, it was the cupboard door that jogged my memory of reading Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Has anyone else read it? Or, more importantly, enjoyed it as much as I did? :D

[Courtney]

I loved Ivanhoe! It was so much fun to try and figure out who the characters were from the robin hood stories! The language was difficult at first, but once I got into it I was alright.:)

[Aerin]

*tries to think* Characters from the Robin Hood stories? Unless you're talking about Richard the Lionhearted (and if I'm getting names mixed up, forgive me; I'm trying to think through a nasty head cold), I don't really recall any cross-over characters...

I thought Scott's rather evil personifications of the Church members and knights was rather interesting. "Admit we're right and that you're a witch, so you can burn and die.... or say you're innocent and die anyway." Great options there. :rolleyes:

[Courtney]

maid Marian was in it to... I think her name in there started with an "R". And the Friar. And Robin Hood was one of the knights... It was fun that way. I love Robin hood stories.

[Eliot]

I've heard of Ivanhoe a lot, but I've got no idea of what it's about. What is it about?

[Rhiannon]

Ivanhoe was used as a prop in Get Smart, Again. That is the extent of my knowledge about it.

[Courtney]

Hmmm... I don't remember much about the actual plot, but I do remember there were lots of knights, and a tournament, and Rowena, and there was a bad guy who was really mean and locked people in the castle. It was really exciting. And King richard was in it too.

[Beleg]

Maid Marian, Little John (My favorite!), Fat Frair? Mich-the miller's son, etc. Books by Walter Scott are their on my list. I just don't get the time to start any one of them. :(

[Beleg]

Anne of the GreenGables added!

I just love these books, they are really, really great.
I specially like the first 'Anne at GreenGables' and last 'Rilla at Ingleside'.
Anyone else who Love them?

[Starflower]

where to start... I have something of a thing about series... if it doesn't have at least three books in it, chances are I'll pass it by.
my list ( in no particular order):
Harry Potter
His Dark Materials
Thomas Covenant and Mordant's Need by S Donaldson
Belgariad,Malloreon, Elenium and Tamuli by D Eddings
Wheel of Time
Discworld
The Chaos Gate trilogy by Louise Cooper
a trilogy by Jan Siegel, Prospero's Children-Dragon Charmer-Witchs' Honor ( the series don;t have a name)

oh and the drow books by R Salvatore

there are probably many others, but I have forgotten their names, or they weren't much good :)

[Firawyn]

Not a big Anne of Green Gables fan. Sorry:(

I'm really into the Artemis Fowl books right now.:D

[Rhiannon]

I love the first Anne books, because Anne reminds me so much of me sometimes, but when she became and adult she got...dull. I never did read the last book. They just weren't Anne anymore.

[Firawyn]

I didn't even read the books...I got stuck watching all three or should I say six movies on christmas morning.:mad:

[Rhiannon]

...I never listed my favorite series, did I? Oops...

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marrillier
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patrica C. Wrede
The Riddlemaster Trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip
Discworld by Terry Pratchett
The Celtic Crusades Trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead

...and more that slip my mind at the moment

[Firawyn]

Here's mine:

Lord of the Rings-JRR Tolkien(duh)
Chronicles of Narnia-CS Lewis
Artemis Fowl-Eion Colfier
Water Series-get back to you on that
Star Wars:The New Jedi Order-various
Nancy Drew-Carolyn Keen
Hardy Boys-Franklin W. Dixon
The Three Investigators-Alfered Hitchcock

I'll edit as I remember more.

[Starbrow]

If you're a Tolkien fan, you have to read The Winter of the World series by Michael Scott Rohan. He also has a really great history built into his stories.
And then there's the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin, which is now more than 3 books. She's my second favorite author, after Tolkien, of course.
There's also a good trilogy by Teresa Edgerton, which has the books: The Castle of the Silver Wheel, The Grail and the Ring, and The Moon and the Thorn.
I'm currently hooked on a series by Kate Elliot called Crown of Stars. I hope the 6th and last book is out soon.

[Firawyn]

Originally posted by Starbrow
If you're a Tolkien fan..

If I'm a Tolkien fan? THIS IS TTF! THE TOLKIEN FORUM!! :D :D Of coarse I'm a Tolkin fan!! LOL! LOL! Hey I'll try to check out some of those books..

[Samwise_hero]

My next favourite series would have to be by Garth Nix
The 'Old Kingdom Trilogy' books - Sabriel, Lireal and Abhorsen. They're really cool and they're fantasy as well.
Other than that i would have to say the 'Ancient Future' series by Traci Harding. They're both Aussie authors so not everyone would have heard of them.
But Tolkien is always my favourite.

[Firawyn]

Originally posted by Samwise_hero
My next favourite series would have to be by Garth Nix
The 'Old Kingdom Trilogy' books - Sabriel, Lireal and Abhorsen. They're really cool and they're fantasy as well.


Geeze that is SO weird! I read Sabriel a year or so ago and I have just been thinking about getting it again. And I had no idea it was a trilogy. Thanks Samwise_hero! Now I'll read them all.

Anyone into the Jedi Accadamy Star Wars books? Another good one one my list!

[Eliot]

Harry Turtledove's 7 book alternate-history series about the USA and CSA:

How Few Remain ('97) (Deals with the Second Civil War, or, Second Mexican War)

The Great War trilogy: (Deals with World War I)

American Front ('98)
Walk in Hell ('99)
Breakthroughs ('00)

The American Empire trilogy: (Deals with post-WWI America, the Great Depression)

Blood and Iron ('01)
The Center Cannot Hold ('02)
The Victorious Opposition ('03)

The Settling Accounts trilogy: (Deals with World War II)

Return Engagements ('04)

Each novel is released in the autumn of the year it's released. :)

[Rhiannon]

Love the Old Kingdom Trilogy- Garth Nix is very nice, he visits the YA Reading Group at Readerville.com occaisonally, and he gave us ARCs of Abhorsen, so I got to read it months before it came out.

[UNGOLIANT]

the riftwar saga was great i also like the belgariad and the mallorean. the prelude to the belgaraid was belgarath i loved that to. i could go on and on but i cant be bothered :D

[Arthur_Vandelay]

I haven't read much fantasy/sci fi other than Tolkien, so I don't have much of a basis for comparison. But I also enjoyed Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar trilogy, as well as the Empire trilogy he co-authored with Janny Wurts.

I recently read Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, which were fantastic and the perfect antidote to Tolkien!

Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy (or should that be Quartet?) was also very enjoyable.

[e.Blackstar]

That would be The Dark is Rising sequence, by Susan Cooper. Absolutly great!:D

Oh how can you? The Dark is Rising is AWFUL!

My favorite would have to be either Orson Scott Card's Ender/Bean serieses (Bean's is better) or the Chronicles of Narnia. Though His Dark Materials is good too, if confusing.

[Mike]

Oh, the Dark is Rising isn't that bad. I quite enjoyed the first one.

My favourite series? The Prydain Chronicles. Those will always be the absolute best, especially "The High King".

[NChadwick]

I've yet to come up on a series that I like at all. Dune was good, but I only enjoyed the first one. In fantasy fiction, I find my craving for atmosphere often goes unquenched.

Peter S. Beagle does a nice job as a Tolkein mimic, but no series really sparkles.

Watership Down and its sequel capture some of the same "Hobbitesque" charm, but is inconsistent and lacks a good deneoument.

The Wonderland books are exquisite, but would they qualify?

Wind in the Willows is gorgeous, but again only one book really does its job.

Joseph Wise does a great job with the very promising The Brayburn Jar, but only the first quarter or so of it is available at this point online, and no print version can be found.

Weiss and Hickman had a good thing going, but again it lacked consistency and _crispness_.

....I could go on and on, but at the end of the day, may I just ask, "Why can't anybody produce a truly specatcular fantasy series?" My standards are high, yes, but if Tolkein could do it, someday it could be done again, and with the necessary originality. I wait patiently.

[Firawyn]

Reviving an old thread:

Anyone read A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin? They are absolutely amazing! :D

[Mike]

Anyone read A Song of Ice and Fire

Yep. Very much enjoyed the first two, and quit a third of the way through the third. Interestingly enough, back in high school I tried reading the third book without the rest of the series and found it uninteresting. Last summer, I still found "A Storm of Swords" uninteresting. Ah well.

I'll add "The Witcher" saga, by Andrzej Sapkowski, to my list. Re-reading the first two books now and planning to head through all seven. Only the first book's been translated into English, though.

[Halasían]

Reviving an old thread:

Anyone read A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin? They are absolutely amazing! :D

Tried many times & just couldn't get into it. I finally gave the three books away.

I like Glen Cook's Black Company series which has been re-released under the name Chronicles of the Black Company. One of the reasons was its seeming popularity with soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan.

I'm reading Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora right now. Its pretty good!

[Turgon]

I've not long since finished reading A Game of Thrones. It annoyed me and thrilled me in turns. A lot of the characters began to bug me though and by the end of the book I was only really interested in Jon, Arya, and Tyrion. I will buy the next book for sure though, but I'm backlogged at the moment and have about ten other books I need to get through first.

I preferred the Farseer trilogy over what I've read of A Song of Ice and Fire so far, and I'm looking forward to reading Hobbs other books. Hobbs characters are a lot more sympathetic.

[Eamon]

The Fionavar Tapestry written by Guy Gavriel Key. It is the best fantazy trylogy I've ever read. Except LOTR of course.

[Illuin]

Hi folks,
I would love to participate in this, but if it isn’t Tolkien I read really boring stuff (that I happen to love), like astrophysics books, math books, history textbooks and such. I really enjoy Isaac Asimov, but that doesn’t count because that's a different genre. If I had more time, I would love to explore some more. I’ve tried to get into books by authors like; Herbert, Lewis, Rowling, Eddings, D. Adams; and a few others. All I can say is.... eh... :rolleyes:

Let’s just say that I don’t get very far before the hardcover becomes a fitting shim for a wobbly end table. I guess when you have been driving a Rolls-Royce or a Mercedes-Benz most of your life, it’s a bit of a transition when you have to start driving a Hyundai. Indeed.... J.R.R. can spoil you.

[Mike]

That's why you start reading stories by Robert E. Howard...don't go for the imitators, go for those who went on a completely different path (incidently, Howard commited suicide before Tolkien even began writing LOTR, so there can be exactly no claims of his being a "poor imitation" of the master).

When you say D. Adams, do you mean Douglas Adams? I've never met anyone who's said "meh" to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Of course, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a must for any fantasy fan. Hilarious. Even more so, in the early books, if you're a fan of Sword & Sorcery fiction (like when Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser appear in the "Colour of Magic", but remain unnamed...and who can forget Cohen the Barbarian?), later books have more universal appeal and less "in jokes".

Erm...other series...well, I'm reading "Horatio Hornblower" books now, but frankly, that ain't even remotely fantasy.

[Illuin]

When you say D. Adams, do you mean Douglas Adams? I've never met anyone who's said "eh" to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Well, it’s certainly decent and definitely has its moments, but I have so little time to immerse myself in something that is well; so-so. I’ll actually sacrifice sleep and risk putting my job in jeopardy when it comes to Tolkien (no, not really - but you get the point…..it had better be REAL good to use up what little free time I have).

As far as Robert E. Howard; I read a lot of his work when I was younger, but I can’t get Arrrnold’s voice out of my head…."It’s not a tumor :D - Arrurraa...To crush your enemies, see dem driven before you, and to hear da lamentation of da women!"

[chrysophalax]

It's nice to see someone else reading the Horatio Hornblower series. I loved it!

Another great favourite of mine has been the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz. Her combination of catholicism with magick really intrigued me.

[Mike]

As far as Robert E. Howard; I read a lot of his work when I was younger, but I can’t get Arrrnold’s voice out of my head

Ah, yes. Doesn't help that I love "Conan the Barbarian" as well, despite THAT Conan not really measuring up to Robert E. Howard's Conan. But my favourite Howard character has got to be...Solomon Kane:

http://jamespurefoy.us/solomon-kane/ktsolomonkanepos2.jpg

Can't wait for the movie!