Looking for some recommendations

[kryptondude]

if anyone could list me some good books that they found interesting and i might like could you please list some and abit of info about them if possible.

i like fantasy books, with more than 1 character as the main, team based sort of, i loved LOTR, i have not ready many books up to now so im sure there are millions out there to read.

i would prefer a series.

i read the deltora quest books back when i was younger and loved them, so you know them types of books, maybe abit older though as im 20 now:)

i know there is probably not too much info there to describe my perfect book lol but any recomendations would be much appreciated.

The more like lord of the rings the better:)

[jediracer]

GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire books should be your first stop. Period.

[Dr Will Hatch]

Malazan: Book Of The Fallen by Steven Erikson is a pretty legit series which just completed it's run in 2011 I hear. I just started reading the second book in the series, and it's a big improvement over the first one(which was also good), so I'd recommend it.

Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher(the guy who writes The Dresden Files series, which is equally awesome but isn't epic fantasy so I don't know if you'd like that)- Very good series with similarities to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist- an oldie but a goodie. You may have read it already, but it's worth publicizing over and over again.

[Julusnc]

Guardians of the Flame is a long running series by author Joel Rosenberg and is arguably his best known work. The series is about a group of college students who participate in a fantasy role-playing game, and are magically transported to the world of the game by their gamemaster

[Chiasm]

I'd avoid A Song of Ice and Fire because it will only leave you frustrated. It is quite excellent but I'd be shocked if the author lives long enough to finish it given his plodding pace. There are supposed to only be two more books but at the rate it took him to do the last one it will be 15 or more years before its finished and Martin is currently in his 60's. You'll understand why thats such a concern next paragraph.

I'd also avoid Guardians of the Flame. Its another excellent series but it will also leave you frustrated because it was never finished and never will be because the author died last year (as I recall it was a heart attack). He was only in his 50's. I think this series was the first fantasy series I ever stared after Tolkien and I loved it, Then came excruciating delays between books with very little resolved followed by the author starting a new series only to finally decades later return to this series but making no effort to actually resolve the stuff from before. Thus you understand the concern I have with Martin given his age and the fact he isn't exactly taking care of himself given his weight and smoking.

I'll recommend some finished series or about to be finished next post. There is nothing wrong with unfinished series except that when you've left hanging it makes you want something you know has a beginning and an end.

[Chiasm]

Here are two recommendations:

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. I forget now if its 13 or 14 books but its massive and features a large cast though there are about seven or so principle characters. Robert Jordan wrote the first eleven books or so books before he died. Side note: do you see my point about Martin - Jordan was younger than Martin is currently when he died. Fortunately for fans though Jordan knew he was dying well in advance (I forget the actual name of what he had but it was some sort of blood cancer type thing - not leukemia). Jordan wrote as much as he could and left very detailed notes for the rest. Brandon Sanderson was hired to wrap up the series from those notes and he's done a very excellent job. He's finished the last book in the series and its currently undergoing editorial revisions before an expected release this fall.

Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson. It was the strength of these books that landed Sanderson the Wheel of Time gig. They are awesome on so many levels and are like Lord of the Rings meets the Matrix meets superheroes.

[kryptondude]

Here are two recommendations:

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. I forget now if its 13 or 14 books but its massive and features a large cast though there are about seven or so principle characters. Robert Jordan wrote the first eleven books or so books before he died. Side note: do you see my point about Martin - Jordan was younger than Martin is currently when he died. Fortunately for fans though Jordan knew he was dying well in advance (I forget the actual name of what he had but it was some sort of blood cancer type thing - not leukemia). Jordan wrote as much as he could and left very detailed notes for the rest. Brandon Sanderson was hired to wrap up the series from those notes and he's done a very excellent job. He's finished the last book in the series and its currently undergoing editorial revisions before an expected release this fall.

Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson. It was the strength of these books that landed Sanderson the Wheel of Time gig. They are awesome on so many levels and are like Lord of the Rings meets the Matrix meets superheroes.

i have just orderd the first wheel of time book as you are not the 1st person to recommend it so i googled it and the story seemed interesting so thought i would give it a go.

appreciated.

[Roquefort Raider]

It's not a series but that means it's not diluted at all: The lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's in the same pseudo-historical vein as A song of Ice and Fire, with characters I found as engaging, and... we already have an ending!

[jediracer]

I suggest skipping Wheel of Time, unless you're a fan of droll characters walking around doing nothing for 150,000 pages.

I'll throw out Jim Butcher's Dresden books as a suggestion also. It's an urban fantasy tale of a BAMF wizard turned private eye in Chicago. Cool main character, fun supporting cast.

[Chiasm]

I suggest skipping Wheel of Time, unless you're a fan of droll characters walking around doing nothing for 150,000 pages.

I love the series but it does get bogged down in books 8-10.

It is a truly awesome series, especially on a 2nd (or 5th as I'm up to now) read through knowing whats coming because there are so many hints and foreshadowings of things to come that you miss the first time.

[Matthew E]

Okay.

Epic fantasy, kinda like Lord of the Rings. Good.

First, it's ridiculous that someone is saying don't read "A Song of Ice and Fire" but do read "The Wheel of Time". Bizarro world stuff.

However I quite understand the frustration about how long it's taking Martin to finish the series. So, here are some real good epic fantasy series that are finished.

Tad Williams: "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn". The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower.

Guy Gavriel Kay: "The Fionavar Tapestry". The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road.

J. Gregory Keyes: "The Chosen of the Changeling". The Waterborn and The Blackgod.

and, for a little change of pace, Jacqueline Carey: "The Sundering". Banewreaker and Godslayer.

Enjoy.

[Chiasm]

First, it's ridiculous that someone is saying don't read "A Song of Ice and Fire" but do read "The Wheel of Time". Bizarro world stuff.

However I quite understand the frustration about how long it's taking Martin to finish the series. So, here are some real good epic fantasy series that are finished.

You'll note I did say I liked Martin's series though I do like Jordan's series better. I just don't think it'll ever be finished by Martin. Its why I still haven't read the most recent book and have no intention of ever reading it unless the end of the series is in sight. I've read the first four multiple times and really like them but I got burned on Guardians of the Flame. Nearly got burned on Wheel of Time. Nearly got burned on the Dark Tower series after Stephen King got run down and nearly died. There are plenty of great fantasy series out there that are finished so that I don't have to read something that probably never will be.

[Chiasm]

Speaking of the Dark Tower by Stephen King, that is a good fantasy series. Its not LOTR type fantasy but its clearly a fantasy series. There is another thread at the top of the page about the series and telling what books you have to read as most of Kings books are to some extent linked to the series. But really there are only ten books you have to read for the DT series and one of those (The Talisman) isn't necessary except that its necessary for its sequel and that sequel is vital for the DT.

[Chiasm]

Tad Williams: "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn". The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower.

.

Only read this once and it was over 15 years ago but as I recall its starts very very slow but does get good eventually.

[Michael P]

Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun is like nothing you've ever read.

For lighter fare, Greg Keyes's Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone is rather enjoyable.