starcraft said:
Recommendations? |
The Earthsea Saga is classic fantasy and Ursula Le Guin is a gifted writer. Perhaps a bit slow and thoughtful for those looking for constant battles and sword-fighting but the story itself is very good.
The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, which starts off with Magician/Apprentice, is excellent. He had a wonderful vision for these first four books which span decades and gives us some great characters. It starts very simply with a young magician's apprentice at a border town, which happens to be near where a rift opens. Human invaders pour through (basically Japanese) but there is something much more sinister behind the scenes. Highly recommended, though I would suggest stopping at the first four books. The author returns to the world for several more sagas but they aren't nearly as epic or as satisfying--at least, the ones I read before giving up.
The Dark Elf trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. Now, let me start off by saying that I've read a fair number of Salvatore's books and he does deserve his reputation as a "CoD" type writer who churns out novels that aren't very memorable. However, The Dark Elf trilogy deserves all the praise it gets. This set of books, which chronicle Drizzt's life before he left Dark Elf society, are absolutely fasinating. There really is nothing like them, as they explore the emotions of a child growing up in a society of pure evil. If you like, you can start out with the iconic Icewind Dale Trilogy, which is Drizzt's first appearance but come after the events in the Dark Elf Trilogy, but they're closer to average in terms of content. Also, Salvatore is an absolute master at writing sword-play, easily the best I've ever read.
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. I consider this one of the best fantasy books ever written, and the same with her Riddlemaster Trilogy and several other novels, but I also fully admit that Patricia McKillip is not for everyone. She writes almost like poetry, with some of the most beautiful prose I've ever come across, but it's etheral and flowing, not concrete and detailed, marking it as different from how most fantasy is written. They read almost like fairy tales and are full of emotion and wonder.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. This books is something different but it's also very, very good. It's dark, there is violence and cursing and death, but it's also witty and clever. It's about a young con artist/thief and his band of former orphans who are looking to pull off a job that could make them very wealthy--or very dead. Kind of an Oceans 11 type story in a fantasy city but it's definitely not a novel where you can assume the good guys are going to win.
Right now, I'm reading The Blade Itself by Joe Ambercrombie and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It bounces back and forth between a handful of characters, some of which are pretty vile, including a ruthless Inquisitor for the Crown who became an expert at torture after having his own body broken and mained. It's dark but the writing is good and the characters memorable.
