[QuickTidal]

Spoilsport Stonny, on 11 December 2013 - 05:33 PM, said:

Grief, on 11 December 2013 - 04:05 PM, said:

Guy Gavriel Kay would be another one I'd recommend on a large scale, he's again a bit more interesting, than Jordan. I'm not sure I should recommend a particular one, always seems to start an argument about which is best, but...Sarantine Mosaic seems the one most people agree on?

I haven't read Sarantine MOsaic, but Tigana seems to be a popular recommended place to start with GGK. I liked it alot. Its stand-alone and well-written. Dense, too.

I gots four words for you.

THE LIONS OF AL-RASSAN

[Grief]

Noooo, don't bring up Tigana!



I remember a recent discussion about it being one of the most divisive books on the board. Kay is popular, but opinion on that one seems split between people thinking it's his best work and his worst (even if that makes it still pretty good). Ysabel is maybe in the same boat except it has a bit of a poor reputation generally so fewer people seem to have read it, and people don't go in with as high expectations.

Personally I thought Tigana was excellent, but just based on discussing it here I wouldn't recommend starting with it.

I don't think Gaiman hasn't been mentioned yet either. Not similar to Martin/Erikson, mostly he's more urban fantasy (but so is a lot of Butcher), but well worth reading. American Gods would be where I'd start (btw, I've always wondered if anyone's read both the original and his extended version of it, and has much opinion on the differences and if either one is better?).

Feist's Magician is also pretty good, standard fantasy fare but well executed (avoid the later books, though where people draw the line on when to give up varies).

[worry]

Let's all stop reading fantasy and see what it does to our brains.

[HiddenOne]

worry, on 11 December 2013 - 08:33 PM, said:

Let's all stop reading fantasy and see what it does to our brains.

You wouldn't like me when I'm Reality.

[D'rek]

Grief, on 11 December 2013 - 04:05 PM, said:

Sarantine Mosaic seems the one most people agree on?

Sarantine Mosaic is the one that almost everyone agrees they liked, yes, but as we can see above that doesn't stop people from suggesting that they're favourite is the best recommendation... even though there's more disagreement about them.

[theocean]

Thanks for the opinions and recs everyone... I think im going to go prince of nothing or broken empire next.. Still haven't narrowed it down yet. Any thoughts between the two... I cant really say what I like other than I loved both malazan and ASOIAF. those two the LOTR and the inheritance "trilogy" are the extent of my reading history... So I guess I pretty much have the best of the best out of the way.

[Stormcat]

Dresden. I just assumed everyone had read them or I would have suggested it earlier.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Also by Butcher, Codex Alera.

fairly short 6 book series, allegedly came about owing to a bet that the author couldn't take a single lame ideas and write a decent story based on it.

Jim Butcher said he could do it based on TWO lame ideas instead, and he was given the two ideas to base the work on.

IMHO he succeeds admirably. It's a bit YA at times, but highly entertaining regardless.

[worry]

Side Note: "Lame" should mostly be kept in quotes. Pokemon was and is superior to Codex Alera (which kinda turned out more like Avatar:TLA in the end anyway, huh. Which is also superior). The Lost Roman Legion can cram it though, that's true. The books are way better than those guys.

[theocean]

Went to get prince of nothing... not in stock so I got black company instead... hopefully itll hold me over till a new malazan or asoiaf book is released.

[Nicodimas]

WoT to be is what bridged the gap from Forgotten Realms to "Real" fantasy...so its gets my nod as I started it so long ago, became invested and had to finish /chuckle ...I know I am not the only one. It will hold that spot for me.

However.. some of the stuff released over the last several years..clearly topples it. I think it would be tough to go back to that as the pacing would seem crazy freaking slow. There is only so many times you can read about characters thought patterns broken down, what others would do in situation X and Y, and decscriptions about descriptions.

I would suggest Lightbringer at this exact moment.

This post has been edited by Nicodimas: 12 December 2013 - 02:36 AM

[amphibian]

worry, on 11 December 2013 - 11:19 PM, said:

Side Note: "Lame" should mostly be kept in quotes. Pokemon was and is superior to Codex Alera (which kinda turned out more like Avatar:TLA in the end anyway, huh. Which is also superior). The Lost Roman Legion can cram it though, that's true. The books are way better than those guys.

Pokemon is dog fighting made cutesy. I cannot support it anymore due to that being the overwhelming mechanic by which the story works. Humans catch animal, make it battle another human/animal combination until one aide faints. We know it really means the animals die, but they throw in some revival magic and pretend we didn't just kill Fido and Spot.

The dynamic the humans have with the elementals of Alera is much more than that and healthier to boot.

[QuickTidal]

Oh, have you not read the Dresden Files yet theocean?!

Oh man, that's the one. Go pick that series up.

[QuickTidal]

Nicodimas, on 12 December 2013 - 02:35 AM, said:

WoT to be is what bridged the gap from Forgotten Realms to "Real" fantasy...

The fuck is "real" fantasy?

Are you for real?

[worry]

Tell that to Bigglypuff.

[Spoilsport Stonny]

D, on 11 December 2013 - 09:39 PM, said:

Grief, on 11 December 2013 - 04:05 PM, said:

Sarantine Mosaic seems the one most people agree on?

Sarantine Mosaic is the one that almost everyone agrees they liked, yes, but as we can see above that doesn't stop people from suggesting that they're favourite is the best recommendation... even though there's more disagreement about them.

This is funny. I was talking about this in regards to basketball players and the whole Wilt Chamberlain/michael Jordan debate. I never saw Wilt play, so Jordan is my best ever. As far as GGK goes, i only have read Tigana, and i thought it was pretty good, and i recommend it. I will check our Sarantine Mosaic now, esp. Cuz most of you giys seem to think its his best. Then i can know for sure

Also a good author that i dont see mentioned on here alot is Johnathan Carroll. I really like all his stuff but Sleeping in Flame is a great place to start.

[End of Disc One]

Grief, on 11 December 2013 - 07:41 PM, said:

I don't think Gaiman hasn't been mentioned yet either. Not similar to Martin/Erikson, mostly he's more urban fantasy (but so is a lot of Butcher), but well worth reading. American Gods would be where I'd start (btw, I've always wondered if anyone's read both the original and his extended version of it, and has much opinion on the differences and if either one is better?).

I recently added American Gods to my TBR pile and was wondering the same thing.

[Avatar]

Quote

Went to get prince of nothing... not in stock so I got black company instead... hopefully itll hold me over till a new malazan or asoiaf book is released.

Hope you'll like it! I'm about to finish book 3 and I am liking the series more and more. I tries WoT a long time ago, but I think it's not for me. Did anyone above mention George RR Martin?

[Spoilsport Stonny]

OP mentioned ASOIAF right off the bat.

American Gods is so good they should make it mandatory reading in public schools.

And BK mentions the Abercrombie books, which I also recommend, but they carry a bit more weight if you've already been exposed some of the more trope-heavy series like WoT, Shannara and LotR. Still though, if you've read Malazan and GRRM and enjoyed them, then it's probably a great place to go to next.

[Nicodimas]

Quote

The fuck is "real" fantasy?

Are you for real?

http://dictionary.re...com/browse/real

1. true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act.
2. existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life.
3. being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up.
4. being actually such; not merely so-called: a real victory.
5. genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic: a real antique; a real diamond; real silk.

^Exactly.