[Karsa Orlong]

Hi all,

Long time no see, I guess! It feels good to be back, though. This is (or was, at least) my internet-home, so to speak.

Anyway, as the title suggests, I am looking for some deep and intricate/complex fantasy literature. I know, I'll probably not find anything that matches Malazan, but maybe there is new stuff that comes close?

Some Authors I enjoyed reading (besides SE and ICE) : Scott R. Bakker, Tad Williams (MS&T), Bradley P. Beaulieu (love his Sharakhai books), Adrian Tchaikovsky (Echoes of the Fall) and Mark T. Barnes (Echoes of Empire). I have read tons of stuff but it would take me forever to list it all so this list is just to show some classics and also the most recent stuff i've enjoyed.

To give you some more "guidelines" : I can't stand first person narratives, so unfortunately those are all out. And i do prefer fantasy to sci fi.

So is there anything (preferably newer) out there that can rival Malazan in its depth of lore and worldbuilding? What have you really enjoyed lately?
Let me know!

Thank you all in advance.

[Maark Abbott]

You've already namechecked Bakker so I can only really add Kate Elliott to that on my end (Crown of Stars isn't exactly new but it's very good).

[worry]

Highly recommend The Crimson Fields of Mons Veneria by Padma Menarche.

[acesn8s]

Stephen R Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns

This post has been edited by acesn8s: 30 April 2019 - 12:10 PM

[polishgenius]

acesn8s, on 29 April 2019 - 08:10 PM, said:

Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns

That violates the first person restriction very hard indeed.

(which is a shame coz I'd have recommended Acts of Caine)




Anyway, Miles Cameron's Red Knight series is a doozy. Not quite Malazan level, the first book takes a little while to get going and the series overall is a touch uneven, but overall it's very good and Cameron is a fantastic writer of battle sequences.

Also, there are some inconsistencies between book 1 and the rest in terms of character names and that kind of thing- yes, it even has GotMisms!

[End of Disc One]

Was going to say Bakker but you've already read that. And I don't even know if it's worth recommending A Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time, since it's generally assumed that everyone has read those. As far as depth and scope go, I can't think of anything else that is quite up there.

[acesn8s]

polishgenius, on 29 April 2019 - 08:19 PM, said:

acesn8s, on 29 April 2019 - 08:10 PM, said:

Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns

That violates the first person restriction very hard indeed.

(which is a shame coz I'd have recommended Acts of Caine)




Anyway, Miles Cameron's Red Knight series is a doozy. Not quite Malazan level, the first book takes a little while to get going and the series overall is a touch uneven, but overall it's very good and Cameron is a fantastic writer of battle sequences.

Also, there are some inconsistencies between book 1 and the rest in terms of character names and that kind of thing- yes, it even has GotMisms!

Oh man, I forgot they were first person narratives.

I'll second this recommendation, I've read Cameron's first book in the Red Knight series, it was really good. Once my queue gets worked down to a manageable level, I'm going to pick up the rest of the series.

[Karsa Orlong]

Hey folks,

Thank you all for the recs! Some interesting mentions in there ^^ And some stuff that seems like it was a joke/sarcastic comment? Idk.

And yes, imho, Bakker is probably the one closest to SE/ICE as far as depth and scope is concerned. I also very much like is prose style.

Anyway, if more comes to mind, let me know!

[Andorion]

Tonally - Glen Cook. SE was directly inspired by the Black Company books.

Scope and depth of worldbuilding - the old reliable Wheel of Time.

Something new, but like SE..... very very hard to say.

Daniel Abraham maybe.

Someone mentioned Kate Elliott - definitely read Black Wolves.

Janny Wurts is severely overlooked but she has done excellent long term worldbuilding and character work in Wars of Light and Shadow.

This is nothing like Malazan, but read the Craft books of Max Gladstone. Extremely unusual and original worldbuilding.

[Abyss]

Guy Gavriel Kay.

His SARATINUM duology, and LIONS OF AL-RASSAN, are legendary.

And yes, even TIGANA, because everyone should suffer the way i had to suffer make their own mind up about even this waste of time from an otherwise stellar author any book.

[John II]

Surprised Maark didn't suggest The Stormlight Archive. He's always going on about how good it is. (Brandon Sanderson does have exceptional worldbuilding imo. Maybe not as deep as Erikson, but definitely more interesting)
You could try Terry Goodkind - I've heard a lot of good things about him
I was going to recommend Glen Cook, but it kind of breaks the first person rule. Also the worldbuilding isn't really Erikson level. The military-style is good, though.
Brent Weeks, if you haven't read him already.
Brian McLellan's history etc are also quite well done.

[worry]

Didn't Brandon Sanderson build that world where people suck on rocks for magic and giant killer hellsmurfs wander the wilderness? I suppose that is one valid definition of interesting.

[Karsa Orlong]

Hello again!

Ok, some more posts in here! Thank you!

And i did a really bad job in listing my favorite books, to be honest ^^ Of course i know Kay, he's superb! I haven't read all books yet but i am working on it. Also, Daniel Abraham and his Long Price is some of my favorite fantasy fiction...very...different in approach but i really loved it!

Aehm, anyway, ... proceed

P.S.: And yes, I also read Joe Abercrombie's first trilogy...also really good. As i said, i've read tons of stuff in the fantasy genre ;D

[Vengeance]

Briar King, on 02 May 2019 - 10:13 PM, said:

If you want something truly epic and the subject is something you find interesting then I’d really reco Colleen McCullough’s Roman series. It is truly awe inspiring and extremely fucking well written. She knew her shit and it shows from beginning (1) to the end (7).

Historical Fiction covering the dying era of the Republic on course to becoming the Empire.

Phenomenal books.

I second her books. I would also toss in James Michener books(Texas, Chesapeake, Poland,Space....) as well as James clavell (Shogun, Taipan,King Rat).

[Vengeance]

If you want something seriously different check out Jeff Vandermeers city of saints and Madmen

[Slow Ben]

The Dresden Files!

[Mentalist]

Out of newer authors, K.M. McKinley is building something fairly interesting in the "Gates of the World" series. Same can be said about Kameron Hurley's "Mirror Empire" books- allegedly right now it's supposed to be a trilogy, but there's a ton of interesting material in that universe and I wouldn't be surprised if we got more.

Marc Turner's "Chronicles of the Exile" also try for huge scope, but I believe it's only a trilogy.

Thirding Miles Cameron's "Traitor Son Cycle".

[Cyphon]

For historical fiction you could try the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett which are superb. GRRM is a fan and many see the inspiration for ASOIAF from that series of 6 books.

China Meiville's trilogy starting with Perdido Street station definitely hits the epic and different vibe.

[Zeto Demerzel]

Fantasy series (not stand-alones) that aren't first-person PoV, that I've read and enjoyed in the recent past. Haven't seen these mentioned in this thread. None of these even approach the sheer scope of Malazan, mind you

• The Chathrand Voyage - Robert Reddick: Fun naval-based adventure.
• The Dagger and the Coin - Daniel Abraham: Lots of races, nice world-building, slightly uneven pace, but a series that I was glad I read.
• Acacia - David Anthony Durham: A trilogy that actually manages to wrap things up for a change. Has everything I'd expect from a fantasy series but I was left looking for more.
• Riyria - Michael Sullivan: Quick fun buddy-cop-lite fantasy romp that carries surprising heft.
• The Witcher - Andrzej Sapkowski: The quality and pacing can vary wildly book to book but, when it's good, it's top notch.

[Maark Abbott]

John II, on 02 May 2019 - 08:06 PM, said:

Surprised Maark didn't suggest The Stormlight Archive. He's always going on about how good it is. (Brandon Sanderson does have exceptional worldbuilding imo. Maybe not as deep as Erikson, but definitely more interesting)
You could try Terry Goodkind - I've heard a lot of good things about him
I was going to recommend Glen Cook, but it kind of breaks the first person rule. Also the worldbuilding isn't really Erikson level. The military-style is good, though.
Brent Weeks, if you haven't read him already.
Brian McLellan's history etc are also quite well done.

Because Stormshite is what happens when you want to ape the scope of Malazan but just don't have the chops to back it up. Random stuff chucked in a blender does not good worldbuilding make.