# Good fantasy books?



## BoyWithBayonet (May 22, 2007)

After reading some stuff on here, I want to try out a good fantasy book (one involving something like vampires or the like). So, if anyone can suggest some, I'd really appreciate it. Please include the author, if you can.

Thanks!
-BoyWithBayonet


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## starStuff (May 22, 2007)

this has nothing to do with vampires, but if you like fantasy you have to read The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Its amazing. Book 1 is called The Eye of the World. you'll be hooked.

only thing is you have to be in the mood for an epic. so far its 10 books long each book ranging from 500-1000 pages. so take the day off.


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## heatherlouise (May 22, 2007)

ok, none of them to do with vampires but . . . Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling (as if you didn't know) . Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman.  The Labrynth by Kate Mosse.  they are a few i know that are good fantasy, although the first two are childrens books they are brilliant.
Heather


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## JK_Wannabe (May 22, 2007)

BoyWithBayonet said:
			
		

> After reading some stuff on here, I want to try out a good fantasy book (one involving something like vampires or the like). So, if anyone can suggest some, I'd really appreciate it. Please include the author, if you can.
> 
> Thanks!
> -BoyWithBayonet


*
Vampire stuff (a really condensed list):*

The quintessential modern vampire book is _Interview with the Vampire_ by Anne Rice.

In keeping with the "vampire book that has something to do with New Orleans" theme, check out _Fat White Vampire Blues_ by Andrew Fox. Funny!

If you ever wanted to read a painfully awful book, try _Bloodline_ by Kate Cary. It's disturbing how bad this book is. And more so that it has a sequel. I mean, seriously. :shock:
*

As for general fantasy stuff*,I'll leave out the ones I only like because they have strong female characters in them and say*:*

A good example of not-very-well-known-but-good fantasy is _The Gammage Cup_ by Carol Kendall. *Trivia:* The author of this book once tried to sue J.K. Rowling for her use of the word "muggles".

_The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ by C.S. Lewis. If you like it, there are tons more books in the series.

Don't forget to pick up something, anything, by Piers Anthony. They're actually half fantasy and half sci-fi, with a whole lot of humor mixed in.


*Those are just a few suggestions. *There are really thousands I could list. I mean, I used to read hundreds of books each summer. But I'm tired of typing them. Post!


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## Rahvin (May 22, 2007)

The "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" series by Laurell K Hamilton (Yay, I remembered her name!) is pretty good.

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are the definitive modern vampire books, or course, but they don't appeal to everyone.

Uhhhhmmm... Can't think of any others off the top of my head that haven't already been mentioned... maybe later...


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## Svalbard (May 22, 2007)

The Vampyre by Tom Holland is a good read and an interesting take on the vampire genre.

As for fantasy, try the Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.


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## JK_Wannabe (May 23, 2007)

Rahvin said:
			
		

> The "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" series by Laurell K Hamilton (Yay, I remembered her name!) is pretty good.
> 
> Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are the definitive modern vampire books, or course, but they don't appeal to everyone.
> 
> Uhhhhmmm... Can't think of any others off the top of my head that haven't already been mentioned... maybe later...


 Yeah, the first few _Anite Blake_ books should be good, but beware: at some point Laurell K. Hamilton decided that it didn't really matter if there was a good plot or likeable characters or anything like that. No, the important thing is that there are lots of supernatural sex scenes! YEAH!

*Shakes head.* I wish I was kidding.


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## donteatpoop (May 23, 2007)

Svalbard said:
			
		

> The Vampyre by Tom Holland is a good read and an interesting take on the vampire genre.
> 
> As for fantasy, try the Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.


 
Amen to that. I prefer Hollands first book, however: Lord of the Dead.

Martin is amazing, in my personal opinion he is the best fantasy writer out there. (I found Robert Jordan incredibly boring, but I've heard such great things that I tried the Wheel of Time three times. Still boring. I recommend against Jordan.)


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## Destroyer (May 24, 2007)

General fantasy. The Demon Child trilogy by Jennifer Fallon. Some of my personal favourites. Also Warhammer books, from a range of authors. Check the Black Library website if you want to know about them. Some of them have vampires in them, some don't. If you want ones specifically about vampires, try the Genevieve books by Jack Yeovil: Drachenfels, Genevieve Undead, Silver Nails and Beasts in Velvet.

I also found the Wheel of Time a bit dull, and I only read the first book. My friend tells me the later ones are worse. I mean, how long does it take to save the world?


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## Rahvin (May 24, 2007)

> I mean, how long does it take to save the world?


Ages.

And yeah, some of the Warhammer vampire books are good. (I haven't read many though...)


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## Kaila (May 24, 2007)

_Dhampire_ by Barb Hendee. Its the first in the series I think, I can't recall the first one. However there are quite a few of them as far as I'm aware.

Then other fantasy includes _The black company_ by Glen Cook, its a series. 

I could list more but several have already been listed up above.


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## Destroyer (May 25, 2007)

Dhampir is a brilliant book. Great suggestion. Look out for the other three that follow as well. The books are as follows:
Dhampir
Thief of Lives
Sister of the Dead
Traitor to the Blood.

These are good books for vampires


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## red lantern (May 30, 2007)

Genevieve the vampire an omnibus by Jack Yeovil (aka Kim Newman) quite good set in a fantasy world and from the vampire's view point. Quite a lot of bloodshed (most of it not by the vampire) it also has demons, witch hunters and the like. it is set in the warhammer world (think of the movie Van Helsing but darker and no gypsy women in tight pants) 


The Chronicles of Darkness are good if you can get them, each book is set in one characters view point but in each book the characters cross paths at a certain point, sort of like the Canterbury tales but set in a fantasy world.


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## Phalanx_24 (May 31, 2007)

If you are looking for a great fantasy trilogy (but there aren't any vampyres,) I would recommend Tad Williams and his series _Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn._ The first is _The Dragonbone Chair_. Seriously might be the best fantasy trilogy I've ever read. It is, however, painfully long. But we all enjoy reading anyway, right?


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## Svalbard (May 31, 2007)

Phalanx_24 said:
			
		

> If you are looking for a great fantasy trilogy (but there aren't any vampyres,) I would recommend Tad Williams and his series _Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn._ The first is _The Dragonbone Chair_. Seriously might be the best fantasy trilogy I've ever read. It is, however, painfully long. But we all enjoy reading anyway, right?


 
Yeah, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was brilliant. I was hoping he would do another story set in that world. I have read all his other stuff and it is just not as good.


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## invisible ink (Jun 5, 2007)

_Twilight_ is the best vampire book I've ever read. Actually, its the best book period that I've ever read. Read it.


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## Chaeronia (Jun 8, 2007)

donteatpoop said:
			
		

> Martin is amazing, in my personal opinion he is the best fantasy writer out there.


 
Hmm, Martin - after so many recommendations I finally picked up A Game Of Thrones. I'm halfway through it and, boy, what a disappointment. The characters are so lifeless and, for want of a better word, corny, that the plot has become irrelevant. Admittedly I'm only part way through the first book, and I will finish it, but it's not engaging me at all and after hearing nothing but good things about him I am a little dumbfounded as to what the fuss is about. 

As for recommendations: Mieville, Kay, Erikson, Gemmell (better heroic fantasy than Martin by a long way) are all top writers and in very different ways to each other.


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## Sundown (Jun 8, 2007)

invisible ink said:
			
		

> _Twilight_ is the best vampire book I've ever read. Actually, its the best book period that I've ever read. Read it.


 
I've had several people recommend Twilight over the last couple of months.  Once I find my library card again I'll have to give it a try.


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## Chris Stevenson (Jun 9, 2007)

I think one of the most overlooked writers of epic and urban fantasy is Poul Anderson.  You might try some of his stuff for the beautiful, lyrical voice that he uses.

Chris


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## Talia_Brie (Jun 10, 2007)

Chaeronia said:
			
		

> As for recommendations: Mieville, Kay, Erikson, Gemmell (better heroic fantasy than Martin by a long way) are all top writers and in very different ways to each other.


 
George R R Martin doesn't write heroic fantasy. He's anti-'hero' actually.

With the exception of China Mieville, I agree with everyone else on that list though. All excellent.


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## Svalbard (Jun 10, 2007)

David Gemmell is without doubt the king of heroic fantasy. He will be a sad loss to the fantasy writing genre.


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## strangecs (Jun 10, 2007)

Vampire books? Well the only ones that I can come up with off the top of my head would be the Anne Rice....Memnoch being my personal favorite (though I would start with the first book).

Other fantasy: My current favorites are Sara Douglass' _Wayfarer Redemption _series (there are six books all together) and Jacqueline Carey's _Kushiel_ series (um six so far). The Kushiel series is my personal favorite because Carey does an incredible job with details. Fantastic, in fact. (Anybody else read these?)

The Barb Hendee series is also very good, I am currently reading _Traitor to the Blood._


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## Chaeronia (Jun 11, 2007)

Talia_Brie said:
			
		

> George R R Martin doesn't write heroic fantasy. He's anti-'hero' actually.
> 
> With the exception of China Mieville, I agree with everyone else on that list though. All excellent.


 

Good point. Martin's work, from what I can tell so far, does seem to be that way. I was recommended to him by a few people who said 'if you like Gemmell you'll like Martin,' so it was an unfair assumption on my part. He's definitely Twelve Caesars rather than Seven Samurai. 

Not a Mieville fan? Well, I can see why. He's verbose and probably too clever for his own good, but I was rapt by the milieu painting of Perdido and The Scar, and Iron Council was a triumph of more political proportions. Can't recommend him enough.

As for Gemmell, one of his finest books has vampires as the antagonists, so pick up a copy of Morningstar as soon as possible. It's a stand alone novel (although I think it's set in the same world as Knights of Dark Renown) so no need to plough through a series to get there.


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## Svalbard (Jun 11, 2007)

If you like Gemmell, try The Lion of Macedon. It is one of his best. i think he also came up with one of the best characters of all time in Jon Shannow, the Jerusalem Man. Love to see that made into a movie.


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## playstation60 (Jun 16, 2007)

Chaeronia said:
			
		

> Hmm, Martin - after so many recommendations I finally picked up A Game Of Thrones. I'm halfway through it and, boy, what a disappointment. The characters are so lifeless and, for want of a better word, corny, that the plot has become irrelevant. Admittedly I'm only part way through the first book, and I will finish it, but it's not engaging me at all and after hearing nothing but good things about him I am a little dumbfounded as to what the fuss is about.
> 
> As for recommendations: Mieville, Kay, Erikson, Gemmell (better heroic fantasy than Martin by a long way) are all top writers and in very different ways to each other.




I guess I don't understand how you can say his characters are so lifeless.  I would say that his characters are some of the strongest I've ever read.  

That book took me a good 100-150 pages to really get sucked in.  After that I had a hard time putting it down.  

As stated before me, Martin is not heroic fantasy, so to compare him to Gemell is unfair.  It's like comparing Eddie Van Halen to BB King.


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## Leyline (Jun 16, 2007)

_The Chronicles Of Amber_ Roger Zelazny

Taken together, the five books that make up Zelazny's series are barely longer than Vol. 1 of most contemporary, bloated fantasy epics. Yet, in those five books, he creates a multiverse centered around the dysfunctional relationships of a single family -- a universe of wonders, terrors, delights and diabolical schemes. Of plans within plans. Of literary allusion, adventure and intrigue. Great fun, and mentally engaging at the same time.


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## Funwriter (Jun 16, 2007)

I am with Rahvin on this one. The Rice books are great and the vampire hunter stuff is outright hot.


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