So, I'm buying a lot of fantasy books this Christmas, because I read way too much non-fiction and I've been meaning to really get into the fantasy genre for a while. I've got a Kindle, but I prefer to have real books to fill my bookshelves, unless the books aren't all that great (in which case a copy on the Kindle suffices).

So, some of the books I've already ordered are:

• The first four books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
• The first two books in the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
• The first five books in the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
• The Painted Man, by Peter V. Brett
• Legend, by David Gemmell
• Waylander, by David Gemmell
• White Wolf, by David Gemmell

Other fantasy books I've read and enjoyed are The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien (I never managed to read the entirety of The Lord of the Rings for some reason, despite liking it well enough), the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb (it's been many years since I read it, though), the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, and the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist (although I thought the first book was much better than the second and third).

I can still afford maybe five more books. So any recommendations that are in line with what I've already read and recently ordered would be welcome.

Good sci-fi, detective fiction, or Westerns are also genres I'm interested in at the moment, so feel free to rec books of that type if you know of any standouts.

 

Oke doke.

Buy Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams. Hands down the best fantasy series I've ever read. Four books, starting with The Dragonbone Chair. Buy it. Read it. Fight through the fairly stodgy first ten chapters or so, because it's the most rewarding read I could possibly recommend to you.

It is fantasy done right, and shits all over most of what you've got in that list, which will in turn become nothing more than a lumpy footrest when you get into the series.

Then you can thank me.

 

The Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson might interest you, if you haven't already read them. It has... problems in some areas, but they're fairly balanced by some very awesome parts in the series.

 

Looks like you've got a pretty healthy list of modern fantasy essentials there. Some more recommendations:

The Pellinor Quartet by Allison Croggon
Quite derivative, but also very well written fantasy with a lyrical/Tolkeinesque turn of phrase.

Age of Five trilogy by Trudi Canavan
I actually much prefer this trilogy to her more successful Black Magician trilogy. Pretty original world.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Great atmosphere, great writing, but despite its length the ending feels abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying.

 

Wow GL, they are that good? I remember reading them when I was about 15 at school, but I definitely don't have memories that good memories about them. I'll have to pick them up again.

The only real thing I have to add about your list Sechrima, is that if you are buying the first 5 books of the Codex Alera, I see absolutely no reason for you not get the sixth and final book as well.

 

Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Pretty much the only recent vampire genre books that are anywhere near good. It's kind of urban fantasy who-dun-it sort of thing that takes place in modern Louisiana. The middle books in the series are awesome, and I think book 8 is probably the crown jewel. After that though, it starts to go down an iffy path involving Fae, and her's are nowhere near as cool as Butcher's.

 

I too recommend those 4. Fantastic fantasy where not everything revolves around the protagonist. Emphasis on the well written as well.

 

The Mercedes Thompson Series by Briggs was OK if your buying for a Young Adult/Adult.
If your buying for a young teen I'd recommend the Pendragon series.

 

GL, would you say your novels beat Kingkiller?

 

Yes.

In seriousness, they probably aren't to everyone's taste, but the everyone in question can go fuck themselves. It's genuinely my favourite book series ever written, and I'm a fussy fucker when it comes to reading. I reread them once a year.

Speaking of which, the fifth book I'd rec out of five is The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, because I know Joe, and he's a cracking good writer. I recced it in the official thread a little while ago with a proper review and whatnot.

 

Okay, I was able to scrounge up more money than I thought I would, so the list increased in size a bit. Heh. So I ended up ordering:

• The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
• Chronicles of the Black Company, by Glen Cook
• The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
• The Dragonbone Chair, by Tad Williams
• The Necronomicon, by H.P. Lovecraft

As for the other recommendations, I'll probably purchase Kindle editions of them in the next months. I'm quite certain I'll have enough reading material for 2012 now.

Also, the reason I've only ordered the first five books of the Codex Alera series is because I'm pretty sure by the time I finish them I'll have renewed my hoard of gold and can buy the next books.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

 

Read this one last, because it will take you forever, and as Taure said it's going to make you throw it at a wall when you reach the end.

Good man.

...

This should have been The Heroes. The Necronomicon is more of a book end than a book - far more entertaining on the shelf than off.

 

Yeah, honestly I wasn't sure about that one, but I've been meaning to see what all the fuss is about for years. If it looks good on my bookshelf then at least it isn't a total waste.

 

^Thank you.

Also, the Prince of Nothing Series (though just a trilogy) by R. Scott Bakker, and the sequels. Literally blew my mind first time I read it.

If you're interested in some easy to read, Assassin-y fantasy, look into things by Brent Weeks. You've probably already read them, or considered it, but if you haven't, it needs to be mentioned: Terry Pratchett.

Since you also put up a notice about Sci-fi, I sincerely recommend Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

Enjoy your anti-social Christmas, I know I will

 

In all likelihood, I'll be getting gifts of money in late December. As I have ample clothes, a new computer, and basically everything else I want or need, that money is mostly going toward further book purchases. So feel free to keep recommending if anyone was late to this thread or thinks of something else worth reading.

Edit: Has anyone read Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan and would they recommend it? Looks like a Norse fantasy with some berserker/werewolf stuff in it. Been playing a lot of Skyrim, so right now it sounds appealing, but I have no idea if it's well written or not.

 

To be honest, you already have a pretty hefty reading list just for Christmas. So while Wheel of Time is great, I'm not sure if you want to add that in as well o,o

Anyways, for a nice light read, go for the Percy Jackson series. Easy to plow through, and generally enjoyable

 

I just remembered one series that I would heartily recommend, in relation to the Norse fantasy.

Nick/Nik Perumov is writing (not sure if it's completed) an epic fantasy with roots in Russian/Nordic mythology. The only problem is the fact that it's in Russian, and I haven't been able to find an English translation. However, there are Swedish translations, so I'd be willing to wager that you could find them in German. Not sure what the name of the series would be (there are some conflicting names from the various translation), but the first two books are the Diamond Sword, Wooden Sword, part 1 and 2 (they were divided in my editions, but his Wikipedia page suggests otherwise).

For reference, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Perumov

P.S. Checked in my book, the translation for the Swedish name of the series is The Keeper of the Swords. I really hope you'll be able to find them, and read them, as they are :awesome and pretty much makes the majority of the genre pale in comparison.

 

Sounds pretty good, but I can't find anything by him on Amazon.de except something called Drachenpfade, which isn't part of that series. I don't think it's been translated into German or English yet. Just Russian and some Scandinavian languages, probably. I've been meaning to teach myself Swedish, but it'll be a good nine months or so before I could start reading a novel. Well, maybe sometime next year or 2013 I'll read the series.

 

Sir Apropos of Nothing. Some of the greatest books around.

Lies of Lamora, Chronicles of Chaos. Sword Dancers Saga, Runelords.

Oh and the bestest books ever: the Twilight saga :awesome