Recommend me a good fantasy book

Ow the edge

I wouldn't say it's grimdark. It's like true neutral with a layer of corruption sprinkled over everything.

What fun bits? There has never been a happy moment in 40k to my knowledge in any area that matters in the setting.

>corruption
Kill me now

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. It's actually a whole series, but everything after the first three books follows new characters in a very different part of the timeline. Start with the trilogy, then decide if you want to continue.

Anything by Sanderson really

Mistborn, Warbreaker, Stormlight, Elantris, all worth a read

as for my recommendation Ligtbringer and Night Angel by Brent Weeks

Second this. The Mistborn series has a real interesting magic system with great characters. Huge fan of Wax and Wayne so far, though I've just read the Alloy of Law.

The Bible's a pretty decent fantasy read, to be honest.

Ow tHe EdGe

not exactly fantasy but try Ender series of Orson Scott Card.

okay does Spirit science have books?

Looking at my bookshelf:
Perdido street station (weird fiction)
The colour of magic (comedy fantasy)
The eye of the world (generic fantasy)
The fellowship of the ring (you've already read it)
A game of thrones (political low fantasy)
And that's really it for good fantasy. I'm really more of a sci fi guy. They're all series, so you have plenty to work with in each, although Bas-lag is only 3 books long and ASOIAF gets pretty shit after book 3.

Back to Spacebattles, cuck.

I bet you write MLP crossover fanfiction like all the other faggots

Everworld. Short, but badass series that deals with the idea that every mythology existed, but humanity began to outgrow the old gods, so they created and moved to another universe with their most dedicated followers. Deals with lots of interesting concepts, like alien mythologies (Aliens and their gods are starting to move in, and some are friendlier than others, how real-life religions, like Christianity would work in a setting like this, and how societies might evolve under these conditions things like the Norse going to war with the Aztecs, or the Amazons going after the Egyptians.

i remember those, good books, though i always disliked how the 3 inter-tangled stories were told out of order, had some neat ideas in it for sure.

The orkz, the irony of the Imperial Faith, how over-the-top everything is. Look to far into it and it's super-dark and grim, but step back and it's ridiculous.

Magician series

stormlight 3 soon my brotha

The Dawn book and its sequels were pretty good. As is the Dragon Master trilogy by Chris Bunch.

Keep going. Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning are really, really good.

I like that Keith gets to plow Ayesha's ass every now and then

wait, it has?

the chronicles of prydain are pretty top notch, if you can stand the mc being a bit of a whiny kid for the first book and a half

Mah nigga.

But fuck, this shit was not for kids as it was intended. Life on the edge is suffering.

It did? I thought it got pushed to november

I'm about halfway through the first one now, and I have to say I'm disappointed so far. It's good and all, but not great so far. Certainly not on the level people told me it would be. Maybe I was poisoned by high expectations.

Also, Locke is entirely unlikeable so that hurts the series a lot.

I suppose since I haven't read multiple entries, I should probably say it hurts the book a lot.

Well, I can honestly recommend the Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan.
Fantast novels set in the french revolution period with mages and gunpowder. One of the better series I've read. And yee gods do I read alot...
Just my 2 cents dear OP

Any series by Robin Hobb, especially if you like low-powered fantasy
Then read the other series of her universe

Yeah, he's the weakest link in the series for me. I mostly read it for the worldbuilding. He does get a bit better in later installments, though.

The ones by Lev Grossman?

>Hobb

she good, but why would you do that to yourself?

poor fuckin Fitz

If you want epic your only option is Malazan Book of the Fallen. Tens of thousands of pages spanning empires and continents.

Lord of Light is delightful.

I've been reading Glen Cook's Black Company books and they're actually really good dark fantasy. Would heartily recommend.

I thought it was a bit mediocre also, and I read it, before it blew up in popularity. It's decent, the world building and interesting characters is nice but Locke is as brain dead as they come

Lord of the Isles series by David Drake is pretty good.

I found "The Name of the Wind" and "The Wise Man's Fear" to be very pleasant, and I hope the last book will come (if ever) soon.

ask Veeky Forums

this is a traditional games board, not a novels and literature board

Veeky Forums doesn't like anything that isn't absurdly obscure and pretentious

The Monster Hunter International series is good. Glen Cook's other series, Garrett PI is good until... whatever his latest stuff is. Because Garrett can't have nice things.

J. Zachary Pike's Orconomics was excellent, I'm waiting for the next one.

The Waldo Rabbit series is hilarious. Nelson Cherata is great.

Elliot Kay's Poor Man's Fight trilogy is good, though I'm only through the first book.

I'm a big fan of Jim Butcher. Can't wait for his next book.

That's all I have off the top of my head.

Make sure you grab these in a way that doesn't give Card any money. Dude turned out to be a massive cunt.

Also, Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series is good reading.

>spirit science
I still can't get over how those videos look and sound like something out of the Extra Credits series.

>dude turned out to be a massive cunt

holding alternative views is not illegal and his views aren't even unacceptable

im sorry he triggers beta libcucks like you

Hunters of the Dark Sea by Mel Odom

This
Malazan Book of the Fallen is massive but you get the full spectrum of emotions, action, drama and all

I almost cried for an evil villain and laughed out loud at great dialogues.

You get epic battles and plots spanning centuries and continents.

I really love the worldbuilding. If you want to know how to subvert some tropes in fantasy, here's a good example.

But it's not for everyone. You will be left in the dark about many things like magic and the makings of the world. There are parts in these books you have to slog through.
And there are no dwarves ...

No dwarves? No point.

>holding alternative views is not illegal

nobody said being a dick should be illegal, fuckboi, just that you shouldn't give your money to cunts

Series:

Deepgate Codex is great, Alan Campbell. Easily my favorite series.

Sea of Ghosts by same author is great as well, though Book 3 in that series seems to be not forthcoming.

The last post the author made, 2 years ago, before his personal website's domain expired, was a vid of him scaring his dog with a vacuum.

Fucking Scots.

I'm not OP, but I have a different request:

Recommend me a short fantasy book.

Something that manages to flesh out both the world and the characters in a very short timeframe and is complete on its own.

Even better would be a series of interconnected fantasy short stories, something like Robert Sheckley or Stanislaw Lem - only fantasy, not sci-fi.

Can second MHI, though it does need a bit of time to start with.

The author is a big fan of Worfing, and the set up before the fall made me think that the MC was going to be an SI.
Fortunately he pleasantly surprised me.

That's like asking /mu/tants about music, or /d/eviants about porn.

They've consumed so much in a single direction that everything is blasé, and they are exploring further and further out, seeking crumbs that will spark their earlier levels of interest. They're chasing a high they'll never reattain.

Veeky Forumsigants don't know shit about literature.

The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

More of a novella really, but you can get into the story and setting without reading the original novels it's set in, and the story is satisfying enough on its own

The Braided Path by Chris Wooding is pretty rad, has a very eastern aesthetic if you're into that sort of thing.

But then if that's not your thing he also wrote the Tales of the Ketty Jay, which has steampunk airship pirates.

Lye Street

Depends what you like, really.

My favorite fantasy series is probably The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Ten books divided in three story arcs, you can read just one or read them all if you like. The first and second arcs are the best. Third and last one is good but overall weaker. tl;dr a self-hating bitter cynic from America in the 80s gets transported to a fantasy world with magic and sunshine and rainbows. He's an extremely unlikable character, but he grows on you as you experience his internal struggle with the cognitive dissonance. The books are not very typical fantasy, they go about as deep in the internal thinking and emotions of the characters as Tolkien does with his world-building. They're also very original, many races and interpretations of standard fantasy races that exist only in these books.

The Kingkiller chronicle is also a great series, only two books but some of the best-written stuff I've seen. Takes a second read to fully appreciate his use of poetic meters. Really beautiful language, just read the first few pages of the prologue and you will see what I mean. wish he'd write a bit faster, though. tl;dr books are about a former genius adventurer, telling the tale of his youth and how he ended up a sad mess, running a bar in the middle of nowhere, It's told over three days, two days have been covered in two books.

You could try one of the books by Joe Abercrombie. He's written some short stories and some books, including a trilogy, all set in the same world. I'd personally recommend reading the books first starting with the trilogy, but if you just want a book to read, try Best Served Cold (which is set after the trilogy and has some spoilers in it) or the Heroes (which is set after that book and is a massive spoiler-fest for both the previous book and the trilogy). But yeah, he has short stories that might interest you.

>The Monster Hunter International series is good.

It's alright, but slogging through the Alpha Male NRA-faggotry is a chore.

The author also started the Sad Puppies bitchfest.

I found them to be pretentious Mary-Sue wank, and it's sad that they're so popular.

Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword.

Honestly, I think the first book was the best. The second book has a lot more melodrama and Jean and Locke get fucked over again, and again, and again. It's kind of a depressing read. The third book starts off good and has a very engaging 2 part story, where every other chapter is a flashback, but they are all continuous, so it's like reading two different stories at the same time. The main problem with the third book is the ending. It's absolutely terrible and is very heavy handed/obvious give away for what is going to happen in later books.

If you already don't like Locke, all I can say is that he gets even more moody and cynical as things go on, which isn't surprising considering what happens to him at the end of each book.

>How to turn a bullied nerd into a bug overlord:the webnovel
I like it, even if it goes hilariously over the top by the end, shit like !Doc Manhattan almost causing the end of the world or the writer literally rolling dice to see who dies during Endbringer attacks and everything about Bonesaw.

Stardust or The Last Unicorn would probably qualify, though they are bittersweet so be warned.

especially when you discover the Cheistopher Lee related trivia about the latter.

Could you elaborte on that "Mary-Sue-Wank"?

I would second with the caveat that yes, those books are not for everyone.

If you want something a bit more normal, I'd recommend Zelazny's stuff. Someone upthread mentioned Lord of Light, but you should check out Amber, and some of his short stories like Kalifriki of the Thread.

If you're looking for a fast, fun read, I'd recommend Eddings. His stuff isn't brilliant, and they're the sort of books that the more you think about them the more you realize shit doesn't actually fit together, but they're nice adventure stories and rest on some very good characters, a lot of the books are really about them bantering with one another, which he does very well.

[Spoiler]Drizzt[/Spoiler]

I like the series overall, but book 3 was a pretty big let down.

The mass unceremonious slaughter of characters and lack of focus on most of the survivors outside the Red Knight/Queen's chapters made it clear that the author had realised at the last second that he'd made a major fuck up in planning the earlier books, and he did a bodge job of repairing the situation.

First law?

Not him. What did he do?

All of the Malazan books are fantastic and particularly relevant to this hobby

>Garrett PI is good until... whatever his latest stuff is. Because Garrett can't have nice things.

That's a shame to hear, I was just about to buy the latest few books. Are they still worth it to complete the series or should I save my money?

I heard the author was going through a divorce at the end of the third book, which is why it took such a nosedive.

I'm going to dump my entry level list:
>Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, Silmarillion, Children of Hurin, Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle Earth
>Wheel of time 1-11, the last three by brandon are optional, it's not very likely he interpreted the ending correctly imo
>Harry Potter and The Dresden Files
>The Chronicles of Narnia, if you like suffering
Once you have wallowed through these, prepare thyself for:
>The Black Tower
>The Discworld series
>Maybe some of the Dune books as science fantasy
>Game of Throne- rape
And when you realize it's all shit
>Elric of Meinbone
>The Chronicles of Amber
>Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
After that, it's time to leave your mother's basement and go sight-seeing with a walking stick you carved yourself.

I'm half way through book 2...liking it so far.

seconding this suggestion.

GOD TIER world-building

>Hobb
same one as did the assassins apprentice?

there's more than one series?

no, he asked the right people
to expand on , Veeky Forums slowly expands in all directions along all vectors of media because we create things, a world is more than just it's literature and has more than just one kind of music. makes Veeky Forums a better place to ask.

that and what we do here more than gaming is "Make Stories" and "Tell Stories" so we know good ones when we find them

>I'm a big fan of Jim Butcher. Can't wait for his next book.
I know right?
Peace Talks can't get here fast enough

>Malazan
sounds like good materials to steal stories from.
summaries, start-points, and pertinent data?

Not that user, but Orson Scott Card is kind of a weird fish and some of his views are bound to offend almost anyone on the political spectrum.

Economics: in favor of 'real communism' and state control.
Presidental elections: hates Obama with a fervor that borders racism.
Values: strongly anti-gay for no apparent reason.

Songs of Earth and Powerr by Greg Bear
Time's Master Series by Louise Cooper
The Windrose Chronicles by Barbera Hambly
The Flat Earth Series by Tanith Lee.

Gardens of the Moon

He's a Mormon, you dope.

Basically everything by Neil Gaiman would appeal to you. Especially stardust.

The Malazan books are set in tabletop setting that was run on GURPS back in the 80s. It's a really interesting kind of late Roman era technologywise (but with explosives and crossbows), and an incredibly complex magic system. There are 10 books that top out at well over 1000 pages each, and another 8 or so books (all by authors originally part of that tabletop) that have some pretty long ones themselves.

It's incredibly twisty and long. But I will say that it manages a number of things that most other fantasy books don't

The Characters are incredibly interesting, even the villains, and the scope of the cast is massive.
Death is tossed out constantly and is always looming over everyone, even characters that are 'main characters' of books. But it doesn't feel forced or arbitrary like certain other series. It just... happens. A character you like is as likely to take a crossbow bolt in the gut and go down screaming and gurgling as they are to make a heroic stand, or die because of some minor mistake.
It actually manages multiple worlds in a relevant and interesting way
The military parts are actually interesting, easy to understand and fascinating to read.
You get the entire emotional gamut
The worldbuilding is impeccable and always feels vast. Even after 10,000+ pages the world feels like you've only seen a sliver.
Actually competent and interesting female characters that you can cheer for for other reasons than they have tits.
When it tries to be funny, it's legitimately hilarious.

Gonna throw in my recommendation for the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. One of the best fantasy epics you'll ever read. Erikson's other works are also good, as is anything else associated with the setting.

Other authors of note include Brandon Sanderson, Glen Cook, Jim Butcher (Ehhhhhggg, I always hate recommending Butcher because while I enjoy his work, I realise on some level that it is basically pulp trash and I fucking hated the Codex Alera), Stephen Donaldson and Patrick Rothfuss. You can't really go wrong with any of them. Except Butcher, perhaps, but I'd still recommend giving him a try.

historical fiction and not fantasy, but I really liked The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame). Good late medieval military fiction about a company of mercenary longbowmen after the 100 years war.

The Fifth Season by NK Jemesin
The gate of Ivrel by CJ Cherryh
Perdido Street Station by C Mieville

>I fucking hated the Codex Alera

I thought it was pretty good. What didn't you like about it?

Worm does have some problems like a break neck pacing as a result of being periodically released and fearing every week that it could bore and lose readers if it slowed down too much.
The author is still editing it though and will probably (hopefully) improve on that when he publishes it as a real novel, the world building is literally god tier and even if the story was absolute shit I would still consider it worth recommending to other people.

Just beware the length of this thing though.

>MST
No, no, fuck no. I despair when I think of slogging through the third book.

Don't know what he is on about. The last one, Wicked bronze Ambitions, actually ends in a good note for Garrett. He gets put through Hell and back, but SERIOUS SPOILERS he gets his wife back alive

OCT-FUCKING-AVIUS.

Remove the main character and his mother and you might have a decent fantasy series on your hands. But Tavi and Isana were absolutely fucking insufferable, the former for being a ridiculous deus-ex-machina generator and managing to be a mary sue (despite being the canonical main character!), and the latter for being a giant walking idiot ball generator who spends the entire series swanning about and emotionally crucifying herself before 'Oh and she's actually the strongest water mage in the setting :^))))))'

His every character trait reads like a checklist of how not to make a protagonist, how he's automatically liked by all the 'good' characters and automatically disliked by the 'bad' characters (but oh wait they all get their just-desserts for daring to dislike Tavi!), how he's actually the fated chosen one who must become a great leader and inherits godlike power, how almost all his early characterisation is based on him not being able to use magic (And succeeding in spite of that because of aforementioned deus-ex-machina asspulls that the narrative then has the gall to call 'ingenuity' as though everyone else in the setting is retarded because they use magic), to his insufferable love interest who automatically falls head-over-heels for him, spends a few chapters being tsundere, and then has a connection to him which is treated as being inherently more special than any other love in the setting (Oh and she also gains godlike power because REASONS!), the constant roman wanking (Okay I actually enjoyed some of this), it's just... Ugh. Tavi is not a good character, and along with Isana, almost single handedly ruins the entire series.

Isana is just as bad, and for much the same reasons. Neither of them have an arc that doesn't feel forced, the setting seems to bend itself around them to a sickening degree, all the other, much more interesting characters defer to them, serve them, love them, or die at their hands.

I want to do my public duty and warn people away from Free the Darkness in case it crops up in any recommended lists.
Ignore the ratings. and don't listen to the reviews, because they are filthy LIES.

It's pretty much Twilight for boys, moreso than Eragon, and the fact that so many people, who tricked me with their positive reviews, ignore the utterly nauseating Self insert will baffle me to the end of days.

What didnt you like about Sanderson's ending?

That might account for its rushed Deus Ex Machina feel, but not for the WHAT A TWEEST reveal about Locke's past. What happens in the last two chapters clearly set up later books to be much more "high powered" considering just how powerful the Falconer becomes, the hinting at the possible true extent of Locke's abilities and the whole "threat from beyond" thing.

Don't get me wrong, I've overall enjoyed the books for the most part, but I kind of liked the low-mid fantasy setting. It's just sot of obvious that things are going to be getting more outandish later on.

Noble Dead Saga
Charlatan vampire hunters encounter real vamps and get dragged into a globe spanning quest to save the world
Won't blow your mind, but worth it for some pretty good world building and character development

Interestingly, one of the few stories I've read where language barriers actually matter. Surprising how much it helps a setting feel like an actual world

Ah, good. Means I can go and finish that book. I was rather buttmad at how it opened, and couldn't continue it because I was so disillusioned.

Glad to know I was wrong. I've always liked Garrett.