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Recommendations for a Fantasy "Newb"

Oberon said:
The book what got me started on reading fantasy was There and Back Again but that's all I can recall of the book!
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Surely you can remember more of The Hobbit than its alternative title alone?
 
The book that got me started on fantasy was Magical Kingdom for Sale...Sold by Terry Brooks. Soon I was onto Shannara, which led to reading LotR, which led to everything else. The Hobbit would be a good place to start, As would The Shannara series. Thay have a less blood and guts than some, but they do have good characters
 
i think i'd have to know the age of the 'newb' that i'd be recommending to.
the first fantasies i read were by Lloyd Alexander , called "The Chronicles of Prydain" it was a 5 book boxed set before EVERYTHING was a boxed set.
(we're talking 1973-74 here)
follow that closely with the Narnia series, the Hobbit, and the Sword of Shannara.
during my late teens i was introduced to Piers Anthony.
for young, impressionable readers, i might recommend Piers and his Xanth series. They're light, fun, and easy to read.
i might also recommend any of Robert Asprin's "Myth" series for young readers.

now as to encouraging an adult, i would never be so crass as to attemtp to tell someone what they'll like.
if i've enjoyed a book, i'll speak of it briefly, but i'd never make recommendations.

(thats not true....i recommend Simon R. Green's 'Deathstalker' series everytime i get a chance, along with Michael Gear's 'Forbidden Borders',
Melanie Rawn's 'Dragon Prince", Christopher Stasheff's 'Warlock'
and a few others.

and a thank you to Lady Litany for reminding me of the existence of Shari Tepper.
 
I don't know that I'd recommend Xanth and Piers Anthony for too young a reader, they can be pretty racy.
 
SillyWabbit said:
The first book that I read when I was very young was The Hobbit and then I enjoyed that so much that I wanted to find more books like that. I went to WH Smith and got myself ( with my pocket money :D ) The Elf Stones of Shannara by Terry Brooks. It's a shamless LOTR rip off but it's much better :p

As for what I would recommend to somebody starting fanasty? I think Litany answered that question very well so it's a bit redundant! I will add my carrot into the fray and say The Hobbit would be good to start with. It's very short and it's very easy to read.

Regards
SillyWabbit
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Hey Wabbit, the book you are reffering to is "the sword of shannara" not "the elfstones of shannara"
 
Fantasy first!

My first fantasy series was when i was 7-8 years old & it was "the wizard of oz" by L.Frank Baum & i 'm trying to collect the rest of his OZ books

Litany if you liked Gemmell then give James Clemens a try with his "Banned & Banished" series
 
I just read the first two assasins books by Robin Hobb. They are excellent! I'm on the third one now. A song of fire and ice is very good although a bit hard to follow. My favorite character is Deonorth. If you are starting I would recomend lord of the rings.
 
All the books I could recommend have been, you might want to try The Wizards And The Warriors by Hugh Cook or any Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms Books. The wizards and the warriors is a bit odd. oh and If you havent, read Magician (probably was already mentioned)
 
I've heard Sara Douglas a few times and im just now getting into fantasy, what are some good books or series' she's come out with. I do personally like RA Salvatore at the moment is she somewhat like him?
 
Spineshank said:
I've heard Sara Douglas a few times and im just now getting into fantasy, what are some good books or series' she's come out with. I do personally like RA Salvatore at the moment is she somewhat like him?
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I read Threshold and liked it.
 
Spineshank,

Sara Douglass has a series called Crucible. I am about 50 pages away from
finishing the second book and I am still not sure just who the truely bad guys are. She does a good job of keeping me guessing. This story is a good mix of medieval history with angels and demons.
 
Could i get some insight on this, i just finished The first book of the Icewind Dale trilogy and want to wait to read the next book in the series until later on, i really liked it a lot but can't decide on what i want to start now. I really like series' like i am reading now but would like to know what series i should choose. Narrowed it down to these 4 what do you think i would enjoy more, opinion's are welcome so dont hesitate, sorry i can't decide there just so many to choose coming into this?

Terry Brooks - Sword of Shannara
Ed Greenwood - Elminister the Making of a Mage
Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon
Ursula Le Guin - A Wizard of Earthsea

I've heard good things about all and i know not everyone has read all of these, but if you think one of these is really good let me know please.

Thanks

Spineshank
 
Personally I'd say eliminate Terry Brooks for now. Read his books but don't let them take higher priority than other things. His plot is very very similar to LotR. So similar in fact that I have seen several avid Brooks fans turn around and say "He's a hack!" once they'd finally read LotR.

His writing is entertaining (though I have far from read all this books) and a good deal more free-flowing than Tolkien's (as if that's a feat!). Personally I'd prioritize Erikson and Le Guin and probably end up choosing Le Guin first since her Earthsea books are among the defining classics of the genre.

Enjoy :)
 
I liked Terry Brooks. What Jem says is true, but he still writes a great story.

The Wizard of Earthsea is ok, but I wasn't overly impressed with it.

As for Sarah Douglas, I've read The Axis Trilogy and the Wayfarer Redemption Trilogy. I liked both a lot.
 
Spineshank, I say read A Wizard of Earthsea. It was solely responsible for my fantasy addiction. :)

Or pick up Garden of the Moon - I have it on my TBR and it would be good to have a reading pal.

ds
 
Heh Erikson's Gardens is on my TBP list so far - I'll try and get my hands on it asap so we can read it simultaneously :)

I also need to find the English version of the Earthsea books, I've only read them in Danish - though in a good translation for once, but I'd still like to have the English books myself.
 
Hyperstorm said:
My first fantasy series was when i was 7-8 years old & it was "the wizard of oz" by L.Frank Baum & i 'm trying to collect the rest of his OZ books
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Borders Publishing resently put out the whole OZ series in three hardback volumes. They're really nice [ although the map included in the front is actually backwards! oops xD ]
 
Jemima Aslana said:
Heh Erikson's Gardens is on my TBP list so far - I'll try and get my hands on it asap so we can read it simultaneously :)
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Sounds good. Though we will have to have a pact that says those who inadvertantly reveal a spoiler during our session agree to send boxes of their respective country's best chocolates to the others.

Hmm... I'm hungry already.

ds
 
direstraits said:
Sounds good. Though we will have to have a pact that says those who inadvertantly reveal a spoiler during our session agree to send boxes of their respective country's best chocolates to the others.

Hmm... I'm hungry already.

ds
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LOL We have a deal :D I'll let you know when I've managed to procure the book so we can continue not posting any spoilers :p
 
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