Announcement

**Jon Miller** · August 25, 2003, 20:57

death gate cycle was surprisingly good

Jon Miller

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 20:58

I hated the Wheel of Time series. I think Robert Jordan is a talentless hack and that his books are full of bad writing, cardboard characters and boring, predictable plot situations. So if it's like Jordan, I won't like it.

... depends on how far you got in the series... books 1-3 were wooden and ill written... but book 5, I believe, is perhaps the greatest fantasy book EVER written- the political machinations, etc. were all amazing.

books 7-8 however relied too much on the oft-overdone 'kidnapping-line'

It really is worth the effort to plow through books 1-4 to get to book 5.

(Personally I hated all the characters until book 3, when I started respecting one or two.. .by book 5 I had narrowed my hate down to Nynaeve and Egwene

... Jordan starts actually making the caracters likeable later...)

---
As for a good series- I would recommend Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Death Gate Cycle of (9 books I think? it may have only been 7...) after you read the first two books, it's well worth it... the problem with the Death Gate series is that you really don't know what's going on unitl you've read a few books.

Sadly, too many works of fantasy literature are like this.

--
I would also like to recommend taht you read my book when it is finally sold and released- if you give me your email, I'll put you on my mailing list

**Tuberski** · August 25, 2003, 21:00

Feist's Riftwar Saga, which I just finished reading again.

The Seer King, Demon King, Warrior King by Chris Bunch

The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. The two main characters are homosexual, not that it should matter, but it was an interesting twist.

ACK!

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 21:05

Ick. Earthsea and Ursula K. Le Guin are books that I will burn...

I've read 3 of her short stories... hated them all. I read "The Tombs of Atuan"... hated it. I started "Earthsea" hated it.

Nothing happens. It's just crap. Don't read it.
It's not epic fantasy- heck it's not even Belgarath the Sorceror (by David and Leigh Eddings) [A series I only understood after reading the Belgarath and Polgara and Rivan Codex supplemental books

... and when I read I make charts of characters, etc... so the plotting had to be extreemly boring or dense in the other books for me not to enjoy them- but I REALLY recommend Belgarath and Polgara if not the series themselves... but then again I like history tomes- I know many people who hated them because they read like history books

The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber

It was innovative in its day but it's really canned today- I've read about 12 of their stories... only one was interesting... "The Bleak Shore" was one of the more tedious works

Ick. Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever... the leper... ick. Although I have been told that if I had read past the first 100 pages, It would have paid off- but I frankly had it by page 40, when he wouldn't stop whining that he was a leper for 30 PAGES MORE! and the girl wouldn't stop wining that YOURE THE SAVIOR... That was so very boring...

If you hated Jordan, you'd hate Donaldson.

---
I read a lot but reflecting on it... I seem to hate a lot of what I read

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 21:06

The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. The two main characters are homosexual, not that it should matter, but it was an interesting twist.

Margaret Weis's new book "Mistress of Dragons" has too lesbians... if you're into that sort of stuff.

I'd also recommend Turtledove's Legions in Time- I don't seem to like many fanatasies, but that and the "Fox and Empire" series are amazing!

Magic and a dimensional portaled Roman legion... how fun can that be!

**Jon Miller** · August 25, 2003, 21:10

Gene Wolfe is very good

Jon Miller

**Jon Miller** · August 25, 2003, 21:11

there is a series about Ash which is pretty decent also

Jon Miller

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 21:17

Okay, when I say series, I do want to avoid the endless stream of books, a la Jordan. I think one of the things that sucks most about Jordan is that he is stretching out a story that could have been told in 3 books (or less) into a 12-book saga that he may not finish before he dies. The needless padding and frustrating go-nowhereness of his books are a big part of the problem.

he meant the series to be 6 books... but then it became 8... now he's limited it to 12...

I found it really annoying that he keeps bringing back the forsaken and can agree with you about the stretches- I think he should have tried to fit it in 11, since in book 9 (Winters Fire) he could have probably combined it with book 10... since Faile isn't even recovered until book 10 (I am led to beleive- still haven't got my hands on Crossroads of Dust... or whatever it's called

) all Rand does in 9 is clean the source! and only one forsaken is killed.

--
David Farland... but he drags things out too long. Book 2 takes place over a ****ing week for heavens sake!

He keeps playing on the interaction between Gebeorn and that other guy for too long- the other guy should be more decisive and Gebeorn is too loving- it's almost not believeable- it's almost too fabricable... and just how many millions of people live in his world!!!

But that being said, I do enjoy his books... don't own any though

--
Terry prachett- if you like humor, read his most recent books- you don't need to know the series to enjoy them.
-
George R.R. Martin. Good writing. Very good writing. I recommend his stuff in "Legends" as well. You can sample a wide range of authors in the "Legends" book. (It's a compilation of short stories based in their fantasy worlds)... it's what brought me to Goodkind and Martin.

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 21:19

series about Ash? Do you mean Margarat Weis's Darksword trilogy? or the evil dead trilogy?

I also recommend Robert Asprins MYTH INC. Series for good fantasy humor... but avoid Craig Shaw Gardner like the plague! He writes for 9 year olds!

**Jon Miller** · August 25, 2003, 21:26

ash

as in the series by mary gentle

haven't read all of it, decent (own the first)

Jon Miller

**Jon Miller** · August 25, 2003, 21:30

hmm

fantasy scifi books I own (not all of them good)

tad williams otherland book 4
bujold warrior apprentice
infinity beach
doomsday book
blacksun rising
the madness season

crap, I don't feel like doing this there are a lot (CS freidman can be goos also)

Jon Miller

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 21:33

Oh, Is Gentle's "Grunts" worth the reading? Is it amusing? Like prachett? or stupid... like Gardner?

Fantasy Scifi... you mean cross-genre?

Have you tried Timothy Zahn's "Triplet" Its about a magical world trapped inside a sci-fi world... its strange. A little boring and tedious, but it's wonderousness makes it worth a read- just not worht owning

**DarkCloud** · August 25, 2003, 21:35

Oh yes also, watch out for andre norton+otherauthor... the majority of her compilations in the time traders series have been crap of late!

And personally, I couldn't stand Mercedes Lackey+other author's little novels about the Sidhe... so overwritten, so overused, so tiresome, so trite...

**Tuberski** · August 25, 2003, 21:39

Originally posted by DarkCloud

Margaret Weis's new book "Mistress of Dragons" has too lesbians... if you're into that sort of stuff.

I'd also recommend Turtledove's Legions in Time- I don't seem to like many fanatasies, but that and the "Fox and Empire" series are amazing!

Magic and a dimensional portaled Roman legion... how fun can that be!

Legions in Time was one of my favorite series, haven't found them anywhere for a long time.

ACK!

**Jon Miller** · August 25, 2003, 21:49

I mean scifi and fantasy

I probably should just maybe put down my favorites

the doomsday book is very good (from the above very short list)

Jon Miller

Announcement

Recommend me a fantasy book/series

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment