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I've never read a fantasy genre book, where do I begin?

moltomezzo

moltomezzo

New Member
I'd like to give the fantasy genre a try. Would love to see any suggestions you guys here might have. I think I'd prefer to stay away from hardcore sci-fi and time travel types, but would enjoy anything with faeries, witches, and the like...

What book and/or author would you recommend for a total newbie?
 
I haven't read much either, I liked the Otherland series by Tad Williams and Witching Hour by Anne Rice but I can't think of any others right now. My husband is the Scifi and Fantasy reader soI usually will read some of his books if he really liked them. He just sent me War of the Flowers by Tad Williams and said I would probably like it.

Otherland... Surrounded by secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nighmares. Incredible amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have labored to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming the Earth's most valuable resource--its children.

Witching Hour... Rowan Mayfair, a neurosurgeon with special powers and the descendant of a dynasty of witches, is drawn to Michael Curry, gifted with strange powers after a near-fatal accident, as they seek to unlock the secret of their talents.

War of the Flowers...When his music career becomes stagnant, Theo Vilmos seeks solace in a secluded cabin in the woods where he discovers an old book written by his great-uncle that transports him into the terrifying world of Faerie.
 
Start with the best. Raymond E. Fiest, David Eddings, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman all write amazingly great fantasy, especially Fiest. The Riftwar Cycle (Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon) is the best fantasy there is IMHO and is a good place to start. The Shadowleauge (The Heart of Myrial, The Spirit Of The Stone and Eye Of Eternity) is a good example of the genre authough the last few chapters of the last book go a bit sci-fi. Fiest's SerphentWar series is full of magic, battles, sommoning and the like. My final recomendation is The Redemtion Of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings; this is a good book for a new reader to the genre.
 
Fistandantilus said:
Start with the best. Raymond E. Fiest, David Eddings, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
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All excellent suggestions. I would add The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Legend by David Gemmell, Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens and The Runelords: The Sum of All Men by David Farland. These are all great jumping on points for a novice Fantasy reader.
 
Sell Sword said:
All excellent suggestions. I would add The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Legend by David Gemmell, Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens and The Runelords: The Sum of All Men by David Farland. These are all great jumping on points for a novice Fantasy reader.
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excellent suggestions also :)

The two books eye of the world and wizards first rule are the beginning of long cycles with many books, so be prepared to obtain all of them especially wizards first rule- it will most likely have you hooked. I will point out that some find parts of wizards first rule slightly disturbing.
 
Fistandantilus said:
Try the Belgaraid by Eddings starting with the Pawn Of Prophecy.
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I'd start with Eddings. Some people call him 'cliched', but I think he writes very accessible fantasy for those who are trying it out for the first time. It's got a nice spot of humour between the characters who banter back and forth. I think this will make you at ease with the genre. This was one of the first fantasy series' that I read and I still adore it and all the characters.
 
It depends on what you like to read. Perhaps if you tell a little more about what non-fantasy books you like, or what you think makes a good book.
 
I wouldnt go with Terry Brooks work.. The sword of truth by terry goodkind is pretty good introduction into the fantasy world. If you are looking for a more complicated read I would suggest Gardens Of The Moon by Steven Erikson or a Song Of Ice and FIre by George R.R Martin. Eddings is a pretty good choice also. If you haven't read Lord Of The Rings you should pick it up. It is a good introduction novel also
 
My final recomendation is The Redemption Of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings
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I liked every suggestion in the thread up to this (Weis, Feist, Terry Brooks, Eddings Belgariad, etc). Stick with the Belgariad/Mallorean IMO as far as Eddings, all his other books are poor clones of it (the Sparhawk books are also a clone of the Belgariad, better or worse I haven't concluded).


Also I personally think Jordan's first Wheel of Time book was alright, the books go rapidly downhill...way overhyped IMO. At least George RR Martin is worthy of the hype.
 
If you are looking for magic, battles and adventuring, Dragonlance is a good choice. The older books are written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and are loosely based on Dungeons and Dragons. The best books are The Dragonlance Chronichles and The Dragonlance Legends.
 
Fistandantilus said:
If you like a good laugh read Discworld by Terry Pratchet- Fantasy and Humour. Pure genius.
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In my opinion, I think you're better off trying some less tongue-in-cheek fantasy as your first foray into the genre. Firstly because these books aren't really that representative of the genre you are looking to investigate; secondly because a lot of Pratchett's humour is derived from parodies of 'traditional' fantasy cliches, and you will get a lot more enjoyment out of them if you firstly read the basis for the parodies.

But that's just my opinion, and I must also confess to not being that great of a Terry Pratchett fan. :eek:
 
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