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Medieval Fantasy?

C

chaser226

New Member
Hi, I've been booted in a huge kick start in my reading with the Harry Potter series. I never really got too much into reading but harry potter just kept me going and going, and now i'm closing in on the finish of the 5th book.
:D <---Proud. Well I'm looking for more books to read after Harry Potter and my interest in the Medieval fantasy world is going nuts, I feel Harry Potter doesn't kill my craving and something more like lord of the rings would do much better. I'm really into things like kingdoms, knights, Magic. So I was hoping you guys can recommend some books to me and give me some idea of what its about. Much appreciated thank you.
 
I like Mercedes Lackey, her Valdemar series has a medieval feel, instead of knights they have "heralds" with magical abilities, who ride Companions - talking horses.
 
If you're looking for something with a humorous twist, Peter David's Sir Apropos of Nothing has lots of knights and kings and adventures, as well as tons of mythological creatures.
 
VTChEwbecca said:
If you're looking for something with a humorous twist, Peter David's Sir Apropos of Nothing has lots of knights and kings and adventures, as well as tons of mythological creatures.
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LOL! A good suggestion if the reader doesn't mind humor. :)

Although not so much knights, but certainly fitting into the medeval and magic them, I can't walk away without suggesting the Deryni Series by Katherine Kurtz.
 
Yet again I shall recommend A Game of Thrones. Classic tale of war between various kingdoms. Lots of knights bashing away at each other with swords, plus you've got some mythical creatures thrown in for good measure.

There's also Ash by Mary Gentle. It's a sort of alternate history book, but that doesn't quite cover it. It's also got knights in it, again with the bashing of swords, but the story mostly follows a company of mercenary soldiers who'll fight for whoever's prepared to pay. Gets a bit weird in places though.

Both books are serious and quite plot heavy.
 
I don't know if this will be up your alley or not, given that you're coming from Harry Potter land, but you asked for serious medieval fare. So there.

One of the finest novels I ever read was Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's fairly long, but an amazing, heartbreaking story. Excellent characters.
 
{Tigress} said:
LOL! A good suggestion if the reader doesn't mind humor. :)

Although not so much knights, but certainly fitting into the medeval and magic them, I can't walk away without suggesting the Deryni Series by Katherine Kurtz.
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I found it to be an amusing read, but certainly full of adventure. I quite enjoy Harry Potter, but I'm not a huge fan of LOTR (the books, that is, I did enjoy the movies). My problem with fantasies is that they often keep running into one problem after another, and by the 12th trial, I'm tired and ready to move on. Often I feel the go a bit over the top, and just have to fit in one...more...adventure, before they can end the book. I kinda got this with Sir Apropos of Nothing, but it was nothing like some of the more "serious" fantasies.

I have Kurtz on my wishlist, so I plan to get to her sometime within the next six months, if I don't get sidetracked.
 
Hmm I'll definitely check out Game Of Thrones and Ash. =] I'm also interested in Tigana, would you please give me a small idea of what its about? Thank you for everyone's recommendations, much appreciation to you all.
 
VTChEwbecca said:
I found it to be an amusing read, but certainly full of adventure. I quite enjoy Harry Potter, but I'm not a huge fan of LOTR (the books, that is, I did enjoy the movies). My problem with fantasies is that they often keep running into one problem after another, and by the 12th trial, I'm tired and ready to move on. Often I feel the go a bit over the top, and just have to fit in one...more...adventure, before they can end the book. I kinda got this with Sir Apropos of Nothing, but it was nothing like some of the more "serious" fantasies.

I have Kurtz on my wishlist, so I plan to get to her sometime within the next six months, if I don't get sidetracked.
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I hear ya about gettin' a bit exhausting. My favorite kind of stories are those where there is good amount of "down time" in which you really get to know the characters and they get to develop relationships amongst themselves. If it's all action and little interaction, I feel I'm missing something, regardless of the genre.

When you finally get to Kurtz, please let me know how you like her!
 
It may not be what you're looking for but I thought The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis was excellent.

It's not so much in the fantasy vein but is about a girl that time travels back to 14th century England wich wasn't all happy happy, joy joy. It has a very realistic but dark touch to it. Don't look for the knight to save the damsel in distress though because it's not that type.

She won Hugo & Nebula awrds for it when it first came out and she was said to of done 4-5 years of reasearch before hand to make it as realistic as possible.


RaVeN
 
RaVeN said:
It may not be what you're looking for but I thought The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

...about a girl that time travels back to 14th century England wich wasn't all happy happy, joy joy.
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What's the relevance to the Doomsday Book in the 14th Century?
 
Dragonlance maybe? It's doesn't take place in Medieval Times (actually I'm not quite sure if it happens on the Earth) but I remember there are some knights and a lot of sword figthing.
 
Mile-O-Phile said:
What's the relevance to the Doomsday Book in the 14th Century?
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I'm honestly not sure if I understand your question Mile-O. Would you please rephrase it for me?


RaVeN
 
Personally, I preferred Kay's 'Lions of Al-Rassan' to 'Tigana,' but they're both pretty good.

You may want to check out some of David Gemmel's works. They may not promote the idea of chivalry (IMHO, neither does Harry Potter), but going back to your 'kingdoms, knights, magic' it seems right. Gemmel writes the 'heroic' fantasy well. Give 'Legend' a go.

GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire isn't bad- it's more for those people who like soaps (Eastenders etc), rather than the conventional beginning, middle and end of a story. It relies a little too much on shock value to hold attention, but it's not too bad a read. *On another note, I preferred the intrigue in Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince saga to that in ASOIAF, though ASOIAF has other things going for it*


Anyway, if you liked Harry Potter, have you read Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy?

What did people think of Nix's Sabriel? I'm tempted.
 
fluffy bunny said:
GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire isn't bad- it's more for those people who like soaps (Eastenders etc), rather than the conventional beginning, middle and end of a story.
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I don't agree with the soap analogy at all. I don't watch soaps, can't stand them. The books are certainly more convoluted than most, but I think there's still a beginning middle and end, it's just that the middle is veeeeeery long and the end is nowhere in sight.

I'll agree with Legend though. A very good book. And while I like Dragon Prince, it can be a bit of a girly romance book at times.
 
RaVeN said:
I'm honestly not sure if I understand your question Mile-O. Would you please rephrase it for me?
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Does the story revolve around the real Domesday Book and, if so, what is its use in a story set in the 14th Century?
 
Mile-O-Phile said:
Does the story revolve around the real Domesday Book and, if so, what is its use in a story set in the 14th Century?
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Sorry it took me so long to reply. It took a while to blow the dust off the book AND my memory.

The short answer to your question is no. I don't think it revolves around the real Doomsday Book , which I gather from browsing through Willis's work, is a book of surveys or observations by William The Conqueror durring the same time period this story takes place.


RaVeN
 
still worth the read?

Well after all the recommendations I got in the other thread, I've decided to buy Legend along with (a choice of my own) Eragon. =P Thanks to all those who helped me choose the books and I kept a record of them all for future reads.

Now I want to know if LOTR is still worth reading if I saw all 3 movies already? I mean, shouldn't the books have more story?
 
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