I've picked up reading and need suggestions.

tvalentine

well as the title says, i've picked up reading. Started with the dragon age books since i liked the world it was set in (or so i thought) and i would like to know of more books that are similar to the 2 DA books (setting and possibly reading level). I ordered the first book of the wheel of time to see how it is, i hear the series is great. Does anyone have any suggestions of books that are similar to the ones i've read?

nurgles

here is one of the classics of heroic fantasy

Bigdavo

Raymond E. Feist - Magician. Awesome series look it up, and judging from your post should be right up your alley

pyrofreak

The Wheel of Time is one of the most in-depth works of fantasy you can ever imagine. The character development is really next to none. That said, it's a bit long winded and because Jordan died it's being finished (through his notes) by another author.

Recommendations:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin - Good characters, good story, not afraid to kill a character. May never be finished at this rate.

The Belgariad and Malloreon by David Eddings - Not as deep as Martin or Jordan's offerings, fairly entry level fantasy. Fair bit of comic relief throughout the books. This is the series that started me in on fantasy.

The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind - Fairly good fantasy, probably should have been wrapped up somewhere around book 6. It's dragging on and I don't know if Goodkind has any exit strategy.

Codex Alera by Jim Butcher - Also fairly entry level, imagine what would have happened if Rome never died out and could control the elements. Entire series is out and had a fairly stereotypical, decent, conclusion.

The Magewar Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon - Haven't read it in a while, excellent read though. Has sentient animals created through magical means.

 

That's all the recommendations I really have for now, enjoy!

Zyke

I also highly recommend Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire.

Onto that list throw the Malazan series by Steven Erikson. Just as much quality as the other mentioned series, with lots of the fun reading of graphic violence, horrible deaths, and all the joy that goes with it. Tends to have more large scale and detailed battles than the other two and focuses more on world building than individual characters.

Rayx0r

the Terry Brooks (Shannara series) is pretty good.  Also R.A. Salvatore is good for someone just starting to read.

Umbrood

The Magician, as someone allready said, heaps of books in that series, that spans centuries.

My own fantasy favourites?

The Amber Series by Roger Zelazny, ten books in all but I do not think any of them is more then 250 pages, NOT like Jordan..

Really recomend these, more intellectual then high fantasy though.

The Elric Novels by Michael Moorcock, ( Yeah I know, that kid must have had a rough childhood, but none the less. )

High Fanatasy, and as dark as you can go, Elric is like no other "anti-hero" ever.

In fact, writing about them made me wanna go trough them again, so i shall.

pyrofreak

Originally posted by Sureth


I'm currently reading the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. So far, I'm on the second book and I LOVE it. It's about an orphaned boy in a setting of "castles, magic and guilds." He gets beaten and treated like crap by his guild leader and well, let's just say the first book is mainly about him training to become a wetboy, or assassin.
An entry level series in my opinion are the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. It's about the only wizard for hire in a city and crazy stuff always seems to happen to him. Pretty good series in my opinion.
You could also try The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. It's about a gunslinger named Roland, and the whole series in itself is awesome.
I'm currently debating on what exactly to read next. I've always liked the Warcraft world so I might pick up the World of Warcraft books, or maybe the Starcraft ones.
 As you can tell, I love fantasy type novels. I MUST READ MORE!
 
(This is strictly my opinion and in no way reflects the views of the mmorpg.com staff) :]

Honestly, if you like the Dresden Files, you may as well pick up Codex Alera, I mean, it's the same author!

TheHatter

Medieval SciFi - It's a masterpiece and I can't believe there have been so many failed attempts at making it into film.

tvalentine

thanks for the suggestions, i'll be checking these books out.

Chealar

You may want to check also the Dune series (by Frank Herbert) and the Amber cycle (by Roger Zelazny).

Illius

If you want some light reading in the fantasy genre, go check out anything written under the Forgotten Realms name.  Some will scoff at this suggestion but I'm a fan of the forgotten realms setting and enjoy a lot of the material.  Easy to read, entertaining, and depending on which writer you find good action and comic relief.  I figure since you started with the DA books, a lot of the Forgotten Realms might be right up your alley, especially if you're familiar with other Bioware games like the Baldur's Gate series, or Neverwinter Nights stuff.

I like R.A. Salvatore but I also suggest you go find some Robert E. Howard and read his stuff too.  If you're at all a fan of Conan (the hero, not the game) then you need to read the original stuff that Howard wrote.  He's got other interesting takes on heroes such as Solomon Kane.. there's a movie due out with him in it....

Azareal

All good suggestions by the various posters although I do have my own personal issues against Wheel of Time. Nothing to do with the story itself but just think that it's very commercialized. Here's some suggestions, across the board :

1.   Chronicles of Thomas Covenant  (Stephen R Donaldson) - One of the more unusual stories I've ever read and some parts are not really for children.

2.   The Book of Lost Swords (Fred Saberhagen) - One of the best series I've read although I think they may be out of print now.

3.   Mars Trilogy (Kim Stanley Robinson) - A very interesting use of the scifi genre to get across economics and geo-political issues. Plus the science involved in colonization of a planet is very interesting too.

4.   The Jason Borne trilogy (Robert Ludlum) - Reads nothing like the movies and 100% better by far.

5.   The Iliad / The Odyssey (Homer) - Always a good change of pace to read the classics every now and then.

6.   An Unfinished Life (Robert Dallek) - Always good to read some history and JFK is always interesting.

That should keep you going for awhile.

Distopia

If you're a star wars fan some of the books are well written, some not so much.

Other than that anything Conan might be up your alley, as far as dark fantasy goes. A lot of my friends seem to like warhammer novels, never read any myself. There are tons of good fantasy books to choose from, I usually just pick up what seems interesting hardly have I been disappointed.

tvalentine

Originally posted by Illius


If you want some light reading in the fantasy genre, go check out anything written under the Forgotten Realms name.  Some will scoff at this suggestion but I'm a fan of the forgotten realms setting and enjoy a lot of the material.  Easy to read, entertaining, and depending on which writer you find good action and comic relief.  I figure since you started with the DA books, a lot of the Forgotten Realms might be right up your alley, especially if you're familiar with other Bioware games like the Baldur's Gate series, or Neverwinter Nights stuff.


I like R.A. Salvatore but I also suggest you go find some Robert E. Howard and read his stuff too.  If you're at all a fan of Conan (the hero, not the game) then you need to read the original stuff that Howard wrote.  He's got other interesting takes on heroes such as Solomon Kane.. there's a movie due out with him in it....

 

ah i forgot about the conan books, thanks for mentioning it. This thread has been more helpful then i thought it would be.

Chealar

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Originally posted by Malickie
If you're a star wars fan some of the books are well written, some not so much.

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I'd recommand the Timothy Zahn, first the Thrawn Trilogy and then the Hand of Thrawn Duology.