A Fantasy Novel YOU would recommend

[wayspooled]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

slightly OT:

Yes, your whole hierarchy of reading development parallels my own, as we've discussed, but add ALL of Edgar Rice Burroughs and then Robert E. Howard's Lancer series from 1966 and on.

Wonderful, wonderful stuff.


Don

Y'all are like literary soul-brothers of mine. I don't usually talk about the older stuff I read when I first got interested in sci-fi.

I discovered sci-fi immediately after absorbing R. Sidney Bowen's Red Randall and Dave Dawson ww2 books and the Al Avery "A Yank" ww2 books + DC Comics + Four Color/Dell Comics On my older cousin's bookshelf at my Grandmothers where he'd stayed a couple years, I found his Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan and Pellucidar and John Carter books - some Howard, Lieber, Bester, L Sprague de Camp, Fredric Brown and C. Simak. And off I went on my reading adventure of a lifetime

[bertold]

There are so many great fantasty books out there it's difficult to recommend just one, but every time someone asks me to do that, I immediately blurt out "Tales of the Dying Earth" by Jack Vance. I don't know why. It's not my favorite fantasy book. I don't reread it as often as some other fantasy books. I don't know it as well as other fantasy books. Yet, invariably, it is the first book that comes to mind when someone asks me for a fantasy recommendation.

[pdurrant]

Oh - His Ethshar series are excellent, especially the first "The Misenchanted Sword"

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook1456.htm

Originally Posted by sirbruce

Lawrence Watt-Evans

[Over]

Originally Posted by Darqref

I recommend "The Paladin of Souls" by Lois McMaster Bujold.

This is the second book of her "5 gods" series (only three are written). It shares the background of the first book "The Curse of Chalion". While some details are a bit clearer if you've read the first book, Paladin stands alone. Most fantasy that uses human protagonists (as apposed to Elves, or Hobbits, or such) tend to feature a young person, and are frequently a coming-of-age story. Paladin of Souls features a mature woman, who only starts this adventure because her daughter is now the queen - her duty is done and she's basically trying to escape. It's a welcome change to read about adults, once in a while.

From Publishers Weekly:

It's available in ebook (I got it in mobi from our library).

I've enjoyed "The Curse of Chalion", you just made me recall I have "The Paladin of Souls" (pbook) somewhere. I should pick it up. I definitely agree with you that I'm a bit tired of reading about youngsters.

Btw, what do you mean you got the book in a library? Are these kind of books (entertainment) avalable in public libraries in your country?

[Over]

Almost forgot to give my advice:

Magician, by Raymond E. Feist

[Darqref]

Originally Posted by Over

I've enjoyed "The Curse of Chalion", you just made me recall I have "The Paladin of Souls" (pbook) somewhere. I should pick it up. I definitely agree with you that I'm a bit tired of reading about youngsters.

Btw, what do you mean you got the book in a library? Are these kind of books (entertainment) avalable in public libraries in your country?

Yes, there are many (well, at least *some*) libraries here that are loaning ebooks - they're drm versions with a time limit. There was a fix to my cybook that made the date function work so that this drm would work, but I confess I stripped the drm to read it (I already have a personally autographed copy of the hardback.) and I'll delete it when I finish (again, I've already read the paper)

You must qualify to obtain a library card (and I don't know offhand what the KCLS limits are, but general residence in the county is usually required.) KCLS (King County Library System) has some in mobi, and some in pdf. at the least, I could use the mobi reader for my computer and read it there.

Neat stuff, but as always the catalog doesn't have much that I'm interested in - I borrowed Paladin of Souls mostly as a proof of concept to see if it would work.

[BlackVoid]

Brandon Sanderson - Elantris

A very good standalone novel.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by toomanybooks

I loved Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. As far as I know this is his only fantasy novel.

Actually he has a whole series set in alternate 19th century North America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tales_of_Alvin_Maker

[Over]

Originally Posted by Darqref

Yes, there are many (well, at least *some*) libraries here that are loaning ebooks - they're drm versions with a time limit. There was a fix to my cybook that made the date function work so that this drm would work, but I confess I stripped the drm to read it (I already have a personally autographed copy of the hardback.) and I'll delete it when I finish (again, I've already read the paper)

You must qualify to obtain a library card (and I don't know offhand what the KCLS limits are, but general residence in the county is usually required.) KCLS (King County Library System) has some in mobi, and some in pdf. at the least, I could use the mobi reader for my computer and read it there.

Neat stuff, but as always the catalog doesn't have much that I'm interested in - I borrowed Paladin of Souls mostly as a proof of concept to see if it would work.

That's interesting. Not only your libraries have that kind of literature, but they have in ebook form too! Are those PDF formated for small displays, or in A4 format? It's all cost free?

Thank you for answering.

[pdurrant]

I've made a summary of the recommendations so far, as I wanted to take advantage of the fictionwise 9th Anniversary sale (30% to 50% discount or rebate on everything). Links provided for those books I found at Fictionwise, webscriptions, Amazon Kindle, of course, here at Mobileread.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
Lucy's Blade by John Lambshead
The Odyssey by Homer
A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth Series) by Piers Anthony
Tigana by Guy Guvriel Kay
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Guvriel Kay
The Way of Ecben, by James Branch Cabell
Black God's Shadow by Catherine L Moore
Beowulf
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
The Lies of the Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony
The Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings
Dragonworld by Byron Preiss
Mordant's Need by Stephen Donaldson
Glory Road - Robert A. Heinlein
The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Elfhunter by C. S. Marks
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Year of Our War by Steph Swainston
The Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
The Ancient Future by Traci Harding
Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Gloriana by Michael Moorcock
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirlees
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
A Shadow on the Glass by Ian Irving
Mighty Hammer Down by David J Guyton
Avempartha by Michael J. Sullivan

[GeoffC]

Odyssey and Beowolf, of course, available here for free.....

[KevisHendrickson]

Anyone looking for a great fantasy book should check out Elfhunter by C.S. Marks. It's the first installment in a trilogy of award-winning fantasy books. Best part is, it's only 99 cents right now. Don't think it will be that way for long.

For the record, I've read Elfhunter and its sequel Fire-heart and found them both to be exceptional books. I just got the final book Ravenshade and will begin to read it sometime this week. Just thought I should spread the word.

[wayspooled]

I've been thinking about what I'd recommend that no one has mentioned. A really good and accessible book since it's available here at Mobileread. I think I'd recommend The Professor Challenger Adventures, specifically The Lost World. Would you consider dinosaurs in the Amazon, sci-fi or fantasy?

It's funny, I read and really enjoyed the complete Sherlock Holmes so many years ago. And shortly thereafter I discovered he's written some books that I'd read as Classics Illustrated much earlier, The White Company and The Lost World. Yet I've never had the desire to reread Sherlock but I bet I've read the other two at least twice each.

[6charlong]

No one has mentioned Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It's described as "an adult fairy tale." I'm no good at book reviews, but I found the story truly delightful. It is similar to a movie by the same name, but written with more detail and a lighter touch.

[Darqref]

Originally Posted by Over

That's interesting. Not only your libraries have that kind of literature, but they have in ebook form too! Are those PDF formated for small displays, or in A4 format? It's all cost free?

Thank you for answering.

Well, libraries here generally stock what people ask for, plus a bit that the librarians think *should* be there. In years past, my mother was a library clerk at a small branch, and I regularly helped her choose what SF to order for the branch. Like audiobooks, magazines, and dvd/vhs, ebooks depend on what is legally available, what fits in the budget, and what people request. And we pay for it with our taxes, so TANNSTAFL.

Dunno about the pdf, I generally try ANYTHING before committing pdf (and my cybook wouldn't be able to handle the pdf without stripping it anyway. The mobi seems to be formatted correctly, but the meta data isn't as complete as I'd like (which is probably due to the publisher/distributor rather than the library)

Check the wiki, but there may be some library systems that allow purchase of a card without being a resident.