Fantasy series to recommend

stop__dreaming · 06-02-2015, 01:34 PM

Can anyone recommend a good fantasy series for me, one that has dragons, swords etc, akin to GoT but just not as lonnnng - maybe under 400 pages?

Thanks.

HudsonSpike · 06-02-2015, 02:02 PM

I liked Anne McCaffery's Pern Series. I might be wrong, but it seems that she invented the dragon fantasy genre since she's been writing about them since the '60s. I'm not sure how long they run, but there's novels, novellas and short stories in the series.

Quote:

Life on Pern as presented in the novels resembles a pre-industrial society with lords, holds, harpers (musicians, entertainers, and teachers), and dragons, with the occasional examples of higher technology (like flamethrowers, telegraphi, chemical fertilizers, and powerful microscopes and telescopes).

(From Wikipedia - LINK)

Here's a link to a list of books in order and in chronological order (PDF).

HarryT · 06-02-2015, 02:10 PM

The Pern series is excellent, certainly, but it is generally considered to be SF, not fantasy.

HudsonSpike · 06-02-2015, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Pern series is excellent, certainly, but it is generally considered to be SF, not fantasy.

Thanks for the correction. I tend to classify SF as technology at least 30 years in the future and anything else as fantasy, but that is my own take on it.

WillAdams · 06-02-2015, 02:22 PM

Most of the books in Steven Brust's Dragaera series, esp. the Taltos books are short. Arguably SF though as well, but read as fantasy and the SF backstory is well worked in and hidden. There aren't that many dragons (unless one counts the elves who are dragons).

Early Michael Moorcock tended toward short and the Elric series had dragons occasionally.

The Hobbit if you haven't read it. (not very gritty though, quite the opposite).

dickloraine · 06-02-2015, 07:15 PM

Are dragons and swords a requirement? You see, most fantasy series with dragons and swords are nothing like GoT. What do you like on GoT? The prose, the intrigue, the grittiness, the characters etc?
Anyways, here are a few good series:
The Lies of Locke Lamora: Not like GoT at all. But has very good prose and fantastic characters. The world is grim too, but much humor in it. Essentially a heist story going revange. 3 books so far, but bigger than 400 pages, but the first can be read as a standalone.

Anything from Abercrombie. Grim and dark world and characters. Like Martin many twists on tropes.

Mistborn by Sanderson. Quite a contrast to Martin. Action packed, more light sided fantasy, easy to read and the books are not that big.

Some books with dragons and swords:
The Hobbit (dragon) and Lord of the Rings (sword). Classic and brilliant.

Naomi Novik has a series about dragon riders in alternative history.
Dragon Lance. More dragon is impossible. Loved as a teenager, now very trashy, but hey, dragons it has.

Earthsea has dragons. But main character is a wizard. Very good book and series. A classic too.

hildea · 06-03-2015, 01:53 AM

"Curse of Chalion" by Bujold has power struggles and intrigue at court, and magic/miracles, but no dragons. (Also great characters, wordbuilding, and plot.) It works as a stand-alone, although there's a second book following another character (Paladin of souls).

DrNefario · 06-03-2015, 03:57 AM

I'd recommend some Stephen Deas. The Memory of Flames series, starting with The Adamantine Palace, are dragony and politicsy and fast-paced. The Gallow series, under the pen name Nathan Hawke, are more Viking/David Gemmell in tone. Neither have particularly thick books.

PandathePanda · 06-03-2015, 04:34 AM

There is the shannarra series, dragonlance, the whole dungeon and dragon inspired series, forgotten realms, and David Eddings' writings

PurpleStar · 06-03-2015, 09:52 AM

Eragon comes to mind if you want dragons. It's around 500 pages but YA so should be easy enough.

crossi · 06-03-2015, 10:39 AM

David Eddings Belgariad series. Lots of swords, one dragon. Its 5 books, don't know how many pages but a much faster read than Tolkein.

Mercedes Lackey's Joust, Alta and Sanctuary books.

Rachel Aaron's the Legend of Eli Monpress series. A unique magic system that works by talking to things. Convince a cell door that the nails holding it together are uncomfortable and it would feel much better if it got rid of them.

stop__dreaming · 06-03-2015, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dickloraine

Are dragons and swords a requirement? You see, most fantasy series with dragons and swords are nothing like GoT. What do you like on GoT? The prose, the intrigue, the grittiness, the characters etc?
Anyways, here are a few good series:
The Lies of Locke Lamora: Not like GoT at all. But has very good prose and fantastic characters. The world is grim too, but much humor in it. Essentially a heist story going revange. 3 books so far, but bigger than 400 pages, but the first can be read as a standalone.

Anything from Abercrombie. Grim and dark world and characters. Like Martin many twists on tropes.

Mistborn by Sanderson. Quite a contrast to Martin. Action packed, more light sided fantasy, easy to read and the books are not that big.

Some books with dragons and swords:
The Hobbit (dragon) and Lord of the Rings (sword). Classic and brilliant.

Naomi Novik has a series about dragon riders in alternative history.
Dragon Lance. More dragon is impossible. Loved as a teenager, now very trashy, but hey, dragons it has.

Earthsea has dragons. But main character is a wizard. Very good book and series. A classic too.

If I'm honest, I didn't like GoT at all. Read the first book and was quite bored, but I did like the setting, grittiness and unpredictability.

I have read Lies of Locke Lamora - really enjoyable.

Also enjoyed Mistborn.

Hobbit not so much.

Thanks for all your recommendations. Appreciate it.

dickloraine · 06-03-2015, 07:03 PM

Gritty it should be and not that predictable ? As above Abercrombie is a good bet. The there is the Broken Empire Series by Mark Lawrence. Quite brilliant, good prose. But a warning, even if gritty is wished: The story is told in first person by a sociopath.
I enjoyed Anthony Ryans Blood Song.
Then there is the Black Company by Glen Cook. A long series but the books are not that big.
Last a series that stands above all the others in my opinion and that has it all: Grit, Dragons, Swords, Magic, Empires, Undead, Gods and is really unpredictable and finished. The only flaw: The books are very big: The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Stevn Erikson.

mewmartigan · 06-04-2015, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stop__dreaming

I have read Lies of Locke Lamora - really enjoyable.

There are two sequels out also if you haven't read them.

Red Seas Under Red Skies
Republic of Thieves

The Thorn of Emberlain (forthcoming)

artifact · 06-05-2015, 01:24 AM

Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham. Very GoT like with differing POVs. Once upon a time the world was ruled by dragons and they created 8 or 9 difference races of man to be their slaves. There are swords, actors, bankers, mercenaries, ancient gods, and the rise of a tyrant from the tyrant's POV. What more could one want? The first book is 500 pages according to Goodreads. They aren't very action paced so may be as boring as GoT.

I just finished the Land Fit for Heroes series by Richard K. Morgan. The main character is gay in a homophobic world so its a nice twist on the usual man gets girl story. It has kinda-dwarves and kinda-elves and drifting masses of kelp that hatch lizardmen and dragons. Goodreads says 391 pages for the first.

War God series by David Weber. I don't recall dragons but the hero is an orc swordsman. The first book is in the Baen free library. A new novel in the setting is soon to be published (or maybe has been already.) 575 pages for the first, but the second is under 400.

David Daglish writes straight DnD fantasy where you can practically hear the dice rolling as you read. IIRC they are relatively short.

06-02-2015, 01:34 PM	#1
stop__dreaming Addict Posts: 202 Karma: 1211098 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bristol, England Device: Kindle 3	Fantasy series to recommend Can anyone recommend a good fantasy series for me, one that has dragons, swords etc, akin to GoT but just not as lonnnng - maybe under 400 pages? Thanks.

06-02-2015, 02:22 PM	#5
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,258 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	Most of the books in Steven Brust's Dragaera series, esp. the Taltos books are short. Arguably SF though as well, but read as fantasy and the SF backstory is well worked in and hidden. There aren't that many dragons (unless one counts the elves who are dragons). Early Michael Moorcock tended toward short and the Elric series had dragons occasionally. The Hobbit if you haven't read it. (not very gritty though, quite the opposite). Last edited by WillAdams; 06-03-2015 at 10:12 AM.

06-05-2015, 01:24 AM	#15
artifact Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3569616 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: jetBook (RIP), Kobo Touch	Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham. Very GoT like with differing POVs. Once upon a time the world was ruled by dragons and they created 8 or 9 difference races of man to be their slaves. There are swords, actors, bankers, mercenaries, ancient gods, and the rise of a tyrant from the tyrant's POV. What more could one want? The first book is 500 pages according to Goodreads. They aren't very action paced so may be as boring as GoT. I just finished the Land Fit for Heroes series by Richard K. Morgan. The main character is gay in a homophobic world so its a nice twist on the usual man gets girl story. It has kinda-dwarves and kinda-elves and drifting masses of kelp that hatch lizardmen and dragons. Goodreads says 391 pages for the first. War God series by David Weber. I don't recall dragons but the hero is an orc swordsman. The first book is in the Baen free library. A new novel in the setting is soon to be published (or maybe has been already.) 575 pages for the first, but the second is under 400. David Daglish writes straight DnD fantasy where you can practically hear the dice rolling as you read. IIRC they are relatively short. Last edited by artifact; 06-05-2015 at 01:29 AM.

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06-02-2015, 02:10 PM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The Pern series is excellent, certainly, but it is generally considered to be SF, not fantasy.

06-02-2015, 07:15 PM	#6
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544528 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	Are dragons and swords a requirement? You see, most fantasy series with dragons and swords are nothing like GoT. What do you like on GoT? The prose, the intrigue, the grittiness, the characters etc? Anyways, here are a few good series: The Lies of Locke Lamora: Not like GoT at all. But has very good prose and fantastic characters. The world is grim too, but much humor in it. Essentially a heist story going revange. 3 books so far, but bigger than 400 pages, but the first can be read as a standalone. Anything from Abercrombie. Grim and dark world and characters. Like Martin many twists on tropes. Mistborn by Sanderson. Quite a contrast to Martin. Action packed, more light sided fantasy, easy to read and the books are not that big. Some books with dragons and swords: The Hobbit (dragon) and Lord of the Rings (sword). Classic and brilliant. Naomi Novik has a series about dragon riders in alternative history. Dragon Lance. More dragon is impossible. Loved as a teenager, now very trashy, but hey, dragons it has. Earthsea has dragons. But main character is a wizard. Very good book and series. A classic too.

06-03-2015, 01:53 AM	#7
hildea Wizard Posts: 1,308 Karma: 66666666 Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Norway Device: PocketBook Touch Lux (had Onyx Boox Poke 3 and BeBook Neo earlier)	"Curse of Chalion" by Bujold has power struggles and intrigue at court, and magic/miracles, but no dragons. (Also great characters, wordbuilding, and plot.) It works as a stand-alone, although there's a second book following another character (Paladin of souls).

06-03-2015, 03:57 AM	#8
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,189 Karma: 12000000 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I'd recommend some Stephen Deas. The Memory of Flames series, starting with The Adamantine Palace, are dragony and politicsy and fast-paced. The Gallow series, under the pen name Nathan Hawke, are more Viking/David Gemmell in tone. Neither have particularly thick books.

06-03-2015, 04:34 AM	#9
PandathePanda a toy panda Posts: 2,568 Karma: 26020474 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Onboard the Queen Anne's Revenge Device: Various Android dvices	There is the shannarra series, dragonlance, the whole dungeon and dragon inspired series, forgotten realms, and David Eddings' writings

06-03-2015, 09:52 AM	#10
PurpleStar Wizard Posts: 1,625 Karma: 11387182 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Clara BW, Kindle Paperwhite (11th Gen)	Eragon comes to mind if you want dragons. It's around 500 pages but YA so should be easy enough.

06-03-2015, 10:39 AM	#11
crossi Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	David Eddings Belgariad series. Lots of swords, one dragon. Its 5 books, don't know how many pages but a much faster read than Tolkein. Mercedes Lackey's Joust, Alta and Sanctuary books. Rachel Aaron's the Legend of Eli Monpress series. A unique magic system that works by talking to things. Convince a cell door that the nails holding it together are uncomfortable and it would feel much better if it got rid of them.

06-03-2015, 07:03 PM	#13
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544528 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	Gritty it should be and not that predictable ? As above Abercrombie is a good bet. The there is the Broken Empire Series by Mark Lawrence. Quite brilliant, good prose. But a warning, even if gritty is wished: The story is told in first person by a sociopath. I enjoyed Anthony Ryans Blood Song. Then there is the Black Company by Glen Cook. A long series but the books are not that big. Last a series that stands above all the others in my opinion and that has it all: Grit, Dragons, Swords, Magic, Empires, Undead, Gods and is really unpredictable and finished. The only flaw: The books are very big: The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Stevn Erikson.

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