Character-driven fantasy books

GreenMonkey · 03-12-2014, 03:05 PM

OK.

I always post in the fantasy recommendation threads but I could use some suggestions myself. Could use something new to read.

I'm a big fan of Robin Hobb & George RR Martin. At the #3 spot is Isaac Asimov which is funny because he is definitely a different style (love the Robot & Foundation books though). C.S. Friedman is perhaps at #4.

In my top 10 books/trilogies list would include the Empire Trilogy (Fiest/Wurts) and the Serpentwar (particularly Rise of a Merchant Prince). I can't throw Feist in my top 10 authors list these days (last handful of Riftwar books have been only OK).

So that gives you an idea of my favorite writers / books.

More recently (last couple of years) I've really enjoyed:

Brandon Sanderson's stuff (Elantris, Mistborn in particular)
Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards (especially The Lies of Locke Lamora, that was fantastic).

And liked:
Greg Keyes (Waterborn, Thorn & Bone)
Glen Cook's Black Company books
Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages books (I see there's finally a release date for a new one on Amazon!)

And finally I'm not sure if I like the Malazan book of the Fallen series yet. It's hard reading (I read book 1 twice and just finished book 2 a few weeks back).

So? Any suggestions? They don't need to be ebooks either (I'm fine with paper books also).

And definitely do not suggest The Wheel of Time. I dunno but somehow I find they spin around and go nowhere - and I can't stand the silly fight descriptions. Maybe I read too many Salvatore Dark Elf books back in the day, now Salvatore knows how to write a fight :P I gave up on WoT around book 5 or so.

jgaiser · 03-12-2014, 03:26 PM

More Glen Cook?
Dread Empire series - A Cruel Wind - A Fortress in Shadow - An Empire Unacquanted With Defeat

mewmartigan · 03-12-2014, 03:52 PM

I would recommend the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. They are dark and gritty in the vein of GRRM. Good characterization, a lot less politics.

The Blade Itself
Before They are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings

And a bit more science fiction than straight fantasy but Neal Stephenson's Baroque trilogy is very good too.

Quicksilver
The Confusion
The System of The World

Half-Cocked Jack Shaftoe is one of the most enjoyable characters ever!

eschwartz · 03-12-2014, 04:44 PM

Feist's last few books were definitely not OK, as far as I can tell he didn't even use a spellchecker. Gaping plot holes in "A Crown Imperiled". I still haven't read "Magician's End" and may never do so. Empire trilogy was brilliant, though.

There's lots of other great Forgotten Realms books out there, and I enjoyed most of them just as much as Drizzt. (Did you read his last few books? They were quite recent.)

Apache · 03-12-2014, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

More Glen Cook?
Dread Empire series - A Cruel Wind - A Fortress in Shadow - An Empire Unacquanted With Defeat

His Garret PI Series is also technically Fantasy. Think Nero Wolfe mysteries set in a fantasy world. If you are looking for character driven, this series is. Also look ad Stephen Brust's Vlad Taltos Series and his Khaavren Romances Series.
Apache

Penforhire · 03-12-2014, 06:19 PM

+1 for Joe Abercrombie. And I say that as a GRRM fan. Joe has an entirely different, much grimmer or grittier, flavor but his stories are no less character driven.

Mew, another Half-Cocked Jack fan! One of my absolute favorite characters and he has some of the most memorable fictional scenes ever. Still makes me chuckle to think of them.

HarryT · 03-12-2014, 06:34 PM

David Eddings. Great characters.

mewmartigan · 03-12-2014, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Mew, another Half-Cocked Jack fan! One of my absolute favorite characters and he has some of the most memorable fictional scenes ever. Still makes me chuckle to think of them.

Loved the books but the parts with Jack were definitely the highlight!

pwalker8 · 03-12-2014, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

More Glen Cook?
Dread Empire series - A Cruel Wind - A Fortress in Shadow - An Empire Unacquanted With Defeat

Loved those books.

GreenMonkey · 03-13-2014, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Feist's last few books were definitely not OK, as far as I can tell he didn't even use a spellchecker. Gaping plot holes in "A Crown Imperiled". I still haven't read "Magician's End" and may never do so. Empire trilogy was brilliant, though.

There's lots of other great Forgotten Realms books out there, and I enjoyed most of them just as much as Drizzt. (Did you read his last few books? They were quite recent.)

I lost track of Drizzt, never got around to reading past the Hunter's Blades trilogy - I think I'm traumatized by the world-apocalypse attempt they tried with Dragonlance (I'm a big Raistlin fan, but man, the whole thing derailed IMO with Dragons of Summer Flame). Maybe I'll get to them eventually.

I think Feist's latest books have been better than the Talon books, etc. It seemed like he was doing better since he decided he was going to wrap things up. Haven't gotten around to reading Magician's End though. Still FAR down from the high point though (Rise of a Merchant Prince, and the Empire trilogy).

I added Joe Abercrombie First Law #1 to my Amazon book wishlist (I generally hit up when I'm in a used bookstore).

I haven't tried any more of Glen Cook's books, that's a pretty good suggestion.

Eddings - while I enjoyed the Belgariad/Mallorean and even the Sparhawk books somewhat for their humor and lightheartedness, I read book one of the Dreamers and found it disgustingly predictable - it was like just like the Mallorean/Elenium...somehow the third time around I wasn't interested any more.

I added Neal Stephenson's Baroque #1 to my wishlist also, not quite fantasy, but I am a history geek (I have a B.A. in History) and it sounded interesting.

eschwartz · 03-13-2014, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I lost track of Drizzt, never got around to reading past the Hunter's Blades trilogy - I think I'm traumatized by the world-apocalypse attempt they tried with Dragonlance (I'm a big Raistlin fan, but man, the whole thing derailed IMO with Dragons of Summer Flame). Maybe I'll get to them eventually.

Never read DragonLance (it's on my TBR -- somewhere) but there's no world-apocalypse events in Drizzt, although there is the SpellPlague kicking in at The Ghost King, does that count?

Quote:

I think Feist's latest books have been better than the Talon books, etc. It seemed like he was doing better since he decided he was going to wrap things up. Haven't gotten around to reading Magician's End though. Still FAR down from the high point though (Rise of a Merchant Prince, and the Empire trilogy).

They (latest books) were much more exciting and everything, from the low point of the Talon books. Until The Chaoswar Saga when he decided not to have it edited, I guess. The gaping plot holes and messed up grammar/spelling made it very difficult to focus on what was actually going on; I'm still not entirely clear on that actually.

I definitely miss the days of The Empire Trilogy and The Serpentwar Saga, though!

But there's always re-reading.

orangedotgreen · 03-14-2014, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Brandon Sanderson's stuff (Elantris, Mistborn in particular)

If Way of Kings is not on the list because you haven't read it yet, I heartily recommend it. The second book in the series was published this month and the reviews are very good (I am waiting to get the print version, so I haven't read it yet).

Not fantasy, but you mentioned Asimov's Foundation, so I'll recommend the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, where aside from humans we have AI characters with fascinating personalities.

khazaddum · 03-15-2014, 01:17 PM

hm...have you tried The Kingkiller Chronicles? that is definitely character-driven and very polished and lyrical.

I'm currently reading The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and the characterization is very good, can't recommend it yet since I haven't finished the Trilogy but so far, I'm fascinated.

HarryT · 03-15-2014, 01:50 PM

May I ask what you find to be incredible about it? I'm reading the trilogy myself at the moment, and I find the characters very believable.

Katsunami · 03-15-2014, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Eddings - while I enjoyed the Belgariad/Mallorean and even the Sparhawk books somewhat for their humor and lightheartedness, I read book one of the Dreamers and found it disgustingly predictable - it was like just like the Mallorean/Elenium...somehow the third time around I wasn't interested any more.

Eddings' 'The Dreamers' series is actually the only series that I did have in paperback, but have not rebought as ebooks. I've read the first book, but the second was basically the same one. Then I flipped through the third, seeing the exact same plot setup again in another part of the world... I abandoned the series at that point, the very first time I did such a thing.

So, I'm not at least surprised you did so even sooner

03-12-2014, 06:19 PM	#6
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	+1 for Joe Abercrombie. And I say that as a GRRM fan. Joe has an entirely different, much grimmer or grittier, flavor but his stories are no less character driven. Mew, another Half-Cocked Jack fan! One of my absolute favorite characters and he has some of the most memorable fictional scenes ever. Still makes me chuckle to think of them. Last edited by Penforhire; 03-12-2014 at 06:21 PM.

03-15-2014, 01:17 PM	#13
khazaddum Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Dec 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	hm...have you tried The Kingkiller Chronicles? that is definitely character-driven and very polished and lyrical. I'm currently reading The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and the characterization is very good, can't recommend it yet since I haven't finished the Trilogy but so far, I'm fascinated. Last edited by khazaddum; 03-15-2014 at 05:24 PM.

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03-12-2014, 03:05 PM	#1
GreenMonkey DRM hater Posts: 945 Karma: 2066176 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Michigan Device: Nook ST glow, Kindle Voyage	Character-driven fantasy books OK. I always post in the fantasy recommendation threads but I could use some suggestions myself. Could use something new to read. I'm a big fan of Robin Hobb & George RR Martin. At the #3 spot is Isaac Asimov which is funny because he is definitely a different style (love the Robot & Foundation books though). C.S. Friedman is perhaps at #4. In my top 10 books/trilogies list would include the Empire Trilogy (Fiest/Wurts) and the Serpentwar (particularly Rise of a Merchant Prince). I can't throw Feist in my top 10 authors list these days (last handful of Riftwar books have been only OK). So that gives you an idea of my favorite writers / books. More recently (last couple of years) I've really enjoyed: Brandon Sanderson's stuff (Elantris, Mistborn in particular) Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards (especially The Lies of Locke Lamora, that was fantastic). And liked: Greg Keyes (Waterborn, Thorn & Bone) Glen Cook's Black Company books Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages books (I see there's finally a release date for a new one on Amazon!) And finally I'm not sure if I like the Malazan book of the Fallen series yet. It's hard reading (I read book 1 twice and just finished book 2 a few weeks back). So? Any suggestions? They don't need to be ebooks either (I'm fine with paper books also). And definitely do not suggest The Wheel of Time. I dunno but somehow I find they spin around and go nowhere - and I can't stand the silly fight descriptions. Maybe I read too many Salvatore Dark Elf books back in the day, now Salvatore knows how to write a fight :P I gave up on WoT around book 5 or so. Last edited by GreenMonkey; 03-12-2014 at 03:08 PM.

03-12-2014, 03:26 PM	#2
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	More Glen Cook? Dread Empire series - A Cruel Wind - A Fortress in Shadow - An Empire Unacquanted With Defeat

03-12-2014, 03:52 PM	#3
mewmartigan Guru Posts: 852 Karma: 8242060 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Kindle Oasis (2019)	I would recommend the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. They are dark and gritty in the vein of GRRM. Good characterization, a lot less politics. The Blade Itself Before They are Hanged Last Argument of Kings And a bit more science fiction than straight fantasy but Neal Stephenson's Baroque trilogy is very good too. Quicksilver The Confusion The System of The World Half-Cocked Jack Shaftoe is one of the most enjoyable characters ever! Last edited by mewmartigan; 03-12-2014 at 03:55 PM.

03-12-2014, 04:44 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Feist's last few books were definitely not OK, as far as I can tell he didn't even use a spellchecker. Gaping plot holes in "A Crown Imperiled". I still haven't read "Magician's End" and may never do so. Empire trilogy was brilliant, though. There's lots of other great Forgotten Realms books out there, and I enjoyed most of them just as much as Drizzt. (Did you read his last few books? They were quite recent.)

03-12-2014, 06:34 PM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	David Eddings. Great characters.

03-15-2014, 01:50 PM	#14
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	May I ask what you find to be incredible about it? I'm reading the trilogy myself at the moment, and I find the characters very believable.