Character-driven fantasy books

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

I picked it up... but in the middle of the 3rd book, I still find it... lacking. It's linear, one-dimensional, predictable, and worst of all: boring. Should I continue or break off at this point...

They *are* written for teenagers of around 15 or so. Maybe your taste has changed. Mine haven't; I still read, play and watch the same type of books, games and movies (in addition to also consuming new material, obviously).

Spoiler:

Sometimes, I still feel as if I never grew up.
Sometimes, other people think so as well, and regard such pastimes as reading fantasy, playing games and watching movies as childish.

At work I have some colleagues of both ilk, and I have noticed that the ones who still read (fantasy/sci-fi), play games and watch movies are 'younger', more interested in everything, more focused, and much less grumpy than the ones who say humbug.

[DrNefario]

Well, I still read fantasy, play games, etc, but I grew out of David Eddings quickly enough. I suspect it was reading more widely and recognising the formulaic nature of the stories.

[jscarbo]

I enjoyed Eddings' Bergariad series when it came out thirty years ago but recently tried to re-read it and gave up after the first book.

I'm currently reading "The Fell Sword", Book Two in Miles Cameron's Red Knight series which was just released a few weeks ago. It's a medieval military fantasy that I'm enjoying and recommend to those who like the sub-genre: http://www.amazon.com/Fell-Sword-Tra...rds=fell+sword

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jscarbo

I enjoyed Eddings' Bergariad series when it came out thirty years ago but recently tried to re-read it and gave up after the first book.

Whereas it's one of my real "comfort" reads, and I re-read it every few years. It's still a magical experience for me every time I re-read it. We all have differing tastes.

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by mgbino

I'd suggest the Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham and Crown of Stars (first book is King's Dragon) by Kate Elliott for good character driven fantasy.

Crown of Stars is a little traditional, but there is seriously nothing in the fantasy genre like Long Price.

I'll strongly second the recommendation for the Long Price Quartet, which starts with A Shadow in Summer. I'm now working my way through his Dagger and the Coin which began with The Dragon's Path. You might also like The Entire and the Rose by Kay Kenyon. First book is Bright of the Sky.

[Kirtai]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

recognising the formulaic nature of the stories.

Didn't Eddings openly admit that the point of the books was to show that a story could be cliched, predictable and formulaic but still be a good read? (In this case, the characterisation is what supports it)

I believe that "The literary equivalent of peddling dope" was the way he described it.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Kirtai

Didn't Eddings openly admit that the point of the books was to show that a story could be cliched, predictable and formulaic but still be a good read? (In this case, the characterisation is what supports it)

I believe that "The literary equivalent of peddling dope" was the way he described it.

“The use of archetypal myth in the creation of fiction is the literary equivalent of peddling dope.” — David Eddings, introduction to The Rivan Codex.

[GreenMonkey]

Bump

So I read Carol Berg's Lighthouse duet (got it from the local library). Pretty good although I wasn't blown away. I did like the Canticle for Leibowitz concept though.

I picked up Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself for $3 from B&N, and really enjoyed that. Want to read more in the series but not haven't decided yet whether to pay B&N $9 (I hate paying that much for DRM'd ebooks) or Amazon $7 (I really prefer to buy in epub). Especially considering book 1 had a handful of typos (like some weirdly placed /erroneous paragraph breaks). Maybe I'll wait for a sale.

I think Kate Elliot is on my radar next.

[jehane]

A few authors not mentioned earlier:

Guy Gavriel Kay - the early novels (Fionavar, Arbonne) tend to have defined good and evil, while the later ones (Tigana, Al-Rassan, Sarantium) tend to more complex characterisation. You'll want to read Fionavar before Ysabel, but otherwise they are all separate.

Richard Morgan - Dark and gritty. On other threads he's been compared with Joe Abercrombie, but I haven't (yet) read the latter.

Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel series. I think the first trilogy is the best. If you've ever seen this list she takes #5 and 6 and runs with it in a completely believable way. Not for the prudish.

Stephen Donaldson's Mordant's Need duology - I liked this (and the short story/novella Daughter of Regals) better than Thomas Covenant, and the first Gap novel just made me feel sick.

[corroonb]

I have a few recommendations:

Tad Williams - His Memory Sorrow Thorn and Shadowmarch series are extremely well-written with some great characters. Memory Sorrow Thorn is quite slow at times but that's not a problem if you like his prose and characters. Memory Sorrow Thorn is strongly influenced by Tolkien and the opening section of the first novel is quite similar in pacing and content to the opening of the Lord of the Rings. Shadowmarch is a lot darker almost from the very start and is far more influenced by Mervyn Peake than Tolkien.

Mervyn Peake - His Gormenghast books are rightly regarded very highly even by the mainstream literary establishment. They contain many fascinating and bizarre characters like Steerpike and Mr Flay among many others.

Others worth reading are John Crowley, Elizabeth Bear, China Mieville and Paul Kearney.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Whereas it's one of my real "comfort" reads, and I re-read it every few years. It's still a magical experience for me every time I re-read it. We all have differing tastes.

Writing books is a bit like telling jokes, sometimes it's not the story that's important, but how it's told. IMPO, Eddings is one of those authors who is a story teller. Someone who has that natural talent to be able to make a story interesting. David Weber is similar.

There are some books that I read, enjoyed, but either never have the desire to read again, or when I do try to re-read it, it doesn't hold my interest. The actual story was what was interesting, not how it was told. Other books, I re-read on a regular basis and each time I re-read it, my attention is grabbed and I'm pulled into the story, even though I know how it's going to turn out. Those authors are what I call story tellers. I think it's really a talent.

Eddings is able to tell the same story over and over again, and make it interesting.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Whereas it's one of my real "comfort" reads, and I re-read it every few years. It's still a magical experience for me every time I re-read it. We all have differing tastes.

I've been re-reading it at this very moment, and I must say that sometimes, it's confusing. For example, it takes Eddings until the start of the fourth book to explain the divide in the world.

The West is divided into several countries, and each contry is a seperate people. The East is divided into several countries too, but they are all Angaraks. Then there is a hint that something called 'Mallorea' exists, even farther East, and they are Angaraks too. So, about 67%+ of the world is taken up by people that follow one evil god, and 33% of the world is populated by the peoples of six different gods. Even if these six different peoples are all put together, they are outnumbered by the Angaraks in the East two to one, not even counting the 'hordes of Mallorea." It was also unclear how and why Torak ended up in Mallorea.

I would have liked that Eddings explained that a bit earlier than in the prologue of book 4. There are other things that are not really clear within the first four books, such as:

Spoiler:

- Is UL actually the father of the other 7 gods, and thus more powerful? It looks like it, but it is not certain.
- Does this make the Ulgo's the most powerful people in the world?
- What is the voice of "The Prophecy" in Garion's mind; is it above the gods or not? It probably is. Did it create the entire universe, including the gods?
- What is the orb? Aldur created it, but it seems to be more powerful than the gods themselves. Was it actually created by Aldur, or was it created by the prophecy, and only found by him?
- Many things, such as 'The Guide', 'The Bowman', 'The Man with Two Lives' and such are not resolved; at least not up to halfway the fifth book, the point where I'm now in the story.

It's almost necessary to just read all 10 books straight through as one story, or there will be a lot of loose ends. Even then, it's almost mandatory to read Belgarath the Sorcerer, Polgara the Sorceress, and the Rivan Codex to fix ALL of the loose ends.

I'm not saying these are bad stories, but they can be confusing.

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Eddings is able to tell the same story over and over again, and make it interesting.

LOL. If you read the Belgariad and Malloreon first, and then read the Elenium and Tamuli, you'll find some startling similarities between those stories. Then read The Dreamers series; that is actually the same story, four times in a row, on a different continent. That is the only series I've actually ever abandoned. (Halfway through the third book, skipping to the fourth, finding out that it was another repeat on yet another continent, and then I quit.)

[varlog]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Eddings is able to tell the same story over and over again, and make it interesting.

A few years ago I was listening to audiobook of some Eddings' saga - my very first Eddings. I was somewhere in the middle of second volume, getting a little annoyed with "the same story over and over again". The main hero of the story had just got up after restful night and yawning started to inform his companions (and me again!) about what had happened to him the day before. And the lector actually yawned too.
I got mad, stopped my player and never ever read/listened to anything of Eddings again.
Moral of the story: shame on lector?

[Katsunami]

Sounds like the Dreamers. Find it on GoodReads, and shudder at the ratings. Eddings is fine, just don't read THAT series.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Sounds like the Dreamers. Find it on GoodReads, and shudder at the ratings. Eddings is fine, just don't read THAT series.

Truth. I wasn't able to make it through the first book of that series.