Original or unique Fantasy Books

[issybird]

I couldn’t get past the first Peter Grant book. I was really enjoying it, but the river gods were too much for me. I guess I can suspend my disbelief only so far.

[JSWolf]

Another series I'll give a nod to that's good is..

Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Hitch

You know, I believe we discussed this series previously and for the first books, I loved it (the series), but this last one (False Value)...man, it just totally fell off my love-meter.
...
Hitch

For me there are few series that don't fall off after several books, often very few books. About the only ones that stay worthwhile is when subsequent books are devoted to a different character or they jump to a different time. (The Curse of Chalion is a good example, also Abhorsen.)

[paulag]

Have you read The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson? It has complex characters who have compelling ands varied motives, it's pretty atmospheric, and has pretty original and interesting ideas on imperialism, identity, and war.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by paulag

Have you read The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson? It has complex characters who have compelling ands varied motives, it's pretty atmospheric, and has pretty original and interesting ideas on imperialism, identity, and war.

If you're asking me, my answer is no, I haven't but if the third book has been released, I may well give it a go.

(Ever since a well-known fantasy author gave her readers the shaft, leaving an unfinished trilogy for 20+ years, I've been largely unwilling to gamble on unfinished trilogies from new-to-me authors. Of course, we were all screwed on the Inspector Chen mysteries. [sigh])

FWIW, I also liked the Paper Magician, but while I felt that series started out strongly, (although a little "romance-y" for my tastes), IMHO, it petered out and the author has suddenly broken off into other characters set in the same universe.

Hitch

[Gandulf]

Originally Posted by paulag

Have you read The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson? It has complex characters who have compelling ands varied motives, it's pretty atmospheric, and has pretty original and interesting ideas on imperialism, identity, and war.

Nope, will have a look at them, thx.

P.S. Hitch, their seems to be 4 book, only 3 out.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Gandulf

Nope, will have a look at them, thx.

P.S. Hitch, their seems to be 4 book, only 3 out.

Hi:

Oh, on the Traitor Cormorant books? Thanks for the heads' up.

Hitch

[basschick]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Liz Williams' Detective Inspector Chen series - mixture of magic, religion, eastern cultures, police procedural, and, yes, a shape-shifting tea kettle.

and, hooray, it's available on kindle unlimited, so thanks for the recommendation, and i just added it to my kindle.

Originally Posted by cromag

In the "unique" category, I recently read Spondulix: A Romance of Hoboken, by Paul Di Filippo. Basically, it's a fantasy about the economy, among other things. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.


Edited to add that I read the Detective Inspector Chen series last year and really enjoyed them.

read the sample of spondulix, added to my "get next" list. thanks!

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Here are a couple less traditional ones that I really enjoyed:
The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker
1Q84 - Haruki Murakami
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz (a little more than 10 years old but the later books are in this time frame)

For unique magic systems in more traditional fantasy settings:
The Penric and Desdemona series of novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold is also a good read. It is set in the same world as some of her other books but no knowledge of them is needed. (I have no idea if there are spoilers in these though, I just enjoyed them a lot.)
The Paper Magician series by Charlie Holmberg
The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin

And, I'll third the Rivers of London books. Lots of fun.

the golem and the jinni was a standout for me. i read the first penric and desdemona for free, which led me to getting all but the most recent one AND three of the novels in the same universe.

i love the first rivers of london - insanely creative, funny and perky - liked the second and third, and i sort of drifted away for book 4. maybe i'll start over again and see how it goes.