# high fantasy recommendations



## buyjupiter (Nov 5, 2013)

I used to read a lot of high fantasy, but outgrew the limited characters I was finding in the subgenre.

I've read all of GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire, so other than his work (which I wouldn't really classify as "high" fantasy, but that's another debate entirely), is there anyone else out there writing really good characters?

What I mean by a good character is someone who has a motivation beyond "ooh look evil, I must fight it" or "oh dear, here's the good guy, bring out the sharks and laser beams". I'm looking for characters that have depth. Not the kind that feels like they've been transported from 1960s comic books, where the heroes are good looking and innately good and the villains are evil evilness that must be defeated.

As a side conversation, if the characters are less than wholly good or wholly evil, does that make it something other than epic fantasy? Or can you have the good v. evil struggle with gray characters and still have it feel epic?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.


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## GeekDavid (Nov 5, 2013)

If you're not afraid of some really dark books, try Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy. The world is dark, the MC is dark (a magically enhanced assassin), his mentor is dark, you get the idea.

Still, it is a marvelous tale and well told to boot.


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## buyjupiter (Nov 5, 2013)

GeekDavid said:


> If you're not afraid of some really dark books, try Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy. The world is dark, the MC is dark (a magically enhanced assassin), his mentor is dark, you get the idea.
> 
> Still, it is a marvelous tale and well told to boot.



I'm not afraid of really dark stuff. I'll have to check it out. I am always up for a book about assassins, magically enhanced or otherwise.

Thank you!


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## GeekDavid (Nov 5, 2013)

buyjupiter said:


> I'm not afraid of really dark stuff. I'll have to check it out. I am always up for a book about assassins, magically enhanced or otherwise.
> 
> Thank you!



First book is _The Way of Shadows_.


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## Steerpike (Nov 5, 2013)

Guy Gavriel Kay - The Fionavar Tapestry, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne
Dennis L. McKiernan - Dragondoom
Steven Erikson - Malazan books
David Anthony Durham - Acacia


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## GeekDavid (Nov 5, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> Guy Gavriel Kay - The Fionavar Tapestry, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne
> Dennis L. McKiernan - Dragondoom
> Steven Erikson - Malazan books
> David Anthony Durham - Acacia



(making notes...)


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## buyjupiter (Nov 5, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> Guy Gavriel Kay - The Fionavar Tapestry, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne
> Dennis L. McKiernan - Dragondoom
> Steven Erikson - Malazan books
> David Anthony Durham - Acacia



Awesome, definitely adding the Guy Gavriel Kay to the list.


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## Steerpike (Nov 5, 2013)

Also, if you like the tone of GRRM, check out R. Scott Bakker.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Nov 5, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> Also, if you like the tone of GRRM, check out R. Scott Bakker.



Hmmm. I don't know that one. Any particular recommendation?


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## Steerpike (Nov 5, 2013)

I started with the book below and thought it was a good one: 

The Darkness That Comes Before: The Prince of Nothing Book I: R. Scott Bakker: Amazon.com: Books


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## wordwalker (Nov 5, 2013)

Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings --his bid for full-on high fantasy, and one for the ages, I think.
Tad Williams, The Dragonbone Chair and following books.

And, always my top recommendation even though it isn't especially high fantasy: Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear. These were the books that sometimes had me _terrified_ that anything would interrupt my reading of the best parts, because you only have one chance to take those in for the first time.


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## Ankari (Nov 6, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> I started with the book below and thought it was a good one:
> 
> The Darkness That Comes Before: The Prince of Nothing Book I: R. Scott Bakker: Amazon.com: Books



I'll second R. Scott Bakker. His stories are deep, intricate, and beautifully written.


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## buyjupiter (Nov 6, 2013)

I should give that another go. The last time I tried, it was pretty far down the stack of dark fantasy. And Clive Barker kinda kicked me out of reading anything but Discworld before I got to this book.


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## buyjupiter (Nov 6, 2013)

I've heard so much great stuff about Sanderson and Rothfuss, I'll definitely bump them up in the queue.

Tad Williams is kind of hit and miss for me. I loved Tailchaser's Song, but let's face it anything about cats will get my attention. I got about halfway through Otherland before giving up. I think I read Dragonbone Chair. But to be honest there were several years I read 200 books in a year and didn't keep track. The plot sounds familiar though.

Thank you for the suggestions!


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## Feo Takahari (Nov 6, 2013)

Going down the "high fantasy" list on TV Tropes, listing off the things I recognize and like:

If you're willing to read a kids' series, _Deltora Quest_ can be pretty fun (and occasionally shockingly dark for the target audience.) I like how the guy you'd think would be the doomed mentor remains as a main character without overshadowing the others.

Speaking of kids' series, Garth Nix is always hit-and-miss, but I think _The Seventh Tower_ falls into the "hit" category. I particularly like the world-building--this is not your standard fantasy setting!

It turns out all I can think of right now are kids' series. _Keys to the Kingdom_ is kind of oddball, but it hits a lot of high fantasy tropes, albeit transplanted to a Christian setting. It takes a long, long time to figure out what kind of story this really is, specifically 



Spoiler: spoiler



a tragedy


, but the way the plot proceeds makes it inevitable in retrospect, and all the more powerful for it.

P.S. Actually, do you read anything other than books? I read a high fantasy webcomic, _Slightly Damned_. It builds slowly and carefully, beginning as a simple buddy story, but dropping increasingly large hints about the disappearance of the gods, the decay of the world, and the forces that might be behind it.


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## buyjupiter (Nov 6, 2013)

I do, but I have the attention span of a mayfly sometimes and forget all about checking webcomics. I'll go months forgetting all about xkcd and I love it to pieces. I'll have to check if there's a subscribe button.

I love kids/YA stuff. I read through a whole slew of it the last time I had a library job. I had to be up to speed so when the kids tugged my sleeve and asked for recommendations I had several ready to go during summer reading.

I also read manga and graphic novels and could always use more recommendations for those.


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