# High quality fantasy books



## Dreeparn (Feb 2, 2013)

I'm looking for some high quality fantasy books to read for both inspiration and for studing different writing techniques. I've read many books through the years but I've never studied them to check how they are written and what makes the good. The problem is that at the moment I can't seem to remember the name of any of the books I really enjoyed which is extreamly annoying so if any one has a tip of some great fantasy books it would be awsome!


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## T.Allen.Smith (Feb 2, 2013)

My recent favorites:

The Game of a thrones series (A Song of Fire & Ice) - George R. R. Martin

The Name of the Wind series - Patrick Rothfuss

Joe Abercrombies's books because they tend to be dark and gritty


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## Rho (Feb 2, 2013)

The Devery series by Katherine Kerr.

The Jon Shannow books by David Gemmell.

And The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.


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## Butterfly (Feb 2, 2013)

I second Joe Abercrombie. I found his POVs to have distinctive voices. While I was reading, I thought it was something to look deeper at.


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## Dreeparn (Feb 2, 2013)

Thanks for all the great tips that you've provided me with, it will be interesting to read some of these books looking at the from an authors(or an aspiring one anyway) point of view, I think that I will notice many stuff i wouldn't if I would look at them as a usual reader.


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## Devor (Feb 2, 2013)

The Research forum is for facts and concrete information.  I'm moving this to Novels and Stories, where many similar threads already exist.


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## Dreeparn (Feb 2, 2013)

Devor said:


> The Research forum is for facts and concrete information.  I'm moving this to Novels and Stories, where many similar threads already exist.



Sorry for the wrong post, won't happen again.  I understand how you mean but I was thinking of it as tips for reserch which also is my reason for posting it there. By the way if some of you haven't read it try the Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. I'm not sure if it's great written because I'm not that far along that I'm able to determine that yet but it's a wonderful story with much humor and wit.


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## TWErvin2 (Feb 3, 2013)

Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series. One of the advantages is that the novels are relatively short, and he uses varying storytelling formats or techniques, which would allow you to study and determine if one or several might be right for you.

Roger Zelazny's Amber Series. A solid, creative series that introduces a unique world and layers of conflict and political intrigue in the background.

Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant offers a chance to read and study an epic fantasy world on par with that of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. Also, the 'hero' isn't necessarily one the reader will fall in love with, but who is interesting to follow, which is a good study.

Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, especially the earlier novels. Offers the opportunity to observe character development and action with a host of characters. As the series progresses, sexual content becomes more and more prevalent, which turned me off as a reader--not what I was interested in.


Those are some of the writers/works I studied in preparation and during the writing of my first novels, and I still go back to them when needed.


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## wordwalker (Feb 3, 2013)

A few of us had a thread a while back where we shortlisted George R. R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Guy Gavriel Kay.

Other picks:

Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn books, Elantris, and especially The Way of Kings)

Greg Keyes (The Briar King series)

Someone I just discovered: Daniel Abraham (The Dragon's Path, The King's Blood, The Tyrant's Law)


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## Jess A (Feb 6, 2013)

To add some not mentioned above (definitely second Katherine Kerr's books, though):

* Robin Hobb (_Liveship Traders_, _Farseer Trilogy_), 
* Glenda Larke (_Isles of Glory_)
* Sara Douglass (_Axis Trilogy_, _Threshold_, _Beyond the Hanging Wall_; also her medieval alternate fiction)
* Kate Forsyth (_Witches of Eileanan_)
* Raymond Feist (the first few starting from _Magician_)

I've re-read and re-read these over the years. There are many more, but too tired to go check. Lots of others that I liked too, though only read in the last few years, such as Trudi Canavan.


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## Sadie (Feb 6, 2013)

Anything by Michael Moorcock but I particularly enjoyed Dancers At The End Of Time, the Elric books and The History of the Runestaff.

Fritz Leiber and his Fafhrd series is awesome too, despite one of the main characters being called FAFHRD.

From recent authors, anything by Neil Gaiman. 

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.


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## Steerpike (Feb 6, 2013)

You can't talk about high-quality fantasy without mentioning Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books, or throwing in a mention of Gene Wolfe (start with Shadow of the Torturer).

I'll second Moorcock and Steven Brust. Guy Gavriel Kay may be the best currently-writing (some would argue Gene Wolfe, who gets accolades from great writers like Neil Gaiman).

Some good, quality fantasy novels not many people know:



Sheepfarmer's Daughter - Elizabeth Moon
The Elfin Ship and The Disappearing Dwarf - James P. Blaylock (if you can find these; delightful fantasies and quite funny)
War for the Oaks - Emma Bull
Threshold, or The Red Tree - Caitlin R. Kiernan (really, it is hard to go wrong with Kiernan. I want to pick up her book The Drowning Girl soon).
The Cold Fire Trilogy - C.S. Friedman. Great, dark-themed Fantasy
Malazan Books or the first of the Kharkanas Books - Steven Erikson. Great stuff
Joe Abercrombie (I like Best Served Cold the best, but might want to start with The Blade Itself).
R. Scott Bakker - Well-written fantasy with depth

There are many more, but those are good to start.


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## J. S. Elliot (Jan 30, 2014)

I will have to go through my bookshelf and post when I get home. (Although, thank you for the comment on the Daniel Abraham series. I've been wanting to get it, but I couldn't find a book order.)


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## andy.peloquin (Mar 13, 2014)

Anything written by Scott Lynch (_Lies of Locke Lamora, Red Seas Under Red Skies, Republic of Thieves, Queen of the Iron Sands_ is amazing.
For old school, try some Conan the Barbarian by writers like Robert E. Howard or L. Sprague de Camp.
Another great serious is the Kane series by Karl Wagner. Again, classic fantasy/historical adventure.


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## Noma Galway (Mar 13, 2014)

The one series I'm not seeing up there is _Sword of Truth_--Terry Goodkind. It's one of my personal favorites. Nothing else I really like seems to have been left out .


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## kayd_mon (Apr 22, 2014)

I'm bumping this to reiterate the mention of Joe Abercrombie's character voices. I am halfway through Before They Are Hanged, and the way he depicts the character's thoughts and overall POV is just really good. Each character is unique, and endlessly entertaining. His nuance there makes you overlook his other shortcomings. Oh, and there's his knack for writing a really great fight scene. 

Mervyn Peake is a phenomenal writer and should be studied by writers of every genre, IMHO. 

Neil Gaiman is another heavyweight. Excellent writer and storyteller.


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## Steerpike (Apr 22, 2014)

kayd_mon said:


> Mervyn Peake is a phenomenal writer and should be studied by writers of every genre, IMHO.



Bless you.

From a sheer writing standpoint, the guy was better than anyone who wrote in fantasy before or after, including Tolkien. He is one of the few fantasy writers I've seen read by people who claim not to read genre fiction.


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## Mythopoet (Apr 22, 2014)

Steerpike said:


> From a sheer writing standpoint, the guy was better than anyone who wrote in fantasy before or after, including Tolkien.



*has a heart attack* 

Just kidding. 

Here's a list of my current favorite works from my Master Fantasy List that I'm slowly reading through:

The Gods of Pegana by Lord Dunsany (1905)

Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany (1906)

The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories by Lord Dunsany (1908)

A Dreamer's Tales by Lord Dunsany (1910)

The Works of H.P. Lovecraft (1917-1935)

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (1924)

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (1926)

Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard (1932-)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)

The Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength )by C.S. Lewis  (1938, 1972, 1974)

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber (1939-)

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (1950-1956)

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954-1955)

The Once and Future King by T.H. White (1958)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (1962)

*Dune series (Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune) by Frank Herbert (1965-1981)

The Chronicles of Amber, The Corwin Cycle by Roger Zelazny (1970-1978)

Elric of MelnibonÃ© by Michael Moorcock (1972)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (1968)

The Earthsea Trilogy (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore) by Ursula K. LeGuin (1968, 1971, 1972)

The Changing Land by Roger Zelazny (1981)

Dilvish, the Damned by Roger Zelazny (1982)

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (1983)

Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (1983-present)

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986)

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden Book 1, 2000)

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (2003)

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2004)

The Night Land, a Story Retold by James Stoddard, William Hope Hodgson (2011)


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## Steerpike (Apr 22, 2014)

That's a great list @Mythopoet. And props for having Tim Powers on it. Maybe throw on a James P. Blaylock as well 

I've read most of what you list there, and there wasn't a single one of them I didn't like.

EDIT: It occurs to me that you might like C. L. Moore. A female writer from the R.E. Howard era. Her stories showed up in the pulps in the 1930s. You might particularly like her Jirel of Joiry stories.


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## Mythopoet (Apr 22, 2014)

Steerpike said:


> That's a great list @Mythopoet. And props for having Tim Powers on it. Maybe throw on a James P. Blaylock as well
> 
> I've read most of what you list there, and there wasn't a single one of them I didn't like.
> 
> EDIT: It occurs to me that you might like C. L. Moore. A female writer from the R.E. Howard era. Her stories showed up in the pulps in the 1930s. You might particularly like her Jirel of Joiry stories.



That's just the stuff that I've already read and loved. The more comprehensive list which I'm planning to read, but have only gotten through a small percentage of so far, includes Blaylock, Moore and many, many more. I just updated it a bit too, it's here:

The MythopoetÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Master Fantasy Reading List | Falling Toward Mythopoesis


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## Steerpike (Apr 22, 2014)

Mythopoet said:


> That's just the stuff that I've already read and loved. The more comprehensive list which I'm planning to read, but have only gotten through a small percentage of so far, includes Blaylock, Moore and many, many more. I just updated it a bit too, it's here:
> 
> The MythopoetÃ¢€™s Master Fantasy Reading List | Falling Toward Mythopoesis



Great list. Blaylock's _Elfin Ship_ and _Disappearing Dwarf_ are great fun, and very funny. _The Phoenix Guards_ is also a lot of fun to read (as is just about anything by Brust).


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## Mythopoet (Apr 22, 2014)

Steerpike said:


> _The Phoenix Guards_ is also a lot of fun to read (as is just about anything by Brust).



Yeah, I added that one after you recommended it to me. I'd never heard of him before that. One of these days I'll actually get around to reading it. So many books, so little time when you're a mom of 5.


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## Steerpike (Apr 22, 2014)

Mythopoet said:


> So many books, so little time when you're a mom of 5.



Yes. I can't imagine how busy you must be. I had two at home (grown now), and you've more than doubled that!


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## kayd_mon (Apr 22, 2014)

@Mythopoet

Have you read Lord Dunsany's The Charwoman's Shadow? I remember liking that one a lot.


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