Post/Author/DateTime	Post
mjtyson 04-29-05, 08:03 PM	Sorry...unsure where to post this question: I am newly back to D&D (haven't played since version 1) and have gotten back into it with a fever. I'd love to read a fantasy book, but would like some suggestions: I enjoy very well written sci-fi, not fluff. So I'd like to move to something good. I'd also like to start with a one volume piece, not something I'd have to get five additional volumes later. I've heard Salvatore is good, as well as Weiss. I enjoy elves or whatever. I don't know. Please help! Thanks!
Fargren 04-29-05, 08:44 PM	Ok, if you like D&D and sci-fi, I strongly recomend the saga of the srksord, ny M.weiss and T. hickman(you wont know what's sci-fi about it till the third book, though). I believe it is the best work of this authors. The forging of the Darksword, The Profecy of the Darksword, and The Triumph of the Darksword. Man, Joram kicks ass so much....
Flakster 04-29-05, 08:51 PM	R.A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt books are by far some of the best books I've ever read. Sure, there are a lot of books to the series, but I place it on the same tier as Tolkien.
reese 04-29-05, 09:19 PM	Almost all the Shannara books by Terry Brooks... Books by David Gemmel and Dave Duncan are pretty good too, especially for character ideas and sword-fighting...
d00m_b4b00n 04-29-05, 10:08 PM	David and Leigh Eddings's books share a "Party based" feel with DnD. Not quite up to Tolkien but alot of people still have fond memories of Belgarath... Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant stuff is excellent. It can be very dark at times and the main character is about as unlovable as they come, but its worth plowing through. Donaldson never pulls any punches and never "talks down" to the reader, which is one of things that puts me off a lot of other fantasy novels. There's some great new Sci-fi coming from Alastair Reynolds recently especially "chasm city", "Redemption arc" and "Diamond Dogs:Turquoise Days". He knocks the spots off Ian Banks. Reynolds stuff is massively imaginative, and he can actually make you care about the characters in his work (which Banks hasn't been able to do, ever). Dan Simmons's "Hyperion" is very good too, but some bits of it are very explicit... If you want to get into the whole "magic as technology" thing that has been growing in popularity recently (especially with the release of Eberron) you should take a look at Harry Turtledove's Darkness series. It is awesome, there is no other word. If you are looking for a one off pop then I would recomend the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masterworks series. They are reprinting all the biggies (Aasimov, Matheson, Haldeman, Wells, Heinlein) in an easy to find in the store format.
emereck 04-29-05, 10:51 PM	You MUST read Shadows Over Lyra by Patricia C. Wrede. It is one of my favorite fantasy books ever! Any D&D fan will love it. If you are very patient, and want a longer, more rewarding read, I would recommend Rober Jordan's The Wheel of Time.
mjtyson 04-29-05, 11:18 PM	Thanks you guys...I'm going to hit the library tomorrow and try some of these out. I had tried the Thomas Covenant stuff when I was younger and didn't like them...also one I remember called "Druid" or "Bard" or something like that. I remember the cover, is all. I like Tolkien...the Hobbit is probably the first fantasy I've read that I liked...although I didn't try it till I was in my late 30s. I know my tastes have changed! I started Chasm City, then deployed and forgot the damn book, then lost the book in (yet another military) move. Oh well. Thank God DnD is still around! Keep those suggestions coming....I appreciate every one of them! --Mike ************************ "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." --Benjamin Franklin, genius
Light Dragon 04-29-05, 11:36 PM	Thomas Covenant... that's understandable... it's one of the crappiest series I have ever read. It's even worse than the "Swords" Series by Saberhagen?? - Stick with: Prachett's Discworld for humor Jordan's Wheel of Time for epic rambling Edding's Belgarath Series for tolkienesqueness
Father Dale 04-30-05, 12:25 AM	Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman are my favorites, next to Tolkein and CS Lewis. The Death Gate cycle is a fantastice series that mixes fantasy and sci-fi. And of course, there is the Dragonlance series.
Dyrtt 04-30-05, 12:42 AM	I swear by Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. It has a very well developed world as well as fantastic characters. Plus, it's long. Very long. I think he's working on the 11th or 12th book now and there are still about 3 more to go after that.
weasel fierce 04-30-05, 01:40 AM	"the dying earth" by Jack Vance. It is propably the single most important influence on D&D, and a very worthy fantasy read. Its also available in a cheap paperback. its sort of tricky language though, if you are not a native english speaker, but its extremely well written. For light fun, check out David Eddings. Solid, boyish kick ass fun and adventuring. Eminently suitable for gaming too.
Azual 04-30-05, 08:21 AM	Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina is one fo the best books ive read in a while. Its basically a collection of short stories through the eyes of each and every character in the cantina in the first Star Wars movie. The first quote in that book is "Mos Eisley. You will find no more retched hive of scum and villiany. We must be cautious." :D
Azual 04-30-05, 08:22 AM	Prachett's Discworld for humor Jordan's Wheel of Time for epic rambling Edding's Belgarath Series for tolkienesqueness Pratchett rules!
Azual 04-30-05, 08:24 AM	R.A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt books are by far some of the best books I've ever read. Sure, there are a lot of books to the series, but I place it on the same tier as Tolkien. I agree, it really delved into the Dark Elves. If you play a campiagn int he underdark, its a must read. It is much more worty to be int he Tolkien tier then Eragon. :P
Fargren 04-30-05, 09:34 AM	Also, if you can get them(I don't think they have been printed anywere but in Argentina), get "La Saga de los Confines", by Liliana Bodoc. It's "Los dias del Venado", "Los Dias de la Sombra" and "Los Dias del Fuego(In english iot would be "The days of the Raindeer" (Yp, doesn't sound great), "the Days of the Shade" and "The Days of the Fire"). They tell the story of the european arrival to America, but from the native's point of view, with magic and druids and stuff. I believe they are the best fantasy books I have ever read, but I'm uncertain about wether they've been traduced to english or not.
Luris_Blear 04-30-05, 12:49 PM	How can any such thread exist without Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame books? If there's any required fantasy for D&D gamers, those books should be second only to Tolkein. The first book is about one gaming group who ends up in their game world, but by the third it's strict fantasy - and very well done. Rosenberg is no hack, either. He writes speculative fiction these days, and is well regarded for his writing and ideas together. The Myth Adventures books by Robert Aspirin are also fun for a light read and a few good laughs. Both of these series also come from the early days of D&D gaming, so there might be a more familiar flavor for someone who remembers THAC0. Online auctions might be your best friend if any of this is of interest, though.
Big Tom 04-30-05, 02:34 PM	THe Shannara books by Terry Brooks are good. But the best by far, and not just IMO are the A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, as of now there are 3 (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and a Storm of Swords), but number 4 is in the works (and has been for the past 5 years...) and of everything I've ever read, they are the best. The only downside is they NEED to be read in order to make any sense.
DraytonThain 05-01-05, 03:12 AM	nod to luris for mentioning the guardians of the flame series...ya took the words right outta my brain also quag keep...andre norton the night parade....one of the FR harper books green angel tower series ....tad williams the black company...dan cook..i think fafhrd and grey mouser....fritz leiber thieves world books...various authors warhammer fantasy books...various authors...great fun, dark and nasty. i do love the wheel of time books, but how the hell jordan is going to wrap up all that shabiz and all those characters.. main and minor and supporting...i have no idea.
Azual 05-01-05, 09:21 AM	THe Shannara books by Terry Pratchet (sp?) are good. It's a terry, but Pratchett didnt write Shannara, it was like... crap... i want to say glucose, but i know im wrong. I got like 50 pages into shannara and didn't like it too much. It was okie dokie though Lucas is also good :D
Big Tom 05-01-05, 04:29 PM	It's a terry, but Pratchett didnt write Shannara, it was like... crap... i want to say glucose, but i know im wrong. I got like 50 pages into shannara and didn't like it too much. It was okie dokie though Lucas is also good :D It were Terry Brooks. I was wrong before, and I done fixed it.
PurdueDave 05-01-05, 04:37 PM	THe Shannara books by Terry Brooks are good. But the best by far, and not just IMO are the A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, as of now there are 3 (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and a Storm of Swords), but number 4 is in the works (and has been for the past 5 years...) and of everything I've ever read, they are the best. The only downside is they NEED to be read in order to make any sense. I agree that George Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" is great stuff. As far as a D&D feel...I'd have to go with Eddings "Belgariad" series. It's a light read and a little perky (about as opposite of "A Song of Ice and Fire" as you can get) but OK anyway.
AzarKing 05-01-05, 04:47 PM	most anything by Salvatore War of the Spider Queen series The Dragonlance trilogy by Weis and Hickman Elminster series *early ones*
Ssussunriyh 05-01-05, 04:50 PM	I recommend Dennis L. McKiernan's various novels, set in his own fantasy world of Mithgar. It's not based on D&D, there are significant differences between his races/monsters/gods and those presented in the D&D rules, the way magic works and who can weild it, the various planes and how they're arranged, etc. But still a thoroughly enjoyable read. The storyline of his books runs thus: The Dragonstone Voyage of the Fox Rider the Hel's Crucible duology Dragondoom Tales of Mithgar (a collection of short stories) the Iron Tower trilogy (recently published in a single paperback volume) the Silver Call duology The Eye of the Hunter Silver Wolf, Black Falcon
RogerWilco 05-01-05, 05:46 PM	I'm not up to speed completely either, but my top ranking authors are: - Tolkien (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit) - Asimov (Caves of steel, Robots of Dawn, Naked Sun, Robots and Empire; I robot; Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, Foundation and Earth, Prelude to Foundation; Nemesis) - Frank Herbert (Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of dune, God Emperor on Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune, heretics of dune) - Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy the whole trilogy in five parts) - Orson Scott Card (Enders Game, Speaker for the Dead, The Abyss) - Terry Pratchett (Interesting Times, Thief of Time, most other books from the Discworld series) - Tannith Lee (The birthgrave, vazkor, son of vazkor, quest for the white witch) - R.A. Salvatore (Homeland, Exile, Sojourn; crystal shard, streams of silver, the halfling's gem) - Hickmann&Weiss: (Dragon wing, haven't read the other yet) I didn't cate much for the Feist book I've read (Magician) I'm definately going to try: the dying earth by Jack Vance, Shadows Over Lyra by Patricia C. Wrede, Jordan's Wheel of Time, Edding's Belgarath Series, Shannara books by Terry Brooks, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.
Lord Gwydion 05-02-05, 05:30 AM	Something no one has suggested so far: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. Yes, it's from an author normally known for horror, but how can you pass up a cowboy fantasy sci-fi western post-apocalypse romance horror story? Plus, unlike many other popular fantasy series (by guys like Jordan, Goodkind, etc.), this one is complete! Seven books in all, and they are all good reads.
Temmogen 05-02-05, 09:31 AM	I have a suggestion for you, try "The Caverns of Socrates" Dennis L. McKeirnan. You wont regret it. One of the best books I've ever read.
mjtyson 05-03-05, 02:48 PM	Thanks everyone...I've copied and saved all your suggestions to a word doc on my 'puter. I picked up Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy from the library and started it last night. Love it already, and am trying to figure out a way to read it at work w/o getting caught. ;) Cheers, and thanks again,