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AnneWest, I haven't read any other fantasy since the high school reading of Lord of the Rings. Hmm. And I'm remembering that I bailed midway through the second book because I thought it was boring. OK, maybe fantasy and I just don't click. lol. You asked about authors I like....a few that come to mind: Cormac McCarthy, Daniel Woodrell, Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, Pat Conroy, Tom Wolfe.
PAU2K, thanks for the mention of the Goodreads site...it's now bookmarked.
Thanks to Fleetiebelle, Mark S., and anyone else for their suggestions. I've already googled Michael Chabon and am eager to pick up something by him.
AnneWest, I haven't read any other fantasy since the high school reading of Lord of the Rings. Hmm. And I'm remembering that I bailed midway through the second book because I thought it was boring. OK, maybe fantasy and I just don't click. lol. You asked about authors I like....a few that come to mind: Cormac McCarthy, Daniel Woodrell, Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, Pat Conroy, Tom Wolfe.
PAU2K, thanks for the mention of the Goodreads site...it's now bookmarked.
Thanks to Fleetiebelle, Mark S., and anyone else for their suggestions. I've already googled Michael Chabon and am eager to pick up something by him.
LotR... um, well. I'll be honest. I love most fantasy, but I bailed on LotR, too. Tolkien is an author who seemed very fond of his words, the more the better. Why use 25 words to describe a tree, when he could use 250! The stories were epic, they'll be around forever. I'll watch the movies, thank you.
If you read myst/suspense, try Lee Child, Nelson DeMille, Harlan Coben, Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais. Tim Dorsey and Carl Hiaasen are both hysterically funny.
Calgirlinnc mentioned Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind. Loved that, and the 2nd book, can't wait for the third. It's fantasy, but an easier read than LotR or Game of Thrones imo.
Myself, I enjoyed it all right, though I think it is usually over-praised. It's good. Not great.
What didn't I like? Early on, the writing put me off. Descriptions and dialogue just didn't generate any spark. I can deal with that if the story grabs or I become invested with a character, but that never happened either. There just wasn't a compelling reason to continue with the book.
A couple of varied recommendations, depending on the flavor of fantasy that you may like (needless to say, read the Amazon description w/ caution, spoilers abound):
-Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I like recommending this to fantasy noobs b/c it's one of those very rare, stand alone fantasy books. Good for people not looking to start a trilogy or super long series. Sorcery, magic, a little bit of politics and religion thrown in for flavor
-His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. Historic fantasy, it's the Napoleonic Wars fought with talking dragons. I've heard it described as Dragonriders of Pern meet Master and Commander. It's the first book of a series that's not too shabby.
-Neil Gaiman. He's got several interesting, different books. He's most well known for Coraline (a children's book, but still very good), American Gods (IMHO, his best book so far), and Neverwhere.
-Terry Pratchett is always good for a laugh. His Discworld books are near parodies of popular fantasy tropes. The series technically starts with The Colour of Magic, but you don't really have to read the books in order, with some minor exceptions, IIRC
-A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. A young man discovers he's a wizard and goes off to a wizarding school. All similarities with Harry Potter ends there.
-there are a lot of young adult and children's novels that may be worth a look. Other than the obvious Harry Potter series, I'd recommend the following fantasy boos/series (note, some may edge into soft sci-fi):
- The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. First book in his His Dark Materials trilogy. A bit of steampunk involved
-The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's picked up a lot of good press lately with the movie versions being filmed. More post-apocalyptic sci-fi than fantasy. Very little humor in this series, but still a good read
Thanks to Fleetiebelle, Mark S., and anyone else for their suggestions. I've already googled Michael Chabon and am eager to pick up something by him.
I don't know that I'd call Chabon's stuff Fantasy, but it is definitely good.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a GREAT book that has some supernatural stuff going on early in the book.
Gentlemen of the Road is great, but it's pretty much a historic adventure. His original working title was "Jews With Swords," which I wish he would've kept.
The Yiddish Policemen's Union is really more alternate history than anything.
I haven't read Summerland, but my wife did and was rather disappointed in it. It's more of a YA book though.
That's strange because I feel like Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire is the type of fantasy which appeals to non-fantasy readers.
Maybe you just don't like fantasy?
Exactly. I'm one of those people who tends to hate fantasy. Until I actually watched the series, I didn't think I'd like Game of Thrones. It's so much more than just fantasy. It's political intrigue, human nature, romance, violence, etc.
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Originally Posted by sh2009
I enjoyed Game of Thrones, especially once the show started. But I'm having a beast of a time getting through the second book. I think I'm just bored...I think I could edit it down to about half the size and then I'd like it more. It's just moving sooo slow.
I felt the same exact way. The first half of the book just kinda drones on and I was bored outta my mind. Please believe me, the last 1/3rd of the book is epic!
Edited:
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnneWest
LotR... um, well. I'll be honest. I love most fantasy, but I bailed on LotR, too. Tolkien is an author who seemed very fond of his words, the more the better. Why use 25 words to describe a tree, when he could use 250! The stories were epic, they'll be around forever. I'll watch the movies, thank you.
Good luck!
This is a great description of why I bailed on LoTR. I just kept waiting for him to get to the point. I truly love the movies and will stick with that.
OP, wish I had some suggestions, but other than Game of Thrones, I'm not big on fantasy either.
Someone else mentioned it, but the Harry Potter books, if you haven't read them. I don't read fantasy but these books are fantastic. Rowling is a gifted writer. I read the entire series at least once a year when I need to calm down/get out of a funk/read something I love/lose myself in a book.
I really didn't think I'd like them since fantasy is not my thing but I had a copy of the first book, gave it a chance and was hooked.
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