asc
Puritan Board Sophomore
I've read a lot of different genres and some of the classics, but the fantasy genre (and to a lesser degree sci-fi) is my favorite, by far. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order (Tolkien and Lewis are a given):
The Pelbar Cycle, by Paul O. Williams - An excellent seven-book post-apocalyptic series written almost 30 years ago. It was out of print for a very long time (I got two sets at half-price books...one to keep and one to loan out). I just checked Amazon and it looks like it was republished a few years ago, so that's good news.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy, by Tad Williams - Good "Tolkien-style" fantasy trilogy. The first book is The Dragonbone Chair.
Riddle Master Trilogy, by Patricia A. McKillip - Completely original. An excellent series that isn't in any way like the standard "Sword and Sorcery" fantasy genre. The books are: The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind. I think they are out of print, but are available from a bunch of resellers.
The Earthsea Trilogy, by Ursula K. Le Guin - I put "Earthsea Trilogy" rather than "Earthsea Cycle," because it was the Earthsea Trilogy for almost 20 years before Le Guin decided to publish a fourth, atrocious book ("Tehanu") and ruin the series. The original three were masterworks...they were truly original and incredible books. The fourth is rambling, feminist tripe that reads like it was written by an entirely different person, and it has little to no resemblance to the original books. Do yourself a favor and read the first three book and pretend that the series stopped there, like it did for everyone else who read them between 1972 and 1990. The books are: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore.
Terry Brooks' Shannara books - There are a lot of these books (most of them titled, "The [insert word or phrase here] of Shannara", starting with The Sword of Shannara (1977). The first book is an obvious rip-off of Tolkien, but it is still readable and fun...and thankfully Brooks made the world his own after that first book, instead of continuing to copy Tolkien.
The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist - In hardback it was a trilogy: Magician, Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon. Magician was huge and broken up into two books for paperback: Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. Overall the series is pretty good and fairly original, but towards the end it suffers a bit from what is a common problem in a lot of fantasy novels...the characters become a bit too powerful and you lose the sense of there being any sort of struggle. However, the middle book "Silverthorn" is one of my favorite novels.
Terry Pratchet's Discworld novels - There are about 35 of these, and most of them are hilarious. They are full of satire and wit, using the fantasy genre as a backdrop. The humor is very "Pythonesque." These are some of the only novels that I will buy in hardback rather wait for the paperback release, because I want them right away and don't care if it costs more to get them.
There are lots of others, but that's enough for now.
I read a lot of Fantasy growing up, and the Earthsea triology and the Riddle Master trilogy are among my favorite.
