(Part 3) Best fantasy books according to redditors
We found 11,479 Reddit comments discussing the best fantasy books. We ranked the 3,035 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 41-60. You can also go back to the previous section.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson:
https://dynamic.indigoimages.ca/books/0765360039.jpg?altimages=true&scaleup=true&maxheight=515&width=380&quality=85&sale=3&lang=en
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zg32xJdLL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
One of the worst books I've ever read. Really nice covers though.
I don't think there is one where he has read LoTR in its entirety, but this one, narrated by him and Christopher Tolkien, comes pretty close. According to description, the quality of older excerpts is not all that great. Below is a complete listing of chapters read by JRRT and CT [Credit to a reviewer, Anonymouse, on Amazon]:
CD 1: Songs and excerpts from "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring" read by J.R.R. Tolkien (49 minutes)
CD 2: Songs and excerpts from "The Two Towers", "The Return of the King", "The Fellowship of the Ring", and "The Adventure os Tom Bombadil" read by J.R.R. Tolkien (73 minutes)
CD 3: Excerpts from "The Silmarillion" read by Christopher Tolkien (68 minutes)
CD 4: Excerpts from "The Silmarillion" read by Christopher Tolkien (60 minutes)
In lieu of the usual stiff promo spiel, I'm just going to list the cool shit in my series like the bullet points on a kitchen appliance.
The books have almost 200 reviews, four-fifths of them very positive, comparing the books to everything from King's Dark Tower to Martin's Song of Ice and Fire to Grossman's Magician series to Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Its ardent fans and supporters are making cosplays of the characters, ordering signed copies, and making TrueType fonts of the written languages in the book.
Reading the books is almost as fun as writing them. It'd make my motherfuckin year if you came along with me.
I enjoyed "Time Enough for Love"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_Long
Also:
"Elantris" and "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson
Oh! Also check out "The Mummy or Ramses the Damned" by Anne Rice!
Some LitRPG recommendations:
In terms of published Western LitRPGs, I'd say Ascend Online is my favorite. The central protagonist isn't a complete psychopath like a lot of LitRPG protagonists, and he immediately starts treating the highly intelligent AI NPCs as people. That's a huge selling point for me, since it's so rare to see LitRPG protagonists that are friendly to NPCs.
Also, rather than immediately jumping into save the world stuff, it's reasonably paced. The main character doesn't start out with any crazy game breaking abilities, and the setting itself feels largely realistic - it feels very similar to a futuristic version of Everquest.
My other favorite Western LitRPG is Threadbare, which focuses on a bunch of teddy bear (golem) gradually learning about the world around it, and undertaking a determined quest to protect his little girl “owner”. It’s both heartwarming and surprisingly insightful.
In terms of non-Western LitRPGs, Log Horizon is my favorite. The author has clearly played MMORPGs, and the tactics used in there - both by the main character and other characters - feel like the types of things real people would do in a MMO setting. Once again, the main character also takes NPCs seriously and treats them well, which is a big plus for me. Shiroe for Log Horizon is probably the closest character I've seen to someone with my own background in a book.
I also love So I'm a Spider, So What?, which is a hilarious story about a girl who gets reincarnated into an RPG setting as a tiny spider monster. Fortunately, she can grind to get stronger! It's a bit of a strange one, but tons of fun. Note that this one is not strictly going into a VR game - they're just reincarnated in a world with RPG stats. It's a little different, but similar.
If you like the idea of a protagonist exploiting a bunch of bugs, check out Kono Sekai ga Game da to Ore dake ga Shitteiru. I enjoyed the first book a ton. The second book started getting into tropes I didn’t enjoy quite as much.
One of my other recent favorites is The Tutorial is Too Hard, which focuses on a main character transported into a dungeon on “Hell” difficulty that needs to make his way through to the top floor. We see a lot of his analytical process, which makes the story much more enjoyable to someone like me. This is probably my favorite ongoing story.
This edition of The Lord of the Rings. It looks like a pretty bible! I also have The Hobbit in this edition.
One of the nice things about being independent. I comission my own covers. In this case, a reader in New Zealand just messaged me and said "I loved your book, so I did a cover!" I then paid him for it and paid him for layout work, and paid him for the cover to the sequel!
http://www.amazon.com/Priest-Ratcatchers-Matthew-Colville-ebook/dp/B003OIBG44/
http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Fantasy-Hardboiled-Ratcatchers-Book-ebook/dp/B00JQ20KOE/
I dunno, maybe those are cheesy, but I am crazy in love with them.
Spellmonger definitely has combat, but it isn't a progression story in that respect after the traditional sense.
The protagonist starts out as a small village hedge wizard, slowly growing in power and importance until he's eventually a feudal lord and more. So if you consider gaining new titles and ranks in the peerage progression, then you might find it to be a fun read.
...know what it takes to go through the design process of creating your own 'professional' looking book covers.
Speaking as a cover designer, here's a number of elements where I see a lot of amateurs messing up:
Failing to research their genre niche to see what the covers of the top-selling books look like. Book buyers use the covers to guess at what the book will contain, to narrow down their choices. There are far too many books available to expect that readers will read the description of every single result of their search on whatever platform they're searching on, so you need to signal genre, sub-genre, and mood loudly enough that it jumps out as someone's eye is scanning over a batch of 1.5" tall covers that are all competing for attention.
What signals those things, and what things readers are looking for, changes subtly over time, so you need to keep an eye out. I designed the house look for the Zoe Chant shifter romance books (I don't do all the covers; many of the authors do their own) and while we've kept the same overall look, when Zoe Chant first published the idea was to play up the cozy qualities in the books. As action romance has gotten more popular in the past few years, the challenge now is to play up the dramatic tension without signalling "alphahole" because the Zoe Chant niche is focused on ultimately kind heroes. This mostly involves a lot of dramatic lighting, and in recent months a lot more glowy elements to pull focus. The books are the same sort that have been published all along, we're just focusing on different aspects now.
Yes, there are always books that break the mold of current design and sell a ton, and thus set new fashions that everyone else chases. Your book will not be the one that does that.
Leaving large flat areas of color in the design. This also fits in with researching covers in your niche: large flat areas of color are common in non-fiction, but not so much in fiction. At the very least, fill in that empty blackness with a texture or with words. If you have a background in graphic design and understand how to use negative space properly, go for it, but if you don't, then I wouldn't attempt it.
Failing to give the focal point of the design a 'pop'. 'Pop' means to stand out. You can do this with color, composition, negative space, light glows, etc., and you should use more than one thing. It should be immediately apparent what the focal point is, because you have less than one second to grab the reader's eye and make them interested. The more experienced you are, the more subtle you can go--I love the cover for Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, where the broken-up letterforms cause you to look twice and realize it's a snake doing that.
Failing to take lighting on the stock photos into account. If you grab two stock photos and montage them into a picture, they need to have complementary lighting. You can't have one high-key (bright, few shadows) and one low-key (dark, dramatic), and if you have the lighting in each photo coming from a different direction, you need to account for it in the rest of the picture because the two pictures will never blend properly if you don't. Yup, even in photomontages that aren't supposed to look like one photo: we are used to consistent lighting schemes in real life, and inconsistency draws the attention in a bad way because the brain goes "Something is wrong here."
Slapping the text on as an afterthought. The best cover designs involve the text from the very beginning, and make sure the composition includes the text. Ninth House above is a very obvious (and also very trendy right now) example.
(Also note that while Ninth House technically has large flat areas of black in the artwork, the title covers it up.)
Being afraid to put text on top of the artwork. Too many amateurs either make or buy a nice picture, and then go "I can't hide this picture!" and scrunch the title waaaaay down at the bottom and put their name waaaay up at the top. Ideally, you should have researched what your genre's conventions are--note that most trad publishers often put the text smack on top of the artwork, even interacting with it--and worked with the artist to develop a composition that takes the text into account. Barring that, put the full artwork on your website where your fans can see it (and maybe buy prints from your artist, or you if you licensed the copyright), and just slap that title on top.
Joe Abercrombie can get away with breaking this rule because he's Joe Abercrombie (and because the positive shape of the helmet POINTS AT THE TITLE, and because his name is BRIGHT RED and focus-pulling, and because the lighting on the helment is dark at the bottom and light at the top--three things that drive the eye to Abercrombie's name, which is the focal point).
Using default Photoshop text effects. Do not use anything more than a subtle drop shadow if you're new to this. Most text effects just look muddy at Amazon search results size, and are terrible anyway. If you find yourself looking at your title on the cover in a flat color and thinking, "This looks boring. I should jazz it up," then it means you are using the wrong font. It's still going to look wrong once you put a pillow emboss and outer glow on it. Go look at creativemarket.com, filter by price range, and invest in a (READABLE) font that is more interesting than Arial or Times New Roman or whatever you were using that came default with your computer.
Not making their author name big enough. You shouldn't go as big as Robert Jordan's name if you're not as big as Robert Jordan, but when your name is tiny, it looks like you're apologizing for having dared write the book.
Speaking of Jordan, I love these current covers. This is what you do if you can't bear to cover the artwork: you frame it, and you pull colors for the frame and the text from the artwork, and you incorporate interesting shapes into the frame. As a not-well-known author, you'd put the title into text the size of Jordan's name and put your name into the smaller text, and in the case of these covers, the frame would draw attention to your name, so the text could be smaller. (Although for an unknown author who wanted a similar cover, I'd put the series name into the frame, make the title large, and put the author name across the top.)
Hey! Loved Redwall and the other associated stories when I was growing up. I was an avid fan and owned the first 10ish, but the quality of story went down as more came out. :(
Now the real trick is figuring out what you're asking, so I'll take a few stabs. If there is a specific aspect about Redwall you really want to reflect in your new reads let me know and I'll expand the selection. :)
Like Redwall as in intelligent animals:
Light On Shattered Water:
Human finds himself in an alternate dimension where cats evolved instead of humans. I first read in around 2000, and last read it again this year, still very enjoyable.
The Chanur Saga:
Anthropomorphic cat aliens. Pretty decent adventure, though the tech is a little silly but not bad considering it was written in the 80s.
Watership Down:
Rabbits in England trying to live their life. And adventure type stuff happens. A classic for very good reason.
Like Redwall for epic adventure and battles
Malazan Book of the Fallen:
Epic in every way. Hands down my favorite book series. Never has any other book given such a sense of scale to the world. Everything has a history, and Erikson writes in a way that you want to know more, about it all.
His Majesty's Dragon:
I originally only picked up this book because the summary sounded like a joke. Napoleonic era England, insert dragons as the aerial corps. I brought it with to work, read it on my breaks and lunch, and after getting off at 9pm ended up staying at wprl until 5 am to finish it and the second book in the series.
it's genre, not gender ;)
two excellent starting points:
Life Reset
Ascend Online
It's... well, yeah, it's pretty eh. I was never the hugest fan of apostrophes in fantasy names either, but it's part of a subgenre. The type of fantasy Tal'Dorei lies in is very high and metropolitan, focused largely on being fantastical. The use of an apostrophe communicates "weirdness" and "foreignness" at a glance, and so it can be useful for setting up the genre and tone. Even if it's a quick decision, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the wrong one for this particular work, subgenre, and tone.
If you're interested in a fantasy setting that does take its names, linguistics, and language pretty seriously, though, and typically avoids apostrophes to boot, might I recommend the world of Vasloria in the Ratcatchers series? The author of those books (two so far, three more planned) talks online a lot about the time he spends trying to get the names in his setting juust right, since he really believes in the usefulness of language in setting a certain tone and delivering a specific feeling. Might be a breath of fresh air for you.
That's great! All my books happen to be free too! You can find them on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E
It'll say that the book costs $6 there, but that's because I'm running a sale for the next forever. During this sale each book comes with a sense of pride and accomplishment for being able to help an author eat and warm his house this winter.
I hope you take advantage of it! This sale will only last until the end of time!
For a selection of the songs (along with readings of sections of his books), you could look into the recordings that Tolkien made after LotR was written but before publication.
For example, here's Sam's song about the troll.
Edit - Oh, right. Also there's The Road Goes Ever On, a book of sheet music and whatnot for some of the songs that was developed by Donald Swann and officially approved by Tolkien.
you may like this novel, then.
Grunts
Confessions of a D list Supervillian
How to succeed in evil
Secret Six
Kushiel's Dart is by far THE BEST romance/erotic novel with a clever plot that I have ever read. I highly recommend it. It is also a series so if she likes it, you've got a couple to go on.
I was actually going to suggest the entire Old Man's War series. It's very good. Actually, all of Scalzi's books are great. Just finished Lock In for the 4th or 5th time. And Forever War was amazing.
I'd also suggest Eon by Greg Bear if you're into high scifi concepts.
And I haven't seen it on the comments, but I'm sure it's there. The Expanse Series by James S.A. Corey. The Syfy series is doing a wonderful job adapting it to the small screen.
You seem to have two types of books here, fantasy YA and classics that span the genres.
For fantasy YA-type books I recommend:
For non-YA I think you might enjoy from the other books you've included, I recommend:
People above are mentioning similarity to Garth Nix. His Old Kingdom series is among my favorite books ever. The first one is called Sabriel. Definitely worth a read if you liked this.
Maybe you should read up on the subject before you go spouting your ignorance.
There is a paperback set that's sold in the UK/Europe that you can order on UK Amazon(or whatever EU country you prefer). You have to order each book individually, though. It came out before The Wind Through the Keyhole, so that one just kinda sits off to the side. Nonetheless, the seven books look great together.
I'd go with Ascend Online if you're looking for a book with an actual game.
If you want more of a fantasy with game elements, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is where it's at. (While I admit that I know the author personally and have some bias, it's an Amazon Bestseller.)
If you prefer something modern-day and like a good zombie story, The Alpha Virus is a great read, though it's still a work-in-progress.
For a series with great characters and emotional impact, The Wandering Inn is an ongoing web serial of considerable length, and updates frequently.
Finally had some more time to read, picked up books mostly on Kindle Unlimited with some exceptions on Novel Updates.
Stuff in bold is stuff I really like and can recommend, stuff italicized is stuff I'm not sure about but you should probably read anyway.
Picked up
Arcane Ascension: (Kindle)
LitRPG, School, Dungeon/tower
Story had a pretty decent hook in the beginning, characters are decently fleshed out although I do hope book 2 has more character development.
The MC is a recovering loner with interesting family dynamics due to an unfortunate grandfather, militant father, and a missing brother.
I would have enjoyed this story more if I read it in chunks as the author is trying to create something new with depth and that ruined a bit of the immersion for me.
After reading 2/3 of the story I took a break and read other stuff before coming back to it and the last 1/3 was very enjoyable; then again the last bit was mostly plot development instead of world building.
Completionist Chronicles: (Kindle)
LitRPG, cleric?, puns?
Same author as the Divine Dungeon series linked below.
Compared to the Divine Dungeon series this story is much more enjoyable since the MC is human and already has a personality.
Divine Dungeon: (Kindle)
Dungeon core, cultivation, puns?
Pretty interesting premise but it is my first dungeon core story; story is pretty good and told in the POV of two MC's, a dungeon (Cal) and some shepherd who learns to cultivate.
In book 1 Cal is still developing as he was just Born which made it slightly more difficult to get into due to not much character development but the different POV's makes things easier to read. If you're okay with book 1 which was enjoyable but focused more on setting the foundation of the story then you should like books 2 and 3 much more.
Awaken Online: (Kindle)
LitRPG, Anti-hero?, Necromancy, glass cannon
A bit of an aside but this really made me feel nostalgic for Legendary Moonlight Sculptor even though there isn't much in common.
The prologue set the tone for the the story and while it could be too soon to tell I'd say he's only mostly anti-hero.
Story is a bit cliched and there isn't much tension but it's pretty well written and does a nice job overall differentiating itself.
Fields of Gold
Mild Mary Sue, hunting, isekai, reverse harem?
Phew, finally have something to fill the void that is Volare. (Even though I have 3 other novels I'm bulking up to binge later)
Just when I think I'm free of all food porn from previous completed novels they ambush me with this. y u do dis /u/Etvolare (and Myst), some of y'all have gotta be foodies and I'm concerned it's a criteria in novel selection.
Another Mary Sue story with hints of a reverse harem but that's probably unlikely. Her immediate family loves her but everyone else.. fuck 'em, except for maybe that one gentle aunt.
The S-Classes That I Raised
Time rewind, yandere, taming
Weak asshole MC turns over a new leaf with his time travel and patches things up with his younger more OP brother.
Ascend Online (Kindle)
LitRPG, Crafting, taming
Solid story but it's a bit average, pretty good read overall but character development is kinda weak.
I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire
Mecha, "anti-hero", ^^^ha! futuristic, isekai, misunderstandings, long life span
MC gets betrayed pretty badly by his wife due to the involvement of a third party who gets off on the grief and misery of others. MC reincarnates to another world and is mistrustful of women, gets abandoned by his parents and ends up doing some territory management in the pursuit of being evil later.
Demon King, Retry!
Overpowered, loli, misunderstandings, territory management?
Think of this as a more lighthearted, shallower take on Overlord for a younger audience, maybe.
A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss
Non-harem harem?, Wish fulfillment
Strong MC with a soft spot for ladies.
***
Still reading
Trash of the Count’s Family
Restaurant seems to be going well, some more of Cale's background is being very slowly teased through the story which makes it all the more understandable he wants to chill.
Ascending, Do Not Disturb
Apparently another story where cuteness is justice regardless of gender; two justices have been unlocked so far: cuteness and deliciousness.
The Beloved Imperial Consort
Strict mother and chill father? That'll be a fun baby, smart little monkey.
Lucia
Lucia is hangry and the damn grapes aren't in season yet.
The hubby is gonna have some serious blue balls if he doesn't find something to busy himself with.
Assassin Farmer
The assassin organization has changed hands with the death of the idiot boss.
MC has plenty of people waiting on her now (much to her distaste) and new house(s) are being built for her and her hubby's brothers.
*
Edit**: forgot to add the Arcane Ascension series and labeled the ones on Kindle Unlimited.
[Ascend Online]
Matt has an obsidianportal wiki with some of the information on his world -
http://the-age-of-conquest.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
It's not really a campaign so much as a world Matt has built up over the time he has been running the game - it doesn't really have a "plotline" to it and he makes up stories as he goes based on how he believes the world will react to the players and drops in modified versions of old modules he likes running.
He also has been writing a book series set in his D&D world in a different time period that are really good and can be great for inspiration.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OIBG44/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JQ20KOE/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
There's a Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons book called Draconomicon that is a really awesome read. I remember it having about 30 pages just on the physiology of dragons, including a really awesome diagram of the inside of one of their eyes having two lenses, explaining how their vision is so good. Definitely more on the Dragonology-style side of things than a novel or series though.
http://www.amazon.com/Draconomicon-Book-Dragons-Dungeons/dp/0786928840/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451281074&sr=8-1&keywords=draconomicon
MoL is a member of the groundhog's day loop subgenre. Check out Re:Zero, ERASED (AKA boku dake ga Inai Mache), and Edge of Tommorrow (also known as "All you need is kill") for non-fanfic examples. Also check out the peggy sue and groundhog peggy sue pages for when the time loop is on a significantly larger scale. For some reason I can't find a whole lot of non-fanfic examples (I've probably just forgotten stuff I read a long time ago) but there are oodles of fanfic with that premise.
Are you willing to read MLP:FiM fanfiction? I have a bunch of excellent completed fics to recommend for groundhog's day loops. If you like naruto, there's Time Braid and Chuunin exam day of the top of my head for loops, though they come with caveats: Time Braid is rather overty sexual, and Chuunin exam day is pure tripe written by an author I hate (so I only mention it because of its popularity.) Naruto also has incredibly amounts of peggy sue fics, but they tend to be either fairly blatant wish fulfilment or incomplete. I know for a fact that harry potter has tons of both peggy sue and time loop fics, but I don't really read that fandom much. Worm has a bunch of peggy sue fics, but they're all (or almost all) incomplete.
___
On the other hand, Hero's War is an "uplift" fic. The only non-fanfic example I can think of off the top of my head is Light on Shattered Water which I'm about halfway through. Aside from that, check spacebattles for ASOIAF SIs: they almost all tend to be of this variety. Again, I also have a bunch of MLP:FiM fics with similar premises.
For sort-of-similar works, check out Erfworld and Two Year Emperor for modern-person-gets-put-in-charge-of-fantasy-land fiction.
Spacebattles really likes both of these kinds of fics, so you may have more luck posting a thread there.
Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, I'm pretty tired of the elves, dwarves, orcs, and humans motif. To me, the term "fantasy" means "realms of the utter fantastic." So by comparison to that, Tolkien-esque worlds feel utterly mundane and don't hold my interest without a major kick in the premise pants.
Similarly, I'm tired of the knee-deep swamps of vampire and werewolf cultures in urban fantasy. That's what appealed to me about S.A. Hunt's The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree, or Christopher Ruz's Rust. Magical gunslingers fighting steam-powered mechs? Cool. An afterlife full of Lovecraftian nightmares? Awesome. Anything but more of the quasi-medieval hick-with-powers yarn.
Paradoxically, it seems to me that the very authors given greatest licence to explore the bizarre seem the most trapped by the history of what has come before. Myself included. Once I've finished my current series (later this year) my next project is going to kick the stops out of convention and hit the world with something really unusual. Or at least, I hope it will. I'm still working on the details.
jumping on the Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree/Outlaw King train over here, it is literally my fav series of all time _ western, fantasy, sci-fi, action, adventure... a wonderful melting pot of genres all tied up with a little dark humor ribbon makes for an AMAZING package
The Hope of Elantris can be found on Brandon's website.
Sixth of the Dusk is in Brandon's Writing Excuses anthology Shadows Beneath.
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is also in an anthology called Dangerous Women.
Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko
Chronicles of the Black Gate by Phil Tucker
The Aching God by Mike Shel
The Castes and the OutCastes by Davis Ashura
Paternus by Dyrk Ashton
​
I could keep going all day, but here's some starters, ha!
Three of the best after Ice and Fire:
The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix (trilogy)
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (trilogy)
The Earthsea series
There is a British publisher that has released a set of all 7 that match.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Tower-Gunslinger-Stephen-King/dp/1444723448
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dark-Tower-Drawing-Three/dp/1444723456
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Waste-Lands-Dark-Tower/dp/1444723464
So on and so forth.
This may be how it is in the US but over in the UK this isn't a problem. My current set of DT is consistent and lines up nicely on my shelf.
My previous set was also a complete set. So if you want a good set you might want to look at ordering from the uk.
Here are the first few pages for those interested.
http://www.amazon.com/reader/1597801577?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sib_books_pg&qid=1266531814&query=the%20windup%20girl#reader-page
i mean, i say give the books another shot because i can't imagine enjoying the movies but not the books. but to each their own. if you don't want to go down that road, what do you mean things that might interest you? do you mean in the harry potter universe? if so, the other stuff is fun but the original seven are her magnum opus IMO and to get my fix, i had to go outside the Harry Potter universe.
some books that I just inhaled and read in one sitting will sound super corny, but...
If you just want some good fantasy that isn't just Lord of the Rings rip offs, these are the ones I like.
I'm really glad to hear that! I'm sure you've heard this a lot, but I got to know you from the YouTube channel (still working my way through Running the Game as I prepare my own campaign - awesome series), and if I hadn't seen you on YouTube, I would never have known about the Ratcatchers.
I bought Priest and Thief on Amazon nine days ago sight unseen, partly out of curiosity and partly because whether I liked the books or not, I wanted to kick something back to you for your completely free YouTube content.
Well, I finished them both and just started re-reading Priest. Great job! Lots of fun, lots of comedy, but especially love all the relationships and heart and feeling. Can't wait for Fighter and what I assume will be Wizard.
> Spellmonger
Added to my list. Any other suggestions? I love sci-fi / fantasy but I'm tired of reading novels with xir pronouns or with the "white savior" trope only reversed.
I'll throw the Galaxy's Edge as a sci-fi suggestion.
The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree also takes a western aesthetic and transports into a completely different genre, in this case it's a fantasy world.
It's a sort of fantasy/horror/western/drama if that makes any sense! Another parallel is the humour of the characters', which in both Whirlwind and Firefly really shine through.
I really recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/The-Whirlwind-Thorn-Tree-Outlaw-ebook/dp/B00BJCLMFU
Also - I saw someone recommend Farscape. Watch it, it's amazing.
George RR Martin's - A Song of Ice and Fire Series
Scroll down to the next page - it specifically references Tolkien reading in his Gollum voice in "The JRR Tolkien Audio Collection". Why here's a copy for you to buy!
I would suggest The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection. She probably doesn't have it already, and it's really cool to hear the actual voices of Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien reading from the legendarium.
If you want to DM me the picture of her bookshelf, I can suggest some books too. There's just so many things she probably already has!
FWIW, the audio is available on CD as part of The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection, although the cover art isn't as cool. :-)
Take a look at This Book for some inspiration.
have you tried The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan? Here's a link to the first one.
It's important to note I don't read a ton of fantasy, but I just recently read and loved /u/mattcolville 's Priest and Thief books.
Some of these are more obscure than others, but tell me if you thought I included any that were too well known:
The Cloud Roads: It's the first book in the Raksura series by Martha Wells. It has some wonderful worldbuilding, and the Raksura themselves are very fun to read about. They have some complicated biology compared to humans, and the societal alterations to go along with it.
Light on Shattered Water: This one was interesting to me because the protagonist is the only human in the story. In short, he's a monster. It's an interesting perspective and we get to watch his sanity wax and wane.
The Demon of Cliffside: This is an indie book that was posted on r/Fantasy last November, but went largely unnoticed. What makes it special is it's protagonist, the demon of cliffside. It's quite inhuman, and has lived in the shadow of the city for a millenia, with varying levels of enmity towards the people living in it. Right now, the demon is pretty ambivalent towards them, but in the past... events transpired that led to bloody legends.
Sixty-One Nails: Book one of the courts of the feyre by Mike Shevdon. The author really does his research when he's writing these books because he incorporates real-life history and ceremonies. The main character is pretty atypcial for an urban fantasy: he's a middle aged man with a teenaged daughter.
The Legend of Eli Monpress: This is actually an omnibus of the first three books in the Eli Monpress series, but it costs the same as a regular book. The book won me over in the first chapter, when the titular character talked his way out of his dungeon cell... by convincing his cell door to fall apart. It is a series that's excellent at balancing humorous moments with serious moments and it has a wonderful cast of characters.
I'm mostly into litRPG so that's what my recommendations will focus on.
everybody loves large chests was already a great webnovel but the author also published on amazon. you can still read it for free on royal road if you want. it features a truly evil monster as primary character who was never human to begin with, so it's quite a different take on the litRPG genre.
life reset is a VR based litRPG with the focus on the MC having been turned into a monster character against his will and ending up stuck in the VR world, with emphasis on city building.
Awaken Online is also a VR based litRPG but the main character kinda turns into a big villain. sort of.
Dodge Tank combines an interesting post-apocalytpical but very futuristic 'real' world combined with a VR world.
The Land/Chaos Seeds transportation litRPG with a bit of a contentious author who has a tendency to shove every fun idea he has into the story at the expense of actual story progression, but if you like the idea of city building litRPG I'd certainly still recommend it. there are plenty of other aspects that make up for it.
I'm gonna stretch the rules and include some comics on this list:
You forgot the link :) https://www.amazon.com/Life-Reset-LitRPG-Novel-Online-ebook/dp/B074N1P685
Life reset is the first book in what looks like it will be a revenge story:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B074N1P685
Life Reset, MC is a goblin who, do to circumstances, essentially becomes an NPC raid boss. Good book overall, some of it was pretty dry but the audio book was fun to listen to.
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Reset-LitRPG-Novel-Online-ebook/dp/B074N1P685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505746503&sr=8-1&keywords=life+reset
Life Reset is my favorite Town Building book. Not sure if it matches the scale you are looking for as far as the building goes though.
Sabriel -Nix
Bout a Girl who can raise the Dead and talk with them-in a Fantasy/WWI setting. Awesome read & 1st in a series of 3
Because none of the others include it, either?
It depends on what you already read, but let's start you off easy:
I would take a look at some stand-alone books to get you started:
Slightly more involved:
Harry Potter was mentioned - 7 books, easily accessible, builds complexity and atmosphere over the series. Highly recommended.
Also, The Name of the Wind and The Lies of Locke Lamora have been mentioned, and I second these. I also would add The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. Each series has two books out. I don't know if The Magicians will have a third book, but the others surely will.
My all time favorite book is "The Merro Tree" by Katie Waitman. (https://www.amazon.com/Merro-Tree-Del-Rey-Discovery/dp/0345414365) It's an excellent science fiction tale about a boy who transcends incredible odds to become one of the galaxy's greatest performers. It is about love, music, dance, and theatre, all in a beautiful sci-fi setting. Excellent and easy to read.
If you want harder science fiction, I suggest "House of Suns" by Alestair Reynolds (https://www.amazon.com/House-Suns-Alastair-Reynolds-ebook/dp/B002AKPECW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1550262904&sr=1-1&keywords=house+of+suns+alastair+reynolds) A murder on a planet full of immortal clones. A murder mystery in a transhumanist far future.
Not into Sci-Fi as much, but don't want your usual sword and sorcery Fantasy? How about "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. (https://www.amazon.com/Warbreaker-Brandon-Sanderson/dp/0765360039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1550263031&sr=1-1&keywords=warbreaker) Political intrigue in the court of the GodKing, and a tireless immortal attempting to correct a wrong done a long time ago. It also has an interesting form of magic, different from your usual "pinch of pixie dust, eye of newt, mutter incantation" kind of wizardry.
Into Gaiman, but want something slightly more serious? How about something akin to "Neverwhere"? I suggest "The City's Son" by Tom Pollock (https://www.amazon.com/Citys-Son-Skyscraper-Throne-Book-ebook/dp/B00LSX4TO6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1550263325&sr=1-1&keywords=The+City%27s+Son+tom+pollock)
Warbreaker is standalone.
It actually has a really fantastic ending.
You might be interested in The Draconomicon.
It's a 3rd (maybe 3.5) edition book, but iirc a lot of the information is flavor / fluff, and doesn't depend on an edition.
Edit: and if anyone has the book, maybe you could help OP out with his questions.
Eon by Greg Bear
Maybe Neverness by David Zindell. Though the "mysterious artifact" in it isn't exactly an artifact. Still, it's a crime that this novel has been out of print for over a decade.
Frederik Pohl's Heechee series, beginning with Gateway. Pulpy, but enjoyable.
Ringworld of course, but I'm sure you've already heard of that one.
edit: Whoops. You mentioned Pohl already.
I finally got around to reading Greg Bear's Eon and Eternity this week, and they were wonderful. I don't know how I missed them before, but I'd recommend them (and looking at the Amazon page, apparently now I've got to get Legacy this week as well).
I'd also recommend David Brin's Uplift series.
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi are both amazing, deep, engrossing books with worlds of their own. I cannot recommend them enough.
Also, China Mieville's books are pretty awesome, though more urban fantasy than SciFi. Still worth a read.
The Windup Girl is different kind of apocalyptic tale, won the hugo and nebulla awards. Hard sci fi with a very human touch.
<3 Your generosity never ceases to amaze me!
I'd absolutely love to have something like that. I don't have a smartphone or laptop, which makes managing my business quite tricky when I'm away from home. If I had something that could connect to WiFi, I'd be able to reply to customer emails, update my shop, keep track of finances, etc. Certainly would make things quite a bit easier, especially as I've been helping take care of my mom a lot lately (in hospice, over an hour away).
And business-aside, I'm a huge bookwork, and I'd be all "read ALL the books!!". And so would my Tiny Turtles, as they becoming quite the mini-bibliophiles as well. <3
I think my first e-book would be The Eye of the World... might as well start off with an epic series. :)
If you aren't Familiar with Brandon Sanderson... I'd check him out immediately!
His Mistborn series is amazing and finished (At least the first Trilogy), his other series are just as amazing, but no where close to finished so could be a long wait if you get as engrossed in them as I have.
Books are:
He also finished Robert Jordan's epic tale Wheel of Time when Mr Jordan passed away before completing the last 2 or 3 books.
An author I would encourage you to check out right now, today, do not pass go, do not collect $200, don't wait to get home from work, seriously, open up your smart phone right now, and look up Brandon Sanderson.
Start with either Elantris or Warbreaker as they are standalone novels. I'd personally recommend Elantris as that is the first novel he ever published (and anything else you read by him can only get better)
Elantris https://www.amazon.com/Elantris-Tenth-Anniversary-Authors-Definitive-ebook/dp/B003G93YLY
Warbreaker https://www.amazon.com/Warbreaker-Brandon-Sanderson-ebook/dp/B002KYHZHA
Warbreaker https://brandonsanderson.com/books/warbreaker/warbreaker/warbreaker-rights-and-downloads/ (free, author's website)
Sanderson tends to hit the nail on the head in regards to capturing the essence of character and what would be going on in the situation rather than worrying about attempting to get a character hot and bothered at all times of the day or night.
If you've never heard of him, you owe it to yourself to check him out.
When you started off I though you were talking about Ratcatchers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OIBG44/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o04_?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Really really good book I'd never heard of before with a similar sounding lead. I'll be sure to check this out.
Not sure what age range you're interested in but if your inner child enjoys super heroes I heavily recommend Confessions of a D List Supervillain. It's a story for adults with childish fun, the protagonist is a failed villain trying to save a world ruined by the heroes; there's plenty of underdog action and though I haven't read the sequels, they exist too.
https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-D-List-Supervillain-Jim-Bernheimer-ebook/dp/B004WE0D3E
How about a novel heavily inspired by comic books? Confessions of a D-List Supervillain might be up your alley.
If you don't mind fantasy books, the Kushiel series https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055DLCAY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_jTBHAbPC5V6PS by Jacqueline Carey is quite good.
Jacqueline Carey is probably exactly who you want to read. She has a three trilogy series known as Kushiel's Legacy, and it is amazing. She is very good at character development, world-building, AND the series is complete, so you won't have to wait around for years hoping to get more. It's full of politics, intrigue, drama, travel, courtesans, spymasters, royalty, pirates, romance (epic, happy, and tragic)...anything you want, it's in there. The first half of the first novel is intense world-building/set-up, but it's all interesting, and when the story kicks into full-gear, it's hard to put it down!
The first trilogy is Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, and Kushiel's Avatar.
The second trilogy is Kushiel's Scion, Kushiel's Justice, and Kushiel's Mercy.
The third trilogy is Naamah's Kiss, Naamah's Curse, and Naamah's Blessing.
Here is the Amazon description of the first novel in the first trilogy, Kushiel's Dart:
"A nation born of angels, vast and intricate and surrounded by danger... a woman born to servitude, unknowingly given access to the secrets of the realm...
Born with a scarlet mote in her left eye, Phédre nó Delaunay is sold into indentured servitude as a child. When her bond is purchased by an enigmatic nobleman, she is trained in history, theology, politics, foreign languages, the arts of pleasure. And above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Exquisite courtesan, talented spy... and unlikely heroine. But when Phédre stumbles upon a plot that threatens her homeland, Terre d'Ange, she has no choice.
Betrayed into captivity in the barbarous northland of Skaldia and accompanied only by a disdainful young warrior-priest, Phédre makes a harrowing escape and an even more harrowing journey to return to her people and deliver a warning of the impending invasion. And that proves only the first step in a quest that will take her to the edge of despair and beyond.
Phédre nó Delaunay is the woman who holds the keys to her realm's deadly secrets, and whose courage will decide the very future of her world.
Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age and the birth of a new. It is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. A world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, deposed rulers and a besieged Queen, a warrior-priest, the Prince of Travelers, barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess... all seen through the unflinching eyes of an unforgettable heroine."
If you have a kindle and are in the US, books 1 and 2 are cheap as dirt. The print price isn't too bad either.
I can't recommend this book enough to a person whose favorite series is The Dark Tower series. It's extremely well written, and you can't beat that price.
(I should probably get royalties for talking it up so much...)
I only read one fantasy book this month:
The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree by /u/AuthorSAHunt was pretty enjoyable! It was obviously inspired by Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" Series, but it stood really well as its own story. I was really happy with it overall, but because of my own schedule, I didn't have a lot of time to read it, so it took me a long time. That combined with the slow pace at the beginning meant that it took some time for me to really get into it. The last third of the book really picked everything up, but the ending felt a little more like a chapter ending than a book ending - not a ton of closure, but a nice hook to keep on reading.
I'll definitely read the second book soon. Right now I'm finishing a small non-fantasy tour (finishing up with The Winter of Our Discontent) and so it may end up being a December or January book.
I encourage everyone to check it out! The first two books are free on Amazon!
Raising people from the dead has been done in some good stories.
The closest to what I think you want would be the necromancers in Garth Nix's Abhorsen series. They have an official line of necromancers who can raise the dead to real life again; although they are more concerned with keeping the dead from coming back unnaturally.
http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-Abhorsen-Garth-Nix/dp/0064471837
The hero Severian in Gene Wolfe's Shadow Of The Torturer series, gains the power to bring back the dead. He encounters a necromancer who has raised a classic zombie. Severian brings the zombie to life again. Strangely, the people who witness this find a true return to life more frightening than the zombie existence.
Jim Butcher's Dead Beat (I think the fifth book in the Harry Dresden series) has the hero up against necromancers. It is a forbidden magic but one of them is convinced it can lead to a natural immortality without being corrupting.
The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore. It's kind of similar to Pratchett.
[Sabriel](http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-The-Abhorsen-Trilogy-Garth/dp/00644718370 by Garth Nix. This is a light read, not light-hearted.
Nix is holding a giveaway for some bell charms and a sneak peak at Clariel! I was conflicted since sharing this here meant lower odds of me winning :P
>I think it must be time to have a giveaway again. I still don't have time to find someone to sell bell charms, so I will give some away. To have a chance to get some, write a review of SABRIEL here http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-Abhorsen-Trilogy-Garth-Nix/dp/0064471837/ (nowhere else) and then comment on this post to let me know what name you've used. Seven people chosen at random from the reviewers who also post here will get two sterling silver bell charms each and a sneak peak of a piece of CLARIEL, two chapters bound in a small signed and numbered booklet. Yes, I know it is being Amazon-specific, and I know you may have to buy a book. But for better or worse, Amazon ripples spread widest and the giveaways are worth much more than a book, not least because they are otherwise unobtainable. I'll use my old D&D dice to choose who gets the loot a month from now, 8th September 2013.
My dad has the Red Book of Westmarch, which is named after the book that Bilbo and Frodo actually write and pass down the hobbit families. He inscribed the inside cover with the date we started reading it, when i was 7. It's my very favorite family heirloom.
Does Houghton Mifflin still publish the big red book with all three volumes in one cover? That's the one I have. Well, one of the ones I have. I also have a three-volume edition I bought in the 90s, and a Ballantine paperback set I bought in the 70s, with Tolkien's paintings on the covers.
Hmm. It doesn't seem that the red book is still being published, but you can buy old copies for varying prices. A shame. Mine is getting worn out, and I was thinking of replacing it.
$27 for anyone interested:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395193958/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UVIlyb733S7ZZ
I asked for the same thing a few years ago. My son did a bunch of research and they bought me this and this. They're gorgeous. The paper is a so rich feeling.
Best 140 character story that will never be finished.
If you haven't, you really should read Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Here's its description on Amazon:
>After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris, and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called “secondary creation,” the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.
>Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.
>Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.
>By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.
It has one of the most unique systems of magic I've ever come across, as well as other interesting premises. But the best part is, it's offered for FREE on his website! You can read it on the site itself or download it for kindle.
Thanksfor the contest! CRICKET
You ALL still have Zoidberg!
I'm currently reading The Cat Who Lived High by Lillian Jackson Braun and will be starting Suspect by Robert Crais as soon as I finish it.
I would be thrilled to have this book for my husband since I've got a list a mile long to read. Thank you for the contest!!
Do you like fantasy/sci fi? If so, check out Elantris and Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Two of the most enjoyable standalone fantasy novels I have ever read.
I would get a copy of the 3.5e Draconomicon. Look for it cheap or free mind you. Its a great book with zillions of strange dragons and dragonoids, from all over the multiverse. Amazing book, but you will need to rework the stat blocks a bit to make them 5e friendly.
You should check out the Dragon Magazine and the Draconomicon. Just about everything is pulled from those canon sources.
Edit: I don't know why the bullet points aren't working. Sorry.
Eon is very good
Agreed. And I'm not going to name names, but I've read some of those.
Books: Eon by Greg Bear. Not the typical first contact story but saying more than that would give it away.
Couple of suggestions:
Don't what your interested in, but the above is pretty good all round list.
The Dark Tower books are an amazing read. Fantasy fiction. 7 books in the series, with an 8^th written latter that is kinda supposed to be in the middle somewhere. It is an addictive read, and yet I haven't finished it yet. I'm not very good at describing books, and I don't want to ruin it at all. So I'm afraid you'll have to look up reviews. But they are brilliant, and I really must finish them!
Derren Brown is (if you don't know) a British illusionist with an absolutely unbelievable set of skills. He is constantly de-bunking psychics, and magic in general, while at the same time making you believe he is magic (even if you have absolutely no belief in magic at all)! This book explains some of the tricks he does, and how to perform a lot of things. From simple disappearing coins, to insane memory capabilities. Very interesting read. Another one that is really hard to put down.
The Simpsons Mathematical Secrets book is something I found accidentally while being really nerdy and watching this video. It turns out that a lot of The Simpsons writers are mathematicians. These guys slip nerdy Easter Eggs into the episodes, and Simon goes through them all. The video linked talks about how numbers should be difference for the Simpsons, as they only have 4 fingers (3 and a thumb) where as we have 5. This makes us use a base 10 number system, they should use a base 8 number system. Fundamentally changing things like Pi. The writers knew this. But there is one, and only one, character in The Simpsons who has 5 fingers (4 and a thumb), and so this is why they live in a decimal world - The only character is God, and he controls the number system for some reason.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a book I had to read in school. It is an amazing diary like "murder mystery novel like no other". It is narrated by a 15 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. It has been a while since I read this, so I don't remember a lot about it, but I remember reading it a couple of times before the rest of my class got around to finishing it. Not a long book, but a very good one!
I included Harry Potter, because its an obvious choice. It's also the only one from the above that I've finished (other than The Curious Incident). I've finished all 7 books. But never got around finishing the others (only got the Simpsons one for Christmas). If you haven't seen the films, read the books first. They are 100 times better. Seriously. But the films are like icing on the amazing cake that is HP, so don't avoid them either. This isn't just a kids book/film like some people assume.
Pets with Tourette's is a picture book. Not for kids. The things these pets say sometimes, disgraceful.
Can't think of any others, but probably because it is 4am here. Hahaha.
EDIT: Grammar and formatting errors.
[I bought The Dark Tower series in an edition that had a tag for the movie.] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Tower-Gunslinger-Stephen-King/dp/1444723448) It does reduce an otherwise neat cover, and it is printed, no sticker.
They can be published by different companies. The only entire matching set Ive seen is a UK publisher Hodder
Heads up, the UK Publisher Hodder & Stoughton has all 8 Dark Tower novels and the Complete Concordance as a matching set, and on amazon it would actually cost me less to have the H&S set shipped all the way from the UK than it would to preorder this set. That's the 7 main books, Wind Through the Keyhole, AND the concordance, whereas I'm pretty sure this set available for preorder is only the 7 main series novels. I saw the H&S books in person in China and they're beautiful, so if this set doesn't look super beautiful or have SOMETHING better than the H&S set, I'm getting the H&S set instead. The H&S books are all available on amazon.co.uk as well as eBay.
Here are links for books 1-7, WttK, and a copy of the concordance.
The Gunslinger
Drawing of The Three
Waste Lands
Wizard & Glass
Wolves of the Calla
Song of Susannah
The Dark Tower
Wind Through The Keyhole
Dark Tower: Complete Concordance
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi might be what you're looking for.
Popping back in to check the list of books (some good stuff in here!) and surprised not to see The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. He also wrote Pump Six (short stories, some very good), Ship Breaker (aimed at juveniles, but still fun) and The Alchemist (ok, I guess).
This is the cover art to The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Awesome book. The book is not Deiselpunk, more post-peak energy Sci-Fi.
Wheel of Time series (first book is The Eye of the World).
Fantastic fantasy series.
I also noticed you had a few books about the Appalachian Trail - I would recommend A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.
Yup.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Priest-Ratcatchers-Book-Matthew-Colville-ebook/dp/B003OIBG44
$13.42 seems more reasonable, though.
This made me think of Matt Colville's Priest - everything after the first act.
In his setting the sky elves were demigod-like creatures, now mostly gone, and the fey were their servants. When they get a hold of someone, they feed and entertain, but these illusions were made for minds alien to ours. You know how little kids can get glued to the TV - absorbing hyperstimulation tailored to them by what is, relative to them, a superintelligent collective? Now imagine a bunch of pixies and sprites around a person having simultaneously the best and worst trip possible. They laugh and writhe in a pool of their own urine and feces, in utter ecstasy, all the way until their mind or body gives out. Who knows which is worse.
And the fey, they don't ... they can't understand. They're doing everything they're supposed to do, executing it perfectly.
Anyway, it's not exactly what you asked for. The forest isn't intentionally malevolent, but the village folks would definitely get that impression.
Alrighty mate, here's a link to all three: Into the abyss, Spellmonger, Orconomics
There's a lot of great authors publishing independently(self and small press) now, but it can be hard to pick the ones you'll enjoy out of the flood of new releases on Amazon. I'll link to a few of the authors and books I've enjoyed.
Super hero novels
The Blackjack novels by Ben Bequer are fun.
I also enjoyed Confessions of a D-List Supervillian by Jim Bernheimer. They share similar themes of a super-villain forced out of their comfort zone.
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts is the start of a great young adult series about the daughter of super heroes charting her own path.
Fantasy and SF
Anything by Andrea K Höst is great. The Touchstone series is great comfort reading about a young woman who walks around a corner and ends up in another world. It's the most SF of her works.
Terry Mancours' Spellmonger series is a fun fantasy about a mage who retires to the backwoods but ends up in the center of a continent spanning conflict. It spends a lot of time on the details of living in a fantasy world, but there's plenty of action too.
John Conroe's Demon Accords is a contemporary fantasy about a cop turned holy warrior. Fun action/fantasy, a couple of the books focus on side characters for a change of pace.
Jack L. Knapp has a couple enjoyable SF series. I'm partial to his New Frontiers series about the rediscovery of a space drive technology and humanities expansion in to the solar system.
Military SF
Marko Kloos is great as mentioned by others.
Christopher Nutall has a ton of books, both SF and fantasy(I tend to prefer his fantasy).
I really like:
Terry Mancour's Spellmonger series on Kindle. It's not super deep like Gene Wolfe or even Sanderson, but he writes very fast, a couple books a year, they're cheap. It's like comfort food sword and sorcery medieval fantasy. Story follows a fairly young veteran battle mage who has retired to a quiet mountain village to be the local "spellmonger", when he gets caught up in an attack by the evil goblins. His survival launches him on a martial and political career that will reshape his world. There's also romance and some nice wisecracks along the way, and hints that the world isn't as simple as it first appears. Sometimes you just want something easy and fun and this delivers.
http://terrymancour.blogspot.com/?m=1
https://www.amazon.com/Spellmonger-Book-One-Terry-Mancour-ebook/dp/B004Q9TD7W
I also like H. Paul Honsinger's Man of Honor trilogy. It's fairly hard military sci fi. The first trilogy is complete and he's working on a follow up series in the saga. Story follows a young naval destroyer captain in a total galactic war against a crazy alien enemy. There is a strong sense of esprit d'corps, and it is a fun action packed read. Technically no longer self-published, since Honsinger got picked up by Amazon's own publishing imprint. The books are cheap and there are excellent Audible editions.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DQUKZMY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=
The first book for both are only a few bucks, and I love recommending both authors! They definitely deserve all the fans I can send their way.
What about original English novels? Because there is this series: http://www.amazon.com/Spellmonger-The-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B004Q9TD7W
It's a long series, and the development you want happens in book 3 and 5. Book 4 is from the supporting characters' viewpoint.
Here are a few that I liked:
Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Worm by John McCrae (this is a free online web serial that is complete)
I'm not working right now, but my last 2 jobs were at hospitals. To complain a bit, I really don't like 12 hr shifts. For some reason I feel like I'm trapped at work, and it adds to the stress of the job. Plus 12 always turns into 13 or 14 hrs. Sure I get to work 3 days and off 4, but it really just ruins those 3 days! I'm bitter =)
I hope your days starts to look up. I love glitter!! Thank you for the contest.
Glitter all the things. ALL of them!
book!
The story is so complex it's hard fo me to explain properly. Here's a link to the first book so you can read the official summary.
Hi there! You've gotten some amazing suggestions here, but I'd like to add the Sharon Shinn book, Archangel. (Bonus points because it's got an amazingly unique setting.) Also Kushiel's Dart, by Jacqueline Carey. And if you're open to indie authors, the first book of my fantasy series is free through today! Catalyst Moon: Incursion. (I just did a writer of the day post here, too.)
Happy reading! :)
Take a look at Lights on shattered water. I haven't finished it yet but I'm beyond half and it's very good so far. There is one sex scene in it so far (if I recall correctly) but it's not focused on sex.
You can either download it for free here or buy it from amazon here There's also one or two sequels.
Also, here's the song that made me check it out.
A bunch of older Science Fiction and Fantasy by established authors:
and I've always been partial to the Life of Riley saga starting with Light on Shattered Water
Rick Cook's Wizard's Bane series is about a programmer who gets sent to a magic-filled world. And he then proceeds to learn magic, and build his own magic compiler by using ordered simple spells.
Light On Shattered Water is a book about a hiker who gets transported to a world of cat-people in the middle ages. Notable for not being one of those books where "everything magically works out". He doesn't speak the language. He gets treated as non-sentient a lot. Pretty badly brutalized at points too. Eventually starts a semi-industrial-revolution.
I'm not sure what you like, but I have some suggestions:
S. A. Hunt's The Whirlwind in the Thorntree is pretty fantastic. It's perma-free on Amazon and is the first in The Outlaw King series. I'm reading the second book now. Sam also happens to be a really nice guy and a fantastic cover designer (check out his website if you have a chance). The Outlaw King series is supposed to be an homage to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but I haven't read it so I'm not sure how similar it is. I read it as incredibly creative, a little dark but not grimdark, and very addicting.
And I also write fantasy - my Erdemen Honor series is epic fantasy lite (no magic, just a different world). It's also more character-driven and written on a smaller scale than a lot of epic fantasy... it's epic in tone, but not scale, if that makes sense. That series starts with The King's Sword. I also have a dark, urban, Christian fantasy series in progress called A Long-Forgotten Song. Only the first book, Things Unseen, is out now, but the second will be out this fall.
The links go to Amazon, but my books are available at other online stores and I think Sam's are too. Also, I enabled DRM on Amazon when I published, but now I think DRM is just an annoyance. So if you want a DRM-free copy, just let me know.
Not sure if it's every year. I think it's the first time that it's happened. Quite a few of them seem to be collections of blog posts.
PWYW Tier:
$15 Tier:
I can't answer that but as a fan of Writing Excuses I recommend their book Shadows Beneath in which each of the podcast's hosts brainstorms, writes, and revises their stories with input from the group as well as their own commentary. It's pretty inward-facing compared to the majority of their episodes.
The Writing Excuses anthology, Shadows Beneath, contains four original short stories with first drafts and revisions in most cases. The stories are by Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells from the Writing Excuses podcast.
Here are some good litrpg books on kindle for newbies to the genre:
Awaken Online,
Life Reset,
Dungeon Born,
Dodge Tank,
Sufficiently Advanced Magic,
and I believe Ready Player One also fits the LitRPG description.
Found this
Oh this looks great! Wow, I have never heard of this this author. I have an Amazon gift card at home and going to buy this book and the first book in his Outlaw series.
I just bought a Kindle so my books to read researching techniques are in need of adjustment. However, if even half of the reviews for these Ebooks on Amazon are accurate/not inflated, then I will be happy.
Number 16 is the coverart of Shadows Beneath, an anthology of short stories. Most of which have little to do with ocean monsters, but it's a good visual metaphor.
This was a really good book by the way!
It's called Shadows Beneath. And it's a short story anthology written for writers because it includes the first drafts and planning stages.
https://www.amazon.ca/Shadows-Beneath-Writing-Excuses-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00LDOM8A2
It doesn't have anything to do with deep sea monsters.
Shadows Beneath by Writing Excuses
Maybe. It could be that the artist I linked stole the artwork, or made it years ago and only uploaded it for the competition.
Or maybe there was a very similar artwork which both of you saw and which inspired her to make this picture.
I just recognised the artwork and the artist and wanted give people the information.
EDIT: Just looked through the comments on the artwork and somebody mentioned it beeing used as the cover for this book. Is that by any chance your book?
You may be interested in this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LDOM8A2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486427946&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=writing+excuses&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51NYIGvfXFL&amp;ref=plSrch
I am on the lookout for things to read myself
I am on mobile so horrible formatting incoming
From litrpg top picks are:
From fantasy in general
Sci-fi
Too lazy to remember more at this point
Last Horizon : Beta - https://www.amazon.com/Last-Horizon-Beta-Daniel-Schinhofen-ebook/dp/B01M1MUC76/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1481679084&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=last+horizon
Ascend Online - https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E/ref=pd_sim_351_5?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=B01M01ET8E&amp;pd_rd_r=1BDVG5RGH85K4YT0TXRN&amp;pd_rd_w=hzRJZ&amp;pd_rd_wg=k0sHQ&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=1BDVG5RGH85K4YT0TXRN
Spinward - https://www.amazon.com/Spinward-Artificial-Dream-State-Novel-ebook/dp/B01KQOSHYK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1481679158&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=spinward
Life Reset Book 1 and its sequel both have audiobooks (my favorite litrpg on Amazon currently).
Dungeon Heart doesn't have an audiobook format, but it is a personal favorite and I highly recommend it anyways.
Awaken Online has a series where most have audiobooks.
I personally enjoyed Rogue Dungeon and Dungeon Deposed (both audiobooks), but they might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Hope these are what you're looking for.
Life reset is the first
book in what looks like it will
be a revenge story: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B074N1P685
__
^^^-english_haiku_bot
I really hoped the thumbnail would appear for this post! Come on, NYT gallery ....
Anyhow, though I didn't know who they were until recently, as a child I was instantly drawn to books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. I had to have every book I found featuring their art, including novels by Isabel Allende. I loved to read, but I'm sure I read more because of the artists' work. Other favorites I wished were illustrated by the couple — they made characters complex, dignified and multiethnic, overall more like the world I knew than the one reflected by most book covers.
Image Google "Leo and Diane Dillon art" for more excellence.
Is Cerys from this time period? Does she go back in time or does the prince move forward? Are they now time travelers?
With the "centuries-old stone curse," does that mean that he was frozen in stone? I'd reword that part somehow, either to "centuries-old curse" or "trapped in stone for centuries," etc.
P.S. If he is trapped in stone, have you read Sabriel? Might make a good comparison point, though the main plot sounds like it would be very different.
Abhorsen Trilogy, in case you haven't already read it! It's one of my favorite fantasy series. I don't know of a single person who I convinced to read it and didn't end up loving it :) The first book is called Sabriel. (http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-Old-Kingdom-Garth-Nix/dp/0064471837/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1415711623&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=sabriel)
The His Fair Assassin trilogy features Breton assassin nuns who serve a death god. In the books it states that the gods are pre-Christian but are now worshipped as saints. Those who still worship them as gods are known as followers of the old ways. I definitely recommend the series.
Though not Pagans, one of the main character's sisters in The Passion of Dolssa is a fortune-teller, and Dolssa herself is a mystic fleeing from inquisitors after being branded a heretic.
My friend recommended Till We Have Faces to me. It's a retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche.
Cruel Beauty's main characters are Hellenists who practice Hermetic magick, and "As Above, So Below/As Within, So Without" is a running theme in the book. There are also Celtic pagans in the book.
I'd also say Sabriel. Sabriel is the daughter of a necromancer and she and her father practice Charter Magic, which uses runes. There is also a community of seers in the book.
I tend to read a lot of fantasy and YA, so hopefully this isn't a turnoff.
Sure! I know exactly what you mean. So, I will say that a lot of the most interesting stuff in Fantasy is (and has for a while) being done in YA fantasy, and I don't mean stuff like Twilight.
Garth Nix's Abhorsen series (starting with Sabriel) is excellent. Melina Marchetta's Finnikin of the Rock is kind of along the lines of what you're talking about, but is really well done.
Just about anything by Dianna Wynne Jones is great, I will call out specifically Howl's Moving Castle (the inspiration for the Miyazaki film of the same name) and also her 6 part [Chronicles of Chrestomanci] (http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Chrestomanci-Charmed-Lives-Christopher/dp/006447268X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1417629757&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=chronicles+of+chrestomanci).
If you're in the mood for something more adult, I really enjoyed Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series, starting with Kushiel's Dart, but that gets into some S&M stuff, which, YMMV.
And then Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Which is just fantastic.
I have that edition as aset with LOTR. I love it and those are the ones I usually read I keep this and this mostly as collectables.
Your map is a combo of two maps .. one of which appears in the back of This Edition of LotR:
3rd age map
I never would have thought they were rare. I read them and re-read them many times and ended up buying The Red Book years ago as I wanted a hardcover version:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Lord-Rings-Collectors-Edition/dp/0395193958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335138168&sr=8-1
I know I didn't pay that much for that book then either.
Of course there are numerous informative sites out there, but I would suggest anyone who is earnestly seeking to know the truth of these words should seek out the source material itself.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0395193958
That's the one I have. Apparently it's leatherette and not leather. Sadface.
Still cool, though.
The most recent printing :/
(2011)
EDIT: I'm not sure if it's the most recent printing.
I would love the first book in trade paperback! I used to own the first four, but the first two were in mass market paperback and every time I tried to read it, I got a headache cause of the formatting.D: I gave the first two to my friend cause she has wanted them for a looong time. I loved what I was reading but every time I tried... I really really really want to get into the story, and I feel bad my hardcovers of a feast for crows and a storm of swords is just sitting there. D: I wouldn't mind used!
Your kids must be absolutely wonderful since they have a darling person like you as a parent and rolemodel!
Thank you for the contest!!
From my fantasy library:
The above novels have themes and events reminiscent of medieval times with the Martin series alluding to The War of the Roses in England, the Prince of Nothing exploring themes of Christianity and Islam with one of the nations aping the Byzantine Empire and finally the Lions of Al-Rassan have many elements of medieval Spain. Magic is sprinkled in small doses and the political intrigue is ramped up in all of them. The characters in all of them are very engrossing and I've lost entire afternoons reading and rereading these.
If you are into low-fantasy epics I highly recommend A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin, it has become my favorite series. Be warned, it is very long, but the writing is awesome.
Ok, I have had A Game of Thrones sitting on my book table for like two months. It's a little intimidating when you know a story does not yet have an ending, but is crazy long. Is it as excellent as the Amazon reviews claim?
They sell the same size with a different cover. Amazon Prime as well. http://amzn.com/0553381687
There's a published recording that includes some Bombadil among other awesome stuff.
In this episode of the Prancing Pony Podcast they discuss pronunciation starting at about minute 3:00, including a number of clips of Christopher Tolkien. Around minute 7:30 they discuss and play a clip of Christopher Tolkien reading Túna from the Silmarillion. I believe the recording is part of the J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection audio book.
Edit: a link
http://www.amazon.com/The-J-R-R-Tolkien-Audio-Collection/dp/0694525707
It seems to be in there, according to a review. Of course, that's not helpful for listening now, which is what I would've liked. A youtube search was vain, at least for me.
This is as good as it gets, I think. There's a full version too, with more discs (I think), but I didn't see it.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Great book. My favorite part is that it's a stand alone book. No need to wait 10 years between the books. Lamb by Christopher Moore. Another phenominal stand alone book.
Edited for spelling.
Sounds like a good idea, like everyone has said already.
If you can, get yourself a copy of the Draconomicon for getting more details on how the dragons are and live and what not, I can't vouch for other versions, but the 3.5 Draconomicon is written in a very neat way like an explorer/naturalist writing their observations in a journal.
Oh man. Thank you for showing me this book. Using Amazon's "look inside" feature alone (lets you preview the book), this looks like a goddamn gold mine of lore and stuff. I am ashamed I didn't know about this before.
I have not, the only Draconomicon I've ever read is this one.
I did read the reviews on that page, and one guy says the older Draconomicon was not nearly as detailed as the 3.5 version, but again, I can't speak on that.
See if you can track down a copy of the 3.5 Draconomicon. Apart from being a very good resource in general, it goes in to some very good detail about just exactly what you can do with the parts of a dragon and how much different parts can sell for. I've used it almost as-is for 5e with no trouble.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - on reading and education as the door to escaping poverty. Might be a little young for them.
The Grapes of Wrath - on the humanity and the inhumanity humans and industry are capable of in harsh times. Might be a little long/dry/boring.
-----
Basically any science fiction novel by Greg Bear, because they are probably mind-blowing in vision to a teenager who hasn't had exposure to ideas of such scale (at least, they were to me. But I don't know how the parents would react to them, or if these girls like science fiction)
Blood Music- themes of nanotechnology and perception changing humanity
The Forge of God- on the destruction of earth once it becomes noticeable enough to aliens. And its sequel
Anvil of Stars- on whether revenge can be justified, how libertarian/cooperatives groups break down or are usurped, and an unusual alien race.
Queen of Angels- on psychology, consciousness, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the beginnings of an internet (before there was an internet).
Eon- an asteroid suddenly appears in orbit, and its unusual history and construction destabilizes earth during the Cold War, but opens the door to alien technologies and civilizations. And its sequel
Eternity- the far future of humanity, conflict with an alien race, travel in space and time.
-----
But to be honest two books that would give them a fundamental understanding of how the world actually operates, if they aren't being exposed to it, would be:
Campbell and Reece's Biology
and
Chemistry: A Molecular Approach
They don't require too much math other than algebra, and though they're kind of expensive, they're worth it. The utter logic of how scientific thinking is done can be easily introduced with biology and an understanding of the atomic framework chemistry teaches is invaluable because it explains so many behaviors in our world. Maybe in e-book format or something, so they're not as obvious.
You might like Greg Bear's EON, too.
Try The Passage by Justin Cronin.
For a series, consider Eon by Greg Bear, it continues with Eternity and Legacy, since you like the Flood/Ark set.
I am a fan of the UK covers. I recently picked them up on a trip: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Tower-Gunslinger-Stephen-King/dp/1444723448
Those are the UK editions I think, I'm not 100 percent on that but I know I got them from Waterstones and they're on Amazon over here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Tower-Gunslinger-Stephen-King/dp/1444723448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1467636076&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=dark+tower
I'm 90% sure it's these ones:
Links obtained here.
On a side note, The book "Windup Girl" goes into the premise of a world run by "calorie companies" that control food supplies.
Edit: can't wright this morning need more coffee.
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
You've probably read it, but I highly recommend Gene Wolfe's classic, 'The Book of the New Sun'
The thing about glitter is, if you get it on you, be prepared to have it on you forever 'cause glitter is the herpes of craft supplies.
=D
I think this book looks pretty good :3
First book in the "Wheel of Time" series, if she likes it there are like 13 or so books in the series. I LOVE her book selections. I'm a huge fantasy reader.
Bingo game!
Free cell game too. My grandmother LOVES this card game
Lauren Bacall's autobioghraphy, your mother-in-law would have grown up watching her, and the book is a great read.
Happy shopping.
Frank and beans!
Wheel of Time book one would be awesome!
I love reading!
I am interested in starting the Wheel of Time series. This is the first book.
Cricket!
Name that damn puppy already!
Do kindle books work as gifts?
When I do that, I still see a $10.23 price. https://www.amazon.com/Elantris-Tenth-Anniversary-Authors-Definitive-ebook/dp/B003G93YLY
Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003G93YLY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rpbBybZXR7N2E
Is this what you are looking for? I just looked on amazon but I don't know if this is what you want
I would love to get Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, I've been reading his Mistborn Trilogy and I love love love his work! I'm soon at the end of the last book so more Sanderson would be very very nice <3
My favorite book? Oh my, there are many but the answer I usually give to that question is ALL of Terry Pratchett. I love that man and his writings so damn much! <3 His way of writing is extremely witty and humoristic but he also always handles more serious or challenging stuff through his writing. Every book is parody of something bigger :)
>Once again, the mod team at r/dndnext are pleased to announce an AMA. This time with Matt Colville! Matt, as I'm sure many of you are aware, Is an Author, GM, Youtube personality, Redditor, and above all a font of wisdom for all things D&D.
>
>I personally have used much of Matt's advice in my own campaigns. It has made me a better DM, a better player, and a better table companion. I am subbed to his subreddit where he is very active, and I can tell from the feedback survery many of you are as well. If you aren't, why don't you wander over to r/mattcolville and sort that out :P
>
>
>So Join us on Saturday the 29th for a late morning chat, with Matt.
>
>Chur,
>
>-ba
>
>(Sticky threads will be returning the week after next.)
u/MattColville has an excellent book out, two actually! Definitely fits in the spirit of D&D and all of that! You can find the first book here. Take a look and enjoy! I know I did!
https://www.amazon.com/Priest-Ratcatchers-Book-Matthew-Colville-ebook/dp/B003OIBG44
Because it's Spellmonger, by Terry Mancour But i have to agree its an awesome series. It is kinda indie but damn its one of my favorite.
http://www.amazon.com/Spellmonger-Book-1-Terry-Mancour-ebook/dp/B004Q9TD7W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407696655&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=spellmonger
Here
more fantasy than scifi, ive been enjoying the spellmonger series. book 1 https://www.amazon.com/Spellmonger-Book-One-Terry-Mancour-ebook/dp/B004Q9TD7W
latest book has a scifi twist which the author has been foreshadowing since quite early on. there is 10 books so far and it is on kindle unlimited.
other books ive been splurging on is the litrpg genre.
Archives for the links in comments:
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I personally love worldbuilding in stories, probably to the same extent you do. Someone wrote below that they don't want to read a D&D guide, I DO want to read a D&D guide. We probably are in a minority, but there are a few ways I've seen authors cover for the fact that their stories are very heavy on world exposition:
My advice as a wanna-be author (a few unfinished stories) is to just do something that you feel good and comfortable doing, but just make sure you have some good editors that can understand what you are trying to do. Amazon self publishing is a thing, and there are a bunch of websites where you can also share your stories. There are way more readers than authors out there
I would like to mention a great book about D-list super villains:
Confessions of a D-list super villain
I messed up: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-D-List-Supervillain-Jim-Bernheimer-ebook/dp/B004WE0D3E
Confessions of a D-list Supervillian by Jim Bernheimer, which exactly what it sounds like and is great.
Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw follows an npc in an mmorpg that has gained sentience. My girlfriend hated this book because I kept waking her up with my laughing.
Bad Humors by Aaron Wright is a phenomenal novella that is kind of a cross between SF, fantasy, and a Lovecraftian Mythos.
Funny you should ask. I'm a novelist in this genre as well, and I've done a bit of research on the market. As you might imagine, this is a fairly niche space. I'd probably be making more money if I wrote vampire romances, but you gotta write what you love, right?
Anyhow, the advice about the Fantasy>Superheroes category on Amazon is real good. There are a lot of books directly tied to licensed properties, like DC and Marvel characters, but I can't tell you much about those since I work in my own universe. There are also excellent lists on GoodReads. Here are some of the examples I used to figure out my keywords and categories (I haven't read any of these yet, but they're on my list):
Soon I will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. I hear this is awesome.
Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer.
Good Intentions: A Supervillain Story by Michel Crider.
Meta by Tom Reynolds.
The Second Super by Logan Rutherford.
ULTRA (The Last Hero Book 1) by Matt Blake.
And, I hope this isn't a violation of the self-promotion rules (if it is, please let me know and I'll edit this out), but I can't help but add my own novel, The Hero Beat!
I'd love this kindle book!
And here's a doodle of hedgehogs roasting marshmallow!
Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game, both by Carlos Ruiz Safon:
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Cemetery-Forgotten-Book-ebook/dp/B000OVLINI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1498238020&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Shadow+of+the+Wind
https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Game-Cemetery-Forgotten-Book-ebook/dp/B001NLKZLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1498238029&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Angels+Game
Kushiel's Dart and pretty much all the books that followed, by Jacqueline Carey:
https://www.amazon.com/Kushiels-Dart-Legacy-Book-ebook/dp/B0055DLCAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1498238161&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=kushiel%27s+dart
Right now, I can't think of anything that I keep going back to over and over.
I noticed here you mention politics, philosophy and adventure. A few recommedations that you might not find with pictures that scream "FANTASY" are
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey - Be warned this has a female protag and some very very sexual content. But the actual politics and religion building are phenomenal!
Anathem by Neal Stephenson - Recommending this more for the philosophy and world building. It's a bit more sci-fi than fantasy but it has adventure and I found it made me think. I was taking a philosophy/politics class at the time and I made a ton of connections.
Ooh ooh, second suggestion, this time a book! The Kushiel's Dart trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. Lots of political intrigue, a little magic, and a good amount of smut of the kinky variety
I haven't thought of that one in a long time.
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Shattered-Water-Life-Riley-ebook/dp/B008GASFDA
If you looking towards published work, Id look at [Turning Point (Sholan Alliance)] (http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Sholan-Alliance-Lisanne-Norman-ebook/dp/B0031Y9DA0/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1419641342&amp;sr=8-15&amp;keywords=turning+point)
For actual fiction the only one I can remember is [Anthropomorphic Foxes in Space!] (http://home.earthlink.net/~otrstf/) and is really rather old yet some how managed to stay with me around 10 years after I read it. It likely isnt up today's writing standards.
There is also [Light on Shattered Water] (http://www.amazon.com/Light-Shattered-Water-Life-Riley-ebook/dp/B008GASFDA) Is the only other one I can think of. I found it a bit hit or miss.
You might be interested in Light on Shattered Water which has just been put up on Amazon's Kindle service. Full book with a few extras that the other online versions don't have.
Encyclopedic, my ass. He pronounces "Thangorodrim" incorrectly.
/ˌθaŋɡoˈrodrim/
This correction via Tolkien Gateway and Christopher Tolkien's own pronunciation on his reading of "Of Beren and Lúthien" (available here to buy; an unconnected excerpt is here).
If you want some "mind blowing" scifi, definitely look into the works of Greg Bear. He has a flair for writing stories that will make your jaw drop. Blood Music and Eon are good starters. Even tho both books do center around technology (nanotech and space travel, respectively), the writing is not tech heavy.
Two other books I strongly recommend are both collections of short stories that Orson Scott Card put together from various authors. The books are called Future on Fire and Future on Ice, and no the stories have nothing to do with temperature. Fire is supposed to have stories that get you fired up, Ice is supposed to be all stories that chill you to the bone. It's worth mentioning that Future on Ice contains the original Greg Bear story that Blood Music came from.
For something lighter hearted, my wife loves the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books and, even tho it's more Fantasy then SciFi, you can't go wrong with the Discworld series. The early books can be a little rough, but the later novels are simply excellent writing. The city watch books are particularly thrilling reads.