/lit/ - Literature

You need a good imagination to read Malazan. Erikson doesn't hold your hand at all. He'll just drop some weird fantasy name and expect you to know what it is without any context.

Go for it.

Of the >big fantasy epics.

Wheel of Time > Malazhan > Shit > Sword of Truth

Very good unconventional fantasy novels include The Night Angel, Lightbringer, and Mistborn Trilogy.

The dragonlance books written by Weis and Hickman are also very good. Read it in this order:

Chronicles - ToT - 2nd gen - Summer Flame - War of Souls - LC

Additionally, the kingkiller chronicles are good.

For non fantasy but quite epic historical fiction Pillars of the Earth and WWE are top notch.

>>5891335
>Should I read Malazan
Yes.

>>5892592
>Wheel of Time > Malazan
...no.

>>5892592
>The dragonlance books written by Weis and Hickman are also very good. Read it in this order:
While i agree with your recommendation, the first trilogy ain't good. I'd only read it because it sets the characters up.

this was my first fantasy book i read since i stopped reading "immature" books in 8th grade. My devolution into enjoying fantasy started again in college. I missed out on so much.

>>5892592
Kingkiller is amazing, but OP mentioned that the series had to be finished.

I guess this is the appropriate thread. How's The Black Company?

>>5893035
It's good. If I had to condense it, it's basically an easier to read Malazan (Erikson definitely borrowed a lot from The Black Company). The books are rather short and apparently there are two more on the way, but Glen(n?) Cook stated he has to take care of contractual obligations before he can finish them.

>>5893035
>>5893051
>it's basically an easier to read Malazan
Black Company is more linear and more gloomy, less consistent and probably much shorter, but mainly it doesn't come off as a tabletop RPG setting write-up like Malazan often does.

Furies of Calderon

>Cosmere won't be complete for at least thirty years
Kill me.

>>5892592
Fun fact: Mistborn is the first trilogy in a trilogy of trilogies.

>Rothfuss filth
>Good
No.

>>5893035
AMAZING.

Yo, I've been reading Wheel of Time for 5 years and I'm on book 11 of 14. I haven't read many other fantasy books, besides Hobbit, LOTR, A Wizard of Earthsea.

Wheel is really good, but its really fscking long. Expect 200+ characters with names most of whom actually do stuff and you have to remember. Series is super fun until book 9 or 10 when the author started dying and it got worse.

Jordan left all these notes and voice recordings and shit so that his wife could hire another author after he died to finish the series. Apparently he did a pretty good job because the reviews say that they are as good as the first few books.

penis

>>5893979
>Yo, I've been reading Wheel of Time for 5 years and I'm on book 11 of 14.
Keep it up. The 12 book is the best in whole series and 13-14 books are pretty good too. The 8-10.5 books was the worse i think.

Why so much people like Malazan?I readed 3books and the only time i was hyped is the end of the second book.

Also what i should read next The Black Company,Dread Empire or The Book of The New Sun?
My favorite was ASOIAF, but the First Law,Wheel of Time and Prince of Nothing was pretty good too.

>>5894004
Dude. Literally NOTHING HAPPENED IN BOOK 10

>>5894020
If you plan to ever read Dread Empire or Black Company you should probably read them before New Sun

If you hated Tolkien you'll probably hate WoT. They are pretty similar, with lots of walking and some fighting against some ancient evil god, with very slow plot progression and many characters. Lotr is better though.

>>5891335
Try the Broken Empire series (Prince of Thorns etc). Not exactly epic or the very best series ever, but the setting is neat and I got pretty into it.

Same problem, i really like the witcher saga, but the last two books are not translated yet, so i'm trying to find something in the same style in the meanwhile.
Something somewhat realistic, internally consistent and not TO high-magic. A likeable MC is a plus too.

>>5891335
Yes, read Malazan.
There have been a couple threads discussing it recently, and it's generally recommended.
I'm 100 pages away from finishing book 3 and I'm loving it so far.

>everyone keeps telling me to read Kingkiller Chronicles
>everything I hear about it makes it sound generic and retarded
>read it
>everything is generic and retarded
>standard fare fantasy from the perspective of a Mary Sue
>despite being well aware of how shit it is, I enjoy it
>tear through both books
>eagerly awaiting the third
HOW? It's fucking AWFUL, yet I love it.

Why is fantasy so mired in medieval Tolkienien shit? Can't we start seeing some fantasy races besides elves and dwarves. Where are the other China Mievilles of fantasy?

whats lits thoughts on book of the new sun? im like 200 pages into the shadow of the torturer and im loving it so far

>>5895468
book two and it's sex exploits were ridiculous
MC is OP and he knows it, but it doesn't matter.
I wouldn't put it up there anywhere near top fantasy, but it is enjoyable to read.

>>5895496
Read it a few months back, liked book 1 more than book 2 and didn't continue afterwards.
Series just didn't do it for me.
That's the general response I've heard about the series though. You either like it or you don't.

>>5895468
First-person fantasy. How can you stand that.

>>5895479
>Why is fantasy so mired in medieval Tolkienien shit? Can't we start seeing some fantasy races besides elves and dwarves.
>I don't read fantasy but I'll talk out my ass anyways

>>5891335
>wanna read another epic fantasy series to tide me over.
pic related OP, the blue arrows

>>5896326
His Dark Materials is the only one worth reading of those

Erikson is one of the more 'literary' fantasy writers. This is the one super-complicated fantasy saga that DOESN'T crumble under the weight of its plot points.

>>5896337
get your fedora tipping, wine sipping pretentious ass out of here

>>5891335

>Hated Tolkied.
We could never be friends.

Read Malazan. But be warned: it is far, far superior to GRRM's work (any of it). His work is plebeian by comparison.

>>5896481
Damn you trip erasing bug bullshit.

Try the chronicles of thomas covenant the unbeliever, by stephen r. donaldson. Last one was finished in 2010

>>5896356
hahahaha that's not what 'literary' means

>>5891335
As has been mentioned 'The Black Company' is good, at least the first three books (imo the best ones). 'Malazan' are very clearly inspired by/derivative of them but not as well written and have very much the problem of sounding like someone's write-up of a fantasy campaign more than literature.

Of course there's also Wolfe's 'Book of the New Sun' which is my personal favorite in speculative literature because it is very different from what you normally see in the genre. Opinons are very much divided though, 'The Black Company' might be a more straightforward place to begin.

>>5897440

You do know that Malazan IS a fantasy campaign, right?

The first book is specifically driven from the campaign developed for the story, which was turned into a novel instead.

>>5895468
this is my exact experience
I hate OP MCs but somehow works,
probably because he's acts like a idiot half the time
>let me do the most reactionary thing imaginable
>oh fuck
>never mind, I'm broken as fuck XD

>>5898285
...that does explain much of what's wrong with the whole series

>>5898285
My god... Everything makes sense now, all that felt off about the book is explained.

>>5895468

This was my reaction to it too. I was telling myself wow this is so shit the entire time but I couldn't put the books down. I even played poker with my friends while reading it.

>>5891335
Read it, is amazing, just dont drop it because you think it's a little confusing at first, is the greates fantasy shit i ever read, (king killer chronicles are good too)

Is Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series good? Should I just throw myself in?

>>5899464
>I even played poker with my friends while reading it
>I even player poker with my friends
>poker with my friends
>my friends
lol

Is there any fantasy series out there that's influenced by or like Dragonball Z?

What's the best science fantasy?

>>5901455
>Is there any fantasy series out there that's influenced by or like Dragonball Z?

Eragon
The Warcraft novels

>What's the best science fantasy?

Star wars

>>5901455
>What's the best science fantasy?
'Dune' and/or 'Book of the New Sun' depending on your definition of science fantasy. Both take some effort to get into but are well worth it.

>>5901455
>like Dragonball Z?
Not to rehash that series again, but Malazan prominently comes to mind again. More and more so as the series progresses too, it seemed to me (didn't finish it)