/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.2767849]

high fantasy thread. only god teir.

[Anonymous No.2767852]

[Anonymous No.2767854]

What's a good fantasy novel/series with a focus on character development and tasty dialogue? I was reading ASOIAF but the more I get into it the less I can stand it.

[Anonymous No.2767856]

[Anonymous No.2767861]

The Wheel of Time: The #1 Fantasy Series of All Time that Changed Fantasy Books Forever. Also the best cover design by far.

[Anonymous No.2767862]

>>2767854

ASOIAF has a certain tone that makes it hard to care about the characters and i understand development and the whatnot but theres so much better fantasy with less down time and not so much of a fucking drop off later in the series (shit sucks after book 3) its just been glorified quite a bit.

[Anonymous No.2767866]

>>2767861

first fantasy i read. made me get into the genre. jan 13

[Anonymous No.2767869]

>most highest teir

[Anonymous No.2767874]

>>2767866

I was being sarcastic, that series is awful, and the covers are ridiculously ugly.

[Anonymous No.2767879]

[Anonymous No.2767882]

[Anonymous No.2767883]

>currently reading

[Anonymous No.2767886]

[Anonymous No.2767889]

Okay, I'm reading "The Way of Kings" today and I get to page 218 where Sanderson describes a suit of armour that gives "increased strength, speed and dexterity". Seriously? Does it effect Hit Points as well? A novelist is using RPG talk in a book, and that's god tier?

[Anonymous No.2767891]

>>2767882

is it stand alone? ive only read a few in the genre

[Anonymous No.2767893]

[Anonymous No.2767894]

[Anonymous No.2767895]

>>2767889

i was pissed off for quite a while reading sanderson but the pay off is more rewarding than any other modern fantasy ive read. check out the reviews its hard to find a bad one

[Anonymous No.2767897]

[Anonymous No.2767898]

>>2767891
yes
although he wrote two other works of a similar style
Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Merman's Children
rest of his work was SF

[Anonymous No.2767900]

>saving all recommendation pics
>keep em comin

[Anonymous No.2767901]

>>2767874
i'm reading that series now. its not too bad, once you get past the first book and a half.
i've only seen the cover design where its three wheels, and one of thems a snake. is that what you're talking about?

[Anonymous No.2767903]

Every single title in the old Ballantine Unicorn imprint series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballantine_Adult_Fantasy_series

[Anonymous No.2767912]

>>2767903

ill keep posting shit that ive read. tell me what its comparable too so i have a decent idea of what its like.

>this trilogy broke too many of its own rules and didnt make all that much sense but it was refreshing in its straying from the typical fantasy formula

[Anonymous No.2767911]

this is very cool

[Anonymous No.2767914]

>>2767883
Hate this series.

I did like Robert Jordan's WoT, though some of the characters felt like stock characters... But Mat is overall loveable. Also, there are some pretty fucking creepy things in those books.

I like the Symphony of Ages by Elizabeth Haydon okay. I like Tamora Pierce books, although they are meant for a younger, female audience. If you don't mind reading those kinds of books, though, Eva Ibbotson has some really great ones, too.

And obviously there is Tolkien's works, Harry Potter, and George R.R. Martin, but everyone's heard of those.

[Anonymous No.2767919]

give me a tiny description and maybe compare it to something ive posted and read so i know what its like when suggesting?

keep em comin.

[Anonymous No.2767920]

>>2767903
Not OP, but could you tell me if any of those are novella-sized?

[Anonymous No.2767924]

>>2767895

Yeah all "The Way of Kings" reviews seem positive so I guess I'll just press through... sorry Vasily Grossman, "Life and Fate" will have to wait.

[Anonymous No.2767927]

>>2767920
most are as that imprint is from the 1970s
fantasy books used to be short
its only a recent phenomenon to get 11-volume series with each installment the size of a brick

[Anonymous No.2767929]

>>2767914

i mean obviously all of the female characters in WoT are exactly the same and the archetypes are fairly blatant but with the amount of content it distinguishes its self repeatedly.

ill add Haydon to my author list tho. and of course ive read martin and the potter books but i quite dislike tolkien for some reason

>>27679014

yes it is. perfect introduction to high fantasy

[Anonymous No.2767932]

>>2767927

yea just recently read the earthsea books and was astounded that their all 180-200 pg but all of the high fantasy from like late 70's onward had been in the same fashion. it allows for much less elaboration of just the environment while the author can make the important points they would like to without dancing too much around it

[Anonymous No.2767933]

I believe other people like R.A. Salvatore and Phillip Pullman, although I'm not so fond of either of their works. I love The Dark Is Rising series. Chronicles of Prydain are really good books, so are the Chronicles of Christomancy.

What kind of fantasy are you thinking of, OP? I can't really compare these books to others.

[Anonymous No.2767934]

from when i was younger but still wonderful

[Anonymous No.2767938]

[Anonymous No.2767940]

>>2767929
>i mean obviously all of the female characters in WoT are exactly the same and the archetypes
Yes, Robert Jordan wasn't so awesome with female protagonists, although the "evil" ones were varied and interesting.
>i quite dislike tolkien for some reason
Try The Hobbit, if you haven't already. Most people like that a little bit more.

[Anonymous No.2767941]

[Anonymous No.2767943]

>>2767934
>>2767934
>>2767934
>>2767934
These were so good! Also, I liked the Artemis Fowl series a lot.

[Anonymous No.2767945]

if people are recommending Potter and Fowl then quite frankly this is no longer High Fantasy
flex your thews, ready your battle axes, for now it is time for Sword and Sorcery

[Anonymous No.2767946]

>>2767933

i have a few salvadore books but his prose lacks subtlety which is so very important in a genre which in its definition must remain nearly the same in plot anyway some of my favorites are

>>2767849
>>2767852
>>2767856
>>2767869
>>2767879

[Anonymous No.2767947]

[Anonymous No.2767948]

Does anyone else get pretty pissed off with the Eragon books, and how much Christopher Paolini ripped off several notable fantasy authors (especially Ann McAffrey)?

[Anonymous No.2767949]

>>2767946
Salvatore is a licensed media hack

[Anonymous No.2767951]

>>2767883
My nigga.
Don't read the Malloreon though. Just, don't.

[Anonymous No.2767952]

>>2767940

the hobbit is all ive read and his breaking of the fourth wall just fucking killed the whole thing.

>>2767945

that wasnt me. why dont you enlighten me.

[Anonymous No.2767955]

[Anonymous No.2767956]

>>2767949
I don't know what this means

[Anonymous No.2767959]

>>2767948

yup. the first book was awesome and the second was even better and then they were just awful with the WORST fucking ending ever

>>2767951

ugh dont say that i already bought all of them.... did u read the tumuli and the elenium also?

[Anonymous No.2767960]

>>2767959

also keep posting ur pics im saving all that shit

[Anonymous No.2767961]

>>2767945
There is beauty in simplicity that is often overlooked

[Anonymous No.2767962]

>>2767956
licensed media: D&D, Star Wars, etc novels
it is killing the industry, teaching writers bad habits, teaching readers worse habits

[Anonymous No.2767966]

>>2767959
>yup. the first book was awesome and the second was even better and then they were just awful with the WORST fucking ending ever
I don't think there was even one concept in his books that was his own.

[Anonymous No.2767968]

>>2767962

this is why i search so hard for the next series ill start. i cant keep reading the same fucking story where i know everything thats going to happen in the first 100 pages.

[Anonymous No.2767974]

>>2767966

>read them when they came out
>didnt really read much
>my introduction to the genre from a young age
>i realise its not high fantasy or even decent fantasy
>nostalgia value?

[Anonymous No.2767976]

Hey /lit/, would you care to read about this fantasy setting I'm planning on writing? I think it has potential.

[Anonymous No.2767978]

>>2767941

Seconding this, and posting superior cover art.

[Anonymous No.2767979]

There is nothing worse than a poorly thought-out fantasy book. I hate when authors haven't thought out how their magic works, and then just make shit up as they go along. Also, when they make every single character the best at wielding a bow or sword or whatever, so that there are these super athletes all over the place. And finally, I hate when fantasy authors have ridiculous sex, where the ridiculously big breasted women orgasm at every breath.

[Anonymous No.2767982]

>>2767979
I think you mistake poorly thought-out with horrible cliche.

[Anonymous No.2767983]

>>2767976

If there are dragons, then definitely no. If there aren't, then still probably not.

[Anonymous No.2767985]

>>2767983
There are no dragons, so let's say 20% chance of yes? I'll be waiting.

[Standard Toaster !TOASTIsW76 No.2767986]

>>2767978
Shame the only place you can get those is second-hand, if you're lucky. The editions they have in print now are pretty lame.
Picture related.

[Anonymous No.2767989]

also speaking of licensed media, people who like Star Wars novels should read her Northwest Smith short stories

[Anonymous No.2767992]

>>2767982
I was sidetracked, although the magic thing is definitely poorly thought-out. I meant to refer to how they don't research things like types or weaponry, how to actually wield those weapons, the way horses act, how horses and other types of animals act, the way castles are constructed, other basics of medieval sociology (eg cleanliness) and a bazillion other things. It's laziness, and it's annoying. I get if they are changing things to have a different tone for the world they've created, but really, they are just sloppy.

[Anonymous No.2768011]

Haven't read any Hugh Cook?

You don't know shit about fantasy.

[Anonymous No.2768018]

[Anonymous No.2768019]

>>2768011
>Hugh Cook
More like Huge Cock, amiright?

[Anonymous No.2768033]

No Elric of Melnibone? For shame.

[Anonymous No.2768055]

the stuff written by Weis and Hickman

[Anonymous No.2768062]

>>2768033
scroll up nigger

[Anonymous No.2768082]

>ITT

[Anonymous No.2768093]