Meh… I only ever read the first two back in the 70s. I consider them kids books and a much simpler writing style than Tolkien, therefore easier to read.
I don’t know why anyone would so vehemently hate them, I consider them along the same vein as the Dragonlance books, Robert Jordan, Harry Potter, and John Grisham.
I can’t really personally recommend this because I tried to read it and didn’t like it, but a lot of people seem to like “Eragon” and its sequels. Personally I think it read a lot like a book written by a moderately talented teenager (which it was) but a younger kid might like it.
Sparky - I hate Brooks because he so blatantly stole from Tolkien. Stole. not “was inspired by.” putting out 10th rate rip-offs of a book I love does not endear me.
Infovore - I tried reading Eragon (I’ve read most of the books mentioned in this thread). I think it’s crap, but kids eat it up.
The odds are still good the OP’s 11-year-old won’t care, and will enjoy the Shannara series more than he would Tolkein. That’s the point of the recommendation.
I second (or is that third) the recommendation, but it might be better to start with the seond book of the series, The Dark is Rising. As a child, I thought it was miles better than the first one.
Another good one, I read this at primary school.
11 might not be too young for Lord of the Rings.
My son really enjoyed The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan. And by “really enjoyed” I actually mean, could not put down.
ETA: The author just started a second series. He seems like a great guy. He returned my son’s email to him within a couple of days. That impressed me.
The Danny Dunnseries.
Exactly.
Meh… I can see from this and your posting history you have much more invested in this than the average 11 year old.
I recommend the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Yeah they’re anthropomorphic animals but theres plenty of medieval era combat and the stories are incredibly well written. I was 16 when I discovered them and I read maybe 5 before I went on to other things.
I know a lot of kids are enjoying this one:
At that age my kids loved Michael de Larrabeiti’s Borribles Trilogy.
Paizo has a beginner’s boxed set for the Pathfinder RPG. He’s about the age he can handle full-frontal nerdity.
Some cool and interesting suggestions here for my nephews. Thanks!