One of my favorite fantasy series is The Spellsong Cycle by L.E. Modesitt Jr. It starts when Anna, a professional singer & music teacher mutters to herself that she’d prefer to be anywhere but Ames, Iowa and is promptly latched onto by a spell looking for a willing target and pulled to the world of Erde. Erde is a world where song and music have magical effects; it turns out that with modern training, modern scientific knowledge and her own modern large size* she is a sorceress of great power there. She’s a modern woman stuck in a medievaloid fantasy world (and she hates fantasy!) which mostly has the medieval attitude towards women (or worse). A woman with a hell of lot of sorcerous firepower, however.
It’s a six book series; two trilogies really, with the first three being centered on her, the next on her protege Secca. Full of intrigue (which tends to run head on into Anna and get set on fire) and warfare. Lots of mass destruction.
*Sorcery is a massive physical drain on the sorcerer/sorceress. Her size means she can work more without dying; almost dying from overstraining herself happens several times. The magic system is well thought out.
I was iffy on the second set of three books but the first three were enjoyable (if you don’t mind a main character who is not very likable most of the time).
Tanya Huff’s Keeper’s Chronicles and Quarters series are both good. The Keeper’s Chronicles is fairly lighthearted modern fantasy about a “Keeper” whose job it is to suppress magical threats. The Quarters books are more serious fantasy.
Add another recommendation for Robin Hobb, excellent set of series.
I also would recommend Katherine Kerr’s Deverry series, It’s actually the very first book in that series that really got me into the Fantasy genre way back when.
My absolute recent favourite that I can’t recommend highly enough is a new author on the scene called Brent Weeks, and his Night Angel trilogy, which is complete - no waiting. Plus he’s just released the first book of a new series called the The Dark Prism, (which is set in a completely different world from his first trilogy - and has a very refreshing and new take on magic).
I also enjoyed a recent trilogy from Lian Hearn, called the Tales of the Otori. It is fantasy but has a very heavy oriental flavour. Japan, ninja types that sort of thing. I enjoyed the series but just mentioning in case that puts you off your fantasy.
Well, if we are going that far back into the memory bank, then Amber has to be mentioned. They have the Big Book of Amber, collecting all 10 original novels in one cover-the original 5 are worth the price of admission (tho I’d avoid the Betancourt knockoffs).
They’re usually classed as science fiction. The Encyclopedia of SF ( granted not a universally recognized organizing system ) refers to them as a whole as being part of the sub-genre of Planetary Romances. The “magic” system is weakly sf - psionic abilities amplified by what is essentially alien technology. And despite all the manly ( and womanly ) sword and knife-work, your bog-standard “blasters” and space ships make numeorus appearances.
I liked them a great deal at one time, but IMHO they are wildly uneven in quality. Some are really good, some sorta good, some awful.
Anyone who enjoys Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and Grey Mouser books owes it to themselves to try Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series. It’s one glaring flaw are that only the first two volumes, The Lies of Locke Lamorra and Red Seas Under Red Skies have been published to date.
Also I’ll disagree about the Amber books - the first series is a classic IMHO ( the second is much, much weaker ). Though as with all things, not for everyone.
ETA: Oops - I think the Amber criticism was in that other thread. Sorry for any confusion ;).
These have been mentioned elsewhere but I heartily recommend them as well.
The Name of the Wind
Robin Hobb’s trilogies
And since I know you teach middle school:
The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander which includes The Black Cauldron (the little remembered Disney movie), Taran Wanderer (my personal favorite), and Newberry award winner The High King.
I still think their good enough for adults to read recreationally as well.
Personally I find the second series good as well. They suffer in comparison thanks to the first series being great; most series come across as inferior when compared to the original Amber series IMHO.
Uh, the Malazan series sounds cool, but seems tremendously complicated. I don’t want to get bored to death right away. I mean, are there main characters? It sounds like it is thousands of characters and the plot is so complex, how can anyone follow it?
The Blade Itself…sounds cool.
Kingdom of Thorne and Bone…I may have to check this out.
There are main characters. There are just more characters and plot threads than you’d see in a typical book. Let me put it this way: if you find yourself having difficulty keeping track of all of the different characters and factions in A Song of Ice and Fire, then the Malazan series definitely isn’t for you. If you enjoyed the multifaceted nature of ASOIAF’s plot, then I think that you’ll like the Malazan series.
ETA: And one thing about the Malazan series is that to some degree, the complexity is optional. There’s a lot of depth to the series that you don’t need to entirely understand in order to enjoy the series, but makes the series more enjoyable for the true obsessives. Erikson loves to use Brick Jokes(usually the non-joke kind). You don’t have to get the Brick Jokes to enjoy the series.
Really, the first book is divided into two main sections. I’m sure I’ll leave some people out, but the first section has Tattersail, Quick Ben, Apsalar, and Paran.
The second section adds Kruppe (one the coolest characters ever), Rake, Whiskeyjack, Kalam, the sappers, Crokus, Coll, Murillo (how many gigolo characters do you find in fantasy books?), and Rallick Nom.
I know there’s some crossover, and technically half the guys from the second half actually make an appearance in the first, but I think my point stands.
The first three books aren’t that bad, complication-wise, really.
The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay is a good long read. You’ll pick up on the influence the Silmarillion had on him. His later works show less of that.
The plot isn’t too complex, although the story can go off on a tangent once in a while. The villains are unapolegetic bastards, and the heroes can be a pretty ruthless bunch.
