Seconded, highly.
American Gods and Anansi’s Boys
No.
They are merely sorry Tolkien rip-offs.
The Master Li & Number Ten Ox suggestion, though–that’s prime stuff!
YMMV - I still found them an enjoyable read
I enjoyed the early books in the Riftwar Saga I stopped reading after a while, but the first 2 (?) actually finish up. But then he extends the series.
Based on the enthusiastic reccos for this trilogy, I went eagerly to Amazon to order it. Prices (for all three, mind you) begin at $75, and top out at $115.00. Yikes!
Cruel, very cruel.
Based on the enthusiastic reccos for this trilogy, I went eagerly to Amazon to order it. Prices (for all three, mind you) begin at $75, and top out at $115.00. Yikes!
Not available at Powell’s.
Cruel, very cruel.
I read the Renshai trilogy 10-15 years ago, and it literally changed my life.
Of course, I was in middle school, so I didn’t have much of a life to change. But I read and reread them all through high school and into my adult years, and I can definitely say that they’re my favorite fantasy novels ever. I’ve read Orson Scott Card and C.S. Lewis and Harry Potter and just about everything else that people love, too. I’m amazed that Renshai never got majorly popular.
The titles of the books are “The Last of the Renshai”, “The Western Wizard”, and “Child of Thunder”, by Mickey Zucker Reichart. Have fun!
Well, the first book, Bridge of Birds, has been recently re-released, and is available new at Amazon.
For the second, The Story of the Stone, I’ve got a spare copy I could send to you - contact me via PM or email if you’re interested.
Can’t help you with a cheap alternative for Eight Skilled Gentlemen.
Has anyone mentioned the Fafhurd and the Grey Mouser series by Fritz Lieber? They are classics of the genre.
I’ll recommend the Sword of Truth series from Terry Goodkind, up until about the 4th? 5th? book where the heroine gets attacked by an evil chicken in the first chapter. I basically figured he’d jumped the shark at that point and put it down.
Other fun books include the trilogy from Alan Dean Foster that starts with Carnivores of Light and Darkness.
I also just read Stardust and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, somewhat short but very good.
And then there’s Good Omens, co-authored by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, which basically turns it into too much awesome for a single book.
Have you read the Lord of the Rings? 
Tolkien presents a deeply researched world and aims to set up a British myth using dragons, dwarves, elves and treants.
Terry Brooks writes about a mysterious magic-user called Gandalf … err a Druid … who gathers together a party for a mission. And so on.
**One of literally hundreds of plot examples lifted straight from Tolkien ** includes when Gandalf apparently falls to his death down a chasm in the ancient Dwarvish city Khazad-dum whilst fighting a Balrog (a demonic being imprisoned centuries before). He is raised by the Gods and returns much later.
Brookes comes up with a truly stupendous version of this.
His Druid falls down a crevice, and is apparently lost forever - but saves himself by catching hold of a handy branch. He then can be rescued. :smack:
The drama. :rolleyes:
The depth of thought. :rolleyes:
The idea that a falling man can catch a branch and hold on… :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
That’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, and they’re great! (Note that I had to look up the correct spelling myself.)
One that’s more a literary spot-the-references game than a fantasy in itself is Silverlock by John Myers Myers, in which an extreme materialist is shipwrecked into a world where all of literature is real.
For TPWombat and others who want consistent magic, there’s Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy. Practitioners of the various branches keep to themselves, but the hero must learn them all.
Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn has it’s share of comedy.
Finally, and IMHO the best, is anything by Lord Dunsany. Most of his fantasy is available at the Gutenberg Project.
As I said, YMMV
All I’m saying is that when I read this many years ago I found it enjoyable. I can’t say for sure that I read the complete series and I certainly didn’t dwell on the details for years later.
Based on your example above, I’d say Brooks was obviously influenced :dubious: but that still doesn’t destroy my prior reading enjoyment. In fact, I may have to pull them back off the shelf and read them again just so I can take note of the similarities. Still doubt that it would distract from my enjoyment of his story as well.
Abe Books appears to have copies of both Bridge of Birds and Eight Skilled Gentlement in stock. Alas, no Story of the Stone as far as I can tell. Unless, perhaps, you speak German. Reasonable list prices, and I’ve always gotten good service ordering from them before.
Have you read any Neal Stephenson? I can heartily endorse all his novels, but Snow Crash might be the most accessible. He’s very cerebral and it borders on science fiction/cyberpunk/futuristic fiction. Not sure if you just wanted just swords and sorcery type stuff.
Seconded, with feeling. Mieville is amazing, though brace yourself for some hard stuff. Not for the faint of heart, and I say that in the best way possible.
Also not for the squeamish, but brilliant, thought provoking, and unforgettable: The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. It’s about a Jesuit advance mission to the first discovered planet with intelligent alien species, with fascinating but mostly tragic results. An amazing premise for a novel, and well-excecuted. One of the only books (along with King Lear) that can make me cry every time I read it.
ETA: The Sparrow is probably technically science fiction, but it’s in the speculative fiction genre, so you might like it anyway.
Big thumbs up for Simon Green’s Hawk and Fisher books and PC Hodgell’s Kencyrath books too. Love them both to bits.
Thank you kindly for your offer, OtakuLoki, but I will check a local, edge of town used book store first. It’s more mildewy than I like, but they have a lot of out-of-print items.
Finished the first Garrett book. Everyone who hasn’t read it should drop whatever they are doing and order it. It felt like three parts Black Company and two parts Discworld, a truly winning mix. Not epic by any means, just a pure joy to read.
From the above, I’ve read Rhapsody, A Wizard of Earthsea, and The True Game. I loved Stephenson’s big three but couldn’t get into the Baroque Cycle, and will pick up Zodiac some day. Shannara was by far the worst thing I ever touched in the genre, hardly worth the 25 cents at the library sale.
The Scavenger Trilogy by K.J Parker. Great read, a bit dark but fun.
Second or third the Sword of Truth Series and Rhapsody Series.
J.V Jones Book of words Trilogy is very good too.
Octavia Butler (anything by her) is good, but Pick up WildSeed through Patternmaster for a wonderful and compelling story.
If you like Comedy and light fluff entertainment try Christopher Stasheff’s Wizard in Rhyme series. Also his Warlock and Wizard in mind series are good too.