# Need some good Fantasy reads



## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Have gone thru Percy, Sookie, Raines Benares, the Ingo series, The Walker Papers and Graceling just so you know what I like.
I *hated* Morganville Vamps, Tales of an Urban Werewolf and that other werewolf series set in Australia. To be honest, I prefer wizard, fairies and magic not set in our world.

Amazon makes it hard to find anything other than the top sellers and sorting the Kindle Fantasy by release date is soooo not helpful. I'm looking to find those really good books that are probably sitting 200 pages into the bestselling list. Just in case you need a couple that I've already found, lets trade.

Here are some of mine.
 One part of society embraces magic and can only live in the light, the other part shuns magic and can only live in the darkness. Set in a Regency England type of society, this story came from a very different direction than I'd come across. I'm still on the fence, but fascinated. It may just degenerate into a Regency tale with some magic, but so far it hasn't.
Got this one for the cool cover. YA Fantasy and I enjoyed it. Slightly different take on fairies
 I seem to have more luck with YA Fantasy these days. I probably won't spring for the sequel, but enjoyed this anyway.
This book cracked me up; another YA Fantasy

Okay, I showed you mine....


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

More in the lines with traditional fantasy:

Patricia Briggs, The Raven Duology:

 

And her Hurog Duology:


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## cjpatrick (Jan 4, 2009)

I have not read much from the YA section. I know my brother is enjoying the Mortal Instruments series. I found as far as other world fantasy goes, stick to the fantasy section at your book store. Some of the better books/series I have found are:



George R. R. Martin does an excellent job with character development. This book has a lot of political intrigue and some pretty great action scenes too. That link takes you to a bundled book so you get the first and the second book in the series for the price of one. LONG books too, about 800 paper pages each.



These books you may love. They aren't all that well known. A friend of mine turned me on to them. Anne Bishop creates a world with these books that I don't think anyone else could ever even conceive of. It's quite literally amazing and twisted all at once. I very strongly recommend this series.



And then there is always Terry Goodkind, unfortunately only two of this series is on Kindle. Books 1 and 8 (I think.) But book 1 can work well as a stand alone novel, it's a full story and a very great epic fantasy. This book also nears 1000 paper pages so it will give a lot of entertainment for your money.

I hope this are of some help, My vote goes to the Black Jewels Trilogy if you can only afford to buy one. The content matter can be very adult though, so be warned.
-Cory


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Another good one, but needs kindlizing.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

cjpatrick said:


> George R. R. Martin does an excellent job with character development. This book has a lot of political intrigue and some pretty great action scenes too. That link takes you to a bundled book so you get the first and the second book in the series for the price of one. LONG books too, about 800 paper pages each.


I unreservedly second the George RR Martin books. You absolutely can not go wrong with getting the 1st two books for $6.39.

FYI: Definitely for adults.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

A YA fantasy series which I quite enjoyed (and I'm a long way past being a "young adult"):


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Here are a few of really good ones:

Couldn't get the cover image for this one. But an awesome read.

The Wayfarer Redemption: Book One

An epic fantasy written in the LOTR tradition.



A YA Book sort of in the Harry Potter Mold except it features a teenage witch instead of a boy-wizard. This is one of those cases where a first class book has been packaged in a second rate cover. As long as you don't judge this book by its cover and give it a chance, you'll be in for a big treat.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> Here are a few of really good ones:
> 
> Couldn't get the cover image for this one. But an awesome read.
> 
> ...


I definately have spent too much time with my books. with the exception of Elfhunter, these are the only ones I haven't read. Thank you for the suggestions and I've got a couple more for Fantasy fans
 The 1st two of a trilogy, I like the take on gypsies.
Not sure why these authors didn't continue down this line

You guys have any more?


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## MAGreen (Jan 5, 2009)

I secon the Anne Bishop Black Jewels Trilogy (there are actually 6 or 7 of them now), And she also has a Fae series that is very good. The first one is Pillars of the World.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Okay, I guess this is now officially a Kindleboards challenge! I've read these already as well.


MAGreen said:


> I secon the Anne Bishop Black Jewels Trilogy (there are actually 6 or 7 of them now), And she also has a Fae series that is very good. The first one is Pillars of the World.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Jesslyn said:


> Okay, I guess this is now officially a Kindleboards challenge! I've read these already as well.


LOL, I'll dig through my collection later, see what I can come up with. I have a sneaking suspicion a number of them will be out of print or not available for the kindle yet.

But while we are at it have you read LE Modesitt's Recluce series? It is hit or miss on the kindle versions.

I'm also assuming you've read David Eddings stuff?


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

I'm also assuming you've read Stephen R Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books? Again no Kindle yet.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Riftwar Saga from Feist?


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

I recently read and Loved The Song of Albion Trilogy by Lawhead:


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis & Hickman? IIRC it was one of their first series, great stuff:


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## cjpatrick (Jan 4, 2009)

The Bitterwood series by James Maxey? I don't believe they are on Kindle yet, but it is an excellent EXCELLENT book. I met Maxey in December, very nice guy too.

http://www.amazon.com/Bitterwood-Dragon-Age-James-Maxey/dp/184416487X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245191987&sr=8-1


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Forster said:


> Riftwar Saga from Feist?


Ohh I loved those!!!
I haven't read them in years,....I need to go buy those....though I may have the DTB somewhere.....


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

anything by Jim Butcher:
His Furies of Calderon series is good and the Dresden Files series are hilarious! 

Robin Hobb's Assassin series is great! 1st taste is currently free! too.....

Midwinter was a recent freebie that looked good but I couldn't finda link:

I really liked the Shadows series:


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> I really liked the Shadows series:


Who would have thunk it, lol.

Good books, pleasantly surprised by them. Also ditto on Jim Butcher and Robin Hobb, but I'm thinking Jesslyn has probably read them?


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

I liked these:


(there is a Kindle version; just couldn't get it to show up in the link maker)




(also a Kindle version that wasn't showing up through link maker)


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Forster said:


> Who would have thunk it, lol.
> 
> Good books, pleasantly surprised by them. Also ditto on Jim Butcher and Robin Hobb, but I'm thinking Jesslyn has probably read them?


Hah!! I gotta get a new Avatar. I used to put whatever book I was currently reading....then I got lazy! I read that one months ago and never changed. Its not love (though it was good) its just lazy


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

A long-time favorite of mine that is currently being offered for free!


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## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Both Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, and Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series - no question about it.
Robin Hobb's Farseer and Tawny man series as well.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

patrickb said:


> Both Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, and Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series - no question about it.
> Robin Hobb's Farseer and Tawny man series as well.


I second Mistborn... That was a really good series!


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

Greg Banks said:


> A long-time favorite of mine that is currently being offered for free!


The book itself is great, but this has to be one of the most poorly edited Kindle books that I have seen. I couldn't even finish it - had to pull the paperback off the shelf. Since it's free, you might as well grab it in case it's cleaned up later. I actually paid for it - grrr.
(BTW, he has a new Landover book coming out later this summer)


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## RangerXenos (Mar 18, 2009)

Both my husband and I enjoy both of these series:





I'm a big fan of Jane Lindskold's Firekeeper series:



Also, I HIGHLY recommend the Dresden Files books, as several have listed before me!


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

I will keep recommendations for non-Kindle books, but have given up DTBs
Terry Brooks - Done
Brandon Sanderson - Loved it
Jim Butcher - Sampled, but didn't like
S. Lawhead - Read some other series, but didn't really consider it fantsasy - not enough magic (otherness?)
Anne Bishop - I like her and feel bad that she hasn't been able to create another world as interesting as the Black Jewels, but hanging with her on the latest entries
Laura Gilman - Sampled, but not interested enough to purchase, I may try again
Jane Lindskold - I like her ooooold stuff, see recommendation below
L.E. Modesitt - Reading some of his stuff now

My thank you recommendations
Not Kindled but I keep asking

This was the 1st book that I requested to be Kindled. Another YA Fantasy

This is the 1st of 3 (maybe 2, I forget)

I guess I got lucky, I grabbed most of this series on Kindle last year, but they are in the process now of getting re-issued according the the author's news


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon is very good and is available via www.baen.com.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Rhiathame said:


> The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon is very good and is available via www.baen.com.


Been there, done that! And enjoyed it. I'm trying to remember when I crossed over to Fantasy. I came over from the Romance aisle


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## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Rhiathame said:


> The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon is very good and is available via www.baen.com.


I see there's an e-book download option [once you can find it - what an awful website!!], but no mention is made of its format. What format(s) do they offer?


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

patrickb said:


> I see there's an e-book download option [once you can find it - what an awful website!!], but no mention is made of its format. What format(s) do they offer?


Along the left side of the description of the book, there are links (although they don't look like traditional links) for multiple different formats including Kindle format.

I know what you mean about the navigation issues with thier site. I will continue to struggle through it because I love the books so much.


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## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

From the baen page itself (http://www.baen.com/author_catalog.asp?author=emoon)
there are three 'order' links, one is 'e-book' which takes you to this page:
http://www.webscription.net/p-100-the-deed-of-paksenarrion.aspx

The formats aren't listed anywhere. It just says it adds to your cart with no information about what you'll be getting.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

patrickb said:


> From the baen page itself (http://www.baen.com/author_catalog.asp?author=emoon)
> there are three 'order' links, one is 'e-book' which takes you to this page:
> http://www.webscription.net/p-100-the-deed-of-paksenarrion.aspx
> 
> The formats aren't listed anywhere. It just says it adds to your cart with no information about what you'll be getting.


Gotcha...the links show up once you buy the book. All books you can purchase through thier website can be downloaded in the following formats: Ebookwise/Rocket, Mobi/Palm/Kindle, EPUB/Stanza, Microsoft Reader, Sony. So basically Baen supports just about all of the formats.

You can see all the options if you go under the free library books http://www.baen.com/library/


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Rhiathame said:


> Gotcha...the links show up once you buy the book. All books you can purchase through thier website can be downloaded in the following formats: Ebookwise/Rocket, Mobi/Palm/Kindle, EPUB/Stanza, Microsoft Reader, Sony. So basically Baen supports just about all of the formats.
> 
> You can see all the options if you go under the free library books http://www.baen.com/library/


I love Baen, but their site is a testiment on how NOT to set one up.

FYI - Not sure if anyone knows, but Warbreaker is available free on Brandon Sanderson's website. Nice job! I will be showing my support for that effort by purchasing a Kindle copy when available.


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## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Rhiathame said:


> Gotcha...the links show up once you buy the book. All books you can purchase through thier website can be downloaded in the following formats: Ebookwise/Rocket, Mobi/Palm/Kindle, EPUB/Stanza, Microsoft Reader, Sony. So basically Baen supports just about all of the formats.


I assume these are DRM free, right? Nice. Now if there website(s) [the different sites are confusing] just weren't so horrendously bad. Man, $20/month with something like SquareSpace and they'd have a decent looking site in a hearbeat.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

patrickb said:


> I assume these are DRM free, right? Nice. Now if there website(s) [the different sites are confusing] just weren't so horrendously bad. Man, $20/month with something like SquareSpace and they'd have a decent looking site in a hearbeat.


Yes they are DRM free. If you take a look at the link for the free library I posted above you will see a bit about their philosophy on the whole thing.

I agree that it sure would be nice if they would make their website easier to use. Although, sadly, it is better than it once was.


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## jimp1947 (May 7, 2009)

Try Greywalker by Kat Richardson. It's her first book in a series about a female detective who dies & in doing so gains the ability to see spirits. I've just started it, but so far it's a good read.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

For something new and different, Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix is pretty good. It's her first novel, but this new YA writer definitely shows sign of having a future.


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey Jesslyn, 
Have you tried The Black Magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan? It contains wizards and magic and is set in a different world than ours. I thought it was a great series (not sure if it's on Kindle though). You might also want to take a look at my book, *The Legend of Oescienne - The Finding*. Just published it on amazon Kindle. I don't have wizards in my book, but there is some magic, dragons and a Mystic towards the end of this first in the series. If you want to know more, check out my site, www.oescienne.com. Good luck and happy reading!
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

Excellent fantasy series by Greg Keyes - and the first one is free!

    (for some reason I couldn't image link to the Kindle version of "The Born Queen" so this link takes you to the paperback version)

And this series is great as well:


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## Maria Hooley (Jul 21, 2009)

I'm not sure if these are out for the Kindle but they are amazing books.  Steven Boyett's Ariel is being re-released and the sequel is about to come out in Sept. or Oct.  It's urban fantasy, but the characters are wonderful.  Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn is my all-time favorite, and the Shanara series is amazing as well.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Maria Hooley said:


> I'm not sure if these are out for the Kindle but they are amazing books. Steven Boyett's Ariel is being re-released and the sequel is about to come out in Sept. or Oct. It's urban fantasy, but the characters are wonderful. Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn is my all-time favorite, and the Shanara series is amazing as well.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Okay, I didn't see my favorites on here--they are urban fantasy:

New Tricks

Dog Days is the first one, but I don't think it is out in Kindle!!! I've been clicking...

I saw that Rachel Caine's Ill Wind was already recommended. That one was pretty good. I read the first. I have the second, but the first wasn't so great that I have been motivated to start the second.

Another favorite:

Magic Strikes

There's a whole series: Magic Burns, Magic Strikes...and a third that escapes me (the link maker did not pull them all up, but I think they are all kindle-ized.) These are very good.

I also tried the Dresden Files. Meh. I read the first one all the way through, but surprisingly it wasn't my thing. I generally like UF, but the lack of logic in that book annoyed me. I tried the second and gave up after about 3 pages...

The YA that I can think of...is not out in kindle (and no telling when/if it will be since it came out in the UK first. They aren't as interested in kindle, can you believe it)

Have you tried Mercedes Lackey? Burning Water (Diana Tregarde Investigation) I couldn't get the link to bring up Kindle (which may mean it isn't in kindle, but not necessarily). This is one of her older series (and one of her best IMO) although I like some of her other series as well. She's a Baen author so it may be possible to get the e-book from that site if you're willing to go through the hoops.

I will think of others I am sure. I read quite a bit of fantasy!


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Mistborn books by Brandon Sanderson, I believe he is the fella that is completing Robert Jordon's monstrosity. Anyway I'm midway through the second in the trilogy and they are pretty good.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Here's an author you might like (she has a very broad range. I didn't care too much for all her romance titles..Midnight rain was quite good, but I coudn't finish Last Girl Dancing.)

Holly Lisle

Memory of Fire

Hmm and I see she has some new stuff out that *I* need to read!!!

I believe she has some other stuff out at Baen's for free as well. I liked all the books she published with them--there were a couple of very very good ones.

This one is a stretch, but you might like it:

Goblin Quest

I liked it a lot, but some of the humor *is* juvenile.


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## cjpatrick (Jan 4, 2009)

It's a tad pricey for a Kindle book, but I'm about half way through it so far and have really enjoyed it. I think George R.R. Martin describes it as a more mature Harry Potter novel for anyone that is interested.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Thank you ALL so much for the recommendations. I am on my way to reading many of them and have read others and concur with the positive reviews.

Here are a few recommendations that no one has mentioned yet as further thanks

Urban Fantasy 
The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost

Classic Fantasy
Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan - not Kindled, but somehow I have totally missed these over the years. I did the happy dance though, there are over 10 so I have a LOT to get thru


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Here's another one:

http://www.amazon.com/Terrier-Legend-Beka-Cooper-1/dp/B000W917PQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1250538562&sr=1-2

(The link maker didn't find it, but I knew it was out there...)

I hear the series gets even better as it goes. I've only read the first.

I read Mistborn. Meh. I didn't care for the way the secondary character acted (the female character, whose name escapes me). With her upbringing, I could NOT believe her gullibility/actions. Ruined the whole book for me. I admit though, that there were some really great magic features to it and I thought the ending was unique and quite interesting.

And this book may be my favorite book of all time:

http://www.amazon.com/When-Demons-Walk/dp/B000OCXG5U/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1250538758&sr=1-10

It's finally out on Kindle. For me, this had it all--intrigue, danger, romance, small time girl does good, thieves, heroes...it's one of the few books that I have read more than once (I think there are 5 that I've read more than once. I'm not a re-reader.)

Cool list building here.

Maria


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Jesslyn said:


> ...Classic Fantasy
> Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan - not Kindled, but somehow I have totally missed these over the years. I did the happy dance though, there are over 10 so I have a LOT to get thru...


FYI, the final novel in the series (apparently in 3 volumes  ) is being completed by Brandon Sanderson from Robert Jordan's working manuscripts and notes. (Jordan -- which is actually the pen name for James Oliver Rigney, Jr. -- passed away in 2007.) I think I made it through around 7 books, maybe 8, before I got so fed up with the pettiness of most of the main characters that I gave up on it.


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## worktolive (Feb 3, 2009)

This month's one dollar orbit book is the first book in an urban fantasy series by Lilith Saintcrow. I just finished it and got totally hooked, but if you don't like it, you're only out a dollar, so it's pretty low risk. This link is to the DTB version - I couldn't find the Kindle version in the linkmaker.


She's also started a YA series called that sounds kind of similar to the TV series Supernatural - again, this is the DTB link.


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