The Sword and Laser discussion

Hey guys, I'm looking for something new to read and I find that I have read. I'm a huge fantasy fan. Exceptions are tie-in fantasy and pretty much anything paranormal turns me off pretty quickly. I'm not opposed to the laser books either though I really haven't read many. My problem right now is I walk into the book store and I have read most of the big names/titles and I'm trying not to get sucked into the pretty pictures.

I do most of my reading through audio books now. I find it way easier to find time to read that way. The draw backs are the limited selection and some of the books out there are the old and dusty Library of Congress books on tape that will make your ears bleed in ten minutes or less.

My favorite Authors right now are Sanderson, Rothfuss, Weeks, Peter V Brett, Abercrombie and George Martin to name a few. I love the epics more than anything but some of the darker Urban fantasy is great too.

So pretty much I'm looking for anything that fits along those lines books I haven't read or the little known books and the catch is a strong preference toward audio. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it. Thanks guys.

Have you tried Mark Lawrence and his Thorn trilogy? Because if you haven't, you should!


Prince of Thorns

King of Thorns

Emperor of Thorns

Mark Lawrence

Have you read 'Rivers of London' by Ben Aaronovitch or Midnight Riot as it's known in the US, has an alternative title for some reason.

It's urban fantasy btw. Also

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrellis something I recommend, it's certainly different.
Also The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd.

For epic fantasy, you should try out Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.

I'm reading it along with The Malazan Fallen group on good reads, and really enjoying it so far.

Also, It looks as though you've read Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, but not his Dresden Files series. I'm not a huge Urban Fantasy person, but I love that series. And the first audiobook or two are a bit rough, but once James Marsters hits his stride, he's excellent.

Finally, since you seemed to enjoy the last few books of WoT and The Way of Kings, what about the Mistborn books by Brandon Sanderson?

Rivers of London and the follow up books are better, in my opinion, than the Jim Butcher series, but I think they both lean toward the "Paranormal" side of things! You should still give them a go though!

Check out The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker which is the first book in the Prince of Nothing series.

You can try books by Andrzej Sapkowski, Witcher series is awesome :)

for an easy, fast read: Broken Aro

Then there's Valdermar series by Mercedes Lackey - I started with Arrows of the queen if I remember it well... it was a while ago ;)

Prophecies Awakening - when you want a book with fast action, prophecy and a lot of things happening (btw... second book is a bit more optimistic)

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Stardust and so on - for something a bit different

The Summoner - because it's awesome

Zawód: Wiedźma, Część 1 - if you'll find it in your language, great series

well that's for a start anyway ;)

Promise of Blood could be interesting for you, if you like Sanderson's stuff.
This should be available as audio book aswell, since you're into that.

Robb wrote: For epic fantasy, you should try out Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.

I absolutely agree. A mind boggling experience in scope, complexity and emotion that isn't matched by anything else I've read.

Fred Saberhagen's books of the Swords are really good, also The Black Company books by Glen Cook, and the Sheepfarmer's Daughter books by Elizabeth Moon. All are older works that might not have caught your eye before and are available from Audible.

Let me start by saying I don't do the audible thing, so I don't know if any of these are available that way but:

Michael Sullivan's Theft of Swords and the following 2. I really loved these and wonder that I don't hear about them more often. The main characters are awesome and have great chemistry. He's about to release a prequel also.

Also Brent Weeks Night Angel (The Way of Shadows) series is just awesome. His Lightbringer series is also really good, but I like Night Angel the best.

Something that leans more towards horror, while still being ridiculous and just super funny is John Dies at the End.

Try my novel! It's an epic fantasy that's a cross between Watership Down & Lord of the Rings :) I worked on it for a long time before it was published. Check my profile for info.

Have you tried Wheel of Time? I'm on Book 4 and so far it's outstanding! Also the Prydain cycle by Lloyd Alexander. The Neverending Story is nothing like the corny movie and a really, really great read. Hayao Miyazaki's epic comic Nausicaa is well worth reading. I would also recommend Shahnameh, Persian Book of Kings, an absolutely astonishing epic collection of ancient Iranian myths, folk tales and fairy tales.

I cannot recommend The Thousand Names enough. It was fast paced and kick ass! Also, the Kingkiller Chronicles, def. Malazan Book of the Fallen, and Acts of Caine, which blends Sci FI and fantasy and has a badass main character who's not quite a nice guy.

Acts of Caine, which blends Sci FI and fantasy an..."

Agreed about Cain, those books should be way more popular.

R Scott Bakker's The Darkness That Comes Before is an amazing epic book. I plowed through a preview copy of it before it came out, reread it when it finally hit, and loved it both times. There are two more in the immediate series (which I finished) and then a second trilogy afterwards. His was so refreshingly different while still being beyond epic.

Russell Kirkpatrick might also be an interesting option. I fell into his second series Path of Revenge without reading the first at all and LOVED it. Its, again, very fascinating and epic. Going back and reading the first series (set 50+ years prior) I'm loving it less than the first, but possibly because I have an idea of how it ends.