Beyond Reality discussion

Our current Science Fiction series will end in mid-September and then we usually take a month off from series, so I am opening nominations for a series to begin October 15. Since we alternate genres, this time we are accepting nominations for a FANTASY series. Please read the guidelines before making your nomination.

GUIDELINES:
--Each member can nominate one series.
—The series should be complete, as far as you can tell. I realize authors sometimes revisit a series years later, but as much as possible, we are looking to read a completed series.
—The series should be one we have not read and discussed as a group. Click HERE for a list of the past series we have read together.
—Please give the name of the series, the author, and how many books are in the series. Feel free to add the titles of the individual books, if you want.
—The series must be FANTASY.
—Nominations do NOT require a second.

Nominations will be open through August 19, which gives you all plenty of time to come up with some great ideas. We will have a preliminary round of polling to narrow the field starting August 20 and then a final poll starting August 26 to determine the winner. The series read itself will start October 15, giving us a "month off" between our current series read and the next one.

Please post nominations in this thread here on the group page, not by responding to the broadcast message sent to your Goodreads inbox.

Nominations:
The Lord of the Rings, 3 books, by J.R.R. Tolkien, starting with The Fellowship of the Ring
The Wheel of Time, 14 books (15 with the prequel), by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson), starting with The Eye of the World
Stariel, 4 books, by A.J. Lancaster, starting with The Lord of Stariel
Inda, 4 books, by Sherwood Smith, starting with Inda
The Empire Trilogy, 3 books, by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts, starting with Daughter of the Empire
Shadows of the Apt, 10 books, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, starting with Empire in Black and Gold
Collegia Magica, 3 books, by Carol Berg, starting with The Spirit Lens
Crown of Stars, 7 books, by Kate Elliott, starting with King's Dragon
Bobby Dollar, 3 books, by Tad Williams, starting with The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Daevabad, 3 books, by S.A. Chakraborty, starting with The City of Brass--the group read this first book as Book of the Month in April of this year so some of you might have a head start on this series!
A Land Fit for Heroes, 3 books, by Richard K. Morgan, starting with The Steel Remains
Sandman Slim, 12 books, by Richard Kadrey, starting with Sandman Slim

Nominated but disqualified:

The Lord of the Rings. three books.

I'll nominate The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and final books completed by Brandon Sanderson). There are 15 books including a prequel. The timing is good, as a television series is in development to premier on Amazon Prime. Many of the books in the series were nominated for Hugo awards, as was the series as a whole.

I’ll propose the Stariel quartet by A.J. Lancaster. It looks like a lot of fun!

I’d also be happy to get a kick in the pants to finish Wheel of Time, I think I stopped after book 7 back in the day. But I figured I’d toss another into the ring too!

Oh, I like the Stariel quartet! Just finished it, and I almost nominated it.

Yes, Shel, I freely admit that one of the middle Wheel of Time books doesn't really go anywhere. I know a lot of people who stopped after that one. But it gets better afterwards, I swear!

I’d like to nominate Sherwood Smith’s Inda quartet (4 books). It’s got a little bit of “Ender’s Game in a fantasy milieu” vibe to start, with a brilliant young protagonist sent off to military academy, but quickly moves beyond that. Interesting world-building, strong character-driven story, a good bit of political intrigue. Ships and pirates, cavalry and swords—there’s something for everyone. Like Robin Hobb, Smith puts her characters through the wringer, but stylistically it’s distinct.

I would like to nominate The Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist. I haven't read but heard it's very good and that you don't have to read previous books in the Ryftwar Cycle Series to understand it.
The books are Daughter of the Empire,Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire.

I nominate "Shadows of the Apt" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 10 books with wonderful worldbuilding and character development (the emphasis is on battles, though)

That's a great series! I'm only in doubt if I would manage all ten books but I would surely start it.

Even thought there are already several nominations that interest me, I’m going to toss in another—Collegia Magica by Carol Berg, a trilogy described as murder mystery in a Renaissance world of rising science and failing magic. I have thoroughly enjoyed the other books by Berg that I’ve read, so I have high hopes for this trilogy as well.

There are still a few days left to nominate a fantasy series—let’s get a few more ideas!

I will nominate the Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliott it has seven books in the Crown of Stars series. Book 1 King's Dragon is currently available for $2.99 for Kindle and Apple if that helps.

Leticia wrote: "I would like to nominate The Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist. I haven't read but heard it's very good and that you don't have to read previous books in the Ryftwar Cycle Series to understand it...."

Just to clarify: if you haven't read at least the first Riftwar novel, certain events in the 2nd Empire books will be weird and confusing to you. This isn't necessarily a problem, mind you, since it's also weird and confusing to all the characters, but it's worth bearing in mind. I actually think it's a really interesting effect!

[basically, the characters in the Empire series stumble into the aftermath of something that happened in the Riftwar novels, which they had no way to predict, and which they struggle to understand. It's kind of... jarringly realistic, in a 'the universe doesn't revolve around you' way...]

Anyway, while the Empire novels aren't great literature and do have some weaknesses, they're definitely an interesting read for a fantasy fan, not just because of the unusually well-thought-out pseudo-Asian setting, but also because they're willing to take their protagonist seriously in her roles as a woman and a feudal lord. Many fantasies basically want to be about young men off on adventures, and any other features of their characters - noble birth, or poverty, or being a woman, etc - are shrugged off for the duration of the story; the Empire novels actually let Mara be a young woman in a male-dominated society, the ruler of a family, but in a position of political vulnerability - yes, there's battles and assassinations and a little questing, but there's also a lot of politics, domestic management, marriage negotiations, trade deals and so on. Its characters face problems - and find solutions - that are atypical for the genre, which is always refreshing...

I'd like to nominate the Bobby Dollar series by Tad Williams. It's three books long, beginning with The Dirty Streets of Heaven.

I nominate the Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty, starting with The City of Brass

I nominate the trilogy A Land Unfit For Heroes by Richard K Morgan. A rare foray into fantasy by this sci-fi master.

With the 12th and final book just published I am nominating Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey.

Nominations are now closed (I see a few snuck in before I got online this morning) and the preliminary poll will be up soon.

Preliminary Poll is now open for our fantasy series to start October 15, 2021.

The poll will be open through August 25, so be sure to vote!

FANTASY SERIES (Oct2021) Preliminary Poll

Today, August 25, is the last day to vote in the preliminary poll for our Fantasy series to start in October. Please vote!

Final poll is now open to choose our Fantasy series that will start October 15, 2021.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Please vote!

Today is the last day to vote in this poll as well as the polls for the November Books of the Month.