What is your favorite fantasy book?

[The Grim Reaper's Friend]

I'm sure we alll liek the Lord of the Rings style books. There are several out there. Which one do you like best?

[krysto2002]

I'm big on fantasy reading, but my personal favorite series, no matter what critics say, will always be Brian Jacques' Redwall.
Of course this is closely followed by the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon) and His Dark Materials (Golden Compass).

[nate the dawg]

Well, The Two Towers is and has always been my fave. Tolkien aside, I've become quite the R.A.Salvatore fan over the last two years. I'd have to say it's a toss-up between The Chaos Curse and The Halfling's Gem.

Hold on...now that I think about it, it's The Halfling's Gem, no contest. I can't count the number of action sequences in that book that just felt cinematic. A Legend of Drizzt movie series would be awesome!

[gorthan313]

What? There are actually OTHER fantasy writers besides the great John Ronald Reuel Tolkien?

[Wonderball68]

I'm not much of a reader but the Chronicles of Narnia were always a favorite of mine.

[lefton4ya]

I am a fan of C.S. Lewis. Chronicles of Narnia of Course, but also Space trilogy especially That Hideous Strength which was a combo Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Philosophical masterpiece. They were written at the same time Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and both writers exchanged notes so there was similarities. Also, Till We Have Faces was good especially if you like Greek Mythology. His other "Fantasy" books are very allegorical about Christianity but even atheists can enjoy them. The Great Divorce is haled by many as the best "Christian" fantasy book but also one of the best fantasy books period, albeit its subject is life after death (It is actually about the Grim Reaper's Friends :D)

[EternalThanos86]

While the author tries to say its not fantasy, the Sword of Truth series is great, although it can get a bit graphic. Also, there are sections that get wordy but overall, a great series. The first book is called Wizard's First Rule.

[Pumpkin_King]

Terry Pratchett.

[Lord Pyre]

Lord of the Rings. ;)


I don't care much for fantasy outside of that.

[RabSheila]

My 3 favorites:

Song of Ice and Fire Series - George RR Martin
Amber Series - Roger Zelazny
Dark Tower Series - Stephen King

[I Hate Atlaga]

Ranger's Apprentice is pretty good.

[MikeR]

The Belgariad trilogy by David Eddings

[Dad_Scaper]

When I think "favorite single book" I'm inclined to pick a standalone book, not part of a series.

Michael Ende's The Neverending Story (http://www.amazon.com/Neverending-Story-Michael-Ende/dp/0525457585) is almost the perfect novel. It tells a wonderful story that is, superficially, entertaining and fun for kids of any age. But there are a couple of layers of depth, much moreso than, say, Lord of the Rings, and holds up well when read by a discerning adult, as well.

Recently I've also enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Strange-Norrell-Susanna-Clarke/dp/1608190862/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290181586&sr=1-1), which definitely belongs in the conversation if we can include fantasy that is not "high" fantasy.

[Yodaking]

Magician by Raymond E. Feist. The very good beginning of a great story arc spanning multiple book series.

[Heroscaper Guy]

The hobbit by Tolkien was a great book for me. Maybe I should make a few goblin wolf riders customs.

[Chilling Touch]

Anyone ever heard of the Pendragon series?

That one is probably my favroite.

[Flame Gryphon]

Bartimaeus Series, without a doubt.

[ScottManDeath]

Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series and his Dresden Files. So far I lost 16 days to them sleeping, since I finished a book the night before ;)

[Rÿchean]

The first and second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever aka the White Gold Wielder by Stephen R Donaldson are probably my favorites.

He started a "Last Chronicles of" in 2004 but I have yet to check those out.

[Kaiser Cat]

The Harry Potter series.

[I Hate Atlaga]

Anyone ever heard of the Pendragon series?

That one is probably my favroite.

Awesome. . .

Harry Potter is good too.

Post 222.

[NilfheimPwns]

I've read to many, Harry Potter, Pendragon (which is more
sci-fi if you ask me), Faerie Wars (whic was really weird), Deltora everything, Artemis Fowl (cross between Sci-fi and fantasy), I'm reading Lord of the Rings, and so many more.


... Too many bookses precious, yes precious, too many bookses, and we is not in in enough, poor good Smeagol is not in enough bokses, no precious, poor good Smeaol.

[LUCKE13]

I am a huge fan of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan who unfortunately passed away a couple years back. The series is being completed by Brandon Sanderson. I recommend the series to any fantasy reader.

[Jormi_Boced]

A Game of Thrones

[Utger man]

artimis fowl rocks!

[Utger man]

The Harry Potter series.

i'm with you man:D

[Utger man]

I've read to many, Harry Potter, Deltora everything, Artemis Fowl (cross between Sci-fi and fantasy)

... Too many bookses precious, yes precious, too many bookses, and we is not in in enough, poor good Smeagol is not in enough bokses, no precious, poor good Smeaol.

yes! yes! yes!

[RichardD]

Gosh. Plenty in this thread that I wouldn't use as firelighters, let alone ever want to read again. The Lord of the Rings I've read 7 times, and I loathe it more with each reading. Eddings - tripe. Feist - fluffy, but insubstantial.

The measure of a book with me is whether I own it in hardcover. I *don't* buy hardcover books - too expensive, too bulky; easier to wait 6 months and buy the mass market paperback for a third of the cost. But a very select few books are ones that I've bought as paperbacks, read, re-read, and then bought in hardcover because the stories were that good.

My hardback shelf consists of A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin - fantastically gritty fantasy set in a period like the Wars of the Roses; shame he'll die and leave it unfinished);

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time - although he DID die ad leave it unfinished, he left enough notes that another author could come in and finish it off; it's a HUGE undertaking, yet I've read it from start to (current) finish several times now and it only gets better.

Peter F Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga books, both series - OK, this is science fiction in the grand, galaxy-spanning space opera vein, but it's really, really good. the conclusion to the first two-volume tale consisted of about 500 pages of non-stop, leaves you breathless action.

And that's the lot. I really enjoy David Gemmel's books - especially the Drenai tales. I re-read Legend last month (third or fourth time), but they are a bit like Saturday afternoon westerns - the good guys are good, the bad guys wear black hats to help you out, and he's reused certain plots and battles more than once (at last count he had FOUR renditions of what is effectively the Battle of Thermopylae - overwhelming force faced down by a numerically inferior band of heroes holding a narrow pass - including a fictionalised account of the actual battle itself in one series). So he gets no points for originality. But as light entertainment, it's hard to beat. And he had the good grace to die after effectively finishing one of his trilogies (although it wasn't actually very good). I don't own any of them in hardcover, though, which ought totell you that I think that they are good, worth reading, but not classics that must be preserved for all time.

I want to get Peter Brett's Warded Man series in hardcover next. The second book made me *cry* last night. I'm over 40; fantasy novels shouldn't be written so well that they reduce me to tears. Of course, the series could still go horribly off the boil, but so far he's packed an awful lot into two books that aren't very large.

[killercactus]

Reading through this thread makes me want to start LotR again. I just skip over all the singing, though.

The Harry Potter series pretty much blew me away with awesomeness. Deathly Hallows was easily my favorite, followed by Goblet of Fire.

[Fatboy Chubby]

I agree with RichardD that Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained (aka The Commonwealth Saga) are excellent but Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games is my most beloved Science Fiction novel ever (hence my signature) SERIOUSLY, IT IS A MUST READ! and most of his other Culture books are also great.

But this thread is about Fantasy and although many before have mentioned great authors and books, Donaldson, Tolkein, McCaffery, et al. The stand out Fantasy story ever created and the best two books you will ever find (if you can) is...DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

THE WAR OF POWERS and ISTU AWAKENED by Robert E. Vardeman and Victor Milan

[Arya]

I am a HUGE fan of both Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl. I have read Deltora Quest, and have just started reading LotR. My all time favorite, though is for sure the Eragon trilogy. Brisingr is probably the best in my opinion. In fact, the Eragon series was the inspiration for my profile name. Arya is probably the number 1 character in my mind.

[wdgrant]

The first and second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever aka the White Gold Wielder by Stephen R Donaldson are probably my favorites.

He started a "Last Chronicles of" in 2004 but I have yet to check those out.

I need to go back and read this series again. I started it years ago, but quit because the main character starts out so unlikeable. I've heard good things, so I need to give it another shot.

I really loved the Chronicles and Legends trilogies from Dragonlance. Unfortunately, they don't hold up as well as I hoped. I read them recently and they weren't as good as I thought in high school. The first Drizzt series was good, but I thought they weakened after that.

My favorite is probably the Prydain stories from Lloyd Alexander. I loved them as a young boy and they still hold up well to a re-reading as an adult.

[Kahrma]

A few of my favorites have already been posted, but I don't think anyone has mentioned Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy (http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Mistborn/). Great characters, well developed setting, and a unique magic "system".

Definitely worth checking out!

[jcmcminis]

Since getting into fantasy...um almost 30 years ago now. I have read alot. And besides Tolkien. I love R.A. Salvatore and his Drow creation. Extreme love of Robert E. Howard. Michael Moorcock's Elric saga was great as well. But as far as favourite I have a special place in my heart for the very 1st fantasy novel I read. 'Dragons of Autumn Twilight' by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

[screwDriver]

I haven't read that many fantasy-themed books but my faves would be Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Hickman/Weis' the Dragonlance Chronicles (though I wasn't happy with the ending of the 3rd), Homer's Iliad and Odesseus, and a load of Greek Mythologies.

[Sport351]

My first fantasy books were the Redwall series. I'm a fan of Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter as well, and Discworld and the Inheritence Cycle are also ones I enjoy. My two favorite, though I can't narrow it down to a single book, would probably be from Salvatore's drow: The Legend of Drizzt and War of the Spider Queen.

[Hahma]

As with most everyone else, I dig LOTR.

I also like
George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice (My favorite fantasy type series)
Feist's Magician series
Butcher's Codex Alera series
Salvatore's Icewind Dale and Dark Elf series'.


Other series that aren't fantasy that I absolutely love and highly recommend are by an author named W.E.B. Griffin. His series The Corps and Presidential Agent are incredible. The Corps is a mix of fictional and real characters and real events of Marines and politics from 1939 in China to the Korean War. Great stuff. Presidential Agent is spy/international politics type stuff with a mix of real people/events and fictional as well.

[Grifter]

I'd have to say The Elenium-trilogy by David Eddings. Strong characters and character-interaction and a believable world (which is not surprising, since Eddings has the tendency to take our world and give a fantasy spin to it. But never in a way that makes it seems trite or boring).

[Bolo]

I am a huge fan of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan who unfortunately passed away a couple years back. The series is being completed by Brandon Sanderson. I recommend the series to any fantasy reader.


I have to agree that this is the best series of books that I have ever read.

Robert Jordan is right up there with J. R. R. Tolkein, in that for every word published in the 15 book series there is a 1000 written in background history and languages.

Book 1 was published in 1991 and book 14 will be coming out this year. Like J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit", Robert Jordan has written a prequel to the story called "A New Spring".

If you have the Time, Wheel yourself to your nearest bookstore and pick it up. You will not be disapointed.

[habs1009]

Lord of the Rings and the Eragon books. (I don't know if this series has an official name)

[Billtrumpet25]

Tie between Harry Potter and Codex Alera.

Although if we have to go further back in time, before those two series, I'd say Chronicles of Narnia hands-down.

[Tornado]

Since getting into fantasy...um almost 30 years ago now. I have read alot. And besides Tolkien. I love R.A. Salvatore and his Drow creation. Extreme love of Robert E. Howard. Michael Moorcock's Elric saga was great as well. But as far as favourite I have a special place in my heart for the very 1st fantasy novel I read. 'Dragons of Autumn Twilight' by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
You just became one of my favorite people on this site jcmcminis and you are from Michigan to boot. Robert E. Howard is the father of sword and sorcery and the greatest yarn spinner to ever walk the earth. The genre is huge now but in his day he walked alone. My favorite book of his is Swordwoman which contains the only three stories about a character known as Dark Agnes. It also has a tale about my favorite character of his Black Turlough. Conan, Solomon Kane, Bran Mac Morn, Kull, Cormac Mac Art, the real Red Sonja and the list goes on and on. He also wrote amazing westerns, boxing tales (Steve Costigan And Dennis Durgan are hilarious), oriental and middle eastern adventures. He even wrote Cthullu stories (which I prefer to H.P. Lovecraft). If you want to know more about the man check out the movie The Whole Wide World.
Check out ReH, nearly all his stories are short pulp fiction tales, quick, easy reads and some of the best writing ever. It is sad we did not get more from him... peace

[boromir96]

Lord of the Rings and the Eragon books. (I don't know if this series has an official name)



Its the Inheritance Cycle,which is also a favorite of mine along with Artemis Fowl,Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Lord of the Rings,

[Scaper Nerd]

My personal favorites are the Legend of Drizzt and The Hunter's Blade trilogy, The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, the Ranger's Apprentice, Jurrasic Park( I don't know if you guys would consider it a fantasy or not), the Inheritance Cycle, and The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Micheal Scott.

[Mossman]

Most of my favorites have been mentioned (Jordan's Wheel of Time, Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, Sanderson's Mistborn, Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean, Feist's Riftwar and Serpentwar...)

I'll add-

The Kingkiller Chronicles (or is it "Chronicle"?) by Pat Rothfuss (be warned- he's as slow as George RR Martin, but his books are amazing!)

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (stand-alone)

[yTrangVargasy]

The Animal Farm by George Orwell

[Billtrumpet25]

The Animal Farm by George Orwell

I don't think it's as much fantasy as it is political (dare I say satire), but I do see your point.

[Kaemon Awa 123]

Oh my... I must go look at my bookshelves, as well as library reading history before answering. Too many to choose off the top of my head.

[Garenex]

Many books have been mentioned that I greatly enjoy. Redwall, Belgariad, Sword of Truth, the list goes on...

But at the top of the list is and always will be...

The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia. These were among the very first fantasy series I ever got really into (with Narnia starting around seven) and will always remain at the top of my list.

[Eraguy816]

three favorites
Rangers apprentice,
the Inheritance cycle,
and the Heroes of Olympus.

[boromir96]

three favorites
Rangers apprentice,

Well that's one..... :p

[Utger man]

Redwall is contesting with Adventurer's Wanted by M.L. Forman and Michel Scott's Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel for my favorite. I also enjoy Children of the Lamp by P.B. Kerr (What with all the initials?) along with Gregor chronicles and Artemis Fowl (which is almost Sci-fi but yet somehow not)
and the Stone Heart trilogy was really good.
I'm also big into a couple other series but they're more Sci-fi than fantasy.

[ibechief]

I'd say the Dragons of Winter Twilight. I've loved that whole series since the first book came out. I still buy them when the money is there :)

[braveheart101]

The Lord of the Rings, obviously. I also love, love, LOVE the Song of Ice and Fire series, though I daresay that's a result of Stockholm Syndrome brought on by how GRRM manages to get you attached to characters and then kills them in shocking, gruesome manner. Brienne of Tarth, next to Tyrion Lannister, are my two favorites, which means they'll probably be getting killed sooner or later... :(

~Bravey