Good Fantasy Books

Empire Trilogy - Raymond Feist

2010-03-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

Raymond Feist is best known for his classic rags-to-sorcery fantasy book, Magician, which is one of the best fantasy books around if you ask me! Magician forms the first part of the Riftwar saga, chronicling the invasion of the planet Midkemia by the oriental-inspired Tsurani of Kelewan. Alongside these stories sits the Empire trilogy, written in collaboration with Janny Wurts, which retell the events of the Riftwar from a Tsurani perspective and in a totally different, yet similarly engaging style.

The Empire trilogy, rather than following the Riftwar saga's typical epic fantasy style, focusses more on the political machinations of the Tsurani Empire. The series charts Mara, ruling lady of the Acoma's struggles to restore power to her troubled House. The books are somewhat slower paced than the Riftwar trilogy, but make up for this with political intrigue and diplomatic struggle in abundance. Feist succeeds in painting a detailed picture of the complexities of life on Kelewan and running a House, the importance of honour, diplomacy and protocol. Mara is a strong female lead and it is refreshing to find a main character who is not a mighty warrior or magician but someone who the reader comes to respect for their cunning and political guile.

Whilst the series may not be right for those more interested in an upfront, action heavy fantasy book, if you are keen for more cerebral set of books then these are well worth a read.

Buy on Amazon USA

Buy on Amazon UK
Daughter of the Empire
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire

The Magicians - Lev Grossman

2010-03-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

An adult mashup of Harry Potter and Narnia, with nods to a host of other fantasy tropes seasoning the mix (if that's not conflating my metaphors too much), Lev Grossman's The Magicians tells the story of Quentin, a young man who on the eve of his application to an Ivy League university instead becomes drawn into the magical world of Brakebills College (think Hogwarts with more sex and drugs). There he learns that not only is magic real, but he is one of the select few who can wield it.

The first half of the book details his travails in both learning magic and growing up through college, then the second half flips it to his adventures with his schoolmates through the Narnia/Wizard of Oz like land of Fillory, building to a dramatic and tragic denouement and sequel-hinting (?) coda.

The book is not without its flaws - the pace is at times rushed and the characters can seem unsympathetic - but overall this is an interesting attempt to remix familiar themes and, eschewing the more heroic tendencies of the genre, come up with something spiky, new and ultimately more human. Definitely worth a read.

Buy on Amazon USA

Buy on Amazon UK
The Magicians

Troy Series - David Gemmell

2010-03-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

David Gemmell, who sadly passed away in 2006, had a wonderful gritty, character driven writing style - his heroes often a refreshing change from the typical overly idealised fantasy book character. He was also a big fan of semi-historical fiction and his final series of books, the Troy series, is a great example of this that also plays on his familiar writing strengths.

The series centres around events leading up to and following the siege of Troy and feature diverse mythological characters such as Odysseus, Priam and Achilles. The stories masterfully incorporate these characters and events of Homeric fame in to a unique and truly epic tale. The first book introduces us to Helikaon - a Dardanian prince, Andromache - betrothed of the Trojan prince Hektor and Argurios - a famed Mykene warrior. In true Gemmell style, throughout the series we get to see these characters develop, gaining insight in to the events in their lives that have shaped who they are. Typically for Gemmell the books are punctuated with thrilling combat and violence and a fair share of political intrigue, with the momentum maintained throughout.

I'd thoroughly recommend the series to readers old and new to Gemmell alike. As usual he has produced another crop of thoroughly Good Fantasy Books!

Buy on Amazon USA

Buy on Amazon UK
Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow (Trojan War Trilogy): 1
Troy: Shield of Thunder (Trojan War Trilogy): 2
Troy: Fall of Kings (Trojan War Trilogy): 3

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie

2010-03-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

The Blade Itself is the first book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law series. It's a gritty fantasy taking after the David Gemmell mode - indeed a later book in the series (Last Argument of Kings) was nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Awards.

It starts with a familiar setup - a nation under threat, an ancient mage assembling a party of adventurers to go forth - but has easily enough twists to subvert and play with what could have been stultifying stereotypes. Fast-paced action sequences leavened with dark humour drive the plot along, and Abercrombie's eye for a memorable character (Glokta the inquisitor is one of the best characters I've seen in a fantasy book for a long time) helps make it an enjoyable experience.

Buy on Amazon USA

Buy on Amazon UK
The Blade Itself: Book One of The First Law
Before They Are Hanged: Book Two of The First Law
Last Argument Of Kings: Book Three of The First Law

Privacy Policy

2010-03-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.