Hey all,

I'm a lapsed fantasy sci-fi fan and am looking for suggestions for good, modern fantasy to read. I enjoy well-written, complex fantasy like Feists's Magician series, Saberhagen's Book of Swords series, Piers Anthony (shallow, but full of images), Leguin. Epic, solid stuff, but nothing like Eregon, Twilight, Potter, or Thomas Covenant. I enjoy good, hard sci-fi like Robert Forward, Michael Flynn, et al.

Should I try Silverberg's Majipoor Chronicles? That strikes me as rather old to start with. What's new that goes beyond sword and sorcery, yet still has an air of epicness to it?

Thank you,

Simon

I don't know if it would be considered epic, but you could try Laurel Hamilton's Anita Blake series. There are 18 books, I believe.

If you are up for a long read, nothing better than George RR Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. The only problem there is the frustration factor, as he is becoming very s l o w at finishing off the series and chances are moderately good that he will not tie up all the loose ends in his lifetime.

Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" is another excellent series.

There's always Robert Jordan, I suppose, though he is not as good a writer as either of the above.

Well here we go.
If you want to read Majipoor Chronicles I suggest Lord Valentine's Castle first. It's pretty good.
Try the Fritz Leiber "Swords Against..." series, he's a quality writer, theyre about Fafrd, a big hulking swordsman(but not stupid) and his friend a wonderfully named Grey Mouser a smaller, more agile rogue. They get involved in a variety of adventures. No I know that sounds a little bit of a fantasy cliche but that's because this series more or less began that cliche, its much copied.
If you like Feist try David Eddings, I don't like either, but that's just me.
There's the Sword of Shannara and Elfstones of Shannara by hmmm cant remember, not very original, bit of a Tolkien clone, but fun.
I'll recommend to you like I do everyone else who likes fantasy the works of Jack Vance. Frankly he's a bit of a Godfather of the genre, he has written many books, some not so good, but the best fantasy are the Dying Earth Series, The Dying Earth, Eyes of the Overworld, and Cugel's Saga, all solid gold fantasy works of genius, there isn't a fantasy writer alive today this guy hasn't influenced.
He took so long to write the Cugel's Saga sequel that Michael Shea, decided to write his own, which is also good, a tribe of cannibals tending a garden of human parts! It's called S for Sibilis off the top of my head.
I loved the Dragonriders series as a kid by Anne McCaffrey but that might not be up to a little more sophisticated taste, sorry people, its a bit hippy for me, nowadays.
Neil Gaiman's Stardust and especially Neverwhere are interesting, but its more alternate reality, if your looking for a whole different world maybe not. And you try Michael Marshall Smith's Only Forward along the same lines.
Michael Moorcock's Elric novels are classics too and his other fantasy novels are pretty good too.
David Gemmell is a fun read, very much action fantasy, but good fun.
Tim Powers Anubis Gates is another alternate reality book. And a damn good one, time travel, evil clowns, possession and Beatles songs, good stuff.
You know if I had access to my library I could go on all day, but alas I can't think of anything right now. Unfortunately fantasy fiction lends itself to some pretty poor writing at times, but I reckon you'll find a few good reads in the ones I've suggested.

I was just coming back here to recommend Vance and Moorcock, see they've been covered.

Thanks, all! I guess I do want to steer clear of bad writing that focuses on description and tons of adjectives. One of the best fantasy novels I've read in a while has been Feist's Magician (though I haven't read the rest of the series). I guess I'm looking for more character-driven stuff than the usual Tolkien clones.

Anyhoo, there're tons of starting points you've given me. Thank you much.

Terry Brooks in reply to the Shannara series - along with quite a few other titles. I enjoy them.

Anne McCaffrey - maybe Dragonriders series....some better than others but I find her off world titles are interesting: Brain & Brawn ship series, Doona and Freedom Series and The Tower and Hive.

My eclectic tastes have me reading everything!

Happy hunting coventry!

I second agony's recommendation of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series, along with the caveat that it may or may not actually ever be finished.

Another author I'd recommend is Guy Gavriel Kay, particularly his epic single-volume work "Tigana".

I can strongly recommend Terry Goodkind's series "Sword of Truth". I think they cover the whole gamut of human emotion and are both well written and entertaining (plus the series is now complete!).
Another author worthy of consideration is Paul Kearney, particularily his "Monarchies of God" series. Again,well written and the battle scenes are some of the most realistic I have come across.
In fact, on reflection, Kearney is a must read author.

Anyhow, good luck in your quest,
sdmcc

I'd go with both the Sword of Truth series (at least the first 4 or 5 tomes, after which it's the same story told slightly differently), and the Dragonrider series by Anne Mc Caffrey.

I also thought that Mickey Zucker Reichert's Renshai series was fabulous, and a worthy read. I liked the first few of the Magician series, and particularly liked the 'Empire' side of the story (Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire...) but again it disintegrated the further into the series I got and I eventually gave up on it.

"Lies of Locke Lamora" is very good, as is the "Sword of Truth" series and George R.R. Martin. The Pern series by Anne McCaffery is also very good.

Robin Hobb! Particularly the Farseer, Tawny Man, and Liveship trilogy (the only ones I've read, but wow).

Also, Patrick Rothfuss, Name of the Wind. The best fantasy novel I have read. It has good characters, a good world, and amazing writing. I just hope you don't mind waiting a little bit for sequels.

Also, if you want something a little out of the ordinary, try Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy. He writes very well, and has deep characters. The world is a little underfleshed, but the characters more than make up for it. It's also different. There are no princesses, dragons, epic quests, etc. Only a few people, a war, another war, politics, and personal feuds.
It's good fun.

On a slightly different tack: What recommendations do you all have for single-volume, stand-alone fantasy novels that still have an epic feel?

I'm getting a bit frustrated with series that in many cases show no signs of ending in the near future, and would love to try something a bit different.

Hmm fantasy that doesn't come in a trilogy, well I think there's a law against that
Actually the Lord of The Rings was only split into three because the publisher didn't think they could sell it in one huge book.
You know I'm not sure I can think of any.
THe Silmarillion by tolkien, not to everyones liking, I love it, but you won't get any more epic.

Have you ever read Heinlein's "Glory Road"? Or John Myers Myers "Silverlock". Neither are what we might think of as fantasy these days, where it's all elves and orcs, but they certainly have fantastic elements, and are both great books, too.

Actually you could try Lord Valenine's Castle by Robert Silverberg as a one volume epic fantasy.

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, is fairly good, for light fantasy reading. It is mostly aimed at a slightly younger audience - perhaps 15-17.

Perhaps some Neil Gaiman? I'm not a big fan, but the books are standalone and fairly short. (which is probably why I'm not a fan. I love me a good long fantasy epic)

Joe Abercrombie has a couple of standalone books as well. I'm not sure what they're called, though.

Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. Awesome.

I started Perido Street but never got more than the first few pages, I'll have to try again.

Based on what you like, I'd strongly recommend the Magic of Recluce by LE Modesitt. While there are many books in the "series" each book is truely standalone.

If you liked Magician, I'd suggest Daughter of Empire too. Stay away from the rest of Feist, especially his most recent. Too shallow.

You could consider Eddings, though it might be a little shallow. I first read it when I was younger so have fond memories. Best read when you just want a good story and not to have to think Start with Pawn of Prophecy, go through that series and to the Malloreon series if you like it. The other series? Not so much.

You've read Asminov's Foundation and Robert Heinlein of course?

Sorry - when I suggested Daughter of Empire I should have made it clear that I meant Daughter, Servant and Mistress as the series. Stop after Mistress or you will be sorely disappointed.

Have many more I could recommend if anyone likes. Would need to go downstairs and look at my basement filled with book shelves

Steven Erikson's Mallazan Book of the Fallen series is at least as epic as George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire but you won't have to wait 5 years between books after you get caught up.

Yes, that is another good one, forgot to mention it. This is an interesting series, as the world it is set in was co-created by Ian Cameron Esslemont, who has also written a few books set there. Adds a nice dynamic.

Charles de Lint has a good variet of stand-alone books. They are all interlinked as in we see many of the characters reappearing in each book, but as each volume tells it's own story I'd suggest him to start with. I also find the quality of his writing above the usual Fantasy level, and the modern, contemporary element is pretty cool too. From memory I would suggest Greenmantle, Yarrow or The Little Country for starters.

I enjoyed the Brandon Sanderson Mistborn series. I never truly guessed the outcome, which makes it a good read for me. I hate a story that is too obvious.

Would The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, count as fantasy if it's set in World War ll? Its nothing like HP and definitely not like Twilight. It's a lot deeper than that.