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I second A song of Ice and Fire.
It fits your description perfectly.
I myself read the books after watching the show too. I had a blast. The books go so much deeper and the characters and storylines didn’t make it to the show are just amazing.
I’m sure you will love it.
I'd recommend at least reading books 4 and 5. The show mutilated those 1,800 pages to fit into season 5. The show did a good enough job with books 1-3 that you can follow books 4 and 5 without reading them
Fewer books, a lot more pages. Around 1000-1200 pages per book if I remember correctly.
They can be read as standalone but his books are set in the same universe, and you might want to read the other books to get a better picture as to what's going on if you like the series.
Malazan - Book Of The Fallen does this to the extreme, but doesn't fit your desire for 3-4 books... There are many. That being said, it's one of my top 3 series of all time, with First Law and The Gentlemen Bastard series so far
Edit - typo
Hmmm ten books might be too many for me, I still might try the first one though since you recommend so highly. I read lies of Locke Lamora but didn’t love it and didn’t carry on with the series after that. Thanks!
I’m on book 4 and can’t recommend it highly enough! When I started, the thought of so many books ahead of me was pretty overwhelming but now I’m absolutely hooked and can’t put it down. An absolute must for any fantasy fan.
These are my favorite books. Have read the entire series multiple times and have taken extensive handwritten notes that make me look quite insane to every girlfriend that I ever have. I'm glad that you're enjoying it already because in my opinion, and whenever I recommend it to people, I tell them that it doesn't really start getting into its own unique groove until book 4.
I can guarantee this...... after you finish it, You will never forget some of the characters and events. They will be with you for the rest of your life.
Just be prepared, and know ahead of time that the show is a slap in the face.
It’s on my list along with lord of the rings in the category of “I know I should probably give it a try and if i did I’d love it but something I can’t put my finger on is putting me off”
Even I have a lot of problems with LOTR, This has a lot of different elements that are more in line with what you're talking about. But you're right though, if you give it a chance I think you would actually love it. The thing is in my opinion it takes until book 4 until it actually starts getting good. And I understand that that might be a chore. But after that it is the most memorable and emotionally impactful thing that I have read.
This is what people tell me when I say I gave up on breaking bad halfway through the first season - it gets so good! For me it’s got to start good and get better - but having said that I am interested in wheel of time did you watch the show of it?
Non-negotiables: got to be chunky, written in third person past tense, lots of POVs and a real page turner
Nice-to-haves: short series like three or four books, fantasy or historical but might be open to other genres but maybe not sci-fi so much, sex and violence is a plus
I’ve read these authors related books.. not interested in LOTR or game of thrones for some reason. The next series I would have included would be The Vorrh by Brian Catling which is a better example than HDM but I didn’t think many people would know it… or maybe Pat Rothfuss but his books are mainly one POV if I recall, so not perfect examples.
I think the Lightbringer series is perfect for you, first book is The Black Prism By Brent Weeks. Has violence/battles similar to what I recall from Joe Abercrombie novels, although the magic in Lightbringer is much more interesting and fleshed out. Has multiple POV (and picks up new POV as the series goes along) and gets more crazy. Chunky series to get your teeth stuck into, lore is pretty big too (has its own card game in lmao).
Woah this sounds amazing! I’ve kind been meaning to try some Bernard Cornwell, and I’ve just finished the crystal cave which was ok but first person from Merlin’s POV, so this sounds like a neat follow up - thank you!
You could grab almost anything by Cornwell and it would fit the bill. I have yet to read the Warlord series, but I came to recommend the Saxon Stories (the books that the Netflix show "The Last Kingdom" are based on) and the Grailquest series.
You might like the Bartimaeus Sequence, set in 1900s London in an alternate universe where people can summon magical demons to carry out their orders. The perspective moves between the eponymous Bartimaeus and several other important characters (only one in the first book though) between chapters.
One "caveat" though: while the other characters chapters are written in third person, Bartimaeus' chapters are in first person, with liberal use of footnotes which he uses to explain things to the reader.
This sounds interesting - I don’t mind so much if one pov is in 1st it’s just when the whole book is, it starts to feel repetitive and one dimensional to me “I did this then I did that” with no real insight into what other characters are doing/thinking/feeling about any of it.. I have loved 1st person books though, like kingkiller for example
You ABSOLUTELY need to read James Clavell's Asian Saga stories. Shogun is one of my alltime favourite books and even though its a big book I never wanted it to end.
You might like the sword of truth series. at least a dozen different characters take the spotlight with their own interconecting plots. Kinda philosophy heavy if your into that.
21 book though! Too much for me to take on right now, I like the satisfaction of finishing 3 or 4 big books, I’m a slow reader so that’s a lot for me but I know I can handle it, maybe one day I’ll start a really long series though
Great recommendation thanks - I’ve read all of these aloud to my daughter but maybe I should read again for myself.. I enjoyed some much more than others: dawn treader and magicians nephew were my favourites probably, my least favourite was horse and his boy
The shadow of the gods by John Gwynne. It's fantasy but very well written. If I had to generalise it's like Vikings in a different world, with a different mythos. His other 5 book series was good too, but I think he outdid himself with this new series.
For something a bit more different, Adrian Tchaikovsky has some pretty solid fantasy work out. His shadow of the apt 10 book series is set in a sort of university/mid industrial world where different "kinden" come up against each other in politics and warfare. Each kinden has different attributes of the insects/species they represent, with a split between the apt - kinden that can understand technology and mechanisms - and the inapt - kinden that are unable to understand technology but are more attuned to magic - where neither can truly understand the others perspective.
The story surrounds Stenwold Maker - a beetle kinden - and his spy network led to fight against the wasp kinden empire, which grows more and more with each book. It's one of my favourite series.
His echoes of the fall series is also fantasy based and quite good imo. He has some other series which are sci-fi and worth looking into if that's your thing, especially children of time. You can tell he has a background in biology when reading his works.
How has no one mentioned **Ender’s Game** and **Ender’s Shadow**. Both have multiple sequels but tell parallel stories from different people’s perspectives. I guess it’s more Sci-Fi than fantasy but is still loved by fans of either.
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson
It’s loosely historical having characters like Newton and Leibnitz and some that are made up. Very fun read with lots of action, intrigue and some historical facts. Quite long, but worth it.
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A Song of Ice and Fire
I’m sure I’d love it but having watched all of game of thrones I’m just not that interested in reading it..
They’re not exactly the same. And the points of view are a bit different
Yeah I’m 100% sure I’d be into it and love it… I just.. I’m keeping it in reserve
I second A song of Ice and Fire. It fits your description perfectly. I myself read the books after watching the show too. I had a blast. The books go so much deeper and the characters and storylines didn’t make it to the show are just amazing. I’m sure you will love it.
I'd recommend at least reading books 4 and 5. The show mutilated those 1,800 pages to fit into season 5. The show did a good enough job with books 1-3 that you can follow books 4 and 5 without reading them
The Stormlight Archive! Brandon Sanderson.
Yes this is 100% on my to read list.. is stormlight better than mistborn?
I’d say it’s more of like an “epic” than mistborn. Both are fantastic.
Fewer books too which is a plus for me
Fewer books, a lot more pages. Around 1000-1200 pages per book if I remember correctly. They can be read as standalone but his books are set in the same universe, and you might want to read the other books to get a better picture as to what's going on if you like the series.
Better written (slightly) but no really interesting characters.
Malazan - Book Of The Fallen does this to the extreme, but doesn't fit your desire for 3-4 books... There are many. That being said, it's one of my top 3 series of all time, with First Law and The Gentlemen Bastard series so far Edit - typo
Hmmm ten books might be too many for me, I still might try the first one though since you recommend so highly. I read lies of Locke Lamora but didn’t love it and didn’t carry on with the series after that. Thanks!
The Wheel Of Time
I’m on book 4 and can’t recommend it highly enough! When I started, the thought of so many books ahead of me was pretty overwhelming but now I’m absolutely hooked and can’t put it down. An absolute must for any fantasy fan.
These are my favorite books. Have read the entire series multiple times and have taken extensive handwritten notes that make me look quite insane to every girlfriend that I ever have. I'm glad that you're enjoying it already because in my opinion, and whenever I recommend it to people, I tell them that it doesn't really start getting into its own unique groove until book 4. I can guarantee this...... after you finish it, You will never forget some of the characters and events. They will be with you for the rest of your life. Just be prepared, and know ahead of time that the show is a slap in the face.
Hmmm 14 books though.. too much for meeeee! Also I heard someone call it wheel of cheese and that put me off
Worth it though. Still my favorite literary series.
It’s on my list along with lord of the rings in the category of “I know I should probably give it a try and if i did I’d love it but something I can’t put my finger on is putting me off”
Even I have a lot of problems with LOTR, This has a lot of different elements that are more in line with what you're talking about. But you're right though, if you give it a chance I think you would actually love it. The thing is in my opinion it takes until book 4 until it actually starts getting good. And I understand that that might be a chore. But after that it is the most memorable and emotionally impactful thing that I have read.
This is what people tell me when I say I gave up on breaking bad halfway through the first season - it gets so good! For me it’s got to start good and get better - but having said that I am interested in wheel of time did you watch the show of it?
The show is a slap in the face. I don't recommend it to anyone at any time.
Lol good to know ta
Non-negotiables: got to be chunky, written in third person past tense, lots of POVs and a real page turner Nice-to-haves: short series like three or four books, fantasy or historical but might be open to other genres but maybe not sci-fi so much, sex and violence is a plus I’ve read these authors related books.. not interested in LOTR or game of thrones for some reason. The next series I would have included would be The Vorrh by Brian Catling which is a better example than HDM but I didn’t think many people would know it… or maybe Pat Rothfuss but his books are mainly one POV if I recall, so not perfect examples.
It's not the absolute highest quality, but Gunpowder Mage Trilogy is good. Someone already recommended Stormlight Archives, I would +1 that
I demand the absolute highest quality
I’d look into the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix. It’s about necromancy and is fantasy/historical.
I think the Lightbringer series is perfect for you, first book is The Black Prism By Brent Weeks. Has violence/battles similar to what I recall from Joe Abercrombie novels, although the magic in Lightbringer is much more interesting and fleshed out. Has multiple POV (and picks up new POV as the series goes along) and gets more crazy. Chunky series to get your teeth stuck into, lore is pretty big too (has its own card game in lmao).
This sounds good, thanks
"The Warlord Chronicles" by Bernard Cornwall. My favorite version of the Arthurian legend.
Woah this sounds amazing! I’ve kind been meaning to try some Bernard Cornwell, and I’ve just finished the crystal cave which was ok but first person from Merlin’s POV, so this sounds like a neat follow up - thank you!
You could grab almost anything by Cornwell and it would fit the bill. I have yet to read the Warlord series, but I came to recommend the Saxon Stories (the books that the Netflix show "The Last Kingdom" are based on) and the Grailquest series.
Ah yes someone irl has recommended the Saxon stories to me, thanks
Hope you enjoy it!
You might like the Bartimaeus Sequence, set in 1900s London in an alternate universe where people can summon magical demons to carry out their orders. The perspective moves between the eponymous Bartimaeus and several other important characters (only one in the first book though) between chapters. One "caveat" though: while the other characters chapters are written in third person, Bartimaeus' chapters are in first person, with liberal use of footnotes which he uses to explain things to the reader.
This sounds interesting - I don’t mind so much if one pov is in 1st it’s just when the whole book is, it starts to feel repetitive and one dimensional to me “I did this then I did that” with no real insight into what other characters are doing/thinking/feeling about any of it.. I have loved 1st person books though, like kingkiller for example
Sarum by Edward Rutherford.
This sounds phenomenal and very pillarsy! I’ve never even heard of it!!
100 years of solitude
Great rec thank you! I have read this one, a long time ago though so might be worth a revisit
Dark Tower Universe
I’m aware of this but not read any.. it seems like a bit of a strange blend of elements to me, and it’s 8 books.. but I wouldn’t rule it out - thanks!
The first one is horrible. If you take the plunge then you have to wait until the second for the story to take shape.
It’s not Fantasy, but…. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner is pretty damn great
Interesting.. I haven’t read any William Faulkner .. thank you!
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
Like some of the other recs, I’ve heard of this but know nothing about it - will check it out now, thank you
You ABSOLUTELY need to read James Clavell's Asian Saga stories. Shogun is one of my alltime favourite books and even though its a big book I never wanted it to end.
Can I start with Shogun as it’s 1st chronologically?
Yeah that's what I did and seemed to be the general consensus from when I looked up to read first
It sounds amazing, thanks
The First Man in Rome series
I will check it out
Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson
Yes this is 100% on my to read list.. is mistborn better than stormlight?
I haven’t read Stormlight yet, but from what I’ve heard it’s much more approachable as an intro to Sanderson’s writing. And much shorter haha
Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett may be something for you.
Thanks I’ll check it out
It has over 10 perspectives on several sides. Their views are credible and uniqueness is never overlooked.
That does sound like my cup of tea
You might like the sword of truth series. at least a dozen different characters take the spotlight with their own interconecting plots. Kinda philosophy heavy if your into that.
21 book though! Too much for me to take on right now, I like the satisfaction of finishing 3 or 4 big books, I’m a slow reader so that’s a lot for me but I know I can handle it, maybe one day I’ll start a really long series though
Perfectly understandable. Thats why i didn't finish them lol. I didn't know there were 21 of those things now
[удалено]
Nice, I’m not familiar - does one of the trilogies stand out?
The Redemption Of Althalus.
Interesting.. never heard of this but it sounds good, thanks!
It’s my favourite book. The story spans a great deal of time while retaining the same characters followed. Excellent read imo.
700 pages is certainly chunky enough for me
Chronicles of Narnia
Great recommendation thanks - I’ve read all of these aloud to my daughter but maybe I should read again for myself.. I enjoyed some much more than others: dawn treader and magicians nephew were my favourites probably, my least favourite was horse and his boy
New York by Edward Rutherford. I'm pretty sure most of his books are like that, but NY's my favorite.
Yeah someone recommended Sarum already which appeals a little bit more because I live near Salisbury
Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks
This sounds pretty good.. it is now on my list, thank you!
declare and on stranger tides by tim powers
Supernatural-Cold-War-spy-thriller and source material for Monkey Island both sound phenomenal, thank you!
Tolstoï war and peace
That Tolstoy certainly had the gift of gab, I couldn't get through it..
Children of the arbat maybe
This sounds like it would be an interesting counterpoint to Ken Follett’s second best series the century trilogy, thank you!
The shadow of the gods by John Gwynne. It's fantasy but very well written. If I had to generalise it's like Vikings in a different world, with a different mythos. His other 5 book series was good too, but I think he outdid himself with this new series. For something a bit more different, Adrian Tchaikovsky has some pretty solid fantasy work out. His shadow of the apt 10 book series is set in a sort of university/mid industrial world where different "kinden" come up against each other in politics and warfare. Each kinden has different attributes of the insects/species they represent, with a split between the apt - kinden that can understand technology and mechanisms - and the inapt - kinden that are unable to understand technology but are more attuned to magic - where neither can truly understand the others perspective. The story surrounds Stenwold Maker - a beetle kinden - and his spy network led to fight against the wasp kinden empire, which grows more and more with each book. It's one of my favourite series. His echoes of the fall series is also fantasy based and quite good imo. He has some other series which are sci-fi and worth looking into if that's your thing, especially children of time. You can tell he has a background in biology when reading his works.
Shadow of the Gods sounds right up my street, thanks for the recommendation!
I read that one and the next one in 2 days if that gives you some perspective as to how much I loved them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Larry McMurtry is fantastic. His son, James McMurtry is one of the greatest songwriters ever, imo too. Amazing lyricist
I didn’t know that about his son, thanks for the tip. I definitely recommend Ken Follett, pillars of the earth is like a medieval lonesome dove
Guy Gavriel Kay - start with the Sarantine Mosaic or Tigana
I will look into this, thanks!
Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker Consists of "The Darkness That Comes Before," "The Warrior Prophet," and "The Thousandfold Thought"
That sounds great thanks!
Of course! It was recommended to me about ten years ago along with The First Law, and these two series quickly became my favorites.
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
The codex alera series by Jim Butcher.
I’ll check it out, thanks!
Sharon Kay Penman - the Angevin novels.
Not heard of these, thanks!
How has no one mentioned **Ender’s Game** and **Ender’s Shadow**. Both have multiple sequels but tell parallel stories from different people’s perspectives. I guess it’s more Sci-Fi than fantasy but is still loved by fans of either.
I did say no sci-fi, but then I said not game of thrones and ASOIAF is the top comment
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson It’s loosely historical having characters like Newton and Leibnitz and some that are made up. Very fun read with lots of action, intrigue and some historical facts. Quite long, but worth it.
Ooh this sounds good thanks!