Must Reads

Well i read the Death Gate cycle and the Darksword series of Weis and Hickman
Also i read the first 4 of Feists Books
But what i really wanna know is
What other books must i read just because are "legendary"
Don;t worry about giving to much or something as i am young and i'm planning to read books till i'm really old...
er...
yeah that's about it
thanx in advance

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[Sentinel04]

All of these are, of course, IMO:

Lord of the Rings-duh

Icewind Dale Trilogy/Legacy of the Drow- The Drizzt Do'Urden story line is interesting, and action packed. It focuses on many cool characters, not just Drizzt.

Wheel of Time(up to book 5)- The first four or five books are great. A young, reluctant teenager has to *gasp* save the world. All with his friends, that is.

There ya go, have fun.

[Sneeki Two]

I wouldn't read anything just because they are "legendary". I personally don't like Tolkien's writing style, and didn't like the Deathgate series (but these are just my personal opinions, and I'd be wrong in assuming you wouldn't like them either).

What I do quite often is go to Amazon.com and look up a book I really like. There is an option to look at books enjoyed by others that liked the title you just looked up. I have found several titles that way. You can also look at some of the reviews of what people say of these books (most are useless but you will get some idea of what is going on with the book), and often there will be recommendations in the reviews.

Just my 2.

BTW, Tolkien is good (just not my style), and the "Drizzt"(R.A. Salvatore) books are very good also.
Wheel of Time is good. (Robert Jordan)
Sword or Truth is good. (Terry Goodkind)
Weis and Hickmans Dragonlance stuff is good
George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series is good.(Series really doesn't have a name.)
All I can think of at the momment.

[trux]

Lord of the Rings is like the Godfather of fantasy books. But don't read it because of that. Read it because it's a wonderful and timeless story, with interesting characters and great adventure.

I'm a huge Dragonlance fan so I would say read the Chronicles and Legends at least.

On the non-fantasy side, the "legendary" book for any young man growing up in America was On the Road by Jack Kerouac. This doesn't apply to everyone, though. If you want suggestions from non-fantasy titles I could definetely recommend a few.

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a bunch of long hairs.
trux

[Dreamer128]

You only read the first four feist books?
You should read the last four(serpentwar), their alot better.


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Those who watch their backs meet death from the front- Dreamer128 Demonslayer of the OHF.

Originally posted by Dreamer128: You only read the first four feist books? You should read the last four(serpentwar), their alot better.

I follow the series...
Just can't find last book of the riftwar (Oorlog van de grote Scheuring) in Hardcover
AND I HAVE TO FIND IT



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BOEKEN.NL

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[Axterix]

Originally posted by Sneeki Two: George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series is good.(Series really doesn't have a name.)

Yah it does. It's "A Song of Ice and Fire". Great series, hopefully it won't lose it's way like WoT.

A few other great books/series:
"Shogun" by James Clavell. Not exactly fantasy, sort of historical fiction. But, hey, the main character is part Dutch and it deals in part with how the Dutch replaced the Porteguese in trading with Japan.

"Watership Down" by Richard Adams. Again, not exactly fantasy... but, well, it's close enough. A classic tale of a group of rabbits that have to journey to a new homeland after their old home is destroyed. An awesome read.

"Heralds of Valdemar" series by Mercedes Lackey. "Arrows of the Queen" is the first book of the series. Only real problem is that the author does try to shove a few social views down your throat, but that doesn't detract from the series to much. Quite a successful series, the author has written 15+ books about Valdemar.

"Dragonriders of Pern" series by Anne McCaffrey. The first book is "Dragonflight". Another extensive series. Good stuff.

My own tastes in fantasy tend towards dark fantasy. What can I say, I like my characters a bit flawed, the world a bit darker, and having characters besides the villians die from time to time. A few of my favs:

"The Cold-fire Trilogy" by C.S. Freidman. Great series.

"The Eternal Champion" series by Moorcock. 15-some books, in a pretty wide variety of styles and settings (some are fantasy, some are sci-fi, some are more psychological). Some people like it, some hate it... I happen to be in the like group. Try one of the Corum, Hawkmoon, or Elric books to start with or else Kane of Old Mars. Most of the books are collections of shorter stories, typically 3 or so to a book. Moorcock wrote primarily for the pulp magazines. Elric and Corum are both in the "legendary" category. But becareful of the love/hate thing. Might want to visit a library or borrow a book from the series first to see if you like it.

"The Black Company" by Glen Cook. A nice series about a mercanary outfit. Classic dark fantasy. Legendary already

[imperial dwarf]

I have to support Axterix, Moorcock's pretty good and a classic in fantasy.
What I could add to this already extremely good list are T.H. White's version of the Artus saga, just don't remember the name (the ones and future king? please correct me).
The Dune series is awesome (I won't say more, already drowned these books with praises twice here)
Currently reading the Jesus Incident, as far as I know another classic of sf.
Both written by Frank Herbert.
Two classics of utopic literature. Aldous Huxley's Brave new world and Orwell's 1984. Both describe different developments of mankind and both playing in the present (our decades), that is more or less. Very interesting if somewhat a bit heavy to digest.



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reality is for those not smart enough to see the truth!!!!!

[Sneeki Two]

Song of Fire and Ice! Thanks Axterix. I love this series also. Forgot about Moorcock. I only read the first 2 or 3 books, but thought they were great.

To Imperial:
T.H. Whites "Once and Future King" (was good also).