i'll finish the black juwels trilogy in a few days and need new fantasy books to become addicted :)
unfortunately i don't know so much about fantasy writers, could someone recommend good fantasy novels?
as a guideline, i began with lord of the rings, i loved his dark materials trilogy, can't wait for the next book of kingkiller chronicles, am addicted to harry potter, still listen to the audiobooks... :) I liked about black juwels the different world that bishop creates. liked eragon but was disappointed by the sequels. liked twillight, but other urban fantasies didn't spark my interest so far.
can't go wrong with Tad Williams. I absolutely loved his Otherland - a bit different style. Also Clive Barker - darker, much darker writing, but amazing... Of course, there is always Terry Brooks and Shannara series...
Unfortunately, in my opinion there's nothing that compares to the Black Jewels... but I would suggest Anne Bishop's other books, which are very good too: The Pillars of The World trilogy (Pillars of the World, House of Gaian, Shadows and Light), the Ephemera Duology (Sebastian, Belladonna).
And of course, there are the sequel novels to the BJ trilogy: Dreams Made Flesh (a collection of novellas and short stories; "The Heart of Kaeleer" is set directly after the trilogy), Tangled Webs, The Shadow Queen. The Invisible Ring is set chronologically centuries before the BJ trilogy.
I absolutely loved Lynn Kurlands The Nine Kingdoms trilogy (Star of the Morning, The Mage's Daughter, Princess of Swords), and Lois Bujolds Chalion novels (The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls).
I can also recommend Holly Lisle's The World Gates trilogy (Memory of Fire, The Wreck of Heaven, Gods Old And Dark) and the Secret Texts trilogy (Diplomacy of Wolves, Vengeance of Dragons, The Courage of Falcons) and anything by Charles de Lint, although his books (Moonheart, Spiritwalk, The Little Country, Greenmantle, Jack of Kinrowan) are sometimes a bit hard to find.
I liked Kristen Britain's books a lot. Read them a few years ago. Green Rider - First Rider's Call - The High King's Tomb. I haven't read the third book yet but the others were great. So I will definitely re-read them before I start Book 3. Maria V. Snyder wrote the Study-Trilogy: Poison Study - Magic Study - Fire Study. I liked the first one best but the others are also really good. Tamora Pierce is - at least for me and my sister - the best author for fantasy books for children. Her books are really exciting and I think her story-telling is really good. If you liked the first HP-books - which were also rather books for children - you may also like Tamora Pierce. The Song of the Lioness is the first quartet.
Have a look at the Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare: 1. City of Bones 2. City of Ashes 3. City of Glass
I also love The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, although they are mor SF than Fantasy: 1. The Hunger Games 2. Catching Fire Don't know the title of book 3 yet, it will be publishes Sept. 2010.
If you like the creation of totally different worlds you really should try out China Mieville! "The Scar" and "Perdido Street Station" are both fantastic fantasy!!
If you like swords and soccery you should of course try Robert E. Howard, and there besides Conan (with those reworked by Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter beeing the best), Bran Mac Morn and Cormac Mac Art. Another Klassik is Karl Edward Wagner's stories about the immortal Kane. This is Heroic fantasy at its best, even so the character is the absolute Antihero. But there is of course one that should never be forgotten: Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné. It is dark, sinister and tragic, a little bit like the hero of the game, The Witcher. If you liked the game, you will love the books. Another series from Moorcock, and my personal favourite is the Runestaf Saga, not as tragic as Elric, but for sure as sinister. The other classics are already mentioned here, like Shanara. In fact I collected fantasy in german and english until the End of the 80's when the genre become stale for my taste as there was nothing real new, all stories starting to simply retell older ones with new names. Or better so i feeled it. Hope you can find some of these.
If you liked Dark Jewels, I guess Carol Berg and Robin Hobb would be good authors to try out. If you're only looking for different worlds, Lois McMaster Bujold's Vor series are good too, although they're SF (or rather space opera) and not fantasy. But I think she's published fantasy too, just look around. Another awesome author is Orson Scott Card, there I'd also recommend starting with the Ender series (which is rather SF), but if you want fantasy only, read the Alvin maker series. And there are always Peter Beagle's books, they tend to read like fairy tales. George R R Martin's Song of ice and fire series is really good, but it's far from finished yet. If you'd like to read quality fantasy which offers more than the bland special-effect relying Eragon and Twilight, try Neil Gaiman's American Gods, John Crowley's Little Big. These books are much more than a time-killing story about glorious-looking elfs and dragons, but some find them too confusing. And there is another good SF series - I know you said fantasy, but most people who like SF like fantasy too and vice versa - is Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. It's more than a novel, it is a thought experiment in psychology and sociology going on for hundreds of pages, and it keeps the reader fascinated until the last period. If you like fantasy parody too, there are some good authors to try out. Terry Pratchett is the best, but Gordon Dickson's dragon series is also very nice, very Shreck-like.
I haven't read Black Jewels, but based on what I read about it, I think you'll like:
The Tears of Artamon trilogy by Sarah Ash. The first book is 'Lord of Snow and Shadows' You can read an excerpt on http://www.sarah-ash.com/extracts/48/lord-of-snow-and-shadows-an-extract/#more-48
The Sword, The Ring and the Chalice trilogy by Deborah Chester, starting with - you guessed it - The Sword :o) You can read an excerpt on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Ring-Chalice-Book/dp/0441007023/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255212544&sr=1-1
One of my friends loves Katharine Kerr's books. The first book in a long series is Daggerspell. I haven't read any of Kerr's book yet, not because I don't want to, but just because I haven't got round to it. They're on my 'to read' list. You can read an excerpt on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Daggerspell-Deverry-Book-Katharine-Kerr/dp/0553565214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255212409&sr=8-1
Because you liked Twilight, I also recommend the Wicca series by Cate Tiernan (in the US the series title is Sweep). The first book is Book of Shadows.
You might also like L.J. Smith's books. The Secret Circle trilogy is my favorite (it's about witches, a bit like the Wicca/Sweep series), but she has also written many books about vampires (The Nightworld series and the Vampire Diaries series), and a few other trilogies, of which the Dark Visions trilogy is another favorite of mine. http://www.ljanesmith.net/booklist.php
You might also like this vampire novel: 'Stone Masters, A Vampire Reckoning' by V.M.K. Fewings (ISBN 978-1897370759) You can read an excerpt on Amazon.com and check out the video trailer on: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=39587921
Finally, another fantasy series I love, is the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. I think this is very different from the Black Jewels trilogy, but you might like it anyway. The first book is called His Majesty's Dragon. It is set in the time of the war between Great Britain and Napoleon's France. These books could be called historical fiction, if it wasn't for the dragons, which form the additional millitary 'air force'. The dragon Temeraire is absolutely adorable outside battle, but fearsome during battles. You can read an excerpt here: http://www.temeraire.org/index.cgi?pagetype=excerpt&book=hismajestysdragon&excerptfile=books/hismajestysdragon/excerpt.txt Or go to www.naominovik.com, click on 'writing' and on 'read an excerpt'
One of the best fantasy series would be "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. I also warmly recommend the Belgariad and the Malloreon by David Eddings. If you liked Harry Potter you will probably love the Fablehaven books by Brandon Mull.
I would also recommend Guy Gavriel Kay - the Fionavar tapestry (3 books) - Lions of Al-Rassan - Tigana and so on. He is absolutely great. You will love him
Seconden on the "Kushiel" series by Jacqueline Carey. I think it`s the only thing out there that also has this very erotic tone underlying everything. Even though I think it`s kind of funny how you can love "Darks Jewels" and mention "Twilight" in the same sentence. I threw twilight across the room after the first 100 pages and never looked back. The difference in the level of quality from world building, to characters to actual plot is as vast as the universe. If you like it dark, also try Janine Cross.
How about some vintage fantasy? I suggest Michael Moorcock's "Elric" books and other epics, such as "The Dancers at the End of Time", "Hawkmoon: The History of the Runestaff" / "The Chronicles of Castle Brass", "The Books of Corum" and the "Erekose" series. Roger Zelazny's classic "Amber" series might also be of interest to you.
What about Stephen Donaldson? The chonicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever are the ones I have always enjoyed reading. On a lighter note Raymond Feist is also to be recommended. Both authors tend to stick to the charcters they create, and that is something I really like.
Not really what I would call fantasy, not a thriller, but a heartwarming story perfect for X-mas time.
Lucky the Fox aka Toby O'Dare is a renowed sniper, working for the socalled Right man. Shortly after his tenth anniversary as assassin he meets his guardian angel who takes him back in time to save the lives of some jews in good old England. The first part of the book is a recollection of Lucky's memories. He's on the way to prepare his next assassination and remembers this and that. Actually interesting to read. As a boy he went to a Jesuit school, became a master of the flute, dreamed of a musical career. However, shortly after his graduation of high school his mother - drunken as always - kills his younger siblings. Toby leaves New Orleans and moves on to New York where he finds shelter with an Italian restaurant owner. One day the russian mafia kills all the other employees and Toby takes revenge thus becoming the future assassin ... The second part of the book is told by the Seraphim, his view of Toby's childhood and development. Afterwards the book goes back to the presence where Toby (or should I say Lucky the Fox) needs to decide what to do with his life. Repent, join the guardian angel?
Well, I do not want to tell too much of the story. It sure is very well told, in particular if you are fond of some heartwarming plot. Loved it, absolutly brilliant! And yeah, there are plenty of guardian angels around ... in particular in the second part. Guardian angel of this person, guardian angel of that person. Fascinating to listen to the story of the Seraphim.
If you are interested in hillarious fantasy books try Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld series'. A little darker but also good is R.A. Salvatore 'The dark elf triology' Since you liked Tolkien have you read Simarillion? The Night watch is good too (by Sergei Lukyanenko). have fun
How about a german writer? Wolfgang Holbein has written tons of good fantasy books and quite a few of them have been translated into english, too. So maybe you should give it a try? I really liked "The Gryphon".
Hi! Do you know Lynn Flewelling and her Nightrunner-Serie? She created a really interesting world and acted with sympathic characters as well as with dark figures. Try out ;-) Bye! Li
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