The Glade 4.0

Hi guys.

1) Can I get some recommendation for good fantasy series (and preferably the first book in said series)?
2) If you read books on Android, what reader app do you use?

I'm caught up on ASOIAF and Kingkiller Chronicles. Thought I've heard people mention Sanderson's stuff (I liked his contributions to Wheel of Time) but can't remember if people were saying his own works were good or not.

Thanks!

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The Dude abides.

The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn) by Tad Williams
(Or anything by Tad Williams)

Sanderson's own works are good. My favorite set (though they're all technically interconnected, but we're talking sharing a creation story that doesn't always get talked about and one minor character who hops around between them) is The Stormlight Archives, which starts with The Way of Kings. The Stormlight Archives stands out in my mind as the series that puts the "fantastic" back into epic fantasy. So much of its peers are well-trod reskins of medieval Europe with some magic sprinkled over top. The world of the Stormlight Archives is one in which (magically) violent storms proceed across the continent with regularity, and it shows in every aspect of the world. Plants have evolved to essentially withdraw into hard shells during storms, most animals have hard carapaces, societies are built around weathering these storms, and so on. So even the flora and fauna are weird and alien to the reader, in a manner you see more often in science fiction than fantasy.

I read my ebooks on Nook. I like supporting B&N as competition for Amazon and sometimes it's nice to have a brick and mortar to browse, so I consider it doing my part to keep them afloat. Their portability policies are nice (they support lending ebooks to others in some limited fashion, and were the first major player to do so), and the app itself (and their hardware, if you're into that) is pretty good in its own right. I've got an old e-ink Nook Touch that I still haul around when I go on vacation, but most of my "I'll work on a few pages here and there "reading these days is on my Nexus 7 with the app.

As for other fantasy series -- if it doesn't have to be epic fantasy, my favorite is Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, which starts off with Storm Front. It's modern urban fantasy, where wizards and monsters live among us. Harry Dresden is an oddity even among wizards, in that he practices in the open -- he's in the Chicago telephone book under "Wizard" and combines his arcane practice with a PI license. He consults with the cops sometimes on "the weird stuff", where most of the folks roll their eyes and think he's probably a kook. The series is great -- they read quickly, have a good sense of humor, and detail a rich world with a very grounded and consistent magical system. There's political intrigue between various factions in the magical world, and it's a long-running series (currently on book... 16?) that packs in a lot of details and connections that reward close reads and offer fertile ground for speculation and theorizing. Butcher is prolific -- until recently he was publishing a book every year to year-and-a-half. So while his publisher has encouraged him to take a brief break and not burn out, I actually anticipate him completing his planned ~22 books before, say, Game of Thrones finishes up in print.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I like these

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_P.I.

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In time, this too shall pass.

Jim Butcher - Codex Alera - Furies of Calderon
Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Legacy - Kushiel's Dart
Glen Cook - Chronicles of the Black Company - The Black Company
Sara Douglass - The Wayfarer Redemption - The Wayfarer Redemption
Dave Duncan - Tale of the King's Blades - The Gilded Chain
David Eddings - The Belgariad - Pawn of Prophecy
Kate Elliott - Crown of Stars - King's Dragon
Steven Erikson - The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Gardens of the Moon
Raymond Feist - The Riftwar Saga - Magician: Apprentice
C. S. Friedman - The Coldfire Trilogy - Black Sun Rising
Ursula K. Le Guin - The Earthsea Cycle - A Wizard of Earthsea
Robin Hobb - The Farseer Trilogy - Assassin's Apprentice
Katharine Kerr - The Deverry Series - Daggerspell
Stephen R. Lawhead - Pendragon Cycle - Taliesin
Fritz Leiber - Lankhmar - Ill Met in Lankhmar
Scott Lynch - The Gentleman Bastard Sequence - The Lies of Locke Lamora
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonriders of Pern - Dragonflight
Karen Miller - Kingmaker, Kingbreaker - The Innocent Mage
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. - Saga of Recluce - The Magic of Recluce
Jonathan Moeller - Frostborn - The Gray Knight
Elizabeth Moon - The Deed of Paksenarrion - Sheepfarmer's Daughter
Larry Niven - The Magic Goes Away - The Magic Goes Away
Terry Pratchett - Discworld - The Color of Magic
Melanie Rawn - Dragon Prince Trilogy - Dragon Prince
Jennifer Roberson - Chronicles of the Cheysuli - Shapechangers
Fred Saberhagen - Book of Swords - The First Book of Swords
J. R. R. Tolkien - History of Middle-Earth - The Silmarillion
Brent Weeks - The Night Angel Trilogy - The Way of Shadows
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman - The Death Gate Cycle - Dragon Wing
Angus Wells - The Godwars - Forbidden Magic
David A. Wells - Sovereign of the Seven Isles - Thinblade
Roger Zelazny - A Night in the Lonesome October

I have skipped a few things. There is also at least one joke in the list. You will probably figure out one really quickly. Don't yack at me about it.

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That's a good list, from the third or so that I've read/started. Reminds me I need to go back to a couple of those, like Lawhead, that I got distracted by something shiny and never returned to.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Another vote for Sanderson.

Some of the best (if not THE best) world building and characters I've read in fantasy. His magic systems alone are incredible.

Mistborn 1 was a hoot, 2 and 3 got epic. 4-6 were just super good fun.
Elantris was incredible just like Warbreaker was fantastic.
Stormlight is EPIC fantasy and #3 needs to be in my belly right now. (November though. )

Oh, and I read everything on Kindle. I used to use my tablet, but I bought a kindle paperwhite, and never looked back. Probably one of the single best purchases I have ever made. Light, easy to read, and the battery lasts close to forever (I charge it once a month, maybe once every three weeks or so.) I generally read a couple of hours a night for the most part. (Working on my 4th readthrough of the Honor Harrington series).

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Holy shitsnacks!

Cool - I think I'll hit up the Sanderson stuff first. Thanks y'all.

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The Dude abides.

I second the Glen Cook recommendation. Both his Garrett, PI and Black Company books were quite enjoyable.

As mentioned, not sure if you're looking more for high fantasy or urban- I mostly read the latter.

That said, I've really been enjoying Lisa Shearin (relatively new author). Particularly her SPI files books, which is about a Dragon-run business keeping people from learning about the supernatural entities they share the world with. Grendel Affair is the first book.

I also really like Patrick Weeke's "Rogues of the Republic" series- it's heist/capers set in a high fantasy universe. The first one would be "The Palace Job".

On the more urban side, Richard Kadrey's "Sandman Slim" series is a great anti-hero. First book is Sandman Slim.

Steven Hughe's Hellequin Chronicles is another good series- self published via Kindle, and well written/good world building. Mix of urban and high fantasy (spans across ages). Crimes Against Magic is the first book.

Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus is another good series in a similar vein. The first book is Fated.

On more well known authors, I love anything by Simon Green, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, (Most of) Devon Monk's books, Seannen McGuire and the aforementioned Jim Butcher. Most are urban fantasy, however.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

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