So I grew up very sheltered and isolated from society and as a result missed out on a lot of pop culture and other common things. I love to read, and I really enjoy fantasy and DnD and those types of things and I’m trying to find and catch up on the great fantasy books/series that every fantasy lover/nerd should know. I’m not as interested in sci-fi, but I’m willing to read the “great” ones too. What would you recommend?
Series I’ve read: The Lord of the Rings The Witcher The Dark Tower The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Dungeon Crawler Karl
Update to add also read: Wheel of Time Most of the Stormlight Archive The Hobbit
I’m just starting my first Discworld book.
Edit: Thanks everyone! Keep them coming, I’m going to make a list with all the suggestions and start working through them.
LOTR… Of course, since this is really the start of the genre as it exists today. So when you read it and think that it’s full of tropes… Continue thinking a little bit and realize that LOTR CREATED those tropes.
The Belgariad by David Eddings. I’ll come out and say it, David Eddings was a horrible person, but this series is worth reading. He’s dead now so you won’t be supporting him if you get these books. The followup series “The Mallorean” is not a must read, it’s basically a retread of “The Belgariad”. As are his later series “The Tamuli” etc…
The Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson. A lot of people will recommend Mistborn, or the Stormlight Archive, but both of those series are just parts of a greater arc called “The Cosmere”. I would recommend starting with Elantris or Warbreaker, both of which are standalone books, but are in the Cosmere. Then go to Mistborn series 1, then tackle Stormlight Archive. Be warned, each book in SA is longer than LOTR in its entirety. But it’s well worth the read.
A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay: One of my wife’s favorite books. Not a series, but worth the read.
Memory, Sorry and Thorn by Tad Williams: Excellent series that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
Destiny’s Crucible by Olan Thorensen: I liked this one a lot and continue to follow it, although it’s starting to get a little long.
The Riyria Revelations and Chronicles by Michael J Sullivan: Both of these series are great and worth the read.
I loved Belgariad/Mallorean as a late teen. I’ve recommended it and included it in my top five for decades.
I tried reading them again a few months ago and man, I just couldn’t.
Everyone craps on Garion constantly for what amounts to just being a young kid who has lived a sheltered life and not yet had many experiences (especially Pol). I feel like the poor kid is legitimately emotionally abused and manipulated by those supposed to be caring for him, and the writing is trying to make you agree that this foolish child deserves the constant harsh criticism and punishment his supposed caretakers heap on him.
Much of the main cast are constantly talking about how idiotic everyone else in the world is. I enjoy some good snark but there’s only so much smug and superior condescension I can take. It doesn’t matter if it’s an enemy or an ally: they’re not part of the main cast? 90% chance someone in the main cast points out that they’re a completely idiotic or naive moron and their cultural ways are totally backwards.
Everyone fawns over Pol despite her being constantly smug and arrogant and superior, and the writing is constantly going out of its way to show you how right Polgara is and how stupid everyone was that ever disagreed with her about anything.
Ehem. Sorry about that. Feels nice to get it out of my system though. I do still like some things about it. Many of the main cast are a lot of fun when they’re not in “wow we’re surrounded by ignorant idiots” or “Pol is the avatar of perfection and no one should ever disagree with her even when she’s wrong” mode. I couldn’t make it past meeting up with Ce’nedra though on my recent attempt to re-read. I couldn’t stand her even on my first read when I was otherwise madly in love with the books.
P.S. The constant casual (often gleeful) murder and genocidal remarks by the protagonists were pretty off-putting too
Polgara and Belgarath are both several thousands of years old, so I really didn’t read them as smug or arrogant, rather jaded and cynical. Beldin was jaded and cynical personified.
I’m in my mid-50’s and honestly can identify with them at times, although I do my best not to act it.
Garion’s treatment is probably evidence of the Eddings’ proclivities toward children. They were both convicted of child abuse and spent time in prison for it about 10 years before “The Belgariad” was written. Their adopted children were also permanently taken away. Like many others I had no idea of that until after David’s death in 2009.
I reread it about 8 years ago and I’ve had both my boys read it as well. It certainly did hit a lot differently. For one, if I was Garion I would have sent Ce’Nedra permanently packing in short order destiny be damned. I still loved Prince Kheldar (Silk) though.
There have been so many authors and celebrities whose work I have enjoyed over the years just to come out and be scummy trash that I’m at the point I just want to enjoy the art and not know who is behind it. That feels a lot like being a ostrich with its head buried in the sand, but I’m not really sure what the alternative really is.
I get you pard, there are some creative works that I still hold on to as well despite learning disappointing things about their creators. Others I’ve let go.
I love Silk as well, he’s such a fun character. Belgarath I generally like except when he goes all in on mocking the stupidity of everyone around him, and when he starts dumping on Garion. The latter feels like a betrayal because otherwise he’s very supportive of the kid. Being a kindly grandfather-figure to Garion is a big part of his role in the story so it’s difficult when he acts otherwise. Durnik was always my favorite because I have a soft spot for the solid, practical, dependable types, likely based on my great relationship with my grandpa when I was young.
You have a point with the ancient characters being tired and jaded by all this, since they’ve been through all this type of stuff before many times, and having been around so long they do have an exceptional accumulation of experience and wisdom and knowledge, so I can see them getting frustrated more often with having to deal with their lessers. Still though: We see Belgarath fail. We see him be unsure of himself sometimes, we see him fall on his face, and even if begrudgingly, we see him own it. Same with Silk - he’s recruited largely because he’s the clever and witty one, but on more than one occasion we see him get bested and importantly (to me at least), he also owns it. Even Mandorallen, the guy whose whole shtick is being absurdly self-confident and self-assured, has his moments where he falters and struggles, and he owns it.
Polgara, though? Oh, no. Polgara is never wrong. If you ever question her, you had better be prepared for some mockery and intense cold shoulder and judgment by everyone else for even thinking of doubting her. And this will only end when you finally “realize” that you were wrong and apologize to her, at which point she oh-so-benevolently welcomes you back in now that you’ve admitted to her that you were wrong and sorry for ever thinking she was anything less than perfect. She feels like the type of character a narcissist would write as their self-insert.
Upon thinking about all this, I do also wonder about the fact that the humblest of the main characters end up getting together with the two most spoiled and self-satisfied ones. Given how I feel about Polgara, I was pretty bummed out when my guy Durnik never got over being smitten with her and they ended up together. But hey, there might be some evidence there that maybe he’ll be good for her, at least.
Oh, and on the note of Durnik and Polgara getting together … the one time she might have actually had to lose something, to really sacrifice something … nope! Just kidding, what a twist! She actually has to give up nothing, and instead Durnik is elevated to sorcererhood solely to give her the loophole she needs to continue on being just perfectly amazing in every way and capability! Even the friggin rules of the cosmos bend to accommodate her!
Yeah yeah, I’m ranting. But people typically rant about things they care about. I loved these books, and I’m not just ranting out of grumpiness but out of being bummed out that I can’t manage to love them anymore. Because I still want to. In any case, not trying to convince you to stop liking them, just venting and wanting these thoughts to be heard by someone. Thanks for the opportunity and take it easy out there.
Came here to recommend these. I never see anyone talking about them. When I was like 12 some random dude at the bookstore recommended them to me when he saw me looking at the dragonlance section. They’re really good.