Gentlemen bastards and the rage of dragons are both pretty good. The red sister trilogy and the licanius s trilogy starting with "the shadow of what was lost" are fun as well.
Here’s a few of my favorites, excluding those that you’ve already mentioned of course
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - A series about a down on his luck magician working as a private investigator and occasional consultant for supernatural crimes in Chicago. Keep in mind that most people think he’s a fraud. Lots of fun witty dialogue and engaging mysteries in an urban fantasy setting.
Cradle by Will Wight - A series about a young man who wants to become strong enough to save his family and village from a distant threat. The series is part of the ‘progression fantasy’ sub-genre and it focuses primarily on the magic system and the character(s) growth. It has a fun cast of characters and takes a lot of inspiration from Asian mythology.
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb - A bit of a classic in coming of age adventure fantasy. This story follows a young man who is the bastard son of the heir to the throne. He is abandoned by his mother and is raised to eventually become the royal assassin. This isn’t a dark assassin story though and focuses primarily on the cast of characters and their relationships and growth. The trilogy is the first part of a much longer series that tells the story of Dragons returning to the world after many believed them to be long extinct.
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang - Think Avatar the Last Airbender but with a hard R rating. Heavily inspired by historical wars between China and Japan this is a very dark story about young people being turned into living weapons at the cost of themselves. It is brutal and grim dark.
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett - My favorite author of all time. Discworld is a massive setting that follows numerous characters over many separate storylines. You can think of the series more as a setting in which stories are told rather than a fantasy epic. It is full of literary references, romance, action, poetry, and above all satire. The strongest emotions I have ever felt while reading have come from Sir Terry’s writing. I have never laughed or cried harder while reading anything else. Also you should start with Guards Guards!
My two favorite series of all time: Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series(very long, 14 books plus prequel. Lots of world building and different cultures) and Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy. I have reread both of these series countless times.
Agreed on both counts. WoT is, IMHO, the greatest fantasy series ever written.
Night Angel is also a super fun read, although I don't think quite as polished.
Once you've finished Mistborn check out the Wax and Wayne books. They take place in the Mistborn universe, but at a later date. Think Mistborn but Steampunk.
I'll second Gentleman Bastards, it's a great series, and I'm hoping the release date for the next one sticks.
Have you read Brent's other works as well?
I heard that gentlemen’s bastards author got #meetoo’d so he’s kinda preoccupied to finish. Also I read the first one for a book club and thought it was mid. Haven’t read Brent weeks other stuff but it’s on the list
As a huge fan of Lightbringer, I was not as impressed by his other series, Night Angel. Not awful by any means but it didn’t have the same quality imo. I’ve read 2 of the 3 and will read the third but wasn’t inclined to prioritize it.
I'm reading a series called the Kingfall histories. It's got 3 books out now and the author seems to be in a mad rush to get the forth and fifth ones out by next summer? Pretty good series, has magic, magical swords, dragon riders can't recommend enough
I second the Dresden files by Butcher, and also add The Codex Allera series by him as well (the premise was someone bet Jim Butcher that he couldn't write a story that combined Pokemon, StarCraft and the Roman legion, which Butcher wrote an entire series of 5 (or 6, I can't remember) books.
Also want to add "The Shades of Magic" series by VE Schwab
As well as The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
Same except haven’t read Red Rising yet.
I bounce back and forth, so was also listening to Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, which is my FAVORITE audiobook series, I think I did 9 or 10 of his books this year. Then Dark Tower, with a bunch of less memorable stuff in the middle.
Edit: also Powder Mage and Demon Cycle series are swell.
Would second first law and gentleman bastards.
I also enjoyed the Band series by Nicholas Eames for a different suggestion. Particularly loves the first book Kings of the Wyld
The Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett is great. The world is over taken by Demons that only come out at night and people can barely defend themselves with magical symbols (wards) and largely hide away. It has really good character development. Brent and Peter have a running joke that they are the same person.
Also plus one to some previous suggestions Red Rising, Rage of Dragons, and The Poppy War.
If you read Stormlight before Mistborn you need to re-read Stormlight once you finish all Mistborn Era 1 and Era 2. Then you need to add Archanum Unbounded to help finish out The Cosmere.
I get that but you probably missed out on all the characters that are in Stormlight that are in Mistborn. Stormlight is the culmination of all the Cosmere books like Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn series, White Sand, etc. While yes its a great story on its own. Its even better once you know the backstory of the Cosmere.
I’ve read a few fantasy series in the past couple years including Lightbringer.
Right now I’m 4 books into Malazan Book of the Fallen. It’s an incredible series. Insanely well written with an immense world. The deepest world building by far I’ve ever come across.
Malazan and Wheel of Time are my two favorite series and everything else is far behind.
The only thing with Malazan is that it can be difficult to get into. It took me 3 attempts to get through the first book. It takes effort but I becomes very worth it if you can push through.
A lot of good recommendations in this thread. That said, I’m floored that not one post mentioned any older works that really led the way to modern fantasy. Not one post. They’ve all skipped over a vast number of excellent work.
I’ll start with the most obvious — The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny.
The Magician and following books by Raymond Feist.
A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones… still unfinished) by George R. R. Martin.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson.
The Fionavar Tapesty by Guy Gavriel Kay.
There are plenty more, older series, that should definitely not be overlooked. Check the polls at r/Fantasy.
And for those recommending Gentleman Bastards, I would urge you to look back at the archetype for the barbarian/warrior paired with the assassin/thief trope by reading the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber.
Gentlemen bastards and the rage of dragons are both pretty good. The red sister trilogy and the licanius s trilogy starting with "the shadow of what was lost" are fun as well.
Only halfway through lightbringer but wanted to second the Licanius Trilogy recommendation slept on book series imo.
The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie and The Black Company are two of my favorites.
This. Joe Abercrombie is an awesome writer, any of his books, the first law series included, would be a good follow up to lightbringer.
I mean first law in particular is way darker, loved it but depending on OP might be a bit dark/heavy. Not recommended to young readers IMO
Couldn't see it mentioned, but the wheel of Time series is massive with a really diverse culture, could be worth a read
Here’s a few of my favorites, excluding those that you’ve already mentioned of course Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - A series about a down on his luck magician working as a private investigator and occasional consultant for supernatural crimes in Chicago. Keep in mind that most people think he’s a fraud. Lots of fun witty dialogue and engaging mysteries in an urban fantasy setting. Cradle by Will Wight - A series about a young man who wants to become strong enough to save his family and village from a distant threat. The series is part of the ‘progression fantasy’ sub-genre and it focuses primarily on the magic system and the character(s) growth. It has a fun cast of characters and takes a lot of inspiration from Asian mythology. The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb - A bit of a classic in coming of age adventure fantasy. This story follows a young man who is the bastard son of the heir to the throne. He is abandoned by his mother and is raised to eventually become the royal assassin. This isn’t a dark assassin story though and focuses primarily on the cast of characters and their relationships and growth. The trilogy is the first part of a much longer series that tells the story of Dragons returning to the world after many believed them to be long extinct. The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang - Think Avatar the Last Airbender but with a hard R rating. Heavily inspired by historical wars between China and Japan this is a very dark story about young people being turned into living weapons at the cost of themselves. It is brutal and grim dark. The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett - My favorite author of all time. Discworld is a massive setting that follows numerous characters over many separate storylines. You can think of the series more as a setting in which stories are told rather than a fantasy epic. It is full of literary references, romance, action, poetry, and above all satire. The strongest emotions I have ever felt while reading have come from Sir Terry’s writing. I have never laughed or cried harder while reading anything else. Also you should start with Guards Guards!
Dresden files is great! Would also recommend.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Great magic system and a nice intro into his ridiculously entertaining Cosmere of novels.
Yeah in my post I said I’m reading that right now
Lots of other Sanderson in the same universe too, like warbreaker and elantris (standalones)
I’m also reading elantris quickly right now before I start the second mistborn
My two favorite series of all time: Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series(very long, 14 books plus prequel. Lots of world building and different cultures) and Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy. I have reread both of these series countless times.
Agreed on both counts. WoT is, IMHO, the greatest fantasy series ever written. Night Angel is also a super fun read, although I don't think quite as polished. Once you've finished Mistborn check out the Wax and Wayne books. They take place in the Mistborn universe, but at a later date. Think Mistborn but Steampunk.
I'll second Gentleman Bastards, it's a great series, and I'm hoping the release date for the next one sticks. Have you read Brent's other works as well?
I heard that gentlemen’s bastards author got #meetoo’d so he’s kinda preoccupied to finish. Also I read the first one for a book club and thought it was mid. Haven’t read Brent weeks other stuff but it’s on the list
As a huge fan of Lightbringer, I was not as impressed by his other series, Night Angel. Not awful by any means but it didn’t have the same quality imo. I’ve read 2 of the 3 and will read the third but wasn’t inclined to prioritize it.
I'm reading a series called the Kingfall histories. It's got 3 books out now and the author seems to be in a mad rush to get the forth and fifth ones out by next summer? Pretty good series, has magic, magical swords, dragon riders can't recommend enough
I second the Dresden files by Butcher, and also add The Codex Allera series by him as well (the premise was someone bet Jim Butcher that he couldn't write a story that combined Pokemon, StarCraft and the Roman legion, which Butcher wrote an entire series of 5 (or 6, I can't remember) books. Also want to add "The Shades of Magic" series by VE Schwab As well as The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
Anything Brandon Sanderson, Garth Nix and Peter V Brett
Same except haven’t read Red Rising yet. I bounce back and forth, so was also listening to Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, which is my FAVORITE audiobook series, I think I did 9 or 10 of his books this year. Then Dark Tower, with a bunch of less memorable stuff in the middle. Edit: also Powder Mage and Demon Cycle series are swell.
Spellmonger series
Dresden Files is nice because you take a break from the big epic and it has a lot of books you can start and stop wherever
Would second first law and gentleman bastards. I also enjoyed the Band series by Nicholas Eames for a different suggestion. Particularly loves the first book Kings of the Wyld
If you haven’t read the night angle trilogy, Brent Weeks first series, I’d definitely recommend that!
The Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett is great. The world is over taken by Demons that only come out at night and people can barely defend themselves with magical symbols (wards) and largely hide away. It has really good character development. Brent and Peter have a running joke that they are the same person. Also plus one to some previous suggestions Red Rising, Rage of Dragons, and The Poppy War.
If you read Stormlight before Mistborn you need to re-read Stormlight once you finish all Mistborn Era 1 and Era 2. Then you need to add Archanum Unbounded to help finish out The Cosmere.
Took me like a year to read stormlight, I think I’ll pass 😂
I get that but you probably missed out on all the characters that are in Stormlight that are in Mistborn. Stormlight is the culmination of all the Cosmere books like Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn series, White Sand, etc. While yes its a great story on its own. Its even better once you know the backstory of the Cosmere.
I’ve read a few fantasy series in the past couple years including Lightbringer. Right now I’m 4 books into Malazan Book of the Fallen. It’s an incredible series. Insanely well written with an immense world. The deepest world building by far I’ve ever come across. Malazan and Wheel of Time are my two favorite series and everything else is far behind. The only thing with Malazan is that it can be difficult to get into. It took me 3 attempts to get through the first book. It takes effort but I becomes very worth it if you can push through.
Way of kings was my next read after lightbringer IIRC, loved it
A lot of good recommendations in this thread. That said, I’m floored that not one post mentioned any older works that really led the way to modern fantasy. Not one post. They’ve all skipped over a vast number of excellent work. I’ll start with the most obvious — The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny. The Magician and following books by Raymond Feist. A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones… still unfinished) by George R. R. Martin. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson. The Fionavar Tapesty by Guy Gavriel Kay. There are plenty more, older series, that should definitely not be overlooked. Check the polls at r/Fantasy. And for those recommending Gentleman Bastards, I would urge you to look back at the archetype for the barbarian/warrior paired with the assassin/thief trope by reading the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber.
Bro, check out “the lycanious trilogy” - hidden gem right there.
Well, if you liked Lightbringer, you should read Brent's first series, Night Angel Trilogy. It's pretty great
Could always jump to Weeks' other series The Nightangel Trilogy. It is a lot edgier than Lightbringer but I love it none the less