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
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.