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.

  • whelk@retrolemmy.com
    2·
    9 hours ago

    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