A forward and a forewarning for future suggestions: I love to read. I can say there have only been two series I absolutely despise, the first being A Song of Ice and Fire, the second being The Sword of Truth (AKA cheap Wheel of Time knockoff). Everything else I have enjoyed, and I'm not too critical of books (unless you blatantly rip off the Wheel of Time).
I've had requests for a blog with book suggestions, and here's one for the Malazan Book of the Fallen. At the moment there are 16 books in the series, as well as two authors, and an assortment of short stories. I'd argue this is the best fantasy I've read, even beating out Jordan and Sanderson (those of you who know my preference for authors should have fainted after reading that sentence).
The main sequence (10 books) is written by Steven Erikson, who is currently writing a prequel series (1 book so far, I think it's going to be a trilogy), and there are "supplements" to the series by Ian C. Esslemont (5 books). Esslemont has one more book coming that I know of, and Erikson is going to write a sequel trilogy after he's done with the current trilogy. The books are based off a D&D campaign they made together some time back. The series is dark with some adult content and some swearing.
The first book is Gardens of the Moon. Imagine being suddenly dropped into the middle of the House of Representatives with no prior knowledge of how the government works and this is going on. This is how it feels picking up GotM for the first time, but with less "moral" selfishness and more reality. Erikson does not coddle you, and you will not have any idea what is going on for some time. This may not be the strongest start for a series suggestion; if you keep with it you will not be disappointed.
The main idea of the series is power attracts power, and when enough powerful beings decide to hang out a convergence happens, and everything could go to hell in an instant, or not. The Gods interact with the mortals, and there are demigods that will deus-ex-machina out of nowhere. It's really cool.
Erikson's characters are human, not the beacons of morality some people expect in fantasy. The books get darker, and just when you think there is no hope the light appears and there is relief. You'll hate and love his characters at the same time. There will be moments when you will be cheering, and many moments when you will feel like crying.
One of the bad things in suggesting a series such as this is I can't go into too much detail, or I'll spoil everything. I'll end with this: If I could go back and read these books for the first time I'd do it in an instant. I envy those of you who will brave the Malazan Book of the Fallen for the first time.
I've had requests for a blog with book suggestions, and here's one for the Malazan Book of the Fallen. At the moment there are 16 books in the series, as well as two authors, and an assortment of short stories. I'd argue this is the best fantasy I've read, even beating out Jordan and Sanderson (those of you who know my preference for authors should have fainted after reading that sentence).
The main sequence (10 books) is written by Steven Erikson, who is currently writing a prequel series (1 book so far, I think it's going to be a trilogy), and there are "supplements" to the series by Ian C. Esslemont (5 books). Esslemont has one more book coming that I know of, and Erikson is going to write a sequel trilogy after he's done with the current trilogy. The books are based off a D&D campaign they made together some time back. The series is dark with some adult content and some swearing.
The first book is Gardens of the Moon. Imagine being suddenly dropped into the middle of the House of Representatives with no prior knowledge of how the government works and this is going on. This is how it feels picking up GotM for the first time, but with less "moral" selfishness and more reality. Erikson does not coddle you, and you will not have any idea what is going on for some time. This may not be the strongest start for a series suggestion; if you keep with it you will not be disappointed.
The main idea of the series is power attracts power, and when enough powerful beings decide to hang out a convergence happens, and everything could go to hell in an instant, or not. The Gods interact with the mortals, and there are demigods that will deus-ex-machina out of nowhere. It's really cool.
Erikson's characters are human, not the beacons of morality some people expect in fantasy. The books get darker, and just when you think there is no hope the light appears and there is relief. You'll hate and love his characters at the same time. There will be moments when you will be cheering, and many moments when you will feel like crying.
One of the bad things in suggesting a series such as this is I can't go into too much detail, or I'll spoil everything. I'll end with this: If I could go back and read these books for the first time I'd do it in an instant. I envy those of you who will brave the Malazan Book of the Fallen for the first time.
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