re: Book Board: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Adventure series recommendations and progress.

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I guess good to know about Sword of Truth. It seems like fantasy circles don't really hold it in high regard like Malazan or Wheel of Time. The reason I asked about it with Wheel was because of Goodreads the first book had a 4.11 out of 5 and Wheel was at 4.15.

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The first one or two of sword of truth aren't horrible, they are just pretty derivative of better fantasy works and contain nothing original. But after that the story devolves into a mixture of Objectivist philosophy and ridiculous storylines. I only read the first 5, but I hear they got way worse past that.

If you liked Gardens of the Moon you should really enjoy the next few and the malazan series in general. Things become a bit more clear the farther in you go. If you are looking for better stuff than Wheel of Time I'd go with a few of these:

Joe Abercrombie's first law series and other books in the same world as Carson mentioned are great.

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is fantastic (gentleman bastard series)

Brent Weeks Night Angel trilogy

Pat Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle books

All of the above would mix pretty well in between Malazan books as well I think, as they are quicker reads with a smaller cast of characters.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files would be another great series to mix in as faster reads as well.

But if you are looking for something similar in style to Malazan Wheel of Time works, as it has a similar high magic world with a large cast of characters, though it way more traditional fantasy and less gritty than Malazan, and of course as mentions hits a big lull during the middle. I will say if you have issues with small details like grunting in Malazan you are going to really hate Jordan's writing quirks when writing females.

We read the same books lol.

I'm starting lestat today. (The one released last month)

What did you think?

I read the wolf books her son wrote and didn't find them too exciting.

How about the outlander books? They are kind of girly but after I finished the song series they were a great read...lots of battle and war to go with the girl stuff. I read all 7 and LOVED them.

Not the traditional outlander...the ones written by Diana g.

I like them more than song. They are my favorite series so far.

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Which of these three series would be most rewarding to get into?

The Wheel of Time series
The Dark Tower series
The Vampire Chronicles

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Assuming by The Vampire Chronicles you mean the Anne Rice Books, I'd recommend these - at least the first several books.

At her best in this series, in particular in the first couple of books, the writing transcends fantasy and can stand up with any literature. The parts dealing with Louis' and Lestat's lives before they became vampires are especially well done. Same with Armand and some of the other characters.

Even when the series doesn't reach these lofty heights, it is still good fantasy reading.

That's my view on the books anyway.

The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes.

First book: The Briar King

Have you read the Dune series? I don't mean to restart the whole sci-fi vs. fantasy argument but Herbert touches all of fantasy's thematic mainstays. And does it very, very well .

roma or empire by steven saylor

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i heard the acts of Cain was good
or the Black company

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The Caine books by Stover are superb, can be difficult to find the second book though. Cook's Black Company series is very good as well.

The Dune series in my opinion is the GOAT...you need to read it all the way through. Song of Fire and Ice is my #2...although he needs to f-ing finish
I prefer the Sword of truth over wheel of time. I was reading WOT while it was being written and the gaps were a pain in the arse.

I read the sword of truth series. It was a fun read. Reads easy with some great detail. Very easy to imagine the settings and characters.