Fantasy has always intrigued me since I read The Once and Future King in grade school. The number of fantasy books I’ve read number in the hundreds if not topping a thousand. In my twenties, you never saw me without a book in my hand, my nose pressed into the pages. If I wasn’t reading, I was dreaming up fantasy stories in my head, and this was long before I ever thought of writing my first book. I was a dreamer from birth and will die as one if I live to be 100 like my granny.
An epic fantasy adventure of loss, vengeance, survival, and a boy’s acquisition of power capable of altering not just his own destiny but that of an entire world. Taking everything from a young boy, including his parents, was just another small part of a grand scheme for a lord bent on stealing the throne. No one expected the boy to even survive the dangerous and often deadly streets of Southport. Not only does Azerick survive, his unrelenting pursuit of justice will reshape an entire kingdom and the gods themselves on his long and harrowing path of vengeance.
The Dragonlance Chronicles, while not the first fantasy novel I read, is the one that put me onto my love of, and even addiction to, fantasy adventure. There are several characters, each with their own distinct and compelling stories and personalities. The story itself is just amazing and had me devouring every book in this expansive series as quickly as I could. Twice! The mixing of not just heroics and good intentions but the darker and even self-serving side of people and seeing how their experiences shaped them to be the way they are. Even in their darkest times, you can understand, if not relate to them, and still see them with compassion.
More than three million readers have witnessed the return of the dragons... And now the books that began the best-selling "dragonlance" saga are collected in their entirety in this special edition, along with all of the artwork from the trilogy. This splendid collector's edition is a must for the millions of readers who fell in love with the fantasy world of Krynn.
When Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman wrote the Dragonlance Chronicles, you couldn’t play an online fantasy game or go into fantasy chatrooms and forums without running into a couple of dozen Raistlins (the dark yet beloved wizard of extraordinary power and intellect). The same is true of R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt, the Drow that had a heart. That’s when you know you created something special. It spoke to people like me who suffered through their childhood and never felt truly accepted no matter how hard you tried. Despite seemingly facing an unending stream of conflict, he pushes on, refusing to let others or even the nature of his birth define him. Because of this, he was able to create unbreakable friendships with those who saw him for who he really was. It was another series I’ve read several times.
This three-book set is perfect for collectors and an ideal gift for readers unfamiliar with the Forgotten Realms setting. The Dark Elf Trilogy--Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn--are enclosed in a hard-sided slipcover case featuring the cover art from the series.
The Dresden Files is an Urban Fantasy series and one of the first of this genre I read, or at least the beast I can recall. I recently listened to the entire series on audio as well. Harry Dresden speaks to me as something of a loner and yet enjoys helping people and righting wrongs. He has maybe a bit of a hero complex even if he doesn’t realize it. The characters and world Jim Butcher created feel real and relative. Harry Dresden is, on the surface, a simple man with simple goals and desires, and yet he has a much deeper side to him that he doesn’t let many people see and so they often misunderstand him. His slow rise to considerable power and constant struggles with mundane life as well as the wizarding powers that be can speak to a lot of people who feel like their lives are one of trying to swim against a current yet refuse to yield to it.
In the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden’s investigation of a grisly double murder pulls him into the darkest depths of magical Chicago…
As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put…
I guess I really like a less than perfect or good protagonist and an antagonist to which you can occasionally relate or at least understand their motivations. The Lightbringer series is so enjoyable to me for this reason, as well as a somewhat unique magical system. Lightning bolts and fireball-flinging wizards have been done to death (including by yours truly,) so when a book comes along that breaks from that well-used mold, I often really enjoy it. Couple that with a remarkable hero and villain, and you have a great story. While I was enamored with the amazing world and characters George Martin created with The Game of Thrones, by the 4th book it had lost a bit of its allure. Not so with Stormlight. I could not get to the next book fast enough and lamented when it came to an end.
In a world where magic is tightly controlled, the most powerful man in history must choose between his kingdom and his son - in the first book of the New York Times bestselling Lightbringer series, one of the most popular fantasy epics of the decade.
EVERY LIGHT CASTS A SHADOW.
Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live.
Stepping out of the theme of fantasy, I have to say I am a huge fan of science fiction, nearly as much as fantasy. One of the first books/series that springs to mind when speaking of this genre is the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois Mcmaster Bujold. I’d read a lot of Sci-Fi prior to this series, but mostly the Battletech books. If Battletech was my favorite fast-food books, then The Vorkosigan Saga was an 8-course meal at a 5-star restaurant. While it did not delve into the intricacies of space travel and technology to the point I felt like I was taking an advanced college course, she does create a living galaxy and intricate characters you can’t help but chase after like a starstruck fan seeing Mark Hamill at a Star Wars convention. While there is an overall theme to the large series, each book is unique to itself, so you never feel like you’re getting bogged down in redundancy.
Cordelia Naismith is enjoying a baptism of fire. Her first mission is to captain a throwaway warship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an entire enemy armada. Discovering deception within deception, treachery within treachery, she is forced into an uneasy peace with her nemesis: Lord Aral Vorkosigan. Discovering that astrocartography is not the soundest training for a military leader, Cordelia rapidly finds herself the prisoner of the Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan, also known as 'The Butcher of Komarr'. But the notorious captain is not quite the beast Cordelia was expecting and a grudging respect develops between…
When I joined the Peace Corps in the early nineties, I wasn’t allowed to take much luggage. I decided to bring a Tarot deck, figuring I’d finally have time to learn it while parked in an Estonian forest. That Tarot deck opened up a world of Renaissance mysticism and magic, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Tarot cards and readings feature prominently in many of my cozy mystery novels, not the least of which are the Tea and Tarot mysteries. Now my imaginary Tarot reader from that series, Hyperion Night, has recently written his own Tarot guidebook,The Mysteries of Tarot.
Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, division, and despair are on the rise. But there is another way—a way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths...
Legacy of the Witch is a spellbinding, interactive tale of a woman’s midlife quest to understand the complexities of her own heart. A paranormal women’s fiction murder mystery for anyone who’s wondered if there might be more to their own life than meets the eye…
Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, division and despair are on the rise. But there is another way—a way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths.
All April wants is to start over after her husband’s sudden death. She’s conjuring a new path—finally getting her degree and planning her new business in bucolic Pennsylvania Dutch country. Joining an online mystery school seems like harmless fun.
But when a murdered man leaves her a cryptic message, she catches…
