Science Fiction/Fantasy books

[Phoenix1010]

Just dropped by Barnes and Noble to pick up the new 2p2 book and my highschool friend Nick Mcdonnel's second novel, The Third Brother (plug: buy it, and Twelve).

I almost picked up book 2 of the Wheel of Time but decided against it until I get some feedback. I've read all of the Song of Ice and Fire books because I had heard about them here and I loved them, a lot.

I read the prequel and book 1 of WOT and thought they were pretty darn good, but I've heard the series starts out great and then fizzles in the later entries. I don't know if it's worth it to invest a lot of time into the story if it's just going to end in disappointment down the road.

So, should I give the series a chance and enjoy it until it gets crappy or is that a waste of time? Also, please feel free to recommend any other books in the genre, I've only read the 6 in this post. In particular I've heard Stephen King's Dark Tower series mentioned a lot, should I jump to that next?

[SoCalRugger]

I really like Raymond E. Feist, although I haven't had time to read his most recent stuff. His books take place in Midkemia, which is kind of like Middle Earth with wizards and elves and all that. I'd start out with the Riftwar Series.

[New001]

I'm not a huge fan of science fiction or fantasy, but Frank Herbert's Dune is a classic and one of my all-time favorite books. I haven't read any of the books you mentioned.

[wdcbooks]

I have just read the most recent series by Greg Keyes. I am a super picky reader and detest the majority of fantasy and sci-fi and thought they were comparable in quality to Ice and Fire. Briar King, The Charnel Prince, and Throne of Blood are the three.

[Borodog]

For a fairly decent series of time-wasting page-turners, I'd recommend the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. They're not great literature by any stretch of the imagination, but they are fun pieces of pulp to pass the time with. They center around a professional wizard named Harry Dresden and the supernatural underworld in modern day Chicago.

[Runkmud]

I'm a huge fan of the Martin series. Currently I'm close to finishing Dragon Reborn, the 3rd in the WOT series by Jordan. Jordan just seems to drag, there are moments where I'm hooked, but others where he's just way too descriptive. I've alreedy purchased 4 and 5, so I think I'll try to suffer through 4, but if it doesn't get much better, I'm out.

One of my top 5 favorite books is a book called Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follet. I'm not such a fan of most of Follet's work, but I consider Pillars of the Earth brilliant. I've read it over 4 times, and every time I fall in love with the book all over again, I highly recommend it.

[Fatt Albert]

Regarding The Wheel of Time. I thought that books 1-3 read sort of as one book and had me hooked by the end. Books 4-7 are amazing as well. After that it really fizzles...alot. The two most recent books were horrible. The plot just drags on and on. And yet I know when the next one comes out I will read it anyway. It may still all be worth it if the last book is good enough. Its gonna have to one of the best of all time in order to make up for the last 2 though.

[C-Dog]

I have read all the book in the Wheel of Time series and it does drop off a bit in the late books, but it has began to pick up again in the last 2 books.

The Raymond Feist stuff is good, including his most recent books.

My favorite author is David Eddings. Especially the Elenium/Tamuli trilogies. And the best thing about those is that they are complete, so no waiting.

Additionally I really like the first several books of the Terry Goodkind series "Sword of Truth"

I am currently reading the Martin books, and they are good as well.

C-Dog

[flatline]

[ QUOTE ]

One of my top 5 favorite books is a book called Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follet. I'm not such a fan of most of Follet's work, but I consider Pillars of the Earth brilliant. I've read it over 4 times, and every time I fall in love with the book all over again, I highly recommend it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Completely agree- this is a great book. Its not fantasy- its historical fiction, but it reads a lot like fantasy.

Wheel of Time sucks in my opinion. I got to the middle of book 4, and after the same retarded thing happened for like the 20th time, I asked myself "why the hell am I reading this crap?" and quit.

Song of Ice and Fire is incredible, and I don't see how anything else can top it. I'm currently on my 3rd re-read, and the only other book I've done that with is Ender's Game.

[TruFloridaGator]

Dune, of course.