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I Need some recommendations on good novels or novel series other than gaming related novels (I like those, but I know where to find them).
I like all the old (beloved) cliches: grumpy old dwarves that live in mines, elves that are gaurdians of the forest, wizards, etc. NO firearms - only swords, axes, magic, etc.
I have already read and loved Tolkien and Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar Series and would like more of the same, but can't find it.
Any help would be appreciated.
Glen Cook's Black Company series.
Early Storm Constantine books like Hermatech, Burying the Shadow or the Wraeththu Chronicles (not recomended for homophobes).
Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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I agree with Pygon....Elizabeth Moon's Legend of Paksenarrion series is wonderful.
I really enjoyed Michael Stackpole's DragonCrown War series as well (includes the prequel, The Dark Glory War). It's pretty epic...has a great feel to it like LotR did for me. Dwarves, dragons, evil queen, prophecy, and more.
Here are a few idea.
Tad Williams - Memory Sorrow and Thorne (search for "The dragonbone chair" as this is the first book). Though he is my favourite aurtor this is a long read.
David Gemmell - Legend (and the reat in the Drennai series)
Eragon (I know this is formulaic but you asked for suggestions that play to architypes)
The Belgariad (dont bother with the Malorean, its the same story again)
On a slightly different but related front..
Jim Butcher - The Dresdan files (modern day but about a wizard)
Neil Gaimen - Sandman series of graphic novels.
Hope these help
Elcian
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Add me to the list recommending Moon's "Deed". Excellent book. Even if it does copy the Village of Hommlet in one of the books :)
I'd also suggest Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame series. And Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue books, as well as the Setne Inhetep books available in Paizo's own Planet Stories line. The first of those books, The Anubis Murders, is on sale for $7 right now.
George RR MArtins Song of Ice and FIre....first Book is a Game of Thrones...perhaps the best series of the decade...Perhaps the best written 10 year old bada$$ in the history of literature
Steven Erickssons Malazan Book of the Fallen...first book is Gardens of the Moon... HUGE story...and still going
David Gemmel.... anything he Writes... though Legend is a great place to start.. probably the king of modern pulp fantasy...despite it not being pulp...lol
Robert Adams.... the Horseclans
Glen Cook...The Black Company or the Dread Empire
Andre Norton...Quag Keep and Return to Quag Keep...actually sert in Greyhawk... and basicly came about after she met Gygax.... Naile Fangtooth the Wereboar Warrior is AWESOME
I agree with Pygon....Elizabeth Moon's Legend of Paksenarrion series is wonderful.
I really enjoyed Michael Stackpole's DragonCrown War series as well (includes the prequel, The Dark Glory War). It's pretty epic...has a great feel to it like LotR did for me. Dwarves, dragons, evil queen, prophecy, and more.
I gotta agree that this Stackpole series is excellent... especially the prequel and the first 2 book... Caidyns Crow is a fantastic tragic character
Steven Erickssons Malazan Book of the Fallen...first book is Gardens of the Moon... HUGE story...and still going
I can't say enought about Steven Ericksons Malazan Book of the Fallen. I found the first book a little tought going but once you get into the plot and start understanding it.... wow. Blows everything else out of the water. He has a very unique style that takes a bit of adjustment but the books have been fantastic, exciting, and deep. Great stuff.
Villains by Necessity.
Written by Eve Forward.
If that book was a woman, I'd stalk her.
[EDIT]
I second Elcian regarding the Dragonbone Chair. And everything that David Gemmel has ever written, said, or thought. His books eat unhappiness and poo joy.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Andre Norton...Quag Keep and Return to Quag Keep...actually sert in Greyhawk... and basicly came about after she met Gygax.... Naile Fangtooth the Wereboar Warrior is AWESOME
Ugh. Return to Quag Keep was one of the more disappointing books I've read in the past few years. And I don't think Andre Norton wrote any of it, no matter what the cover credit claimed. Didn't read like Norton, did read like Jean Rabe (the other credited author). I'm a big fan of the original, but the second was everything I dislike in D&D books.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Since Gemmel's coming up, I'll make a pitch for the sipstrassi series. Starts as fantasy, ends as post-apocalyptic. Fun stuff. The first two books are an Arthur rehash (and pretty good), the last three deal with Jon Shannow, one of Gemmel's most memorable characters.
Ghost King
Last Sword of Power
Wolf in Shadow / The Jerusalem Man (title can vary)
The Last Guardian
Bloodstone
His Greek books, Lion of Macedon and Dark Price, also have a loose connection with the Sipstrassi.
I also really enjoyed Morningstar, something of a Robin Hood rehash.
If you're making the transition from gaming fiction, then Raymond E. Feist's Magician is a good start. It was born out of a roleplaying session and has elves and dwarves, but is also fairly original in its story and structure. For one of the traditional epic fantasies, it has surprisingly few of the standard cliches, and the 'bad guys' actually have a thoroughly-explored and decent rationale for what they are trying to do. There's also a further 29 books (!) in the series, although they start going off the boil somewhere in the middle.
Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 1: Gardens of the Moon) series is structurally ingenious and has a lot of interesting ideas. However, it does start collapsing under the weight of its own ideas somewhere around Book 6 or 7 and is now limping towards the finish line with Book 10 (due in about a year's time), although there's already a ton of sequels and prequels lined up. It's an interesting series that tries some new ideas, but overall doesn't quite pull off what it's trying to do. That said, Books 2 and 3 are utterly brilliant. I'm also not sure if Malazan is what you want to be diving into as a relative newcomer to the genre. It works a lot better when you've read a load of other fantasy novels and you can see the new ground that Erikson is trying to cover. No elves or dwarves, but plenty of other, more original and interesting races (the most awesome of whom are the T'lan Imass, a race of warriors who committed suicide to return as undead so they could continue to fight their much longer-lived enemies, the Jaghut, across hundreds of thousands of years).
George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (Book 1: A Game of Thrones) is frequently mentioned as the most significant transformative series within epic fantasy after Tolkien (and arguably Donaldson), and most, if not all, epic fantasies now written are penned in GRRM's shadow. The series is incomplete and there's long waits between volumes (4 out so far, 5 due early next year, two more to come after that), but it is excellent. There are other races (no elves or dwarves though) but they play a minimal role in preceedings. A TV adaption is currently in pre-production at HBO and should air in late 2010 or early 2011.
Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy is in a similar vein to GRRM, although it is a completed series. More down-to-earth and it inverts a lot of traditional fantasy cliches. It's also quite funny and there is a satirical streak running through it about the standard fantasy tropes which can be very clever. There's also another book set in the same world (Best Served Cold) which is even better.
For something a lot more traditional, there's Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn four-book series (Book 1: The Dragonbone Chair). It's very Tolkien-esque and there are nonhuman races (the elves play a major role in events). However, it is very s-l-o-w to the point of being narcolepsy-inducing. You may find yourself skimming, but the story is quite decent. Personally I prefer Williams' Otherland series (Book 1: City of Golden Shadow) which is set in a fantasy world created by a powerful AI network about 50 years in the future which suddenly goes wrong and traps people's minds within it. It's good fun.
Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series (Book 1: The Lies of Locke Lamora) is a strong series of stand-alone novels with continuing characters. It's also dervied from roleplaying and the characters - a gang of rogues and thieves - are a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Lynch has been suffering from illnesses and family issues and Book 3 is now a year overdue, but should be out next year.
It's a contentious series, but Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time sequence (Book 1: The Eye of the World) may be of interest. It's a mix of the traditional epic fantasy tropes and some new (well, new at the time) ideas. Book 1 can be hard to get through, but Books 2-6 (maybe 7 as well) are pretty entertaining. Jordan has some interesting things to say about human nature and the mutability of information, and his world and his magic system have claims on being the best of either ever created for a fantasy series. Unfortunately, his female characters are poor and later books start dragging quite badly. It was planned as a six-book series, but the same story has instead been stretched across 14 (11 out now, the twelfth is due in November). Jordan also passed away a couple of years back, so another writer, Brandon Sanderson, is finishing the series. Fortunately, Sanderson is one of the better fantasy authors to emerge in the last couple of years (his own Mistborn series, starting with The Final Empire, is worth a look) and some cynics have suggested he could finish the series in a much better manner than Jordan could have. In summary, a series that at its best is excellent and at its worst is borderline unreadable. Your mileage may vary.
Others have recommended Terry Pratchett. I recommend Guards! Guards! as the best entry-point to his work. Some of the earlier books aren't that great.
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Contributor
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People have hit all the top recommendations I was going to toss out:
Moon, Deed of Paksenarrion
Butcher, Dresden Files
Martin, Song of Ice and Fire
Feist, Magician
Feist, Lady of the Empire (I think that's the title)
Cook, Black Company
Gemmell
Did I mention Gemmell?
Stackpole
Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamorra RAWKS!
Sanderson's Mistborn is excellent.
Griffith, The Madness of Angels (not Tolkein-ish but its marvelous)
Turtledove, Videssos Cycle
Boyett, Architect of Sleep
Brent Weeks, The Way of Shadows is fun, if not profound.
L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Imager (a new series)
McCaffery, early-ish Dragonrider's of Pern (Dragon Drums, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, the White Dragon)
Novik, Temeraire Series (Napoleonic wars with dragons)
Hobbs, The Farseer Trilogy
Hobbs, Tawny Man
Fergusson, The Mace of Souls
Reaves, Darkworld Detective
McMaster Bujold, Paladin of Souls
McMaster Bujold, Chalion
K E Wagner, Gods in Darkness
West, The Hidden City
Stover, Heroes Die
Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
Nix, Abhorsen Trilogy
Duncan, The Great Game
Duncan, The Seventh Sword Trilogy
Wells, The Fall of Ile-Rien
Michalson, Hecate's Glory
Guy Gavriel Kay, Fionavar Tapestry
Guy Gavriel Kay, did I mention him?
Chester, Ruby Throne Trilogy
Rogers, Zorachus
Morgan, The Steel Remains
Not all of my additions are exactly what you're looking for, but most are. Let us know what you pick up!
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I also strongly recommend Roger Zelazny. Even his worst stuff is pretty darn good. His best known work is the Amber series, which has lots of cool concepts and plane travelling. Lots of his work is science fiction or blurs the line between SF and fantasy, but it's all good.
I second the recommendation for Dave Duncan. Again, everything he's done is a lot of fun. Some of his work is less traditional fantasy, and all of it has something distinctly different from your run of the mill fantasy cliches, if not being completely unique.