Darth Richard II Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 9 minutes ago, Rhom said: I didn't pay attention... was Broken Empire on her "already read" list? If not, I wouldn't touch RQW with a ten foot pole. ...why? 52 minutes ago, SkynJay said: Am I on reddit? Sanderson and Lawrence and Abercrombie OH MY! Jo has some good recs, I think Curse of Chalion and its follow up are two of the best fantasy books I have read. And despite my snark Lawrence is probably a pretty good fit for this request. (semi)Recent books that fit the thread? Uprooted by Naomi Novik, bit of a fairy tale feel to it but magical and medievalish. City of Stairs misses on the Medieval criteria but I am not sure you will find a more beloved series around here (well, outside of the obvious one). Courtney Schafer didn't get a ton of traction everywhere but is very popular around this forum, start with Whitefire Crossing for a story that starts in a city ran with magical anarchy. The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke is heavy on sorcery but light on sword (killer wasps though so not lacking in action). Eh, there's a fair number of people here who thought City of Stairs was shit(I think they're crazy, personally) but it's certainly not beloved round here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 3 minutes ago, Darth Richard II said: ...why? Have you read them? I only ask because I would think it's pretty obvious. RQW may not be a sequel in the mold of picking up after the events of Broken Empire, but I can't imagine reading BE after RQW. For one, the world building is established firmly in BE and then RQW builds off of it. For another, there are definite BE character spoilers in RQW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I have, and I disagree. I don't remember any character spoilers in RQW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 1 hour ago, Darth Richard II said: I have, and I disagree. I don't remember any character spoilers in RQW. I felt Taproot had a pretty big spoiler. I also think the power of the Jorge cameo and the advice he gives Jal in book three would be much less powerful if you didn't know Jorge. Or quite so humorous in the first book. YMMV but I really think the books should be read in publication order. (Plus, Broken Empire is the superior series in my mind.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Well I agree, PUBLICATION ORDER ALWAYS. So um yeah don't listen to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I don't really want to recommend it but Brooks' Shannara series also fits the criteria and while my recollections are dim supposedly the later books are more original than the earlier ones. They should be easily findable because they used to be very popular. Another one I forgot above and only dimly recall is Kurtz' Deryni series (mostly from the 1970s and 80s). I only read a few of them but the world is basically straight middle ages + magic and they are not bad (but it has been more than 20 years and I do not own any of the books so I cannot refresh my memory) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deryni_novels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Winter Rose Posted August 10, 2017 Author Share Posted August 10, 2017 9 hours ago, SkynJay said: (semi)Recent books that fit the thread? Uprooted by Naomi Novik, bit of a fairy tale feel to it but magical and medievalish. Well, I read this quite recently and for some reason I did not list it. I did enjoyed Uprooted. EDIT: I meant Uprooted only. Thank you all for your suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 You should try Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy, which is a reimagining of the Arthurian legends, great narrative and characters, magic is...I'll say ambiguous and really just fabulous books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello World Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 7 hours ago, Rhom said: I felt Taproot had a pretty big spoiler. I also think the power of the Jorge cameo and the advice he gives Jal in book three would be much less powerful if you didn't know Jorge. Or quite so humorous in the first book. YMMV but I really think the books should be read in publication order. (Plus, Broken Empire is the superior series in my mind.) I didn't read Broken Empire. Still, I liked RQW. Eta, but yes reading order is best I guess. I don't think I knew those series were related when I started RQW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 14 hours ago, Lady Winter Rose said: Isn't it funny how only female author suggested is Robin Hobb... Isn't Ursula LeGuin also fantasy writer? If you want female authors, Anne McCaffrey's Chronicles of Pern are one of my favourite series. I didn't suggest it because it's pretty light on magic*. I'd suggest you start with Dragonflight. It's still one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. EDIT: *It has dragons so fantastic elements are definitely there, but there is no magic as such. There's some telekinesis, telepathy and some other stuff I won't mention to avoid spoilers, but no fireballs, raising the dead, summoning monsters/demons/whatever and stuff like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 1 hour ago, HelenaExMachina said: You should try Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy, which is a reimagining of the Arthurian legends, great narrative and characters, magic is...I'll say ambiguous and really just fabulous books. If we include similar re-tellings there is also T.H. White, Zimmer-Bradley, Mary Stewart, all of which are several decades older, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 11 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: Well I agree, PUBLICATION ORDER ALWAYS. So um yeah don't listen to me. 4 hours ago, Hello World said: I didn't read Broken Empire. Still, I liked RQW. Eta, but yes reading order is best I guess. I don't think I knew those series were related when I started RQW. I heartily endorse changing "What order should I read Abercrombie?" into "What order should I read Lawrence?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Naomi Novik's Uprooted is an enchanting novel in a medieval setting with plenty of magic. It won the Nebula Award last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 The OP has me confused.You specifically asked for Sword & Sorcery but people have mostly posted epic fantasy rec's. Lot's of good rec's here - Fantasy series with multiple viewpoints and toned-down magical elements - recommendations ? The above thread meets many of your requirements: Quote extensive character building and world building (preferably a medieval world) - not too dark/gritty - nothing poorly written (english is not my mother tongue so I can't always judge but stuff like Terry Goodkind made me cringe) - little magic or fantasy beings, more political plots and war, evolving rapidly (and I don't mind about romance if it's not too cheesy) - a writer that doesn't hesitate to kill off characters (it's so boring when you know that the main characters will always escape) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Conan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leofric Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 For lighter sword and sorcery books you can try: Lawrence Watt Evans, his Ethshar books are full of magic and he has another series starting with Dragon Weather. Barbara Hambly has the Darwath Trilogy with a few follow up books and also the Sunwolf trilogy that that starts with the Ladies of Mandrigyn. Gordon R. Dickson's The Dragon and the George is one of my favorites. I didn't read all the follow up books, but enjoyed the first couple. David Gemmell is another author you can't go wrong with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAROVORKIN Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 The Riftwar series by Raymond Feist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 19 minutes ago, GAROVORKIN said: The Riftwar series by Raymond Feist Ah, good call. Not a bad Fantasy primer for a neophyte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inkdaub Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Michelle West The Sacred Hunt - 2 books The Sun Sword - 6 books The House War - 6 books, with a seventh on the way There is overlap in the timeline. The first three House War books take place previous to Sun Sword while the remaining books take place after Sun Sword concludes. I recommend publication order anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughn Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 How about the first five books of the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny? Magic, swords, world building (literally), humor and an epic saga of family, mystery, honor and swashbuckling. The second five books have their moments. Added bonus - quickly, tightly plotted books. Nothing against the GRRMs and Neil Stephensons of the world but let's be honest, their works would both be well served by a great editor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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