Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

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Hoid
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Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Hoid »

I’ve been reading the 2nd Edition of ‘The Stone Dance of the Chameleon’ by Ricardo Pinto, and it’s...very different than what I’m used to. It’s awakened in me a hunger for similar such ‘strangeness’ in fantasy novels. I’m tired of Tolkien-like fantasy, and am now craving books that’re Bizarre without being goofy or nonsensical. And, yes, I’m already well aware of China Mieville! He’s on my to-read list already!

My requirements are thus:
1. It must be set in an entirely fictional universe, with no ties to ur Earth.
2. It must not be a rehash of medieval Europe.
3. It must have unique magic.
4. And finally, it must be part of a series.

If you could help me out in this regard I’d be o so thankful!
NoOneofConsequence
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

Not exactly new, but the Monster Blood Tattoo series perhaps?
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Hoid
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Hoid »

Ok, what’s so different about it? What differentiates it from most fantasy fiction?
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

I have unfortunately only had the chance to read the first book, Foundling. It's a YA series/trilogy set in a part of the Half-Continent of the world of Harthe Alle. The setting is a sort of a late 18th/very early 19th century style with a lot of Dickensian and early Gothic overtones. Magic is a mix of Enlightenment era science/natural philosophy and alchemy. This includes certain levels of Frankenstein creations, including powers granted via implants or drugs, and boats powered not by any sort of engine but rather mindless living masses of muscle and other organs grown into the ship itself. It is a kind of odd setting, but one I enjoy, not least because of the level of detail in the world building and the constructed language/terminology. It may not be exactly what you are looking for though.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
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Hoid
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Hoid »

No, steampunk fantasy is fine, so long as it’s not set on some version of the real world.

I’m also a fan of The Shadows of the Apt, a ten-book steampunk fantasy series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It’s...well, let’s just be polite and call it, well, weird. It’s sequal, a trilogy known as Echoes of the Fall, is set in a fantasy remix of a mishmash of Siberia, Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa. I really recommend both series, they’re very good...
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Also not new, but if you haven't checked out P.C. Hodgell's Kencyrath series, it's quite the treat. The first book is God Stalk. The concept behind it is that the Kencyr are champions of their Three-Faced God who have been executing a fighting retreat for millennia over multiple worlds, fighting Perimal Darkling, except that they've been trapped on this world for hundreds of years (for reasons they're not certain of, although explanations are provided later in the series), and they've succumbed to infighting and politics, in part because their God has not spoken to them in a long time. The books start out following Jame, who stumbles out of the wastelands, pursued by haunts, with only a jumbled memory of her past, winding up in the city of a thousand gods, Tai-tastigon, a situation which is baffling for her because she knows that there is only one God.

It's relatively low fantasy at first. Jame is physically talented, and seems to have a knack for finding trouble. As time goes on, and she learns more about her heritage, it becomes clear that she has a greater role, and that the destruction that follows in her wake may be more than bad luck. Rathillien, where they've been trapped, is a place that has enough little oddities that you can never take things too much for granted (carnivorous butterflies, trees that move themselves to find better sources of nutrients, deserts that act like oceans), and it becomes clear that the world they're on has its own defenses. The magic ranges from some pretty normal hedge-wizardry to epic artifacts that are a bit too easy to use, and have minds of their own.

You're lucky to start now, because the first four books took over two decades to come out (in part because Pat was pursuing her doctorate, and was then a professor), but the pace has sped up, and we're up to nine books now.
Hoid
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Hoid »

How many books is the series supposed to have? If it’s unending (the way the Driz’zt books are), then I’ll give this one a pass...sorry.
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Hoid wrote: Sat Dec 26, 2020 3:34 am How many books is the series supposed to have? If it’s unending (the way the Driz’zt books are), then I’ll give this one a pass...sorry.
I know that Pat has an end-game that she is pursuing, but I don't know if she's given a fixed number of books involved. I have sent out a query (she's pretty responsive to people asking her such questions).
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Ah, and Pat has spoken out. There will only be one or two more books in the series. And she says the tenth books is almost done.
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Ares
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Ares »

Jim Butcher has a series called Codex Alera which is set on another world in an Empire modeled more after Rome than Medieval Europe, and the magic system is such that everyone in empire has some degree of control over an elemental force, or "fury", with degree of control and power determining social rank.
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Hoid
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Hoid »

Ehhh, Codex Aleta sounds too Medieval Europe for me. I’ll pass.
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by MacynSnow »

As an old man & fanboy of the Pulp/Noir genre's, i'd recommend any of the following;
Tarzan-- nice read if you want to leave the comfort of civilization while still drinking your Pinnaple Orange flavored Faygo...
Doc Savage-- an intresting(and earliest) take on a Supermanalog but with a Mr.Fantastic/Batman twist....
The Shadow -- a much more honest version of what Batman would've become.He's a little TOO broody for me, but he might be right up your dark alley...
Flash Gordon -- say what you will 'bout the movie, but the book series it was based VERY loosely on is a prime early example of Space Opera...
The Thin Man series -- the movies(aka Nick & Nora) are an aquired taste, but the book series by Dashell Hammett were some of the Smartest books written at the time frame (you'll never guess the end of book 1 if your a first-time reader) ...
Hope these help man(technically their not all fantasy but every little bit helps!).
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by Flynnarrel »

If you like the 'hardboiled' pulp detective novels the Grimnoir series is pretty awesome. It's about a P.I. in a world where many people have a class of power that's well known and categorized.
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by catsi563 »

Im a big fan of Dennis L McKiernan and his mithgar series myself
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Re: Recommendations for new fantasy for me to read?

Post by kirinke »

Hmmm, how about the elemental series by Phyllis Eisenstein? It's only got two books in it, but it's pretty good.
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