Jump to content
Guidelines

books Recommend me a good fantasy novel

Misterian

By Misterian, User

 Share

Recommended Posts

Misterian

Misterian 118

Okay, this might sound corny and abit cliche, but can anyone recommend me a good Tolkien-esique  medieval fantasy novel that ends with a happy ending and is NOT a Dark Fantasy like the Dragon Age franchise?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
VelvetDivan

VelvetDivan 96

I'm a bit confused when you say Tolkien-esque, but then stipulate 'not a dark fantasy,' as LoTR was a constant struggle against darkness with tons of casualties.

 

If you don't mind warfare, and yes there is a happy ending lurking after four books, try the Memory Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams, starting with the Dragonbone Chair.  Best fantasy epic I've read, aside from Lord of the Rings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Azure Flames

Azure Flames 303

Graceling by Kristin Cashore is the first book of the Graceling series a really fun read with special people born with heterochromia eyes which meaning they have a special talent like mind reading,  archery, swordsmanship, a whole lot more (the main character has a talent of killing ) but it not a dark fantasy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ion

Ion 279

(edited)

I was going to suggest any number of Warhammer Fantasy novels, but few of them end with a happy ending. But they are great. 

 

The Sigmar Series especially (Its ending is kinda like the Lord of the Rings, as the good forces win, but it has a more real aspect in that there are consequences of victory). http://www.blacklibrary.com/time-of-legends/the-legend-of-sigmar.html

Edited by Ion
Link to comment
Share on other sites
duidamasterXD

duidamasterXD 9,626

(edited)

(Enters Topic ready to recommend Game of Thrones)

 

(Sees no Dark Fantasy)

 

How about the Dresden Files? They take place in a modern setting but they're a very good fantasy/mystery series.

 

As for medieval, that's a bit trickier. I'll be back if I think of anything.

Edited by DashForever
Link to comment
Share on other sites
FancyPhoenix

FancyPhoenix 197

Well, I don't know how long reads you're looking for, but David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon sagas are definitely ones to read if you're looking for epicness and a long read  :P  Both sagas have five books that are about 500 pages each and there are two more preguel-like books that are a bit longer, about 800 pages each I think.

 

I would also recommend Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. Amazing story too. One of my absolute favourites. If you haven't read it yet, it's another must-read.  ;) It has four books in total, all are quite long, but the flow of the story is so intense, I finished the first one (656 pages) in two days.

 

Also one of my favourite authors is Rick Riordan with his Percy Jackson -series. If you're interested in ancient Greek mythology, that's a nice series that brings together the mythology and modern world. It has five books I think, and there's a sequel series currently being written.

 

Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments is also a great read. As is Angie Sage's Septimus Heap -series, the latter might be a bit more appealing for younger audiences, but I enjoyed it tremendously. But hey, we're not exactly the intended target audience for MLP either, yet here we stand  :lol:

 

What else... Oh, right. Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl is a fantastic series too. Can't believe I almost forgot about that  :o

 

Hope there's at least one her that you find appealing  ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Misterian

Misterian 118

  • Author

I'm a bit confused when you say Tolkien-esque, but then stipulate 'not a dark fantasy,' as LoTR was a constant struggle against darkness with tons of casualties.

 

If you don't mind warfare, and yes there is a happy ending lurking after four books, try the Memory Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams, starting with the Dragonbone Chair.  Best fantasy epic I've read, aside from Lord of the Rings.

 

I meant the standard fantasy setting when referring to Tolkien-esique, the sort that has a medieval european-esique setting with Elves, Dwarfs, Mages, Dragons, et centra.

 

And when I say 'not a dark fantasy' I mean any fantasy with much less deconstructing of fantasy tropes and less cynism than what Dragon Age and LoTR had in their stories.

 

So far, the closest to I'm looking for is Belgariad, admittingly it doesn't have elves, dwarves or dragons (to my knowledge ayway), but it at least it did medieval with a much more light and idealistic edge to it in comparison to, again, LoTR and Dragon Age.

 

And I already heard that Belgariad, unlike LoTR, ends with a straight happy ending.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jw5587

jw5587 182

I meant the standard fantasy setting when referring to Tolkien-esique, the sort that has a medieval european-esique setting with Elves, Dwarfs, Mages, Dragons, et centra.

 

And when I say 'not a dark fantasy' I mean any fantasy with much less deconstructing of fantasy tropes and less cynism than what Dragon Age and LoTR had in their stories.

 

So far, the closest to I'm looking for is Belgariad, admittingly it doesn't have elves, dwarves or dragons (to my knowledge ayway), but it at least it did medieval with a much more light and idealistic edge to it in comparison to, again, LoTR and Dragon Age.

 

And I already heard that Belgariad, unlike LoTR, ends with a straight happy ending.

 

Read the A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones). There aren't Elves, Dwarves (but there's an awesome midget!) or your traditional magic but they are really an amazing read. It is a bit dark and I can't speak for the ending as the series is still ongoing though I wouldn't say the ending to the latest book is happy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Misterian

Misterian 118

  • Author

Read the A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones). There aren't Elves, Dwarves (but there's an awesome midget!) or your traditional magic but they are really an amazing read. It is a bit dark and I can't speak for the ending as the series is still ongoing though I wouldn't say the ending to the latest book is happy.

 

I'm sure it's good, but the way you described it makes it the exact opposite of what I've been looking for.

 

Which, as I said before, is a medieval fantasy that's lighter in tone, more idealistic, and is known to end with a happy ending.

 

I'm not asking for a fantasy novel that''s all sunshine and bunnies, just at very least  something with noticeably less cynicism in it than Dragon Age or Lord Of The Rings (not including The Hobbit, which I already read).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pixel Mouse

Pixel Mouse 84

Eragon anyone? (Inheritance Cycle) It's kinda a long story, but it's worth every second of it. Great characters combined with a great plot. I guess everyone probably already knows it since it got turned into a movie... 

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
HunterTSN

HunterTSN 1,444

(edited)

Hmm, my favorite books is the Leviathan Series trilogy by Scott Westerfield, they're not really fantasy, but they do have plenty of fantasy-like elements. Another series you should look into is the His Dark Materials trilogy written by Philip Pullman starting with The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights in the UK). They are very fantasy-centric. 

Edited by TheSteampunkNinja (TSN)
  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Join the herd!

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...