I’ve never really been into the fantasy genre, but I’m curious if A Song of Ice and Fire is a good place to start. I usually read more classic or realistic fiction, books like East of Eden and The Count of Monte Cristo are some of my favorites. I don’t mind long books; in fact, I like when a story has depth and a lot of character development. What matters most to me is that the story feels alive and keeps moving rather than staying static or overly descriptive for the sake of it.
Would you recommend Game of Thrones (or the whole series) to someone like me? Or is there another fantasy series that would be a better introduction to the genre?
by ElChapooJr0
2 Comments
No, for two reasons.
First, it has mulitple parallel storylines and jumps between POVs. It a huge cast of characters that are hard to follow, especially with the jumping POVs.
Second, it’s not even close to finished, and I have serious doubts that it ever will be (same with Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle). It’s one thing to start someone like Sanderson who has proven he can keep to a publication schedule.
If I were just starting in fantasy, I’d go with:
* Tad Williams: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn also has a sequel series)
* Robin Hobb: Realm of the Elderlings – The Farseer Trilogy (there are mulitple trilogies in this series)
* Raymond Feist: Riftwar series
* CS Friedman: The Coldfire Trilogy
* Stephen Donaldson: Chronicles of Thomas Convenant the Unbeliever
* Glen Cook: The Black Company
* Roger Zelazny: Chronicles of Amber
* Piers Anthony: Incarnations of Immortality (a controversial pick, but the series concludes before he seems to have gone completely off the rails.)
The Hobbit by Tolkien. The classic of the genre and the intro to the Lord of the Rings series.