Favourite Series

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George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire

Personally I think this is the best fantasy series out there at the moment. It's heavy with complex twists and sudden deaths that I never see coming, the characters are vivid and relatable too, even the 'evil' ones have their human side, which makes them seem more real than many of the villains in other fantasy novels. I think this is what makes fantasy worth reading.

First book is a Game of Thrones.

Lynn Flewelling, the Tamir Triliogy

This is probably one of the dark series I have ever read. It's the tale of Tamir, the rightful queen of Skala, who is disguised by magic, and the skin of her murdered twin brother, to be a boy, so that her uncle would not kill her, as he killed all the females in his family who should have sat on his throne. Tamir grows up, believing she is a boy, haunted by the twin who was murdered so that she could live and tormented by her mother, who was driven mad by that murder. It's really dark and it's really sad. I recently finished the last book in the series, and i was crying. It's a great series, dark and melancholy, and the ending is simple and effective and lingers with you.

. My only complaints are the lack of description and the over heavy (in my opinion) use of Tamir missing her boy's bits, when she is finally revealled as a girl, not a boy. Overall, though, it's really great and one of the few unique fantasy ideas i have come across.

Lynn has another series, the Nightrunners, but i think that is very poor in comparision. I wouldn't have read this series, if i had read that one first.

This series begins with the Bone Doll's Twin.

I loved these two series, but not the middle one, the Liveship Traders, although all three are connected. I think what made these series work so well was the characters. They are likeable, they are interesting and they are vivid, particularly the fool. He made this series, for me. I think that Hobb's characters are brilliant, and for me, someone who is more interested in character than plot, this made the series enjoyable. I can't get into her newest Shaman's Crossing, however, and never liked the Liveships. I think this is because the characters aren't as good and, for me, if the characters aren't interesting, I just can't care about the plot.

I was disappointed with the last book in tawny man series, unlike Lynn Flewelling, whose book ended simply, Robin Hobb's final book went on far too long, with many marriages between pointless characters who never really appeared in the series at all! It was far too dickinson for my liking.

First book of the Farseer Trilogy, which is the first of the three connecting series is Assassin's Apprentice.

Peter Moorwood's Horse Lord Series

A fairly unknown series i think, its also out of print, but i really love these. I like the fact that the hero, a brilliant swordsman, is an honorable virgin, i love the way they are caught up in a plot that they don't ever really understand until the last book, and the fact that the whole series ends on a cliffhanger. Does Aldric die, or does he survive, taken back to his foster-father's home world.

First book is the Horse Lord. This is no longer available new, so you will need to try and find it in a second handbook store, or Abebooks.com.

Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald Mage Series

All right, the plot isn't great, most of the characters aren't either, and i don't like anything else by her at all, but Vanyel, Tylendel/Stefan are just too cute. Every now and then, when i want to indulge in something cute and pointless, i will read this book. I love the hero, Vanyel is just lovely, i love his boyfriend and i do like the ending. It is rare, in fantasy, that there is an unhappy ending, this one is, at it's heart, but it is bitter-sweet, which helps to make it for me.

Starts with Magic's Pawn.

Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles

Personally I only really liked the Vampire Lestat, but will acknowledge that the first three are pretty good, at least when compared to the rest. I think that the characters are amazing, Lestat is just gorgeous, and I really enjoyed reading them because I think that they had a unique plot and brought something new to the vampire genre.

First book is Interview with the Vampire.