I was gifted the Way of Kings series but I don't really read any fantasy (although I think I would enjoy it) and I feel very overwhelmed by the size of of the books/series. So I'm wondering what would be a good book/series to make sure I like the genre before committing to 3000+ pages?
Edit: I kind of misspoke- the series I was given is The Stormlight Archive (by Brandon Sanderson) The Way of Kings is the name of one of the books, not the whole series
by tinkerb3ll3
9 Comments
i’m fairly new to fantasy as well but the cruel prince caught my attention! i finished the three books on the main series in like a week.
also for a more subtle fantasy maybe divine rivals by rebecca ross!
Brandon Sanderson, Christopher Paolini, Rick roirdan — all VERY good authors to start with fantasy
Joe Abercrombie, the First Law trilogy. The First Blade is the first book and is not overly long. Blew me away. Be aware, however, that it can be quite violent.
Robin Hobb got me into fantasy. I’d not ever read anything other than Tolkien. I started with the Assassin’s Apprentice a few years ago and I’ve pretty much been solidly reading fantasy since then.
Either of these authors would, I think, be a great start.
I started with fairy tale retellings since I already knew the beats of the story. Like Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge and A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J Maas.
Other solid ones:
Shadow and Bone/Six of Crows
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adieh
Some beginner fantasy that I can think of:
– The Hobbit by Tolkien
– Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson
– Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
– Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch
– Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
– Jade City by Fonda Lee
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh is a novella, so it’s short & I loved it, though it’s maybe a little cozier than most fantasy
*The Thief of Always* by Clive Barker
*Stardust* by Neil Gaiman
[https://amzn.to/4cm5EFN](https://amzn.to/4cm5EFN)
name of the wind
sanderson and abercrombe are both great starts to fantasy. the stormlight archive is definitely large but I definitely wish there was even more. sanderson has two stand alones I recommend a lot warbreaker and elantris. both sold books with a unique world and magic system. his mistborn series is also a little less intimidating.