by James E. Wisher
10. The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind: I suspect this will be the most polarizing choice of this post so I thought I’d start with it. I enjoyed this series both for its take on magic and the main character’s personality. The action scenes were well done as was the character development. Whatever you may think about the author, the story was engaging and well written.
9. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling: This series had to be included for its sheer impact on pop culture. Very few people will fail to get a Harry Potter reference. The story gets deeper and better with every book.
8. Night Angel by Brent Weeks: I absolutely loved this series. The Night Angel stories are the sort of books I aim to write myself. Fast paced, lots of action, engaging characters. I read the omnibus edition, which is close to 1000 pages, in three days. I think that says it all right there.
7. The Black Company by Glen Cook: I’m not sure if Military Fantasy is a genre, but if it is the Black Company books are the best examples of it you’ll find. The most important aspect of the books is the interplay between the members of the company. After a while you start to believe these are real people. I can’t think of a better compliment.
6. The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan: This series is one of the few that I thought might have benefited from being shorter. The first few books are amazing, some of the best written fantasy you’ll find, but as the series progresses the pace slows down and it becomes repetitive. Brandon Sanderson did a fantastic job finishing the series after Jordan died.
5. A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin: I love this series. The only reason it isn’t higher is because of the pace at which Martin puts out his books. Waiting years between releases is torture and that’s a fine compliment to his writing. Now hurry up and finish the damn series. I need to know what happens.
4. Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson: The first book of this series introduces one of my all time favorite characters, fantasy or otherwise, Whiskeyjack. The world weary soldier determined to do right by his men grabbed me from the moment I met him and held through the whole series.
3. The Dark Elf Series by R. A. Salvator: Ask any fantasy fan to name a dark elf and the first one you’ll hear, 9 times out of 10, is Drizzt. His conflict and desire to overcome the evil nature of his race creates a compelling story across over twenty books. I’ve read them all and while I prefer the earlier stories, they’re all great.
2. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: The story that basically created the epic fantasy genre as we know it today. No list of fantasy novels could fail to mention it. It’s simply the most important story in the genre.
1. The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks: This is the series that made me want to be a writer. The Sword of Shannara is the first fantasy novel I ever read back in ninth grade. It made me fall in love with stories and want to write my own. For that reason it’s number one on my list.
Thanks for reading.
If you’d like to learn more about me and my books you can visit http://www.jamesewisher.com