You love it or you hate it and not for children: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.
I quite liked these, but even with a "not for children" caveat I really don't think Donaldson should be brought up in a thread about books to read with/to children. ;)
Went through my bookshelves to look for some more:
Willow (the book from the movie). Pretty good. Written by Wayland Drew for ease of reference. George Lucas also wrote a trilogy (Shadow War) set in the same world (with Chris Claremont), centered on the baby from Willow, Elora Danan, as a young woman. I quite liked them, but by most accounts they're not very good. They're also pretty hard to find anymore so bringing them up may be moot anyway, but I thought I should mention them if I listed Willow. There's a series set in the Willowverse being made for Disney+, it's unclear of or how much that will be based on those novels.
The Spiderwick Chronicles, written and illustrated by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (from M:tG and Planescape art fame), about the Grace siblings getting entangled with fairies. My nephews and nieces really liked these (as they did the movie). They're pretty short, even with the followup series attached, so easy to get through without needing months of reading and wonderfully illustrated.
Tony DiTerlizzi also has another series out, the WondLa books. Sci-fi rather than pure fantasy, about a young girl who's never seen other humans (she was raised by a robot), who has to flee when her sanctuary is attacked and is desperate to find others like her. Haven't read them yet, but they should be good based on what I got from the cover text (they'll be a present for my goddaughter for Christmas, I'll try to read the first one myself before then at least). There's a tie-in to interactive web-based extras as well.
His Dark Materials (has been made into a movie as well as a tv-series), by Philip Pullman. Got tons of awards, but you might be put off by the pretty obvious criticism of religion if you're religious yourself - the antagonist of the series is a theocracy called the Magisterium.
The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper. Contemporary fantasy, Light must stand against the Dark, leans heavily on Arthurian legends and Norse mythology.
The Bartimaeus trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud. Set in an alt-earth where the ruling class is made up of magicians, it's a story about a magician's apprentice, Nathaniel, and the djinni Bartimaeus he managed to summon, amid power struggles in the British Empire.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
His Dark Materials is excellent. The first book is by far the best, and can be read by anyone. The later two are much darker and more mature, but I would still recommended them. \
Another author I would check out is Brandon Mull. The series Beyonders is both suitable for children and has deep and interesting plotlines.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
Ha ! Beat you to it, but welcome, Sanderson fan. :)
I agree with almost everything that you say, just wanted to add:
Warbreaker is also very good for teen reader, although no younger.
I don't think Elantris is for younger readers. There are elements in there which are very disturbing in particular about religion and fanaticism. Great read, though.
And yes, so much wanting about a Rithmatist follow-up.
And also, for younger readers, the new series, not complete yet, Skyward and Starsight, really cool. It's SF, so further from the original enquiries, but you have to love Mbot...
I have heard a lot about both of the series that has been mentioned. Both I desperately have been wanting to read. I have a massive book list of fantasy and sci-fi. Seeing as we are so far the question at hand, have any of you read any Ann McCaffery books? Those IMO were really great! I enjoyed them because they put an interesting twist on common tropes of fantasy.
Another one is the DUNE series by Frank Herbert. An absolute fantastic series.
I'm happy to say that most of the books mentioned are on my reading list!
His Dark Materials is excellent. The first book is by far the best, and can be read by anyone. The later two are much darker and more mature, but I would still recommended them.
They are way darker and my daughters and I found them extremely depressing, I honestly would not recommend them and the problem is that although the first one is indeed really good, you will be left wondering what happens...
The story metamorphs from a excellent fantasy to a retelling of Paradise Lost and social commentary. It is a large shift, and you definitely have to be more developed to understand the Amber Spyglass. I would recommend people that enjoyed Compass and are too young to read the sequels to just wait for when they could appreciate the sequels more. I read Spyglass when I was pretty young, and I didn't really understand the story.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
I didn't really like Warbreaker. The magic system wasn't that interesting to me, and I didn't like the characters that much. It was supposed to be a romance, but I liked the romance in the Stormlight Archive more.
I'm not sure that it's supposed to be a romance, and I liked the magic system, but then of course YMMV. In any case, it's fairly important for the Stormlight Archive as...
Vasher is in the Stormlight Archive, he is the sword master that trains Adolin and Kaladin...
Skyward was also pretty fun.
Psytonic component... engaged !
I didn't realize that Vasher trained Adolin and Kaladin. That's interesting. The problem with the Cosmere is that their are just so many plotthreads...
The other connection between Warbreaker and Stormlight is Nightblood, Szeth's sword.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
I have heard a lot about both of the series that has been mentioned. Both I desperately have been wanting to read. I have a massive book list of fantasy and sci-fi. Seeing as we are so far the question at hand, have any of you read any Ann McCaffery books? Those IMO were really great! I enjoyed them because they put an interesting twist on common tropes of fantasy.
From a loooong time ago, the first ones were reasonably good, but as usual at the time, there was not a lot of substance and they rapidly got quite boring and fairly standard once the first magic was over.
Another one is the DUNE series by Frank Herbert. An absolute fantastic series.
Again, YMMV, the first one is a true masterpiece, after that it's more debatable... :)
For more serious readers of Heroic Fantasy, Nine Princes in Amber is an absolute must read (and the game that goes with it is fantastic as well), and the Malazan book of the fallen although it's not for the faint hearted. More SciFi is Hyperion.
Finally, for the younger readers, my third daughter (who later read everything Sanderson and the Wheel of Time twice) did not enjoy reading until she discovered the Warrior Cats by Wayne McLoughlin.
I agree with everything you are saying. The first few books of Anne McCaffery were really good, but then it kinda lost its flare. For DUNE the first book is fantastic, probably the best of the series. I am currently reading The DUNE series and am on the 4th book, so no spoilers :)! I am also reading The Dragonbone Chair. Up next though, is the Nine Princes in Amber! I've heard they are really good!
I have heard of the Warrior Cats, and my daughter has read them once
Finally, for the younger readers, my third daughter (who later read everything Sanderson and the Wheel of Time twice) did not enjoy reading until she discovered the Warrior Cats by Wayne McLoughlin.
Wayne McLoughlin is the illustrator who did the covers for Warriors and for Seekers. The author(s) of both these series is Erin Hunter - the (s) is there because there are several writers working collectively on the different series, all under that same pseudonym. Warriors = cats, Seekers = bears, Survivors = dogs, and Bravelands = lion + baboon + elephant.
Found Un Lun Dun in the China Miéville pile. Miéville is an excellent author but he writes in all sorts of genres (collectively best described as weird fiction, though he has done some non-fiction as well) and for various audiences, so do check what you're getting into if you want to pick up some of his books. Un Lun Dun ("unLondon") is a YA urban fantasy, should fit the bill.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Finally, for the younger readers, my third daughter (who later read everything Sanderson and the Wheel of Time twice) did not enjoy reading until she discovered the Warrior Cats by Wayne McLoughlin.
Wayne McLoughlin is the illustrator who did the covers for Warriors and for Seekers. The author(s) of both these series is Erin Hunter - the (s) is there because there are several writers working collectively on the different series, all under that same pseudonym. Warriors = cats, Seekers = bears, Survivors = dogs, and Bravelands = lion + baboon + elephant.
Found Un Lun Dun in the China Miéville pile. Miéville is an excellent author but he writes in all sorts of genres (collectively best described as weird fiction, though he has done some non-fiction as well) and for various audiences, so do check what you're getting into if you want to pick up some of his books. Un Lun Dun ("unLondon") is a YA urban fantasy, should fit the bill.
All of the warriors/hunters/etc. I have heard of. As for the Un Lun Dun, that I have never heard of. I will be looking into it
The Amber series is fun, especially if you like history and literature. The books are full of allusions. Also, since you mentioned Tad Williams, don't overlook Tailchaser's Song particularly if your daughter is fond of cat stories.
I quite liked these, but even with a "not for children" caveat I really don't think Donaldson should be brought up in a thread about books to read with/to children. ;)
Went through my bookshelves to look for some more:
Willow (the book from the movie). Pretty good. Written by Wayland Drew for ease of reference. George Lucas also wrote a trilogy (Shadow War) set in the same world (with Chris Claremont), centered on the baby from Willow, Elora Danan, as a young woman. I quite liked them, but by most accounts they're not very good. They're also pretty hard to find anymore so bringing them up may be moot anyway, but I thought I should mention them if I listed Willow. There's a series set in the Willowverse being made for Disney+, it's unclear of or how much that will be based on those novels.
The Spiderwick Chronicles, written and illustrated by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (from M:tG and Planescape art fame), about the Grace siblings getting entangled with fairies. My nephews and nieces really liked these (as they did the movie). They're pretty short, even with the followup series attached, so easy to get through without needing months of reading and wonderfully illustrated.
Tony DiTerlizzi also has another series out, the WondLa books. Sci-fi rather than pure fantasy, about a young girl who's never seen other humans (she was raised by a robot), who has to flee when her sanctuary is attacked and is desperate to find others like her. Haven't read them yet, but they should be good based on what I got from the cover text (they'll be a present for my goddaughter for Christmas, I'll try to read the first one myself before then at least). There's a tie-in to interactive web-based extras as well.
His Dark Materials (has been made into a movie as well as a tv-series), by Philip Pullman. Got tons of awards, but you might be put off by the pretty obvious criticism of religion if you're religious yourself - the antagonist of the series is a theocracy called the Magisterium.
The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper. Contemporary fantasy, Light must stand against the Dark, leans heavily on Arthurian legends and Norse mythology.
The Bartimaeus trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud. Set in an alt-earth where the ruling class is made up of magicians, it's a story about a magician's apprentice, Nathaniel, and the djinni Bartimaeus he managed to summon, amid power struggles in the British Empire.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
His Dark Materials is excellent. The first book is by far the best, and can be read by anyone. The later two are much darker and more mature, but I would still recommended them. \
Another author I would check out is Brandon Mull. The series Beyonders is both suitable for children and has deep and interesting plotlines.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
I have heard a lot about both of the series that has been mentioned. Both I desperately have been wanting to read. I have a massive book list of fantasy and sci-fi. Seeing as we are so far the question at hand, have any of you read any Ann McCaffery books? Those IMO were really great! I enjoyed them because they put an interesting twist on common tropes of fantasy.
Another one is the DUNE series by Frank Herbert. An absolute fantastic series.
I'm happy to say that most of the books mentioned are on my reading list!
A New DM up against the World
The story metamorphs from a excellent fantasy to a retelling of Paradise Lost and social commentary. It is a large shift, and you definitely have to be more developed to understand the Amber Spyglass. I would recommend people that enjoyed Compass and are too young to read the sequels to just wait for when they could appreciate the sequels more. I read Spyglass when I was pretty young, and I didn't really understand the story.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
I didn't realize that Vasher trained Adolin and Kaladin. That's interesting. The problem with the Cosmere is that their are just so many plotthreads...
The other connection between Warbreaker and Stormlight is Nightblood, Szeth's sword.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
I agree with everything you are saying. The first few books of Anne McCaffery were really good, but then it kinda lost its flare. For DUNE the first book is fantastic, probably the best of the series. I am currently reading The DUNE series and am on the 4th book, so no spoilers :)! I am also reading The Dragonbone Chair. Up next though, is the Nine Princes in Amber! I've heard they are really good!
I have heard of the Warrior Cats, and my daughter has read them once
A New DM up against the World
Wayne McLoughlin is the illustrator who did the covers for Warriors and for Seekers. The author(s) of both these series is Erin Hunter - the (s) is there because there are several writers working collectively on the different series, all under that same pseudonym. Warriors = cats, Seekers = bears, Survivors = dogs, and Bravelands = lion + baboon + elephant.
Found Un Lun Dun in the China Miéville pile. Miéville is an excellent author but he writes in all sorts of genres (collectively best described as weird fiction, though he has done some non-fiction as well) and for various audiences, so do check what you're getting into if you want to pick up some of his books. Un Lun Dun ("unLondon") is a YA urban fantasy, should fit the bill.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
All of the warriors/hunters/etc. I have heard of. As for the Un Lun Dun, that I have never heard of. I will be looking into it
A New DM up against the World
The Amber series is fun, especially if you like history and literature. The books are full of allusions.
Also, since you mentioned Tad Williams, don't overlook Tailchaser's Song particularly if your daughter is fond of cat stories.
Awesome!
A New DM up against the World