Rachels Inheritance (Beautys Stone Beast Series Book 1)

Book. Stuff. Palatini, Margie. 11 On Shelf (View Selected Locations). eBook. Stuff. Mohamed, Stefan. 1 Available. eBook. Stuff. Myles, Josephine. 1 Available.
Table of contents

She's got two young boys and a third on the way, and she needs a man to help out. So she places a classified ad for a husband — and gets Will Parker, a lonely drifter condemned to live on the fringes of society after serving time for murder. Morning Glory takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster of love, betrayal, war and trials, but Will and Elly finally get their happy ever after. In the aptly named town of Marrying Stone, Ark. Find a husband by Christmas, or they'll find one for her. The last thing she expects is to fall for farmhand Jess Best, a good man who's been written off by the town because he doesn't think quite as fast as they do.

Ruth Berger, daughter of a Jewish professor, was meant to escape Vienna, but her plans went awry. As the Nazis march on the city, her father's colleague Quinton Somerville decides to rescue her with a quick marriage of convenience — he'll sweep her away to England, and they'll get a quick annulment.

But neither Quin nor Ruth counted on falling in love. Buttoned-up widow Martha Russell is desperate. If she doesn't produce evidence of an heir soon, her late husband's cruel family will seize the estate she loves. There's only one solution, obviously: She offers to pay her rakish neighbor Theophilus Mirkwood for a month of assignations. And Mirkwood is determined that Martha will get her money's worth. Lady Jane Cummings is finally out of mourning for her mother, but her father is showing signs of dementia, and her brother has only just returned from the Continent, where he escaped the responsibilities Jane has had to shoulder.

Jane needs a distraction, and it arrives in the form of reclusive neighbor Byrne Worth — who has mysterious ties to a highwayman who's been plaguing the area. Notorious wastrel Reggie Davenport is only good for gambling and drinking — until a relative offers him a second chance in the form of a manor house, complete with secretive estate manager Alys Weston. Romance ensues, but Alys' past and Reggie's alcoholism prove to be formidable obstacles to overcome.

Rector's daughter Drusilla Delaney becomes a companion to the spoiled, arrogant Lavinia Framling. But which will prove more dangerous to her — a supposedly cursed peacock feather fan, or Lavinia's brooding brother Fabian? Blurbed by Charles Dickens himself, North and South features one of the most memorable heroines in Victorian literature: Margaret Hale, who conducts a stormy romance with industrialist John Thornton while clashing with him over her quest to improve the lives of the workers in their gritty Northern mill town.

A resonant mix of romance and social concern. An epic tale of forbidden love during the British Raj. British botanist's son Ashton Pelham-Martyn is orphaned in India and raised to believe he's an Indian boy named Ashok. Anjuli is a neglected princess, condemned first to an unwanted marriage and then to suttee when her husband dies — but happiness beckons for Ash and Anjuli in the "far pavilions" of the Himalayas, away from the prejudices that have kept them apart.

Jane Austen's most famous work was one of your favorite picks second only to the Outlander series. So much has been said about Elizabeth and Darcy that now their place in the romance canon goes without saying — we'll just leave you with the mental image of Colin Firth diving into that lake. A poor, mistreated heroine, a dour, misunderstood hero, and a mad wife locked in the attic — if that's not romance, we don't know what is! Reader, she did indeed marry him, and they lived happily ever after.

We couldn't have a romance list without Georgette Heyer, the venerable grandmother of the genre. And readers agreed, giving the nod to Venetia, her charming novel about a sheltered Regency beauty who sees the best in a notorious society rake and then convinces her family to approve the match. Rainbow Rowell's story of two misfit kids who fall in love over mixtapes and comic books in s Omaha, Neb.

While the ending is slightly ambiguous, we choose to believe Eleanor and Park got their happily ever after. We love them too much not to! Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, Ga. But then her father decides to send her off to boarding school in Paris. A slight exception to our happily-ever-after rule, the romance in the Queen's Thief series gets off to a rocky start in the first book.

But stick around for the next few volumes in this story of a master thief who steals the heart of a queen, and then must face the reality of being king. High school golden girl Brittany Ellis finds her life turned upside down when she walks into her senior chemistry class and ends up partnered with tough guy Alex Fuentes, a gang member who longs to leave the life and go to college. Things start to spark when Alex impulsively takes a bet that he can get Brittany into bed.

Singer and guitarist Alegria Montero wants to make it big, and she's hoping that a shot on a reality show will help her leave behind her boring life of playing family parties. But when she makes it to the finals of a competition for the "next Latin superstar," she has to deal with the whirlwind of publicity, professional jealousy and a budding romance with NYU production major Jaime Lozano. If you ever got annoyed that Lois Lane couldn't figure out Superman's secret identity, try Pamela Clare's I-Team books, featuring tough-minded investigative reporters who find love while digging up dirt on everything from environmental hazards to al-Qaida kidnappings.

Nora Roberts makes her second appearance on the list writing as J. Robb with the long-running romantic suspense series, In Death. After a long debate, we named the Nora Roberts Rule after her: While many great writers were nominated, only Roberts is legendary enough to show up twice! In this classic gothic suspense story, governess Linda Martin arrives at a mysterious French chateau to take care of the 9-year-old master of the house and discovers a sinister uncle, a dashing, sardonic cousin, and a possible plot against the life of her young charge.

The ruling Psy have awesome mental powers, but no ability to feel emotions. They punish any sign of desire, and they're on the brink of war with the shape-shifting Changelings. The action begins with one Psy desperately trying to conceal evidence of her feelings and the Changeling who sees her as the key to solving a murderous mystery. Steampunk is more than just a fashion statement in Meljean Brook's Iron Seas books, set in an alternate world where the Mongols conquered Europe with the aid of fantastical machinery.

Dive in with the first book, The Iron Duke, about a military hero who falls for a police inspector when she comes to investigate a dead body dropped — via dirigible — at his doorstep. Human technological progress has triggered a magical apocalypse, and mercenary Kate Daniels lives in the wreckage. She relies on her skills with a sword to protect her from enemies who want the magic in her blood — enemies who kill her guardian and throw her into the path of shape-shifter Curran, Lord of the Free Beasts. Poor Prince Charming is cursed: Every woman who looks at him is instantly enslaved by love.

And poor Ember turns to the dark arts in order to resist the prince's pull — but can he resist her? Bettie Sharpe reworks the story of Cinderella with, as she puts it, "sex, violence and naughty words. Jemisin's tale of human women caught up in divine disputes is one of the best fantasy series of recent years, and also one of the most stirring romances: It's packed with gods and lovers whose bonds shape their world — and the worlds to come.

Often described as "a Regency romance in space," A Civil Campaign stars Lois McMaster Bujold's memorable hero Miles Vorkosigan and his clone brother Mark as they scheme for the hearts of the women they love and try to keep Mark's nonromantic scheme to engineer food-producing bugs from getting out of control. In the fallen utopia of Samaria, an angel and a slave girl are thrown together in a divinely arranged marriage that proves anything but divine.

Can Gabriel and Rachel overcome their differences in time to perform the holy rite that might save their planet? There are probably more sensible books by the great Johanna Lindsey — she's better known for the pirate yarn Gentle Rogue — but none so outlandishly fun as this tale of a space-faring security officer who lands on a planet of giant leather-trousered barbarian warriors and winds up claimed by the biggest brute of them all.

Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and a full-time Grim Reaper, meaning she sees dead people and tries to guide them into the afterlife and occasionally hunt down the people who left them dead. As if that weren't complicated enough, she gets caught up in a devilishly hot romance with the actual son of Satan — a relationship that only gets more intense as the series progresses. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a band of entertainingly named Rhage, Phury, Tohrment and highly trained vampire warriors, brothers who protect their kind from vampire slayers when they're not falling for very special women.

Ward has extended the series to include relatives and friends of the original brothers, but we recommend starting at the beginning with Dark Lover, the tale of vampire king Wrath. In Kresley Cole's world, there are hundreds of paranormal races living secretly alongside humans. But every years, war breaks out — and that time is now. Vampires and Valkyries, demons and sorceresses spark and court against a backdrop of supernatural battle in these award-winning paranormal romances.

When MacKayla Lane's sister is murdered, a single clue leads her into the dangerous world of the Fae and an equally dangerous attraction to two men: Novelist Carrie McClelland hopes to turn an obscure historical battle into a best-seller. But when Carrie discovers a strange connection to the events she's writing about, her novel — about a young Scotswoman battling English spies while falling for a dashing soldier with a price on his head — turns out to be more truth than fiction. Anna never knew werewolves existed until she became one herself, and not just any old werewolf.

Anna is neither an Alpha nor a submissive but an Omega wolf, the rarest of weres, destined to bring peace to warring wolves and love to one of the country's most powerful packs. Damali Richards is a popular spoken-word artist and producer. She's also the Neteru, a special human born once every thousand years to fight the dark threat of vampires with a jewel-encrusted sword that's 7, years old. Can she keep the world — and her vampire lover, Carlos — safe? We are the Rulers of the Night. And this is a very entertaining, long-running and hot series about immortal warriors dedicated to defending humanity.

Immortality, it turns out, isn't so great without love. Set in a version of Victorian England where magic is commonplace, this is the story of Lucien Vaudrey, who returns home to take up his title after the deaths of his father and brother. But he needs to fight the magic that's killing off his line, and for that he needs the help of quiet young magician Stephen Day — who bears no love for the Vaudreys.

Four out of four panelists agree: You should read all of Radclyffe's books. Start with Fated Love, the story of trauma surgeon Quinn Maguire and the unexpected mutual attraction she feels with her boss, Honor Blake. The story really gets going when Honor begins to suspect Quinn is hiding something. Ever since the Sept. But then Dante runs into money troubles and proposes that the two friends put on a show for a website that specializes in hunks in uniform.

A killer is on the loose, and FBI Special Agent Ty Grady has been partnered with another agent, Zane Garrett, to crack the case — but it's hate at first sight between cocky, confident Grady and serious Garrett. They'll have to figure out how to stop bickering before the killer makes them his next victims. Crick Francis found his true love at the age of 8: But Crick is sure he'll never be good enough for Deacon, and Deacon is too painfully shy to admit his own attraction. When they finally come together as adults, a misunderstanding leads Crick to make an impulsive decision that could tear them apart forever.

Michael Warner has been dead inside ever since he lost his lover in a car crash. Their young daughter, too, is mourning her other father. But Michael begins to wake up when he meets Rebecca O'Neill, a former actress who's dealing with her own devastating losses. But her dream job is jeopardized when she falls for rugged footman Mack Danvers — after all, the help mustn't get involved with each other. Francine Rivers retells the Biblical story of Hosea, setting it in Gold Rush California and turning the Old Testament prophet into a sympathetic rancher who heeds a divine calling to marry an abused prostitute.

Alpha male homicide detective Mackenzie Nighthorse goes undercover in a bondage club in search of a murderess — and finds he's increasingly unable to keep his desires separate from his investigation. Especially when he meets Violet Siemanski, a young dominatrix who seems to know just how to unlock his hidden self. Lacey Meyers is divorced after 15 years of boredom and bad sex. She just wants to have a little fun with studly young cop Hunter Anderson.

Neither of them sees a future together Elizabeth Petre, the daughter of a prime minister, is a perfect Victorian wife, but her charms are lost on her cold, indifferent husband. Determined to win him over, she asks for lessons in seduction from the notorious Ramiel, who calls himself the Bastard Sheikh. At first enraged by her request, Ramiel eventually takes on the task, with the aid of The Perfumed Garden , a classic collection of Arabic erotica.

Happy Ever After: 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances

Minerva Dobbs is an actuary whose wild side only peeps out in her choice of shoes plastic, kitten heels, cherries and goldfish. Cal Morrissey is a serial dater who takes Min out to dinner on a bet — which, no spoilers here, she already knows about. It's a tasty tale of love, Elvis records and really good Italian food, and as a bonus, it comes packaged with another Crusie favorite, Welcome to Temptation. Oil company engineer Madelyn Taggart has broken a lot of boundaries as a young black woman in a very white, very male field.

She hasn't yet found a love to match her career success, but her brother's buddy Daniel Falcon — rich, suave and oh-so-handsome — might just fit the bill. We recommend you start at the beginning, with the story of Assistant U. Unwitting witness to a murder, she's thrown together with FBI agent Jack Pallas — who just happens to blame Lynde for a botched case three years ago. Paris chocolatier Magalie Chaudron and her aunts are sorceresses of the sweet, stirring wishes into their cauldron of chocolate. Magalie's cozy world is threatened when the famous pastry chef Philippe Lyonais decides to open a shop nearby, but eventually she can't resist the temptation to venture out for a taste.

Mili Rathod was promised to her husband at the age of 4 and hasn't seen him since. But as a married woman, she has the freedom to leave India for America and education. Hotshot Bollywood director Samir Rathod just wants to find the woman his brother was shackled to and get her consent for a quickie divorce — but Mili is far more than he expected.

Kristen Ashley's word-of-mouth sensation series was a big favorite with our voters, and we recommend you start with Motorcycle Man. Currently, that would likely be Harry Potter; for those now edging towards or into their 40s it would be Dragonlance. Read our review of The Dragonlance Chronicles. For a full list of Dragonlance novels, visit Wikipedia. If you do, do not, or if you have any further recommendations then please let us know by leaving a comment below. Thank you, we hope you enjoyed reading our list. You have some excellent selections listed. But seriously, these should have been the first four on your list.

Just a joy to read. Brilliant comments Squiggler, completely agree with everything you said. I just finished my second tour of the 10 book series and it was twice as good the second time around. Reading through this list brought back some great memories and sparked some new ideas as inspiration for my reading list — many thanks for that.

I believe you skipped straight from Tawny Man to Fitz and the Fool. Cheers though for the rest of the included series. This books are amazing. I recommend everyone to read them. I was able to read some of them last week. I have added your website in my toolbar so i can return with just one click when i feel the need to read your great posts. I really loved your list. I appreciate the comments and have added a couple of series from the recommendations. The books listed in the comments have nicely rounded out your list.

I like this ideas for reading. They bring fantasy and reality together in way that is compelling. At least I thought so. I do love Jack Forsithe. It is fantasy, but well blended with today. Has all the important elements, love, lust, karma, and offbeat humour. I enjoyed the sword of truth series until I read Faith of the Fallen. It tried to paint charity, compassion and mercy as evil. Not Goodkind by nature! Your disappointment is misplaced as I would assume are the examples of other missing series you could easily have included.

But to be fair, there are others missing I could easily include. I thought they were real page turners. Are they considered too light — or are they young adult? Needs to be on the list! This is clearly stated as a list of favourites that includes more than three books. The Lord of the Rings you will find, hopefully to your pleasure at number one on the trilogy top list. Have you taken Joe Abercrombie off this list??

I can understand including authors because there is a lot of people enjoying their books. Great authors all of them but wrong criteria for this list. Thank you so much for this list. I get tired of falling in love with a world or character only to have the adventure end all too abruptly for me. I will have tour start looking at some of these. I might add that the Belgariad is a wonderful series by David Eddings and his wife. Easy reading but very enjoyable.

Wheres Terry Brooks ermagerd! Where is The Lord of the Rings? Any real fantasy-lover should read LOTR. I agree with the mckillop recommendation. As an older teenager this series fired my now 45 year old love for fantasy fiction that and Tolkien. It is a great tale of self discovery. Goodkind is definitely in the top five of all time. This is something that needs to be rectified so you should see reviews appear over the coming weeks and then hopefully we can add the Dragonlance series to this page.

Thanks for your comment. Sword of Truth does have its fans although it is not for everyone. But it has I believe given thousands of readers a lot of enjoyment, and that is why it is listed on this page. Sword of Truth has got to go. Predictable and truly not in league with the other series noted here. These are recommendations after-all, and here is mine, Whispers by Aram Keledjian. My new favorite of the year by faaaaaaar. A quarter of those series are nothing more than Dragonlance knock offs anyway. Goodkind is the worst author ever. The fact that this series is on your best list makes me question your judgement about all the other books on this list.

Thanks for the list. I am going to check out Duncton Wood. The series that got me into fantasy writing to begin with was Brian Jacques Redwall series. Granted they did get a little repetitive and predictable, but the first 5 books were great. I feel like Michael Moorcock should be on this list somewhere. Elric of Melnibone series is one of my all-time favorites. Yes dragon spindle is pretty good for a self published book I recon it will be picked up by a publisher soon then probably get ruined by big business!

I absolutely loved that list… Quick question though: Should the novels by Anne Rice not be included as well? I liked a new book and fantasy series which is Dragon Spindle book 1 in the Ningazia Balance series. Definatly worth a look if you like fast paced dragon fantasy with dragons, elfs , orcs and loads of magic. The first book is indeed awesome, but after that, the entire thing goes down the drain. Zero innovation, bullshit character development He might has well had an alien parasite take over Leesha , inconsistent pacing….

Dresden files up but got to say Codex Alera has me coming back for more. Mazan Book of the Fallen is so epic, intelligent and unpredictable, near all other fantasy seems childlike in comparison.

Beauty And The Beast S01E02

Good call for having it in the list. I actually have the Rangers Apprentice books on my to-be-read pile and — following your recommendation — will move them up the list and read them soon. A book series that I highly recommend is Rangers Apprentice. It is not your average fantasy novel, it takes place in a world much like middle age England and does not include magic surprisingly. You follow the adventures of Will Treaty becoming a Ranger, a legendary warrior using the tools of stealth and archery to guard the crown. This list cannot be considered complete without the Chronicles of Pern!

I would also mention The Saga of Recluce by L. Modesitt Jr as being worthy of inclusion, certainly well above the risible Sword of Truth series. The Dredsen Files is the best fantasy book written by the best author — Jim Bucher. You would definitely agree that The Dredsen Files is the Best Fantasy Series around I have read each book 3 times over just to fully understand the characters and the plot of the series.

Hi Lynette, great recommendations! Some we have yet to read and review on the site but I have added them to our to-read list and hope to remedy that very soon. I know this post is a few years old… I have a few new ones to add: I think Inheritance Cycle should be on the list. It is an awesome read and its characters are very deep too.

Glen Cook wrote an earlier book that has been one of my favorites since my teenage years. The Dragon Never Sleeps.

The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula Le Guin

I had to re-purchase the Duncton Chronicles about 5 years ago due to my originals being lost somewhere in the midst of time. But I treasure them as much as any other books, they have character and history. The first Duncton book is a real gem, a worthy companion to Watership Down. Interesting what you say about inconsistencies in the Hyddenworld series. I have to admit a few elements of the story did not piece together perfectly, especially the legend of the Peace Weaver and Beormund, but I am very, very forgiving of the authors I hold dearest!

Thanks for the nice answer Lee! I found it quite enjoyable — few fresh ideas there! Only thing that bugged me was that there was rather a lot of inconsistencies throughout. Guess the author must be even more forgetful than I am! Now, The Name of the Wind and Mr. Read it when it first came out.

By the second book it gets a whole lot better though, in my opinion. I want to see Gregor the Overlander on this list. Thanks Milotius, this is exactly the type of comment that provides real value. We have reviewed Lukyanenko, Pehov and Sapkowski on the site, but not enough of a series to get them onto this page. I think the advancement in the standard of translation will open up these books to a wider audience.

I have read several translated books recently and they have lost nothing in the translation. Now this might be a new series to add.


  • The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb?
  • Hydraulics and Pneumatics: A Technicians and Engineers Guide;
  • Tag, Youre It!: 50 Easy Ways to Connect with Young People!
  • .
  • Lifes Too Short to Fold Fitted Sheets.
  • Short Shorts!
  • The Best Romance Novels? We Asked, You Answered : NPR.

So far, wonderful story, wonderfully told. There are some amazing books out there once you start exploring!


  • ?
  • Capillary Dyamics of Acupuncture!
  • Global Communications, International Affairs and the Media Since 1945 (The New International History.
  • !

Kind of an urban fantasy, modern day, Russian version of Narnia if you will. But with so much dark humour, strangeness and sometimes creepiness it should definitely not be recommended for kids. Yet again an urban fantasy and I suppose hope well known. Yet again for its mix of lightheartedness and angst! My only negative note on this list: Wheels of Time… Why, oh why are people so in to it?

Could not stomach more after book 6. He seems to have had only two categories for females — evil or annoying or possibly both. If not, do it now!

Our top fantasy book series recommendations | Fantasy Book Review

Mistborn is on our recommended fantasy trilogies pages. I know it is 4 books now but it just seemed a better fit on there. I understand having Tolkien on the list but I have never been able to read his books. They just bore me and seem to spend too much energy in building the world and races that it is nearly a biography of a fantasy world and less a good fantasy story. Though I would have to say that without LoTR fantasy would still be decades behind where it is now.

Really, not a single Brandon Sanderson, I just wanna see one of them although I think they all deserve a spot , Mistborn was an amazing series. I am listening to The Dragonbone Chair at this very moment — I first read it decades ago and hope to enjoy it every bit as much second time around!

The Dwarves 2. The War of the Dwarves 3. The Revenge of the Dwarves 4. The Fate of the Dwarves 5. And then my absolute favorite: Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow and Thorn: The Dragonbone Chair 2. Stone of Farewell 3. City of Golden Shadow 2. River of Blue Fire 3. Mountain of Black Glass 4. The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss!! It is simply amazing.

Self published at first, and has become a best-seller on word of mouth alone. I think that most people who like these other series would enjoy these. The first three books were fantastic, interesting world, characters with room to grow and a story to tell. Somewhere though it got off track.


  • Our top fantasy book series recommendations?
  • Eat Right When Time Is Tight?
  • Surviving Cancer.
  • Celtic Night: A Fifteen-Year-Old Girls Modern Retelling of Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream.

It seemed to require story lines that were way to separate and did not seem to come together much. Great series but after starting out to be the best ever, it never quite lived up to that. Interesting story and characters. Interesting form of magic. My ESL teacher recommended it to me when I was in high school and I have been in love with it ever since. Now it is sold as 1 thick book, but it is actually composed of 4 books: A good call for Mists of Avalon Luiz and I have been delighted to add it.

I should just note that Diana L. Paxson co-wrote and independently wrote the later novels.

One author completely missing from this list and the comments is Peter V Brett — His Demon Cycle series it is now over 3 books so can be included is a fantastic new take on the fantasy genre. Some wonderful characters in a gripping story line. Four have been published and I can hardly wait for the fifth and concluding novel. The Twilight Reign by Tom Lloyd. Otherwise, all the comments and remarks are very acurate, and although I am a fan of Terry Goodkind, some of the books did stink… Wheel of Time is epic!

In fact, he just finished reading the first novel by Jim West called Libellus de Numeros The Book of Math that makes math and science relevant and fun in a story of magic and danger. The story is about Alex, a young precocious girl, who mysteriously gets transported to a strange world where Latin and Math combine in formulas and equations with magical effects. With a cruel council leading the only safe city of its kind in this world, she will have to prove her worth to stay as well as help this city as it is the target for two evil wizards who seek to destroy the city and its ruling council.

To help the city and also get back home, she will need the help of the greatest mathematician of all time, Archimedes. In a world where math is magic, Alex wishes she paid more attention in math class. Search for the book on Goodreads for reviews. Nice list, glad NOT to see junk like Twilight on it. Hey LuvD, the trilogy list which is a work in progress can be found here: Is it out as yet? If so, can you post a link? This thread has been opened since Gonna finally give WoT a try way too many of you have suggested it.

Was probably looking for something new to try out and voila. The story managed to completely draw me in after a couple of chapters. That is one great list of beloved series you got there, so I felt compelled to express a concern and immediately suggest an entry.

I am not Polish myself so I had to wait for translation but his work is truely masterful and entertaining, for lack of a better word.

100 Best Books

The subtle references to classic pieces are simply genius while the series follows its own engaging story. Believe me, I would never look at Cinderella or the Beauty and the Beast the same way as I did before! Definitely a recommended read! Thanks for that David, it made me smile, a lot. Very close to my own personal opinions on many points.

Would love to know what you think about Wheel of Time though — if you could reply with an answer that would be great. Good call on Saga of the Recluce — we have very positive reviews for it already on the site, so added to this list it shall be! After Days of Air and Darkness, it sinks to somewhere between pretty good and so-so. No I take it back. The Belgariad is okay. The Malloreon is so-so. The Elenium is blah.

The Tamuli is just plain bad. I really wish that Guy Gavriel Kay would write a series with each book being as good as Tigana was. Farseer by Robin Hobb is great. You have to like a book authored by a liberal where the hero is a guy who murders people for a living. Way to go, Margaret. Mistborn was great-minus, with flashes of great here and there. The Saga of Recluce is another great-minus series, with some of the books being marginally great and others being just pretty good.

The repetitive use of the boy-from-the-sticks-grows-up-and-does-well theme holds it down half a notch. The real atrocity is that neither Mistborn nor the Stormlight Archives are listed. Hi James, great books but a trilogy. But if enough people think they should be on the list I would be happy to add them.

Thanks for the good list. I agreed with most of the picks and got ideas for future reads from the rest. I do feel the need to award kudos not only for the Gemmell nods but specifically for the Rigante series. Rarely does a list acknowledge Gemmel and this is the first one to do that and go farther. The Drenai series may be simplistic but the tale of the Rigante is a whole different level of story telling in my opinion, and well worthy of mention. Wheel of Time series has to be in 2nd place after the story of the Middle Earth by J.

I have read many of the authors in the list and are all great in different ways. One of my favourites however is Robin Hobb, I would urge anyone whose is looking for a great read to consider these. I think when you look at all from a distance, J. Tolkien is the author of all these books and they are all set in the same world. So I now think they should be included. Hi Unojoe, thank you for your comment. The Kingkiller Chronicles is — as you say — fantastic.

But at the moment the criteria for inclusion on this page is a series consisting of at least 4 books. Thank you for the original list. I used to read lots of fantasy but what with my career and children etc have only recently got back into it. Just finished WoT after a 7 year break- agree it lost its way in the middle at times and I despaired of it ever finishing; great finale though, a really good fight! I probably ought to re-read them now!

I know he writes more stand alone novels, but would like to recommend Guy Gavriel Kay. Interesting comments Batto and Lawler, I tend to agree. Cheers everyone, have a good Christmas! I read fantasy fiction to escape and I enjoy it for that purpose, but I have to admit that very little of it is high-quality literature, and I find that the longer series are little more than endless plot, with little substance.

Good literature makes you reflect on and better understand something, whether it be history, current events, human nature, love, friendship, pyschology, politics, etc. Fantasy fiction is often heavy on interpersonal relationships and emotions like love and courage, but it often has a very simplistic understanding of society in general. Maybe that is why we read it. What I enjoy about fiction fiction as a genre is its world building.

I delight in the way the authors construct language, culture, history and myth. Hi Kenneth, great shout on the Green Rider series — deserves to be added and it is reviewed very favourably on the site. I will add it now. Unfortunately we have no Piers Anthony reviews at all at this moment in time so it will be difficult to add the Xanth series but I will look at getting it reviewed as soon as possible — and then hopefully adding to this list.

Sadly she is a very slow writer! I will add Keys to the Kingdom to this list within the next 2 weeks. Although it is considered youth fiction the Keys to The Kingdom series by Garth Nix is definitely worth the read. Thank you sor your recommendation. David, thanks for backing up many of the selections, it is appreciated. And the Barclay Raven series definitely deserves to be on this list, being more than 3 books and very favourably reviewed on the site. I will add it at the next available opportunity. I must admit I have read through many of the above series and while I will always fondly remember the Gemmell series as one of my favourite if a little basic I would also recommend the James Barclay Raven series books for all out action fantasy as well.

But my all time favourite series is the Malazan series by Steven Erikson. While not for the fainthearted as it can be hard work and at times grim I have never read a series with such scope and imagination. For all the people who are wondering where The Wheel of Time is on the list… The Eye of the World is listed and the first book in the series. The Wheel of Time series is on the list. I think you have to re-do this list…. Hi Tob, for the purposes of this list I decided to include only series of 4 and more books. My thoughts on the trilogy is that the first two books are excellent but book three left me very disappointed.

Book 3 was rather preachy and confusing from what I remember. Still my best fantasy read yet. I would say Eddings Sparhawk character is one of the best heroes. Eddings also sprinkles his work with something a lot of fantasy writers struggle to do well… humour. David Gemmell is quite easily the best heroic fantasy writer. His characters are easily likeable and identifiable and his stories are action packed and to the point. Jon Shannow trilogy is one of the best characters ever written! If you are after a quick enjoyable read between or to break up a larger series then Gemmell is the man for the job.

Also I can never understand the criticism of Terry Goodkind. So what if people think his writing is simplistic. I found his books engrossing and very hard to put down. As much as I hate to admit it, the David Eddings books have not aged very well. We should definitely acknowledge the importance of his books in making the fantasy genre what it is today — Pawn of Prophecy was one of the first fantasy books I ever read and was a gateway novel to fantasy for many of my friends — but the problem with writing one of the first popular fantasy series to come after Tolkien is that his books will always be talked about in comparison to Tolkien, while everything that came after his books will talk about they learnt from his mistakes.

A Top 10 of Important Authors would be a very interesting one. I would almost definitely include Eddings in that list, but probably as a conglomerate addition with Raymond E. Martin for finally bringing fantasy into the mainstream, H. Lovecraft for creating a mythology that continues to haunt us you would almost lump him together with guys like Robert E. Rowling for getting children and adults to read again, and maybe you would include the likes of Amanda Hocking and Michael J.

Sullivan for ushering in this new era of high quality self publishing. Oh and Sir Pterry Pratchett. I loved the Belgarion and Sparhawk books and always have a hankering to re-read them every year. Unfortunately I rarely have the time to re-read for pleasure and have so far only managed The Diamond Throne, which I found to be a great little read. Quite a lot of people are quite dismissive of Eddings but I think they are doing him a great disservice, his books are great fantasy and lovely to lose yourself within.

Is is Shakespeare or Tolstoy? Yes, it has racial stereotypes but not in a way that I found offensive. I grew up with The Belgariad and The Mallorean, I must have read these two series a handful of times in high school. The dark tower series is awesome. No Drizzt the dark elf?

I got bored with the Wheel of Time, stopped reading at book 9. I am looking for a trilogy about a girl who must either master or understand each race on the planet to stop something form happening. If anyone knows what this series is could you let me know, I read the books about 8 years ago while on holidays with friends I borrowed them from the library but cannot remember what they were called or who wrote them.

This is a newer series, not a lot of people know about it yet. I think the whole Darkover universe is pretty cool, but there are better written works out there. It promised to be a complex dark fantasy, but it quickly devolved into a boring quest novel with a protagonist who the author made pains to point out was a woman almost every page.