Index
Piers Anthony
The Adventures of Kelvin of Rud series
The Apprentice Adept series
The GeOdyssey series
The Incarnations of Immortality series
The Mode series
The Xanth series
Jean M. Auel
The Earth's Children series
Terry Brooks
The Magic Kingdom of Landover series
The Shannara series
The Heritage of Shannara series
Robert Jordan
The Wheel of Time series
Anne McCaffrey
The Dragonriders of Pern series
Mary Ann Minatra
The Alcott Legacy series
R. A. Salvatore
The Crimson Shadow series
Piers Anthony
The Dragon's Gold series
The Apprentice Adept series
This series is a sci-fi/fantasy mix, in more than one sense. It takes place on the world of Proton, a super-science planet where the 'citizens' have the money and power and the naked 'serfs' are servents with limited tenure. Even though serfs have no rights and are considered property of the citizens who employ them, there is a waiting list to go to the planet as a serf because of 'the game.' A serf approaching the end of his tenure and facing an unknown assassin, Stile, discovers Proton's alternate world, Phaze. Phaze is a world of myth and magic and seems a paradise to Stile...but his would-be murderer is out to get him there as well. An excellent series, especially the first three books. The last four are about the next generation. 'The game' is fascinating and will make you wish you could be a lowly serf on Proton.
The GeOdyssey series
I believe there are three books in this series so far, but I only have the first two and haven't read the second yet. Isle of Woman was incredible. Not only do you get an exciting action/drama/tragedy/romance story, but you get a synopsis of the history of mankind and a geography lesson. The story begins at the dawn of man with two young children, a boy and a girl. The chapters alternate between the boy and the girl...each chapter they age four years...and history progresses thousands of years. They are the same people, but different. Each chapter also has a brief background on the time period it takes place in. If you like history, read it...if you don't like history, read it anyway but skip the chapter intros.
The Incarnations of Immortality series
The Incarnations of Immortality is exactly that. The first book, On a Pale Horse, is about the human personification of Death. Bearing an Hourglass is about Time, With a Tangled Skein is about Fate, Wielding a Red Sword is about War, Being a Green Mother is about Gaia (or Earth), For Love of Evil is about Satan, and And Eternity is about God. The last two are not as good as the first five. My favorite is definitely On a Pale Horse. I looked at death in a whole new light after reading it.
The Mode series
The Xanth series
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Jean M. Auel
The Earth's Children series
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Terry Brooks
The Magic Kingdom of Landover series
This series is a classic fantasy with a twist. A lawyer from modern earth buys a magic kingdom, complete with dragons, faeries, castles, knights, and magic.
Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold!
Two years after losing his wife and child to an accident, lawyer Ben Holiday comes across an ad in a catalog: Magic Kingdom for sale, $1,000,000. Of course it sounds crazy, it must be a hoax, but his life has lost purpose and he has nothing to lose. But Ben soon discovers that Landover is very real, and indeed magical, and that if he doesn't learn its secrets soon his new life will be cut very short. He has purchased the throne of a dying kingdom--the people no longer support the king; his 'loyal staff' consists of a bungling wizard, a talking dog, and two monkey-faced kobolds whom he can't understand; the land is plagued with a rotting sickness that is wilting the plants and destroying the magic; and a powerful demon is out to kill the king; and no one can tell Ben what has happened to the Paladin, the vanished champion of Landover's kings.
The Black Unicorn
One year after Ben assumed the throne of Landover dreams of his old friend send Ben back to Earth. But Ben soon discovers that the dream was sent to him by the evil wizard Meeks, who used Ben to get back into Landover. Stripped of his identity and his only protection, the medallion of the kings of Landover, Ben goes in search of the lovely Sylph Willow. Plagued by her own prophetic dreams, Willow searches for the Black Unicorn and Ben must find her before she unknowingly turns it over to Meeks.
The Shannara series
The three original books in the Shannara series, set in a medieval/fantasy world, seemingly our own in the far future. Technology and most of the human race were exterminated after a nuclar holocaust...no one really knows the history of those times and the earth has had time to recover from the mass destruction. Magic has taken the place of technology, and the years of hiding and adapting to the changed planet have produced new races: dwarves, trolls, gnomes, and presumedly elves...though in truth the elves have always existed.
The Sword of Shannara
This is probably Terry Brooks' most famous book. Sword is the story of young Shea Ohmsford, the descendant of a famous elven King, and his brother Flick. Together with Shea's long-time friend Menion (the Prince of Leah), the mysterious Druid Allanon, and a small group of friends with common goals, they set out to obtain the mystical Sword of Shannara that will save their people from the evil Warlock Lord.
The Elfstones of Shannara
Set about fifty years after Sword, Elfstones tells the story of Shea's grandson, the would-be healer Wil Ohmsford. The Ellcrys--a tree created with elven magic as a prison for the demons that threatened the races--is dying and the seal on the demons' prison is weakening. Allanon summons Wil to guard the elven girl Amberle as she carries the Ellcrys' precious seed to the Bloodfire to create a new Ellcrys. The Reaper, a demon that has already escaped, follows close behind and Wil's only defense are his grandfather's elfstones, which he can't seem to control.
The Wishsong of Shannara
Wishsong follows Wil's children, Brin and Jair Ohmsford, and the descendant of Menion, Rone Leah. Brin and Rone join Allanon on a quest through the Eastland to destroy the Ildatch, source of the Mord Wraiths who are trying to destroy mankind. Along with help from the eccentric Cogline and his granddaughter Kimber Boh, Allanon hopes to use Brin's magical wishsong to penetrate the wicked plantlife that protects the Ildatch. Then Jair learns from the King of the Silver River that his sister is in dire straits and will die without his help. Jair struggles to control his own elven magic as he races to help his sister.
The Heritage of Shannara series
The original trilogy are still my favorites, but these were great too. Scions, Druid, Elf Queen, and Talismans take place three hundred years after Wishsong. Allanon is long dead, the Elves have vanished, the Dwarves are enslaved, the Southland is ruled by the Federation, and magic is strictly forbidden. Par and Coll Ohmsford, however, remind people of the time of their ancestors--Shea and Flick, Wil, and Brin and Jair--through the use of Par's wishsong and Coll's story-telling. Then the evil Shadowen, soul-consuming wraiths who can take over human bodies, appear in the Southland.
The Scions of Shannara
A man who calls himself Cogline appears to Par and Coll with a message from Allanon to go to the Hadeshorn. Morgan Leah, still in possession of Rone's magic blade, accompanies the brothers and there they meet their cousin Wren Ohmsford and their uncle Walker Boh, descendant of Kimber. Allanon's Shade shows them the future that will be if they don't stop it--a lifeless world full of the evil Shadowen. Par is charged with recovering the Sword of Shannara, Wren is to find the Elves and return them to the world of men, and Walker is to seek out disappeared Paranor and restore the Druids.
The Druid of Shannara
Walker discovers that to restore the Druid's Keep he must find the Black Elfstone, but his search nearly kills him. The daughter of the King of the Silver River, Quickening, finds him nearly dead. She heals him and tells him the Elfstone is in the hands of the Stone King. Walker, minus one arm and no longer able to summon his magic; Morgan, with a broken sword and in a severe depression; and Quickening, who is a defenseless assassination target and being stalked by Pe Ell; set out to obtain the Elfstone and restore Paranor.
The Elf Queen of Shannara
Wren has been charged with finding the Elves, but no one in the Westland has seen or heard of them...until the Addershag. Wren and Garth are flown on a Roc to the island of Morrowindl, where the Elves are rumored to be. Armed with Shea's elfstones, her and Garth must fight their way through the dangers of the island to find the elves, if they exist. And if she finds them she must convince them to return with her to the world of men, back through the wilderness of Morrowindl to the one safe spot on the coast.
The Talismans of Shannara
With their individual quests complete, the descendants of Shannara must rid the world of the Shadowen. The leader of the Shadowen, Rimmer Dall, is determined to stop them from gaining the knowledge that could put an end to the Shadowen. For Walker, he sends the Four Horsemen; for Wren he sends an untrue friend; and to Par he gives his own personal attention. Par must find a way to use the Sword of Shannara before he or his brother are subverted beyond recovery by Rimmer Dall.
First King of Shannara
First King isn't really a part of the Heritage series, but it was published last so I include it here. It takes place during the Second War of the Races and follows the story of the Elven King Jerle Shannara, Shea's famous ancestor. Allanon's father, the Druid Bremen, is cast out of Paranor and learns of the evil Druid Brona and his dark forces of the Northland intent on the destruction of the races. Bremen soon realizes that in order to survive the races must unite, and that they will need a powerful weapon to combat the evil Druid.
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Robert Jordan
The Wheel of Time series
So far there are seven books in this series. I have read the first three and half of the fourth one twice. The books are very long, between 600 and 1,000 pages, and Robert Jordan is rather wordy. I've tried to read the series twice and both times stopped half way through the fourth book. Don't get me wrong, the books are very good, I just can't seem to get through them. My sister read all of them and loved them. She keeps telling me I should finish reading them, and that once I get past the lag in the middle of book four it will get better. Anyway, they are very good reads, you just have to have the patience to read them.
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Anne McCaffrey
The Dragonriders of Pern series
The Dragonriders of Pern takes place far in the future. Man has colonized an earth-like planet many light-years from civilization and have reverted to an agricultural society with little technology. Every 200 years, Pern is plagued by a voracious life-form, called Thread, that devourers all organic material. The original colonists bred a larger version of a native life-form resembling the dragons of old Earth lore to combat the Thread. Anne McCaffrey is an excellent author and immediately pulls the reader in to a believeable, wonderful world with realistic characters and heart-wrenching drama. Read the series in order of publication or in chronological order, whatever your preference. I think it is more suspenseful in order of publication, and less confusing in chronological order.
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Mary Ann Minatra
The Alcott Legacy series
The first book in the Alcott Legacy, The Tapestry, starts at the beginning of the Civil War. The series continues through the post-Civil War south. They are kind of hard to get in to, but definitely worth the read.
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R. A. Salvatore
The Crimson Shadow series
The first book in The Crimson Shadow, The Sword of Bedwyr, begins the story of 20 year old Luthien Bedwyr, the younger son of the Eorl of Bedwydrin. The Isle of Bedwydrin is part of the kingdom of Eriador, home of a proud people who have never been conquered...until 20 years ago. Young Luthien doesn't remember the days before King Greensparrow's evil reign, but his older brother does...and then Luthien's brother is sent off to die in a war for the tyrant King, and his best friend is murdered by the King's emissary. Luthien avenges his friends death and leaves home to preserve his own life. He meets up with a highwayman, gains a cloak of invisibility from a rogue magician, and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a revolution. The second book in the series, Luthin's Gamble, continues the story. I don't know if that is the last book or not...it wrapped the story up nicely, but left it open for continuation.
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