finished the abhorsen trilogy.what next??

[schmintan]

finished garth nix's abhorsen trilogy and its fantastic. i need something new . i have heard his other works are not nearly as good. im wondering what i move onto next. i like books like that, that bring in a mix of the real world and the fantastic world. im not really into theese books about wizards and barbarians set in ancient times. i dont know what i want next but any recommendations would be appriciated. thanks all

[Leto]

Any China Mieville or Tim Powers book.

[Jay]

Any China Mieville or Tim Powers book

Hell yes.

[schmintan]

can anyone tell me what the genre is that i am kind of specifying? id like to narrow it down to something a little less broad as "fantasy". anything with a touch of real world and magical world , with a deep history, and charachters that originate in that history, kind of like in the abhorsen trilogy. im blabbering a bit but i hope you get what im trying to describe

[dwndrgn]

Well, I haven't read Nix's Abhorsen series but if you are looking for books with a mix of the real world and some fantasy there are quite a few. Obviously some have already been mentioned but for lighter fare Mercedes Lackey has a series based in our world which concerns the sidhe (of dark and light) who tend to fight amongst themselves and involve normal everyday peoples, especially those who happen to have some sort of talent that helps them help one side or the other. I believe it is the Bard series (not to be confused with her Bardic series from earlier which is entirely fantasy - and really good reading - and also includes bards), but I'm not entirely sure of the titles. For this series, the main character is a normal joe who happens to play an instrument in a renaissance faire in California and the rest is part of the book so I won't tell

And then there are those that deal with us normal folks who happen to get accidentally transported to some fantasy realm without our knowledge and then those characters have to deal with the new world and situation as and how they can. Some examples of this are Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series, Modesitt's series that has a similar title something like Spellsinger but not - I can't think of it at the moment - and Rosenberg's series about a group of Dungeons and Dragons type players who get transported to their own little fantasy world.

Well, there's more but I've got people over that I shouldn't really ignore to talk books (they understand but hubby doesn't ) so I'll head off and wish you luck in finding lots more good books to read.

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by schmintan

finished garth nix's abhorsen trilogy and its fantastic. i need something new . i have heard his other works are not nearly as good. im wondering what i move onto next. i like books like that, that bring in a mix of the real world and the fantastic world. im not really into theese books about wizards and barbarians set in ancient times. i dont know what i want next but any recommendations would be appriciated. thanks all

Garth is another author born in Melbourne where else?...

On a seriuos note I've read the Abhorsen trilogy and quite enjoyed it as well as having met Garth before. Don't know if you're aware but the new Old Kingdom book The Creature In The Case has just been released here in OZ so that's an obviuos one for you to check out. These books are geared towards the YA market but can also be enjoyed by adults.

If you're after something that also involves a bit of a mix b/w our world and a magical knigdom/land you may like:

The Finovar Tapetsry - A classic trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay that switches b/w the real and imagined world with the heroes a group of college students. Read this almost 20 years ago and still remember it as a very good read.

The Word and Void Trilogy - For me the best of author Terry Brooks work and another involving magic in the "real world".

All for now...

[rune]

What about the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

[Jay]

Try any of these, not only different, but in many cases the best in the genre IMHO:

Michael Moorcock
Alan Moore
Susanna Clarke
Jeff VanderMeer
Rhys Hughes
George R.R. Martin
KJ Bishop
Zoran Zivkovic
M. John Harrison
Mervyn Peake
Gene Wolfe
Jack Vance
Graham Joyce
Michael Swanwick
Tim Powers
Jonathan Carroll
James P. Blaylock
John C. Wright
Steph Swainston
Philip Jose Farmer
Roger Zelazny
Neil Gaiman
China Mieville
Philip Pullman
Neal Stephenson
Charles De Lint
R. Scott Bakker
Paul Di Fillipo
Stepan Chapman
Guy Gavriel KaY
Jeffrey Thomas
Nick Mamatas
Tamar Yellin
Ian R. Macleod
John M. Ford
Charles Stross
Kelly Link
Michael Chabon
Michael Cisco
Kazuo Ishiguro
Brooks Hansen
Sean Stewart
John Gardner
Mary Gentle

[Leto]

Or to the reverse from real world (futuristic but not so far) to fantasy and back, try Otherworld by Tad Williams.

[Ailanna]

You might try Chris Wooding's The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, which is a YA dark fantasy set in a dark alternate 19th century London. I was reminded a bit of Nix's series while reading it-- not sure exactly why, perhaps something to do with the variety and creativity of the monsters and creepy crawlies in the world. Philip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy, beginning with The Golden Compass, tends to get mentioned in the same breath as the Abhorsen trilogy as being another gripping YA dark fantasy series. I don't personally find them that similar, but I do like them both.

Alternately, if you are interested in necromancy, you might try Martha Wells's Death of the Necromancer, which is another alternate 19th century (or perhaps 18th; it's been awhile since I reread it) dark fantasy.