Summer is the perfect time to sit yourself down in the Sun and start reading a huge fantasy series. This list is in no particular order but they are great places to start in the fantasy genre as well as being relatively fast-paced reads.
Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
This trilogy is a great introduction to Brandon Sanderson’s writing. The writing is fast-paced and exciting and the characters are some of the best in modern fantasy. The magic system in this series is the greatest I have ever seen. The books are: The Final Empire (#1), The Well of Ascension (#2), and the Hero of Ages (#3). Check out my reviews of the first two books if you want to know more.
Shattered Sea Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
This series is a gritty, viking-based fantasy that will take no more than a week to burn through, sat out in the Sun. See my review for the first book, Half A King, here.
The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula K. LeGuin
If you want some older style fantasy but you’re sick of having Tolkien and Lewis as suggestions, LeGuin is the perfect place to start. This series is the inspiration of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle and the Harry Potter series so you can’t go wrong! Click here to see my reviews for the first two books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
With the TV series coming to a close, it might be nice to turn to the source material for a more in-depth look at Martin’s fantastic characters and to return once again to Westeros. Reviews for A Game of Thrones (#1) and A Clash of Kings (#2) are on this site.
The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
Arguably one of my favourite fantasy trilogies, Canavan’s Black Magician trilogy is a great place to begin in the world of Kyralia. Review for the books are here: The Magician’s Guild (#1), The Novice (#2), The High Lord (#3). This series also has a follow on trilogy, The Traitor Spy Trilogy, and a prequel novel, The Magician’s Apprentice, which is brilliant.
Are there any fantasy series you would add to this list? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
