Teaser and Top Ten Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
-Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm currently re-reading First Lord's Fury, the final book in Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series.

"We are the masters of the world. We are not afraid."

Varg growled low in his chest. "I find it remarkable how often amateurs confuse courage with idiocy."

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish.

Top Ten Books I'd Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't Read Epic Fantasy

I must admit, I cackled a little when I read this week's topic. I've been trying to get people to read epic fantasy for ages, and this is the perfect way to do it. Most of my book blogger friends are into urban fantasy/paranormal romance and young adult fantasy, so it's really not that much of a stretch. They're not all A Song of Ice and Fire, guys. Some epic fantasy series are just as fun, easy-to-read, and awesome as the UF books you love. If you've haven't read epic/traditional fantasy before, here are some books you could start with. Click the series title for the series list and the book cover for the first book on Goodreads.

The Belgariad
David Eddings

The Belgariad is a rather stereotypical but quite fun coming-of-age fantasy series. It shouldn't be taken too seriously, but it is highly enjoyable, filled with funny and lovable archetypes. 

Green Rider
Kristen Britain

Green Rider is another Bildungsroman, this time about a girl who gets sort of accidentally caught up in kingdom-altering intrigue. Frequently. Karigan is an interesting and likable character, and even after four books, I still don't have everything figured out. An exciting and adventurous series, Green Rider is one you should definitely try.

Black Magician Trilogy
Trudi Canavan

There may be a pattern here. A slum girl discovers she has magical powers and must learn how to control them before they destroy her. At the same time, she stumbles upon a secret that threatens everyone she knows. This series actually managed to take me by surprise, which doesn't happen that often. It's well-written and filled with many excellent characters.

Heralds of Valdemar
Mercedes Lackey

Another lighter series, probably one of the first epic fantasies I read. I wanted to be a Herald for quite a few years (because what thirteen-year-old girl doesn't want a magic talking horse?) and I still pull this one out when I'm feeling nostalgic.

Demon Child Trilogy
Jennifer Fallon

This series is hard to put down – magic, gods, war, intrigue, subterfuge, you name it, the Demon Child trilogy's got it. Jennifer Fallon is one of my favorite authors, and she never fails to create intriguing settings and characters. (Sunday Series Spotlight)

Damar
Robin McKinley

In this very old favorite, an outcast princess finds her place in the world. Those of you who've been around here awhile know that I am a big Robin McKinley fan, and this is one of my favorites of her works. (Sunday Series Spotlight)

Abhorsen
Garth Nix

Though my favorite of this trilogy is Lirael, all the books are interesting and well-written. These were the zombie books before zombies were a thing. (At least in books. There were zombie movies before this.) The Abhorsens make sure the dead stay dead. A little bit different and a lot interesting.

The Dragonriders of Pern
Anne McCaffrey

Strictly speaking, this one is actually scifi, but it really feels more like fantasy, particularly in the first few books. I wanted to be a dragonrider even more than I wanted to be a Herald, which should tell you how much I liked these books as a kid. They're quite unusual and very exciting.

Elantris
Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson never fails to create fascinating and unique worlds. Elantris is one of my favorites of his, because it has both grand scope and a very personal feel. I really liked the characters in this one.

Firekeeper Saga
Jane Lindskold

Firekeeper was raised by wolves, but when a human expedition stumbles upon her home, she must return to her birth country. The Firekeeper books are about a girl learning to live as a human while the humans around her learn just how formidable wolves can be.

This isn't necessarily what I consider the best of epic fantasy. (Though I'll get there. I promise. Someday.) But it's on the lighter side, for the most part, since I doubt most of you want to slog through thousand-page monstrosities and try to remember four dozen unusual character names and another two dozen locations your first time through. What this should be is a reasonable intro to the genre, in the hopes that eventually, you will look forward to those tomes.

Also, I should note that while I read most of these books as a teenager (probably 12-15 for the majority of them), that doesn't necessarily mean they're PG-13. At all. But I've never been good at distinguishing between YA and adult epic fantasy books, so I'll just leave that to you. If you have a question about a particular book, leave a comment or send me an email and I'll do my best to answer it.