Discworld - I just love stories from Terry Pratchet and there are lots of them (40 books).
GNU Terry Pratchett
GNU Terry Pratchett
Plus one for Discworld. I also really like the way Gods, magic and interplanetary travel worked in the Raymond E Feist Universe (the main planet was midkemia?)
This is my answer as well. It’s not at all because the world [building] is so compelling – there are better (well, crunchier) books out there for that – but the recurring characters and settings and themes, make this series a total comfort to go back to every few years. It’s like a warm blanket.
Before Disney it used to be Star Wars because it has so much potential for any kind of story. You can go super science fictiony without encountering any kind of fantasy elements. You can have a western type setting, dystopia, magic, drama, comedy, any weird combination of them all.
Earthsea by a country mile.
Came here to say this! All the different islands with their overlapping but different cultures, talking dragons, great magic system. It’s awesome. I love the nomadic tribes on their huge floating rafts, especially.
Boring answer, but probably Middle-earth/Arda. Just such a well-crafted world with deep and interesting lore.
Runner up would be Bas-Lag from China Miéville’s books. Very unique, somewhat Lovecraftian steampunk world with many weird inhabitants.
Roshar, in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books in the Stormlight Archive series. Everything from the magic system and the cultures to the animal life and the weather patterns are all really unique and totally immerse you in the world. Absolute masterclass worldbuilding.
Roshar is very cool, but I think I prefer Scadrial. Maybe that’s because I feel like I understand the history of that world a bit more. Plus Allomancy is really cool, but not as cool as Surgebinding.
The entire Cosmere are the best books I’ve read and the most I’ve been obsessively invested in a story.
And that’s saying something, I’ve been obsessed with some damn stories in my time
Pern. Just the quirk of it’s physical environment that I don’t want to give away, and the way people lived because of it felt very unique to me. It was so integral to the stories, too. You often see unusual environments in fantasy and sci-fi, but often only while setting the stage.
One of the things I like about the Pern universe (similar to the Wool universe) is that you start with a technologically advanced society that (for whatever reason) loses knowledge, and the way that hidden history impacts society over extended periods
That too!
Yes! The planet and strange ecosystem is as much a character as any of the people, constantly affecting the events of the story. It is a story that couldn’t just as well happen on earth.
Probably Warcraft and Starcraft because I grew up playing Warcraft and Starcraft BW. It never gets old to me.
Cradle by Will Wight because the characters are endearing and believable and tangibly grow as people while they grow in the magic system which while we’re at it is very satisfying variation on Chinese martial arts “magic” systems, the power scaling is nuts.
The world is deep and interesting and you get a lot of insight into it from other characters perspectives
It’s 12 books and everything builds from everything you’ve read naturally. The themes speak to me, etc.
I’m currently rereading this for like the twentieth time (ending Dreadgod atm). I’m going through some shit and these books are very… easy to read and they just are comfort reads.
The Culture, because you could have every other world inside it.
I’ve heard really good things about this serie. It’s in my “to be read” list for sure.
Who wrote it? Google is not being helpful
Ian M Banks. Player of Games is the best intro book.
Alagaësia, 1st high fantasy book of mine + interesting magic system
Ah did you like Murtagh? I wish it was a bit longer.
Depends on the definition of fantasy. Star trek if its not limited to sword and sorcery. Then maybe xanth if it has to be magic. This is based on where I would want to live if I was in one because most of them are horrific or at least have all sorts of wars and conflicts and the average person does not have it so good.
Possibly considered a bit basic or boring, but definitely Tolkien for me. It’s a classic for a reason, and personally it is still so special to me
One of my earliest and dearest childhood memories was my dad reading the Hobbit to me when I was quite small. We later read the trilogy books as well. Loved them all. Recently read them all with my daughter, creating a whole new set of precious memories.
Warhammer: Fantasy world. I didn’t get into 40k that much, and that world, especially in End Times before killing it off for a remaster was so vivid, morbid and satirical. Having both strategy and shooter games of a refined quality helped it too.
Other than that, MythAdventures by Robert Lynn Asprin. Isn’t consistent, didn’t age well, but I love to reread these books from time to time. I really liked some jokes and characters here.
I’m deep into 40k but have always wanted to delve into the fantasy side of things. Any books you’d recommend as an entry point?
You caught me without pants as I just left one desktop for another and lost my collection I torrented from rutracker (most of it is abandoned anyway). I remember Goetrik and Fenix being a funny series of books, and from the lore books something called Black Library (?) published great in-world books, including a very cool medievally stylized manual for inquisitors.
Guess it’s their site: https://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000
I can produce a magnet link to both if you are interested.
I’m quite interested actually…
The first thing of G&F journey:
https://files.catbox.moe/koaxzg.epub
A collection of WH:F books
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:1C9D191DD27E67E7AFE5A936C99881953C96B0CD&tr=http%3A%2F%2Fbt2.t-ru.org%2Fann%3Fmagnet&dn=%5BWargame%5D%20Games%20Workshop%20-%20Warhammer%20Fantasy%20Roleplay%20Collection%20%5B1986-2010%2C%20PDF%2C%20ENG%5D
I can upload more books if you’d find that one interesting.
Maybe a little old-fashioned (the first book was written in the 60’s), but I love Jack Vance’s Gaean Reach setting. Thousands of worlds with each of them containing a multitude of civilizations, each of those with their own strange customs. Some of them advanced, others medieval and some of them almost completely alien.
For me it is one of the best universes when it comes to exploration and experiencing new worlds.The wizarding world. I thoroughly enjoy Harry Potter and anything related to it (the books, movies, Hogwarts Legacy game, etc).
Imagine living in a world where you can enrich your life and the things around you with magic, spells, charms…
