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.
Same, you were guaranteed an adventure, especially with Jedi Knight
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Out of curiosity and self interest. How old were you when your dad read the hobbit to you? And how old was your kid when you started the trilogy?
Can‘t wait to get started with the books with mine.
I was 5 or 6 when he read the Hobbit aloud to me. The trilogy is a bit denser so I read that jointly with him I think when I was 10. My daughter and I did all the books as bedtime stories when she was 8, and she liked them all, but the Hobbit is definitely her favorite.
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.
Probably Warcraft and Starcraft because I grew up playing Warcraft and Starcraft BW. It never gets old to me.
I would say Ascendance of a Bookworm is my favorite but it's not The Best world.
Disc World would be the best.
Naussica from the valley of wind, and Made in Abyss had very good worlds but they lack depth.
but they lack depth.
Read the mangas, both of them are absolutely packed with a ton of detail that never made it into the animes.
Naussica especially, there's a whole worldwide ancient apocalypse buried in there on top of a VERY unique and well thought out ecosystem.
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.
The books share a backdrop but have very different themes.
My interest only grows
Consider Phlebas is about an assassin hiding out in a crew of pirates! In space!
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.
The Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik is one I go back to every now and then. Historical fiction where dragons serve the purpose of air force during the Napoleonic Wars in England. I stared reading, but also quite like the audible narration.
Do videogames count as well? If so, then Hyrule - specifically the one from Breath of the Wild. There is something incredibly tranquil and peaceful about that world ... I could get lost in there for days.
Otherwise, I am Team Discworld. GNU Terry Pratchett.
What's peaceful about a place where somebody invades your home and smash all your pots for rupees? ;)
Easy solution: don't own any pots =P
Or raise some chickens. No green-clothed, sword-swinging little weirdo would dare mess with chickens. (at least not more than once)
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.
Truth be told right now it’s One Piece. I never watched / read when I was younger, but was aware of it in the periphery. I watched the first episode of the Netflix adaptation and immediatly decided that it might be worth checking out. 900 some odd episodes later and I’m kinda sad I’m near the end of what’s currently available. Is it dumb as shit? Yes. Is it immensely charming and at times genuinely moving? Yes. Could it use a massive trimming of the fat—oh god yes. But still I love how completely zany the world is and how unabashedly batshit crazy things get.
Narnia. Morality as a physical force. Accessible multiverse. Magic. Benign deity. Talking animals. Sex with talking animals.
I don't remember that last one being in the movies....
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…
Flash Gordon universe.
Particularly from the 1980 space-opera of the same name Flash Gordon. This is a fun movie.
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 Land from the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
Most people will dismiss it as being a Tolkien-esque immitation (The Ravers as Ringwraiths, the BBEG is very Sauron-like), this is more a fact that there WASN'T much other fantasy writing out there to draw inspiration from.
The real deal is that there are so many amazing and unique fantasy races, the Bloodguard, how giant culture worked, the vile and ur-vile cultures.
Magic also felt like a part of the landscape, and had an essence of good or evil that could affect the very land itself.
The main character is super annoying, full of self-loathing and a sense of powerlessness for most of the series so to me it was more 'putting up with Thomas's self indulgent whiny uselessness until he observes the next cool scene.
But the cool scenes are so amazing that I can forgive just how terrible he is as a protagonist.
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