Re: simular series to the wheel of time
I'll second the recommendation for the Mistborn series, which has a wonderfully realized world with off-kilter magic and amazing political complexity. I'll also add to the praise for Game of Thrones et al. There is magic, but its very different from most fantasy series and seems as we learn more and more about it that it always comes at a very high cost.
I've just started reading Steven brust's Vlad Taltos novels, which I had heard good things about that I was happy when I found it on Audible. It appears to do some interesting things around magic and politics, and I rather adore the main character, who reminds me of a far less whiny Harry Dresden.
Oh and of course there's the Harry Dresden novels, which you must read in order to learn about Butcher's marvelous magical world, parts of which are revealed in each book. While Harry himself is as I said sometimes rather whiny, he is also a snarky bastard and I admire tha t in a main character who is usually outnumbered and outgunned in most of the stories. This one is excellent for the world-building more than the character, though many of the supporting characters are awesome.
Another set of series like that are the Stephen R. Donaldson Chronicles of Thomas Covenant et all. I think we're up to ten plus books, though I believe the last one was just released to the library of Congress. Thomas Covenant starts out the series as a true shit heel, whiny biatch with the effectiveness of wet toilet paper, but gradually stumbles, then grows into some power. The world and supporting cast are lovely, the villains truly awful, the allies independent, flawed and ultimately quite heroic each in their way. This one's definitely a matter of taste, my wife would like to retroactively provide Donaldson's mother with more effective contraception to prevent the publication of "that pile of crap" as she calls the series.
Let's see, while it's not a series in the way that Wheel of Time is, the Newford Chronicles by Charles deLint are just about the best in modern urban fantasy. If you like fairies with your urban landscapes, these are fantastic and can break your heart.
It's not a series, but at something like 40 hours of narration, Neil Stephenson's Anathegm might as well be. It's one of the only examples of the successful marriage of high fantasy and science fiction I can think of. The version on Audible.com also comes with a lovely score, which I just learned you can purchase an album of separately. Hmmm, that sentence escaped containment, oh well, y'all hopefully know what I mean.
The five novels in the Earthsea books are a fundamental part of any fantasy literature reader's basic literacy. Ursula LeGuin creates a lovely world from Celtic and Norse tropes. The original three novels were cl assified as young adult, but that doesn't really fit them, or at least there's rich material for teens and adults alike. The fourth and fifth novels are definitely more adult in tone. There aren't many books that leave me crying at the end, but the Other Side of the Wind, (the fifth book) did so.
Well, that's about three years worth of reading. Enjoy.
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