Emergency recommendation needed

[Elfy]

You could go with a classic like Magician by Raymond E. Feist, that's part of a series, but it can be read standalone and at worst you're only locked in to reading the first 3, rather than the entire cycle. Plus he has the advantage of having a whole bunch of books done, so you're not waiting like with A Song of Ice and Fire and even Wheel of Time. I'd also think about The Lies of Locke Lamora, yes, it's the first of an unfinished series, but it works quite well as a standalone and it's a bloody great book. If you're looking for something on the funnier side pretty much any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books work there. Something gritty and tough that reads almost like historical fiction is David Gemmel's Legend, if you want to see where writers like Joe Abercrombie got their inspiration then look no further.

[Jian]

Thanks for the recommendations. In the end, I recommended the Blade Itself since after re-reading the beginning, it really captured me from the get-go. So, once again, thank you all. I'll keep you all informed about whether or not my friend likes it or not. Fingers crossed, ey?

[Wooly_FY71]

I'd recommend the first book in DM Cornish's The Foundling's Tale series. It's a great intro to fantasy and not too heavy either

[Carl]

I've seen this thread a few times and keep trying to think of good recommendations, but it's hard to put aside our love for good world building that is so much a part of Fantasy.

A couple of possibilities do come to mind though.

Dance of the Goblins by Jaq D Hawkins
It starts with a prologue that does a clever shift from the human point of view to the goblin point of view. The only thing I'm not sure about is that it then slows down a little in chapter 1 to build character relationships. The world building is subtle and happens as part of the plot.

Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
It starts with what looks like the normal world with the main character suffering amnesia, then leads the reader through the process of remembering a very different world and bizarre things start happening. Again, the world building happens gradually.

These won't work if the problem is that he's looking for fast action from the start. What kind of movies does he watch? That might give a clue to the kind of books that would appeal to him. Maybe Terry Brooks if he needs a good sword fight early on.

[ZombieJosh]

This forum thread is making me think I should add The Painted Man to my To-Read list! Never considered it before, as I'm not a big reader of traditional fantasy, but it seems like it's a must read.

Ta people.

[Arry]

This forum thread is making me think I should add The Painted Man to my To-Read list! Never considered it before, as I'm not a big reader of traditional fantasy, but it seems like it's a must read.

Do it.

[Autumn2May]

Another one I would suggest is The Warded Man.

Also known as The Painted Man in the UK if that's where you are. Not read it myself but have heard it gets going pretty rapidly.

I'll second The Painted/Warded Man. I think that's a good one to get you hooked early on in a book.

[Jian]

Now I'm definitely gonna read that. I just started reading Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle. I'm upping Painted Man on the list. I always avoided it because the plot sounded rather predictable. But with all these rave reviews from you people, I might as well give it a shot and hope for the best, ey? xD

[Idlewilder]

Now I'm definitely gonna read that. I just started reading Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle. I'm upping Painted Man on the list. I always avoided it because the plot sounded rather predictable. But with all these rave reviews from you people, I might as well give it a shot and hope for the best, ey? xD

Exactly the same sentiments here. I almost feel obliged to read it now!

[xiagan]

Now I'm definitely gonna read that. I just started reading Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle. I'm upping Painted Man on the list. I always avoided it because the plot sounded rather predictable. But with all these rave reviews from you people, I might as well give it a shot and hope for the best, ey? xD

Exactly the same sentiments here. I almost feel obliged to read it now!

Which certainly is a good thing, eh?

[pornokitsch]

The Painted Man is really, really fantasy. There's not subtle about it - it throw you in the deep end with demons and warriors and whatnot. It is a cool, crazy world, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a "first" fantasy. It is pretty full-on.

Going back to Jdiddy, what does the reader like when they're reading normally? War stuff? (Abercrombie - and probably The Heroes or Best Served Cold) Mystery? (Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora or China Miéville's The City & The City) Historical fiction? (George RR Martin or Naomi Novik). Politics? (KJ Parker's Folding Knife). Horror or SF? (Well, loads of ways to go there...)

Even if they're interested in, I dunno... martial arts, food, Chinese culture, westerns, superheroes, ancient Rome, philosophy, etc... there's a fantasy book for everything!

[Arry]

I'm curious how this went. Has he read it yet? 

[Jian]

Oh, yeah, he read it. He said the Blade Itself, first few chapters, was pretty interesting. Then he picked up a Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Ironically, I'm the one that gave him that book as well. xD

[Alex]

I recently coerced my friend into reading the first two chapters of a fantasy book of my choosing. The problem is, I can't decide which, because I really want to hook him into reading fantasy. The only fantasy books he's read thus far are a few Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. He was not impressed. He normally reads physics textbooks, math, etc.

This is an old thread, but mention of Physics and math made me think of Time Shifters by Shanna Lauffey. It's a time travel series and a lot of science gets slipped in so smoothly that you don't realize you've been reading Einstein's theories if you're not looking for it. Book four really goes into current temporal theories, quoting known experts in the field like Hawkings, Thorne and Davies.

It's also a good adventurous read with a strong female protagonist. Win-win.

[AzWingsFan]

I would chose something with strong writing and believable characters, given that I would not choose the warded man, I begrudgingly finished it, but nothing kept me interested. That coupled with the sub par writing, it didn't do anything for me. I know I am in the minority but if i read that as a first foray into fantasy I would stop there.

The Blade Itself or Best Served Cold