Listmania!
Flights of fantasy
The Farseer 1.Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy)The Farseer 1.Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb
Buy new: £5.19 / Used from: £1.06
Best fantasy series I've read; follow this with Royal Assassin and Assasin's Quest and then...
The Liveship Traders 1: Ship of MagicThe Liveship Traders 1: Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.20
Didn't think RH could top the Farseer Trilogy, but this is fantasy of a different kind. Also The Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny
NevernessNeverness by David Zindell
Buy used from: £0.01
Philosophy meets mathematics; intelligent sci-fi without the techno-babble. Zindell followed it up with the Requiem for HomoSapiens trilogy
Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos)Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos) by Dan Simmons
Buy used from: £0.01
Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion. My favourite sci-fi series - with the possible exception of...
Revelation Space (Gollancz S.F.)Revelation Space (Gollancz S.F.) by Alastair Reynolds
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
followed by Chasm City, Redemption Ark, Diamond Dogs/Turquoise Days, Absolution Gap
Wolf's BrotherWolf's Brother by Megan Lindholm
Buy new: £3.50 / Used from: £0.01
Change of tone. This and The Reindeer People are a nice duo from the woman who would become Robin Hobb!
The Eyes of the DragonThe Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
Buy used from: £0.01
The only King book that feels as good now as it did when I was 14. Easy to read, rather lovely.
The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Bk. 1 (Dark Tower)The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Bk. 1 (Dark Tower) by Stephen King
Buy new: £2.85 / Used from: £0.50
Of course, that was before I discovered the Dark Tower! Forget everything else King has ever written - the remaining two are due this year.
Daggerspell (Deverry)Daggerspell (Deverry) by Katharine Kerr
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.99
Daggerspell, Darkspell, Dawnspell, Dragonspell - then: A Time of... Exile, Omens, War, Justice. And then some more!!
Fallen DragonFallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
Buy new: £3.57 / Used from: £0.37
Didn't think Peter F. Hamilton could do himself justice in just one short novel, but I loved this. Last few pages made me grin like crazy
Sword of Truth (The Sword of Truth)Sword of Truth (The Sword of Truth) by Terry Goodkind
Buy used from: £91.18
What great value! Then get Temple of the Winds, Soul of the Fire, Faith of the Fallen, Pillars of Creation, Naked Empire
Sword in the Storm (The Rigante Series)Sword in the Storm (The Rigante Series) by David Gemmell
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.77
This and Midnight Falon are very old-world Celtic; Ravenheart and Stormrider pick up the story a few hundred years on. Interesting.
Daughter of the EmpireDaughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist
Buy new: £4.10 / Used from: £0.01
Daughter / Servant / Mistress - based on Feist's Magician but more involving in my opinion - who knew politics could be fun!
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever: "Lord Foul's Bane", "Illearth War" and "Power That Preserves" (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever: "Lord Foul's Bane", "Illearth War" and "Power That Preserves" (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen Donaldson
Buy new: £11.89 / Used from: £4.99
The classics are the best, aren't they? Deliciously dark and un-fantasy fantasy. Second trilogy left me a little disappointed, but glad it was there.
The Real Story (Gap)The Real Story (Gap) by Stephen Donaldson
Buy used from: £0.01
This book is rather rubbish! Don't let that put you off - the others are fantastic: Gap into... Vision, Power, Madness, Ruin
The Player of Games (The Culture)The Player of Games (The Culture) by Iain M. Banks
Buy new: £2.97 / Used from: £1.00
I loved the way 'The Game' felt so real, even though it was only sketched out. Use of Weapons was equally brilliant
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective AgencyDirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01
This and Long Dark Teatime of the Soul - Hitchhiker's what, now?!
GridlinkedGridlinked by Neal Asher
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.50
Not perfect, but Mr Crane is a chilling creation. Would benefit from a second read, though
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children)The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children) by Jean M Auel
Buy new: £3.51 / Used from: £0.08
Less 'fantasy', but all the more interesting for showing glimpses of our own deep past
Mort (Discworld Novel)Mort (Discworld Novel) by Terry Pratchett
Buy new: £5.59 / Used from: £0.20
Not necessarily my all time favourite Discworld book, but the one I recommend to newcomers to the series
Good OmensGood Omens by Neil Gaiman
Buy new: £5.59 / Used from: £0.72
The M1 is a giant, demonic symbol... didn't you always just expect something like that?