A Fantasy Summer Reading List

Summer is right around the corner and it's time to fill up the reading que. Here follows a list of some good fantasy books to keep in mind when you starting reading over the summer.

Xanth Series by Piers Anthony

I can safely recommend any of the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony to almost anyone, as long as you like Puns. They are light reading but again...only for the pun inclined. They are some of the punniest, most entertaining fantasy novels I've ever read. Yet that in and of itself puts people off to them.
It's a personal preference but the Xanth novels make quick, fun reading with a quirky system of magic talents.

Malazan Books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

I suggest these to most only hesitantly, not because they aren't good, they are my favorite books afterall. I do this instead because they are heavy and dark. If you want something happy well, don't come here. Ever. Steven Erikson's Books of the Fallen are depressing at their best.

He's an anthropologist and his incredibly deep and rich fantasy world reflects it. I've never read anything with deeper cultures that create more complex interactions and characters. At the same time as this rich and depth comes a brutal approach to story-telling.

Things happen that shock me, characters die that would never in another universe and it's that gritty and somewhat realistic approach to a fantasy world that I find so refreshing and worth-while. I suggest to you with a warning however, don't expect be smiling. The read is enjoyable, but in that deep way where you've seen something incredible not the bright way where something is cute or funny.

Heroics for Beginners by John Moore

Maybe just to outweigh the books of the fallen I'm listing some much lighter works now. Heroics for Beginners is hilarious, commenting and teasing more usual fantastic works. It's hard to explain other than it turns tropes on their side, plays them to the hilt and simply provides an entertaining and quick read.
If I had any criticism it would be that, it just went by too fast.

Myth Adventures by Robert Asprin

Another hilarious look at fantasy Skeeve (Later the Great) and Aahz are wonderful, rich characters in a comical and entertaining world that manages to provide a humorous outlook without bordering on ridiculous. (Not that ridiculous is bad)

Enter here to find the Klahds from Klah, Perverts from Perv, Deveels from Deva and other such Demons that travel the Dimensions. Skeeve is truly entertaining as a character, and while the books sometimes go by very quickly what I enjoyed most was the growth of characters from book to book. Their actions have an effect on them over time and it's refreshing to have it so well illustrated.

The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey

Be warned right here, that if you aren't okay with homo-sexuality you won't be okay with the books. Sorry about the spoiler but well...there it is. They were the first books that I ever read that had homo-sexuality so prominently in them and I found them engaging and entertaining.

Mercedes Lackey is a master of her craft and she exhibits it in this trilogy recording the last Herald Mage and his saga.