Fantasy Authors: Must Read Books for Any Fantasy Book Lover

Ever since I was eleven and my father handed me "Pawn of Prophecy" by David Eddings, I was hooked. I devoured every fantasy book I could get my hands on. There is something about being transported to a different world and seeing through the eyes of someone else's imagination. There are rules that every fantasy book should adhere to but they aren't the rules that we drudge through during our 9-5 lives.

I'm always filled with a certain amount of excitement when I discover a really good fantasy book. I also always find regret at the end of the book that it is over. Over the years I have read many fantasy books. Some of them were wonderful; others not so much. I've compiled a list of my favorite authors (in no particular order) that you might want to look into.

1) Robin Hobb. The Farseer Trilogy and Tawny Man Trilogy. They chronicle the life of FitzChivalry Farseer an assassin (or former assassin) and his adventures trying to defend the Farseer throne. This story has excellent character development and I guarantee you will not be able to put it down.

2) Anne Bishop. First thing I feel the need to stress, the Black Jewels Trilogy is not a book to be read by the young. It is a dark fantasy filled with sex, intrigue, and murder. That being said it is a richly detailed world filled with interesting characters you love and hate. It follows the characters surrounding Jaenelle, Witch, and Queen of the Dark Court.

3) Terry Brooks. The Shannara books. Read them all. Now. Finish the article, get in the car and go to the book store. This is an extraordinary world. These books focus on the Ohmsfords and the Druids of Paranor. It has everything you need in a good fantasy series; magic, demons, monsters, war, love, elves, dwarves, and giants.

4) Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. Dragonlance Chronicles. A group of friends separate and decide to go out into the world in search of the true gods. They make an oath to return in 5 years and go over what they have learned. Their reunion is interrupted by the arrival of two barbarians bearing the blue crystal staff, an artifact of the true gods. They then set forth on a journey and discover not only the true gods, but dragons, draconians, and flying citadels.

5) R.A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden. He is a dark elf who has forsaken his people's evil ways and instead goes to the surface and lives the life of a ranger. He initially sought acceptance by the world but in the end he really only needed acceptance by those he loved.

6) David Eddings. The Belgariad. Young Garion is raised on a farm by his Aunt Pol. He is then wrenched from farm life and travels with Old Wolf, the vagabond storyteller and Aunt Pol in search of the stolen Orb of Aldur. This is a story of kings, monsters, war, prophecy, gods and magic.

By no means is this list meant to be all encompassing. I'd urge you to look up Robert Jordan, Anne Rice, Guy Gavriel Kay, Terry Goodkind, and Maggie Furey to name a few. To the people out there who believe fantasy books are just books about elves and dwarves, I urge you to pick up one of these books. You will find that fantasy transports you to a richly detailed world where anything is possible. The characters truly touch your heart and in the end you will disappointed you must leave.