Similar Story Suggestions..

[kerpah]

I was hoping that someone would be able to give me some suggestions as to what books are similar in story structure to a couple others that I've read.

The story structure that I'm looking for is: a boy discovers that he has magical powers (or something similar) and has to learn to use these powers to accomplish whatever/save the world.

A few examples of this would be Eragon, Harry Potter, Magician by Feist, Wheel of Time..Dune and Ender's Game aren't fantasy, but same style..

If you have time, a brief summary would be useful also.

Thanks for any and all help!

Also: has anyone read Dhampir by Bard & J.C. Hendee? Is is similar to the above mentioned titles? How about Sabriel by Garth Nix?

 

[ravenus]

You want to read books with a similar plot? What about variety being the spice of life and all?

 

[kerpah]

Oh, I read all sorts of books, with great variety..
I just finished Gone with the Wind for the first time, and am currently reading the Traveler by John Twelve Hawks(boring, nolthing special)..

Also, I don't really want the same plot, just the same set-up. eg Dune is quite different from Harry Potter, yet both deal with a young man coming into power/destiny etc.

I got the title The Deed of Paksenarrion, and am currently also reading that. Any other titles would be much appreciated!

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Virtually any fat fantasy series, really. Although, I'd suggest you try the Earthsea books by Ursula Le Guin, David Eddings' Belgariad will probably do it for you.

 

[kerpah]

I have read the Earthsea novels; for some reason I didn't enjoy them. Ursula Le Guin's writing style is different, and I can't seem to get used to it: the world just doesn't seem alive.. I feel that the world and the character's in it are made up as she goes along, that they don't exist outside of the main character's journey..Maybe it's just me.

The Belgariad looks interesting; I'll read it as soon as I am done reading the Paksenarrion book. Thanks much for the suggestion, I'm much excited to have a series lined up.

 

[Mark Robson]

You could try mine - they are broadly along that theme. The Darkweaver Legacy - Mark Robson.

The Forging of the Sword
Trail of the Huntress
First Sword
The Chosen One

There are plenty of reviews available both here, on my website, (link in my signature) and on amazon. If you wait a week, you'll get them in the new cover formats, which I intend to post in the author section under my name later on today - if I can work out how! My website manager has been slow to get the new covers on as well, so the old ones are still being displayed everywhere at the moment.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Funny, I get just the opposite impression from the Earthsea books -- that there is a very rich and complete and well-thought out world through which LeGuin's characters move.

Though certainly the plots center around very personal journeys. Even when two characters go out to save the world in "The Farthest Shore," it involves more self-discovery than conventional heroics, and they interact with other characters and with their environment in a very careful and quiet way.

 

[kerpah]

I think my problem with the Earthsea books is that they are written (to me, at least) as a story as opposed to being written as a novel. Let me explain: I think there is a difference between a story told verbally and a book written as a book. Telling a story around a campfire is invariably going to come out in a different fashion than one being written down.
Earthsea books seem, to me, to be the story type, not the novel. I think they would be great being read to someone, but when I read them, I cannot seem to get in 'the groove' that I usually get in when I start reading a good book.
-------
Mark Urpan: I'll be reading your books next I think I'll wait a week to order them and get the new covers.

Thanks much for all the suggestions so far: Paksenarrion, Belgariad series, Forging of the Sword books..
I'm really excited that I actually have some books lined up, it usually takes me awhile to find a book to read after reading something. Much thanks!

 

[dwndrgn]

Also you could try:
The Baker's Boy by J.V. Jones
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams
and just on the off chance that you haven't read them yet, there is always The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), The Sword of Shannara (Brooks), and The Iron Tower trilogy (Dennis McKiernan).

 

[GOLLUM]

Hi there!

Here's some suggestions (others have mentioned) along the lines you're talking about:

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams, very well written literally about a kitchen boy who tries to save the world, i'd be surpsied if you didn't enjoy this, one of my top fantasy series...

Sword Of Shannara -Terry Brooks, pretty formulaic but it's along the lines of what you're talking about.

Baker's Boy qouted above is part of a trilogy by JV Jones. I didn't mind this series, Ok BUT her current Sword Of shadows series is very good, bit more on the gritty side though.

Read that trilogy by Garth Nix. Know Garth, good guy and quite a talented writer actually. Enjoyed that series revovles around teenage girl. Here's a blurb/summary of book 1 in trilogy I found:

Sabriel

Sabriel, the lead character, is an 18-year-old girl whom we first encounter properly at Wyverley College, established in 1652 for young ladies of quality. One of Sabriel’s qualities is that she is the daughter of the Abhorsen, which is a specialised type of necromancer. The Abhorsen, served by Sendings made from Charter Magic and a talking cat named Mogget, operate from a small island home. This is tucked away in the decaying and magical Old Kingdom, a place which is both physically and metaphysically partitioned from Ancelstierre, an early 20th century industrialised region. On one side of the Wall magic works, on the other it doesn't, except when the wind blows from the North....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

When you say that the Earthsea books seem more like stories than novels, do you mean that they lack depth?

Because actually the books are very complex and layered, but it's really easy to miss that on a first reading, especially if you're rushing on through (as I was the first time I read A Wizard of Earthsea) waiting for Something to Happen. Things are always happening in the Earthsea books, but very few things Happen, if you catch my drift.

Which to me makes a book more like a novel and less like a story.

But the Earthsea trilogy is certainly not to everyone's taste. LeGuin's whole approach pretty much goes against the trend of most fantasy being written today and therefore counter to reader expectations. And sometimes it's hard to get into a book just because it's not what we're looking for at that particular moment in time, don't you think?

So I would suggest revisiting Earthsea someday, but for where you seem to be right now Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn might be a good fit.

 

[kerpah]

kelpie: I didn't mean to say that the Earthsea books lacked depth. I simply mean that they read, to me, as something that is told verbally. Like something someone tells around a campfire.

Its hard for me to explain; let me try.
With Dune, if you read it outloud, would read like a book. You, the listener, would know that it indeed was a book, simply from the way it was written. With the Earthsea novels, I get the feeling (I may be alone in this) that the listener would not be able to tell whether it was a book or a story meant to be told verbally. No implications of depth intended, as I've read verbal-intended stories that had more layers than my last ice cream cake. I simply get the feeling that the books should be read aloud to a goup around a campfire rather than be read solo.

Now I'm not saying that is bad; however, I cannot seem to get into the 'groove' and enjoy them as I would other books.

Speaking of LeGuin, awhile ago I read a new novel of hers, Gifts. Now, that novel seemed less verbal-intended than Earthsea. However, I would consider that novel to be more of a story than a full fledged novel. Hmm.

Maybe I just miss out on something when it comes to her writing. Maybe I just don't get it.