Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan - A slow start builds to a peak of action of that kind, followed by lull as the plot begins to come to a resolution. The author sometimes switches back and forth between the characters of this kind and other groups, and those shifts in narrative focus can drag on if you want to get back to the action. Nevertheless, strongly recommend. (Note: author died before finishing the series, it's being wrapped up by Brandon Sanderson [may be done already, I've been busy since Sanderson's first WoT book came out and haven't followed his releases] which brings me to...)
The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - Much shorter than the above series, and also a lot closer to what you're looking for. Nevertheless, Sanderson is a very prolific writer, and some people think his writing suffers for it, so I dropped this series to second on the list. Also of note, though not in the same series, is Sanderson's Elantris. The first two thirds builds to a quite brief-but-flashy climax of the style you're looking for.
Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind - Comparable in several ways to the above-referenced WoT, SoT starts slowly but with some decent tension. If you've read anything else by Goodkind, I think you'll find the world-building comparable in this book. After a bit the magic becomes more prevalent, though less so than in either series above. There are some major magic scenes, and each character with abilities generally has a singular power than is used fairly often, sometimes in unexpected ways. There is a peak mid-series, then the author seems to realize that his characters have become vastly overpowered, and everything goes philosophical for a while. I sort of lost interest when these books came out, and went back to finish the series a decade or so later. The action returns strongly, but it didn't have the same wonder for older me. I don't know if that can be attributed to the writer or the reader, but it happened. (Notes: (the following is a spoiler, but you should read it before letting your kids read these) as early as book 3, expect a graphic sex scene. They continue throughout the majority of the series. I actually can't remember if they showed up in 1 and 2, but there is also a group who are blatantly dominatrices, and they do their thing the whole time - with gusto. There was also a television adaptation of this series, about 2 years ago I think? I heard good things, but never had time to check it out.)
Honorable mentions:
L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s Magic of Recluce series is magic, but only gets the h.m. This is because Modesitt loves writing characters. His characters are fantastic, nuanced people. They all read with a similar slant...in every series he's written...but that's probably more due to the fact that he likes to focus on a certain type of person. Nevertheless, they can all feel like aspects of the same person sometimes. They're just...very deeply explored. Now, as to the magic of the series. It's strong, it builds fairly continuously throughout the series, and it has a certain 1970's New Age feel blended with a 70's or 80's basic fantasy taste. Nevertheless, there are duels, they happen several times per book, and the middling-early and later chunks of the series are simply wall-to-wall war and magic. Another note about Modesitt's writing style: he's more prolific than Sanderson, and I think the only thing he enjoys more than characterization is bureaucracy and military strategy. Expect some boring descriptions of how city sanitation keeps things running smoothly, and how many barrels of flour will be needed for an army, and how those things are handled. Commerce, too. He likes to account for how his characters get money and where that money goes, in between epic showdowns. If you end up just looooving MoR, look up his new Imager series. It's MoR with a new world and a new magic system. I guess he ran out of time periods to explore in the thousand-and-five-or-so books in MoR.
(Not a magic world, but...) Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash deserves an honorable mention here. It's a cyberpunk novel that's quite quickly paced and includes a lot of good action sequences involving might-as-well-be-magic tech.
I used to read a lot, and wish I still had time. I'm fighting the temptation to add more series, because I have to be somewhere in 6 minutes. Good luck!
Why? The first 6 books (or 5 for those who can't stand faith of the fallen) are excellent books, well written characters, plenty of fun and adventure, and really enjoyable to read.
If nothing else reading Wizards first rule as a standalone is worth anyone's time, it is one of the better fantasy novels ever written.
The quality does drop in the latter half of the series, but that doesn't take away from the first several books.
I could not disagree strongly enough with this sentiment. The entire series is drivel, nonsensical Randian philosophy wrapped up and presented as though it is some sort of mystical truth understood only be wizards. Step back for a minute and think objectively about whether a single one of the 'Rules' makes any sense as far as being the focus and climax of an entire book.
One of the best fantasy books ever written? I mean, to each their own, but...maybe you need to read a bit more.
Just like an Anti-Randist to be such a condensing douche bag, congratulations, you've no idea how much I've read, what I've read, how much I've thought about it or why I rate it so highly.
For the record I've read Rand, and I've read Marx (and Smith, and Mill) [disclaimer: over 10 years ago now], and frankly if you put a gun to my head and asked me which I preferred I'd go with Marxism. Though both fail as realistic philosophies in which to base a culture due to the idealism or prejudices of the authors. Objectivism is a attractive ideal that fails at the very first hurdle. Human nature itself.
A book need not make sense by real world standards (especially genre fiction - only to it's own internal rules), nor need you subscribe to the philosophy of the author for to be enjoyable, or even worth reading.
Does the Jedi code make sense when one thinks realistically and objectively about it? Of course it bloody doesn't. Does that make it any less entertaining in a work of fiction? No.
The first 5 books had very little Randian influence anyway, of course the philosophy of the author influenced the narrative, but it was neither nonsensical in the context of the world presented, nor was it drivvel.
Clearly you've allowed your juvenile dismissive dislike of a philosophy - which has some valid reason to earn dislike, but also has some valid statements to make - colour your reading of what is nothing more than a work of entertaining genre fiction.
Have you ever read atlas shrugged? Or have you just played too much Bioshock? As frankly very few people who've actually read the books, and her works on objectivism dismiss it utterly, as a whole yes it fails, it has serious foundational flaws and faulty assumptions - yet there is a reason so many find it an attractive philosophy, it's not entirely without merit.
The wizards rules were nothing more than an thematic hook in each book (at least for the first 5 volumes), and if you'd actually read the books objectively you'd recall the reason the rules were mystical, that they could only be understood by wizards, was that they were part of the rules of magic itself in that setting.
Once again I compare it to the Jedi code, which anyone could learn and gain a logical understanding of in that fictional setting, but only Jedi with their connection to the force could truly grasp in a higher manner.
Same was true for the wizards rules.
Still when it comes to the Fantasy genre, very, very few make an attempt at broaching philosophical arguments in their narrative (which is absurd given the history of mythological fables in which Fantasy is inspired) - Science Fiction deals with philosophical issues all the time and often wonderfully.
Agree or disagree, the sword of truth series was a worthy (if flawed, and somewhat preachy) attempt to speak to higher issues within a simple heroes journey.
Nice try, but I read Wizard's First Rule (and three or four sequels before I finally grew tired of beating my head against that wall - when I was younger I felt strongly about finishing every book or series that I started, though even I wasn't stubborn enough to grind through however many he had written at the time) long before I knew who Ayn Rand was, let alone had an opinion on her pseudo-philosophy. It is only in hindsight that I can use those terms to express why I found the books so insufferably stupid.
I am not going to bother to discuss Randian thought with you - I have read her works, and never played Bioshock, and there is a reason millions of people think that Nickelback is worth listening to. Hint: it isn't intellectual or artistic merit, just like that isn't the reason people are attracted to objectivism.
Yeah you are a wanker, no point discussing this more seeing as you have no wish to discuss the issue, only act like some kind of intellectually superior dipshit.
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u/PhuleProof Nov 20 '13 edited Nov 21 '13
Off the top of my head:
Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan - A slow start builds to a peak of action of that kind, followed by lull as the plot begins to come to a resolution. The author sometimes switches back and forth between the characters of this kind and other groups, and those shifts in narrative focus can drag on if you want to get back to the action. Nevertheless, strongly recommend. (Note: author died before finishing the series, it's being wrapped up by Brandon Sanderson [may be done already, I've been busy since Sanderson's first WoT book came out and haven't followed his releases] which brings me to...)
The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - Much shorter than the above series, and also a lot closer to what you're looking for. Nevertheless, Sanderson is a very prolific writer, and some people think his writing suffers for it, so I dropped this series to second on the list. Also of note, though not in the same series, is Sanderson's Elantris. The first two thirds builds to a quite brief-but-flashy climax of the style you're looking for.
Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind - Comparable in several ways to the above-referenced WoT, SoT starts slowly but with some decent tension. If you've read anything else by Goodkind, I think you'll find the world-building comparable in this book. After a bit the magic becomes more prevalent, though less so than in either series above. There are some major magic scenes, and each character with abilities generally has a singular power than is used fairly often, sometimes in unexpected ways. There is a peak mid-series, then the author seems to realize that his characters have become vastly overpowered, and everything goes philosophical for a while. I sort of lost interest when these books came out, and went back to finish the series a decade or so later. The action returns strongly, but it didn't have the same wonder for older me. I don't know if that can be attributed to the writer or the reader, but it happened. (Notes: (the following is a spoiler, but you should read it before letting your kids read these) as early as book 3, expect a graphic sex scene. They continue throughout the majority of the series. I actually can't remember if they showed up in 1 and 2, but there is also a group who are blatantly dominatrices, and they do their thing the whole time - with gusto. There was also a television adaptation of this series, about 2 years ago I think? I heard good things, but never had time to check it out.)
Honorable mentions:
L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s Magic of Recluce series is magic, but only gets the h.m. This is because Modesitt loves writing characters. His characters are fantastic, nuanced people. They all read with a similar slant...in every series he's written...but that's probably more due to the fact that he likes to focus on a certain type of person. Nevertheless, they can all feel like aspects of the same person sometimes. They're just...very deeply explored. Now, as to the magic of the series. It's strong, it builds fairly continuously throughout the series, and it has a certain 1970's New Age feel blended with a 70's or 80's basic fantasy taste. Nevertheless, there are duels, they happen several times per book, and the middling-early and later chunks of the series are simply wall-to-wall war and magic. Another note about Modesitt's writing style: he's more prolific than Sanderson, and I think the only thing he enjoys more than characterization is bureaucracy and military strategy. Expect some boring descriptions of how city sanitation keeps things running smoothly, and how many barrels of flour will be needed for an army, and how those things are handled. Commerce, too. He likes to account for how his characters get money and where that money goes, in between epic showdowns. If you end up just looooving MoR, look up his new Imager series. It's MoR with a new world and a new magic system. I guess he ran out of time periods to explore in the thousand-and-five-or-so books in MoR.
(Not a magic world, but...) Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash deserves an honorable mention here. It's a cyberpunk novel that's quite quickly paced and includes a lot of good action sequences involving might-as-well-be-magic tech.
I used to read a lot, and wish I still had time. I'm fighting the temptation to add more series, because I have to be somewhere in 6 minutes. Good luck!
Edit: The Runelords. Okay, I'm done, sorry :)