It seems that the trend is for fantasy books to come in a series as a moneymaking machine for publishers--and I don't mind a good fantasy series as long as each book has some sort of satisfying resolution, and not leave the reader totally hanging. I can understand some loose threads for sequels, but I can't stand it when books just stop with "then they looked toward the east, wondering what they would do next" or some such garbage. :mad:

So here's my question:

Can you post either good standalone fantasy novels or good fantasy series with decent resolutions in each book?

Well, SP has a great number that you can buy from Amazon here (http://www.sorcerers.net/Books/index.php), and I would definitely recommend anything from the Dragonlance setting. Everything is either a trilogy, or a bunch of related stories for the longer series. I've never been disappointed with a DL book, and considering that I've got over a hundred, that's saying something. They're all very definitive, I think partly because there are several authors who write in this one campaign setting.

Same goes for FR, really... very much self-contained (even the mammoth series like Salvatore's). Others listed on SP that I know would fit the crieteria are in the following sections: Eberron, Greyhawk, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony, J. K. Rowling. Others who've delved more into the remaining listed authors might be able to recommend more from there.

I highly recommend Piers Anothony's Apprentice Adept series, though it is exactly half science fiction and half fantasy. The Incarnations of Immortality series, also by Piers Anthony, contains the most intricately woven plot throughout it's seven books, but each books serves as the perfect example of a stand-alone novel. Each book centers around a different character and they are not released in chronological order. I'd classify it as fantasy, and the first novel "On A Pale Horse" is my favorite novel, but I realize that it might not appeal to all fantasy fans. The Incarnations of Immortality series is more a fantasy of the spiritual, set in an alternate world where magic and science are both commonplace and Satan advertises on billboards describing how much more fun it is to be in Hell as opposed to Heaven.

The Dark Tower series, by Stephen King, is also an excellent fantasy, though it too differs from conventional fantasy in many ways. But it's Stephen King, you'll either read it or not based on his name alone. ;)

I would recommend the Discworld novels. They end, and the novels after are just other stories that happen to happen in the same place (or to the same people) - or in a different place (or to different people).

Yes, I'll second that, the Discworld novels are fun and not too long, and each books end without "destroying" the plot for another. Good series.

Discworld's great :thumb:

Sometimes the stories do follow (such as the Granny Weatherwax novels), but even in this case they're different and unrelated stories happening one after the other, rather than one continuity.

If you're actually looking for stand-alone novels then I would in fact NOT recommend The Dark Tower. The novels do follow, and I think reading them out of order will not make any sense.

Guy Gavriel Kay writes good stuff, as do Tad Williams and Freda Warrington. Dianna Wynne Jones is amusing (writes for kids as well as adults). Garth Nix also good, esp Sabriel: even though it's aimed at older kids it is still an enjoyable read for adults. All of the above are good if you want something a little different (although early GGK + TW not so ground-breaking).

I would recommend trying Stephen Donaldson's The first chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Guy Gavriel Kay's The Fionavar Tapestry they are both trilogies each book finishes part of the story and time passes before the next part starts.

Also Stephen Donaldson's Mordant's Need is one story split into two books A Man Rides Through and The Mirror of her Dreams.

Try reading Roger Zelazny either the Amber series or his stand-alones.

Also try David Gemmell, Michael Scott Rohan, Louise Cooper, Sara Douglas and Elizabeth Haydon.

Hehe, I like when stories end like "then they looked toward the east, wondering what they would do next". Kind poetic if you ask me.
I have read a single Pratchett book - Guards! Guards! - and it was a stand alone novel.
There is the DragonLance trilogy Dragons of Autumn Twilight - that is the name of the first book - but this is only good, nothing fantastic. It has a pretty deffinitive ending though.

The best fantasy series I've ever read is "The Deathgate Cycle" a 7 book series by Weis and Hickman (the people who wrote the Dragonlance original books). This series is much better than the Dragonlance series, but it's unfortunately out of print. If you can find copies somewhere, I really really recommend them.

I'm reading the "A Song of Ice and Fire" books now by George R. R. Martin, and I don't know if they wrap up tightly or not, as it's an unfinished series, but they're very good too. They are, however, more mature than most fantasy books, and less "magicky."

yeah, "The Death Gate Cycle" is one of the best. At least, best of what i've read (And, believe me, i have read a LOT :D ). And each book has pretty good. Final ending is also very good.

I'm glad I got some backup there, thanks Ironside!

I really can't stress enough how awesome and original those books are!

Good, yes. I dunno about one of the best, but... *shrug*

The Deathgate Cycle, really? may give it a try, i was kind of turned off by their Dragons of a Vanished Moon, blech :sick:

Robin Hobb! She writes reasonably self contained trilogies that are also brilliant.

Enag...: They're tons better than the DL books.

definatly discworld series!

or anything from Terry Brooks, especially the "running with the demon" series.

if you're looking for something a little weightier, I'd recommend reading both Steven Erikson and China Mieville

Erikson's Malazan series is a bit of a commitment but is well worth the effort; some superbly imagined and mould breaking fantasy, with each book standing well enough as a tale in it's own right, although with an underlying plot arc that appears to link all the books together

Mieville on the other hand writes discreet tales only tenuously linked to each other within the same dark setting. While his plots could perhaps do with a little tightening up, his writing is almost breathtaking in its elegance, and the imagery presented in his books makes for enjoyable reading

Well, I won't be mentioning anything groundbreaking, but the Deathgate cycle and Discworld are the only series I know where the books are really self-contained. Well, Deathgate only half. Only the first half of the series is wellcontained enough for your liking probably, because starting from the fourth book on it more stretches into a continuous series, but they are actually small enough to be considered one book.

Tad Williams wrote a rather good standalone fantasy book, The War of the Flowers (or something like that). It doesn't says anywhere it's part of a series, although with fantasy you never know. But it really ends.

The Truthsword series by Terry Goodkind is pretty selfcontained too.

I personally don't mind as much if a fantasy novel doesn't have a real ending since I love the concept of series, mostly, the longer the better, as long as the universe doesn't become boring.

Tad Williams wrote a rather good standalone fantasy book, The War of the Flowers (or something like that). It doesn't says anywhere it's part of a series, although with fantasy you never know. But it really ends.
_The War of the Flowers_ is a stand alone novel, which is actually pretty good. The first half of the book is much better than the second. IMO, the story hinges on how the reader feels towards its main protagonist, Theo.

At the beginning of the story it's easy to sympathize with Theo as the "average Joe" for whom nothing ever goes quite right. But as the average Joe who is forced into the role of reluctant hero, his responses to the unfolding events and Theo’s character are often a bit too pedestrian, IMO. But that may have been by design on William's part.

I really loved The Dragonbone Chair series by Tad Williams. The character started out very young and the series took him and several other characters through an epic adventure. It definatly had an ending as well.

As someone has already mentioned, David Gemmell is good for wrapped up endings. Read his first book, Legend. It's full of passion, and the ending (particularly one very very epic part) made me tingle all over. Heh, books excite me too much...

I'd pick Gemmel's Drenai series up (especially with the cheaper reprints that have come out) but for the fact that no bookstore here has a full collection of them. there are how many books? 11?

IMO - The War of the Flowers was good before anything of note happened. As soon as the plot began it turned dull and boring and I quickly came to not give a damn about the main character.

The same goes for Perdido Street Station by China Mieville - quite possibly the dullest most standard plot was implimented in a quite interesting setting, making it mediocre.

I kinda liked the War of the Flowers. it did get draggy once or twice but a pretty good read imo.

The Hobbit.

One of the few stand alone fantasy books written where the author wasn't hoping for a franchise book deal.

A series witha decent resolution in each book? Kind of makes the point of a series moot doesn't it?

Those series that are close:

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Mars Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Champion Eternal Cycle by Micheal Moorcock (a lot of miniseries, with a total of forty or fifty books -- Elric of Melnibone is the most famous).
Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony
Wizard of Earthsea Series by Ursula LeGuin
Both of the Amber Series by Roger Zelazny
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson

Enagonios, http://www.sorcerers.net/Books/index_gemmell.php