WOOHOO!!!

Time for me to be excited like Emmers with Farscape! Fantastisch! Anyway, although I read The Hobbit when I was in school, fantasy was never a favorite genre of mine until I read The Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. Soon I was reading The Wheel of Time and Drizzt series and now I'm hooked on fantasy. The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies are great but Mr. Goodking decided to turn that first novel into a 22-episode Series rather than a movie (the book was 800+ pages and I read it in 3 days). The series debuts November 1st and it is being directed by Sam Raimi (Spiderman). I am soooooo excited. My favorite character in the series is Cara, but she isn't introduced until book 3 or book 4 of the 12-book series. The novels are extremely graphic so it will be interesting at how much they cut out and tone down. So if anyone likes fantasy i truly recommend this book, even if you don't read the rest of the series. Here's the preview (and I think the actress that will play Kahlan is a perfect match.):

http://www.legendoftheseeker.com/

The book series is called The Sword of Truth and the main character becomes The Seeker of Truth hence the title of the show!!!

The actors that play Zedd and Chase in the series had roles Star Wars Episode III (Chase was also in Episode II) - You know I had to add some Star Wars Trivia!

So what is the Wizard's first rule? - People are Stupid. (There are 10 rules in all but this one is my favorite.)

LOL Finally someone who spazzes like I do!

I've dove through many a fantasy series so let me put my 2 cents in here lol

Robert Jordan's EXTENSIVE and what I thought would be an unexhaustive series of books called the Wheel of Time was brilliant. I wish he had lived long enough to finish the last novel of it--but God calls you when He decides--brilliant series or no...so when the final book comes out by the author they've chosen to do him justice, I'll be one of the first to buy them. IF they ever consider making this a movie though, I've got suggestions to make...like leave out the fact that every woman in that plot wants to sleep with Rand Al`Thor That just irritated the heck out of me.

I read Tolkein when I was in the 6th grade. My dad gave me his books. I loved everything about the Hobbit series (even the first book). Stryder absolutely fascinated me--Gollum was disturbingly "human". Tolkein made that poor little wretched being into someone you could care for. You knew deep down inside, he had been a good person. The power of the Ring corrupted and twisted his soul--but even somewhere inside that insanity, you could find a "person" to relate with.

I know I have at least one Terry Goodkind book somewhere. I know the name and do remember I couldn't get through the book (sorry sylv!). But that just may be due to his writing style. I'll have to dig it out of our library and give him another try. The trailer looks absolutely brilliant. I'm excited with you, too, if they do the series justice. I'm just afraid it may turn out to be another bomb like the D&D movie was. I had high hopes for that too...until I saw it I hope this won't be like that. Though, if they can do The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe justice--they should be able to do this.

Also, other authors I've stuck by on the fantasy side are Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman (I know they parted ways--but without them, fantasy wouldn't have accellerated like it did! Dragonlance is uber!) I have an email from Tracy Hickman somewhere...yes, he does answer his fan mail!

Oh, and David Eddings was another author I was hooked on from a young age (the Belgariad). AND, Terry Brooks (Sword of Shannara Trilogy). I read those books like air lol C.S. Friedman was another one (not very popular, but his series Coldfire Trilogy was excellent). And Melanie Rawn (Dragon Star).

lol I'm sure there are more...but those were my favorites!

I look forward to that movie sylv!

Luckily it's not a movie but a 22-episode series! But the books are graphic and this is produced by Disney so it will be way toned down. My fave Cara is a Mord-Sith. Mord-Sith are women who enslave you with your own magic when you use it against them. They carry a wand that continuously delivers pain but they are trained to withstand it. Imagine a dominatrix in tight red leather and that's them lol.

Have you ever read Legends, Em? It came out in the late 90's and had original short stories/novellas from most of the major fantasy series at the time. I bought the book because it included a story from The Sword of Truth, "Debt of Bones". In it was the story "New Spring" by Robert Jordan (Which was later expanded into a novel). Jordan had said this was the first of three prequels he had planned to write. The novella got me interested in the Wheel of Time series and I loved it at first, but I felt that the series had become stagnant near the end of the series. Oh and Rand is a pimp!!!!! Also included in Legends are Stephen King, Ursula K. LeGuin, Anne McAffrey, Orson Scott Card (I have a hardbound signed copy of Ender's Game) and others! Here's a review - btw I didnt think the 2nd Legends book was as good in its collection of stories as the first:

http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/legends.html

I loved the Belgariad and thought the style in which "Polgara" was written was great. Melanie Rawn is one of my fave's also. The Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Hayden is also one of my faves.

I think the reason movies don't do it justice is because they leave out so much information that it can completely deflate the story. That happens to Stephen King movie adaptations alot.

Anyway, I can talk FOREVER about books and stories so i will stop now before I fill the entire page

oh before I forget, looking for a good fantasy/vampire series for my niece...I've been told Ravenloft (sp?) is good. Any suggestions?

No, can't say that I've read Legends. I've stayed away from the short story side--I prefer the long drawn out 4 book + series

As for vampire literature, the only books I've read in that genre I can definitely say wouldn't be something I'd recommend to teenagers...it's due to the content lol

Ravenloft though, I've heard is good. It's part of a D&D thing I believe also

They are short stories but they are part of larger series. If you like The Wheel of Time series why not read a short story in that world with the same characters....but that's just me. I LOVE short stories. You know, if I had to choose a heaven for me for eternity it would be a never ending library of the best stories ever written - yea, I'm a nerd! And I would have friends and family visit and talk about our favorite stories. So you and Jayney hurry up writing so I can have them in my eternal collection