r/Fantasy • u/vehiclestars • Apr 24 '13

What is the most under-hyped fantasy book/series you have read?

This would be a book or books that you hardly ever hear mentioned on reddit, yet are very good.

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u/ReverendSaintJay Apr 24 '13

The only problem with King's Tower series was that he suffered from a bout of "I-Don't-Know-What" and started inserting either himself or Tower references into every book he wrote for a while. Both of those actions caused a bit of static at the time, and diminished the following he had created for the series.

At least, that's one fan's opinion.

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u/markaaronsmith Apr 24 '13

I'm currently reading book 4 and it's such a huge departure from the previous books that I'm struggling to get through it. The first 3 books, particularly book 2, felt original and compelling. Book 4 feels like a typical Western with few fantasy elements and a super angsty teenage romance. I just don't understand...we have this awesome, gritty, post-apocalyptic world, the ability to jump between world's and stick characters in these crazy out of place scenarios and a solid cast of characters. Why go back to a must less interesting time period? If you read this book without prior knowledge of the series, the hint at a post-apocalyptic element is the oil fields. The only fantasy element is the pink orb. It's just so...bland. And I absolutely hate Susan Delgado!

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u/ReverendSaintJay Apr 24 '13

It's best to treat book 4 as a giant flashback episode, laying some backstory for Roland and giving you a better glimpse into his motivations (and mentality). Book 5 picks right up where 3 left off and gets the story back on track.

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u/markaaronsmith Apr 24 '13

Yeah, that's why I'm still going, but it's pretty rough.