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Hello everyone, I am new to this group and new to reading in general so I need some help. I am looking for some specific types of books to read. I want something that is in the fantasy adventure genre, has a young male protagonist that rises from humble beginnings to be a great hero, a princess or damsel in distress type love interest, and takes place in a world with magic, elves, dragons, or other super natural elements. Every time I looks for books of this type people say they are cliche and that they are tired of reading them so they refer me to other stuff. But since I have just picked up reading I am not yet tired of this cliche and would love to read something of this nature. An example of a book I read and liked is "Eragon". I would appreciate any recommendations you could provide.

I can't say I'm terribly fond of this very specific genre (because I'm not- I'm nice, Cody, but "damsel in distress"? Really?), but the Prydain Chronicles come immediately to mind as quality books (The Book of Three) if we're speaking in the Eragon reading level.

I never tire of reading stories I love no matter how cliche they may be!
My favourite is the Belgariad series by David Eddings. It starts with Pawn of Prophecy. The princess is definitely not a damsel in distress but she's fantastic! If you like them the next series, the Malloreon, continues the story several years later.
Raymond E. Feist also has several series with at least two fitting your description - The Riftwar Saga (Magician: Apprentice) and the Serpentwar Saga (Shadow of a Dark Queen).
Piers Anthony's Xanth novels start out with a young male protagonist (A Spell for Chameleon), but the hero changes after the first few books.
I think the Myth books by Robert Asprin were amusing but it's been 15 years since I read them last so I don't remember much (Another Fine Myth).
You might also want to check out the Dragonlance books (Dragons of Autumn Twilight). The hero isn't young and the love interest is a little more complicated but the books are great for traditional fantasy aspects like elves, dwarves, dragons, etc. and there's a ton of them by all different authors.

I haven't read a ton of Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre novels, but I really liked the books I've read by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman's Stardust probably most closely meets your description.

Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy is a good set.

The Name of the Wind is good.

I totally agree with you Sara, David Eddings and the Belgariad series is my all time favorite! The banter between the characters also made it a fun, enjoyable read! I, too, read and enjoyed the Riftwar Saga.

I'd also recommend Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series which starts with The Dragonbone Chair. It is a hefty book, however, and the additional books in the series are just as lengthy.

have you tried Robin Hobb - I've not read her, but my mom has read all her books and enjoys them. they are probably slightly above the reading level in eragon, but supposedly really good

you could try Assassin's Apprentice or The Dragon Keeper

M. wrote: "I'd also recommend Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series which starts with The Dragonbone Chair. It is a hefty book, however, and the additional books in the series are just as lengthy."

I'll have to try that series. I've never heard of them and hefty books don't frighten me. If I can make it through The Song of Ice and Fire books I can make it through anything :) (am I the only one who didn't like them?!?)

Cody, you might like the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. The first book is Wizard's First Rule.

Sara wrote: "M. wrote: "I'd also recommend Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series which starts with The Dragonbone Chair. It is a hefty book, however, and the additional books in the series are just as ..."

I haven't read The Song of Ice and Fire books because my package never got to me from Amazon... grr.. not a good start with that series. LOL! But that is on my TBR list. I'll let you know what i think of it.

Petra, did the Sword of Truth series get any better? I truly loved Wizard's First Rule and the next one in the series, but it started getting frustrating.

Cody,
The Innocent Mage and it's sequal The Awakened Mageare pretty good books as well.

An author to check out is: T.A. Barron. He has a couple series. One of his series is about Merlin and the other starts with Child of the Dark Prophecy. The second series is a trilogy. His books are young adult books, but he has some interesting themes I haven't seen/heard about in some adult series.

You could also check out the Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. It's been a while, but if I am remembering correctly these books switch off between main characters. One of my guy friends read these when he was in high school, but he still reads through the series about once a year.

Finally, (a series I have had HIGHLY recommended to me on many occasions, but I haven't gotten around to reading) is the A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin. It starts with A Game of Thrones.

Cody,
If you decide you'd like something on the funny side of the fantasy realm, don't miss the DiscWorld series by Terry Pratchett. Every kind of creature, a variety of protagonists (male and female) and some very subtle humor about our society in general.

A book I loved,a fantasy selection which definitely made my life at that time more endurable was Madelyn Le'Engle's Swiftly Tilting Planet. The two characters Meg and Charles divide their time equally in this story but are engaging and courageous. Two brothersa share the story in Many Waters.

I'm not a huge fan of this genre either. The term "damsel in distress" just makes me cringe. And why must it always have a male protagonist?
But I forget myself.

You could try reading the Forgotten Realms books. They are set in a very traditional fantasy world, with elves and orcs and whatnot, and the ones I read had the whole "young male protagonist overcomes obstacles to be a hero, save the day, and win the girl" storyline. I remember liking them when I was in about the eighth grade, so the reading level should be about the same as Eragon. Those books are a bit like the Star Wars books, in that many different authors write on that world, but I remember R.A. Salvatore being one of them.

Another good example would be The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. They don't have elves, but they do have people riding dragons, so that should make up for it. Of course some of the characters are female, so I'm not sure it fits the criteria perfectly, but you could always give it a shot. The White Dragon is especially the kind of plot that you're looking for.

I don't usually recommend A Wizard of Earthsea because it is pretty stereotypical fantasy novel, but if that's what your going for then it isn't a bad trilogy at all.

You might also try the obvious Lord of the Rings trilogy, though it is a bit harder to get through than the others are. The Hobbit is also a truly wonderful book, and much easier to read. There is a male protagonist that becomes the unexpected hero, but there's no love interest, so take that as you will.

Good luck!

Cody wrote: "Hello everyone, I am new to this group and new to reading in general so I need some help. I am looking for some specific types of books to read. I want something that is in the fantasy adventure ge..."

For Elves, and fantasy in the traditional vein, definitely also look at Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar books.

I don't really read SciFi much either but a book that came to mind when I read your query was The Eyes of the Dragon. Though Stephen King is well know for writing horror novels, this is straight forward SciFi and I enjoyed it when I read it.

When I first read your post the first thing that I thought of was The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings as Emily mentioned. You will not be disappointed.

I had completely forgot about Eyes of the Dragon until I read Wendy's response. This is a fantastic book. I read it over 20 years ago but it is one of my favorites from Stephen King.