Recommendations for someone's first-ever fiction book

New here? New to reading? Not sure what to pick up?

I made this comment in /m/books, maybe it will help you!

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In /r/fantasy, someone recently read Mistborn as their first book and loved it! I would recommend this one. Brandon Sanderson is very approachable, and he doesn't employ tropes like deliberately leaving the reader utterly confused at the same time as the main character (only a little, in manageable doses), or having a huge number of plotlines that intersect at very confusing times in confusing ways, or etc.

Which isn't to say the plot is straightforward! There's lots of twists and turns, and you'll be amazed where the series ends up :) Very suspenseful and engaging trilogy.

serfraser,
serfraser avatar

My first proper Fantasy book was The Hobbit, which I'm planning to read to my son soon, so hopefully it holds up as a first choice.

I feel like The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander could be a good shout too. Similarly traditional and straightforward like The Hobbit, but still an example of classic tropes done extremely well.

For an older reader wanting something more mature, maybe The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, or Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber. I feel they're both great, easy intros to reading Fantasy.

RheingoldRiver,

ooh definitely not my first fiction book by any means, but Lloyd Alexander was for sure my first traditional fantasy book. Instant fan of the entire genre! Excellent rec.

Pilirin,

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett

50 books later you will thank me

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