As you can probably guess, this entire wiki is devoted to what you should NOT read, and describing in detail WHY you shouldn't read those books. Torturous, painful detail.
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But lest anyone get the wrong idea, I love fantasy. I love reading. I always have and likely always will. I love all the obscure old fantasy books, I love the classics, and I love the newer authors who just GET why fantasy is enduringly popular and know how to write a damn good book that keeps you entertained. Hell, I even love some of the mindless silly shit, or the derivative stuff.
Incidentally, some books will appear on more than one list, especially if the authors write similar material. And I will be adding more to the collection of links as time goes on, but these are the basic recommendations based on the author's defects, what material they rape or rip off, and stuff in a similar vein but done BETTER.
- What To Read Instead of Christopher Paolini
- What To Read Instead of Talia Gryphon
- What To Read Instead of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
- What To Read Instead of Stephenie Meyer
- What To Read Instead of Laurell K. Hamilton
- What To Read Instead of Terry Goodkind
- What To Read Instead of Donita K. Paul
- What To Read Instead of Jim Theis
- What To Read Instead of Dennis L. McKiernan
- What To Read Instead of Anne Rice