A to Z - F (2014)

I'm doing the A to Z Blogging Challenge this year. The basic idea is to blog nearly daily with each day representing a different letter of the alphabet. My entries will be short and book-related.  

F is for...

Fantasy!

As a kid, probably ten years-old or so, the first genre I ventured into when I shifted from the children's section of my local library into the 'adults' section (there was no young adult section at that time!) was fantasy. I picked up The Elf Queen of Shannara by Terry Brooks, used it for a school book report, and never looked back.

One of the things I liked about fantasy novels at that time was that they were thick. If I received one as a gift, it could last a couple days. When my parents gave me Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind for a birthday, my mom was sure it would take me a week to get through it.  

Ha.

I still love fantasy, for so much more than that sense of childhood nostalgia. I love fantasy because it can be shallow and deep, simple and complex, epic and silly, romantic and terrifying, with a mystery or two, with good friends and terrible enemies forced to work together. There can be an element of magic, of stealth, danger and fun. So many limitless possibilities and all outside my own realm of possibility - though of course elements usually ring quite true.

There's something about a band of adventurers coming together to venture forth or a thief double-crossing their guild or a mage summoning some big spell that just gets my imagination going.

Urban fantasy, which will be my 'u' post later this month, is easily my favourite sub-genre at present, and has been for a number of years. 

Do you love fantasy? Have a favourite author, or a series recommendation?  

I haven't been watching Game of Thrones - I can't watch until the kids are in bed and there are too many other things right now that claim those precious evening hours (I'm looking at you multiplayer video games!), but I hear great things. Are there other fantasy series I should check out?