can someone recommend a rapefree nonkids fantasy book series.

[Kheldarson]

David Eddings "Belgariad" and "Mallorian" series are rape free if memory serves and is a nice long series. Five books each in the two series as well as two prequel books. Start with "Pawn of Prophecy" and go from there.

Definitely rape free. You think Leigh would have let him write that in?

Terry Brooks' stuff qualifies too. Shannara's a fun setting.

[Andara Bledin]

Both Eddings and Brooks write fun popcorn fantasy, but it does not hold up well to reading after having more experience with better books.

Also, what does "nonkids" actually mean?

[Kheldarson]

Both Eddings and Brooks write fun popcorn fantasy, but it does not hold up well to reading after having more experience with better books.

I still enjoy 'em anyway

And still going for early modern sci-fi/fantasy, can't forget Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series. I think there might be some questionable scenes in a few of them, but I can't recall for sure.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I still enjoy 'em anyway

Agreed. While they're not the greatest fantasy fiction out there...they're still both good series. And they're both in my "comfort books" list to read when the mood strikes me.

I like to think of it this way, just because there are epic movies like Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the odd, bad "B-Movie" once in awhile.

Same with books. Just because Heinlein, Herbert and Asimov wrote some superlative Sci-Fi doesn't mean that I can't sit back and enjoy the odd Star Trek novel.

And if you ever want a really bad B-Movie...try "Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter". It's so horrible that it's funny.

[SkullKing]

I still enjoy 'em anyway

And still going for early modern sci-fi/fantasy, can't forget Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series. I think there might be some questionable scenes in a few of them, but I can't recall for sure.

I know there is at leats one book where a character uses his magic power to force an unwilling victim to have sex with him.

[SkullKing]

I think the nimnestl series by dan crawford does not have any rape. Can anyone confirm?

I also think stephen brust's stuff is rape-free but I can´t say for sure, except for "to reign in hell" which I heartily recommend.

[Kheldarson]

I know there is at leats one book where a character uses his magic power to force an unwilling victim to have sex with him.

I'm thinking Two to Conquer for some reason. And if I recall, it has a pretty bad backlash on the character.

But most of them are fine. I mean, I've got about the whole series (36 books, several of which are omnibus), and I can only think of a couple that even get close.

Plus, most of the books are technically stand-alone. They just all take place in the same setting...at different times.

(Note for anybody who wants to start reading: Recent publications have a full chronological list of the stories in the front. Don't have to read them that way, but it does make for interesting reading )

[evilfarmer]

The main one I can think of is The Southern Vampire Mysteries which became True Blood but I dont think the show does any justice to the books.

If youre willing to try Sci Fi theres the Dune series.

[Andara Bledin]

I keep coming up with books that are sci-fi, not fantasy. And most of it is aimed at the "young adult" market, though well written, regardless.

[gremcint]

I'd ask if near misses or remembered rape counts...Cuz if it doesn't, you might try the Alara Codex.

I have read them and they are excellent, I'll be honest while I am asking for recommendations of things to try I am also trying to...

I wasn't aware trying to find rape free fantasy series was a problem. Then I started to think about it for a minute. >.>

ah there it is.

Though you guys are coming up with more than I expected.

It's just it's everywhere even dragonlance, Tanis's character origin is he's half elf because his father raped his mother. The entire origin of half orcs in some versions are purely because orcs rape people.

[SongsOfDragons]

Maggie Furey. British author, really rich fantasy worlds. Three series, all interlinked to some extent: The Artefacts of Power, the Shadowleague and the Chronicles of the Xandim.

I know the middle one has a rape scene in it, the first one doesn't or at least the assailant is fireballed. The third one is her newest series, so I could be wrong.

It's not a story aimed at kids (even though I read it at like 14!) and aside from a bit of the first book of Artefacts all protagonists and deuteragonists are adults.

[gremcint]

The main one I can think of is The Southern Vampire Mysteries which became True Blood but I dont think the show does any justice to the books.

If youre willing to try Sci Fi theres the Dune series.

I've listened to an audio book of one of these and yes there is rape, and rape imagery.

One woman is "given" as a gift to a vampire where she is beaten repeatedly and I don't remember for sure but probably raped, also sookie apparently sleeps with memory erased vampire, further there is a scene where a vampire is holding her on a bed down and she fights him off.

Vampire stories are problematic, on one hand they want to display the vampire as a tragic figure and make them relatable but they also use vampires as a sex metaphor pretty much constantly which means any unwanted feeding is a rape of a kind. That might be splitting hairs to some but even without that I find a lot of the vampire stories to be overly dramatic and get way to wound up with who's paired with who. I'm painting a wide brush here and not all stories are like that but a lot are.

[gremcint]

Maggie Furey. British author, really rich fantasy worlds. Three series, all interlinked to some extent: The Artefacts of Power, the Shadowleague and the Chronicles of the Xandim.

I know the middle one has a rape scene in it, the first one doesn't or at least the assailant is fireballed. The third one is her newest series, so I could be wrong.

It's not a story aimed at kids (even though I read it at like 14!) and aside from a bit of the first book of Artefacts all protagonists and deuteragonists are adults.

then it's not what I'm looking for. I'm more curious to see if this is something in my head or if it's as widespread as I think it is.

[Andara Bledin]

The difficulty is that people, even fantasy people, are still people. Most fantasy races are just allegories for other races in humanity, which is why they still act like people.

It's a rare fantasy story that has characters that are that alien or that won't use it as a storytelling shortcut. Unfortunately, for some of those who use it as a shortcut, many of them do it in a hamfisted manner, and some are outright offensive.

[Nekojin]

Perhaps I'm stepping on a virtual land mine here, but why the focus on rape? I mean, why is it such a hot-button that it immediately becomes a no-sell, regardless of context? I understand hating rape-as-fridging, using the rape as a motivator for other characters (aside from the victim), but it has the potential to be a powerful tool, if used effectively.

It's not as though rape is the worst thing that can happen to a person. I think that the underlying dichotomy - violence, even over-the-top violence, is okay to depict, but sex is off the table, and mixing the two is worse - is a real problem in modern storytelling. If you deal with a realistic world, there's going to be sex (which may or may not be handled off-scene), and there's going to be some coercion*, force*, and even outright rape. How it's handled is far more important than whether it's present or not.

* Note that I'm not even talking sexual coercion/force - attempting to strong-arm others into doing things is one of many different ways to deal with conflicting opinions. In some cases, it's the only way anything gets done.

Depending on your perspective, the novella Labyrinth by Lois McMaster Bujold is a very powerful tale with regard to sexual force. I'm not sure that you can really call it rape - I suppose that would depend on perspective - but it's at least a near miss (in that it ends up being consensual). And it's an extremely powerful story. (Incidentally, it was a poorly-chosen, out-of-context passage from this very story that kept me from reading Bujold's work for nearly a decade. The passage, out of context, read like pandering wank material)