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I have a 10 year old son. He is an AVID reader. He is into science fiction / fantasy. My husband suggested Wheel of Time. I worry that that is too dark for 10. Does anyone have an opinion about the Belgariad series?
How about the Xanth books? I loved those when I was younger, and there's a whole series. I can't remember if there's anything too adult about them, other than references to underwear and naked nymphs; I don't think there are any descriptions or mentions of sex, but it's been a while.
I've always liked scifi/fantasy stuff. When I was younger, probably around 10 or so I remember being really into the Dragonlance novels. There must be dozens of them now, so that may be a good place to direct him.
Given his preferences, he may already have read them, but I would direct him back to the earlier novels that started with Dragons of Autumn Twilight and the novels that followed that were actually written by Margaret Weiss.
"Only You Can Save The World" and "Maurice and his Educated Rodents" by Terry Pratchett. (Or his adult novels, for that matter, but these two are YA and the humor is more accessible.)
"Alex and the Ironic Gentleman" and "Timothy and the Dragon's Gate" by Adrienne Kress.
Brian Jaques's Redwall series.
Madeleine L'Engle's "Wrinkle in Time" series.
"Howl's Moving Castle" and "The Dark Lord of Derkholm" by Dianna Wynne Jones. Or, for that matter, any of her other books.
"So You Want to Be a Wizard" by Diane Duane.
CS Lewis's Narnia books.
PB Kerr's Children of the Lamp series.
"Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel.
"The Dark is Rising" by...um...somebody. I forget.
And of course, Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, if he hasn't already read them.
Wheel of time is somewhat dark but has some weird sexual relationships (Why does Rand get three chicks hmm?).
The Hunger Games are a little dark but if he is an advanced reader I think he will love them. Mistborn and Elantris by Brandon Sanderson; Coraline and the Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman; The Dragons of Pern by Anne McCaffery; the original Shanannara series by Terry Brooks and I am Number Four by Pitticus Lore.
When I first read the OP, I mistook Wheel of Time for Wrinkle in Time. The former, I'd say no, they are too hefty for a 10-year-old. I've read the first four or five books and I think they are probably more suitable for teens and older. They're not as well-written as Tolkien's Rings, but they are in that realm as far as complexity. About on par with the Dune series.
A book I always love to read is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Not Wheel of Time. Good series, but I think it would be a difficult read for even an advanced 10-year-old.
One that came to mind is Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern. I read a few of those and my wife read the whole series in her early teens or pre-teens. First book is Dragonflight.
Another series I liked when I was younger was the Myth series by ... Robert Aspirin? Little Myth Marker, Hit or Myth ... a few other pun-filled titles.
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