What three fantasy books/series would you recommend to other gamers? Why? What particularly makes them suitable for gamers to read? Would they be particularly good for novices or better for experienced gamers?
Oh, interesting topic! I need to catch up on a few older WISHes, but I can start on this one.
Three fantasy books/series?
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Deed of Paksennarion (Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance and Oath of Gold) by Elizabeth Moon.
The last choice is a tough one. I could go with The Curse of Chalion, but I've put the OTHER penultimate paladin book(series) in here already. I could go with other Bujold books, but while they're fun, I don't see "gamer" in them when I read. No one, and I must admit No One, could do Miles' justice in an RPG. The first Amber series is good.
So, I'm going to go with the first few of the Joel Rosenberg Guardians of the Flame (The Sleeping Dragon, The Sword and the Chain, and The Silver Crown).
Now, for why I chose these...
Tolkien is the classic. The one to read to figure out just how cool elves and dwarves are. To understand just what rangers can do. To know just how kick-ass wizards can be. Ents, orcs, wargs. It all started here. And be sure to note that I included The Hobbit. For just how sneaky a rogue halfling can be, this is a good start.
The Deed of Paksennarion inspired my first long-term AD&D character, Brianna. I wanted her to be picked a paladin by the gods, not have her choose to be one. I think that, coupled with Curse of Chalion, are THE two paladin books.
And what gamer hasn't wanted to, at least once, play in their game world? The Rosenberg Guardians of the Flame series allows the players to do just that, good and bad. It gets a bit more muddled, to my eyes, as the series goes on, and there is a distinct lack of main female protagonists (though there are women gamers/characters, they aren't the main character(s) of the series.