Book Recommendations

[Gig_Complex]

Well with the holiday season passing I find my self with an increase in disposable income and free time and I felt a rather pressing need to dive back into my book collection. However rather then rereading my old favorites, of which there are quite a few, I felt that I should expand upon my current collection. However I came to a stark conclusion, while I may have enough cash to buy a complete series or two, I don't have enough to purchase books which I may or may not like all that much. So at first I went to author and series I had heard a good deal about, such as the Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell (yes I know it is just the pen name of the real author, whose name slips my mind), and series by authors whose other work I enjoy, such as the Codex of Alera series by Jim Butcher.

So I ask you fellow playgrounders, what books and series do you enjoy. I understand that it is quite possible that our tastes and opinions will differ, but if others can help narrow the field or at least point me in a general direction it would save me considerable time from hunting through countless pages on the web and possibly spoiling the plot of any potential series.

Now as it would be probably helpful to know what I currently have, I have made a rough list of what books and series I currently have,


Codex of Alera (All but Princeps' Fury)
Ciaphas Cain (I have the Hero of the Imperium Omnibus, with Death or Glory, Duty Calls, and Cain's Last Stand on order)
The Dresden Files
Wheel of Time
Sword of Truth
A Song of Fire and Ice
The Black Company (Just the first three books)
Jeffery Deaver
Tom Clancy
Clive Clussler (or however you spell his name)
The Harry Potter Series
Good Omens
American Gods
The Color of Magic (Just this one I'm afraid, the bookstores I visit never have it in stock and I'm hesitant to purchase it online since the last time I did that the book was damaged heavily when it arrived)
The Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series by Karren Miller (along with the first Godspeaker book)
Redwall series


Once I have more time to think exactly what I have my hands on I will add it on to the list, and in advance, thank you.

[dish]

Try some more Gaiman, if you like American Gods there's a good chance you'll enjoy 'Anansi Boys'. There's also 'Neverwhere' and 'Stardust'.

I'm also a big fan of Lois M. Bujold - both her Vorkosigan saga (space opera at its finest), and the Chalion series ('The Curse of Chalion' is one of my all-time favourites, and probably the best fantasy novel you're likely to read). Her 'Sharing Knife' series is also fantasy, but it's pretty heavy on the romance, so you might not like that so much.

What was the problem with online shopping? It's always worked perfectly for me, and if you use Amazon they're great about giving refunds.

[Grail]

LotR
The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
Unfinished Tales

But my favourite series is The Coldfire Trilogy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldfire_trilogy) by CS Friedman.

And as luck would have it they are currently on special (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=coldfire+trilogy&x=0&y=0&sprefix=coldfire+) on amazon.com.

[KerfuffleMach2]

The Everworld series is really good.

Also, there's a series I've recently gotten into that is really good. Not sure of the series' name, cause it only has two books so far. Scar Night and Iron Angel. Look into those.

[Brewdude]

Looks like you are missing a significant author then:

Neal Stephenson.

Anything but Anathem will be pleasant.

In order of my preference:
Snow Crash
Cryptonomicon
The Baroque Cycle (three or six books, depending on where you live)
Diamond Age
Zodiac

[Ebonsword]

I would recommend the following, which I think that any fan of fantasy fiction and D&D should read:

Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth. These books are the source of D&D's magic system, all well as things like ioun stones. The first set of stories are mostly serious, but beautifully written. Later series are absolutely hilarious, but still beautifully written. Make sure to have a dictionary close at hand, though--Vance's vocabularly is unsurpassed.

Robert Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories. Conan is not the dumb brute that he seems to be too frequently thought of as, and is quite an interesting character to read about. Plus, even though so many situations Conan encounters have become stereotypical fantasy fare (like finding ruined temples in the jungle guarded by a hideous monster), Howards' prose is so good that the tales seem fresh and exciting.

Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories. These are to D&D's thieves what Vance is to D&D's wizards. Lankhmar is one of the greatest cities in fantasy literature and Leiber is an excellent and charming stylist. These have been issued in a variety of forms, but the stories you really must read are "Thieves' House" (probably my single favorite short story of all time), "Ill-met in Lankhmar", "Claws in the Night", and "Lean Times in Lankhmar".

[The Neoclassic]

"The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. It's sort of sci-fi. If you don't like books that discuss religion (it isn't pro or anti, persay, it just comes up through the natural course of the story) or ones that are rather depressing (this is not an "Everything will end up peachy" sort of story), it's probably not for you. On the other hand, it was recommended to me by my sophomore high school English teacher and I absolutely loved it.

[Cynan Machae]

I'd recommend The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, then the following trilogies (Liveships Traders and The Tawny Man). All three are pretty damn good.

[Athaniar]

I heartily recommend Timothy Zahn's Star Wars books concerning Thrawn (The Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn Duology, Survivor's Quest, and Outbound Flight). But only if you like Star Wars, of course. Vector Prime (by fantasy celebrity author R. A. Salvatore, who's also written good Forgotten Realms books) I also enjoyed. Now to read the 18 remaining NJO novels, too...

[cody.burton]

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin is a classic fantasy series that I don't think I saw on there.

I would also suggest Dune by Frank Herbert, and Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Both are science fiction. Dune can be slow, like LotR in its pace and epicness. Starship Troopers on the other hand is a fast, pulpy read with deeper layers, kind of the same feel that I get from the Dresden Files.

[LurkerInPlayground]

I got through reading Hatchet and Brian's Winter again, by Gary Paulsen. Reading difficulty of the two books aren't very challenging, so they're both breezy reads. And neither are really even fantasy.

They're pretty much survival tales with the hypothetical situation of a boy being dropped into the Canadian woods. I guess you Ranger types might want to take it up for "research."

[Canadian]

The SCUM manifesto.

[oryx]

I'd recommend The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, then the following trilogies (Liveships Traders and The Tawny Man). All three are pretty damn good.

I totally second this, they are amazing books. Also the people who recommended the Thrawn books, because Timothy Zahn is amazing, and Dune, because it is a classic, and then you can go and rent the ridiculous movie with Sting and run around shouting things like "MY NAME IS A KILLING WORD".

[KnightDisciple]

David Weber.
I've read the Honor Harrington, Safehold, and War God series (barring a couple of the HH books). I've loved them all.
He's got some other stuff that I'll have to try at some point. But I recommend all 3 of those series. War God has 3 books, Safehold has 2 (with one due this July, supposedly :smallbiggrin:), and HH has...a lot.

[Serpentine]

I got through reading Hatchet and Brian's Winter again, by Gary Paulsen. Reading difficulty of the two books aren't very challenging, so they're both breezy reads. And neither are really even fantasy.

They're pretty much survival tales with the hypothetical situation of a boy being dropped into the Canadian woods. I guess you Ranger types might want to take it up for "research."I had to read Hatchet for high school English. It certainly wasn't the worst book I had to read.

I second Robin Hobb (have to reread the first two series, and actually read the third...). I also recommend:
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams - Fairly standard fantasy fare, I suppose, though with a great variety of intertwined plotlines and, I think, a whole lot of reasonably likeable and believable characters. One of my favourite series.
Tailchaser's Song, also by Tad Williams - It's a fantasy novel about cats. All the characters are cats. It has a note at the start, that all the cat conversations, which include sounds, posture, body language, smells, etc., are translated into human/English. It's a bit weird, but again, one of my favourite books. Definitely not standard, and it's not like, say, Redwall, where they're basically very small people. The cat-stuff matters, y'know?
Classic sci-fi - Day of the Triffids, 1984, that sort of thing. They're still really enjoyable books.
Ring by Koji Suzuki - a very good read.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I'm a real fantasy girl, so I didn't expect to like it. It really is great.
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - another one of my favourites.
The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson - very funny fantasy.
I like Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, but I know it's not all everyone's cup o'. They start off very fantasy, then acquire sci-fi features.
Tamora Pierce is another one of my favourite authors. She does, however, write for teenage girls... Still brilliant!

Ummm... That's about all I can think of right now. Good luck!

[Bryn]

The First Law (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheFirstLaw) (linking to TV Tropes) by Joe Abercrombie (three books). Very gritty, very cynical, and very funny. Great books.

Since you have Ciaphas Cain, I guess you know a little 40k? Xenology is well worth it for the story alone, but it also has some fantastic fluff. Only problem is that it's now out of print.

More Neil Gaiman is always good as well.

[Brewdude]

And the conflict begins.

I got suckered into reading Robin Hobb's Assassin trilogy. I can say, with few reservations, that I have not read a worse case of author preaching since...since....well, L. Ron Hubbard. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the hero to break out of the obvious brainwashing job the mentor was giving him...and it never happened. It's perhaps the most straitforward story I've ever seen, with the only mystery being "what did the author decide the reason his magic worked the way it did, and what was he (she? The sex scenes seemed written from a woman's perspective, even though they were a guy's thoughts) smoking when he came up with it?"

I pretty much hate Hobb books with a passion now that most normal people reserve for ayn rand, L. Ron Hubbard, Terry Goodkind, or Highlander 2. Avoid 'em like the plague

[LurkerInPlayground]

When I learned that Wizard of Earthsea was often assigned reading in schools, I had a nerd orgasm.

Well not really, but it was nonetheless very cool to learn. I read it in middle school and I loved it.

I've read reviews from 14 to 16-year olds complaining about how "nothing happens" or how "difficult" it is.

I could strangle those kids.

[Tengu_temp]

I've read reviews from 14 to 16-year olds complaining about how "nothing happens" or how "difficult" it is.

I could strangle those kids.

If you run out of hands, I can lend you mine.

[Jorkens]

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I'm a real fantasy girl, so I didn't expect to like it. It really is great.

I'm a straight man so I didn't expect to like it either and I absolutely loved it. It really is very good.

OP: if you like Neil Gaiman (or Serpentine if you like both epic fantasy and Jane austen) you might want to check Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - I've gone on about it in about 17 previous threads so I won't say much more, but NG described it as something like "the best fantasy book I've read in years" and I'm inclined to agree with him...

[oryx]

And the conflict begins.

I got suckered into reading Robin Hobb's Assassin trilogy. I can say, with few reservations, that I have not read a worse case of author preaching since...since....well, L. Ron Hubbard. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the hero to break out of the obvious brainwashing job the mentor was giving him...and it never happened. It's perhaps the most straitforward story I've ever seen, with the only mystery being "what did the author decide the reason his magic worked the way it did, and what was he (she? The sex scenes seemed written from a woman's perspective, even though they were a guy's thoughts) smoking when he came up with it?"

I pretty much hate Hobb books with a passion now that most normal people reserve for ayn rand, L. Ron Hubbard, Terry Goodkind, or Highlander 2. Avoid 'em like the plague

Preaching what?? Preaching what!! Seriously though, preaching what? I don't really get what you mean by that. Also, I kind of thought the point was that although Fitz was the main character he wasn't all that likeable. Or at least does dumb stuff frequently. Terry Goodkind is pretty awful though.

[toasty]

Neverwhere was a brilliant book. You should read it. :)

I actually hated Memory Sorrow Thorn. I couldn't finish the first book... it was a LotR clone, and Tolkien did it best IMO.

[LurkerInPlayground]

If you run out of hands, I can lend you mine.
Oh, it gets worse.

The vast majority of them didn't seem to quite understand that it was at all possible that Wizard of Earthsea was written before Harry Potter.

[Wandiya]

i recommend either the Shane 'Scarecrow' Schofield books(ice station, area 7,scarecrow) or Jack West books (seven ancient wonders,six sacred stones) by Matthiew Reilly. both series are known for there fast pace and action.:smallbiggrin:

[Keinnicht]

The SCUM manifesto.

Dear god, that actually exists?


Wow, I just looked it up. That really does exist. I'm gonna have to read that now.

[xanaphia]

i recommend either the Shane 'Scarecrow' Schofield books(ice station, area 7,scarecrow) or Jack West books (seven ancient wonders,six sacred stones) by Matthiew Reilly. both series are known for there fast pace and action.:smallbiggrin:

Yes, those are very good indeed. I recommend Seven Ancient Wonders first. Now that it's in paperback, it's a lot more affordable.

Also, the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is brilliant.

[Serpentine]

I actually hated Memory Sorrow Thorn. I couldn't finish the first book... it was a LotR clone, and Tolkien did it best IMO.It has been a while since I read it, but aside from it being similar fantasy and involving elves (which I think are much more "human" than Tolkiens), which is nearly impossible to avoid in modern fantasy, I think it was quite different from Tolkien. If nothing else, it was written completely differently. Of course, I don't really like Tolkien's writing style anyway. The man could seriously write a history, language, and a world - my God he could! I know he was a genious in this regard - but I just think he really struggled with the whole "storytelling" side of things. I think The Hobbit was better than Lord of the Rings in that I could actually enjoy it consistently.
That said, it's been a long time since I've read any Tolkien, too. Maybe I'll be able to deal better with the technical language, stiff writing style and boring bits better now.

[oryx]

OP, also check out the Dark Tower by Stephen King! And either the Handmaid's Tale or Oryx & Crake, both by Margaret Atwood.

[Ripped Shirt Kirk]

My personal the favorite series are, Sword of Truth, The Harry Dresden Files and The Harry Potter Series

[Brewdude]

Preaching what?? Preaching what!! Seriously though, preaching what? I don't really get what you mean by that. Also, I kind of thought the point was that although Fitz was the main character he wasn't all that likeable. Or at least does dumb stuff frequently. Terry Goodkind is pretty awful though.

And the moral of the story is "Respect your mentors, no matter what." However the moral I caught was "Brainwashing is good, don't question it." with a side of "It is, in fact, possible for guys to feel raped". What the heck?

[Seraph]

House of Leaves is good in a delightfully mind-screwy fashion.

[Semidi]

House of Leaves is good in a delightfully mind-screwy fashion.

I'm reading this right now. I'm about 300 pages into it, and it's completely awesome so far. Just on a formal level, the author does things with the text that I think are beautifully done.

[Innis Cabal]

Neverwhere was a brilliant book. You should read it. :)

I actually hated Memory Sorrow Thorn. I couldn't finish the first book... it was a LotR clone, and Tolkien did it best IMO.

Just bought Neverwhere, so I kept it in the quote


As for M, S, & T....it was a good attempt. It was.

I found most of the characters by the end unlikeable. I also felt that by the first To Green Angel Tower the story was dragging, bogged down by needless details and an over use of flowery words clearly trying to be another LOTR. I caught myself at times just thinking "Shut up and finish already will you? We all have other things we can be doing."

Sometimes, when snow is just white you can call it that. Really you can. I'm not against such in novels, but it was to the point in the series that I wanted to skip half the book just to get to the end.

[jazz1m]

Do you like Zombies?
WWZ is a great book that basically is written like a history book and explains the events of the world when zombies took over.

Sci-Fi
Robert Heinlein: The moon is a harsh mistress
Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game
Richard Paul Russo: Ship of Fools
Douglas Adams: Hitchhiker's trilogy (especially since you like pratchett)
Tad Williams: Otherland series (nice cyberpunk)

Fantasy-esque:
Richard Matheson: I am Legend
Orson Scott Card: Enchantment
Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials Trilogy (way better than the movie)
Gregory Maguire: Wicked
Rand Miller, David Wingrove: Book of Myst trilogy

Other Fiction:
David Guterson: Snow Falling on Cedars
John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany or The World According to Garp
Arundhati Roy: God of Small Things
Richard Adams: Watership Down

Non-fiction
Mitchell Duneier: Sidewalk (culture of homeless people)
Mimi Nichter: Fat Talk (why women always say "I'm Fat")
Michael Pollan: Any of his books really although I'm reading Botany of Desire
Chuck Klosterman: Killing Yourself to Live (kinda non-fiction)

I know there are more, but my mind is blanking at the moment, but that's a pretty good starting list :)

[toasty]

Do you like Zombies?
Douglas Adams: Hitchhiker's trilogy (especially since you like pratchett)
Tad Williams: Otherland series (nice cyberpunk)


The Hitch Hiker's books are made of win. They are amazing. I've heard good things about Otherland... haven't read it myself.

[oryx]

And the moral of the story is "Respect your mentors, no matter what." However the moral I caught was "Brainwashing is good, don't question it." with a side of "It is, in fact, possible for guys to feel raped". What the heck?

I guess this is just one of those times where people don't see eye to eye. I mean, I guess that's in there, but it's not really a story that is meant to have a moral, just...a story? Or maybe more like Fight Club, where there are two very different way of interpreting it. And really, the only person whose opinion turns out to be right is the Fool. Ugh, I am way tired and can't express what I mean.

But really, what I like about the Farseer books isn't necessarily the moral but the fact that (in my opinion) they are well written and make sense. I struggled a lot with the Soldier Son trilogy because that reads morally as "all women should just get back in the kitchen" but the writing and world are still enjoyable even if the character isn't.

Oh also, in response to your original post: Robin Hobb is a lady who also writes under Megan Lindholm; she picked an androgynous name to write the Farseer books for that exact reason.

But, your post mention books you wouldn't recommend: so what books do you enjoy?

So on another book-related note (this is general talk rather than aimed at Brewdude), I picked up this book called the Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt. I grabbed it cause it was cheap and I needed something to read at work, but it's a really enjoyable book! A bit steampunkish if that is your sort of thing, and the story isn't exactly difficult to guess, but it's not bad.

[Serpentine]

As for M, S, & T....it was a good attempt. It was.

I found most of the characters by the end unlikeable. I also felt that by the first To Green Angel Tower the story was dragging, bogged down by needless details and an over use of flowery words clearly trying to be another LOTR. I caught myself at times just thinking "Shut up and finish already will you? We all have other things we can be doing."

Sometimes, when snow is just white you can call it that. Really you can. I'm not against such in novels, but it was to the point in the series that I wanted to skip half the book just to get to the end.Funny... That's the same problem I have with Cecilia Dart-Thornton (they're just passing through the field! You don't have to describe every single frigging flower! Just how many thesauruses did you have at hand when you were writing this, anyway?!).
Like I said, it's been a while since I read it. I did really enjoy it, though.

[jazz1m]

Funny... That's the same problem I have with Cecilia Dart-Thornton (they're just passing through the field! You don't have to describe every single frigging flower! Just how many thesauruses did you have at hand when you were writing this, anyway?!).
Like I said, it's been a while since I read it. I did really enjoy it, though.

Yeah, a lot of writers get so caught up in the idea that heavy descriptors are a good thing and the idea of show don't tell that they end up describing waaay too much. I find this to be a problem with a lot of fantasy books (which makes sense since the world is supposed to be entirely new to the readers so there needs to be more description than necessary). Still, most of the worlds are still based on Earth so things like green grass, white snow, lovely scented flowers are all things we can relate to. I would like a story that breaks these conventions.