Looking for a new book to read

POSTED BY: amygdala
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 04:52
VIEWED: 27073
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AMYGDALA

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 3:19 AM

Asking for some help here, people. It's been such a long time since I've read an SF/fantasy novel and been so enthralled that I felt bereft when it was over..

To give you an idea of my tastes, or for people looking for a book to enthral them, here's a list of what in my opinion are absolute classics:

Ursula Le Guin: Anything by this woman, but particularly the Earthsea series. Her simple, elegant style has produced the best writing I have ever read bar no one. The series just gets better with each new novel. Also deserving honorable mention: The Lathe of Heaven.

Only Forward, Michael Marshall Smith : Original, quirky plot, cool characters, just so damn funny, yet also at times sad and lyrically beautiful. This guy writes like nobody else, and I even found myself reading his mainstream series 'The Straw Men' with the godawful plot written under the name Michael Marshall just for the moments he made me laugh out loud or took my breath away.

The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon: A portrayal of autism in the near future when behavioural interventions allow people with autism to function in society. Well-written, insightful, funny, and most importantly leaves us wondering who really has the problem.

Philip K. Dick: Prolific writer from the 1950s-80s. Hugely original plots possibly inspired by lots and lots of drugs. There are hits and misses, but some big hits include Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, A Scanner Darkly and The Man in the High Castle.

Sheri S. Tepper: Sci-fi/fantasy with a serious ecological bent. Another woman who can write beautifully, the only down side being that at the end of each novel I spend time feeling like crap after being reminded that we're killing the planet. Also interesting in her penchant for human/alien romance.

Song of Ice and Fire series, George R. R. Martin : I know, I know. I hate the guys who crank out needlessly drawn-out fantasy series, but I'm just hooked. Writes well, hasn't lost momentum with each novel (unlike some others I won't mention like jordan, whoops), and the characters are far from cardboard. His first novel 'Dying of the Light' also worth a look.

Sorry, I do go on. Have also read and enjoyed Orson Scott Card's Enders Game and Alvin series, Asimov's Robot and Foundation stuff, early Dune, early Eddings, early Feist. Given up on Jordan - sick of paragraphs and paragraphs of costume description and women sniffing.

Any recommendations?

----
"She was all naked and ... articulate."

FREMDFIRMA

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 4:00 AM

David Drake

With the Lightnings.
Lt. Leary, commanding.

Drake is kinda hit or miss, but those two are straight bullseye.

Mickey Zucker Reichart
Last of the Renshai
The Western Wizard
Child of Thunder

If you liked Martin, you'd like this trilogy a lot better, I revere Colby, in fact.

-F

GROUNDED

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 9:32 AM

Stephen Baxter

Time
Space
Origin

Less as something based on your likes, more as my default sci-fi recommendation ;)

MOUSIE

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 10:27 AM

Lois McMaster Bujold

Young Miles (SF)
The Curse of Chalion (Fantasy)

She's won bunches of Hugos and Nebulas. =)

EMMA

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 1:53 PM

Fevre Dream by GRRMartin is great (especially if you like his writing style). It is a vampire novel - uber!

Also, if you like childrens novels (what I mostly read to be honest - usually much more imaginiative) try out the following:

Northern Lights trilogy by Philip Pulman

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper

Also, even if you don't like comics may I suggest the Sandman by Neil Gaiman? They are incredible and many non-comic fans I know love them too.

extremely dimensionally transcendental

EMBERS

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 3:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by amygdala:
Any recommendations?

My current favorite fantasy books are:

Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden Chronicles are a real hoot (Mike Hammer meets LotR set in modern day Chicago), start with Storm Front; they are funny and kind of violent.

Terry Pratchett has written more books than you can shake a stick at, not violent...but still funny and with some Sci-fi elements in it...sort of, I would recommend starting with The Color of Magic

Join my crew: Fairfield Fireflies
http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/index.html?fuseaction=gro
ups.main&searchby=F

CALLMESERENITY

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 3:46 PM

Sorrow, Memory and Thorn, Tad Williams

Serenity, First Officer of Destiny

RELFEXIVE

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 5:18 PM

Altered Carbon, Broken Angels and Woken Furies by Richard Morgan.

Cryptonomican by Neal Stephenson. Also, Quicksilver, The Confusion and The System Of The World by same.

Anything by Iain M Banks.

Anything by Peter F Hamilton.

"My God - you're like a trained ape. Without the training."

WILLOWY

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 5:29 PM

"Journey" by Marta Randall

Fantastic, sweeping generational family saga set in the future. Extreme emotional highs and lows, and an unforgettable and well-told story. The science is kind of taken for granted here, but you don't care because the human stories are so well wrought.

It's out of print so you have to order it...Amazon has it really cheap in paperback.

MILORADELL

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 5:59 PM

I'm currently reading Shadowfall by James Clemens - aboslutely loving this! It's fantasy, with some truly unqiue sci-fi-ish bits in it.

Two series by CJ Cherryh - Faded Sun trilogy and the Foreigner series (6 books so far). I've read both so many times through I've lost count.

The Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey - about a religious prostitute who happens to be a masochist. Waaaaay better than it sounds! The last book is so brutal I don't know if I'll ever be able to re-read it. Her Sundering series is intriguing as well - think Tolkein, only from the other side. The second book comes out this month some time. Yay!!!

Mark Anthony's Last Rune books are so frigging good! I know more than one person my husband's managed to hook on this series. Actually - funny little story: he was reading the first book of this series on our honeymoon - and that's all he wanted to do! They are that good.

@@edit@@
Anything by CS Friedman.

****
“The cookies are not for you.” Beltan in Mark Anthony’s First Stone

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