There is a great thread in the lounge about Books in general, but to be honest, all I really want to read is Sci-Fi (including post-apocalyptic), and Fantasy.
In this OP I will compile every poster's top 3 Fantasy/SciFi suggestions if they give me them. I will try to keep the posters in alphabetical order in case you want to find someone's suggestions easier.
CP POSTER SUGGESTIONS
Baby Lee
1. Fritz Lieber's Swords Against series.
2. George R.R. Martin's SoIaF series [no brainer that will probably make tons of other lists]
3. Umberto Eco, Foucalt's Pendulum [a little more obscure/forgotten to make up for GRRM]
Frosty
1.Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga
2.Terry Brooks - Shannara series (starting with the Knight of the Word books)
3.Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
Huffmeister
(1) Dune - Frank Herbert
(2) The Stand - Stephen King (1000+ page unabridged)
(3) Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein (checkout the song by Yes, too. lots of great bass)
Jawshco
1. "Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe
2. "Paradise War" by Stephen R Lawhead
3. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams
listopencil
1. Edgar Rice Burroughs, any series
2. Robert Heinlein, everything he has written in chronological order (but read Starship Troopers first)
3. Doc Smith's Lensman series
vailpass
1. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1, 2A & 2B books are a gold mine for sampling the evolution of sci-fi. (below)
2.The Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards (selected yearly, pick a year)
3. Years Best SF Annual publication, pick any volume from 1 to the current volume 17 See Post 142 [Reply]
I would probably put Pat Rothfuss' work at the top of the list of anything I've read recently. He is tremendously talented, and creates some beautiful, beautiful things with his words.
The epilogue to The Name of the Wind - "The third silence" - is some of my favorite writing, ever.
I keep wanting to give Joe Abercombie a shot. Heard nothing but excellent things about it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
I would probably put Pat Rothfuss' work at the top of the list of anything I've read recently. He is tremendously talented, and creates some beautiful, beautiful things with his words.
The epilogue to The Name of the Wind - "The third silence" - is some of my favorite writing, ever.
I keep wanting to give Joe Abercombie a shot. Heard nothing but excellent things about it.
I read The Name of the Wind, the First Law Trilogy (Abercombie), and the Lies of Locke Lamora at roughly the same time. All three were good, but The First Law Trilogy was by far my favorite. The first time you meet the Bloody Nine is fantastic. [Reply]
Has anyone read Katharine Kerr's Deverry series? They are Celtic fantasy that follows several characters through their various incarnations over the centuries. They are an interesting, enjoyable read but the series is really stretched out. I just finished the 9th book with 6 more to go for the conclusion! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Brainiac:
I highly recommend a couple of books by "the dean of science fiction", Robert A. Heinlein: Methuselah's Children and Starship Troopers. If you decide you like Heinlein, there are many more.
I continue to view Stranger in a Strange Land as his seminal work. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KC Tattoo:
Dune chronicles by Frank Herber, havn't ever read them but I thought Dune was a good movie so the books should be good too.
If you liked the movie, the books will blow you away, far FAR superior works. It creates a dense, credible world of religion, politics, and warfare tactics. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Huffmeister:
I really, really like Heinlein, but I just could not get into Stranger In A Strange Land. When I finished it, I couldn't figure out why it's widely regarded as his masterpiece.
He said that he didn't care for it himself, and I don't consider it his best work. [Reply]
Seems like a lot more fantasy in this thread than Sci-Fi. Great recommendations though. I guess Fantasy is probably a more written about genre, so that makes sense.
Originally Posted by Buck:
Seems like a lot more fantasy in this thread than Sci-Fi. Great recommendations though. I guess Fantasy is probably a more written about genre, so that makes sense.
People may argue strongly about this, but speaking only for myself, I have to say that I find it very difficult to find good new science fiction. It generally tends to be harder, meaning there's of a focus on science rather than story, and often characterization and plot is the cost. Which can lead to some very dry prose and novels that read too much like textbooks. To me, while the science is important, it is science faction after all, it should be an ancillary facet; good stories are about people, in the end, and overcoming the problems they face. And I think for that reason - the style of writing - the genre faces an uphill battle when it comes to finding an audience. Which is unfortunate, because it's actually the genre I prefer; the only reason I read so much fantasy these days is because there just seems to be so much more of it at a high level of quality.
If you do want to try some science fiction, you can't really go wrong with names like Neal Stephenson or Dan Simmons or Alastair Reynolds or Robert Charles Wilson (Spin, in particular) or Peter F. Hamilton or even Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan novels.
Oh, and a name I left off previously that I shouldn't have is Gene Wolfe. He sort of walks a line between fantasy and science fiction. [Reply]
I can't disagree with you on the hard sci-fi trend of current sci-fi.
All of my favorites were written in the 90s or earlier. A lot of those classics hold up very well today.
I Am Legend was written in the 70s I think. I'm currently reading it. It should take me one more day at most to finish. I think its great and it's not hard sci-fi at all.
Then again maybe some people don't include post-apoc in sci-fi, but I do.
I do have a little bit of me that wants some hard sci-fi, but I will always enjoy character-driven pieces more. [Reply]
