Sci-fi/fantasy book fans - come over and chat!

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Tell me about your favorite sci-fi and/or fantasy series/books, why you like them, anything new you''ve read, etc.

I''ve been rereading Dune, starting with the prequels, and I just picked up the Dragonlance trilogy (after hearing that Christopher Paolini borrowed heavily from Drangonlance, as well as other books and movies) to see what the original was about

I''m also starting to get into Jack McDevitt''s work too, and also picked up a copy of Sundiver, the first book in David Brin''s Uplift Saga.

I''m a huge fan of space operas and more comedic sci-fi. Love Terry Pratchett''s Discworld series, Neil Gaiman''s work, Christopher Moore''s, John Scalzi''s. On the more classic sci-fi side, I''m a big fan of Orson Scott Card (having read the entire Ender series), Dune series, Dan Simmons'' books (especially the Ilium/Olympics duo and the Hyperion duo). Isaac Asimov''s work of course, is one of my favorite must-reads. And I reread Harry Potter all the time

I''m hoping to get some great recommendations from you guys too! So tell me, what do you read?

 

[Tuckins1]

This thread is right up my alley! I am seriously addicted to dragonlance! After you read Chronicles, you have to read the Twins Trilogy, The Raistlin Chronicles, the war of Souls trilogy.... They are awesome! If you like dragonlance, you might also like books by David Eddings. He wrote the series "The Belgariad" and "The Malorean", as well as "Belgarath the Sorcerer" and "Polgara the Sorceress". Definitely worth picking up. Of course, I also LOOOOOVE Tolkien and the Harry Potter series!

As far as the Sci-fi... I''m not so much into those, but I did love Brave New World, which is kind of futuristic. 1984 too, but that''s not as much sci-fi ish.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/27/2010 1:38:23 PM
Author: Tuckins1
This thread is right up my alley! I am seriously addicted to dragonlance! After you read Chronicles, you have to read the Twins Trilogy, The Raistlin Chronicles, the war of Souls trilogy.... They are awesome! If you like dragonlance, you might also like books by David Eddings. He wrote the series ''The Belgariad'' and ''The Malorean'', as well as ''Belgarath the Sorcerer'' and ''Polgara the Sorceress''. Definitely worth picking up. Of course, I also LOOOOOVE Tolkien and the Harry Potter series!


As far as the Sci-fi... I''m not so much into those, but I did love Brave New World, which is kind of futuristic. 1984 too, but that''s not as much sci-fi ish.

Thanks for the suggestions!

It''s funny but I''m actually the opposite. I started with sci-fi and that''s mostly what I read, but lately I''ve been getting more into fantasy. Both the genres are so huge on their own and while I know the classics in sci-fi and can find my way around, I''m just totally lost in the fantasy world. I definitely appreciate the guidance! And I love Harry Potter! I just finished up the Percy Jackson series - I resisted, but I can''t help it. I was in HP withdrawal plus I love Greek mythology

 

[packrat]

Ohhhh how I ADORE Dragonlance! The Chronicles are my favorites-I read those about once a year, but I love all the other books I''ve read too. My brother has almost all of them, but I think he slipped away from them in favor of Forgotten Realms. He bought me the Dark Elf Trilogy about Drizzt Do''Urden and I really enjoyed it. I''ve not read any other FR books tho..Tanis and Raistlin are my first loves, so I have a hard time getting away from them.

I''m a big Piers Anthony fan as well-the Adept series is my favorite, and Race Against Time is another book I liked. I keep meaning to go to the library and get some of his other books and never do.

David Eddings'' Belgariad I almost finished and was missing a book so I skipped over to the next waiting for it to come in and it messed me all up. I need to start over.

Alan Dean Foster has several books I''ve read and reread-Into the Out Of, Nor Crystal Tears, Sentenced to Prism, To the Vanishing Point, all of which I''ve read a few times.

I''ve got the 1st four HP books and never read them-how awful is that? I''ve never read Tolkien either.

 

[stone-cold11]

Fantasy:
David Gemmell's books. I like his first few books the best, Legend and The King Beyond the Gate but the rest of the Drenai series are quite good too. Have yet to try his other series.

Katharine Kerr's Deverry series. Have not completed them yet as they are a pain to find in libraries.

SciFi
Jerry Pournelle's The Prince.

David Drake's Hammer's Slammers.

SciFi/Fantasy

The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

 

[Haven]

Oh my gosh, my used book store guy gave me a copy of Dune a while ago and I just cannot get into it. It''s really difficult for me to follow everything!

I love fantasy books, and basically lived off of them when I was younger. I''m just getting back into reading fantasy so I''ll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/27/2010 3:51:46 PM
Author: packrat
Ohhhh how I ADORE Dragonlance! The Chronicles are my favorites-I read those about once a year, but I love all the other books I''ve read too. My brother has almost all of them, but I think he slipped away from them in favor of Forgotten Realms. He bought me the Dark Elf Trilogy about Drizzt Do''Urden and I really enjoyed it. I''ve not read any other FR books tho..Tanis and Raistlin are my first loves, so I have a hard time getting away from them.


I''m a big Piers Anthony fan as well-the Adept series is my favorite, and Race Against Time is another book I liked. I keep meaning to go to the library and get some of his other books and never do.


David Eddings'' Belgariad I almost finished and was missing a book so I skipped over to the next waiting for it to come in and it messed me all up. I need to start over.


Alan Dean Foster has several books I''ve read and reread-Into the Out Of, Nor Crystal Tears, Sentenced to Prism, To the Vanishing Point, all of which I''ve read a few times.


I''ve got the 1st four HP books and never read them-how awful is that? I''ve never read Tolkien either.

I keep hearing good things about Belgariad. I think, since I''m at B&N right now, I''m going to wander to the sci-fi section and check it out! And start HP! I got hooked with the first book (I bought the first two when they came out in paperback just to see what the hype was about and then immediately went out and bought books 3 & 4 in hardcover). I could never really get into LOTR though (I liked The Hobbit however).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/27/2010 4:23:47 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Fantasy:

David Gemmell''s books. I like his first few books the best, Legend and The King Beyond the Gate but the rest of the Drenai series are quite good too. Have yet to try his other series.


Katharine Kerr''s Deverry series. Have not completed them yet as they are a pain to find in libraries.


SciFi

Jerry Pournelle''s The Prince.


David Drake''s Hammer''s Slammers.


SciFi/Fantasy


The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Hmm..I''ve heard of The Death Gate Cycle...

 

[stone-cold11]

LOTR starts slow. Once you get to the second half of the first book, things starts to pick up.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/27/2010 4:31:23 PM
Author: Haven
Oh my gosh, my used book store guy gave me a copy of Dune a while ago and I just cannot get into it. It''s really difficult for me to follow everything!


I love fantasy books, and basically lived off of them when I was younger. I''m just getting back into reading fantasy so I''ll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure.

Umm I''ll confess something that true Dune fans will find sacrilegious. I actually much prefer the prequels by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. I slogged my way through all 6 Dune books over the course of about 5 years - the amount of time the series encompasses is just staggering though. I read Sandworms of Dune and Hunters of Dune (also by Brian and Anderson) and thought they were ok, but my favorites (and the ones I reread) are the prequels (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino). Give the first one a try - maybe you''ll like it better than the originals!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Is it sad I've read practically ALL the above mentioned series? Mostly during high school/college, lol. Yeah, I haven't read DragonLance since middle school I think, lol (I was a early nerd in life).

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is a classic of course.
Orson Scott Card is a fav. FYI he's been adding more books to the Ender's collection lately.
Neil Gaiman is a great writer, loved American Gods.
Piers Anthony is good too, his Xanth books are humorous and his other collections are more adult (i liked his Incarnations series the best).
David Eddings is good, although his stories get predictable. Still, I heart Sparhawk.
Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series was good, but VERY graphic and violent on occasion
Terry Brooks books were good too, not the best, for good for fluff reading.
Mists of Avalon was a really good read, some great characters there and an interesting retelling of the King Arthur story.
Neil Stephenson is good too, more nerdy than fantasy. I recommend Snow Crash.
Jaqueline Carey's Kushiel Trilogy was also good, interesting style, again very adult.
Anne Bishop's Queen of Darkness trilogy is also good, again very adult and dark at times.
Pullman's Golden Compass trilogy is also classic, I liked it a lot in highschool.
Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series I also though was fantastic and quirky.

I think that's all I can think of off the top of my head....but chances are if it's a well known sci fi author, I probably read something of theirs.

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 2/27/2010 5:22:17 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Is it sad I''ve read practically ALL the above mentioned series? Mostly during high school/college, lol. Yeah, I haven''t read DragonLance since middle school I think, lol (I was a early nerd in life).


Robert Jordan''s Wheel of Time series is a classic of course.

Orson Scott Card is a fav. FYI he''s been adding more books to the Ender''s collection lately.

Neil Gaiman is a great writer, loved American Gods.

Piers Anthony is good too, his Xanth books are humorous and his other collections are more adult (i liked his Incarnations series the best).

David Eddings is good, although his stories get predictable. Still, I heart Sparhawk.

Terry Goodkind''s Sword of Truth series was good, but VERY graphic and violent on occasion

Terry Brooks books were good too, not the best, for good for fluff reading.

Mists of Avalon was a really good read, some great characters there and an interesting retelling of the King Arthur story.

Neil Stephenson is good too, more nerdy than fantasy. I recommend Snow Crash.

Jaqueline Carey''s Kushiel Trilogy was also good, interesting style, again very adult.

Anne Bishop''s Queen of Darkness trilogy is also good, again very adult and dark at times.

Pullman''s Golden Compass trilogy is also classic, I liked it a lot in highschool.

Dean Koontz''s Odd Thomas series I also though was fantastic and quirky.


I think that''s all I can think of off the top of my head....but chances are if it''s a well known sci fi author, I probably read something of theirs.

I also really enjoyed The Mists of Avalon and the Odd Thomas series! I picked up the third Odd Thomas on my honeymoon and read it out on the beach...

 

[ladypirate]

I can''t believe that no one has brought up the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin yet!!!!!

Seriously, CRAZY good. I could not put it down and now I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Ooh I just picked up the first Belgariad book today!

 

[Diamond Explorer]

Date: 2/27/2010 10:00:57 PM
Author: ladypirate
I can''t believe that no one has brought up the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin yet!!!!!


Seriously, CRAZY good. I could not put it down and now I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

This series really is amazing, the POV storytelling really allows you to feel connected to the characters.

In terms of the Sci-fi, I really recommend Tad Williams cyber-punk epic Otherland. It takes place in the not so distant future where the net has evolved into a full virtual reality, controlled by shady powers. It is rich in allusions to other great literature, and really captivated me with the technological-conspiracy plot. An exciting read for sure!

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 2/27/2010 11:05:31 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
Ooh I just picked up the first Belgariad book today!

Yay! I am excited for you! I got my good friends hooked on this series too... Tell us what you think!

 

[Luckyeshe]

Jim Butcher''s Codex Alera series and Dresden series
Brandon Sanderson Mistborn Trilogy
Dan Simmons Hyperian series
Lian Hearn Tales of the Otori Trilogy

 

[Hest88]

Lois McMaster Bujold''s Vorkosigan series - funny, romantic, soooo well-written

Sharon Shinn''s Samaria and the newer Twelve Houses series

I do love the Ender series, and my favorite Orson Scott Card is Songmaster, but I do find some of the rest uneven.

Oh, for something great and literary, Mary Doris Russell''s The Sparrow. And Guy Gavriel Kay uses such gorgeous language.

For hard SF, Iain M. Banks can be a difficult slog, but some are just brilliant. My favorite is Use of Weapons.

I have to admit, the older I get the less willing I am to commit to a long series. I''m really more interested in stand-alone books.

 

[somethingshiny]

Great thread!! I''ve been really disappointed with my book selections lately. Nothing is quite ENOUGH. I have very few fantasy and no sci-fi though. But, that seems to be what gives me the most pleasure to read. In fact, I read HP so often, DH asked if I start with the first, read the series, and then just start over!

I''m taking this list of suggestions to the library ASAP!!

Thanks!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/27/2010 5:22:17 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Is it sad I''ve read practically ALL the above mentioned series? Mostly during high school/college, lol. Yeah, I haven''t read DragonLance since middle school I think, lol (I was a early nerd in life).


Robert Jordan''s Wheel of Time series is a classic of course.

Orson Scott Card is a fav. FYI he''s been adding more books to the Ender''s collection lately.

Neil Gaiman is a great writer, loved American Gods.

Piers Anthony is good too, his Xanth books are humorous and his other collections are more adult (i liked his Incarnations series the best).

David Eddings is good, although his stories get predictable. Still, I heart Sparhawk.

Terry Goodkind''s Sword of Truth series was good, but VERY graphic and violent on occasion

Terry Brooks books were good too, not the best, for good for fluff reading.

Mists of Avalon was a really good read, some great characters there and an interesting retelling of the King Arthur story.

Neil Stephenson is good too, more nerdy than fantasy. I recommend Snow Crash.

Jaqueline Carey''s Kushiel Trilogy was also good, interesting style, again very adult.

Anne Bishop''s Queen of Darkness trilogy is also good, again very adult and dark at times.

Pullman''s Golden Compass trilogy is also classic, I liked it a lot in highschool.

Dean Koontz''s Odd Thomas series I also though was fantastic and quirky.


I think that''s all I can think of off the top of my head....but chances are if it''s a well known sci fi author, I probably read something of theirs.

I''ve been reading the new additions to the Ender series, and I''m not sure what to think. I''m not a huge fan but that''s mostly because I''ve always like the Bean storyline way better - I usually read Ender''s Game, and skip all the following Ender books, and move to Ender''s Shadow.

And I love American Gods. Have you read Anansi Boys?

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/28/2010 8:34:04 AM
Author: Tuckins1

Date: 2/27/2010 11:05:31 PM

Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl

Ooh I just picked up the first Belgariad book today!

Yay! I am excited for you! I got my good friends hooked on this series too... Tell us what you think!

Will do! I think I''ll be taking it on the plane with me tomorrow

I was sad to see that the Belgariad series wasn''t in Kindle format but the Dreamers (I think that''s the one?) series is so this could mean more great spring break reading for me

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/27/2010 10:00:57 PM
Author: ladypirate
I can''t believe that no one has brought up the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin yet!!!!!


Seriously, CRAZY good. I could not put it down and now I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

Looks so interesting! I love the Wars of the Roses, and I love sweeping fantasy - sounds like a great combo.

 

[Circe]

A lot of my favorites have already been mentioned on this thread - Neil Gaiman, _Song of Ice and Fire_, Carey''s Kushiel cycle, Anne Bishop''s earlier stuff, as well as a lot of the classics I grew up on (David Eddings, yay! Dragonlance, yay!) - so I''m going to try to rec. things no one has mentioned yet.

My first series rec would hands-down by Mary Gentle''s _Chronicles of Ash_. It''s brilliant and heartbreaking and marvelous.

For those of you who like straight-up fantasy: Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley are all consistently wonderful.

For those of you on the SF side of the spectrum: do not walk, RUN to the bookstore to get a copy of Richard Morgan''s _13_ (titled _Black Man_ for European readers). It is possibly the best-built world I can remember reading since Asimov.

For those of you with quirkier tastes/an appreciation for language that''s up there alongside the story, I can make no higher recommendations than Tanith Lee, Catherynne M. Valente, or Patricia McKillip.

More to come as I happily root through my shelves (for one thing, this thread is inspiring me to see if I have the _Dune_ books in the house - I''ve been meaning to reread those for ages). Great thread idea!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I''m loving the Belgariad. I''m almost done with the first book and I started this morning - gah I wish I had bought the second one too! Amazon Prime and all but two days is still a long time!

 

[ladypirate]

I know Neal Stephenson was mentioned, but I wanted to second him. Snow Crash and Diamond Age are both good reads and relatively quick (unlike Quicksilver and the Baroque Cycle which are definitely a bit more involved reading).

I just read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell not too long ago and it was wonderful. Kind of a historical fantasy.

 

[MisterGypsy]

Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan (RIP), Brent Weeks, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card . . . honestly I try anything, and can get through most.

Of all, Pratchett is the man, though. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Kismet]

I have to second the recommendation for Tad Williams'' Otherland series. Robin Hobb''s 3 trilogies set in the same universe (The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy). Greg Keyes'' The Kingdom of Thorn & Bone series. I also liked his Waterborn/Blackgod duo. Elizabeth Moon''s Deed of Paksennarion if you like military fantasy. Her other books about Herris Serrano are pretty good as well.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 3/2/2010 1:09:48 AM
Author: MisterGypsy
Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan (RIP), Brent Weeks, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card . . . honestly I try anything, and can get through most.


Of all, Pratchett is the man, though. Absolutely brilliant.

+1. My favorite author hands down. I''ve been trying for two years now to get BF o read one - I think I''ll make him try the new one, Unseen Academicals. He likes sports, they talk about sports...hmm...

And welcome MisterGypsy!

 

[annadragon]

I can echo the recommendation for DragonLance but tell you that after about the 6th book loses (for me) its original feel.
I can highly recommend The Amber series from Robert Zelazny, well just about anything Zelazny is pretty awesome. He develops some fantastic characters and his dialogue is untopped.
A Song of Fire and Ice series from George R.R. Martin is a MUST, it''s character crafting evokes so many emotions in you.

I personally wouldn''t read LotR again unless my life depended on it but it floats some peoples boats.
And for the fantasy/horror genre getcha some H.P. Lovecraft!

Larry Niven Ring World books.
Peter F. Hamilton, The Void Trilogy and Reality Dysfunction
I''m also a fan of Phillip K. Dick novels

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/28/2010 7:43:07 PM
Author: Circe
A lot of my favorites have already been mentioned on this thread - Neil Gaiman, _Song of Ice and Fire_, Carey''s Kushiel cycle, Anne Bishop''s earlier stuff, as well as a lot of the classics I grew up on (David Eddings, yay! Dragonlance, yay!) - so I''m going to try to rec. things no one has mentioned yet.


My first series rec would hands-down by Mary Gentle''s _Chronicles of Ash_. It''s brilliant and heartbreaking and marvelous.


For those of you who like straight-up fantasy: Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley are all consistently wonderful.


For those of you on the SF side of the spectrum: do not walk, RUN to the bookstore to get a copy of Richard Morgan''s _13_ (titled _Black Man_ for European readers). It is possibly the best-built world I can remember reading since Asimov.


For those of you with quirkier tastes/an appreciation for language that''s up there alongside the story, I can make no higher recommendations than Tanith Lee, Catherynne M. Valente, or Patricia McKillip.


More to come as I happily root through my shelves (for one thing, this thread is inspiring me to see if I have the _Dune_ books in the house - I''ve been meaning to reread those for ages). Great thread idea!

Dune is one of those series that I feel like I really HAVE to like. It has such a well-developed universe, great scope (honestly, I''m impressed and staggered by the time span of the stories - same with Asimov''s Robot/Foundation books) but at the same time, some of the original books were just SUCH an effort to slog through.