Favorite non-Tolkien and Lewis fantasy and SF

[Arik]

What fantasy and SF do you like other than Tolkien and Lewis? (Not that I don't like Tolkien and Lewis––I love both authors––but I want to see what else people are reading.)

[scout1idf]

Forgotten Realms


Ed Greenwood
Troy Denning
Richard Baker
R.A. Salvatore

I haven't read much in the last year though......

[Arik]

Personally, I like Gene Wolfe (I'm reading The Wizard Knight now). I'm also reading Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon (which is excellent) and A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (also great). I plan to read Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock, since I've heard that's good.

[zmflavius]

George RR Martin (Though he hasn't finished anything in a while)

Harry Turtledove for certain. I've read 3 of the WorldWar books, and loved them. I'm right now trying to get my hands on his Southern Victory series.

Jules Verne is my favorite classical author.

[Elrond]

The Wheel of Time by the late "Robert Jordan." That's an epic which he did not live long enough to complete!

[Lightwielder]

I like the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, by Rick Riordan.

It's great for anyone to read, but especially if you're into mythology, like I am.

[Doolipalally]

So many... which to mention?

Steven Erikson. Mary Gentle. Iain M. Banks. Peter F. Hamilton. Kate Elliott. Neil Gaiman. Katharine Kerr. Stephen Donaldson. Terry Pratchett. Melanie Rawn. Robin Hobb. Neal Stephenson.

I'll remember some more in a minute...

[Badstench]

For me, it's not so much the authors I revered as individual stories. Some good authors wrote stories I didn't partcularly relate to.

But if pushed, I'd have to include Robert A. Heinlein on any list.

[psychoadept]

I did my undergraduate thesis on Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. That's about the most incredible, creatively dense piece of fiction I've ever read.

[Arik]

These are other books I plan to read soon:

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
On Blue's Waters by Gene Wolfe
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

Does anyone have suggestions or comments regarding those books?

[zmflavius]

These are other books I plan to read soon:

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
On Blue's Waters by Gene Wolfe
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

Does anyone have suggestions or comments regarding those books?

Do you support the Starks or the Lannisters more?

Lannisters win

[Arik]

I'm not sure...probably Starks.

[zmflavius]

I'm not sure...probably Starks.

Robb and pretty much every northron lord dies.

[Arik]

Maybe someone should open an A Song of Ice and Fire discussion thread :)

[Draxas]

I have read many fantasy novels.
The Dragonriders of Pern
The Lord of the Rings
The entire Shawdow Gate series
The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Believer
Along with many others, too many to list.
But my favourite saga was written by Robert Weiss, The Rift War Saga, a great read and excellent adventure.

[Oldschool]

Like Dooli, too many too mention but a few off the top of my head.

Steven Donaldson, Robert Jordan, David Eddings, Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Dennis McKiernan, Tad Williams and Raymond Feist.

The Wheel of Time by the late "Robert Jordan." That's an epic which he did not live long enough to complete!

Epic indeed.....

The latest book in Jordan's Wheel of Time hit the shelves in late October written by Brandon Sanderson from notes/outline by Jordan. Sanderson was supposed to finish the series with this book (the twelfth). However, this is the first in a scheduled release of three books by him which should close out the series at fourteen. For the record I haven't read the latest work by Sanderson - yet.

Interesting bit of trivia - he was Ken Jennings college roommate. Jennings is the leading money winner on game shows for his run on Jeopardy.

Definitely going to restart from scratch when the series is done.

[Arik]

Some other books I'm planning to read:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Any comments about these books?

[texlaw1992]

This thread got me thinking that I haven't read any fantasy or sci-fi in years - my tastes these days run more to action-adventure (I get 7 books shipped to me every month). I did use to enjoy Star Trek novels, and even thought I might start reading William Shatner's "Tekwar" series, but did not get around to it.

One fantasy novel I particularly liked was "Crispin Magicker," not only because the story was good, but the author lived in my town at the time and autographed it for me.

As I write this, I'm watching a Dungeons & Dragons movie on Syfy where the character refers to himself as one of the party who assaulted "The Ghost Tower of Inverness" - anyone remember that module? They also just referred to the "Shrine of the Kuo-Toa" - can't help but like this movie.

[Zen And Tonic]

Regarding Perdido Street Station:

China Mieville has an incredible imagination. His books have some of the most creative world-building I've ever read.


My favorite SF author is Stanislaw Lem. He writes brilliant satirical fiction, sometimes depressing, other times scathingly funny. In one of this novels, the two hemispheres of the protagonist's brain gets severed, causing various parts of his body to disobey him. In another novel, the protagonist gets trapped in a nightmarish future version of the Pentagon, just trying to figure out what his mission is exactly.

I suggest starting with The Cyberiad, which is a series of hilarious, mostly light-hearted stories about two rival robot inventors. His books can be challenging sometimes, but they're absolutely worth it.

[Young Ned]

Some other books I'm planning to read:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Any comments about these books?

The Golden Compass and Latro in the Mist are awesome, in totally different ways. Assassin's Apprentice was just pretty good. I haven't read The Anubis Gates, but I've read some other Tim Powers books with mixed results.

Draxas, I thought the Riftwar books were written by Raymond Feist? Or is this a completely different saga with a similar name?

[thingirl]

My next big read is gonna be Silmarilion (or however you spell it). After that probably HP. Can't think of any other Fiction I like.

[Arik]

Thingirl, after The Silmarillion, you should probably read The Children of Hurin, which is, in my opinion, better––almost as good as Lord of the Rings, in fact. (Though the Silmarillion's great too.)

[wetheril]

David Eddings - while I enjoyed the Belgariod, I couldn't finish the Mallorian. It just seemed a bit repetitive at that point.

Robert Jordan - I really should get around to reading more of the Wheel of Time series. I've only finished the first volume. I thought it was okay.

Terry Brooks - I really liked the Shannara series, as well as the Heritage series that followed.

Michael Moorcock - His Elric series is really good. I can see how it might not appeal to everyone, though I really think he has some interesting themes throughout the series.

Phillip Pullman's Golden Compass - I highly recommend this book; read the first two books (up to The Subtle Knife), and I really like this series.

Ursula K. LeGuin - She's a great fantasy/SF author. I've read the Earthsea series and The Left Hand of Darkness.

I really want to read Gene Wolf's novels, as I've heard great things about it. Good to see what other people are reading, as I now have more on my reading list. :)

[Arik]

Wetheril, if you want to start reading Gene Wolfe, you probably should start with The Book of the New Sun. Be warned, though––Gene Wolfe can be pretty dense and difficult to read, he often leaves things unresolved, and don't trust his first-person narrators––for example, the narrator of New Sun actually lies to the reader. He's a favorite author of mine, but he's not for everyone.

[wetheril]

Wetheril, if you want to start reading Gene Wolfe, you probably should start with The Book of the New Sun. Be warned, though––Gene Wolfe can be pretty dense and difficult to read, he often leaves things unresolved, and don't trust his first-person narrators––for example, the narrator of New Sun actually lies to the reader. He's a favorite author of mine, but he's not for everyone.

Thanks for the warning, Arik, but that just sounds even more interesting now! :) I'll take your advice and start with The Book of the New Sun. Will probably go to the local library and see if they have a copy of it tomorrow.

[Doolipalally]

Ursula Le Guin! I knew I'd forgotten someone - thanks Wetheril for the reminder!

I tried reading 'The Book of the New Sun' a few years ago but never really connected with it. I found that the narrator was someone it irritated me to have to spend time with. But I did appreciate the craft and imagination that went into it.

[Arik]

Doolipally, Severian is highly-flawed––but he also does do kind things. I thought Gene Wolfe did a fairly good job of making the reader care about a flawed protagonist (though there were times when I was irritated at Severian).

If you like Ursula K. LeGuin, maybe you should try re-reading Gene Wolfe (LeGuin has highly praised Wolfe multiple times).

[Doolipalally]

I probably should, though I've no prospect of laying my hands on a copy right now.

My memory of Severian is that he was a bit self-obsessed, and that annoyed me. But like I say, it was a number of years ago and I might be more patient these days.

I do have a problem with self-obsessed male heroes with no sense of humour, though. Can't stand Kazuo Ishiguro for that reason.

[thingirl]

I do have a problem with self-obsessed male heroes with no sense of humour, though.

Really? Me too. Maybe that's why I've become re-obsessed with defeating Brnabor. And also why I... Let's just say I don't love Rokkie ;)

[texlaw1992]

You can do it TG - took me over a 100 fights. With the snowflake amulet, pool bonuses and small white mushroom, I got my MR up high enough that he was pink instead of black, then one good QS 20 (which repeated) finally brought him down. No wedgie needed (lol).

[Young Ned]

I've started the Book of the New Sun several times, but I don't think I've ever managed to complete the series. Not sure why; I just seem to drift away to other books after a while.

I love his Latro books, though. You'll probably want to brush up on your Greek mythology a bit before tackling them. The protagonist has profound memory loss due to a head injury, and he wasn't brought up in the Greek culture anyway, so when he encounters mythological beings (which he does rather frequently) he has no idea who they are, and you have to figure them out from his descriptions.

He also translates Greek place names into his own language, rather than just using their original names as we do nowadays, and he's no scholar so his translations may not always be accurate. (Talk about an unreliable narrator!) Took me a while to figure out that the city of "Thought" was Athens, and "Rope" (or was it "Rope Makers"?) was Sparta.

[Badstench]

I've harped on about this story in the past... but if you can find a copy of the Helliconia trilogy by Brian W Aldiss... be amazed!

[Arik]

I've just started Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, which, so far, is great.

[Chareos]

The late David Gemmell is far and beyond my favourite author of heroic fantasy. I reread most of his books once a year. I have also enjoyed Terry Pratchett, Terry Brooks, Raymond Feist, Robin Hobb and a few others. However I don't think any of them have made me feel the same way about the characters as David Gemmell did. My two favourites are Legend and Sword in the Storm, I would heartily recommend them.

[Badstench]

Shoot me, but I think Enid Blyton deserves a mention.

[Doolipalally]

(shoots Badstench)

[Young Ned]

(googles Enid Blyton)

Huh, interesting. Apparently not an author who's very popular here in America, because I'd never heard of her -- and I'm familiar with several other popular British children's authors, like E. Nesbit, Arthur Ransome, and Roald Dahl.

[Doolipalally]

(googles Enid Blyton)

Huh, interesting. Apparently not an author who's very popular here in America, because I'd never heard of her -- and I'm familiar with several other popular British children's authors, like E. Nesbit, Arthur Ransome, and Roald Dahl.

Enid Blyton wrote a lot of stories about boys who did exciting things and girls who worried about whether there was enough to eat. 'Nuff said!

[Zedalion]

I am personally a big fan of Neil Gaiman. But that's not traditional fantasy, I suppose.

[Doolipalally]

Not traditional, but still fantasy and very interesting stuff. I'm a fan of people who play with genre boundaries.

Anyone who hasn't read 'American Gods', go and do so! :)

[Arik]

I just finished Gene Wolfe's two-volume work The Wizard Knight, which was good, but not quite as good as the best Gene Wolfe. I'm also almost finished with Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake, which is possibly the best thing I've read in the last year.

[Young Ned]

Ah, yes, the Gormenghast trilogy is amazing. I haven't reread that in a long time, so I'm probably about due...

[Doolipalally]

Ah, yes, the Gormenghast trilogy is amazing. I haven't reread that in a long time, so I'm probably about due...

I should probably re-read that, too. Actually I thought the first two were brilliant, but I ground to a halt on the third book on the trilogy.

[wetheril]

I spent yesterday reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and it's a great book. I'm looking to read the rest of the series over the next few days.

[zmflavius]

I spent yesterday reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and it's a great book. I'm looking to read the rest of the series over the next few days.

You might also like it's companion series, Ender's Shadow.

[Arik]

Ender's Game is good, though I remember not liking Ender's Shadow.

Has anyone read anything by Garth Nix?

[scout1idf]

Forgotten Realms


Ed Greenwood
Troy Denning
Richard Baker
R.A. Salvatore

I haven't read much in the last year though......
I'm guessing that I'm alone in liking Forgotten Realms?

[Oldschool]

Nope I like the Forgotten Realms books.

Anyone remember the Gord the Rogue books by Gary Gygax.

[Badstench]

Phew... there's a slice of history.

One of my friends ran a melieu set in the World of Greyhawk... badly, I must say.

[texlaw1992]

I always preferred the World of Greyhawk over Forgotten Realms, probably just because I was used to WoG before FR came out. One of my characters even became the Viscount of Verbobonc, for those of you who know the reference.

[Young Ned]

Ender's Game is good, though I remember not liking Ender's Shadow.

Has anyone read anything by Garth Nix?

I love Garth Nix's Abhorsen series. (I see Wikipedia is calling it the Old Kingdom series, which works too.) For some reason, though, I haven't tried any of his other books. Would any of you recommend them?

[Arik]

Almost everything by Garth Nix is good, Young Ned (although Keys to the Kingdom, which is probably his best work, is unfinished–-just a word of warning).

I don't think anyone's mentioned Douglas Adams––great writer, although I haven't read the Dirk Gently series.

[Badstench]

You mention Douglas Adams at your peril, Arik.

I went through high school quoting phrases and passages from "Hitch Hikers" to the point where I frazzled my friends.

"Shut up!" they would say when I spoke Vogon at them.

[texlaw1992]

I read the Hitchiker's trilogy in high school just because I was the only one in my group who had not read it earlier. How things change - nowadays if you joke that the great answer to life, the universe and everything is 42, all you usually get back is a blank stare. Keep up with the classics people (lol).

[scout1idf]

I read the Hitchiker's trilogy in high school just because I was the only one in my group who had not read it earlier. How things change - nowadays if you joke that the great answer to life, the universe and everything is 42, all you usually get back is a blank stare. Keep up with the classics people (lol).
I make that reference from time to time and get the same response......

[demojan777]

About 6 years ago I read the first 7 books in that series in about a week, and by that point had caught up to Mr. Goodkind (who visits Las Vegas often and so I have the honor of an autographed Faith of The Fallen - my favorite so far - and Confessor), so as soon as the next books came out I would grab them up and read them as soon as I could... until the eleventh and last one (twelfth if you count the pre-quel novella Debt of Bones which is awesome but can be finished in one sitting), Confessor, came out.

At that time I rushed out to meet one of my favorite authors and bought the book the day it came out and got it autographed (the previous autographed book was a gift from a friend who served Terry Goodkind at the sushi place he worked at and mentioned me so Mr. Goodkind gave him the autographed copy he had with him at the time to give to me), but I was heavy into WoW so didn't really have time and it ended up just sitting there waiting for me. Shortly afterwards the TV series started and it was (at first) such a disappointment that I was almost put off by the whole thing.

Also, starting with Naked Empire, the prose had become rather long-winded, and by Chainfire I was kind of tired of the writing style and the lack of contunuity (little did I realize that this was intentional, but I don't want to spoil things for fans of the books who haven't read them all yet or fans of the TV series "Legend of The Seeker" who aren't familiar with the books). The TV show was so far off from Wizard's First Rule (the first book in the 11-book Sword of Truth series and the most famous and bestselling of them all; I think the paperback price is $2.99 because so many have been sold) that I was angry, and all my friends who had read the books were also angry and hated the show, until these past couple weeks when Season Two started and now the TV show is starting to match the books more, and the reasons for the differences are starting to make sense.

Mr. Goodkind, I forgive you. :p

Anyway, a friend of mine had asked to borrow Confessor a few months ago, and after watching last week's episode of "Legend of The Seeker" I had to find out how the whole thing ends, so although busy I've been finding time to read and I'm 1/2-way through.

Just a note: these books are for mature readers. There is some very seriously sick and twisted stuff that I wouldn't advise letting anyone under 14 read or even know about in these books. That being said, the perserverence and nobility of the protagonists is very inspiring, and the stories are timeless.

OK, enough from me, but I highly recommend at least reading the first book from the series, Wizard's First Rule, even if you don't plan on reading all eleven. It's action-packed, fast-paced, and I laughed out loud (on the bus, drawing stares from fellow commuters) when I read the actual First Rule

~e

Tor Books by Terry Goodkind

THE SWORD OF TRUTH
Wizard's First Rule*
Stone of Tears
Blood of the Fold
Temple of the Winds
Soul of the Fire
Faith of the Fallen*
The Pillars of Creation
Naked Empire
Debt of Bones
Chainfire
Phantom
Confessor

(*-these 2 are my favorite out of the series, so far, as I'm not done with Confessor yet)

[Arik]

demojan777, I've heard wildly different things about Sword of Truth. Half the reviews I've heard are glowing, and half are scathing. I have limited time to read, so I might not read an 11-book series that received several bad reviews in the near future...but it does seem to be popular. Before I begin anything else, though, I have to finish A Storm of Swords and Gormenghast, both of which are better than anything else I've read in months.

[zmflavius]

demojan777, I've heard wildly different things about Sword of Truth. Half the reviews I've heard are glowing, and half are scathing. I have limited time to read, so I might not read an 11-book series that received several bad reviews in the near future...but it does seem to be popular. Before I begin anything else, though, I have to finish A Storm of Swords and Gormenghast, both of which are better than anything else I've read in months.

Feast of Crows is also good, but there's a bunch of loose ends (for example, whatever that lady knight is called is left hanging...literally)

[demojan777]

demojan777, I've heard wildly different things about Sword of Truth. Half the reviews I've heard are glowing, and half are scathing. I have limited time to read, so I might not read an 11-book series that received several bad reviews in the near future...but it does seem to be popular. Before I begin anything else, though, I have to finish A Storm of Swords and Gormenghast, both of which are better than anything else I've read in months.

I hear ya, it takes quite a bit for me to become interested in something through another's experience or opinion. For example, I never let a review or a person's opinion of a movie keep me from seeing it unless I'm already not interested in it, because I like to reserve judgment for myself.

Regardless, one of my major pet peeves is when someone gives away the ending of something that I have made aware to them know I haven't seen or read because they think that me watching or reading it would be a waste of time. It takes a special kind of arrogance to decide what other people should and should not like, and that kind of arrogance should be dealt with severely, IMHO.

That's all about that.

Terry Goodkind isn't my favorite author, just one of the ones I like, so I decided to participate and let others know what I've found out. My favorite author of all time (sci-fi, fantasy, and general fiction) is Steven Karl Zoltan Brust, P.J.F., but it would take me longer to go into my experience with his books so I'll save that for another day.

Who wrote A Storm of Swords and Gormenghast? Forgive me if I didn't hunt backward through the forums at the moment, I'm kind of sidetracked. I'm always interested in hearing about others' experiences with books and things.

~e

[Arik]

I'm not sure what I'll read after Gormenghast/Storm of Swords––maybe it will be Sword of Truth. Anyway, Gormenghast is the second volume in a trilogy (the first volume is Titus Groan), and the author is Mervyn Peake. A Storm of Swords is the third volume in an incomplete series that is now four books long (the first volume is A Game of Thrones); the author is George R. R. Martin.

[Young Ned]

demojan777, I've heard wildly different things about Sword of Truth. Half the reviews I've heard are glowing, and half are scathing. I have limited time to read, so I might not read an 11-book series that received several bad reviews in the near future...but it does seem to be popular.

I'll bet at least half the bad reviews you've heard are from people who were shocked by the kinky rough sex, especially if they used the words "disgusting" or "appalling" in their reviews. You probably shouldn't read them if that sort of thing bothers you a lot.

Apart from that, I dunno. I quit on the series about five or six books into it, because the books seemed to be getting too predictable and the war against Darken Rahl had been going on forever and seemed to be forgotten. But I really liked the first few books!

[demojan777]

I'll bet at least half the bad reviews you've heard are from people who were shocked by the kinky rough sex, especially if they used the words "disgusting" or "appalling" in their reviews. You probably shouldn't read them if that sort of thing bothers you a lot.

Apart from that, I dunno. I quit on the series about five or six books into it, because the books seemed to be getting too predictable and the war against Darken Rahl had been going on forever and seemed to be forgotten. But I really liked the first few books!

If you liked those first few books and haven't at least read Faith of the Fallen, I highly recommend revisiting the series. Faith of the Fallen (as I said my favorite in the series) re-invigorates the series and begins the battle which finally ends in Confessor, and as I had said there were times where the writing became long-winded and there were matters of inconsitency that perturbed me, but all of these things are explained and revisited in a context that makes perfect sense in the last 3 books.

Just a suggestion. :)

[Arik]

No, I'm not bothered by sex (or violence), as long as it's not gratuitous. (I like George R. R. Martin.) Most of the bad reviews said that Goodkind used a lot of explicit sex and gory violence to mask the fact that he couldn't write, but none of them said that sex and violence in fiction were inherently wrong.

[Young Ned]

Oh, he can write -- I never had a problem with his writing. Interesting. I probably should give the series another try.

[Arik]

Right now, the two most popular fantasy series seem to be Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. Which of the two is your favorite?

Personally, I prefer A Song of Ice and Fire (though I have read neither The Gathering Storm or A Feast for Crows, and I'm not done with Storm of Swords). Ice and Fire is generally well-written, is very original and unpredictable, and has well-drawn characters.

Wheel of Time started out as an interesting take on a cliched plot, but then the plot progression became so slow I almost gave upon it. Book 11 advanced the plot more, but I still didn't enjoy it.

Which of the two series is your favorite?

[scout1idf]

Right now, the two most popular fantasy series seem to be Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. Which of the two is your favorite?

Personally, I prefer A Song of Ice and Fire (though I have read neither The Gathering Storm or A Feast for Crows, and I'm not done with Storm of Swords). Ice and Fire is generally well-written, is very original and unpredictable, and has well-drawn characters.

Wheel of Time started out as an interesting take on a cliched plot, but then the plot progression became so slow I almost gave upon it. Book 11 advanced the plot more, but I still didn't enjoy it.

Which of the two series is your favorite?
I have read neither of these series so I looked them up on Wikipedia. Based on what I saw, I may give them a try but I think A Song of Ice and Fire would be first. We'll see.

I have some catching up to do on the Forgotten Realms series I was reading.......

[Oldschool]

I've read Jordan's and Martin's series sounds good but I'm wanting to hold off till it's finished. If I'm not mistaken there's seven books planned and number five is coming out soon.

Jordan's Wheel of Time is being finished by Brandon Sanderson. It was originally planned to be wrapped up in one book but that has evolved into three books. The first by Sanderson (12th in the series), The Gathering Storm was released back in the fall.

My personal advice to anyone is to wait till a series is finished. Once WoT is complete my plan is to read the whole series again cover to cover. Hopefully I'll be able to hold off on Martin's till it's completed.

With these extended series it's amazing how much one (well me anyways) loses between books much less from start to finish. I'm always amazed when I read a series over again at the "discoveries" I make. Case in point - LoTR which I, and many others I'm sure, have read multiple times.

[Young Ned]

My personal advice to anyone is to wait till a series is finished. Once WoT is complete my plan is to read the whole series again cover to cover. Hopefully I'll be able to hold off on Martin's till it's completed.

With these extended series it's amazing how much one (well me anyways) lose between books much less from start to finish. I'm always amazed when I read a series over again at the "discoveries" I make. Case in point - LoTR which I, and many others I'm sure, have read multiple times.

Yeah, one reason I stopped reading The Wheel of Time was because the increasingly long gap between each book, plus the increasing length of each book, pretty much ensured that I was having to reread the entire series from the beginning each time a new book came out, just to refresh my memory about what was going on. By about the 6th or 7th book, I gave up and decided to just wait until the series was finished and then reread it all at once.

That was something like ten years ago, at least -- at that time I never dreamed it would take THIS long to finish the series, or that Jordan would die before it was complete. Or that there would be 14 books in what was originally billed as a 7-book series... :rolleyes:

Actually, I think what I really want to read is a Readers' Digest Condensed edition of the whole series -- I've felt for a long time that what Jordan needed was an editor who would actually edit his writing and force him to get to the point faster!

From what I hear about Martin's health, BTW, I'm starting to wonder if HE will live to finish his series. :(

[Arik]

From what I hear about Martin's health, BTW, I'm starting to wonder if HE will live to finish his series. :(

I hope he lives. It's taken him a long time to release Feast for Crows/Dance with Dragons (they were originally one book), so hopefully he can write the other books at a faster rate.

And if he does die, who will finish the series for him?

[Elrond]

I hope he lives. It's taken him a long time to release Feast for Crows/Dance with Dragons (they were originally one book), so hopefully he can write the other books at a faster rate.

And if he does die, who will finish the series for him?

Sorry for the sarcasm; but I don't think he'd be worried about that :p

[Arik]

Just finished Titus Alone...the trilogy was probably the best thing I've read in the last two years. Mervyn Peake (the author) died before the series was finished, but even as incomplete as it is, it's brilliant.

Also, I'm almost finished with A Feast for Crows...which wasn't as good as the first three, but was still (mostly) enjoyable. After I'm finished with that, I plan to read something by Terry Pratchett (what's the best starting point for Discworld?)

And by the way, Lord Sunday by Garth Nix should be coming out soon. I've waited for that book for a while.

[Badstench]

Terry Pratchet's Discworld:

The early stories are my favourite, with special regard to "Mort".

There's no reason why you can't read any 'ol book in whatever order you like; they are not strictly linear. However, later books include humour that references content from the earlier stories.

[Doolipalally]

Terry Pratchet's Discworld:

The early stories are my favourite, with special regard to "Mort".

There's no reason why you can't read any 'ol book in whatever order you like; they are not strictly linear. However, later books include humour that references content from the earlier stories.

There are sets of stories within the Discworld series that in my view it helps to read in order, as they refer to the same characters and reference events from previous books, and there's a certain amount of character progression:

The Witches:

Wyrd Sisters
Witches Abroad
Lords and Ladies
Maskerade
Carpe Jugulum

Vimes and the Watch:

Guards! Guards!
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Night Watch
Thud!

Death (& Susan):
Mort
Reaper Man
Soul Music
Hogfather
Thief of Time

Moist von Lipwig:
Going Postal
Making Money (though I have to say I'm less keen on these, so far)

You'll get the Witches and the Watch turning up in various other books as well, but the ones listed above are the ones which move the respective stories forward. There are also books which are completely stand-alone, such as 'Small Gods' and 'Pyramids'.

There are also a number of books with the wizard Rincewind as the hero, but once you've got the idea that Rincewind (and his Luggage) are constantly being flung around the world from one inconvenient situation to the other it matters less which order you read them in. The first two Discworld books, 'The Colour of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic' explain the origins of the Rincewind story, but they're a bit more tentative and less satisfying, for me, anyway. I think he began to hit his stride with 'Mort', which is the fourth book.

Might be worth saying that there are also some Discworld books which are Young Adult: not that I think they're necessarily less good, but I'd recommend starting with the grown-up version.

[spencer]

I read a good deal of the discworld books...probably already mentioned but I am not going back 8 pages to find out...

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Brooks

The Dragonbone Chair series (not the right name, but that is the first book...subtitled..Memory, Sorrow and Thorn...I may have to reread those)

by Tad Williams.

[Oldschool]

All excellent series Spencer and the Williams's one you mention. It is Memory, Sorrow and Thorn.

[spencer]

All excellent series Spencer and the Williams's one you mention. It is Memory, Sorry and Thorn.

Sorry? Really? Or is that a typo...it is sorrow, right?

[Doolipalally]

It's Sorrow. And Tad Williams' 'Otherworld' series is worth a mention.

[spencer]

It's Sorrow. And Tad Williams' 'Otherworld' series is worth a mention.


Yes, it truly is..thanks for reminding me about it, dooli :)

[Arik]

There are sets of stories within the Discworld series that in my view it helps to read in order, as they refer to the same characters and reference events from previous books, and there's a certain amount of character progression:

The Witches:

Wyrd Sisters
Witches Abroad
Lords and Ladies
Maskerade
Carpe Jugulum

Vimes and the Watch:

Guards! Guards!
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Night Watch
Thud!

Death (& Susan):
Mort
Reaper Man
Soul Music
Hogfather
Thief of Time

Moist von Lipwig:
Going Postal
Making Money (though I have to say I'm less keen on these, so far)

You'll get the Witches and the Watch turning up in various other books as well, but the ones listed above are the ones which move the respective stories forward. There are also books which are completely stand-alone, such as 'Small Gods' and 'Pyramids'.

There are also a number of books with the wizard Rincewind as the hero, but once you've got the idea that Rincewind (and his Luggage) are constantly being flung around the world from one inconvenient situation to the other it matters less which order you read them in. The first two Discworld books, 'The Colour of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic' explain the origins of the Rincewind story, but they're a bit more tentative and less satisfying, for me, anyway. I think he began to hit his stride with 'Mort', which is the fourth book.

Might be worth saying that there are also some Discworld books which are Young Adult: not that I think they're necessarily less good, but I'd recommend starting with the grown-up version.

Terry Pratchet's Discworld:

The early stories are my favourite, with special regard to "Mort".

There's no reason why you can't read any 'ol book in whatever order you like; they are not strictly linear. However, later books include humour that references content from the earlier stories.


Thanks for the advice!

[spencer]

Another interesting read, if you have the time...I read it over 20 years ago and really enjoyed it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverlock

[Doolipalally]

Another interesting read, if you have the time...I read it over 20 years ago and really enjoyed it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverlock

I've never heard of that one before. Looks interesting - I'll have to see if I can track down a copy some time.

[Arik]

What about E. R. Eddison––is that worthwhile?

Edit: Spencer, that book was recommended to me a few months ago...I never got around to reading it, though. Maybe I'll read it sometime.

[Young Ned]

Silverlock is very interesting, indeed. I read it for the first time around 6 or 7 years ago and liked it. From what I know of you, Dooli, I think it's something you'd enjoy, for what that's worth.

Eddison... didn't he write The Worm Ourobouros? If that's the same guy, then I've heard good things about him but haven't ever read him myself.

[Doolipalally]

Well, if 'Silverlock' ever turns up in Moscow I'll give it a go! Otherwise I'll have to wait a while.

I've not read Eddison either, so no help there, I'm afraid.

[Oldschool]

Well just added Silverlock on my list and also no help on Eddison.

And like someone mentioned earlier this one might have been mentioned before but Robin Hobb's Farseer series is good and I seem to recall reading that that is a pseudonym and she wrote other series before taking it up so it may be worthwhile "googling" her.

Was wondering has anyone read any of Stephen King's Dark Tower series? Again sorry if it was mentioned before as it just came up in discussion the other day.

[Oldschool]

Hobbs did write under an earlier pseudonym which was a variation of her actual name. She changed genres and switched pseudonyms which seems to be a fairly common thing for some writers to do.

The wiki page says her earlier work was contemporary fantasy but by some of the titles I'm wondering it that's accurate. Has anyone read any of her earlier work under Megan Lindholm?

Here's the wiki page on her, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hobb

[Doolipalally]

Well just added Silverlock on my list and also no help on Eddison.

And like someone mentioned earlier this one might have been mentioned before but Robin Hobb's Farseer series is good and I seem to recall reading that that is a pseudonym and she wrote other series before taking it up so it may be worthwhile "googling" her.

Was wondering has anyone read any of Stephen King's Dark Tower series? Again sorry if it was mentioned before as it just came up in discussion the other day.

I think I read one of the Dark Tower series when I was a teenager, but not since (and anything I only read that long ago I never remember much of! :)) Would be interested to know others' thoughts.

I like Robin Hobb's Farseer series, too. Even better, to my mind, is her 'Liveship Traders' series that came in between the two Farseer trilogies, so I'm really glad she's going back to that for her next series. I was less keen on her 'Soldier Son' trilogy (which is set in a different world from the other Hobb books), partly cos I felt the story got a little disjointed after a good beginning, and partly because I'm always a bit twitchy when I can see a 'message' creeping into a story.

She's also written under the second pseudonym Megan Lindholm, though I don't really know any of work under that name. I have read 'Harpy's Flight', which is good, but reads to me like someone testing her powers and building her confidence, compared to the Farseer books and later Robin Hobb work. I believe she did also write interesting urban fantasy as Megan Lindholm as well, but I've never come across any of it.

[Arik]

[Eddison... didn't he write The Worm Ourobouros? If that's the same guy, then I've heard good things about him but haven't ever read him myself.

Yes, he is.

[Young Ned]

As Megan Lindholm, she co-wrote The Gypsy with Steven Brust, and that was pretty good. Contemporary fantasy with lots of Gypsy magic.

I also have to recommend pretty much anything Steven Brust (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Brust) has written, but especially his books set on the world of Dragaera, which fall into two categories: the books about Vlad Taltos, who starts out as an assassin for the local equivalent of the Mob but moves on to other things after a few books, and the Khaavren Romances, which are set in the same world hundreds of years before Vlad's time and written in the style of Alexander Dumas's The Three Musketeers and its sequels (with some parallels to them as well).

Another Brust book I like To Reign in Hell (one of his earliest), a retelling of the fall of the angels from a more science-fictiony angle than Milton's Paradise Lost. It's a bit heretical compared to the standard Judeo-Christian view of things, so don't read it if that sort of thing bothers you, but it's certainly an interesting version of how things could have happened.

(The first paragraph of the Wikipedia article on To Reign in Hell (which is linked from the Steven Brust page) contains some uncited and very slanted opinions about the book that I don't consider accurate... so take that with a grain of salt if you read it.)

[Nic]

Yes, Robin Hobb, as Megan Lindholm, wrote several excellent books. I've read all of them.

Two in particular I highly recommend. "Wizard of the Pigeons" is considered by many (Neil Geiman to name one) to be the first urban fantasy and was highly influencial for him and others. It is fabulous but can be hard to find.

"Alien Earth" is a highly unique science fiction book. Also one of my favs.

They are out of print but available used on Amazon.com

Edit: Here is a review of "wizard of the pigeons" posted on amazon.com: This week I want to talk about a book that is often hard to find, but one of the finest urban fantasies written. I refer to Megan Lindholm's WIZARD OF THE PIGEON. At a convention panel on magic, it was suggested that there were no mixes of magic and socialism in fantasy literature. I brought up this book as possibly the only socialistic treatment of a magic system (at least outside of a socialist country).
The book centers around the title character who is a street person. Apparently everyone with magic ability is a street person. Everyone's magic is different and none is better of worse than another. There is no one in charge. You just go to the person who can do what you need. The story sets up the characters and the world setting very nicely and quickly. Then our protagonist becomes hunted by a horrible monster.

I will leave it to the reader to determine if the story has a happy or sad ending. I personally found the ending to be rather sad. Whatever you decide, it is a very enjoyable and though provoking urban fantasy in a slender volume and I recommend it to anyone who can handle the concept of magic in a modern setting.

[spencer]

I agree that Wizard of the Pigeons is a great book.

[Oldschool]

Warning: A little off color and definitely off topic


Blame this on the old forum's search engine but I was wondering if Wizards of the Pigeons have spell books.

It seems they do, http://6d6fireball.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/images01-pigeon.jpg :rolleyes:;)

[Arik]

(Yes, I know I'm contradicting the title of this thread by talking about a Tolkien book.)

Having just finished two large series, I decided to re-read the Silmarillion. (I'm about to commit blasphemy here. ;)) For some reason, I didn't enjoy most of it. I thought a few chapters, such as the section on Beren and Luthien, and the chapter about Aredhel and Eol the Dark Elf, were brilliant, but I didn't enjoy large sections of it...I'm not sure why, because I loved it the last time I read it (before, I'd read it about 3 times).

Is there some way I should approach it? Is it because the last 3 times I read it, it was immediately after re-reading Lord of the Rings, including the appendices? I'm not sure...

[thingirl]

IDK. It was AWESOME when I read it (which was after finishing Hobbit, LOTR, and the appendices).

[Arik]

I continued my Tolkien re-read today. I finished The Children of Hurin (which is an expanded form of a chapter in the Silmarillion) and started Lord of the Rings.

[Arik]

I recently finished re-reading LotR, and I read the Silmarillion again. I enjoyed it when I read it immediately after LotR...not sure why.

Should I read Unfinished Tales?

(By the way, I probably shouldn't mention this in the same post in which I mention LotR and the Silmarillion, but has anyone heard of The Eye of Argon?)

[Arik]

Today, I noticed at the bookstore that Lord Sunday by Garth Nix, the final book in a seven-volume series, came out. I bought it and read it within two hours.

I've been waiting for Lord Sunday for two years, and I was not disappointed. The ending was the best possible way to end the series. The entire series is highly recommended.

[Young Ned]

(By the way, I probably shouldn't mention this in the same post in which I mention LotR and the Silmarillion, but has anyone heard of The Eye of Argon?)

Heh, you really shouldn't mention it on the same PAGE as LotR and the Silmarillion. Yes, I've heard of it. They have dramatic readings from it (or should that be "melodramatic readings"?) at some of the science-fiction conventions I go to... usually at midnight, for some reason. It's pretty bad.

[Arik]

I've heard about conventions where people compete to see who can read Eye of Argon the longest without laughing. I can believe it. It's hilarious. (Also, someone rewrote Eye of Argon in the style of Mystery Science Theater.)

[Oldschool]

The wiki page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_Argon

Here's a transcript of the original, http://ansible.co.uk/misc/eyeargon.html

Adam Cadre done the MST version, http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html

And here's a nice page with a link to an actual copy of the original that was published in a fan magazine with all it's original flavor.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheEyeOfArgon

EDIT: There's some vids of readings on YouTube.

[Young Ned]

Here's a transcript of the original, http://ansible.co.uk/misc/eyeargon.html

I see the transcriber carefully preserved all the original typos. I guess that's part of the experience. :)

Thanks for the links, Oldschool!

[Drape]

Hi Guys! Great idea for a thread.

Let's see, I've enjoyed some of Terry Brooks' books--I only read the first three when they first came out.

I've also liked:

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (I've read 'em all) by Stephen R. Donaldson

The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore--Gotta read more of the Forgotten Realms books.

Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind--I saw what some of you guys said about this and I can say I had a kind of love/hate relationship with the series. However, each book had something in it that particularly fascinated me and made me want to keep reading 'til the end.

Dragonlance series by Weiss and Hickman. Also, the first book of the Dragonships

I'm currently reading The Belgariad by David Eddings. I'm on the fourth book, and I will read the fifth (and last) and I think that will be it for Eddings.

Considering reading Wheel of Time in the near future, although there are a lot of books, both fantasy and others, that I want to re-read soon.

I heartily second the recommendations of Tolkien's The Children of Hurin.

The Book of Lost Tales and the companion works are interesting, but there is a large amount of analysis that can be very tedious (at least it was for me). However it is interesting to see how the stories evolved, and the tales are good reads in themselves. Next time, I'll probably just read the tales themselves and skip all the analysis.

[Arik]

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (I've read 'em all) by Stephen R. Donaldson

The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore--Gotta read more of the Forgotten Realms books.

Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind--I saw what some of you guys said about this and I can say I had a kind of love/hate relationship with the series. However, each book had something in it that particularly fascinated me and made me want to keep reading 'til the end.

Dragonlance series by Weiss and Hickman. Also, the first book of the Dragonships

I'm currently reading The Belgariad by David Eddings. I'm on the fourth book, and I will read the fifth (and last) and I think that will be it for Eddings.

Considering reading Wheel of Time in the near future, although there are a lot of books, both fantasy and others, that I want to re-read soon.

I heartily second the recommendations of Tolkien's The Children of Hurin.

The Book of Lost Tales and the companion works are interesting, but there is a large amount of analysis that can be very tedious (at least it was for me). However it is interesting to see how the stories evolved, and the tales are good reads in themselves. Next time, I'll probably just read the tales themselves and skip all the analysis.

I've heard mixed reviews of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

I haven't read the Dark Elf or Dragonlance books, but they seem popular, so maybe I will at some point.

The Wheel of Time starts out well, but the later books are a lot worse. You should still read it if you have a lot of spare time, though.

I haven't read Book of Lost Tales, or Unfinished Tales. I've said this before: Children of Hurin is incredible, almost as good as LOTR.

Hopefully, Christopher Tolkien will publish an expanded version of the story of Beren and Luthien as well. I heard somewhere that Tolkien considered the story of Beren and Luthien the most important in his entire created mythology. If only he had lived long enough to expand it into an LOTR-size novel. What about a Beren and Luthien movie? Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked here, so back to Tarn.

[spencer]

Covenant is an interesting figure...he is not your typical hero, by any means...I will give one hint...I think he is known as the Unbeliever...you can take it from there...I do recommend the series...it is a bit different, though.

[Needle]

I loved the Covenant books; Thomas is a fantastic Anti-Hero. Donaldson has a unique writing style to be sure. I am also a fan of Gene Wolfe; he sometimes pushes the limits of my vocabulary (which is a good thing). Currently I'm reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski (The book that inspired the video game, The Witcher). I'm about halfway through it and am happy so far. Any comments on Sapkowski?

[Doolipalally]

Never heard of Sapkowski, I'm afraid. Possibly hasn't made it to the UK yet.

I've just finished Neal Stephenson's 'Anathem'. Highly recommended if you like books which make you think. Occasionally makes your head spin, but then in the next sentence makes you laugh. Great story, too.

[Oldschool]

Re: The Wheel of Time series I love the series but I gotta agree with Arik the earlier books are "better". Mainly imo because of editing or lack thereof. I agree with another member (Young Ned I think) that Jordan's editor(s) didn't do much editing.

I would also wait till the series is finished (that's just my preference with book series in general) and although Jordan has passed Brandon Sanderson is finishing the series. The 12th and the first by Sanderson came out last fall with two others forthcoming.

[spencer]

I may eventually get back to the Wheel of Time...Rand Al Thor is a great character. I think that I read the first five or six. When the series is complete, I will probably begin at the beginning and read them all.

[Young Ned]

I agree with another member (Young Ned I think) that Jordan's editor(s) didn't do much editing.

Yup, that was me. Turns out that Jordan's editor for the whole series was his own wife. I think he could have used an editor who was a bit more objective, frankly.

[Doolipalally]

Just finished Scott Lynch's 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' (http://www.scottlynch.us/books.html). Really worth checking out - great writing, great story, great imagination.

[Young Ned]

Looks pretty interesting, Dooli. I'll have to check it out when I get a chance.

[spencer]

Just finished Scott Lynch's 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' (http://www.scottlynch.us/books.html). Really worth checking out - great writing, great story, great imagination.

One question, dooli. It appears that the second book in the series was out in Summer 2007, but the third has not yet been released...do you know if Scott Lynch is always this slow with the next installment?

[Doolipalally]

One question, dooli. It appears that the second book in the series was out in Summer 2007, but the third has not yet been released...do you know if Scott Lynch is always this slow with the next installment?

No idea, I'm afraid - I've only read the one I mentioned, and it was his first novel.

These days I usually wait until a series is complete before starting the first book, but one of the reviews I read inside the cover said that although it was obviously the start of a series it also made a great stand-alone novel. So I thought I'd risk it.

[Oldschool]

Probably a redundant question since you mention it Dooli but I'm assuming after reading it you also consider it a good stand-alone novel.

And I hate getting "hung out to dry" so to speak in the midst of a series.

[Doolipalally]

Probably a redundant question since you mention it Dooli but I'm assuming after reading it you also consider it a good stand-alone novel.

Fair question - yes, I do. It works pretty well on its own.

It's got two strands - the main story, and interwoven brief flashbacks that fill in the backstory of the main character. There's one issue which was raised as a teaser which I then expected to be mentioned in the flashbacks. It wasn't, but it didn't affect the main story, so I didn't really feel short-changed - more amused that the author had deliberately left that one dangling to hook us into the next volume.

[spencer]

Thanks for the input, dooli, I may well indeed check it out.

[thingirl]

I just read the first 7 chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It's awesome already, and he's not even at Hogwarts yet...

[spencer]

IMHO, TG, you are in for quite the thrill....great books, my entire family thoroughly enjoyed the whole series.

[thingirl]

This is the first time I've read them. I'm caught worse than Hermione was by that mountain troll. :)

[thingirl]

Done. Yes, I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in one day. I did NOT expect the plot twist at the end. It was awesome and I'm gonna start on the next one in a few minutes. :)

[spencer]

In honor of our new MPS villain, I recommend the following trilogy:

http://www.gideonthecutpurse.net/#

I have actually only read the first book, but I have heard the second book in its entirety on CD, and even though this series is tailored to young adults, I think it is terrific. As an aside, I actually heard the second book on CD on a road trip and went out and bought the first book afterwards. The third book recently came out and I am very eager to see how the series concludes.

Now, you are probably thinking by now (or maybe you're not), as to why it is in honor of our newest MPS villain. It is actually in honor of his minions and one of the primary protagonists in this series is called, you guessed it, the Tar Man. Happy reading :)

[Dariel]

The Inheritance Cycle, by Christopher Paolini. I'm still waiting for the 4th book D:. Also, Harry Potter, by JKR. And something by Donita K. Paul, I think it's the Dragon Keepers Chronicles. And...let's see...The Chris D'Lacey books, I don't remember the titles. They're lost deep within the wonderful maze of books I have~

[Lyrehc]

Michelle Sagara West - Hunter's Oath, Hunter's Death, The Sun Sword Series
Tad Williams - my favorites are War of the Flowers (standalone) and Otherland but he's great

[spencer]

Michelle Sagara West - Hunter's Oath, Hunter's Death, The Sun Sword Series
Tad Williams - my favorites are War of the Flowers (standalone) and Otherland but he's great


Tad Williams is great!! I love the Dragonbone Chair trilogy, one of my all time favorites.

[Oldschool]

Ditto Spencer definitely on my short list of favs.

[Doolipalally]

Michelle Sagara West - Hunter's Oath, Hunter's Death, The Sun Sword Series
Tad Williams - my favorites are War of the Flowers (standalone) and Otherland but he's great

I need to re-read my Michelle Sagara West. I really loved the Hunter duology. but I got frustrated with the Sun Sword series because it didn't resolve what happened to Jewel, who was my favourite character so to me a key piece of the whole story. I know the author's working on a new series to resolve that, but it looks like it might be a long wait.

[Arik]

I recently read a great sci-fi novella by Robert Sheckley––it's called Dimension of Miracles. It's similar to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (it was written 9 years earlier), and it's very funny.

[thingirl]

The Space trilogy by C.S Lewis. It's slightly allegorical in that everybody believes in Maleldil (I think that's spelled right) who is modeled after Jesus. However, it's more "Oh, Maleldil will tell me" than him actually being a character in the story.

[Tetracapillactomist]

The echoes are reverberating in this necro-chamber. :)

Not strictly related - even largely unrelated (?) - but has anyone read Lawrence Norfolk?

I'm thinking of Lemprière's Dictionary (not an actual dictionary, of course, but a novel - and not "fantasy novel," though in more than one sense, it is; and enough imagination to fuel the reader's).

(Has written other books, weaving fantasy, mythology and reality together, but that's what popped into my mind, casually necro-threading, as I am...)

[demojan777]

The wiki page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_Argon

Here's a transcript of the original, http://ansible.co.uk/misc/eyeargon.html

Adam Cadre done the MST version, http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html

And here's a nice page with a link to an actual copy of the original that was published in a fan magazine with all it's original flavor.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheEyeOfArgon

EDIT: There's some vids of readings on YouTube.

I was taking a gander at this thread after a year or so (and if you are envisioning me with a male goose up against my monitor, we are of like mind), and I came upon this "gem", and can't believe after a lifetime of being a sci-fi/fantasy fan I have never seen this before. This is good bad stuff right here.

[demojan777]

I recently had to re-build my book collection, and having good discounts on books with Borders (and store closing sales) I have a larger collection now than I had before.

I own and have read every book (and re-read a few) from The Legend of Drizzt series, and then followed that up with The Hunter's Blades Trilogy and the Transitions trilogy which is fairly recent (the 3 books are The Orc King, The Pirate King, and The Ghost King), all by R.A. Salvatore.

After that, I was jonesing for more drow stuff, and had always seen R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen series but never read any of them, and so proceeded to read all six of them in a very short amount of time. Each one is by a different author (none of them Bob Salvatore) and each one is great in their own right:

Book I: Dissolution by Richard Lee Byers
Book II: Insurrection by Thomas M. Reid
Book III: Condemnation by Richard Baker
Book IV: Extinction by Lisa Smedman
Book V: Annihilation by Philip Athans
Book VI: Resurrection by Paul S. Kemp

Having finished these, I learned that Lisa Smedman who wrote Extinction had continued the story beyond the series with a trillogy of her own called The Lady Penitent. While not as fresh and exciting as R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, it was still a good and engrossing read.

After this, I was at a book sale and came across three recent books by Richard Lee Byers who wrote Dissolution. This trilogy is called The Haunted Lands, and was a break away from Drizzt and drow and is all about the land of Thay and the Red Wizards, and the books in the trilogy, unclean, undead, and unholy, are some of the best fantasy/horror books I have ever read.

I highly recommend any and all of the books in all of the series mentioned above (on average I read about a book a day, depending on the book and the amount of time I have available to read, and so often run out of money to get more and re-read books a lot; many in the list above I've re-read many times such as the 1st 3 from The Legend of Drizzt series).

[Doolipalally]

The echoes are reverberating in this necro-chamber. :)

Not strictly related - even largely unrelated (?) - but has anyone read Lawrence Norfolk?

I'm thinking of Lemprière's Dictionary (not an actual dictionary, of course, but a novel - and not "fantasy novel," though in more than one sense, it is; and enough imagination to fuel the reader's).

(Has written other books, weaving fantasy, mythology and reality together, but that's what popped into my mind, casually necro-threading, as I am...)

I remember quite liking his 'The Pope's Rhinoceros' (that one flew off the library shelf as soon as I saw the title!). I do have a copy of 'Lemprière's Dictionary' but I'm not sure I've ever finished it. I think I was a few chapters in, and then it was time to organise the move to Moscow and I needed something to read that was much lighter and easier on the brain. I must have another go sometime.

[Tetracapillactomist]

I remember quite liking his 'The Pope's Rhinoceros' (that one flew off the library shelf as soon as I saw the title!). I do have a copy of 'Lemprière's Dictionary' but I'm not sure I've ever finished it. I think I was a few chapters in, and then it was time to organise the move to Moscow and I needed something to read that was much lighter and easier on the brain. I must have another go sometime.

And I've read some others (in need of Google and Wikipedia for the titles), but not that one. I'll take it as a recommendation, and thank you.
Off to look for the rhino then. :) (I must have a shortlist of over fifty books by now, some self-imposed, mostly suggested, so it might take a while to find and think through them...)

Maybe I can drag Umberto Eco in here as well, on grounds of using elements of fantasy, or magic realism, or surrealism... :) (The Island of the Day Before - and having seen talk about protagonists whose commitment to the truth is questionable, and who get involved in everything from swindles to wars: Baudolino)

[Doolipalally]

Re Eco, 'Foucault's Pendulum' is one of my favourite books, and I like 'The Name of the Rose', but to be honest, I found 'The Island of the Day Before' and 'Baudolino' quite a struggle. I don't always have the patience to stick with him when the narrative flow stops and I'm required to follow him into philosophical alleyways.

[Tetracapillactomist]

We read at odds. :) I find that amusing. Those two are in the waiting room, but I haven't gotten round them yet. "Eventually" should be my motto. :)

[demojan777]

I love lamp.

[Tetracapillactomist]

I love lamp.

Unplugged.

[darkrkngl]

One of my favorite authors who has two good series is Christopher Stasheff.

his two big series starts with Her majesty's wizard and The Warlock Inspite of Himself.

also always enjoy Robert Aspirn for some comedic fantasy/SiFi

[Oldschool]

Seems we have another Jordan Wheel of Time fan running around the realms, http://www.sryth.com/ci.php?f_c=pcp.inc&f_nh=1&f_i=1ca1117xce292dcf7

[spencer]

I am glad that this thread has been revived. I have just started reading Tad Williams' Shadowmarch series and halfway through the first book, I am hooked. I love his Dragonbone Chair series as well, and I am almost certain that I have mentioned it here once before, but recommend that you read it if you have not. His Otherland series is very good also.

[Tetracapillactomist]

Seems we have another Jordan Wheel of Time fan running around the realms, http://www.sryth.com/ci.php?f_c=pcp.inc&f_nh=1&f_i=1ca1117xce292dcf7

Yeah, noticed her, OS - she outdid Hawk in total damage dealt to M-Pumpkin at Wurmwrit farm. :) (Apologies for teasing you there by the way, ;) but Hawk can handle it, and that *is* some feat with Nynaeve's current stats.
"The more the merrier" you said, and that is right. :))

[thingirl]

Nice :). Nynaeve and Egwene are two of my favorite characters :). (Though Moraine and Aviendha aren't too bad either :). Oh and Min :))

[Oldschool]

Ditto to the more the merrier. :)

And Spencer thanks as Tad Williams is excellent and the series you mention is one I started then left off since it wasn't finished. Just googled it and it seems it's now finished.

And like you I thought Williams had been mentioned so I searched the thread. Seems there's a few of his fans on the old forum. :)

[spencer]

Just following up:

I finished the Shadowmarch series by Tad Williams and I highly recommned it.

I have started a new series, actually I have almost finished it now, as it is also extremely good:

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.

I believe that Sanderson is the guy selected to finish up the Wheel of Time series. Anyway, I highly, highly, highly recommend both of these trilogies.

[Kadri]

I see a lot of titles and authors here that I will have to check out, at some point or another... I'm always looking for new things to add to my library. :)


Some of my favorite authors/books are:

The Codex Alera (completed series) and The Dresden Files (still ongoing) by Jim Butcher.

The Temeraire series (ongoing) by Naomi Novik, which I actually need to catch up on.

The Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce.

The Cecelia and Kate novels, co-authored by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.


I'm also getting ready to give Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series a second shot, since people keep recommending it to me.

[Young Ned]

I'm also getting ready to give Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series a second shot, since people keep recommending it to me.
I've been wanting to give Cassandra Clare a try, ever since I found out she'd become a published author. The only bit of her writing I've read was back in her LiveJournal days, when she wrote the funniest Lord of the Rings spoof ever: the Very Secret Diaries (http://www.ealasaid.com/misc/vsd/) (now collected at that website, but it has a link to the original LJ pages, too).

Note: if, after reading the diaries, you find yourself muttering phrases like "pervy hobbit fancier" or "still not King", don't blame me. :p

[Oldschool]

Sanderson is the guy finishing up the WoT.

And this trilogy talk reminds me of one I don't think has been mentioned here before. Patricia A. McKillip's Riddle-Master trilogy.

And has anyone read American Gods (can't recall the author atm)? I hear it's coming to HBO as a series or miniseries and Tom Hanks is involved in the production.

[Doolipalally]

The Riddle-Master trilogy is one of my favourites. Has been for a long time now. I love the way it's so rooted in all the old Welsh legends.

American Gods is another one I like a lot. It's by Neil Gaiman, who also did the 'Sandman' graphic novels, among other things. I didn't know they were thinking of filming it. Should be interesting!

[Doolipalally]

Talking of 'American Gods', I hear it's available on Kindle and Nook in the US for $1.99 today.