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#1 Sep 08 2005 at 6:40 AM Rating: Default
I loved The Hobbit, it was the best book ever (or course that's imo). What are some other books you would reccomend for me? I have read the other three books in the LOTR series, I know Tolkien has others out there about Middle Earth, but I can't find them. What are some good books pertaining to say Dark Elves and some war books? I like fantasy a lot, and I loved The Hobbit.
#2 Sep 08 2005 at 8:39 PM Rating: Good
well how old are you?

I dont know about dark elves but in the mean time some general ones (fantasy / sci-fi),

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
(this is the prequel to the Lord of the Rings Series and contains a lot of mythology about the races and esspecially the elves)

The Belgariad
(5 book series) by David Eddings

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini
(there are lots of opinions on these - I suggest testing them out for yourself. The first two have come out so far.)

The Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane
(actually rather good if you can enjoy a book without comparing it to ******* - yes they are written for teens but sometimes Id rather sink into something like this and let my imagination do the work then stress my eyes reading something else that leaves nothing to the reader.)

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card (like other threads have said this is a great book though unless you become an avid fan I do not suggest the rest of the series - this one stands on its own well enough anyway.)

1984 by George Orwell (it has definitly become another classic and it is excellent)

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Earthsea Series by Ursula Le Guin

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams ('nuff said ^-^ <- this means read it! all 5 books =P)

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (hehehe)

Almost any Kurt Vonnegut Book (he writes crazy, scary, wonderful, funny, confusing, remarkable pieces of art. True poetry which only Kurt Vonnegut Jr. could write. The only suggestion I have if you read one of these is read it again, a few times maybe. There is more to be had in these books then one reading can cultivate.)

There are some books that are more acquired tastes (Macbeth, The Vampire Lestat (and that series), I, Robot (the book >.<!) not to mention the rest of Isaac Asimov's books, Fahrenheit 451) and then theres just some that you need to really like literature and need to have a pretty high reading level to read. For example: Les Miserables (unabridged), Paradise Lost, Cyrano De Bergerac, The Canterbury Tales, Dantes: Inferno, etc. Ok, well Dantes isnt that difficult but I dont know how old you are or how much you read so I'm throwing it in that group.

Hope you find something you like in this list and if you tell me a little more about yourself maybe I can name off a few more that fit you better ^-^

Edited, Fri Sep 9 23:20:26 2005 by Pandorra
#3 Sep 09 2005 at 11:19 PM Rating: Default
first off, i clicked the long time no see link in you sig and when it finnaly loaded with the music i was like "wtf is that? what? wtf?" lol i forgot i had clicked on it, sad story. the text came up n left so fast i had to skin and miss most of the words. reminded me of my old Vana'diel, why I don't even remember how to spell it correctly. I played for about a month, but then my brother and cousin decided they didn't like the game so they didn't continue, so I couldn't either. I remember when I ran to Jueno one a level 1 (the highest lvl was a 7 rdm). I kept getting to that zone just outside of Windy from Bastok. Ohhh man, I never seen Sandy either, I always wanted too, but was to caught up in Windy! I liked the game ok, I'd play if I had money lol. But anyways..

Thanks for the info.
I'm 15, in 9th grade, live in Ohio, I like RPG games and fantasy games and (of the few I've read) books. If there's really any specific info you need, what is it? I love deep, big, intertwined, thought out lore of video games. I don't like books all super sci-fyiey (sp???) that the sterotypical geek reading a book would be (if I had liked any of the bad books I had to read in 7th grade I could give you examples of what I don't like lol. one kept saying teleporting was tessering, if that sounds familiar lol). I love the other FF games as well.
#4 Sep 10 2005 at 1:11 PM Rating: Decent
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8,619 posts
at 15 Orson Scott Card's Enders game is just about perfect for you.

I agree with the choises that Pandorra has given and would add th following

R A Salvatores Dark elf stories are good so long as you are not expecting Shakespear.

Read: Homeland, Exile and Sojourn and see what you think.

Raymond E Fiest: Magician series

Anne McCarrery's Dragon Books: Read Dragonsdawn first it's better if you do.

Any Wies & Hickman book, they are usually reliable.

Off Genre but still worth a read Wilbur Smith
#5 Sep 10 2005 at 5:19 PM Rating: Good
If I'm getting the age right, your just starting high school? Freshman? Well then I figure your going to have an english teacher thats going to give you some book to read thats no fun to read at all >.< so I'm going to throw in one or two books I think are just fun to read ^-^ even if they arn't of the highest reading level =P :

As I said before

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Belgariad (5 book series) by David Eddings

*new* The Malloreon by David Eddings
(If you like The Belgariad this is a continuation of the Belgariad world)

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini

The Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Earthsea Series by Ursula Le Guin

Almost any Kurt Vonnegut Book (I still would put this under sci-fi, more so with some books then others, but I can't hit "Post" without insisting that you at least try one of his books)

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Its a fun book - what can I say ^-^ lol - It's not going to improve your reading or writing skills but its definitly something worth reading for enjoyment)

*NEW*

Through the Looking-glass by Lewis Carroll (apply everything about Alice in Wonderland to this - this is yet another glimpse into that other world that you hopefully came to love reading Alice *when you read it that is =P*)

Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart (the writing style is a bit sterile but they're excellent stories if you can get past the slow / drawn out parts. I personally like the stories of Merlin, Arthur, *Guinevere* and the Knights of the Round Table ^-^)

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (this is a VERY short book and can be read in less than one sitting - also it is an extremely easy book to read - but I fell in love with it the second I started reading it - I don't know if a guy will like it as much but theres always the library or if you have a free hour or two to waste in the book store ^-^ again for enjoyment)

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (*smile, grin, hehe and (^^)* you like fantasy...read read ^u^)

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black

Xanth Series by Piers Anthony (I personally think that this series is somewhat juvinile but perhaps it fits the age range =/. Check out one of the books and see if the style and reading level is right and then decide for yourself ^-^. This is a VERY long series and has been out for quite a longtime so I'm positive you can find some at your local library.)


Edited, Sat Sep 10 18:28:34 2005 by Pandorra
#6 Sep 11 2005 at 7:35 AM Rating: Default
As far as Alice in Wonderland goes, I've never seen the movie, and frankly I don't like one bit how it looks. /= It just doesn't seem to be anything that makes sense, even if that's the point. I never really did like that movie, even if I only did see like 5 minutres of it, it's just odd!

Yes though, I just entered 9th grade. Any detail on the Neverending story? Oh, and the Tuck everlasting, I seen the movie, it was good, but eh, I only read the LOTR books after I seen the movie because the hobbit was AWESOME, I'll stick to the movie for Tuck. What time frame is A Modern Fairytale set it, and what's it really about?

For them Trilogy+ books you two mentioned, could you post their titles in order? I like to read from first-last and I don't wanna mix em up.

Can ya give me a list of some J.R.R. Tolkien books, and which you'd reccomend? (I read the The Hobbit-Return of the King in 7-8th grade already.)

Thanks for all the titles, I'll make a list later today and try and order them, and then I'll prolly ask some more question. (And I don't mind books that have some sort of love tale mixed in with them, I just don't want a romance book.)
#7 Sep 11 2005 at 11:46 AM Rating: Good
Edit for clarification:

The problem with Tolkien (if we're talking about novels and avoiding poetry, essays, and short stories) is that he only has a few truly finished works. Those being the Lord of the rings series and The Hobbit. He had MANY, MANY works in progress but none that were actually finished and published in his time. So those works had to be compiled by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Many times this has worked out stunningly; take the Silmarillion for example.

Still it's not the same as getting a book that was written, revised, and edited to perfection by J.R.R. - If there is one thing that I'd have to say about Christopher Tolkiens job on the books he's produced so far (negativly I mean) it would be that he isn't the perfectionist that his father was known to be.

Edited, Mon Sep 12 00:36:20 2005 by Pandorra
#8 Sep 11 2005 at 1:35 PM Rating: Good
 
The Dark elf Stories by R. A. Salvatore 
       Homeland  
       Exile 
       Sojourn 
 
The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Fiest  
       Magician 
           (You'll probably find the republished versions in two parts titled:) 
           Magician: Apprentice 
           Magician: Master 
       Silverthorn 
       A Darkness at Sethanon  
 
Dragon Books by Anne McCaffrey 
       Dragonflight  
       Dragonquest  
       Dragonsong  
       Dragonsinger  
       The White Dragon  
       Dragondrums  
       Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern 
       Nerilka's Story 
       Dragonsdawn 
       Renegades of Pern 
       All the Weyrs of Pern 
       The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall 
       The Dolphins of Pern 
       The Girl Who Heard Dragons 
       Red Star Rising: Second Chronicles of Pern 
           Dragon's Eye for NA release 
       Masterharper of Pern 
       The Skies of Pern 
       Dragon's Kin 
       Dragon's Blood 
 
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman 
Dragonlance:  
    Chronicles: 
        Dragons of Autumn Twilight 
        Dragons of Winter Night 
        Dragons of Spring Dawning 
        Dragons of Summer Flame 
    Legends:      
        Time of the Twins 
        War of the Twins 
        Test of the Twins 
    The Second Generation     
    The War of Souls:  
        Dragons of a Fallen Sun 
        Dragons of a Lost Star 
        Dragons of a Vanished Moon 
    The Dark Chronicles:  
        (To be released in 2006) 
 
Dark Sword: 
    Forging the Darksword 
    Doom of the Darksowrd  
    Triumph of the Darksword 
    Legacy of the Darksword 
 
Rose of the Prophet: 
    The Will of the Wanderer  
    Paldin of the Night  
    The Prophet of Akhran 
 
Death Gate Cycle:     
    Dragon Wing 
    Elven Star 
    Fire Sea 
    Serpent Mage 
    The Hand of Chaos 
    Into the Labyrinth  
    The Seventh Gate 
 
Starshield:     
    Starshield: Sentinels  
    Nightsword 
 
Sovereign Stone:  
    Well of Darkness 
    Guardians of the Lost 
    Journey into the Void 
         
Wilbur Smith Books 
non-series 
 
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien 
Prequel to The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings 
 
The Belgariad by David Eddings 
       Pawn of Prophecy 
       Queen of Sorcery 
       Magician's Gambit 
       Castle of Wizardry 
       Enchanters' End Game 
       Continuation: 
           Malloreon  
 
The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini 
       Eragon 
       Eldest 
       Empire (not avaliable for purchase yet) 
 
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling 
       Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 
           Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the NA release 
       Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 
       Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  
       Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 
       Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  
       Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
       Book Seven - Title: Unknown - Release Date: Unknown 
 
The Earthsea Series by Ursula Le Guin 
       A Wizard of Earthsea 
       The Tombs of Atuan 
       The Farthest Shore 
       Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea        
       Related: 
           Tales from Earthsea (contains stories that fill the gap between these two books) 
       The Other Wind 
            
The Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane 
       So You Want to be a Wizard 
       Deep Wizardry 
       High Wizardry 
       A Wizard Abroad 
       The Wizard's Dilemma 
       A Wizard Alone 
       The Wizard's Holiday 
       Wizards at War (due in October 2005)  
 
The Middle Kingdoms by Diane Duane 
       The Door into Fire (1979)  
       The Door into Shadow (1984)  
       The Door into Sunset (1992)  
       The Door into Starlight (not yet published)  
       Comment: This has been neglected by Diane Duane since 1992 - 
       fans are still waiting for the Fourth and last book and she says 
       she is writing it but unfortunitly the only series that has seen  
       head way and has always been on time is the Young Wizard Series 
     
Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart 
       The Crystal Cave 
       The Hollow Hills 
       The Last Enchantment 
 
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende 
[link=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525457585/ref=sib_rdr_dp/002-6920582-3633660?%5Fencoding=UTF8&no=283155&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=books]If you follow this link and click the book where it says "SEARCH INSIDE"  
you can read an excerpt from the book ^-^[/link] 
 
Xanth Series by Piers Anthony 
       A Spell for Chameleon 
       The Source of Magic 
       Castle Roogna 
       Centaur Aisle 
       Ogre, Ogre 
       Night Mare 
       Dragon on a Pedestal 
       A Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn 
       Golem in the Gears 
       Vale of the Vole 
       Heaven Cent 
       Man from Mundania 
       Isle of View 
       Question Quest 
       The Color of Her Panties 
       Demons Don't Dream 
       Harpy Thyme 
       Geis of the Gargoyle 
       Roc and a Hard Place 
       Yon Ill Wind 
       Faun & Games 
       Zombie Lover 
       Xone of Contention 
       The Dastard 
       Swell Foop 
       Up in a Heaval 
       Cube Route 
       Currant Events 
       Pet Peeve (due this year) 
       Stork Naked (writing in progress)  
       Air Apparent (proposed)  
    Related: 
       Letters To Jenny 
 
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 
 
The Odyssey by Homer 
 
Moby D!ck by Herman Melville 
 
Dante: Inferno by Dante Alighieri 
 
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 
 
The History of Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, compiled and analyzed by Christopher Tolkien. 
       The Book of Lost Tales 1 
       The Book of Lost Tales 2 
       The Lays of Beleriand 
       The Shaping of Middle-earth 
       The Lost Road and Other Writings 
       The Return of the Shadow 
       The Treason of Isengard 
       The War of the Ring 
       Sauron Defeated 
       Morgoth's Ring 
       The War of the Jewels 
       The Peoples of Middle-earth 
 
See a LONG list of other J.R.R. Tolkien works at these sources: 
Tolkien Fiction and Poetry 
Tolkien Academic works 
Tolkien Posthumous publications 
Other Tolkien Poetry        
Tolkien Research 


Edit: added The History of Middle-earth and Tolkien Links
Edit: added Harry Potter content
Edit: added Young Wizard Series, The Middle Kingdoms as well as some assorted classic fantasy novels.
Edit: to fix "Moby ****" since the stupid curse filter messed it up >.<

Edited, Mon Sep 12 00:45:46 2005 by Pandorra
#9 Sep 11 2005 at 8:04 PM Rating: Default
TYVM for them lists!!

Some of them books have funny titles though lol. "Question Quest" and "The Color of Her Panties" to name 2, what might them two be about?

Also, how many Harry Potter books are they? I'm ocnfused on the order they are in and which are books, movies, and nonexistent.
#10 Sep 11 2005 at 8:40 PM Rating: Good
Since you seemed more intrested in elves and Lord of the Rings type books I removed Harry Potter from the list but check my previous post in a few moments and it should be edited with the Harry Potter Books ^-^

Edit: The previous post is updated with the names and order of the books.

As for the Xanth Series - I couldn't tell you much. I read, I believe the first 4 or so books when I was younger but at the time I was visiting the book store rather often and amassed quite a collection of books I wanted to read so I dropped the Xanth series.

Your working with a very small spectrum of books. Fantasy is a very large genre but our choices are compounded by the facts that your looking for books that are more along the lines of elves and dwarves and that you don't like sci-fi. The latter is really difficult because a LOT of fantasy is interbred with sci-fi. That is why many of the awards for fantasy are in the "Sci-fi / Fantasy Book" genre and the same goes for book ranking lists.

Edited, Sun Sep 11 22:04:54 2005 by Pandorra
#11 Sep 11 2005 at 9:47 PM Rating: Default
Ahhh. I've read one Harry Potter book, want to read others. I might of read two, I don't know!! I can handle some sci-fi, but all supery duper sci-fi... no. It just seems so dumb to me, I read part of one that was about some like teen that reads super sci-fi books and ends up haveing to save earth from getting blown up by some like 7 alien races have to do a series of a bunch of stuff to hit some button to blow up earth, and he has to convince them not to, and they did some thing to him or gave him and the girl a pill so they understand every single language as english or something dumb, I'll do a googlesearch and see if I can find some examples of stuff I have read.

Also, I read because of win dixie, and I didn't like that either. I just wanted to add that in. (=

But thankyou, I will be checking out them Tolkien books, just wish he woulda died knowing that his barely completed master pieces were a huge hit and world widely loved by many.

Any good movies you would suggest? I like movies.
#12 Sep 11 2005 at 11:31 PM Rating: Good
Since you asked me to add Harry Potter I'm going to add in two more series that I forgot - just check the the edits - I'm also going to add a handful of classic "Fantasy" novels.

Quote:
I can handle some sci-fi, but all supery duper sci-fi... no. It just seems so dumb to me, I read part of one that was about some like teen that reads super sci-fi books and ends up haveing to save earth from getting blown up by some like 7 alien races have to do a series of a bunch of stuff to hit some button to blow up earth, and he has to convince them not to, and they did some thing to him or gave him and the girl a pill so they understand every single language as english or something dumb, I'll do a googlesearch and see if I can find some examples of stuff I have read.


ah - sounds vaguely like the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy series except extremely misinterpreted oO. I take it you only read a small portion of the book and probably not the first one (rhetorical)? anyway, if it was, those are satires and actually make fun of the majority of those sci-fi stereotypes that your refering to (as well as just about anything else Douglas Adams could make a joke out of but thats not the point =P).

I understand what you mean though. I still think your missing out on some great books. Yes, some of those writers who like to produce a book once a month and the occasional nobody who writes 3 books and calls them masterpieces have been shamefully ... well horrible but there are many sci-fi classics that are wonderful! I won't add them to the previous list but to quickly rattle off a few:
 
1984 - George Orwell  
Slaughter-House Five - Kurt Vonnegut 
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 
Lord of the Flies - William Golding  
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury 
Animal Farm - George Orwell 
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller  
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

I more or less love all of these for one reason or another. They are all classics, all extremely good books and theres an upside to reading some of the classics in that many of them will probably come up in high school english, more so if you take AP. Same goes for the fantasies I'm adding to the previous list.

Edit: now that I've read that quote again I really don't think it's Hitch Hikers but thats beside the point so the name of the book doesn't really matter =P lol

Edited, Wed Sep 14 00:37:20 2005 by Pandorra
#13 Sep 18 2005 at 12:09 AM Rating: Good
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7,861 posts
Hopefully your English class will have you read The Book of Three. Great book. I liked it in HS, and would actually like to pick it up and read it again.
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