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#27 May 13 2007 at 2:48 AM Rating: Excellent
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1,473 posts
Is it sad that I've read EVERY book mentioned in this thread? ._.

George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is, hands down, my favourite thing to read when I'm "all read out". There's simply nothing else like it.

Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan is ok; but waaaaay too long winded and I usually end up forgetting who the characters are halfway through the book. >.> (hai2u 800page paperbacks) It's a good read if you can get through the entire (12-ish? including New Spring) series in one go so you don't forget what happened. :P Usually takes me 4-5 days.
#28 May 14 2007 at 7:43 PM Rating: Good
1. Just about anything Tolkien.
2. The Divine Comedy
3. Pandora, the only Anne Rice book I've liked.
#29 May 15 2007 at 2:49 PM Rating: Good
Ugh. I hate all of Anne Rice's books. They are so long winded it's ridiculous. And I just fail to understand what her fascination is with homosexuality.
#30 May 15 2007 at 6:42 PM Rating: Good
Thats probably why I liked Pandora so much. It was totally unlike all her other Vampire Chronicles books. Told the tale of Pandora, a female vampire, and Marius who sired her and eventually fell in love with her. After that I was all psyched about reading more in the Chronicles series, so I picked up The Vampire Armand... yeah, I haven't touched an Anne Rice book since.
#31 May 15 2007 at 11:37 PM Rating: Good
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4,901 posts
I've read just about all of the Anne Rice stuff. It is a little winded at times, but I enjoyed most all of them nonetheless.

I've read all of Stephen King up until about 10 years ago. I've cherry picked through some of the newer stuff but I've yet to read all of the Gunslinger series. I've read the first three I think. People I know whoop and holler about it enough that I'll no doubt read the rest of it at some point.

Douglas Adams? A genius, an absolute riot. I love everything that he wrote. I still read HHGG like once a year.

I inherited a box full of Robert Jordan books and have read the first three so far. Probably start the fourth in a book or two.

At the insistence of one my buddies, I'm currently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. So far, so good. You can't go wrong when there's a man-swallowing ****** involved.

Though not fantasy or sci-fi, I really dig Kurt Vonnegut. His style is really unique and he's quite funny at times. Slaugherhouse Five was great. Timequake was cool, given the circumstances of the book intent.

Some of stuff listed by the above posters looks interesting and I'll be checking them out. Thanks for that.
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#32 May 16 2007 at 1:21 PM Rating: Excellent
Quote:
I inherited a box full of Robert Jordan books and have read the first three so far. Probably start the fourth in a book or two.

That series never ends. EVER. I love Vonnegut and that was a ****** day when I found out he had passed away. I went to a summer workshop with him as a speaker four times over the month long course. He was an extremely down to earth guy.

I just started reading the *gasp* Harry Potter books. I was very surprised to see that they weren't entirely too childish aside from the first one. My girl wanted me to try to read them and I'm now on the Order of the Phoenix. Not exactly books I would rush out to buy, but entertaining nonetheless.
#33 May 16 2007 at 7:37 PM Rating: Good
Brill wrote:
Quote:
I inherited a box full of Robert Jordan books and have read the first three so far. Probably start the fourth in a book or two.

That series never ends. EVER. I love Vonnegut and that was a sh*tty day when I found out he had passed away. I went to a summer workshop with him as a speaker four times over the month long course. He was an extremely down to earth guy.

I just started reading the *gasp* Harry Potter books. I was very surprised to see that they weren't entirely too childish aside from the first one. My girl wanted me to try to read them and I'm now on the Order of the Phoenix. Not exactly books I would rush out to buy, but entertaining nonetheless.


I've looked at some Robert Jordan books atleast 100 times, but never actually picked one up, what do you suggest to start with? Looks like he did 4 sets of books Wheel Of Time being the largest.

I started on the Harry Potter books about 5 years ago, and I love them :) So does the rest of the family so we have 3 of each of the last 2 books to come out lol cause no one can wait for the other to get done reading :)

Getting ready to read Melanie Rawns "Exiles" next, I'm currently on the last of the Landover Series by Terry Brooks :D
#34 May 18 2007 at 6:50 AM Rating: Good
I havent actually seen anything by Jordan other than the 11 (12 if you count that prequel thingy) Wheel of Time books.

I'm currently reading The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E. McKenna. Really enjoying it so far, It's a good book, and I'll probably by the second one when I'm finished with this one.
#35 May 18 2007 at 12:42 PM Rating: Excellent
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1,473 posts
I just finished Pavane by Keith Roberts, I believe it to be the best alternate history novel I've ever read.
#36 Jun 29 2007 at 5:54 AM Rating: Excellent
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1,139 posts
Brill, I didn't know you could read.




zomg! the sig link! she works!
#37 Jun 29 2007 at 8:14 AM Rating: Good
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576 posts
I really enjoy the Tolkien books, I think that the Silmarillion is one of my favorites due to all the history of middle earth that is in it. I read a lot of the books by him, other then the 'big four' and have enjoyed them all.

I also like the Harry Potter series, the last 3 books have been a lot darker and i think the last one is going to really get away from most of the kid stuff.

I like the Dan Brown series of books, I think Angels and Demons is probably my favorite, and is just as good as TDC.
#38 Jun 30 2007 at 3:42 AM Rating: Good
I would say avoid the Children of Hurin then. Very uninspired.
#39 Jul 03 2007 at 8:46 PM Rating: Good
Brill, you listed Legend of Huma by Richard Knaak. Have you read Kaz the Minotaur also by him? Also a great book by him using a character from the Legend of Huma.
#40 Jul 04 2007 at 2:09 PM Rating: Decent
I've read surprisingly little of the lists given here so far. (read a lot of fantasy and science fiction over the years) Apart from the rather usual suspects like Tolkien or Stephen King or Martin.

Given my current stack of books waiting to be read, I'm doubtful I'll be picking up many books in the remainder of the year too.

As for my favourite books:

"The Shining" by Stephen King. Lots of people would agree that King's better books are usually his older ones, I agree with that too. The Shining is still my favourite King and also one of my favourite all-round. If anyone is looking for a good book to start with King's oeuvre or just hasn't read this one yet, I'ld advice to do so. Don't be fooled by the movie or the series, the book is by far superior.


Jack Vance. Five series/books come to mind: "Chronicles of Cadwal", "Tales of the Dying Earth", "Lyonesse", "Demon Princes", "Tschai". "Emphyrio" was also pretty good. Apart from a couple of books that weren't good at all ("Lurulu" for instance), I can pretty much advice all of his books and short stories. Granted, I'm quite biased as I absolutely love this author's work. There's a mixture of fantasy work (Lyonesse trilogy, tales of the dying earth too up to a point) and science fiction (Chronicles of Cadwal, Demon princess series). It's all full of a rather peculiar style at times though, his views on characters can be rather simplistic, or seen as such anyway.


"Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny. He wrote several books based on different types of mythology, this one is based on the Hindu/Buddhist ones. "Eye of Cat" is pretty good too, but not exactly as good. "The Great book of Amber" is something completely different but about as good, straight forward adventure fun book. All from one person's point of view, which gives a special view on events I suppose.


"Carrion Comfort" by Dan Simmons. I've never read anything by him as good as that one. And that includes "Hyperion". (which is great too, don't get me wrong)


"Maze of Death" by Philip K. D ick. It's a typically D ick book I suppose, it just struck me as one of his better ones. (edited due to the censors! Can't even write a famous author's name anymore Smiley: smile)


"Discworld" by Terry Pratchett. Granted, the thrills are gone now, the new books fail miserably (mind you, always imo) compared to the older ones on all levels. And he should not have just forgotten about Rincewind! But the first ones are hilarious.


"To our scattered bodies go" by Philip José Farmer. Excellent concept, but only this first book (and the next two sort of too) is also excellent as a book.

"Forever War" by Joe Haldeman. Good story, unfortunately not so good sequel.

"Mists of Avalon" by Marion Bradley. Best Arthur story I've read.

I always liked the Lestat stories Anne Rice wrote, but I must admit that the last two books were absolute crap. There's no better word for it, a true waste of paper. The first three books of the series I like a lot, also "Blood and Gold" and "Merrick". "Memnoch the Devil" was good but it's also indicative of the problems with the series, Lestat is basically just too large a whiner. Her book about Jesus wasn't all bad either, quite surprised me actually.







Edited, Jul 5th 2007 12:10am by Zieveraar

Edited, Jul 5th 2007 12:10am by Zieveraar
#41 Jul 07 2007 at 10:24 AM Rating: Good
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Brill, I didn't know you could read.


Ahhh shut up you bald piece of crap Smiley: laugh

I did read Kaz the Minotaur and enjoyed it for the most part. Just seemed not as good without Huma in it. The only book I have read in your list Zie is Mists of Avalon which I found to be a bit longwinded but otherwise enjoyable.

I got bored and read the Zombie Survival Guide again yesterday for like the eleventeenth time. But when those zombies rise, I'll be the one laughing last.
#42 Jul 13 2007 at 5:58 PM Rating: Decent
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60 posts
I have read a lot of the classic Sci-Fi stuff but its hard for me to get into the Fantasy Genre for some reason.
My shelves are stocked with Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asmov and Kurt Vonnegut (arguably sci-fi but everyone agrees he's just plain odd).

I was turned on to Robert Heinlein with Stranger in a Strange Land. A must read even if you dont like Heinlein. As a hard core athiest, this book has a lot of religius themes and even had some "pods" that were made by those that wanted to take his philosophy to the next level. It has also been said, it helped spurn L. Ron Hubbard start his own reli-A - AHH- AHHHHH- Bull - CHIT -geon, Scientology. His later books do seem to use more and more stock character profiles but still interesting.

Arthur C. Clarke's 20XX series were nifty though it seemed that the last book, 3001, was more along the lines of a socialist handbook similar to Edward Belamy's Looking Backward.

I liked the logistical issues brought up in a lot of Isaac Asmov's Robot series.

Kurt Vonnegut is my God. The only book I actually struggled through was Galapagos. I am still catching up on some of his books but that was the only one that seemed to drag to me. I never read him for any classes or as a requirment, but for pure pleasure. I love the way he seems to make everything quaint, even things such as the end of the world (which has come about in different manners in different books). See Cat's Cradle and the Ice-9 as an example. And so it goes.

Of course there are the Douglas Adams series. Hitchhikers is a great series but see if you can find the now out of print, Long Dard Tea Time of the Soul or still in print, Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency. Both not Sci-fi and a great read.

AS far as my Fantasy collection goes . . . there is some Terry Pratchet, Tolken's Ring series, and Ann Rice.

Some decent, some poopie. Meh.
#43 Jul 24 2007 at 6:20 AM Rating: Decent
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574 posts
Keliaffxi wrote:
George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is, hands down, my favourite thing to read when I'm "all read out". There's simply nothing else like it.


I am the type of reader that seems to love each new book more than the last, or at least I was until last year when I read A Song of Ice and Fire. I now find myself comparing all fantasy novels to his.

Loved the Sword of Truth series up to book 5 or so, but the last few have sucked pretty hard. Way to preachy. Just pushing my way through this series to complete what I have already started.

I can read The Stand and It at any time, and after 4 or 5 readings at least for each of them.

Just a few of my favorite reads.

~Rock
#44 Jul 24 2007 at 2:53 PM Rating: Decent
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8,619 posts
I've tried to stay out of this thread but i figured since you have missed out some of teh best writer out there and named people like Doug Niles i would throw a couple out there.

Anne McCaffery: Pern series and Tower and hive series are best.

Katherine Kerr: Derevery Novels

Raymond E Fiest: The The original Magician trilogy and the Serpentwar books for a starter.

J.V.Jones: All good but Caverns of black ice is a masterpiece.

David Eddings: Belgariad and Mellorean sets.

As for Mr Jorden... the first 6 books of WoT are amongst the best i have read but he should be shot for what he did to the rest of the series.

#45 Jul 24 2007 at 8:05 PM Rating: Good
Baron von tarv wrote:
Anne McCaffery: Pern series and Tower and hive series are best.

Besides Pern, my favorite was the Freedom Series.
#46 Jul 25 2007 at 11:59 AM Rating: Good
To me David Eddings is really hit or miss. Some of his books are thoroughly entertaining and you just fly through them. Other ones are complete and total drivel that you have drag yourself through. Niles I like alot. I don't think I've ever read a book of his that I have disliked. Strangely enough I don't think I have ever really jumped into the Pern series at all. I've read two books in the series but they weren't books one and two etc. So I really didn't know what was gong on.
#47 Jul 27 2007 at 7:42 AM Rating: Decent
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8,619 posts
Quote:
To me David Eddings is really hit or miss. Some of his books are thoroughly entertaining and you just fly through them. Other ones are complete and total drivel that you have drag yourself through.
I found that only the two sets i listed are worth reading and you essesment of thier writing as a whole is accurate.

Quote:
Niles I like alot. I don't think I've ever read a book of his that I have disliked.
I didn't mention him because i though he was bad just that he is very much "Pulp" writting which should be about easy reading vanilla entertainment.

Quote:
I don't think I have ever really jumped into the Pern series at all. I've read two books in the series but they weren't books one and two etc. So I really didn't know what was gong on.
I actually totally disagree with the recommended reading order anyway so i would advise reading them in the following order.

Dragonsdawn
Dragoneye
The chronicals of Pern:First fall
Dragonflight
Dragonquest
Dragonsong
Dragonsinger
The white dragon
Dragondrums
The renegades of Pern
All the Weyrs of Pern
The dolphins of Pern
The masterharper of Pern


#48 Jul 28 2007 at 7:09 AM Rating: Good
I actually just picked up the next book in E.E. Knight's on going series called Vampire Earth. So I'm kind of busy with that one. I think I actually have some of those Pern books from my mother. She is a librarian so the few times I run into her during the month she usually has a box or two of discard books from the library.
#49 Jul 29 2007 at 5:50 PM Rating: Decent
My absolute favorite book of all time:

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

In case you don't know this one, a bit of a description ahead:

In the far future, the sun is about to die and no one understands the technology the dying cultures left behind, hence consider it to be on the level of magic. A young man, a torturer's apprentice, commits the unforgivable sin of his profession: mercy. Exiled to be an executioner for small rural towns, he embarks on a journey that always leads north. The story is loose and seemingly nonexistant until several readings, in which it all begins to make sense, like a puzzle falling into place. Through the use of archaic diction and foreign words, there is a very noticable atmosphere to the writing. Incredibly difficult to read, but now that I have read it multiple times, I have become much pickier about what I read. Nothing really compares. Not even other Wolfe books. It is incredibly epic in scope, and once you find out what it's about, you'll want to read it more and more.

Other favorites (in sci fi / fantasy):

Clive Barker - Imagica
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
China Mieville - The Scar
Jeff VanderMeer - City of Saints and Madmen
Roger Zelazny - The Chronicles of Amber
Michael Moorcock - Gloriana or the Unfulfill'd Queen
Jack Vance - Tales of the Dying Earth
Steven Erikson - The Malazan Book of the Fallen
George R R Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire
Robin Hobb - The Farseer Saga
Gene Wolfe - The Wizard Knight
Gene Wolfe - The Book of the Long Sun

#50 Jul 31 2007 at 1:43 PM Rating: Decent
just browsing through here...
Terry Goodkind the Wizards 1st Rule series, think LoTR but grander with everything from love,death, betrayal,lust,grand battles,wizards, dragons, creatures,good, evil, etc, etc, truly epic, great read
#51 Jul 31 2007 at 4:56 PM Rating: Good
The Wizard's First Rule series was good up until like the sixth book. That's when Goodkind became Jordan and wouldn't let the series end. I won't read anymore of his books in that series as a result.
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