Book recommendations? (sci-fi or fantasy)

wossname · **#21**

singular wrote:

I've only read one Iain M Banks novel, 'The Player of Games', which would have been great if not for the cliched dialog and the predictability.

If you like space operas you might be interested in a 5-part series by Stephen Donaldson (who wrote the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) called 'The Gap'. I read it years ago so I don't know how well it's aged, but I thoroughly enjoyed it at the time.

My favourite sci fi author is Philip K Dick; even now there's not much that could be called 'typical' about his work, minus the stereotypes of females.

"The Player of Games" is probably the most straightforward Culture book aside from the newly released "Matter". But if you didn't enjoy "The Player of Games", maybe Banks is not for you...

I'm also a Philip K Dick fan, but that's hardly recent stuff, right? :p

kirkmc · **#22**

wossname wrote:

singular wrote:

I've only read one Iain M Banks novel, 'The Player of Games', which would have been great if not for the cliched dialog and the predictability.

If you like space operas you might be interested in a 5-part series by Stephen Donaldson (who wrote the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) called 'The Gap'. I read it years ago so I don't know how well it's aged, but I thoroughly enjoyed it at the time.

My favourite sci fi author is Philip K Dick; even now there's not much that could be called 'typical' about his work, minus the stereotypes of females.

"The Player of Games" is probably the most straightforward Culture book aside from the newly released "Matter". But if you didn't enjoy "The Player of Games", maybe Banks is not for you...

I'm also a Philip K Dick fan, but that's hardly recent stuff, right? :p

I read that Banks book a long time ago, and it didn't grab me.

I love PK Dick - I've been reading some of his novels in the recently published Library of America editions.

kirkmc · **#23**

zenith wrote:

Although not a series I recommend David Mitchell's 'Cloud Atlas'. I can only describe it as a sci-fi with many twists of which its depth can only be truly appreciated once the whole novel has been read.

Mitchell is brilliant; I've read several of his novels.

Chew Terr · **#24**

How about Roger zelazny? Maybe lot of light?

Jedo · **#25**

The Illuminatus Trilogy 100% sure

Scrivener · **#26**

Brandon Sanderson's Elantris was pretty good. There is magic in it, but it's not overdone. He creates a magic system in his books. (Well, he did in Elantris and Warbreaker. I haven't read his other books.) Warbreaker is available for free as a promotion from his site. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Warbreaker

singular · **#27**

Scrivener wrote:

Brandon Sanderson's Elantris was pretty good. There is magic in it, but it's not overdone. He creates a magic system in his books. (Well, he did in Elantris and Warbreaker. I haven't read his other books.) Warbreaker is available for free as a promotion from his site. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Warbreaker

You've got to give Sanderson credit for writing the best book in the Wheel of Time series so far (and rescuing the series in the process).

kirkmc · **#28**

singular wrote:

Scrivener wrote:

Brandon Sanderson's Elantris was pretty good. There is magic in it, but it's not overdone. He creates a magic system in his books. (Well, he did in Elantris and Warbreaker. I haven't read his other books.) Warbreaker is available for free as a promotion from his site. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Warbreaker

You've got to give Sanderson credit for writing the best book in the Wheel of Time series so far (and rescuing the series in the process).

Really? Is he the one that finished the book that Jordan had sketched out? Is he writing more?

I found Jordan to be a bit obnoxious when he famously said, when asked how many books the series would be, that it would be as many as were necessary to send his daughters through college.

dfan · **#29**

Scrivener wrote:

Brandon Sanderson's Elantris was pretty good. There is magic in it, but it's not overdone. He creates a magic system in his books. (Well, he did in Elantris and Warbreaker. I haven't read his other books.) Warbreaker is available for free as a promotion from his site. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Warbreaker

I've only read his three-part Mistborn, which was really excellent. His characters are good, his writing is perfectly fine, and his plotting and worldbuilding are superb.

chiwito · **#30**

Jedo wrote:

The Illuminatus Trilogy 100% sure

I never got into Illuminatus but co-author Robert Shea wrote a nice piece of alternative history/light fantasy called Shike which I rather enjoyed. Of course I may have been biased by the fact that it has Go references.

chiwito

Tommie · **#31**

kirkmc wrote:

So I used to read a lot of sci-fi, back in the day (in the 70s), then stopped, then read a lot in the 90s, and stopped again. I'm looking to find some good, recent sci-fi or fantasy, preferably a series.

Here's what I like: hard science without clichéd dialog; fantasy without wizards and magic (such as the Dark Tower series; one of my favorites, though I love the Lord of the Rings - the problem with fantasy is that most of it just copies LotR); space operas that don't have too much weirdness in them.

Very much not recent, otherwise fulfilling your criteria: Stanisław Lem
however, you will already have read it.

ditto: Philip K. Dick

Nevertheless I wanted to mention them.

POGO · **#32**

Well here are a few books i really enjoyed.

Cloud of sparrows and autum bridge (its a 2 books fantasy baised in the turn of japan)

And Icefire by reeve steven's...

Bartleby · **#33**

You did say "recent," but there have been some recommendations of oldies but goodies here, so I thought I'd chime in. I read a lot of the science fiction and most of the good fantasy published in English up through the early 1980s, then I pretty much stopped except for a random book now and then, so my recommendations are a bit dated.

The best adult fantasy series I ever read was the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake. (Warning, if you don't like books by Charles Dickens, you probably won't like this series.)

The best utopian fantasy I ever read was a book called Islandia, by Austin Tappan Wright. (People usually either love this book or they can't finish it.)

My favorite (although probably not the best) dystopian fantasy is a book called "Rumors of Spring" by Richard Grant. (Not a pure dystopian fantasy but with many of the elements.)

The best hard science fiction book I ever read was Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. (A bit dated now, perhaps.)

My favorite post-nuclear holocaust science fiction would be a tie between "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank, and "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter Miller.

My favorite "space adventure" (not quite a space opera, but close) book is harder to decide, but I would probably vote for a little-known book called "The Warriors of Dawn" by M.A. Foster.

It's hard to pick my favorite shorter science fiction works, there are so many good ones. If I had to pick just three, they would probably be "A Boy and His Dog" by Harlan Ellison, "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke, and "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. (Okay, the last is a kid's book, but it was one of the first science fiction books I read and it really pulled me into the genre.)

Redundant · **#34**

For fantasy I'd recommend Joe Abercrombie. He has a trilogy (called the First Law; the first book is The Blade Itself) and a stand alone (Best Served Cold). His work is in the Bakker, Erikson, and Martin style, in that it's fairly dark, and definitely not Tolkienesque. Also, I would say that he beats out Martin in how cruel he can be to his characters.

Andreas · **#35**

One recent fantasy trilogy I really liked was "Stone Dance of the Chameleon" by Ricardo Pinto. No magic, creates a fascinating, epic world without relying much on fantasy stereotypes (no true heir, no "good" and "evil"). The only thing about the series that might turn off some readers is that the main characters are homosexual (like the author) which shouldnt be a problem to somebody who already read books in the 70s.

A more conventional trilogy I really enjoyed was the Empire Trilogy by Raimond Feist and Jenny Wurts (1992, not that new). In my opinion, its much better than the books that Raimond Feist or Jenny Wurts have written alone. Maybe its not what youre looking for because it actually does contain magic.

About Eddings: rereading Eddings made me want to make an essay about common clichees in fantasy literature. Same goes for the "Eragon" series. Theyre not bad, but if Youve read some fantasy before, its the same all over again.

About Robert Jordan: I used to like Robert Jordan when I was a Teenager, but stopped to buy the "Wheel of Time" after a few years. From reading the first 6 or 7 books of the series, I got the feeling that the author totally lost control of the story, which seems quite unprofessional. The Wheel of Time DOES contain our favourite game, though, in the disguise of "stones".

kirkmc · **#36**

Andreas wrote:

About Robert Jordan: I used to like Robert Jordan when I was a Teenager, but stopped to buy the "Wheel of Time" after a few years. From reading the first 6 or 7 books of the series, I got the feeling that the author totally lost control of the story, which seems quite unprofessional. The Wheel of Time DOES contain our favourite game, though, in the disguise of "stones".

Most readers, with the exception of die-hard fans (of which there are many), gave up around that point in the series. I think I got through the first 6 books. I have to say that the first few were truly brilliant. I might be tempted to try and reread a couple again, but I must admit, I'm leaning more toward rereading The Dark Tower right now.

"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

sumiyaka · **#37**

I haven't finished the series, but that is one of the best opening lines I have read....

I had an English professor tell us we should pay particular attention to the opening lines in books... and I have. But... its only a few that I really remember.

That is one of them.

The others... opening to Neuromancer, HitchHiker's Guide, and Beowulf -- the Seamus Heaney translation.

schultz · **#38**

kirkmc wrote:

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

Also, I haven't seen anyone else recommend it, so I'll throw out Orson Scott Card. I really enjoyed both the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind), and the Bean series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant).

His endings can be a little campy ("Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind" anyone?), but I still enjoyed all of those.

sumiyaka · **#39**

schultz wrote:

kirkmc wrote:

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

The first book "drags" a bit the first time you read it. But, its worth it to get into the series. Others I know have read the series more than once, and say the first book is better the second time around.

Marcus · **#40**

Bear with me, I do have recommendations at the end.

Harleqin wrote:

In the science fiction genre, I really liked "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

Very good book. I enjoyed it very much. Not sure how old it is, though.

kirkmc wrote:

Andreas wrote:

About Robert Jordan: I used to like Robert Jordan when I was a Teenager, but stopped to buy the "Wheel of Time" after a few years. From reading the first 6 or 7 books of the series, I got the feeling that the author totally lost control of the story, which seems quite unprofessional. The Wheel of Time DOES contain our favourite game, though, in the disguise of "stones".

Most readers, with the exception of die-hard fans (of which there are many), gave up around that point in the series. I think I got through the first 6 books. I have to say that the first few were truly brilliant.

I don't count myself among the die-hards, but I do enjoy the series. I sold off my copies, though, and just borrow from the library when I get the urge to re-read them. Currently re-reading them in preparation for the 12th book, which I have a hold on at the library (#53 in line now, I think, giving me ample time to finish re-reading the others).

sumiyaka wrote:

schultz wrote:

kirkmc wrote:

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

The first book "drags" a bit the first time you read it. But, its worth it to get into the series. Others I know have read the series more than once, and say the first book is better the second time around.

Heh, my parents bought me the 4th book for Christmas one year, not realizing it was the 4th ... I read the riddle game in the opening (I love riddles) but waited until I could borrow the first 3 before reading the 4th ... that was all that were out at the time, and I never got back to reading the 5th-7th books.

I'll borrow those next time I'm at the library.

Recommendations

In terms of newer sci-fi, you may have already read these, but you could check out:

The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson. Five books, and a little bit dark, but I found them interesting. Not as hard sci-fi as some that I've read, but I enjoyed it.

Author: Jack McDevitt has been a bit of a focus for me lately. I read The Hercules Text a long while ago and really enjoyed it. When I noticed another book by him (Polaris) on the library shelf, I decided to pick it up for reading. Haven't finished yet, and I've just noticed that it's a part of a series. I'll have to find the first book sometime soon. Can't recommend it yet, though it seems promising.

Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear was also quite good. I haven't read the sequel yet.

In terms of Fantasy, lately I've stuck to re-reading old favourites. As I'm not very old, those "old favourites" are mostly "swords n' magic" type fantasy, most notably by Weis and Hickman or by Salvatore. If I were to make a recommendation, though, concerning fantasy, it would be Weis and Hickman's Deathgate Cycle. Again, this is still "swords and sorcery" style fantasy, but I really enjoyed the series, and it's less about the setting (though the setting itself is interesting) and more about the characters than anything else.

Book recommendations? (sci-fi or fantasy)

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