The things one finds...

[sholio]

oh my god, this commercial is so, so, SO wrong on pretty much every level that I cannot stop laughing at it (at least partly in horrified amazement that it's an actual commercial and not an SNL parody commercial). The shaved cat! THE TULIPS.

You know what I need, I think? A new series of books to be hooked on. It was so lovely to sink into the new Dresden Files book, but it was all over so quickly and now I have to wait for the next one. *chews nails* My reading has been falling off lately -- I'll start books and then abandon them -- and I think a lot of it is because what I really want right now is to fall in love with some characters and spend a lot of quality time with them. Most of what I've been reading lately have been stand-alone genre and literary-type books, but I'm finding them harder to get into. Since I'm not really following any TV shows avidly at the moment, I think that I need to find me some good, escapist brain candy to satisfy my mental sweet tooth.

Recommendations? I'd prefer books with SF or fantasy elements, but I'm open to anything else, too, if you know of something that's good. If you've been reading my journal for any length of time, you probably know what I go for: ensemble casts with relationships more complicated than just "boy meets girl, love at first sight", strong friendships, quality world-building. I like to be surprised and to have a story take me places I'm not expecting. I like genre-mixing (steampunk SF, mystery fantasy). I'm very character-focused; I like to follow the same characters over years and watch them grow and change. I am an absolute sucker for ambiguous and flawed heroes, ambiguous and likable villains, and enemies forced to work together for the common good. I like explosions, and as much as I adore solid world-building, I get bored with infodumps and florid writing very quickly.

A few of the series that are the sort of thing I'm looking for right now:

- Death Gate (Weiss & Hickman)
- Dark Tower (King)
- Discworld
- Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books
- Coldfire (C.S. Friedman)
- Tobias Buckell's Xenowealth books

I've tried both Lynn Flewelling and Janny Wurts and just couldn't get into either one (sorry, xparrot!). I also haven't tried George RR Martin because I'm scared XD, though I have the first Song of Ice and Fire book sitting in my to-read pile in case I manage to get over the fact that everyone keeps telling me these books will rip my heart into a million shreds and dance on the pieces.

Comments

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

1) It's not SF/Fantasy but I recommend this to EVERYONE and have never seen someone not get sucked in. Pat Barker is a fabulous modern British novelist (the kind of author who can turn a phrase that makes you stop and stare at the beautiful way she uses language) and she's most famous for her Regeneration Trilogy. Regeneration, The Eye in the Door and The Ghost Road are WWI historical fiction. The first book focuses on Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen (famous WWI poets) who historically met each other while being treated for shell shock at Craigslockheart in Scotland by W.H.R. Rivers (whom my parents studied for their anthropology degrees). Anyway, the first book focuses on the developed friendship/mentorship of the poets. The second book focuses more on Rivers and an original character she introduces in the first book and the third book almost entirely on Rivers and the entire trilogy is just phenomenal.

2) Have you read Robin Hobb? Her first three trilogies (which technically come in an order) are all very good though I prefer the middle (Ships of Magic) one the best.

3) He writes Sci-Fi short stories, but Ted Chiang is amazing and I'm ever-grateful for rydra_wong for pointing me to Stories of Your Life and Others.

...and I feel like I should have more...

[dragon-within.livejournal.com]

What else has Robin Hobb written? Her name sounds familiar. (Yes, I suppose I could look her up, but I'm lazy. LOL)

[dragon-within.livejournal.com]

I also haven't tried George RR Martin because I'm scared .... everyone keeps telling me these books will rip my heart into a million shreds and dance on the pieces.

Yes, and yes! Martin's series is a cross between fantasy and European History, and he is not afraid to forego the happy endings. I've read the first three (haven't read the fourth yet) and I highly recommend them. Just... have the Kleenex on hand.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

You're not reassuring me. *g*

I've heard good things about them, but I just don't know if I can take them right now -- I really want to fall in love with a cast of characters, and I don't know if I'm up for falling in love with a cast of characters knowing that there's a rather high death toll amongst them...

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Have you read the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters? Peters (real name Barbara Mertz, under which she's written some great accessible scholarly works) is an Egyptologist, and writes wonderful adventure romps with her Victorian archaeologist heroine. They're gloriously implausible and so much fun. I think there are about 20 books in the series now, and the cast of characters just keeps growing, the world keeps getting bigger, and she tackles the real political issues of the time.

Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first in the series, although you can pick it up reasonably well from any of the first 5 or so books - I started with #4 and was completely hooked :D

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I have not read them, though I think I've seen people talking about them! Thank you. :) *makes note*

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

All I can think of is the Acorna series by Anne McCafferty (sp?) if you haven't already given it a try. I really enjoyed the books, and I'm not a fan of McCafferty. Although I will admit I kind of lost interest after a while :S Chrome Circle by Mercedes Lackey was a fun read. It was no Dresden Files, but still fun and interesting (I'm still trying to locate the sequel.)

Other than that, I can't really think of anything. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, which is why I'm being slow about reading the newest Dresden book - I'm trying to savor it :D.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I read a ton of McCaffrey when I was a teen, but I don't recall reading those. I'm not sure if it would be my thing, since McCaffrey isn't really anymore, but I can see if the library has it, at least!

(edited because I remembered how to spell her name all of a sudden *g*)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The commercial - I--I--I--it is British, right? By the final website, it is...because I don't see how that could be aired on any American channel before, um, 1 AM...?

I do think you would get into Wurts's characters given time, but yeah, her prose is awwwwwfully dense. GRR Martin I only have so much patience with myself...he weaves a good story but I didn't fall for the chars as much as with some. Could be because they're all so very obviously mortal, though...

I can second Jadesfire's rec for Amelia Peabody, they're a lot of fun if you're in the mood for mysteries. (I go through phases myself that I devour them...)

Oh, and they're short and very fast reads, being as they're kids books, but Artemis Fowl (http://www.amazon.com/Artemis-Fowl-Book-1-Promotional/dp/142310515X/) pushes a lot of my buttons...

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

The commercial -- I KNOW! I think it's British (even though they have American accents). I don't know if *I'm* old enough to watch that! *g* SO MUCH INNUENDO OMG. The first time around, I totally missed the fluffy cat ... in her lap ... that she's petting ... NO, THAT IS NOT SUBTLE AT ALL. XD

While I only remember Wurts' book kind of vaguely now, I think the problem is that I went into it expecting, from the setup, an "embattled brothers develop an alliance" sort of plot, and instead I just wanted to KILL brother #2. Horribly. In a fire. And it was pretty much nonstop pain with the other one -- I like h/c but I have my limits, especially if there's no real "c" to go with the "h". It is possible that they would engage me more if I'd give them another book or two (Death Gate didn't really get awesome until book 3) but I didn't feel like wading through another book I wasn't particularly enjoying to see if they'd hit my sweet spots later. (Also, there was the problem that the book reminded me vaguely of one of my original fic WIPs -- the setup is very similar -- and I kept getting this disturbing sort of cognitive dissonance, reading it.)

You know, someone else recommended Artemis Fowl to me awhile back -- but someone whose tastes are fairly dissimilar from mine, so I wasn't sure if I'd like them! But I've put them on my list to check out.

[kodiak-bear.livejournal.com]

I asked for recommendations last summer or this fall or sometime LOL, anyway, one of the best recs for me was Robin Hobb's Assassin series. Six books total, but she wrote the first trilogy and then wrote the Live Ships' series, then returned for another trilogy with the Fool and Fitz. I loved the first three slightly more than the last three but that's not to say the last three were bad it was just that she was wrapping up the characters in a way to put that world/characters to a natural end. And that fact alone was enough to make me sad! One of the best written series ever in my opinion.

[kodiak-bear.livejournal.com]

Oh and George RR Martin's series -- excellent. But, they aren't easy to get into at first. The format is one which switches perspectives, and frequently, so you get into one character and get into a rhythm, than pop, off to a different character for a while, and so on it goes. He rotates them in and out and it can be brutal in places. Bad thing is that the series is not done and there's such a gap between books now that I wonder how I'll ever remember what has happened. :(

[snarkydame.livejournal.com]

Have you tried C.J. Cherryh's Fortress series? The writing is complex and elegant, and the characters are some of my favorites.

Ooh, and also -- I just finished Charlie Fletcher's Stoneheart Trilogy. It's a YA story about a war between the statues in London, and the boy and girl who get stuck in the middle. It's very cool, I think.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I've read a bunch of Cherryh, though I don't remember off the top of my head if that's one of hers that I've read or not. I do like her books. And I've never heard of the other series -- I've made myself a note to look for it!

[tacittype.livejournal.com]

I'm currently reading the Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, and am loving it. And it's part of a series, so: bonus. If you haven't already read it, I recommend it - I've ordered the rest of the trilogy and haven't finished the first one yet. Reviews more useful than mine are here (http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Apprentice-Farseer-Trilogy-Book/dp/055357339X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239740968&sr=8-1), but skip the editorial summaries - they're spoilery for things I've enjoyed finding out in little chunks. The first couple of reviews at time of posting won't spoil you.

[tacittype.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I am so behind the times! Uh, thirded?

[lawrence520.livejournal.com]

Well, if you like the Aubrey/Maturin books, I would strongly recommend the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, which I think at least one person has described as "Patrick O'Brian, with dragons!" She's up to 5 books now, with the first being "His Majesty's Dragon." Very entertaining take on the Napoleonic Wars, in which a British naval captain captures a French ship carrying an about-to-hatch dragon's egg, and how his life turns upside down from there.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I've been reading those, actually! :D Though I think I might be behind a book now ... I forgot to check for new ones coming out.

[leesa_perrie]

Oh boy, am I dumb or just too innocent? I didn't realise what the ad was on about until the end! I was wondering if it was some weird gardening tool advert!! *blushes* Of course, once I realised I had to watch it again!! LOL!! Part of me is offended, part of me thinks it's just soooo bad it's genius!

As for the books, I can recommend the Falco series by Lindsey Davis, though it's not sci-fi or fantasy. It's basically a whodunnit set in Rome during the Roman Empire and yet it's so much more than that too! The imagery of Rome and its outposts is wonderful, and the life of Falco and his family and friends are very involving. Falco himself is an interesting character, not a dyed-in-the-wool hero; he has faults! His family (his mother, sisters, brother-in-laws etc) is full of characters that engage the reader - I love them, even the near-do-wells!

Anyway, I think the books are brilliant and so much more than just a detective book (though that part is excellently done too). Lots of interesting characters to get involved with. Lots of books to read too! When I was catching up with the series (note to self: get newest book now it's in paperback), I couldn't wait to start the next book to see how 'x', 'y', 'z' and Falco were fairing, what was happening next in their lives!

Check them out her website here for more info.

[mary-alice.livejournal.com]

Oh, I second this recommendation. I like these books a lot.

Other recommendations: P.C.Hodgell (one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, with a lead character who is a true Chaos Magnet -- she writes slowly, but extremely entertainingly, and her first book, "Godstalk", is my favorite cheer-me-up book), Rob Thurman (she writes urban fantasy with several very intriguing characters), Wen Spencer (who has authored two really good fantasy series), Connie Willis (brilliant SF author, her humorous stories are hilarious, and her serious stuff is yank-your-heart-out), Diana Wynn Jones (great YA books from Britain), Lois McMaster Bujold (I just adore her Verkosigan SF series).

[listy01.livejournal.com]

OMG that advert is just so wrong, I LMAO :)

As for book rec's I am useless I read a lot, but the last lot of books I read that I loved were the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer. I might just make a note of a few of the ones people have listed here and give them a try.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I know! It's awful! But weirdly addictive.

Twilight, I'm afraid, does not look like my thing at all (I'm not a big fan of vampire books). But there are so many good recommendations here! Enough to keep me reading for ages!

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

In fantasy, have you read Melanie Rawn's "Dragon Prince" and "Dragon Star" series? Meanwhile, over in SF, have you read Connie Willis, esp. Doomsday Book and Passage?

I'm also fond of Susan Dexter's books, though they read a bit young -- tons of h/c, boy howdy. She's largely out of print (at least the "Ring of Allaire" series), but the sort-of-prequels -- the "Warhorse of Estragon" series -- are good too (though for some reason The True Knight just did not click for me).

[calcitrix.livejournal.com]

I second the Connie Willis rec! Oh, Doomsday Book, yes, but also To Say Nothing of The Dog.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I love Janny Wurts' art so much, but I never did finish that one series of hers about the brothers. Have you read Raymond Feist? I really loved the original Riftwar novels, as well as some of the later books (though I have never got into the more recent books).

I'm trying to think of some old stuff I liked, because the only fantasy I read now is pretty much Discworld. But there's also the problem that when I was really into SFF I was not very discriminating, so a lot of what I liked was actually crap and thus I wouldn't recommend it now (Xanth!).

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Xanth, OH GOD. Is it a requisite that every young bibliophile had to go through their Xanth phase and then at some point we all had that disillusioned moment when we realized that the books were total crap? I really hate to psychoanalyze authors on the basis of their books, but Piers Anthony, get thee to a therapist, stat!

I read and loved the Riftwar series as a teen, but haven't read any of his later books. I tried Wurts' first book, but found it awfully dull to plow through. It's odd that I love the idea of fantasy, but in reality I find most of what's out there very self-similar and dull. Authors who manage to breathe life into the genre earn my devotion! And there aren't very many of them.

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

e you read any Charles De Lint?

http://www.sfsite.com/charlesdelint/

I'd recommend his older works for new readers. Whilst not giving you series per se, he does explore his imaginary world through his books.

Also If you like discworld, I would recommend as a one off Tom Holt's "Who's afraid of Beowulf."

Have you read any Katherine Kurtz?

[calcitrix.livejournal.com]

There are so many comments I'm chiming in with "seconds"...Yes to Charles DeLint! I'd rec the older stuff as well. While they aren't exactly serial, many of the characters show up in several titles. I'd start with his short story collections (where he introduces many characters that later get their own books) and maybe move on to Memory and Dream, one of my favorites of his.

[melibabe.livejournal.com]

Please tell me you're already familiar with Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe novels? If not, run out and get them. It's space opera, but it's incredibly fun and romantic space opera, with a very well developed world and characters you absolutely will fall in love with. :D

Start with Agent of Change, or, better yet, Partners in Necessity, which includes three novels in a nice, comfortable omnibus.

Hmm, now I want to go home and reread them all again (for the second time this year).

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I haven't even heard of them! *scribbles busily*

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

If you haven't read anything by Tanya Huff, start now. Her Blood books are decent vampire/supernatural fic with an awesome female protagonist and complicated, adult relationships, plus the vampire bastard son of Henry VIII. The TV series isn't exactly great TV, but it's got HEAPS of pretty. Also, Dylan Neal, who played Dave Sheppard.

The Smoke trilogy picks up with one of the minor characters from the Blood series--who is gay and out and works on the set of a low-budget vampire detective TV show. Huff knows fandom, and so there are lots of fannish references, like the fact that everyone slashes the two leads on the show. Sadly but not surprisingly, they didn't sell well, so it's going to remain a trilogy.

Her Confederation series is completely different. It's military SF, but don't let that dissuade you--I normally avoid that genre like the plague, but I loved it. Her protagonist is an awesome human female noncom in the Space Marines, and not only is she interesting, but so are all of the aliens and the political structure she sets up.

What else...There's the Eric Flint (and lots of other people) Ring of Fire series, mostly the 163X books. The premise is that a West Virginia mining town gets picked up, transported through time and space, and ends up in Germany in the middle of the 30 Years' War. Flint has Political Opinions, and he Shows You Them, but he mostly manages to avoid being completely anvilicious. One of the neat things about him is that he's all about the free flow of information--he started the Baen Free Library years ago, on the theory that the best way to prevent piracy was to give books away. You can get most of his stuff at http://www.baen.com but the trick is that you can usually only get the first couple of books in a series. Then you're hooked. :) Unlike certain other authors who've been recced here, he believes fanfic can be a good thing, and he's involved in putting out the compilations of fanfic in the 163X-verse.

And if you've missed Lois McMaster Bujold, then the only thing I can tell you is to start with Cordelia's Honor and read the Vorkosigan series through A Civil Campaign (the most recent one was, IMO, not all that good). Then read Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, and then read all of the Sharing Knife series. The latter is a mix of fantasy and straight-out romance, but the characters are engaging and it's an interesting world.

C.S. Friedman also has a new series--the first book is Feast of Souls. telesilla loved it; me, not so much, but she has a higher tolerance for a complete lack of sympathetic characters than I do.

[spark-force.livejournal.com]

Sadly but not surprisingly, they didn't sell well, so it's going to remain a trilogy.

Dang, seriously? That's disappointing; I was rather enjoying those.

[dragon-within.livejournal.com]

BWAHAHAHA! I just watched the video. That is just so wrong!!

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

It's wrong and awful in every possible way and I cannot stop watching it, dammit!

Book recs

[blacklabs2.livejournal.com]

A series that I've enjoyed has been Charles Stross's series starting with the Family Trade with its alternative universe. He normally writes sci fi but this ranges more to fantasy. I'll admit I haven't gotten to the last few books.

If you can stomach sci fi and have taken Latin or some mythology course, then try Dan Simmon's Illium/Olympus series or Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep/Darkness in the Sky. Both just such good sequences.

I agree with others here on Bujold's Chalion series, although it sort of fell flat after book two for me.

Oldies but goodies - Hambly's Time of the Dark and Tom Dietz's series; if you haven't already read it and you like YA, Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising (I read it sooo long ago but it still holds up)

As far as ambiguous villians go, Joe Ambercrombie's First Law series is hard to beat. It's basically the anti-fantasy, but if you are avoiding cynicism then best to avoid completely. And I'd normally recommend JV Jones' latest series, except it can really be depressing at times and she's like never going to finish the thing.

Re: Book recs

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I loved Simmons' Hyperion novels and I've read some of his short stories, but that's pretty much it for my Simmons. And I haven't read the Dark is Rising books since I was a wee tiny thing! Perhaps I should re-read them! I still have my old boxed set around here somewhere...

Have not read Stross or Vernor Vinge. *notes* I vaguely remember reading a book by Dietz a looong time ago (something about Native Americans and alternate universes?). What does he have out that you recommend?

I have Abercrombie's first book sitting in my "too read" pile but I keep bypassing it because it looks so damned depressing. I'll get around to it eventually ...

[aelfgyfu_mead]

That commercial--I could not figure out what they were advertising until the end, despite noticing the odd placement of a razor among the gardening tools! I was waiting for some kind of "garden tools for women" close! My eyebrows have gone up into my hairline and got stuck there!

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's ... just about the weirdest and wrongest thing I've seen! Can you believe it's a real commercial? It looks like something National Lampoon would have come up with!

[auburnnothenna.livejournal.com]

Branching out from sf and f, you might enjoy Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series. Napoleonic Wars military historical. You may be familiar with the excellent adaptation made with Sean Bean starring as Sharpe. (The DVDs are well worth getting.) Cornwell's history and battles are excellent. Personally, I would read them in publication order rather than chronologically, he's done several back story books with younger Sharpe serving in India, but it's the fighting in Portugal and Spain where the series really sucks you in.

(Sorry no Amazon links, I'm still ticked with them.)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the rec! I think I've vaguely heard of them, but I haven't read any of them. *notes* Between that, the Aubrey/Maturin books and Temeraire, I'm getting quite an education in that time period, I guess!

[calcitrix.livejournal.com]

I almost hate to recommend...The Wheel of Time series. But...Ok, so the author died before it was finished. Just so you know. And, well...there may be a couple of...issues BUT this is the most amazingly detailed world of any books I've ever read. How anyone could keep all of it in his head is beyond me. There are strong female characters (in fact, the "magic" of the world can only be safely used by women, and the political force behind most of the thrones is the organization run by the female mages). And, like I said, the detail is beyond belief. My friends and I spent hours discussing these books in college. If you want something that will take you a VERY LONG TIME to read, pick these up.

From an anthropological standpoint, you'd probably spend the bulk of your time thinking about which cultures Robert Jordan stole all of his ideas from, though.

There are rumors that the last book was completely outlined and is being finished by his son.

[snarkydame.livejournal.com]

Brandon Sanderson is, indeed, finishing the series -- although he seems likely to turn that last book into three books (http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL). Just too many plot threads!

[sheron]

Have you ever read Robin Hobb's books? (Tawny man series)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Heh, see other comments. I've got that one down!

[amalthia]

Have you read Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy?

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Hobb seems to be the recommendation of the day! I couldn't look for them at the library when I was there today because approximately F through I were closed off (they were doing some remodeling) but I'll look the next time I'm back.

[amalthia]

I'm re-reading the Vorkosigan series and I truly can't recommend it highly enough.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love the Vorkosigan books so much! I wish she'd do another book with a significant presence by Mark, though (if she ever does go back to the series). I miss him a lot.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

What about Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea series?

Or David Eddings' The Belgariad and The Mallorean.

Or Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky? These are both Hugo winners and while the books are related to each other they aren't sequential and can be read in any order. These are amazing, amazing books that don't get mentioned a lot.

And the series that is either my favorite book or second favorite book depending on my mood (yes I count the two books as one book so as to make room for more books in my top ten list *g*), Illium and Olympos by Dan Simmons. These are the sci-fi books for the English major. So much love. The Tempest. The Illiad. Robots that BFF each other. I defy anyone not to adore these two books.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I love Dan Simmons. (Well, I loved him years ago. I am planning to reread the Hyperion books so I can finish the series, and we'll see if I still love him now that I'm a more critical reader.)