sholio | The things one finds...

Entry tags:

books:misc

The things one finds...

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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...

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

Her name might sound familiar because she's famous for diatribes about how FANFIC IS EVIL!

Her first three trilogies are:
Farseer Trilogy
* Assassin's Apprentice
* Royal Assassin
* Assassin's Quest
Liveship Trilogy
* Ship of Magic
* The Mad Ship
* Ship of Destiny
Tawny Man Trilogy
* Fool's Errand
* Golden Fool
* Fool's Fate

All there happen in the same general world and nominally should probably be read in that order, though the Liveship one is a bit more stand alone. Mostly Tawny Man definitely comes after Farseer (same main character a decade or so later).
I think she has a new one out set in a different world somewhere.

Ah! That's why her name sounds familiar! Although, seeing as how others recommended the Farseer trilogy, I may have to give that a try.

Certainly worth it.
Like I mentioned, I love the Liveship one the best (some awesome female characters and I love the narrative voice Hobb uses in it, though I have a friend who was driven crazy by it) but they're all well-worth reading. I like that they're light fantasy - there is magic in the world but it's more incidental and involved in every detail of people's lives.

1. Never heard of her! But that sounds fantastic. *makes note*

2. I read the Liveship books awhile back and I've read a lot of the books that she wrote as Megan Lindholm, but I had completely forgotten that she has other books as well! Since I've really liked the other things of hers that I've read, I'll take a look at the library and see if they have her other books.

3. The name sounds vaguely familiar. I'll take a look!

Thank you for the suggestions! :)

1) Absolutely fantastic. Reading Barker's writing is like enjoying a rich desert. You just savor her words. Helps that she also creates good characters and compelling stories. (when I first tried to read them my library had lost its copy of Regeneration and I just started picking up Barker's books at random until I could track it down. She doesn't disappoint.)

3) I think Rydra pointed me at Chiang with a quote from another author about how if you're ever up for an award against Chiang, you'll lose. He isn't prolific but what he's published is..."fresh" might be the best word. Coming at the genre from awesome new angles.

Hope you end up with something you enjoy!

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.

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...

Completely understandable, which is why I had to stop at the third book. I'll eventually read the fourth (because I had not finishing a series!) but it is very emotionally hard to read when a character you've gotten attached to bites the dust. :P

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

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

You're welcome. I meant to add "The Knife of Never Letting Go" which is... Well. The writer teaches Creative Writing here in Oxford and one of my friends is on his course and says he's lovely :) But the book isn't. It's technically YA but only because of the protagonist's age. It was the first book I finished this year and it absolutely blew me out of the water.

Best (and worst!) of all, it's the first of a trilogy, so I'm eagerly waiting for more!

I had wonderful recs from my flist a while back, which I have repaid by *embarrassedcough*not really getting into the Dresden Files which everyone said I would love*cough* so I feel I need to help someone else instead ;)

Who is the author of the Knife book? I'll look for it.

If you like YA fantasy, I definitely need to shove Francis Hardinge at you! I started reading with her first book when it was published (one of the only time that web ads have EVER been useful for me -- the cover art looked good even though I had never heard of the author!) and I've been glomming onto her books as they come out. She has three out now, all unrelated; Fly by Night is the first and best, but they're all incredibly good and very different from typical YA.

Knife is by Patrick Ness.

Ooh, thanks. *adds to list*

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.

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*)

The Acorna books are co-written with another author, so are a little different from her other books, a little more engaging (for me, that is. I could never get into any of McCaffrey's books except for Acorna, try as I might). What I really liked about them, though, were the characters, who were interesting in their own right.

But, like I said, I did lose interest after a while. I would like to get back into them, though, just to find out what happens.

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...

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.

And then she's holding the shaved pussy cat at the end and O M G. Just. I don't know.

Ahhhh, if that's the case with Wurts - yeah, it takes an unexpected twist early with the brothers. (If it's any consolation, you're supposed to want to see Lysaer die in fire...) But there actually is marvelous c, it just starts a couple books in. My absolute favorite relationship (Arithon & *spoiler*) doesn't really develop until, umm, book 3, I think...I'd have to check. It's reluctant allies forced together by circumstance, such that they end up becoming closer-than-brothers and supportive when no one else can be and...oh man. Yeah. I've got issues with certain aspects of the series, and Wurts's overblown prose drives me nuts, but here's a few scenes that are way high on my list of "pages I go and reread when I need a serious h/c fix" (only I don't have the books with me now, dangit!)

Sorry to intrude and if this is a bit off topic, but what's the order of the Wurts' books? My mom and I got into them, but the books we found didn't seem to be numbered, so we didn't know which was book two, book three, etc. You can answer by PM if you don't want to answer here. One of these days, we'd really like to finish that series and find out what happens.

Seconding the Artemis Fowl rec! They remind me a bit of the Dresden Files, actually, if younger and a bit less snarky.

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.

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. :(

It took me awhile to get used to that format. There were plenty of times, though, that I'd jump ahead to the next chapter for that particular character and then go back and read the others.

Thanks! Someone above recommended them too, and I've read (and enjoyed) the Liveship Traders (ahaha, I just typed "Livership Traders", um, NO), and I also enjoyed the books that she wrote under the pen name Megan Lindholm, but I haven't read the Assassin books. I'll look for them!

If you liked the Liveship Traders, then you may not be as put off as I was by the Assassin Protaganist's ongoing impression of Luke Skywalker wanting to go to Tashi Station.

My bigger problem with Hobb is her anti-fanfic stance, which goes beyond simply saying "Please don't write fic based on my work" to "Fanfiction is evil and fanfic writers are thieves." She'd have to be a much better writer than I think she is for me to give her my money after calling me a thief.

Yeah, the fanfic thing is actually one of the big reasons why I quit reading her books, because I'd really enjoyed Liveship Traders (and I'd liked her earlier books under a different pen name, which I read in my teens) but I was so turned off by her anti-fanfic diatribes that I didn't bother looking for anything else she'd written (because the world is full of authors who don't piss me off). This was several years ago, though, and it seems that the animosity has faded, because I don't feel particularly bothered by the idea of reading her books anymore.

She is definitely a library-only author for me, however.

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.

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!

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.

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

Heh, no worries! The fact that I said "Hey, rec me books!" and three separate people said "Assassin trilogy!" probably means I should be reading these books. *g*

You're not the first person in this thread to recommend those, so I think I'm going to need to check them out. :D I have a couple of hours to kill in town today between dropping off my husband at the airport and a required meeting at work (otherwise I don't have to work today at all, but it's not worth driving all the way home and then all the way back), so I was planning on spending that time at the library. And I have a ton of stuff to look for now!

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.

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.

Nice icon!

Well, on a not very similar vein at all (except that I really like them), you might also try the Guardians of the Flame series, by Joel Rosenberg. Takes what could be a very fluff premise - RPG group trapped in the fantasy realm of their game - and makes it gritty, dangerous and real. I confess, I've mostly fallen out of love of the later books, but the first three - The Sleeping Dragon, The Sword and the Chain, and The Silver Crown - are great.

I'd also recommend the Door series, by Diane Duane, but I'm not certain what the reprint status is right now. If you can track them down - The Door Into Fire, The Door Into Shadow, and The Door Into Sunset - they're most excellent.

you might also try the Guardians of the Flame series, by Joel Rosenberg.

I remember those! Like you, I really enjoyed the first three books and then sort of grew away from them.

Ooh, I haven't heard of the Rosenberg books! I'll keep an eye out.

I read the first few of Duane's "Wizard" books but was kind of lukewarm on them and lost interest after awhile. I was vaguely aware that she had other books but didn't know anything about them.

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.

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).

I've read all of these but Hodgell, which I hadn't heard of. Thanks! :D

Oh, good! I commented first and then started to read the other comments; I didn't get the ad either! I must say, I don't think I can forget it! (But wait--what brand was it advertising? Well, that's useless!)

Ha, don't feel bad, it took me awhile to catch on, too (which is why I missed the goddawful visual pun of the cat in the beginning....).

Thank you for the rec! I have a vague recollection of hearing about these books before, but I couldn't remember the author or titles. And when I was in the library today, I saw that they have quite a lot of them (though at that point, I already had a stack of books, so I didn't get them this time...!).

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.

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!

I am making notes of the recommendations on here, I have completely wiped out my reading pile and I stood in Waterstones today with no clue what to pick so this should be helpful :)

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).

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

I have so much love for Willis! I squeak and bounce whenever she has a new book out (though I think there are a few of hers that I still haven't read).

I'm going to guess here...of her more obscure ones,Lincoln's Dreams was...interesting if strange, I find myself thinking about it at odd moments, and the cowboy sci-fi book, um, Uncharted Territory, yah, not so great.

Heh, actually I loved Uncharted Territory -- it's not quite up there with To Say Nothing of the Dog and Doomsday Book (which are admittedly much better books) but it's actually one of my favorites of hers to re-read.

Lincoln's Dreams was just bizarre, and not really in a good way.

I'd have to look up a list to remember which of hers I haven't read. I know she's got a recent one out that I don't have. At one point I made a concerted effort to track down everything of hers, but later I discovered a couple out-of-print books that I hadn't even known about (Uncharted Territory was one), so I wouldn't be surprised if there are others lurking about. She's one of only a handful of authors that I've read nearly everything she's written (King and Heinlein are others, though my Heinlein period was a long time back -- I'm working on Pratchett, but there's just such a lot of it...).

I adore Willis; she's one of my favorite authors. I read some of Dexter's books -- well, okay, two of them, one of which I really liked and one I really didn't, so that's a mixed bag. I haven't read Rawn though.

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!).

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.

I went on Wikipedia to see what the state of Riftwar was these days and omg, that man just kind of needs to get a new idea! There are like a bazillion books in the series now.

I really haven't read a lot of fantasy since I 1. stopped reading as much as I used to, and 2. became more critical in my reading, and the reason is both that so much of it is bad and it's so long, both in terms of each individual book, and the fact that nothing is ever a standalone, or even a trilogy. It's like ten books, all of which are 800 pages each, and man, I just don't have patience for that, especially when the reason it's that long is because they didn't have a good editor telling them to trim out unnecessary crap. :p

I do like fantasy and sci-fi in theory, but I just stay away from the genre because the style of the books getting written is just not my thing.

I started rereading Xanth just for the hell of it. I got through five books... and realized my brain was starting to rot. ;D

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?

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.

there's a few Scifi/fantasy authors out there that you can follow their career and map the way their writing changes. I often find it's their early career books (not always their first book) that are -- for me -- the magical ones. I think Mercedes Lackey is a perfect example of the phenomenon.

Ooh! I have not read DeLint, though from what I've heard it might be my thing! Are there any specific books that you recommend as good ones for a new reader to pick up?

And I am not familiar with Kurtz at all. What does she write?

Charles De Lint... start with Moonheart

So you're no’ familiar with Kurtz. Well, you mentioned solid world building which she has down in spades. There is some -- cough cough -- exposition. Man, she's fond of her characters clothes. But that besides she tells a good tale.

Katherine Kurtz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Kurtz) writes two series I think that you might be interested the Adept Series (with Deborah Turner Harris with subsequently significantly less floridness) and the Deryni Series.

Adept
When I read the first book of the Adept series, when I reached "the end" I simply re-started the book. Set in the present age, it's about an adept of the magical persuasion in Scotland and his fight against satanic nazis. I liked his sidekick, an artist called Peregrine. The characters are a lot of fun, even if the Adept is a little too perfect.

Deryni
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deryni_novels
Set in an AU mediaeval Wales, England, Cornwall and Brittany, this tells the tale of the Deryni who are mages/psychic. The author draws parallels with the pogroms against Jews and the treatment of the Deryni, against a rich tapestry of Catholic religion and royal politics. Kurtz continues to write this series over the duration of her career, and the style, quality, content, varies depending on the date. You really have to start with the first book (following the publication order rather than the historical order)"Deryni Rising" and this one reads as an intelligent Young Adult book, but it will only take you a couple of hours to read and then you can get onto the nicely chewy stuff. The Chronicles of Dernyi trilogy remains my favourite.

[sorry about the repeat; I really miss the edit comment function]

Thank you very much!

Deryni sounds familiar ... I think I've heard them mentioned. This all sounds very good. More books! Wheeeee!

SKIP Mulengro and Angel of Darkness by DeLint, even though you're being told to read his earlier work. They were originally published under another name, written as "dark" fantasy, and aren't really like his Newford books, or any of his others, really. Figured I'd better warn you... (Newford would be the imaginary Montreal-like city where his best stories take place).

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).

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

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.

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.

I love Bujold! I've read most everything of hers, though I agree with you that the Vorkosigan books go downhill a bit towards the end (I think A Civil Campaign was the last one I bothered to buy in hardcover).

We actually have all of the 1632 books because my husband loves them; I've only read the first one (and, wow, yeah, Political Opinions R Us; can I have a little "sub" with my "text" please?). I should go find them, figure out what order they go in, and read them! I knew about the authorized-fanfic thing with the Grantville Gazette and I think it's totally awesome. I was also looking at "Island in the Sea of Time" on Amazon just recently (prior to AmazonFail), which is basically the same idea with Nantucket Island getting transported 10,000 years into the past. It looked interesting.

Also, thank you for the reminder of the Baen Free Library, which I kinda vaguely knew about, but had forgotten. Free samples, whee!

Huff ... hmm. I read her first(?) book (those are the ones with Vicki, right?) many years ago, when I think she only had a couple books out, and I really did not like it. But at the time, I was not big on urban fantasy and vampires were even more of a hard sell for me than they are now. For a long time I've just ignored her books because I figured I didn't like the first one so I wouldn't like any of the rest. But perhaps it's time to give them a second chance!

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

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

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.

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 ...

Abercrombie is both funny and depressing at times. It's also cynical as hell. So you have to be in the mood for that.

I had read Hyperion also and loved those. The Illium series is a lot of fun if you had to suffer through Homer at some point. I'm not sure how he manages to mix Helen of Troy, Odysseus, a robotic alien who is obsessed with Shakespearean sonnets (I simply loved those parts), misfits from the Tempest (Calliban is scary as hell), a society where supposedly no one dies, and a dead archeaologist from INDIANA, and make it interesting and fun. It's so creative.

Dietz was from looonnngg ago. I think Windmaster's Bane was the first in that series. Set in Athens, Georgia (he must have been obsessed with REM at the time), and heavy Celtic influence.

Hambly's Time of the Dark

I wore the covers off of my copies of those books!

Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising

I saw the movie... Is the book worth reading even though it's YA?

I heard the movie was awful, but in my opinion, the books can be enjoyed by an adult. I read them as a teenager going on 30 years ago (oh dear) but have reread them as an adult.

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!

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!

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.)

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!

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.

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!

ahahaha, I read that blog post just recently and cracked up laughing, because Jordan's (in)famous long-windedness IS CONTAGIOUS. Who knew?

I liked the ideas in the Wheel of Time series, but hated the execution, especially how he had so many characters and they were all off on different quests, so you'd go for books without hearing from someone. I guess it wouldn't be so bad now if you were to read them all in one sitting, but reading them when they were released, I was like, man, you expect me to remember what happened years ago to this one guy?

*nods* Yeah, that's exactly why I stalled out somewhere around book 7 or so. The concepts are good and the world-building is grand, but there were so many characters and the plot was so unfocused-feeling after a while ... I ended up wishing that he'd just pick one or two plot threads and stick with them to an actual resolution. It was a series that I think I would have enjoyed much better as a few different trilogies following particular characters.

Yeah, I actually started reading them when the first book came out in paperback waaaaaay back in 1991. *sigh* I eventually had to re-read the whole series again to prepare for every new hardcover. By about book eight I think it was just stubbornness that kept me going.

I think when I first read it there were three books and I naively thought "oh, trilogy!" Hahaha. I can't remember how far I went up to, maybe book five or six...

I started reading Wheel of Time about 10 or 15 years ago. I think I stalled out somewhere around book 6 or 7. I love the richness of the world-building, and boy, I do agree with you on the detail (every culture had so much distinctive stuff associated with them, and there were so many of them!). But I really faltered because there were so many plot threads and characters that I got to the point where I couldn't keep them straight and everything seemed to be wandering in circles with no resolution in sight, so I quit reading.

Ditto. I'd like to eventually finish the series, but I'd have to start over from the beginning and read them all.

I...may have kept notes. But that was back in college when I had a network of friends who also read them. I wonder if I still have my notebook somewhere? I agree that somewhere around 7 or 8 I got frustrated, but up until then they were so amazing, I just had to keep going. Book 11 actually moved along fairly well and I had high hopes until, you know, Robert died.

(What made me mad was that he wrote what was possibly the WORST trilogy I'd ever read EVER-the Fallon Legacy--in between writing the Wheel of Time books. If he hadn't written that crap, he might have finished the series)

Oh man, I just looked it up (http://www.amazon.com/Fallon-Blood-R-Oneil/dp/0441226655/ref=ed_oe_p) -- omg wow. That's by Robert Jordan?! Talk about branching out ...

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

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

Have you read Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy?

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.

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

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.

She's so very good at introducing new characters and after Mirror Dance and then A Civil Campaign I really hope she has more stories for Mark. :) Actually, I"d love more stories in that verse for any of the characters including Ivan! :)

Seriously, at some point I'd really like to see him shine and have an adventure of his own that's not the direct cause of being related to Miles or Mark. :)

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.

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.)

I loved Hyperion and whatever the sequel was called, though it's been many years since I read them. It would be interesting to see how they hold up now that I'm 33 instead of 15.

I also read a bunch of his other books, Hollow Man, Prayers to Broken Stones (which is short stories), one about Hawaii and volcanoes, and one about Eastern European orphans who were vampires or something. I liked all of them at the time, but...

I read Prayers to Broken Stones first (which has the Hollow Man novella in it) and then I read the Hollow Man novel, and OH MY GOD, it's like a textbook example of how not to expand a short story into a novel. Did you get that sort of feeling from it? I loved the novella so much, and then the novel was a sprawling mess with this crazy subplot about a farm widow who killed men and hung them on meathooks (WHAT.) that just seemed to be in there for padding, and the final meeting between the two main characters, which made so much sense in the novella, was just random and coincidental in the novel. I was very disappointed!

Man, I seriously don't remember any of it. XD One reason I hate series (where the books are one long story, rather than like Discworld where they're just all set in the same universe) is that I have such a bad memory for what I read. The only way I managed before was to actually reread an entire series before each new book came out, but that was just because I had crazy amounts of free time and almost all I ever did was read. But now I have much less free time and many more hobbies, so it's totally unfeasible.

I didn't even remember there'd been a short story version of Hollow Man.

Heh, see, I remember books fairly well, but not movies! My friends can quote from movies and TV shows, but that is just not an ability that I have. I am doing well if I can remember the major plot points from movies that I really liked (and usually I can't).

I also notice that I remember books from 10-20 years ago better than I remember books that I've read in the last few years, maybe just because my brain has more to keep track of now.

Yes! I felt that way. I did not like the Hollow Man novel at all and in fact resisted reading Hyperion for years because I disliked that novel so much.

Hyperion is amazing. I really think you'd like them just as well now. And Josh just read The Terror, which came out not long ago, and he says it's phenomenal. Simmons's latest book is called Drood and Wilkie Collins is the narrator and I'm just beside myself because I can't read anything for pleasure until I've taken my Comps and I want to read that book so badly.

Would you believe I've never read Earthsea? My only exposure to it was one of the books (Tombs of Atuan, I think) that I read as a very young child and didn't like all that much. But perhaps I was too young, and I need to give them a second chance; I adored her other books that I read as an adult.

Thanks for the recs!

If you do decide to read Earthsea,

thelastgoodname and I made some posts on the books when we were reading them together that you might want to check out.

http://lunabee34.livejournal.com/tag/le+guin

Or David Eddings' The Belgariad and The Mallorean

David Eddings is one of my favorite authors of all time. I read these books when I was barely a teen and I love them still.

I just this year read the Belgariad and the Mallorean with

thelastgoodname as part of our reading club and I fell in love with David Eddings. I just finished the Elenium which I didn't like as well, but I'm one book into the Tamuli and I think that series is really well done and fun.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 2

The things one finds...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Book recs

Re: Book recs

Re: Book recs

Re: Book recs

Re: Book recs

no subject

no subject