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)

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

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.

[dragon-within.livejournal.com]

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.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

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.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

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! :)

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

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!