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

[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).

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

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

[aelfgyfu_mead]

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!)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

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...!).