Hello Escapists, What books would you recommend?

[Azahul]

The Anno Dracula series by Kim Newman is what I habitually recommend if the person has already read Pratchett. The basic premise is:

It is 1888. Dracula has slain Van Helsing, Quincey, and Harker, and has corrupted many of the remaining members of those that once stood against him. He now rules in England, married to Queen Victoria, and many in every social strata have been blessed, or cursed, with the taint of vampirism. And now, some psychopath, named in the press as "Jack the Ripper", has begun murdering vampire prostitutes.

The first sequel (the Bloody Red Baron) takes place in the First World War, as a vampiric Mannfred von Richtofen goes around shapeshifting into an enormous bat monster and tackling planes in midair. The third book, the Judgement of Tears, is set in the 1960s in Rome.

They're all really good books, drawing on a lot of public domain literature for minor characters (for example, Doctor Moreau as a battlefield medic in World War I, or Doctor Jekyll as a coroner in the Jack the Ripper murders), and has one of the most interesting portrayal of vampires that I've ever read. I heartily recommend them, especially as they recently came back into print and are a lot easier to get a hold of than they were when I started reading them.

 

[Kuranesno7]

A few writers you might wanna look up.

sci-fi:
William Fucking Gibson
Neal Fucking Stephenson

Fantasy:
Gene Fucking Wolfe
China Fucking Mieville

Horror:
Howard Phillips Fucking Lovecraft

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

China Fucking Mieville

I came into this thread to recommend China Mieville and was disappointed that no one else had yet. Then, very last post, BOOM. High-five.

Yeah, Perdido Street Station, the Scar, Embassytown, Kraken (this one is weaker, kinda Gaiman-ish), the Iron Council -- his stuff is the perfect blend of efficient prose and lofty fantasy vision.

He's very good at leaving things to your imagination. Often, he'll intentionally avoid describing monsters, creatures, or people directly, but kind of give you a chance to create your own image of what they are. Embassytown is really great for this.

If you're sick of elves, orcs, wizards, and knights, Mieville will make you love Fantasy again.

......

Other than that, if you haven't read the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet, drop whatever you're reading now and go finish that.

If you never read the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman as a kid, I would highly recommend that as well. It was written with a young adult audience in mind, but I think it can appeal to any age group.

......

If you're willing to move outside of Sci Fi/Fantasy a little, I would highly recommend Umberto Eco's books. Foucault's Pendulum is the craziest, most brilliant ride your mind will go on in a while. Eco's imagination runs so wild, you might as well call it fantasy.

 

[Ansond1]

Let's see, if you like stories with insane main characters, then there's always The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. If, by any chance, you are looking for a great adventure read, might I suggest Watership Down?

As far as the suggestion with the Bible goes, as a Christian I would always recommend reading it, but as far as entertainment goes, unless you're into theology I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree that you most likely won't find it entertaining. (Well, there is the Book of Ezekiel...)

 

[Nemesis729]

Or if you just want a challenge read the Bible.

Too many plot holes :/

Trying not to recommend anything that's already been said:
Stephen Kings Under the Dome was alright, and long so it'll keep you busy for a while
To Kill a Mockingbird
Dracula
War and Peace
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

As you can tell I'm pretty into classics, all I've been reading lately are law textbooks though D': But they're pretty interesting in their own right.

 

[Meatspinner]

For sci-fi I'd recommend Starship Troopers. The movie did not do it justice

Also the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies) is brilliant if you want far future sci-fi

 

[BeeGeenie]

hmm... I just realized I haven't read much fiction at all lately. You've already covered the essentials, Pratchett, Gaiman, etc.
If you like sci-fi I remember liking Arthur C. Clarke.
Austin Grossman's "Soon I Will Be Invincible" was a pretty fun book. It explores a lot of cheesy superhero tropes and cliches.
Think "the Avengers" meets "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

 

[Guffe]

Or if you just want a challenge read the Bible.

Can't say I recommend it to those not of that particular faith.

I haven't read any religious books, as in the big ones like the Bible or the Koran, but that's exactly what I've heard from people who have read it. That it isn't reccommended unless you actualy believe or want to try and believe.

Have they all also told you that they say more or less the same things? And that they're much more vague than the fundamental wackjobs would have you believe?

Pretty much yeah.
But that's something I knew without reading 'em. Because then again I find religious history, especially the Catholic history very interesting and there the Bible and faith are of course brought up so you also get a small portion of that at the same time.

Fair enough, the history around it can be very interesting but it often feeds my disdain for organised religion.

I also stand to never have arguments with people who only have one book, because all they can do is recite non-contextual gibberish.

Yeah, back in the day when not everyone knew how to read etc maybe organised religion was a good thing even thou many things they did were very bad. But in todays world following the Bible word by word and ignoring everything else is just insane.

 

[Krantos]

Any of Brandon Sanderson's original works are fantastic (Mistborn and Warbreaker, especially), not really fond of his Robert Jordan works.

Other than that, if you haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged, Penguin classics edition) you need to do so. It's one of those books that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

I'd recommend the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, yeah, it was mentioned earlier, but they are damn good fantasy books.
As for sci-fi, I'd recommend most Heinlein books. Only most, because I have not read them all.
Also, the Gaunt's Ghosts books by Dan Abnett. 40k has some rather good books.
And, of course, for mega space-ship combat with boatloads of missile massacre, Honor Harrington. Accept no substitutes. The Honor Harrington series is one of my favourites.

 

[AgentLampshade]

The Book With No Name written by an anonymous author. Admit it, you're interested.

 

[Araksardet]

Only one mention for Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Shadows of the Apt"? I'd expected more. It's a great, varied, fresh series that melds fantasy, steampunk and insects. It's a joy to read, and the eighth book (of a planned 10) has just come out. Go get it now!

 

[BloatedGuppy]

EDIT: After looking up the suggestions here, I've come to the conclusion that Sci-Fi or Fantasy may not be what I'm in the mood for right now. Unless George R. R. Martin comes up with the next book, I think I'm done with fantasy for the moment.

Pity. Joe Abercrombie should be required reading for any George R.R. Martin fans. Both authors are big fans of one another, and Abercrombie is part of the new wave of dark, gritty fantasy authors inspired by Martin's works. Even his shades of grey have shades of grey. And unlike Martin, Abercrombie is absurdly prolific. His next book is due out this October, and he seems to be getting better as a writer with each outing. Can't recommend him enough. I almost prefer him to Martin at this point, and I'm about as big a Song of Ice and Fire fan as you're apt to come across.

 

[AlexWinter]

John Dies at the End

 

[Spydercake]

*cracks fingers* Alright chumps, LETS DO THIS!
First off, seconding recommendations of To Kill a Mockingbird and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
The Artemis Fowl series *and pretty much anything written by Eion Colfer*
The Abhorsen series *starts out with Sabriel* and Shade's Children by Garth Nix.
Almost any of Stephen King's older novels *The Shining, Cujo, Desperation, etc. etc.*
The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney.
The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan.
Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan *the books are leaps and bounds over that horrible movie*

 

[Poetic Nova]

Hyperion, but i forgot the author -w-

 

[laggyteabag]

I would love to recommend the Skulduggery Pleasant series of books, as they are witty and just downright hilarious, they can also be kinda' dark when they need to be. The characters are also very well done, loveable, and fleshed out. So I say bravo to Derek Landy for that one.

It kinda functions like Harry Potter, as its set in the modern day, and there is a secret society of sorcerers (woah...), that battle the forces of evil to try and save the world.
One character, the the famous Skulduggery Pleasant, the skeleton detective, is probably one of my favourite characters of all time due to his sense of humour in these books.

 

[Erttheking]

Have you ever heard of the the bartimaeus trilogy? It's basically a darker and edgier version of Harry Potter...sort of. It takes place in modern time (or at least modern enough for there to be cars) and England is ruled by a government of magicians. They are very oppressive, to the point where if you're a magician, you're also a member of the government, so there's a bit of a superiority thing going on. It's a complete alternate history, because this has been going on with just about every major government in the history of man, all the way back to the Roman Empire. The magicians however, aren't the wave your wand and cast a spell type. They summon demons (from weakest to strongest they're classed as Imps, Foliots, Djini, Afrits and Marids) and pretty much use them for just about everything. The first book follows two people, a young magician apprentice called Nathaniel and a Djini called Bartimaeus. They...hate each other. Demons don't serve Humans willingly, in fact when they're summoned, they're ripped away from their world and into ours. Our world is actually painful to them, but they have an interesting bond. Nathaniel wants Bartmaeus to exact revenge on a magician who humiliated him, but ends up stepping into a world of conspiracy and a threat to overthrow the government. The second book introduces another character called Kitty Jones, who is a regular Human that is part of a small group of rebels that are building up resistance from magic and...just try out the books, they're worth a read. There is all kinds of lore, including how demons are harmed by silver and iron (silver is worse) how there are seven planes to look on, how all demons are shape shifters, how Bartimaeus used to serve the Egyptian Pharaoh Poltemy (who is a major influence on him) I...it's totally worth a read.

 

[VladG]

CTRL+F -> 1984 -> No results

Well shit, what the hell is this?

OP, you should read 1984. It's my favorite book ever, and I can think of no parallels in dystopian novels.

I've read it, nice book.