I need some books . . .
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Ive heard Perdido Street Station by China Meiville is good. sort of a sci-fi horror thing. I just got it on the recommendation of a friend, but haven't had time to read it yet.
As for other stuff, I really liked Godel, Escher, Bach, an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter, but it is a bit long so if you actually plan to get a lot of these books it might take up a lot of your reading time.
As for other stuff, I really liked Godel, Escher, Bach, an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter, but it is a bit long so if you actually plan to get a lot of these books it might take up a lot of your reading time.
since i have a book case of like 80 books i can say whats good in fansty area.. maby a bit of horror. (i carnt spell though)
Maria V.Snyder
study trilogy and Glass Trilogy
these are set the same world. both about girl's having odd magic and them deciding what to do with it. its a good plot a few twists and two of the caracters are pritty funny.
Garth NIX
Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorden
this is a goo one to try its a trilogy but the first one sets the sean for the other two (it can stand on its own in short)
the north has magic but the south is without (like a 1960-1980 england) with a wall stopping the magic from passing (a bit gets through) there are necromancers who bring the dead back but the abhorden is one that puts them to sleep. the north rule has been destoryed for a hundred years and the dead are everywhere. not to menction other magic creatures that are worse hanging about.
(the dead arent just zombies there are quite a few types that im not going to go into at)
Brent weeks
the night angel trilogy
the way of shadows, edge of shadows, beyond the shadows.
about a boy who becomes an assissin not just any assissin the night angel. he gets trained by the preveus night angel. he becomes immortal but there is a price to pay for immortalty and war's are starting.
Trudi carnavan
the black magician trilogy
Novice, Magicians guild, high lord
magic is only given to people of the houses (nobles) but a girl on the streets becomes a natrual (magic developes naturly). whitch havent happened in a long time (forgot it was possable ammount of time). she has to survie in the guild but manny dont want her there and she has found out a secret that could cause the guild to be destoryed.
Darren shan
the demonata and the saga of darren shan
(not gonna type the books names down, there are ten for each series.
gonna keep this one short its a mix of horror and comedy thats very well done (the demonata is more funny and has more horror). well both storys are differnt. the saga of darren shan is about vampires, the demonata about deamons. in one of the bookes he has made running away from a army of very hungry wherewolfs into a very funny moment somehow.(not gonna spoilt it)
gonna rap it up with one. more i hate typing...
Christopher paolini
the inheratance cycle
eragon, eldest, brisinger and inheratace (or the vault of souls)
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy- until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save - or destroy- the Empire.
a sample chapter for you to read
http://www.alagaesia.com/books_detail.php?book=eragon&mode=sample
the last is my favent book im reading it of the 10 time i think. have a look at it.
also why hasent escapist got a book review any where ><.
Maria V.Snyder
study trilogy and Glass Trilogy
these are set the same world. both about girl's having odd magic and them deciding what to do with it. its a good plot a few twists and two of the caracters are pritty funny.
Garth NIX
Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorden
this is a goo one to try its a trilogy but the first one sets the sean for the other two (it can stand on its own in short)
the north has magic but the south is without (like a 1960-1980 england) with a wall stopping the magic from passing (a bit gets through) there are necromancers who bring the dead back but the abhorden is one that puts them to sleep. the north rule has been destoryed for a hundred years and the dead are everywhere. not to menction other magic creatures that are worse hanging about.
(the dead arent just zombies there are quite a few types that im not going to go into at)
Brent weeks
the night angel trilogy
the way of shadows, edge of shadows, beyond the shadows.
about a boy who becomes an assissin not just any assissin the night angel. he gets trained by the preveus night angel. he becomes immortal but there is a price to pay for immortalty and war's are starting.
Trudi carnavan
the black magician trilogy
Novice, Magicians guild, high lord
magic is only given to people of the houses (nobles) but a girl on the streets becomes a natrual (magic developes naturly). whitch havent happened in a long time (forgot it was possable ammount of time). she has to survie in the guild but manny dont want her there and she has found out a secret that could cause the guild to be destoryed.
Darren shan
the demonata and the saga of darren shan
(not gonna type the books names down, there are ten for each series.
gonna keep this one short its a mix of horror and comedy thats very well done (the demonata is more funny and has more horror). well both storys are differnt. the saga of darren shan is about vampires, the demonata about deamons. in one of the bookes he has made running away from a army of very hungry wherewolfs into a very funny moment somehow.(not gonna spoilt it)
gonna rap it up with one. more i hate typing...
Christopher paolini
the inheratance cycle
eragon, eldest, brisinger and inheratace (or the vault of souls)
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy- until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save - or destroy- the Empire.
a sample chapter for you to read
http://www.alagaesia.com/books_detail.php?book=eragon&mode=sample
the last is my favent book im reading it of the 10 time i think. have a look at it.
also why hasent escapist got a book review any where ><.
I'd recommend the Necroscope series, by Brian Lumley. Deals with ESP, a guy who can communicate with the dead at will, espionage, vampires, all kinds of just good wholesome funSuicidejim said:
Alright. Crime + Humor = Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. Try to get the medium age ones, as they are the best. Of Pale Kings and Princes was great but I'd avoid Potshot simply because you'd have to read alot of his other books first.
For science (i before e except after...)fiction I would heartily recommend Issac Asimov.
There is a book based on Bioshock that I'm getting for Christmas which seems pretty good too.
...oh you said ADORE horror. I read that three times as abhor.
For science (i before e except after...)fiction I would heartily recommend Issac Asimov.
There is a book based on Bioshock that I'm getting for Christmas which seems pretty good too.
...oh you said ADORE horror. I read that three times as abhor.
Two words:Suicidejim said:
Ender's Game
-If you like Sci-Fi you will like this. It's a series too, so when you finish you can keep on going with the series =).
One of my favorite books of all time, if not my favorite.
Also:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-Sci-Fi, interesting, funny, and an amazingly fun read.
I would suggest 'The Wolf of Winter' and 'The White Tribunal' by Paula Volsky. Both are great books. I read them a few years ago and I loved them (I actually love all things Paula Volsky). Because I'm not good with details, here two descriptions.
http://www.nesfa.org/reviews/Olson/WolfOfWinter.html
http://www.nesfa.org/reviews/Olson/WhiteTribunal.html
'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova, which is a Dracula-ish book. It deals with a man, who is a historian and has been many places and that hides some things from his daughter. The daughter finds out about these things and begins to ask of them. The father goes into stories about the past with vampires and strange things.
Paula Brandon's 'The Traitor's Daughter.' It's nearing the end of the world, the country's main houses are against each other. Things begin to get worse when one of the house's leader's daughter gets kidnapped by a group of resistance members who aren't exactly a sane bunch. Everything begins to fall to pieces.
http://www.nesfa.org/reviews/Olson/WolfOfWinter.html
http://www.nesfa.org/reviews/Olson/WhiteTribunal.html
'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova, which is a Dracula-ish book. It deals with a man, who is a historian and has been many places and that hides some things from his daughter. The daughter finds out about these things and begins to ask of them. The father goes into stories about the past with vampires and strange things.
Paula Brandon's 'The Traitor's Daughter.' It's nearing the end of the world, the country's main houses are against each other. Things begin to get worse when one of the house's leader's daughter gets kidnapped by a group of resistance members who aren't exactly a sane bunch. Everything begins to fall to pieces.
Some good books listed there, but I can't believe no one's mentioned Christopher Moore. If you love Terry Pratchett, you'd like Moore, too. There's the classic vampire love story trilogy, "Bloodsucking Fiends," "You Suck!" and "Bite Me," which feature(among other things)frozen turkey bowling and dead blue hookers. If you don't want to make a commitment to a trilogy, try "A Dirty Job," in which the classic Beta Male mistakenly believes he's the new incarnation of death. Or, for a holiday themed read, try "The Stupidest Angel." Santa gets killed with a shovel to the head and then resurrected as a zombie in a modern day "Christmas miracle" tale.
For some really good zombie action, read Mira Grant's Newsflesh Trilogy: "Feed" and "Deadline" are out now, with the third book, "Blackout," coming in May.
For some really good zombie action, read Mira Grant's Newsflesh Trilogy: "Feed" and "Deadline" are out now, with the third book, "Blackout," coming in May.
The Gormenghast trilogy (now technically quartet.) The greatest books ever written. I'm not going to say anymore because I've already declared my love for it on this site several times.
I'd recommend the Wild Cards series by George R. R. Martin (well by a lot of people really but he's the editor and thus the big name on the cover)
It's essentially a superhero series that was in the "real world" (ie: identical history til the wild card virus) that split off into an alternate timeline.
Alien virus gives people superpowers at random. 90% who catch it die "black queens". 5% become "Jokers" (physical mutations, usually not fun ones), 5% become "Aces", comic book style supers who look otherwise normal.
The series doesn't assume that everyone does the hero thing. Some do some become criminals. Some try to ignore the whole thing. Others find ways to make money off their powers. Feels very much like what might happen in the real world. They've been running since the mid 70's so Amazon is your friend on this one.
It's essentially a superhero series that was in the "real world" (ie: identical history til the wild card virus) that split off into an alternate timeline.
Alien virus gives people superpowers at random. 90% who catch it die "black queens". 5% become "Jokers" (physical mutations, usually not fun ones), 5% become "Aces", comic book style supers who look otherwise normal.
The series doesn't assume that everyone does the hero thing. Some do some become criminals. Some try to ignore the whole thing. Others find ways to make money off their powers. Feels very much like what might happen in the real world. They've been running since the mid 70's so Amazon is your friend on this one.
animal farm, george orwell, thermodynamics by enrico fermi, things fall apart ( i wasnt sure how to feel) by Achebe(forgot last name)Suicidejim said:
the republic, plato
the leviathan( hobbes)
anything by john locke
philosphy of the matrix
of mice and men
anything by george carlin
and heart of darkness
some good films:
donny darko
SUPER
whichever one had "soilent green" in it
army at the gates( about vasily zeitsev)
If you're looking for Sci-fi, go with H.G. Wells.
If you're looking for Horror with a side-order of Sci-fi and Fantasy, go with Stephen King.
If you're looking for Crime drama, go with Karin Slaughter.
Those ought to see you right.
If you're looking for Horror with a side-order of Sci-fi and Fantasy, go with Stephen King.
If you're looking for Crime drama, go with Karin Slaughter.
Those ought to see you right.
To get the obvious out of the way: A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, amazingly addictive series that takes the epic fantasy genre, deconstructs it and then reconstructs it in a twisted form that is still essentially epic fantasy but breaks every single cliche of the genre.
Someone has already mentioned The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, I second that. It's a pretty fun urban fantasy detective story series (at least at first, then you are hooked and the genre doesn't even matter).
Also, I find the lack of Codex Alera in this thread disturbing. It's Jim's other series. Epic fantasy with a touch of political intrigue, which was sold to me by a single paragraph off of it's TVTropes entry:
Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber series is tons of fun. TVTropes page [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BookOfAmber]
On a more science fiction-y side you can try Harry Harrison: The Stainless Steel Rat series for wacky space opera action, Bill the Galactic Hero series for straight up humor in a space opera setting, West of Eden trilogy for some stone age Alternative History (it features sentient dinosaurs with genetic engineering and other biotech) and tons more, it's just been a pretty long time since I've read anything by him.
Clifford Simak's Way Station and City are just great. Way station is about a human working at a hidden interstellar teleportation station on Earth and the narrative of City spans some insane amount of time, sees a creation of another sentient species (or maybe two) on Earth and is generally awesome.
That's all I can think of right now.
Someone has already mentioned The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, I second that. It's a pretty fun urban fantasy detective story series (at least at first, then you are hooked and the genre doesn't even matter).
Also, I find the lack of Codex Alera in this thread disturbing. It's Jim's other series. Epic fantasy with a touch of political intrigue, which was sold to me by a single paragraph off of it's TVTropes entry:
Magical Roman Legionnaires straight out of Avatar: The Last Airbender versus the Zerg, wolfmen with Blood Magic, telepathic yetis and white-haired elves. Riding ground sloths and terror birds. Sometimes, the Legionnaires fight each other, too. (Source [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CodexAlera])
Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber series is tons of fun. TVTropes page [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BookOfAmber]
On a more science fiction-y side you can try Harry Harrison: The Stainless Steel Rat series for wacky space opera action, Bill the Galactic Hero series for straight up humor in a space opera setting, West of Eden trilogy for some stone age Alternative History (it features sentient dinosaurs with genetic engineering and other biotech) and tons more, it's just been a pretty long time since I've read anything by him.
Clifford Simak's Way Station and City are just great. Way station is about a human working at a hidden interstellar teleportation station on Earth and the narrative of City spans some insane amount of time, sees a creation of another sentient species (or maybe two) on Earth and is generally awesome.
That's all I can think of right now.
In all honest, a book I can't recommend highly enough is "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman. It's about superheroes and supervillains brought to life in a manner little-often seen before. I can't decide how to describe it, it's sort of an anthropology of a comic book universe. Other than that, Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, I assume people have already gone over it, George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" (or "A Game of Thrones" if you're wrong) series, again, I assume people have already gone over that. Also, just about anything by J. R. R. Tolkien.
If you enjoy horror, try The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. It became the movie Hellraiser, but is, in my opinion, better than that.
Also by Barker, try Imajica; one of the most unusual, epic books I've read. It's a trippy mix of fantasy and horror that's difficult to describe. Due to that, I guess it wouldn't be for everyone, but I loved it.
I'd also recommend the Phillip Marlowe series by Raymond Chandler. Good old fashioned noir detective fiction, written with a very dry sense of humour. One of my favourite writers.
I also can't recommend anything by Philip K. Dick enough. Seriously, if you're a fan of sci-fi, check out his stuff. A good novel to start with would be The Man in the High Tower. (Alternative history fiction written before it was cool).
Also by Barker, try Imajica; one of the most unusual, epic books I've read. It's a trippy mix of fantasy and horror that's difficult to describe. Due to that, I guess it wouldn't be for everyone, but I loved it.
I'd also recommend the Phillip Marlowe series by Raymond Chandler. Good old fashioned noir detective fiction, written with a very dry sense of humour. One of my favourite writers.
I also can't recommend anything by Philip K. Dick enough. Seriously, if you're a fan of sci-fi, check out his stuff. A good novel to start with would be The Man in the High Tower. (Alternative history fiction written before it was cool).