Anything by Harlen Coben. His books are witty, humorous, thrilling, and full of plot twists that make you furiously turn the pages until the very end. Gone for Good and Tell No One are particularly good.
Looking for a good read.
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Obviously, any Terry Pratchett.
Would also suggest the series A Song of Fire and Ice; it's a complicated series but totally worth it. I'm not usually into that particular style of fantasy but this one was very, very good.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman is a great trilogy, so is:
The Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix.
Abarat by Clive Barker is really interesting.
Stephen King is great--though I prefer old school Stephen King horror (The Stand, The Shining, The Tommyknockers, Salems Lot, IT, The Dark Tower and several others), Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, (though, as a rule, Neil Gaiman is awesome)
Battle Royale by the one guy,
House of Leaves by that otherguywhosenameican'tremember
Would also suggest the series A Song of Fire and Ice; it's a complicated series but totally worth it. I'm not usually into that particular style of fantasy but this one was very, very good.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman is a great trilogy, so is:
The Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix.
Abarat by Clive Barker is really interesting.
Stephen King is great--though I prefer old school Stephen King horror (The Stand, The Shining, The Tommyknockers, Salems Lot, IT, The Dark Tower and several others), Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, (though, as a rule, Neil Gaiman is awesome)
Battle Royale by the one guy,
House of Leaves by that otherguywhosenameican'tremember
Oh as for contemporary writers I'd suggest anything Jonathan Safran Foer or Haruki Murakami. And let us know which books you chose to read!
1984 by Orwell. Orwellian nightmares comes from this book. A classic.
Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. An interesting mix of fiction and fantasy, but well written in a mature and credible tone.
Cant think of anything else right now, since i could list a few more, but in readed them in French and i dont know how to translate the titles, or i dont remember who wrote it.
Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. An interesting mix of fiction and fantasy, but well written in a mature and credible tone.
Cant think of anything else right now, since i could list a few more, but in readed them in French and i dont know how to translate the titles, or i dont remember who wrote it.
Well, Discworld's already come up, so I will go for something rather different: The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. In my opinion, they're excellent books, and well worth a read.
Funnily enough, I just wrapped up American Gods and was going to recommend it. I cannot remember anything particularly awesome about the book, but i couldn't put it down for some reason...the_tralfalmadorian said:
Other suggestions include Ender's Game and The Ranger's Apprentice series.
Anything by Brandon Sanderson: Elantris, The Mistborn Trilogy (Mistborn, Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages), and Warbreaker. He's a great author, unless you dislike story with complicated mechanics (the systems that dictate how magic works is kind of complicated in all of his books, and you need to understand the mechanics to understand the story). However, it is well-balanced by strong characters and excellent plot with a fair amount of humor. Oh, and beware if you dislike sad endings. Hero of Ages will most likely make you cry, no matter how tough you may be.
I jest. I just refuse to use sarcasm tags or the like. The series is detestable on every level. I've actually read the first, I'm not just following the bandwagon-hate. It's the biggest crap I've ever read and its success just makes me weep for humanity. Please just wash it all away.Piecewise said:
As for recommendations of my own, sticking to the English language because I don't know the OP's native language, or his preferred genres:
Anything by good old Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams. Razorsharp wit, extremely funny. Get the whole Discworld series, as well as the Hitchhiker's Giude to the Galaxy- and Dirk Gently series and you won't be bored again for a loooooong time.
I can't comment too well on pure fantasy, since that's not really my thing, but I loved Stephen King's Dark Tower series. And since we're mentioning King: The Stand, The Tommyknockers, and It are wonderful romps. Especially It. Forget the movie. The book is an epic battle between good and evil.
Philip K. Dick is my favourite SF-writer. Anything goes really, but The Man In The High Castle and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? (on which the fine Blade Runner movie is based) are good starting points.
All these have probbaly already been ninja'd a million times, but my personal favourites are in Dutch so...
ThisOutright Villainy said:
And definitely this! Also the sandman series if you're willing to consider graphic novels. In which case I'd include Watchmen as well.the_tralfalmadorian said:
Also the Hannibal series (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs etc...) and anything you can find by Chuck Palahniuk (e.g. Fight Club)
Anything by Philip K. Dick, H.P. Lovecraft, or Chuck Palhniuk.
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Dark Tower series and The Mist by Stephen King
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
If you're more into nonfiction, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian James.
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Dark Tower series and The Mist by Stephen King
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
If you're more into nonfiction, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian James.
And you suck at wit.Hyrulian Hero said:
Even if I had been serious, you choose to attack this opinion with a comment not even remotely funny or original, opting for a stale hyperbole that hasn't really got anything to do with anything instead.
In fact, judging purely by that comment, I'd think Twilight is just the book for you.
Ok firstly Im seeing a lot of pratchett and gaiman but nobody reccomends their joint work Good Omens.
It's the classic tale the antichrist comes to earth the demon who was the serpent in the garden of eden is assigned to place it with the appropriate family but due to a screw up by the satan worshiping chattering nun's the baby is sent home with the wrong family.
The serpent has gotten to enjoy hanging around with earth so after chatting with the angel who was the gaurdian of the western gate they determine to try to influence the child so that he shall be more normal than evil. sadly they are rectifiying the wrong child so the true antichrist is growing up free from any angelic or demonic influences.
As with all pratchett it is sensible fantasy and it has neil gaiman's flair fr the dark.
That said the entire dexter series well worth while. They may be short but their dexter is far darker, funnier and possibly slightly less competent than the tv dexter
It's the classic tale the antichrist comes to earth the demon who was the serpent in the garden of eden is assigned to place it with the appropriate family but due to a screw up by the satan worshiping chattering nun's the baby is sent home with the wrong family.
The serpent has gotten to enjoy hanging around with earth so after chatting with the angel who was the gaurdian of the western gate they determine to try to influence the child so that he shall be more normal than evil. sadly they are rectifiying the wrong child so the true antichrist is growing up free from any angelic or demonic influences.
As with all pratchett it is sensible fantasy and it has neil gaiman's flair fr the dark.
That said the entire dexter series well worth while. They may be short but their dexter is far darker, funnier and possibly slightly less competent than the tv dexter
Just as a little bit of a thread stealing...im doing English Literature for A level, and it is based on the struggle for identity. Is there any good books which happen to do this well?
If it's comical, then all the better!
If it's comical, then all the better!
Anything by Douglas Adams (with the possible exception of The Salmon of Doubt).
The His Dark Materials trilogy and 1984 have already been mentioned, but I'd recommend them too.
I also enjoyed My Goat Ate Its Own Legs by Alex Burrett, and The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas, but they're seriously weird.
The His Dark Materials trilogy and 1984 have already been mentioned, but I'd recommend them too.
I also enjoyed My Goat Ate Its Own Legs by Alex Burrett, and The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas, but they're seriously weird.
I can't believe no one has mentioned it yet, but I'm halfway through the Lord of the Rings books, and they're pretty enjoyable, if not a bit slow at times. I think the books are much better than the movies.
And all this I'm seeing about the Discworld series... After seeing all those recommendations, I kinda regret seeing them in my local book store and not picking any of 'em up.
And all this I'm seeing about the Discworld series... After seeing all those recommendations, I kinda regret seeing them in my local book store and not picking any of 'em up.