Saberhagen's Book of Swords, Frank Herbert's Dune, anything by Heinlein. I have yet to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time but it's very good so far.
Must read Science Fiction/Fantasy books?
- Thread starter Axolotl
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Start by reading pretty much ALL novels by these authors:
Michael Chrichton
Carl Sagan
Issac Asimov
Arthur C. Clarke
Frank Herbert
H.G. Wells \
Jules Verne - I know you've read these two, but they're still two of the best sci-fi authors
These are a good start. I can recommend more, less known (and well known) authors/series. But, truthfully, one should really start with the classics.
Michael Chrichton
Carl Sagan
Issac Asimov
Arthur C. Clarke
Frank Herbert
H.G. Wells \
Jules Verne - I know you've read these two, but they're still two of the best sci-fi authors
These are a good start. I can recommend more, less known (and well known) authors/series. But, truthfully, one should really start with the classics.
Hm... well, my recommendation off the top of my head would be The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever. They're.. well, a very original take on the more typical concepts of the fantasy genre, especially the design of the main character (I despise him, and yet he's my favourite character).
The author's never been afraid to explore the logical consequences of an event in the story - for instance, the main bad-guy getting access to undead armies lead to the unfortunate situation of a fortress being sieged by zombies and skeletons and the like, merrily cutting them down - only to find things had progressed instead to a nigh infinite horde of fossils. Hell, 90% of the primary plot is the spiralling consequences of a mistake early in the very first book on the part of the protagonist.
Just.. yeah, watch out for Chapter 3 of the first book, it kinda hits hard. Nearly put me off reading the rest, though I'm glad I didn't give up thereafter.
'First book is 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever: Lord Foul's Bane'.
The author's never been afraid to explore the logical consequences of an event in the story - for instance, the main bad-guy getting access to undead armies lead to the unfortunate situation of a fortress being sieged by zombies and skeletons and the like, merrily cutting them down - only to find things had progressed instead to a nigh infinite horde of fossils. Hell, 90% of the primary plot is the spiralling consequences of a mistake early in the very first book on the part of the protagonist.
Just.. yeah, watch out for Chapter 3 of the first book, it kinda hits hard. Nearly put me off reading the rest, though I'm glad I didn't give up thereafter.
'First book is 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever: Lord Foul's Bane'.
2fish said:
Fair enough, Fitz was a colossal moron at times. I think that appealed to me because I've been a colossal moron at times myself. Who here hasn't?
Anyways, if you liked the story, but hated the main character, then just jump to the Liveship Traders trilogy. Same world, different characters, comes between Farseer trilogy and Twany Man trilogy.
Peter F. Hamilton has already been briefly mentioned, but I think you should really give his books a go. The Commonwealth series is a great (ongoing) collection, which I've been reading since I was about 12. They can easily be described as 'Space Operas' , with an amazing array of detailed characters, spanning a truly spell-binding plot.
His earlier Night's Dawn trilogy is just as good, and with each of the smaller paper-back books being about 1500 pages long each, you will be in for a long ride.
As for other sci-fi, 'Marrow' by Robert Reed is absolutely terrifying. This might have something to do with me reading it when I was about 10, but that novel has been one of the most enjoyable that I have ever read, even if it meant a few sleepless nights afterwards.
EDIT: dammit, ninja'd by a few minutes. That's what I get for taking so long to write my posts
His earlier Night's Dawn trilogy is just as good, and with each of the smaller paper-back books being about 1500 pages long each, you will be in for a long ride.
As for other sci-fi, 'Marrow' by Robert Reed is absolutely terrifying. This might have something to do with me reading it when I was about 10, but that novel has been one of the most enjoyable that I have ever read, even if it meant a few sleepless nights afterwards.
EDIT: dammit, ninja'd by a few minutes. That's what I get for taking so long to write my posts
Lifted straight from the plot of Star Wars, the Eragon books are really fun to read. Also the Dragonlance trilogies: The Chronicles and The Legends.
If you're looking for fantasy, I'd recommend anything by Terry Pratchett. (author of the Discworld series, if you're wondering where you heard that name before)
definitely these two. also, the night angel series by brent weeks, both werewolve series by patriccia briggs, the vampire huntress series by L.A. Banks (if you don't mind a bridge between sci-fi and romance), The drizzt books, by R.A. Salvator, and the Fifth Ring series by Mitchell Graham.KorLeonis said:
edit. Don't read deltora quest. EVER! it's a great story and i loved it when i was younger, but the gramar is horrible, the spelling is almost as bad, and there are at least 5 awkward sentences a chapter. if you can get past all that, read it, if not, don't even think about it too hard.
edit 2: The percy jackson books also have a great story, and the writing isn't so bad taht it will distract you unless you're like an english major.
Glen Cook. Black Company series [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Chronicles-of-the-Black-Company/Glen-Cook/e/9780765319234/?pt=BK&stage=bookproduct&pwb=1&] redefines the genre of fantasy, breaking away from the cliches of 'high fantasy'. It's funny, well-characterized, with an excellent plot. I've literally read these books dozens of times.
As far as SciFi is concerned, I echo the sentiments of those saying William Gibson and Neal Stephenson. Also, if you like short stories, you should get a couple of the Philip K. Dick collections. People don't seem to realize that several Dick stories were made into movies, like Minority Report, Through A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall, and Paycheck, not just Blade Runner.
As far as SciFi is concerned, I echo the sentiments of those saying William Gibson and Neal Stephenson. Also, if you like short stories, you should get a couple of the Philip K. Dick collections. People don't seem to realize that several Dick stories were made into movies, like Minority Report, Through A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall, and Paycheck, not just Blade Runner.
Gotta say, I don't agree that eragon was stolen from star wars. Yes, I've heard the similarities, but it's fantasy. LOTR and Star wars defined the genres, I am addicted to reading fantasy and ive never found a series that you can't draw parralells to LOTR or Star wars. Star wars less so. If anything, eragon in my mind draws a lot more from LOTR than from star wars, but both parrallels become less aplicable the further the series goes. It's also a very fun read, saphira is such an awesome character, and eragon is easy to relate to.rayskyrift said:
I agree with this statement.oktalist said:
I'm reading though Roadside Picnic again.
Also, having played STALKER a lot, some of the less well explored concepts in Roadside Picnic's Zone scared the crap out of me- The shimmering haze when they're in the boot- Bloodsucker? Anomaly? And a couple of other moments..
And the follow up series The Malloreon is just as good if not better.Hubilub said:
I would recommend "The City and the Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke. One of the best books I've read. Ender's Game is good as well.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Stroud is a fantastic read with the funniest demon in fiction narrating a large part of it. Even better use of footnotes than in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.