I find it easy to get good recommendations for general fiction, but sci-if and fantasy is very difficult for good recommendations. I love the Dune books, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc. I read George R.R. Martin, and, while I enjoy it, I do find it to be hard to get through. I really enjoy the quick read of The Expanse, but I am not looking for something that is glorified fan fiction, and I am certainly not looking for another series where it is clear the author is just dragging everything out to keep getting a paycheck. I suppose I am not against considering the new Star Wars books, but one or two that I have read were downright awful and would fall into the fan fiction category. I am currently getting through the Dark Tower novels, and am wondering what the big fuss is about them. I am considering picking up Ubik by P.K. Dick. Any help if greatly appreciated.
Please recommend me a good sci-fi or fantasy book
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You might want to clarify what the "etc" refers to, and what you liked (or didn't) about the books you read in more detail.
While it's tricky to find nowadays, I really enjoyed Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder. It's an adventure story that's great fun.
If you're into SF where the ideas are in focus, Accelerando by Charles Stross is hard to beat. My problem with it was that I couldn't get interested in the characters, and while that's not a problem for everybody, it was for me. Still, ideaswise it's great.
If you're into SF where the ideas are in focus, Accelerando by Charles Stross is hard to beat. My problem with it was that I couldn't get interested in the characters, and while that's not a problem for everybody, it was for me. Still, ideaswise it's great.
Certainly! I liked the Harry Potter books, since it was clear at the end that the author had a clear idea how the overall story was to conclude and each book had a specific story. Unlike A Song of Ice and Fire that seems to be just one very long book. While the Dune books fall off in quality, they are very thought provoking. Tolkien is obviously the master of modern fantasy, but he can wander off topic a bit. All three of these series have one thing in common: they are very compelling worlds that make you feel like you are in them. I have attempted some other series, but quit when the worlds or writing just didn't hold up. The Sword of Shannara was one of these. I read the first three Thomas Covenant but couldn't go farther. All of this is discussing series, but individual books are important as well. Animal Farm, while an allegory, is sheer perfection. I have enjoyed some, but not all, of Gaiman. Stephen King can be good, but sometimes the endings fall flat. I read just about everything, but I do not read true crime or courtroom thrillers, as that is my real life profession. I need escapism (see what I did there). I do like classic literature and some current novels, but many times I just want something very different from reality.thaluikhain said:
For fantasy I'd have to recommend reading The Tryanny of the Night, The Dread Empire, and The Black Company by Glen Cook. The guy made a living working a factory job, so he doesn't write for money and most of his books are on the shorter side, about 200-300 pages per book. He has a unique form of writing, so I'd suggest dipping your toe into one novel before going too deep. First purchase should be either A Fortress in Shadow, which collect the prequels to The Dread Empire series. Or The Chronicles of the Black Company which collect the first few books of the Black Company.
Ubik is a fantastic book, and (as I recall, anyway) a pretty quick read; if you're interested in PKD, I heartily recommend it, along with The Man in the High Castle, A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and VALIS.
As far as fantasy goes... I've recently read through Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, and Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy; both are pretty good. I would also suggest Michael Moorcock's Elric books, or, if you'd like a little touch of Lovecraftian horror with your sword and sorcery, Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books.
As far as fantasy goes... I've recently read through Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, and Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy; both are pretty good. I would also suggest Michael Moorcock's Elric books, or, if you'd like a little touch of Lovecraftian horror with your sword and sorcery, Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books.
Well if you enjoyed Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, I have some suggestions you'll probably love.
For Fantasy: The Diamond Throne and The Pawn of Prophecy By David Eddings are fantastic, but they'll each start you on a series. Personally I'm not fond of fantasy, so that's all I got.
For Science Fiction: On Basilisk Station(Honor Harrington volume 1) by David Weber will get you hooked on probably the best series in Science Fiction. I'd also suggest Ringworld by Larry Niven(and really anything else he's written), along with The Mote in God's Eye By Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Also The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker, Dauntless by Jack Campbell, and Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton.
For Fantasy: The Diamond Throne and The Pawn of Prophecy By David Eddings are fantastic, but they'll each start you on a series. Personally I'm not fond of fantasy, so that's all I got.
For Science Fiction: On Basilisk Station(Honor Harrington volume 1) by David Weber will get you hooked on probably the best series in Science Fiction. I'd also suggest Ringworld by Larry Niven(and really anything else he's written), along with The Mote in God's Eye By Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Also The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker, Dauntless by Jack Campbell, and Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton.
Dan Abnett is alright, but David Weber is far far better. I've never encountered a writer who can do to me what Weber does, which is moving me to tears one second, and getting me to laugh while I'm still crying. Plus Abnett didn't come up with Sphnxian Treecats, so he loses automatically.inu-kun said:
I find I'm the opposite, and have too many sci-fi/fantasy recommendations, so I'll try to restrict myself to just a few from each. Tried for a variety of different tastes, for me these were good, and easily readable.
Fantasy:
The Kingkiller Chronicles [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind?from_search=true&search_version=service] by Patrick Rothfuss
Black Jewels trilogy [https://www.goodreads.com/series/99557-the-others])
Egil and Nix [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12987245-the-hammer-and-the-blade?from_search=true&search_version=service] series by Paul S Kemp
Scifi:
Wool Omnibus (Silo series) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus?from_search=true&search_version=service] by Hugh, Howey
Snow Crash [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/827.The_Diamond_Age?from_search=true&search_version=service] by the same)
Going Grey [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802922-going-grey?from_search=true&search_version=service], first of the new Ringer series by Karen Traviss
Star Wars; Hard to recommend the new canon, but the usually recommended older books would be:
The Thrawn Trilogy [https://www.goodreads.com/series/42348-star-wars-the-thrawn-trilogy] by Timothy Zahn (and probably most others by him)
and the I, Jedi [https://www.goodreads.com/series/42194-star-wars-x-wing] is also fits in around this time, but is a more solo character driven book.
I'm also a fan of the Republic Commando [https://www.goodreads.com/series/41088-star-wars-republic-commando] series, but this was ended abruptly
Could add much more for fantasy and Star Wars, and expand on what I've listed if any sound interesting.
Fantasy:
The Kingkiller Chronicles [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind?from_search=true&search_version=service] by Patrick Rothfuss
Black Jewels trilogy [https://www.goodreads.com/series/99557-the-others])
Egil and Nix [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12987245-the-hammer-and-the-blade?from_search=true&search_version=service] series by Paul S Kemp
Scifi:
Wool Omnibus (Silo series) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus?from_search=true&search_version=service] by Hugh, Howey
Snow Crash [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/827.The_Diamond_Age?from_search=true&search_version=service] by the same)
Going Grey [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802922-going-grey?from_search=true&search_version=service], first of the new Ringer series by Karen Traviss
Star Wars; Hard to recommend the new canon, but the usually recommended older books would be:
The Thrawn Trilogy [https://www.goodreads.com/series/42348-star-wars-the-thrawn-trilogy] by Timothy Zahn (and probably most others by him)
and the I, Jedi [https://www.goodreads.com/series/42194-star-wars-x-wing] is also fits in around this time, but is a more solo character driven book.
I'm also a fan of the Republic Commando [https://www.goodreads.com/series/41088-star-wars-republic-commando] series, but this was ended abruptly
Could add much more for fantasy and Star Wars, and expand on what I've listed if any sound interesting.
Well, there is the Wheel of Time series, which is great although it drag on for a few books in the middle before it gets really awesome in the end.
Then there's The Mistborn series which is really an interesting take on fantasy because it's set in a dynamic universe, the series is planned to be composed of 4 (I think) trilogies set in different time periods from the standard medieval setting to a futuristic setting.
I can't come up with more on the top of my head.
Then there's The Mistborn series which is really an interesting take on fantasy because it's set in a dynamic universe, the series is planned to be composed of 4 (I think) trilogies set in different time periods from the standard medieval setting to a futuristic setting.
I can't come up with more on the top of my head.
For Sci Fi, The Culture [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture] by Iain M Banks.
(I absolutely love this series and recommend it to everyone with even a casual interest in Sci Fi. Start with The Player of Games)
For Fantasy, Imajica [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imajica] by Clive Barker.
(I absolutely love this series and recommend it to everyone with even a casual interest in Sci Fi. Start with The Player of Games)
For Fantasy, Imajica [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imajica] by Clive Barker.
Leviathan Wakes is a great book, it's not a deep book by any means but it is an interesting look at human society at a level of being an interplanetary race but not an interstellar race with a story that's on the hard side of the accuracy scale. I have all three books which I know of in the series.
Phew... My dearest Baron, that is quite a broad description of what you desire. But I'll try to recommend sone books.
First off, Ubik is great. I enjoyed it a lot, but I can't say a thing without spoiling the plot, so I'll just once again say that it is a great story.
As for other books:
If you would like to read a comedy-fantasy with references to our reality, then please do read books of late Terry Pratchett. You can read them in any order you like because even though one story is chronologically happening prior or after another one, each and every book is about 95% independent from every other one.
If you want to read rock-solid Old School Sci-Fi, you may consider reading books by Isaac Asimov and/or Ray Bradburry.
If you are willing to read something a bit... exotic for western audience, you may want to read books by Soviet/Russian duo Strugatsky brothers. I personally recommend reading one of the following (if you do have access to them and sorry if my translation of their names isn't like the official one):
-It is Hard to be a god (about scientist who traveled to study other planet that currently has something akin to our Dark Ages. He takes the role of a duke in this world).
-Monday starts on Saturday (about a postgraduate, who discovers an university where magical, mythical and folk beings work, study and invent.)
-Picnic on a roadside/Roadside picnic (basically, a spiritual predescessor to STALKER series).
First off, Ubik is great. I enjoyed it a lot, but I can't say a thing without spoiling the plot, so I'll just once again say that it is a great story.
As for other books:
If you would like to read a comedy-fantasy with references to our reality, then please do read books of late Terry Pratchett. You can read them in any order you like because even though one story is chronologically happening prior or after another one, each and every book is about 95% independent from every other one.
If you want to read rock-solid Old School Sci-Fi, you may consider reading books by Isaac Asimov and/or Ray Bradburry.
If you are willing to read something a bit... exotic for western audience, you may want to read books by Soviet/Russian duo Strugatsky brothers. I personally recommend reading one of the following (if you do have access to them and sorry if my translation of their names isn't like the official one):
-It is Hard to be a god (about scientist who traveled to study other planet that currently has something akin to our Dark Ages. He takes the role of a duke in this world).
-Monday starts on Saturday (about a postgraduate, who discovers an university where magical, mythical and folk beings work, study and invent.)
-Picnic on a roadside/Roadside picnic (basically, a spiritual predescessor to STALKER series).
Let's see:
Fantasy:
The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. It's just....really good. Not sure how else to put it. Damn good.
The Lotus War Trilogy: It's Steampunk meets Feudal japanese culture. Steampunk Samurai and lots of mystical shit too. An enjoyable read.
Urban Fantasy:
The Dresden Files. Just really really good.
Grim Noir series. It's like a pulp fiction novel from the 1930-40's, but with magic. The author went to a lot of trouble to actually describe how society would be altered on every level, by people having magic powers. Very well thought out and fun books.
The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka. Similar to Dresden Files, but only sort of. The main character is a powerful mage, and he gets drawn into mysteries in every book. Lots of magical intrigue and politics. The big difference, is that unlike Dresden, who is the magical equivalent of a howitzer, Alex Verus is a diviner. He has ZERO direct combat magic, so he has to think his way out of of all of his problems. REALLY good series. It starts out a little slow, because it was Benedict's first novel, but he warms up to the craft quickly. By book 4 I was eating up every page, considering where he took the hero. Very awesome series.
Nice Dragons Finish Last. A really damn fun book. I would almost call this a Shadowrun novel, given the cyberpunk-ish setting, but it's all about magic stuff going on. Yeah there is some improved technology from today, but really it's about magic stuff. It's a really funny and fun book.
Sci fi:
The Old Man's War series by John Scalzi. If you haven't read these books, you are doing yourself a disservice.
Lock-Out, also by John Scalzi. This is a stand-alone story, set in present day, but with an interesting twist on a particular aspect of human culture. Very good read.
Fuzzy Nation, also by John Scalzi. Another stand-alone story of his, about humans on another planet, encountering alien life, and how they react to it.
Anne McCaffery: She's done both scifi and fantasy stuff, but I've been reading her stuff since I was in the third grade, which was several decades ago. She focuses on strong female protagonists, but also is able to flesh out wonderful worlds, both fantasy and scifi. The characters are compelling and well rounded, and you become invested in their troubles.
Fantasy:
The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. It's just....really good. Not sure how else to put it. Damn good.
The Lotus War Trilogy: It's Steampunk meets Feudal japanese culture. Steampunk Samurai and lots of mystical shit too. An enjoyable read.
Urban Fantasy:
The Dresden Files. Just really really good.
Grim Noir series. It's like a pulp fiction novel from the 1930-40's, but with magic. The author went to a lot of trouble to actually describe how society would be altered on every level, by people having magic powers. Very well thought out and fun books.
The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka. Similar to Dresden Files, but only sort of. The main character is a powerful mage, and he gets drawn into mysteries in every book. Lots of magical intrigue and politics. The big difference, is that unlike Dresden, who is the magical equivalent of a howitzer, Alex Verus is a diviner. He has ZERO direct combat magic, so he has to think his way out of of all of his problems. REALLY good series. It starts out a little slow, because it was Benedict's first novel, but he warms up to the craft quickly. By book 4 I was eating up every page, considering where he took the hero. Very awesome series.
Nice Dragons Finish Last. A really damn fun book. I would almost call this a Shadowrun novel, given the cyberpunk-ish setting, but it's all about magic stuff going on. Yeah there is some improved technology from today, but really it's about magic stuff. It's a really funny and fun book.
Sci fi:
The Old Man's War series by John Scalzi. If you haven't read these books, you are doing yourself a disservice.
Lock-Out, also by John Scalzi. This is a stand-alone story, set in present day, but with an interesting twist on a particular aspect of human culture. Very good read.
Fuzzy Nation, also by John Scalzi. Another stand-alone story of his, about humans on another planet, encountering alien life, and how they react to it.
Anne McCaffery: She's done both scifi and fantasy stuff, but I've been reading her stuff since I was in the third grade, which was several decades ago. She focuses on strong female protagonists, but also is able to flesh out wonderful worlds, both fantasy and scifi. The characters are compelling and well rounded, and you become invested in their troubles.
Pretty much anything by Robert A. Heinlein is a good sci-fi book. I recommend The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Very good book.
Also, as already mentioned in this thread, the Gaunt's Ghosts books by Dan Abnett, which I'm currently re-re-re-reading, and the Honorverse books by David Weber. Both are excellent. Gaunt's Ghosts for ground combat/infantry, Honor Harrington for ship combat.
Really fething good ship combat.
Also, as already mentioned in this thread, the Gaunt's Ghosts books by Dan Abnett, which I'm currently re-re-re-reading, and the Honorverse books by David Weber. Both are excellent. Gaunt's Ghosts for ground combat/infantry, Honor Harrington for ship combat.
Really fething good ship combat.
First, this.Fijiman said:
Second, I would recommend having a look at is the fantasy books The Old Kingdom series (or Abhorsen series is you're North American) by Garth Nix. It is a pretty nice set of books that explores the travels of a Necromancer who's job it is to make the dead stay dead instead of the usual "Mwahahahaha! I is going ta conquer de worldz!" malarkey they tend to get into. The actual mechanics of the whole necromancy thing is done really nicely and the characters are a real strong point. I will say the plot suffers somewhat in the third book but it is a great series regardless.
The last book series I recommend is The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey which is a sci-fi (sort of, if you do read the books you'll find out why I am on the fence about that label). The series is quite a nice look at the social and political climate of a fairly well fleshed out world. The draw isn't the plot really, it's the characters and how they will sort out whatever problem they have found themselves in at that point. It is fairly clear what the author's political leanings are in later books but if you don't mind that sort of thing then you'll find a real gem of a book that treats dragons respectfully.
Aside of the already mentioned there is always the obligatory Dresden Files recommendation (which, of course, got recommended while I was writing this post... go figure). The first few books are more of a noir urban fantasy mystery story, but around book four the fantasy side slowly gets more and more dominant until the magical detective thing is completely forgotten. Also one of the few series that somehow manages to get better with each book.
Also from Jim Butcher, there is the obligatory second reference of Codex Alera, a heroic fantasy series concerning Romans with elemental powers fighting against (or with) Neanderthal elves, psychic yetis, blood-mage werewolves and the zerg. Very fun with lots of high-concept ideas and crowning moments of awesome, though it can sometimes get a little bogged down on the secondary characters and their sub-plots.
The Belgariad was already recommended (by KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime, The Pawn of Prophecy is the first book in the series), and I would also give it a lukewarm recommendation. It is a pretty straightforward heroic fantasy story that intentionally revels in all the clichés of the genre (the protagonist is heir to dead line of kings who grew up as a farm-boy, for starters...), and while it is an entertaining read all right, it has quite a number of cringe-worthy plot-devices (like the fact that there is an in-universe "destiny" that is pretty much the author's avatar moving people, often against their will, to cover any plot-holes).
I also recently read the first book in the Old Kingdom series, and it was actually really good, with an unusual setting (it has a magical land in a medieval stasis and with a serious undead problem bordering a 1920s technology level country that really, really don't want to do anything with them) and an unusual protagonist (Sabrielle is a necromacer who uses magical bells to bind and banish undead and she has to go into the Old Kingdom to find her father who might or might not be dead).
For sci-fi, I would say anything from David Weber, and I specifically recommend his Dahak trilogy (or rather duology, as the third book is not really part of an arc), as it is shorter than his other works and shows off a lot of his affections for character-building and very large-scale space battles. The premise is that humanity on Earth is the descendants of a spaceship of a galaxy-spanning human empire that had to be abandoned because of a mutiny on board. Said spaceship is the Moon. As in, literally the moon, which swings into action when it detects that an alien fleet is nearing the border of the old empire and thus its artificial intelligence kidnaps a US astronaut and forces him to become its captain so that it could end the lockdown set by the previous captain and warn the empire... and then things get much, much more complicated.
My other two recommendations are linked: Gaunt's Ghosts and Ciaphas Cain. Both are set in the WH40k universe, both star great commissars respected by their men, but that's where all the similarities end. Gaunt's Ghost is more of a traditional story about war in the 41st millennium, while the Ciaphas Cain novels are more of a tongue-in-cheek representation of the grimdark universe told through the memoirs of the aforementioned self-deprecating commissar who always just wamted to get a cushy desk job as far from the front lines as possible, yet due to his own misfortune (or fortune, depending on how you look at it) he not only keeps getting into the thick of it, but also manages to cultivate a heroic persona while all he is trying to do is staying alive (or at least that's what he says, even when he is doing incredibly selfless stuff left and right... the novels have a bit of an unreliable narrathor thing to them).
Also from Jim Butcher, there is the obligatory second reference of Codex Alera, a heroic fantasy series concerning Romans with elemental powers fighting against (or with) Neanderthal elves, psychic yetis, blood-mage werewolves and the zerg. Very fun with lots of high-concept ideas and crowning moments of awesome, though it can sometimes get a little bogged down on the secondary characters and their sub-plots.
The Belgariad was already recommended (by KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime, The Pawn of Prophecy is the first book in the series), and I would also give it a lukewarm recommendation. It is a pretty straightforward heroic fantasy story that intentionally revels in all the clichés of the genre (the protagonist is heir to dead line of kings who grew up as a farm-boy, for starters...), and while it is an entertaining read all right, it has quite a number of cringe-worthy plot-devices (like the fact that there is an in-universe "destiny" that is pretty much the author's avatar moving people, often against their will, to cover any plot-holes).
I also recently read the first book in the Old Kingdom series, and it was actually really good, with an unusual setting (it has a magical land in a medieval stasis and with a serious undead problem bordering a 1920s technology level country that really, really don't want to do anything with them) and an unusual protagonist (Sabrielle is a necromacer who uses magical bells to bind and banish undead and she has to go into the Old Kingdom to find her father who might or might not be dead).
For sci-fi, I would say anything from David Weber, and I specifically recommend his Dahak trilogy (or rather duology, as the third book is not really part of an arc), as it is shorter than his other works and shows off a lot of his affections for character-building and very large-scale space battles. The premise is that humanity on Earth is the descendants of a spaceship of a galaxy-spanning human empire that had to be abandoned because of a mutiny on board. Said spaceship is the Moon. As in, literally the moon, which swings into action when it detects that an alien fleet is nearing the border of the old empire and thus its artificial intelligence kidnaps a US astronaut and forces him to become its captain so that it could end the lockdown set by the previous captain and warn the empire... and then things get much, much more complicated.
My other two recommendations are linked: Gaunt's Ghosts and Ciaphas Cain. Both are set in the WH40k universe, both star great commissars respected by their men, but that's where all the similarities end. Gaunt's Ghost is more of a traditional story about war in the 41st millennium, while the Ciaphas Cain novels are more of a tongue-in-cheek representation of the grimdark universe told through the memoirs of the aforementioned self-deprecating commissar who always just wamted to get a cushy desk job as far from the front lines as possible, yet due to his own misfortune (or fortune, depending on how you look at it) he not only keeps getting into the thick of it, but also manages to cultivate a heroic persona while all he is trying to do is staying alive (or at least that's what he says, even when he is doing incredibly selfless stuff left and right... the novels have a bit of an unreliable narrathor thing to them).
*peeks in*
Did somebody ask for fantasy recommendations? Time for me to spread the glorious word of Pratchett! *fanfare*
Ah, anyway...
Discworld. If you'd like something which doesn't take itself too seriously while still handling some darker themes, try Discworld. If you start from The Color Of Magic, you'll find a bit of early installment weirdness when you read it again after a few books, but it's a fantastic start to a great series.
And if you'd like a sci-fi book, try The Dark Side Of The Sun. It's one of Pratchett's earliest books, but while slightly confusing sometimes and a bit short, it is a good read.
Did somebody ask for fantasy recommendations? Time for me to spread the glorious word of Pratchett! *fanfare*
Ah, anyway...
Discworld. If you'd like something which doesn't take itself too seriously while still handling some darker themes, try Discworld. If you start from The Color Of Magic, you'll find a bit of early installment weirdness when you read it again after a few books, but it's a fantastic start to a great series.
And if you'd like a sci-fi book, try The Dark Side Of The Sun. It's one of Pratchett's earliest books, but while slightly confusing sometimes and a bit short, it is a good read.