I can second that. George RR. Martin is an amazing writer. And I can think of no series better than A Song of Ice and Fire.ThaBenMan said:
Recommended Reading
- Thread starter Strafe Mcgee
- Start date
Recommended Videos
You could try The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. They drag in places, but over all are good stories.
Battle Royale, the novel not the manga (though to be honest, I've never read the manga so maybe it's good). Just what the name implies, plus comedy at points.
Battle Royale, the novel not the manga (though to be honest, I've never read the manga so maybe it's good). Just what the name implies, plus comedy at points.
I would also like to add to some of these excellent recommendations (A Tale Of Fire And Ice and The Dresden Files both sound very promising,) anything by Michael Marshall Smith. His first book 'Only Forward' is quite possibly the best Sci-Fi I have ever read. It's equally disturbing, funny and just plain weird. Read it. You won't regret it.
Thanks for the recommendations guys, A Tale Of Ice And Fire and The Dresden Files sound particularly promising and I may go and give Iain (M.) Banks another chance based on the recommendations. I've read The Player Of Games, Whit and The Crow Road but find it very hard to get into his stuff. I'll definitely read The Wasp Factory at some point, though I may give others a miss.
I've read American Gods and really didn't rate it that much... Seemed to drag a lot of the time and often lacked immediacy. He's still a good author, but I hope he's got more up his sleeve than that.
My other Author recommendations are Christopher Brookmyre (master of the comic thriller), John Wyndham (try reading Trouble With Lichen or Day Of The Triffids as starting points) and Robert M. Pirsig (Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance... perhaps the most unique piece of fiction ever made with a truly devastating twist.)
But read 'Only Forward'. You won't regret it.
Ps: Thanks for the recommendations
Thanks for the recommendations guys, A Tale Of Ice And Fire and The Dresden Files sound particularly promising and I may go and give Iain (M.) Banks another chance based on the recommendations. I've read The Player Of Games, Whit and The Crow Road but find it very hard to get into his stuff. I'll definitely read The Wasp Factory at some point, though I may give others a miss.
I've read American Gods and really didn't rate it that much... Seemed to drag a lot of the time and often lacked immediacy. He's still a good author, but I hope he's got more up his sleeve than that.
My other Author recommendations are Christopher Brookmyre (master of the comic thriller), John Wyndham (try reading Trouble With Lichen or Day Of The Triffids as starting points) and Robert M. Pirsig (Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance... perhaps the most unique piece of fiction ever made with a truly devastating twist.)
But read 'Only Forward'. You won't regret it.
Ps: Thanks for the recommendations
I'm a Tolkien fanboy, so I'd say the Silmarillions, Hobbit, LOTR etc. I also read this book series when I was a kid called "The Seventh Tower" by Garth Nix. It's Scholastic, but I still love it!
In terms of comedy you could get the Redneck Dictionary. My friends loved George Carlin's new book "An Orgy of George." Personally I didn't find most of it funny, but neither did I find humor in Portal so it's probably just me.
The most recent book I read is Deathwatch. It's fairly short but amazing!
In terms of comedy you could get the Redneck Dictionary. My friends loved George Carlin's new book "An Orgy of George." Personally I didn't find most of it funny, but neither did I find humor in Portal so it's probably just me.
The most recent book I read is Deathwatch. It's fairly short but amazing!
for plain (not sci-fi or fantasy) fiction, I'd recommend Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski. It's about an american writer living in Thailand trying to learn more about the strange case of an anthropologist who murdered her lover years before.
And Syrio Forel, that's a sweet sn! (he's one of the awesome characters from ASOIAF)
And Syrio Forel, that's a sweet sn! (he's one of the awesome characters from ASOIAF)
David Eddings has a few light-hearted fantasy series like The Belgariad and The Mallorean, but he also has a few other series. I recommend picking up "Pawn of Prophecy" and seeing if you like his style, if you do, there's a ton more to read. They're a light alternative to serious works like George RR Martin's stuff (which is absolutely awesome).
Pick up a short story collection by Philip K. Dick. Any of them will do. They're all good.
Also, I really recommend "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" by Spider Robinson. It's like "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" meets "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
If you're in the mood for mainstream thrillers, get everything by John Sanford. Start with "Rules of Prey." It's extremely well written and very exciting. They're the type of books you don't start if you have work the next day.
Pick up a short story collection by Philip K. Dick. Any of them will do. They're all good.
Also, I really recommend "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" by Spider Robinson. It's like "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" meets "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
If you're in the mood for mainstream thrillers, get everything by John Sanford. Start with "Rules of Prey." It's extremely well written and very exciting. They're the type of books you don't start if you have work the next day.
This is gonna be really nerdy, but read the Star Trek, New Frontiers books by Peter David. They're fantastically funny, well-written, and surprisingly better than any of the series to date (including TNG, and DS9)
If you're looking for a little action, try and see if you can find a Matthew Reilly (he's pretty good, IMO). Oh, I would also recommend 'Brave New World' (it's a really good book, and did scare me with the ending). That, and Ayn Rand (hard reads, but good nevertheless).
- A procrastinator
- A procrastinator
Everyone should be forced to read The More than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at least once. By force, if necessary.
if you like douglas adams, you'll love Robert Rankin (often described as douglas adams on a sugar high). look for the brentfort trilogy (don't believe the lie, it's really eight books)or the toy city series (hollow chocolate bunnies of the apocalypse, and the toyminater)
I just thought of a couple more -
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanDerMeer is a collection of stories about a city called Ambergris. It's well-written, very unique fantasy.
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (the pen-name of one of Stephen King's sons) is a horror novel about an aging rock star that buys a dead man's suit to add to his collection of odd and grisly objects, only to be haunted by the ghost of the suit's former owner.
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanDerMeer is a collection of stories about a city called Ambergris. It's well-written, very unique fantasy.
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (the pen-name of one of Stephen King's sons) is a horror novel about an aging rock star that buys a dead man's suit to add to his collection of odd and grisly objects, only to be haunted by the ghost of the suit's former owner.
zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by robert m. pirsig
any of the David Gemmell series. Espically the new troy ones. Kinda love story ish though.
Stephen Kings dark tower series. its like everything mixed into one. very very long.
terry goodkind's sword of truth series. very love storyish too, but still very good.
laurell k hamilton anita blake series... its pretty much all sex with vampire and werewolfs and such. its good though. hehe
thats all i can think of right now. have fun
^_^
any of the David Gemmell series. Espically the new troy ones. Kinda love story ish though.
Stephen Kings dark tower series. its like everything mixed into one. very very long.
terry goodkind's sword of truth series. very love storyish too, but still very good.
laurell k hamilton anita blake series... its pretty much all sex with vampire and werewolfs and such. its good though. hehe
thats all i can think of right now. have fun
^_^
Enders Game, In my opinion the best book ever written. This is the first of series of books but only this enders shadow and shadow of the hegemon are really any good.
Idlewild, a really good book with a great ending. Don't know about the other books in this series.
Most of the halo books. The flood is not that, great pretty much retells halo 1.
My advice is take a walk around a book store you never know what you might find and whatever you do don't listen to the new york times best sellers list 95% of the books there suck.
Idlewild, a really good book with a great ending. Don't know about the other books in this series.
Most of the halo books. The flood is not that, great pretty much retells halo 1.
My advice is take a walk around a book store you never know what you might find and whatever you do don't listen to the new york times best sellers list 95% of the books there suck.
The Bible (Can make all of your hurt and pain go away, only if you wish it to)
Twilight Series (Stephanie Meyers)
The Wood Wife (Terri Windling)
Twilight Series (Stephanie Meyers)
The Wood Wife (Terri Windling)
You must read anything with "Ender" and "Shadow" in the title when written by Orson Scott Card. Read these books around 12 or 13, had a major affect on my life, with enough rereads that I can recite pages. Ender is the main series, although after Ender's Game it sorta lost some of the appeal that got me in the first place. Ender's Shadow is a twin novel, following one of Ender's soldiers. The Shadow series in my opinion was much more interesting than Ender's,.