So I need something to read

[Spade Lead]

sentient tanks you say? interesting, also, I consider myself a big Star Wars fan but I confess I've never read any novels, I started one in school, Han Solo was getting on and coping with a loss that I have no wish to spoil here, and the bad guys were the Yuuzan Vong I think they were called, I didn't get that far into it, 15 minutes a school day to read a book just isn't enough

Be prepared, even the stories that didn't end sadly made me cry...

And the problem with that one novel is that the Yuuzhan Vong war, (The New Jedi Order series) is 17 books long, not counting an ebook novella, and you obviously missed the first book of that series.

The New Jedi Order, followed by The Swarm War, leads into my favorite series in the whole EU, The Legacy of the Force.

I wouldn't recommend starting in the middle of any of those, but technically they all stand alone acceptably.

 

[Kyr Knightbane]

Hey all, so since I decided not to read "A Storm of Swords" until I'd seen season 3 of Game of Thrones, I'm at a loss on what to read next, I just finished "The Mark of Athena" and have read all previous installments of the "Heroes of Olympus/Percy Jackson" series, I've also read all of "inheritence" and don't really have any wish to revisit that right now, I'm loving "Ice & Fire" but as I said I'm not reading book 3 until season 3 of "Game of Thrones"...I'm not gonna go through a list of everything I've read that would take too long but any recommendations would be great, thanks.

The Dresden files. Can't recommend this series enough. It's at either 13 or 14 right now and I'm pretty much on pins and needles waiting for the next ones. Might pick up the other series he's writing (Codex Alera I believe)

The Death Gate Cycle. Some of the best fantasy I have ever read. 7 books long, and although it starts a bit dry, it picks up and doesn't quit til the end.

The Dragon Weather trilogy. I first read these books ages ago before there was even a third book. But the whole series is good. Some of the best dragon fiction around.

Broken Sky series. Somewhat anime inspired they are a young adult series of books but really good from what I remember about them. Wish I could find em nowadays. Probably have to go through Schoolastic.

The Sword of Truth series. Really good, really in depth series. Should be nearing the finish line I believe but no idea. Only got to book 8 or so.

Hitch-hikers guide to the Galaxy. Those are good books and are rather humorous as well. Good series, along with the detective one he wrote. Can't remember the name of the detective but good books all around.

The Xanth books. Piers Anthony made these books so funny and the characters are well rounded and have really good quirks. It's been going for a while, but you can't go wrong with that series.

Pm me if you want more details on any of these, writing replies on the iPad is hard enough without going into paragraph after paragraph of details.

Hope I helped.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Hey all, so since I decided not to read "A Storm of Swords" until I'd seen season 3 of Game of Thrones

I felt this way too at first but them I couldn't stand the wait. I blazed through that book and can easily say that it's my favourite so far. It's also the longest. You should probably just read it because I assure you that it's amazing. Also, they are splitting ASOS into two seasons... you're gonna have a long wait.

But if you must have something else you should probably read Lord of the Rings but start with The Hobbit because it's short and you might decide that Tolkien's writing style isn't for you. I will also recommend the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. It's pretty funny and very interesting. Although I didn't really like the ending...

 

[Little Woodsman]

If you like anthologies, you might want to give the Wild Cards series a try.
I'm really surprised it's never come up on the forums before, given the love
so many people here have of George R. R. Martin, and of metahumans.....

Also if you like contemporary fantasy/urban fantasy give any anthology by
Charles DeLint a try...though he is better at short stories/novellas than
full length novels (the exception being Jack of Kinrowan which is excellent,
although it actually could be considered two novellas).

 

[Oly J]

Hey all, so since I decided not to read "A Storm of Swords" until I'd seen season 3 of Game of Thrones

I felt this way too at first but them I couldn't stand the wait. I blazed through that book and can easily say that it's my favourite so far. It's also the longest. You should probably just read it because I assure you that it's amazing. Also, they are splitting ASOS into two seasons... you're gonna have a long wait.

But if you must have something else you should probably read Lord of the Rings but start with The Hobbit because it's short and you might decide that Tolkien's writing style isn't for you. I will also recommend the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. It's pretty funny and very interesting. Although I didn't really like the ending...

I thought ASOS came in 2 volumes? I thought that was why they were splitting it...oh well, as it happens I've read The Hobbit...well ok a teacher read it to my class when I was 9 for the last half-hour or so of days when we were good...that still counts right?, however I never actually read LOTR, not all the way through anyway, I read about half of The Two Towers in school once, remember very little, the year ended before I could finish, and I was about 12 at the time, so it was a while ago, before the Return of the King came out in '03 (I mean the movie obviously)

I have to say if The Hobbit is your idea of short I wanna see some of the books you read... must be thicker than the average clerk in a fast-food restaurant

 

[Spade Lead]

The Dresden files. Can't recommend this series enough. It's at either 13 or 14 right now and I'm pretty much on pins and needles waiting for the next ones. Might pick up the other series he's writing (Codex Alera I believe)

What the fuck is wrong with me? How could I forget Harry Dresden? My second favorite series of all time!

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I've just finished reading the "Tales of the Ketty Jay" series by Chris Wooding. Comprising of "Retribution Falls", "Black Lung Captain" and "The Iron Jackal."

It's about the escapades of Darian Frey, a pirate in command of the airship Ketty Jay. The books are based in a fantasy setting and there's a kind of magical element as well, featuring people who practice something known as Daemonism. It's no George. R. R. Martin but the books are definitely a lot of fun.

 

[bleys2487]

The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

All time favorite book. My beaten copy has been all over the world with me.

It's 10 books in one. It's got something for everyone and the story is amazing. I was surprised by every twist. Sad thing is that the book simply ends. Zelazny died before he could finish it. Leaves it open to interpretation, I suppose.

But, trust me.

I picked it up at Barnes and Nobles simply because it was the very last book, on the very bottom shelf in the Science fiction and fantasy section. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Fisher321]

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell, one of the greatest books I've ever read. This is a first hand account of an Infantryman in Afghanistan. Seriously, this book rocks.

 

[Dr.Susse]

If you just want to have a pass the time kind of book you can't Terry Pratchett.
I haven't found a discworld book that I didn't enjoy yet.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I have to say if The Hobbit is your idea of short I wanna see some of the books you read... must be thicker than the average clerk in a fast-food restaurant

As far as fantasy books go, the Hobbit is short. When compared to the rest of Tolkien's writings it's more like a pamphlet! But seriously, the Hobbit was originally written as a children's book. Tolkien only wrote more because his publisher demanded it. TLOTR was actually written as one huge book and was only split into three volumes due to publication reasons, so you can imagine that as the sort of book size that RedDeadFred was referring to.

If you didn't get through the Lord of the Rings, don't even go near the Silmarilion (Not that I'd blame you!) By far the hardest book I ever read but quite possibly the most rewarding because of it.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Hey all, so since I decided not to read "A Storm of Swords" until I'd seen season 3 of Game of Thrones

I felt this way too at first but them I couldn't stand the wait. I blazed through that book and can easily say that it's my favourite so far. It's also the longest. You should probably just read it because I assure you that it's amazing. Also, they are splitting ASOS into two seasons... you're gonna have a long wait.

But if you must have something else you should probably read Lord of the Rings but start with The Hobbit because it's short and you might decide that Tolkien's writing style isn't for you. I will also recommend the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. It's pretty funny and very interesting. Although I didn't really like the ending...

I thought ASOS came in 2 volumes? I thought that was why they were splitting it...oh well, as it happens I've read The Hobbit...well ok a teacher read it to my class when I was 9 for the last half-hour or so of days when we were good...that still counts right?, however I never actually read LOTR, not all the way through anyway, I read about half of The Two Towers in school once, remember very little, the year ended before I could finish, and I was about 12 at the time, so it was a while ago, before the Return of the King came out in '03 (I mean the movie obviously)

I have to say if The Hobbit is your idea of short I wanna see some of the books you read... must be thicker than the average clerk in a fast-food restaurant

I guess I mean short compared to the Lord of the Rings books. Those are like three times the size. It's also short compared to the books of the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

ASOS definitely is just one book. It's over 1100 pages though. George Martin said that the 3rd season of A Game of Thrones will cover roughly the first half of the book. Judging from my own reading of the book, I predict that the season ends on a rather massive cliffhanger.

If you are looking for some shorter reads, The Hitchhiker's Trilogy's books are less than 200 pages each I'm pretty sure.

 

[Owen Robertson]

Get thee to yon bookshoppe and procure for thyself the Ender Quartet. Some of the finest literature I've ever read.

I have to say, I LOVED Ender's Game, liked Speaker For The Dead, read Xenocide, and couldn't finish Children of the Mind. Or I did and I don't remember how it ends. I don't know what happened but my interest waned.

OT: I liked The Hunger Games book for the parts where kids kill each other. The series writing is kinda weak, and even Hunger Games can be hard to read (when it gets all romantic and bullshit) but I liked the initial setup of the universe and it had potential. Or you could read The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. It's not a fantasy or anything fun or whimsical. It's just a story of a misguided kid growing up and succumbing to greed.

 

[lacktheknack]

Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is great fantasy, as well as comedy gold. Try those.

 

[Kyr Knightbane]

The Dresden files. Can't recommend this series enough. It's at either 13 or 14 right now and I'm pretty much on pins and needles waiting for the next ones. Might pick up the other series he's writing (Codex Alera I believe)

What the fuck is wrong with me? How could I forget Harry Dresden? My second favorite series of all time!

The most recent book was crazy. Figuring out the chain of events was extremely satisfying (if not a little bittersweet concerning you know who)

 

[Guffe]

Yahtzees both book, Mogworld and Jam, are very entertaining.
Count of Monte Christo is probably my favorite book series of all time.

 

[loc978]

Terry Pratchett's Discworld... I read the odd volume of it growing up, but I'm only recently discovering just how expansive the series really is.
Of course, if you're not like me and actually read all of it growing up, disregard.

Also, why wait on A Song of Ice and Fire? The books are awesome, the TV show is awesome, and every change or omission in the TV series has a damn good reason behind it.
Then again, knowing the fates of some characters does get onerous when hanging out with nigh-illiterate friends...

 

[The Sanctifier]

I'd recommend the Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. It's quite a brilliant historical read which covers the brutal period of Danish Raids during 9th and 10th century England (Though it wasn't really called England back then).

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

But if you must have something else you should probably read Lord of the Rings but start with The Hobbit because it's short and you might decide that Tolkien's writing style isn't for you. I will also recommend the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. It's pretty funny and very interesting. Although I didn't really like the ending...

I would actually recommend against judging whether you would like Lord of The Rings based on The Hobbit, as the two stories are written in two different styles with two different goals. The Hobbit is written in the style of a classic fable, with obstacles being mostly anthropomorphised, and a lesser focus on characters than setting and task. Lord of The Rings on the other hand bears greater resemblance to ancient tales of heroism and bravery, a la Beowulf or Argonautica, albeit adapted and fleshed out for a book setting. LoTR spends more time talking about characters, feelings, and history than it does with simply journeying. It's also set on a much grander scale, with the play and counter play of people and events making the story especially gripping.

Also and unrelatedly, DNA died before he could make a sixth book, but there was one written by Eoin Colfer based on DNA's notes and drafts. I found it intriguing and entertaining but lacking in the style and spirit of the original Five Book Trilogy. Give it a look if your interested.

 

[Alakaizer]

I would advise against waiting to read ASoS. I find it to be the peak of the series, the next two books are a lot more slow-paced, and he starts having too many narrators. My favorite authors are Terry Pratchett and Jim Butcher, but I also really enjoyed Douglas Adams, Robin Hobb, some or Lynn Flewelling's books. I can't think of any others yet, but if I do, I'll post again.