The best books nobody knows about.

[Grampy_bone]

R.A. Salvatore is not obscure, at least he shouldn't be, having created the most iconic, oft-copied D&D character of all time.

My personal picks are the following:
http://www.amazon.com/Unschooled-Wizard-Mandrigyn-Witches-Wenshar/dp/B00071IKUY
http://www.amazon.com/Darkangel-Trilogy-Meredith-Ann-Pierce/dp/0316067237/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_4
http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Die-Matthew-Woodring-Stover/dp/0345421450/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266729880&sr=1-1

 

[Wodan]

The Jester by James Patterson.

( http://www.amazon.com/Jester-James-Patterson/dp/0446613843/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266730203&sr=1-1 )

FANTASTIC FUCKING BOOK! Enough emphasis for ya?

I also like the Witcher series. Its a series by A polish writer named Andrzej Sapkowski and is responsible for the games that were made here. Since I am polish I enjoyed finding some one from my blood country that could write decent books. I can't wait till more are translated.

 

[dirt_empire]

Books that don't make it in the mainstream are what I assume you mean by "books no one knows about." I'm totally passing authors that have not been published in paper and ink, as a book is a book not words on a screen.

Nueromancer by William Gibson, the start of cyberpunk published in 1984

Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno, a story of early 90's punk kids in high school

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman, memoirs on the late 80's to early 2000's

Nueromancer has a devout following but among a small group of folks. Hairstyles is rarely heard of and pulled it out of a box as it was being sent back to the publisher. Sex seems to make it into the hands of those that read Esquire and Rolling Stone, but aside from those and Sociology students I rarely hear an opinion of it.

And just for the hell of it a book that most people around 20 might remember...

But one of my all time favorites is the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. A little light reading in a YA book. About a teenage thief, the series follows him for around 6 years, but has since stopped publishing (at least for now). I started reading it when I was younger and have continued to follow it. Totally worth it, and I'm sure most of you on the Escapist would like it. Deals with tech AND magic.

 

[Uberjoe19]

I'm quite enjoying the Commonwealth Series by Peter F. Hamilton. The sequel series is my favorite of his: The Void Trilogy.

 

[Cain_Zeros]

Hmm I'd have to say the Night Angel series. Even if the third one was a bit weak.

Yes, the Night Angel trilogy is amazing! I don't know if I'd say the third one was weak. Weird, and definitely more fantastical and bizarre than readers came to expect from the series, but that's part of what makes it great. You start of with this gritty, essentially magic-less book in the first one, and then in the last one, well, I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it's very different.

 

[Deleric]

I absolutely adore The Repairman Jack series.

for realz.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

In my time on the escapist I've only come across one person who knows what the Black Company series is, by Glen Cook, so I think I can count that as 'books no one knows'. It's a terrific 10-book series about a group of mercenaries. It's got war and magic/fantasy. It's a lovely series.

Well, add one more, because I love that series.

I'd have said the Name of the Wind had Maxthereaper not reviewed it.

I'd have said The Name of the Wind had you not said it.

Oh wait.

 

[maninahat]

Joseph Heller's God Knows. He's quite well known for Catch-22, which is certainly the better novel and one of my favorites of all time, but his other books don't seem to get much recognition.

Some don't deserve it. I read his Something Happened and was bored stiff.

 

[Firia]

To start off, I'm just about to finish Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash,

Spit! You totally started a thread about fave books, and THAT was my book! That is always my go-to book when people start talking favorites. And you Ninja'd it in post numero UNO! Hats off to you.

 

[maninahat]

Matthew Riely books.

I'm hoping you mean "Ice Station" and such?

Those are the ones.

Matthew Reilly is one of the few authors I'd refer to as "so bad he's good". In one of his stories, the hero dips his arm in molten lava for god sake.

A good book no one has ever heard of? Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown. It is about a bunch of little green men who come to earth, not to conquer it, but to just heckle earthlings for the fun of it.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Yeah, Snow Crash is pretty damn good!
Some of my favourite books are: Good Omens (Gaiman&Pratchett), American Gods (Gaiman), Steppenwolf (Hesse), Cat's Cradle (Vonnegut), Breakfast of Champions (Vonnegut). Actually, just about anything by Hesse, Vonnegut, or Kafka is worth a read
/pretentious literary idiot

 

[Ben Jamin]

The Children of Húrin. Probably my favorite book to this day but whenever I mention it I am met with blank stares.

Edit: Also anything by R.A Salvatore. Loved the Cleric Quintet and everything Drizzt Do'Urden.

 

[maninahat]

Yeah, Snow Crash is pretty damn good!
Some of my favourite books are: Good Omens (Gaiman&Pratchett), American Gods (Gaiman), Steppenwolf (Hesse), Cat's Cradle (Vonnegut), Breakfast of Champions (Vonnegut). Actually, just about anything by Hesse, Vonnegut, or Kafka is worth a read
/pretentious literary idiot

Most of them are pretty well known. the object is to name someone particularly obscure but deserving of our attention.

 

[Ziggy109]

'Generals Die in Bed' by Charles Yale Harrison. It's a visceral, brooding portrayal of trench warfare in the First World War. It has this sort of unique charm to it, as the writing is not overly colourful or expressive, but the subject matter is enthralling.

 

[Deef]

Battle Royale. Or maybe that is more well known, but still, I thought it was cool. It's like a more modern version of Lord of the Flies, that take place in Japan.

 

[Lady Nilstria]

I'm a fantasy reader, so I can only offer fantasy. Sadly, most of the authors I've read have been popular, though for good reason.

However, although I am unclear as to the popularity of Jennifer Fallon, but her Second Sons Trilogy, (The Lion of Senet, Eye of the Labyrinth, Lord of the Shadows), was extremely good. Mathematicians and philosophers eat your heart out. Everybody else...be delighted at the logic and that there's more to it then mathematics and enough wierd logic to make Death Note look tame. It remains fantasy while not relying on fantasy, a strange balance that Fallon pulled off better then anybody I have yet to read.

For those like me who can read 600-700 pages in an hour, the Second Sons will afford about three-five days of reading, depending on how much you're willing to neglect less important things like your job, family, or education.

Edit: Okay, another one.

Scar Night by Alan Campbell. This was probably one of the strangest things I've ever read. Worth a look if just for the sake of reading something that somehow makes sense yet makes so little sense you finish the book, set it down, make a confused face, and go "huh?".

It was that senselessness that made it hilarious.

 

[Looking For Alaska]

The Electric Church-Jeff Somers
Storm Thief-Chris Wooding

Cyber and steam-punk goodness.

 

[Raiha]

Hmm I'd have to say the Night Angel series. Even if the third one was a bit weak.

Also it is getting increasingly more difficult to find someone who has read both horror originals - Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster.

i agree with the night angel trilogy, yet i disagree with the third one being weak. what else could the author do with the series? i really hope he writes another book set in the same universe where we get to see kylar when he is durzo's age.

 

[Blanks]

I don't read alot of books so what i consider to be best is quite limited but here's four i really liked

'The Night Angel Trilogy' (which has been ninja'd)

'Tuck Everlasting' -it's short and interesting, it had a movie made about it i heard it wasn't good
i don't know anyone who's read it

I remember 'Hatching magic' being good i liked it alot, i should re-read it

Time cat

and yes these(with the exception of night angel) are children's books to an extent

 

[Vern]

The Idiot.