|
McCoy Pauley posted:All the earlier suggestions are great, and I'd also add Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising Sequence" (first book is "Over Sea Under Stone") Great pick, perfect for this age.
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 15:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 03:35 |
|
|
quantumfoam posted:Sorry if this breaks the new thread discussion mandate laid out by HA, but what the hell are Slate Star Codex types? Tech bros / "rationalists" / andrew sullivan types. SSC is a blog full of interesting insightful articles but the deeper you dive into the site the more you go "wait, why are all these horrible people hanging out in these comments sections" and then you notice, wait, somehow all this "rationalism" keeps deciding that racism is great. Rationalist veneer over what ends up being fascist apologia.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 15:54
|
|
|
buffalo all day posted:Great pick, perfect for this age. They're good, but I always preferred Alan Garner, particularly The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. It's probably because Garner was writing about places I knew; Elidor even opens at a famous landmark in my home city (that is now long gone).
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 16:05
|
|
|
Hungry Squirrel posted:I'm looking for ideas for my daughter's Christmas book list. She wants fantasy books, but she’s not being more specific than that. Try Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 16:14
|
|
|
Get your daughter some Tamora Pierce, either the Alanna books or Circle of Magic (the Wild Magic ones are good but the romance is creepy af).
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 16:20
|
|
|
Honestly, I would say DWJ wrote about equal numbers of classics and clunkers. Interestingly, I read her one adult fantasy novel from the 80s, A Sudden Wild Magic, and it has all the hallmarks of her worst books, decades before most of the other not-that-great ones were written. The only real difference between it and her children's novels is that sex is acknowledged as happening. (The major mark of the mediocre DWJ is that the adults come in and resolve the plot by being Sensible instead of having all the spinning plates fall naturally into a stack like they do in the best books.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 16:40
|
|
|
Gnoman posted:Try Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. Yeah, was gonna suggest this; going by what else she likes she should love this.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 17:10
|
|
|
There's a decline in quality as the Young Wizards series goes on so if they get bored with the series it's definitely fine for them to stop.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 18:31
|
|
|
The wet young wizards book is the standout, I think it's 4? Alan Garner is also great.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 18:57
|
|
|
Tars Tarkas posted:Free Tor ebook for those of us who have the email list in a spam account This is probably the most meta sci fi i've ever read 
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 19:41
|
|
|
90s Cringe Rock posted:The wet young wizards book is the standout, I think it's 4? Deep Wizardry is book 2. So You Want to Be a Wizard, Deep Wizardry, High Wizardry, and a Wizard Abroad are all pretty good. A Wizard's Dilemma is decent. A Wizard Alone and thereafter are just so-so. edit: The version of High WIzardry I read is kind of dated because it involves a wizard doing magic using the Apple IIe command line. Supposedly the recent ebook versions have updated the tech involved in some of the books but i haven't read the recent versions. Danhenge fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Nov 4, 2021 |
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 19:42
|
|
|
Jedit posted:They're good, but I always preferred Alan Garner, particularly The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. It's probably because Garner was writing about places I knew; Elidor even opens at a famous landmark in my home city (that is now long gone). Never heard of this, but now I'm going to track it down, ostensibly for my kids (but really for me).
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 20:45
|
|
|
Danhenge posted:edit: The version of High WIzardry I read is kind of dated because it involves a wizard doing magic using the Apple IIe command line. Supposedly the recent ebook versions have updated the tech involved in some of the books but i haven't read the recent versions. (her mom has cancer and they try to fight it, I just wanted to type the phrase "inside her mom")
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 21:08
|
|
|
I've mentioned before, but the cat wizard spinoffs from Young Wizards are fantastic. The Book of Night with Moon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 21:55
|
|
|
Hungry Squirrel posted:I'm looking for ideas for my daughter's Christmas book list. She wants fantasy books, but she’s not being more specific than that. Anything by Joan Aiken but especially The Serial Garden collection where "the Armitage family has “interesting and unusual” experiences every Monday (and the occasional Tuesday) like when The Board of Incantation tries to take over their house to use as a school for young wizards". A warning though! The title story, The Serial Garden, is infamous for being one of the most emotionally devastating children's stories ever written. Seconding the recommendation of Tamora Pierce E. Nesbit's Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet have been entertaining children for well over a century. Very reliable if old. C.S Lewis's Narnia series might also be a good choice. fez_machine fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Nov 4, 2021 |
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 22:40
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:The Spartacus uprising was just one of many, many slave uprisings. In that vein, what does it mean when the slaves becomes the rulers such as for the mamluks and janissaries? In one of Ken McLeod’s books, the backstory is that Spartacus’s revolt lead to the Roman Empire becoming capitalist a thousand years early. Mind you, he is a old school Scottish Trot, so uses the word capitalist to mean something very different then to what a modern online person does.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 23:05
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Tech bros / "rationalists" / andrew sullivan types. SSC is a blog full of interesting insightful articles but the deeper you dive into the site the more you go "wait, why are all these horrible people hanging out in these comments sections" and then you notice, wait, somehow all this "rationalism" keeps deciding that racism is great. Rationalist veneer over what ends up being fascist apologia. Beefeater1980 posted:I dipped a toe into This Used To Be About Dungeons and so far I like it. Not a stat block in sight. It’s comfort food reading. Thanks to the folks who recced it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 23:11
|
|
|
Danhenge posted:Deep Wizardry is book 2. A Wizard Alone also saw a fair few updates so as to not be really, really lovely about autism. YMMV as to if that makes it less so-so or not. I enjoy the later stuff well enough to keep reading it and I'm not much for YA as a rule, but yeah, I'm not the hugest fan. Still, should be great for a kid of that age range.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 23:17
|
|
|
Hungry Squirrel posted:I'm looking for ideas for my daughter's Christmas book list. She wants fantasy books, but she’s not being more specific than that. Absolutely seconding/thirding the Sabriel recommendation made upthread, it's a great series with books that stand on their own. At that age I loving loved David/Leigh Eddings (Belgariad, Elenium, etc) though knowing what I do now about them (child abusers) I have a hard time recommending the work. But he's dead and won't receive a penny, so  She might like Stardust by Neil Gaiman, I don't think that's too advanced.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2021 23:48
|
|
|
I loved the Edgeworld Chronicles at her age and if she likes Pratchett I think she'd like that. I also strongly second the Sabriel, Earthsea and Diana Wynne Jones recommendations - The Lives of Christopher Chant is a great one in particular from Jones but you can't really go wrong with any of her books imo.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 00:00
|
|
|
90s Cringe Rock posted:The wet young wizards book is the standout, I think it's 4? Yeah, Garner is a lot of fun. Also, The Phantom Tollbooth may not strictly be fantasy, but hey, it's got princesses and demons and a Mathemagician, and everyone should read it anyway.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 00:36
|
|
|
fez_machine posted:Anything by Joan Aiken but especially The Serial Garden collection where "the Armitage family has “interesting and unusual” experiences every Monday (and the occasional Tuesday) like when The Board of Incantation tries to take over their house to use as a school for young wizards". A warning though! The title story, The Serial Garden, is infamous for being one of the most emotionally devastating children's stories ever written. Not a fantasy series but as a kid i loved Joan Aiken's Arabel and Mortimer series, about a four-year old girl with a naughty pet raven. it has some pics by Quentin Blake too here's a very basic fan run down on the series: http://arabelsraven.fortunecity.ws/ I'd say 10 is about right to read 'em branedotorg fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Nov 5, 2021 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 00:51
|
|
|
Comedy answer: Deptford Mice. The purpose of children's literature is to scar children, right?Metis of the Hallways posted:I loved the Edgeworld Chronicles at her age and if she likes Pratchett I think she'd like that. I also strongly second the Sabriel, Earthsea and Diana Wynne Jones recommendations - The Lives of Christopher Chant is a great one in particular from Jones but you can't really go wrong with any of her books imo. I am counting down the years until my niece can read the Edge Chronicles. Childrens fantasy seems so much more willing to be actually fantastical, the slightly grotesque political-cartoon art is just a delight.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 00:51
|
|
|
Cicero posted:I have no idea whether this is true as I haven't really dived in there, but at least for the specific author we're talking about, I haven't seen any evidence of this in his writing or his fans. That's just means it's fifth-order heresy instead of third-order. This work is written by this one guy who thinks kind of like this other guy who maybe kinda thinks a thing that's Bad for Reasons, but doesn't agree with the Reasons but some OTHER guys did and THEY were super bad, but it's all impure and suspicious and should be burned along with anybody who's curious about the work.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 01:03
|
|
|
Strom Cuzewon posted:Comedy answer: Deptford Mice. The purpose of children's literature is to scar children, right? I loooved imagining living in that world as a kid, despite how frequently cruel and grotesque it was. The illustrations were such an important part of bringing you into the fantasy, I loved the partnership of author and illustrator.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 01:08
|
|
|
wizzardstaff posted:She might like Stardust by Neil Gaiman, I don't think that's too advanced. Also Coraline, and possibly Neverwhere (can’t quite remember if there’s anything too age-inappropriate there). Piranesi, maybe? Also, avoid V.C. Andrews.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 01:35
|
|
|
All my interactions with Alexander Wales have been pleasant enough and he seems to maintain a healthy scepticism and perspective on his fanbase and r/rational and all that, so, I'm inclined to think he's not some JAQ'ing sealion or whatever.
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 03:03
|
|
|
John Lee posted:That's just means it's fifth-order heresy instead of third-order. This work is written by this one guy who thinks kind of like this other guy who maybe kinda thinks a thing that's Bad for Reasons, but doesn't agree with the Reasons but some OTHER guys did and THEY were super bad, but it's all impure and suspicious and should be burned along with anybody who's curious about the work. People definitely hang around on weird rationalists blogs for no reason.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 03:58
|
|
|
Danhenge posted:People definitely hang around on weird rationalists blogs for no reason. it's so funny how much the words 'weird rationalists' look and sound like 'white nationalists'
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 04:25
|
|
|
silvergoose posted:I've mentioned before, but the cat wizard spinoffs from Young Wizards are fantastic. The Book of Night with Moon. They really are some of her strongest works. At the point kiddo is done with Young Wizards, she can crown the whole cycle with the Cat Wizards.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 04:32
|
|
|
Cicero posted:Any time I think about attempting a web serial of my own, at first it sounds not that bad in my head, but then I think about in the actually good works that I like there's always so much research and depth clearly going on. I'm not super interested in studying the mechanics of sailing in the 1700's or whatever, but I'd also hate myself if I was just winging it. "This is probably laughably wrong" would be echoing in my head at all times. as a filthy commie I have this part of my brain that dissects literally everything I read and asks 'why was it written like this?' usually it's for determining things like political intent but it makes reading any kind of vaguely realistic fiction really hard for me because, I dunno, isolated villages are paying for everything in coins and the political analysis part of my brain is screaming 'where did they even get the coins from in the first place' and I can't shut it up. So it would be really hard to write anything without constantly reminding myself of how bad it is, basically, lol. Cardiac posted:Can you actually invent worker’s militia without first inventing capitalism? i wrote it kind of flippantly but the distinctions between what we would call mercantilism and modern capitalism are a lot thinner than you'd think; this is the time period where the guild workers were being starting to be outcompeted by early factories in quality as well as quantity, and some of the most incredibly brutal working conditions in Western history start up, so I'd say 'marx but he's 200 years early somehow' would probably go over very well. people attribute the failure of earlier socialist movements to a lack of ideological development (ie what are we doing other than looting the rich or banning money) or outside forces like the crusades against the Cathars. anyway nobody cares about my dumb ideas Larry Parrish fucked around with this message at 05:55 on Nov 5, 2021 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 05:49
|
|
|
I have a couple precocious, voracious-reader 10- and 11-year olds in my life (or did, they're older now) who loved a lot of the books that have been recommended so far, and they got a lot of mileage out of The Graveyard Book, His Dark Materials, Ender's Game, Good Omens, and various Discworld books. But kids do mature in different ways, at different rates. Other books that went over well for one but not the other: The Once and Future King, Small Gods, and short story collections by Ray Bradbury. One surprised me with a book recommendation that I ended up enjoying: The House With a Clock in Its Walls, although he read that one when he was younger and it may not be up to her standards.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 07:36
|
|
|
I'm not sure how popular/accessible they are outside Australia, but when I was around that age I absolutely loved Emily Rodda's Rowan series and Deltora Quest series.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 08:33
|
|
|
Another Dirty Dish posted:Also Coraline If you're going to recommend The Thief of Always, can you please get the title right and attribute it to the correct author, Clive Barker? As for Neverwhere - whether you consider it kid safe depends on whether the kid can handle Croup and Vandemar torturing someone to death and Lamia seducing Richard.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 10:11
|
|
|
Hungry Squirrel posted:She’s ten but reads at the highschool level, but she doesn’t like dark or heavy topics, so a lot of YA fiction isn’t in her wheelhouse. A lot of people ignoring this part of the brief.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 12:24
|
|
|
fez_machine posted:A lot of people ignoring this part of the brief. I guess Roald Dahl is out then.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 12:48
|
|
|
Collateral posted:I guess Roald Dahl is out then. She read the Dahl boxed set, except for Boy. She did find parts of some books disturbing, but she's also re-read most of the rest. So, kinda?
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 13:22
|
|
|
Collateral posted:I guess Roald Dahl is out then. Witches honestly was really scary, but it was Charlie that really gave me nightmares.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 13:23
|
|
|
Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087GJ5WI/ Thin Air by Richard K Morgan - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0738K33YC/ Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XG6MG3Y/
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2021 23:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 03:35 |
|
|
pradmer posted:Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky - $1.99 First book is excellent and what STALKER was based off of, second book is a standard 'aliens come to earth' that is still pretty good, though I'm sure it was a lot more interesting when it came out
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2021 00:04
|
|
