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Earthsea is insanely good. Cannot recommend strongly enough. 2nd book is very near the top of all fantasy books I've ever read (Caines Law is the main competition).
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Jan 25, 2022 18:54
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Thanks all. I haven't read any of these so looks like I have plenty to add to my list.
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Jan 25, 2022 19:27
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Tulip posted:Earthsea is insanely good. Cannot recommend strongly enough. 2nd book is very near the top of all fantasy books I've ever read (Caines Law is the main competition). Yeah it’s also very influential (looking at YOU, Rothfuss  ) and you start to notice tons of references after reading it. I like that.
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Jan 25, 2022 20:21
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Ropes4u posted:Thursday Next series yaffle posted:She might like Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books, not too much racy stuff, he's a monk. I will add them to my list, thanks! Gave my old kindle to my grandma last night with some of the books already recommended here, she seemed interested; I know she gets tired of nothing to do but watch TV and play ipad solitaire. I see her again at the end of the week, so fingers crossed she can enjoy reading again.
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Jan 25, 2022 20:35
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sloppy portmanteau posted:Can I get some recommendations for long fantasy/sci-fi series which stick with the same main or small cast of characters throughout and follows their growth? I recently read the Wheel of Time series and that's what I found I liked about it. The payoff with Rands, Matts, and Egwenes evolution especially, I enjoy the shifting power dynamics from the beginning of the series. Then I moved on to the Cradle series and found that satisfying for similar reasons. Currently reading Forge of Destiny due to recommendations in relation to Cradle, but finding it too meandering and will be dropping it. The Foreigner series by C. J. Cherryh Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold The World of Five Gods series by Lois McMaster Bujold (read through them in publication order but by the time Penric and Desdimona you should have your small cast characters) The Dragaera series by Steven Brust There aren't many Science Fiction series like this because they tend to go for epic scope across time and space
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Jan 26, 2022 21:28
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sloppy portmanteau posted:Can I get some recommendations for long fantasy/sci-fi series which stick with the same main or small cast of characters throughout and follows their growth? I recently read the Wheel of Time series and that's what I found I liked about it. The payoff with Rands, Matts, and Egwenes evolution especially, I enjoy the shifting power dynamics from the beginning of the series. Then I moved on to the Cradle series and found that satisfying for similar reasons. Currently reading Forge of Destiny due to recommendations in relation to Cradle, but finding it too meandering and will be dropping it. Julian May's "Saga of the Exiles" might fit the bill.
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Jan 27, 2022 07:11
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sloppy portmanteau posted:Can I get some recommendations for long fantasy/sci-fi series which stick with the same main or small cast of characters throughout and follows their growth? I recently read the Wheel of Time series and that's what I found I liked about it. The payoff with Rands, Matts, and Egwenes evolution especially, I enjoy the shifting power dynamics from the beginning of the series. Then I moved on to the Cradle series and found that satisfying for similar reasons. Currently reading Forge of Destiny due to recommendations in relation to Cradle, but finding it too meandering and will be dropping it. I've always been a fan of Tad Williams. He's got two big series, both ~1.1M: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn - fantasy series starting with The Dragonbone Chair. GRRM and Christopher Paolini both cited this as influencing their respective series, so take that as you will. Otherland - Sci-fi series starting with The City of Golden Shadows. Largely revolves around a mystery in huge virtual worlds so the setting wanders all over the place
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Jan 27, 2022 11:50
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What are the best books currently available in English about the Allied invasion of Sicily?
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Jan 28, 2022 05:14
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I've always liked weird fiction, but ever since I got "The Weird" by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, I discovered I like reading a lot of it at once instead of bits and pieces I stumble across. Are there any anthologies anyone can recommend?
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Jan 30, 2022 23:57
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LifeLynx posted:I've always liked weird fiction, but ever since I got "The Weird" by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, I discovered I like reading a lot of it at once instead of bits and pieces I stumble across. Are there any anthologies anyone can recommend? I've always liked David Hartwell's The Dark Descent, although some of the stories there also appear in the Vandermeers' book.
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Jan 31, 2022 15:44
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LifeLynx posted:I've always liked weird fiction, but ever since I got "The Weird" by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, I discovered I like reading a lot of it at once instead of bits and pieces I stumble across. Are there any anthologies anyone can recommend? Nearly every author in that anthology has an individual anthology of their stories out or has novel length books. Anything by Michael Cisco is going to be pretty dense on the weird. The VanderMeers have edited or published (as Cheeky Frawg Books ) various anthologies or novels of weird fiction. The Thackery T Lambstead collections are pretty good.
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Feb 1, 2022 12:47
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Anyone have recommendations on a good fantasy series that isnt 10+ books? I recently read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and HATED it. I dont understand the love for that book at all. Then I thought I'd go Sci-Fi and read the first book in the Old Mans War series by Scalzi. While I didnt hate that book it wasnt good enough for me to keep reading. I've been reading to much non-fiction lately and just want a nice fantasy world to fall into!
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Feb 9, 2022 16:44
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Anyone have recommendations on a good fantasy series that isnt 10+ books? Read the original Earthsea trilogy. 3 books, maybe about 700 pages total?
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Feb 9, 2022 16:47
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Franchescanado posted:Read the original Earthsea trilogy. 3 books, maybe about 700 pages total? I remember loving the first book as a kid. Never read past that though, thanks for the reminder I'll be picking that up.
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Feb 9, 2022 16:50
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Anyone have recommendations on a good fantasy series that isnt 10+ books? Patricia McKillip's Riddlemaster series (three books) might be to your taste. It packs quite a lot of character and worldbuilding into a relatively short space.
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Feb 9, 2022 18:10
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BaseballPCHiker posted:I remember loving the first book as a kid. Never read past that though, thanks for the reminder I'll be picking that up. The second and fourth are the best ones. Second is a good candidate for best fantasy novel. Heroes Die by Matthew Stover and its sequels clock in at 4 books and are utterly beloved by me. Pulpy, post colonial, philosophical, experimental, it's got it all. e: lol I posted both of these opinions at the top of this page
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Feb 9, 2022 18:36
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Anyone have recommendations on a good fantasy series that isnt 10+ books? I adore CJ Cherryh's Fortress in the Eye of Time. While it's five books, you can read just the first one, it has a good stopping point - and there's more if you want it.
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Feb 9, 2022 18:54
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I like The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, which stands alone nicely but if you like it there's one sequel and a bunch of prequels.
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Feb 9, 2022 19:10
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Thanks for all of the recommendations folks! Got a big stack to look forward to now.
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Feb 9, 2022 22:58
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Anyone have recommendations on a good fantasy series that isnt 10+ books? The Book of the New Sun books by Gene Wolfe
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Feb 9, 2022 23:34
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Franchescanado posted:Read the original Earthsea trilogy. 3 books, maybe about 700 pages total? Aren't there five in total, now? (I got four as a kid because the fifth one hadn't come out yet.) But five is still much less than 10+!
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Feb 10, 2022 09:24
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BaseballPCHiker posted:I recently read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and HATED it. 
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Feb 10, 2022 09:38
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3D Megadoodoo posted:Aren't there five in total, now? (I got four as a kid because the fifth one hadn't come out yet.) But five is still much less than 10+! There's the original trilogy written from 1968-1972, and a "sequel trilogy" that was written and released in 1990 and 2001. And you're right, one of them was a short story collection, so it's only 5 novels plus short stories.
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Feb 10, 2022 14:50
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I need books about movies in the 30s. It can be generally about all movies in the 30s, or just about a specific genre, or pre or post-code movies, But I've already ordered on book about pre-code movies so if you're gonna recommend another book about pre-code movies it should be at least as good and ideally better than the one I've already ordered.
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Feb 10, 2022 15:41
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Franchescanado posted:There's the original trilogy written from 1968-1972, and a "sequel trilogy" that was written and released in 1990 and 2001. And you're right, one of them was a short story collection, so it's only 5 novels plus short stories. Ah, I never knew about the short stories!
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Feb 10, 2022 15:44
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Gripweed posted:I need books about movies in the 30s. It can be generally about all movies in the 30s, or just about a specific genre, or pre or post-code movies, But I've already ordered on book about pre-code movies so if you're gonna recommend another book about pre-code movies it should be at least as good and ideally better than the one I've already ordered. How are we to know the book you've already ordered?
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Feb 10, 2022 15:54
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Franchescanado posted:How are we to know the book you've already ordered? The book was Forbidden Hollywood by Mark Viera
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Feb 10, 2022 16:27
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I'm looking for a book or series that captures the feel of the plots of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. Big, sweeping stories with political intrigue, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, interesting characters from multiple factions, etc. ideally in a sort of medieval or Renaissance style setting. Either historical fiction or fantasy would be fine. I've done some looking online for ideas but most of the results suggested Game of Thrones, which I guess does fit the criteria but I think a lot of the politicking and intrigue in those books were pretty hamfisted, honestly.
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Feb 10, 2022 17:17
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm looking for a book or series that captures the feel of the plots of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. Big, sweeping stories with political intrigue, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, interesting characters from multiple factions, etc. ideally in a sort of medieval or Renaissance style setting. Either historical fiction or fantasy would be fine. I've done some looking online for ideas but most of the results suggested Game of Thrones, which I guess does fit the criteria but I think a lot of the politicking and intrigue in those books were pretty hamfisted, honestly. Maybe the Wars of the Roses series by Conn Iggulden? First one is called Stormbird.
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Feb 10, 2022 17:24
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Dune might be your thing, if you want to do sci-fi. I've never read malazan, but from what I've heard, that might also fit the bill.
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Feb 10, 2022 17:28
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm looking for a book or series that captures the feel of the plots of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. Big, sweeping stories with political intrigue, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, interesting characters from multiple factions, etc. ideally in a sort of medieval or Renaissance style setting. Either historical fiction or fantasy would be fine. I've done some looking online for ideas but most of the results suggested Game of Thrones, which I guess does fit the criteria but I think a lot of the politicking and intrigue in those books were pretty hamfisted, honestly. The Lions of Al Rassan? Sailing to Sarantium? This is basically GGK’s niche you are describing
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Feb 10, 2022 17:33
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm looking for a book or series that captures the feel of the plots of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. Big, sweeping stories with political intrigue, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, interesting characters from multiple factions, etc. ideally in a sort of medieval or Renaissance style setting. Either historical fiction or fantasy would be fine. I've done some looking online for ideas but most of the results suggested Game of Thrones, which I guess does fit the criteria but I think a lot of the politicking and intrigue in those books were pretty hamfisted, honestly. Left field rec for Terra Ignota (first book: Too Like the Lightning) . It's set in the future but written in Renaissance/ early modern style by an honest to God Uchicago Renaissance historian.
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Feb 10, 2022 18:02
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Thanks, I'll check those out! And yeah, I read Too Like the Lightning back when it first came out but haven't read any of the other books, I think you're right that while it isn't precisely what I had in mind it probably does politics and intrigue in a Renaissance setting better than a lot of bona fide historical fiction set in the era.
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Feb 10, 2022 18:32
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I'm looking for historical fiction that is set in ancient, either pre-civilisation or very early civilisation (nothing Greek/Roman etc), e.g. Sumeria or pre-contact Mesoamerica. Examples of what I'm looking for are some of the stories in Stephen Baxter's "Evolution" and "Clan of the Cave Bear". I had a lot of problems with both but that's the general idea.
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Feb 14, 2022 14:18
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"Shaman" by Kim Stanley Robinson is pretty good. I guess "The Inheritors" by William Golding, although I last read it 30 years ago and all I can remember is one of the characters kept saying "I have a picture" when he imagined something.
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Feb 14, 2022 14:30
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yaffle posted:"Shaman" by Kim Stanley Robinson is pretty good. I guess "The Inheritors" by William Golding, although I last read it 30 years ago and all I can remember is one of the characters kept saying "I have a picture" when he imagined something. I'll try Shaman, thanks. I remember mostly liking KSM's Mars trilogy (minus the dirt-eating, which would probably make more sense in this book) and The Years of Rice and Salt.
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Feb 14, 2022 17:31
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I’m a 37/M and I’ve never been a big reader. I somehow got through highschool and college by just paying attention in class and reading the cliff’s notes. As a result, I don’t read very well. I read forums and articles but anything longer and my ADD kicks in. At one point, I read a lot of the Harry Bosch novels but I found them all to be super slow until the last 25% and then the story picked up. It would take me months to read one book. And over the last 3 or so years I’ve really found any story that glorifies cops as pretty distasteful. The only book in recent history that I found engaging and actually made time to read was Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. In general I consider myself a tech geek, I love music and I watch a lot of YouTube videos about technology, engineering, transportation, etc. But I’m a weird nerd who doesn’t really like sci-fi or fantasy (never got into Harry Potter or LOTR). But, I really want to become a good reader. I would love to read for an hour or two a day instead of just watching TV or playing sudoku. (Side note: it takes something really interesting on TV for me to not be multitasking, too…) Pls help me become a reader! (Or maybe I just need Adderall?)
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Feb 17, 2022 04:09
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dexter6 posted:Pls help me become a reader! If you liked a nonfiction book, maybe more nonfiction would work? Especially if you're interested in stuff with a political view. A couple I could recommend off the top of my head Hundred years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi Empire's Workshop by Greg Grandin They're both relatively short, quite readable books on topics that are important to today but aren't covered on the news ever. In terms of fiction, have you thought about short stories? Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges is an absolute all time banger, every story is good to great, and crazy original and inventive. I know you said you didn't like sci-fi, but I'm still going to recommend Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino. It's not like sci-fi as you know it, he literally invented sci-fi independently by himself, and his take on it is completely unique. One of the stories is about a cell undergoing mitosis from the point of view of the cell. But not in an edutainment way, in like, a "imagine what it would be like if you had no sensory organs and therefore were incapable of conceiving of anything existing outside of your own body" way. both of those authors have a bunch of other great stuff too, so if you like either of them you've got a lot more to read. Gripweed fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Feb 17, 2022 |
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Feb 17, 2022 04:26
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dexter6 posted:I’m a 37/M and I’ve never been a big reader. I somehow got through highschool and college by just paying attention in class and reading the cliff’s notes. I'm going to prescribe you some Stephen King and Michael Crichton
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Feb 17, 2022 06:30
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I'd suggest looking at one of Stephen King's short story collections, probably Night Shift or Skeleton Crew. They're quick reads and good stories. King's probably at his best in the short story format, and every used book store ever will have a billion of his books.
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Feb 17, 2022 09:21
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