Recommend-A-Book

[forevr]

I've read them all twice actually. Good books, in the fantasy genre second only to "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin.

I also read "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson when I heard he was the one to finish WoT. The story was ok but it was well written so I think "A Memory of Light" will turn out just fine.

I'm reading WoT for the third time. Really felt like reading fantasy again and those were avaible.
The language is really easy I've noticed this time around and I went through the first four books in three weeks.

I'm amazed that I find the books just as good now as the second time. Despite the basic language. Now that's good value.

[Malific]

To all you Ender fans. there's a new edition to the series. Ender in Exile.
Personally I think Speaker for the dead is the best, followed by Ender's Shadow, and then Enders Game

*Drops a load in his pants*
Hmmm... go clean up... or go buy the book... Decisions, decisions.

Robert Heinlein - Another good Sci-fi Author, wrote a lot of books that people have heard of even though they don't know it. His books are all firmly based in the future possibilities of real science. And he loves to explain how all this stuff is possible with current (back in his time) technology. I also firmly believe that aside from being an author Heinlein was a Mathematician and a die hard hippy.

Starship Troopers - Oh you saw the movie? Good for you, it's nothing like the book except the peoples names, and the military and giant alien bugs are involved. The movie missed the 12 foot tall powered armor EVERY SINGLE soldier uses. And the high level mathematics that were involved in operating it.

The Number of the Beast - Interesting take on the line 'six and six and six' in the bible. Interperating it to actually mean 'six to the sixth power to the sixth power'. The book involves trans-dimensional travel, with 'the number' being the dimensional home to a race of ultra violent trans-dimensional conquerors.

Have Spacesuit will travel - A young boy in the future gets his hands on an 'antique' space suit (meaning one of the one we use now) fixes it up and goes for a 'space walk' in the woods behind his house. His space suit radio then picks up a distress signal, sending him on a real space adventure to the moon and back. This is a nice adventure style with not a lot of hard thinking.. but I do like how he pays very close attention to technology incompatability between new tech and old tech.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Yeah, you've heard about it, but do you actually know what it's about? It's about a human raised by Martians (not human), who then returns to Earth. This is far more of a spiritual Sci-fi. It's all about him trying to teach earthlings the way of the martians and not understanding why we are the way we are. Very strong Jesus/hippy overtones. (Wow never though I'd put those two people in the same sentence)

The Moon is a harsh Mistress - Some one else said this one earlier in the thread, go search it out.

The Door into Summer - Time travel. It's involves a man who develops a unique piece of technology only to have it 'stolen' by his business partners. He ends traveling back through time to stop it, multiple times. Rather interesting how Heinlein shows the end results of actions the main character takes, but hasn't taken yet by that time in the story.

Well that's all for now.

::Edit::
I'm also going to add in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind It's not getting nearly enough mention in this thread and it's BETTER (YES BETTER) Than Jordan's WoT series. It's also finished. Here are the Titles:
Wizard's First Rule
Stone of Tears - I know, I know. It's got nothing to do with the WoT version.
Blood of the Fold
Temple of the Winds
Soul of the Fire
Faith of the Fallen
The Pillars of Creation
Naked Empire
Chainfire -\
Phantom ---> Often referred to as "the Chainfire Trilogy"
Confessor /

[apo12]

It's better only if you are George Bush supporter.

[Malific]

It's better only if you are George Bush supporter.

LOL, I saw this and my first though was "WTF, this guy must have posted in the wrong thread."

Then I just figured that you have to be one of those people that can't enjoy anything without involving politics in it and you are actually talking about how good a fantasy series' plot is based on your personal politics, in which case I feel sorry for you. There are probably a LOT of very good books that you can't enjoy. But then also with that mind set, you would have enjoyed the WoT series far more than most because of how much political maneuvering was going on.

So to clarify:

I'm not a George Bush supporter. The Sword of Truth Series is better than the Wheel of Time series because:
Goodkind is not nearly as long winded as Jordan is, so the pacing is much better.
There are not as many 'main characters' so you actually end up caring much more deeply about the people involved.
It shows Richard piecing clues together to figure out the truth behind what's going on, and explains his motivations for his actions. Where with Rand, you really have no idea what he's thinking, or why he's doing what he's doing other than "to win".
And a personal one for me, I love reading books about people who have a "craft". In Richard's case He starts off a woods guide, and later becomes a stone/wood carver.

And now some recommendations along the lines of "crafting" heroes.

The enter saga of "Recluse" Novels by L. E. Modesitt Jr.
This is huge series of books, not all chronological like the WoT or SoT series, but more spread out types stuff along the lines of how the Dragonlance novels are written.

The neat things about these books is that, in line with Real life, all these 'heroes' have actual professions that they have to keep running in order to make a living. The "adventures" sort of get in their way.

Start off with these two:
The Magic of Recluse
The Death of Chaos

These two have a sequel prequel relationship, and a man Named Lerris. He's a woodworker, when he's not running around the countryside taking care of the bad guys.

[relic2279]

The Sword of Truth Series is better than the Wheel of Time series because:
Goodkind is not nearly as long winded as Jordan is, so the pacing is much better.

I've tried and tried to read his books. (Goodkind) Probably tried over 6 times thinking I'm missing something. I just can't finish them. They don't draw me in like Jordan's. Matter of opinion perhaps. However, Jordan isn't long winded. I hear that a lot from people who dislike his material, or those who try to elevate their favorites over his books. But it's all opinion based. To me, Jordan's story telling is unparalleled because of his character depth and development. When a climax happens in one of his books, it makes one savior it. It's an epic saga, and that is the point. If you don't like epic saga's, with many, many twists & turns, cheers and tears, then a WoT is not for you.

There are not as many 'main characters' so you actually end up caring much more deeply about the people involved.

That is again, opinion based. You call Jordan long winded, yet he has too many main characters. Little bit of hypocrisy? If he didn't go into depth in his story, then most would criticize him for not having enough character development. When he does, he's long winded. But hey, that's the difference between an epic saga, and a story.

But what it comes down to is matter of opinion. What you like, is what you like. But don't say "This book is better then this book because..." Again it's opinion based.  You should say something like "I feel Terry Goodkind's books are made for teenagers, so they don't appeal to me."

[Malific]

There are not as many 'main characters' so you actually end up caring much more deeply about the people involved.

You call Jordan long winded, yet he has too many main characters. Little bit of hypocrisy?

No, not hypocrisy, to me I spend so much time reading about other characters being developed that I get distanced from the ones he's already introduced. It got to the point that I would want to skip whole sections here and there because I no longer cared what was happening to those characters and wanted to see more about the people who were that particular book's focus.

Case in point, I've read all the novels in WoT right now (I Enjoy the Series Very Much) and quite frankly don't give a rats behind about what Rand is up to any more. Since he is supposed to be THE main character, I find this to be a failing of the author's not mine.

Also longwinded may be an opinion, but it's still true. When an entire book is several hundred pages long, only covers about 2 1/2 days and almost nothing actually happens in that time.. That's long winded.. It felt like a Naruto/Bleach filler episode.

The Thread name is "Recommend-A-Book" It's pretty safe to assume that EVERY SINGLE POST in this thread is an opinion, I see no reason to state things in a manor of "this is my opinion" given these circumstances. You were able to figure it out with no problem, I should think everyone else is able to as well.

Besides I was using the exact phrase "The Sword of Truth Series is better than the Wheel of Time series because:" To negate Mr. Politician's idea. Which is why it was preceded by "I'm not a George Bush supporter."

And where's your bit including the politician's post as an opinion? He didn't even recommend a book... WTF is up with that?

Recommendations for this post:
The Book of Words Series by J. V. Jones, about a young boy who works in a castle kitchen. The castle "scholar" hires him to copy books BECAUSE the boy can't read. While copying them he ends up learning to read and keeps it a secret from his 'master'. So he ends up learning much more than he should about what the scholar is really up to. Leading into adventures as fantasy novels often tend to do.
The Baker's Boy
A Man Betrayed
Master and Fool

[Unsubv]

I am a huge Neal Stephenson fan and bought his new book "Anathem" in HC as soon as it came out and it was boring.
I swear half the huge book is a 500 page description of a mathematician convention.
I even loved the Quicksilver series which was a bit long winded at times but this one was interminable.
I loved Cryptonomicon and Zodiac and SnowCrash ,they are fantastic but it is like the man is in terrible
 need of an editor.
Anything else by him is worth reading and the ones I mentioned are must reads but the new one I would skip.

[Ixarku]

The enter saga of "Recluse" Novels by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

I read the first couple of books in this series probably around 10 years ago.  I don't think I can truly put into words how much I hated them.  I thought that the writing was horribly simplistic and the material unoriginal.  I recall that the books were written in present tense (some parts in first person, some in third, IIRC), and that alone made me want to dig out parts of my brain through my nose with a broken spork.  Not that I'm trashing on anybody's tastes -- we all like different stuff, and that's perfectly fine.  It's just that I think that present tense is a poor stylistic choice for a novel, and I felt that it made the flow of story awkward.  I was honestly amazed that those books were ever published.  But maybe I missed something... were they aimed at a younger audience instead of adults?


I recommend anything by Michelle West / Michelle Sagara.  Her "Cast In" series has excellent, relatively quick pacing, well-detailed characters, and a lot of good dramatic tension.  The story is something like a cross between a crime drama and a fantasy novel.  Her "Sun Sword" books (and the two prequels) are more serious, heavier fare, but also well worth the read.

I give Michelle Sagara props for being able to admit at the beginning of Book 5 of the Sun Sword that the story had gotten out of control, and that she was going to have to wrap it up in two books (5 & 6) instead of just one.  Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind, while being skilled writers, exemplify (to me anyway) the verbosity of a lot of the newer generation of fantasy authors, so it was refreshing to actually see an author admit to that failing, and actually do something about it.

[Malific]

I recall that the books were written in present tense (some parts in first person, some in third, IIRC)

The First two books are written in first person, past tense. These are the books about Lerris, and are written as Lerris would tell them. I think maybe 3 chapters are third person because those chapters are about something when Lerris was not there. I don't recall any present tense, though it being first person gives much more immediacy to the text. I personally like this style of writing because it brings you closer to the character. Doing a novel in first person from several people's perspectives would be a disaster. But a good novels first person about a single person.. it just feels more compelling to me. Again it just makes you care more about a character when everything you witness happens through his eyes.

The rest of the series is Third person, but I've always felt that the Books on Lerris were the best.

*ponders* Okay let's think of something no one else has put up.

House of Stairs by William Sleator
Definitely a youngster book. I read it back in middle school, but it always just stuck with me. It's about a group of teenagers that wake up in this.. place. Just a giant building, but all it has in it are Stairs. No floors, they can see walls, but the stairs never get close enough to them to touch, and they can't seem to get high or low enough to find the ceiling or floor. It's short read, but interesting. Think something along the lines of the "Cube" movies but without the death and destruction, just the psychological end of it.

[Ixarku]

The First two books are written in first person, past tense. These are the books about Lerris, and are written as Lerris would tell them. I think maybe 3 chapters are third person because those chapters are about something when Lerris was not there. I don't recall any present tense, though it being first person gives much more immediacy to the text. I personally like this style of writing because it brings you closer to the character. Doing a novel in first person from several people's perspectives would be a disaster. But a good novels first person about a single person.. it just feels more compelling to me. Again it just makes you care more about a character when everything you witness happens through his eyes.

The rest of the series is Third person, but I've always felt that the Books on Lerris were the best.

I think it was around 10 years ago when I first read those books, so I could certainly be getting some details mixed up.  I don't have them anymore, but I found a review on Amazon that mentioned that "The Towers of Sunset" was written in present tense.  That's probably what I'm remembering.  I don't have a problem at all with first person perspective -- it does convey a better sense of intimacy with the main character -- it's just the choice of present tense is bewildering.  A few other reviewers also commented about Modesitt's overuse of onomatopoeia.  That had me chuckling, as I had forgotten about his use of sound effects!


Another recommendation:  John C Wright's "The Golden Age" and "The Chronicles of Chaos" series.  I thought these books were brilliantly imaginative and well-written.  I haven't checked out his "Everness" books yet, but I probably will at some point.

[SpeedKills]

Damn... didn't see any philosophy here:

Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche

An amazing book on morals.  It's probably one of the most important books ever written.

Why I Am Not a Christian - Bertrand Russell

More than anti-religious, it's a very compassionate look at rational thought and science.

The Dialogues of Plato

Yeah!  Ancient Greek, son!

[Morgia]

Great books beyond mainstream

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers. It's funny, exciting, easy to read, satiric, whimsical and very, very imaginativ

Borderliners by Peter Hoeg. It fetching, little bit surreal, philosophical and thought-provoking. Maybe you're thinkg of matrix or serial experiments lain. But borderliners is very different. Less spectacular and more confusing

Momo by Michael Ende. It's a book for children and for adult (I mean it seriously! ). It's imaginative, intense, of course easy to read, but in its own special way sophisticated (for both children and adult - and it's not that easy ).

Wow... I never imagined Walter Moers was translated into english... you should try out his comics like "little asshole" "better living with the little asshole" etc.

Another great fantasy series would be "The chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny... it's about the royal family of the side of order, called "Amber"...every reality including our own world is just another veil towards chaos - the other extreme. 10 Volumes, whereas 5 are about Corwin of Amber and 5 about his son Merlin. Completed

If you like erotic fantasy novels I'd highly recommend the black dagger series by J.R.Ward ...really hot stuff I couldn't put away... 6 Volumes so far... there's even a little plot between the sex... overall a very nice read. Ongoing. Ah yeah... and not only for women... my boyfriend enjoyed them as well ^^

I'm a little surprised that nobody mentioned "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov so far... if you've seen the movie... never mind - the book is completely different. It's a collection of short stories that evolve around the three laws of robotics and about how they can be bent or what problems they can cause.

What I've just begun to read, but was recommended highly towards me were books by Sherrylin Kenyon (gods of the underworld saga)
and The Night huntress novels by Jeanine Frost. Both Ongoing.

Ah... I forgot... I don't know whether it was translated in english, but "das Parfum" by Patrick Süskind is very good stuff as well

[Ixarku]

Another great fantasy series would be "The chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny... it's about the royal family of the side of order, called "Amber"...every reality including our own world is just another veil towards chaos - the other extreme. 10 Volumes, whereas 5 are about Corwin of Amber and 5 about his son Merlin. Completed

I always liked Zelazny... I first read the "Amber" series about 20 years ago.  I've also got a collection of his short stories called "The Last Defender of Camelot" that I really enjoyed, too.  One of the stories in that particular collection, "Damnation Alley," was actually made into a bad movie in the late 70s.

Any of the "classic" authors are great to read.  Roger Zelazny, Fred Saberhagen, Philip Jose Farmer, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, just to name a few, were some of my favorite authors back when I was kid.

[Fatigue Guy]

My list of good books to recommend to you.

1.The Judas Strain by James Rollins
2.The Best a Man Can Get by John O'Farrell
3.The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
4.The Map of Moments: A Novel of the Hidden Cities by Christopher Golden

[babybluez287]

well idk if anyone mentioned this before ,

Trudi Canavan - Priestest of the white (3 book series ) [fantasy adventure , full of heroes , gods , magic and forbidden love ]
                      Last of the wilds
                      (i forgot the last book's tittle)
Philip Reveeve - Mortal Engines [interesting book for young adults ]

More of fantasy type than the serious stuff

[damosaxxx3]

I recommend Minna no Nihongo I (english version), it has all the basic japanese lessons in it

[SirSkyRider]

I recommend The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll, it is not a novel, but I loved it. I consider it to be more suspenseful than any Dan Brown or Grisham novel.

[agbaba]

I'm a little surprised that nobody mentioned "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov so far... if you've seen the movie... never mind - the book is completely different. It's a collection of short stories that evolve around the three laws of robotics and about how they can be bent or what problems they can cause.

Ah... I forgot... I don't know whether it was translated in english, but "das Parfum" by Patrick Süskind is very good stuff as well

I have to second that. Asimov short stories are excellent science fiction. But yeah, I,Robot is very, very different from the movie. I'm not to sure if anyone else has mentioned it but the Foundation Trilogy by Asimov is excellent. If your planning to read it make sure you read the original trilogy, which starts with Foundation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(novel)

[forevr]

I think I'm the only one that reads Mo Hayder's books but she's got a new one out called "Skin".
I can't wait to read it.
As I mentioned earlier I got into her books after I read "Tokyo" (The Devil of Nanking) and bought all of her books shortly after

[Vorvadoss]

Lolita By Vladmir Nabokov; possibly the greatest piece of English prose in existence.
Mushashi by Eiji Yoshikawa; Translation is quite good and at 1000 pages it'll take you a while.
Also I would like to second the Foundation trilogy, someone mentioned it earlier and it is just a sci-fi nerd's wetdream.