Book Recommendations? - Page 2

**CingularDuality** · 02-06-2006, 02:24 PM

Lots of good recommendations. I know that you said you don't want to get into another series, but I must recommend David Eddings series' The Belgariad and The Malloreon, along with the books about Belgarath and Polgara. I haven't read his other two series, the Elenium and the Tamuli, but I'm sure they're good, too.

If you've already read those, or really don't want to get sucked into another series like that, then I can suggest a good little trilogy (5 books is a trilogy, right?) called the Sword Dancer trilogy by Jennifer Roberson.

OK, OK, single books? Reread the masters: Ensure that you've read every single novel that Heinlein has put out. That's vital. Then do Asimov, Card, Clark, Bradbury, Vonnegut, Dick. Philip K. Dick, have you read any of his stuff? Scary stuff, there.

Brust's Jhereg series. Anthony's Xanth, Adept, Incarnations, and Tarot series. Ooh, Piers Anthony's novel Pornucopia is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it...

OK, I'll stop with that... ;-)

Pooper · 02-06-2006, 02:48 PM

Yea I loved the Dark Tower series from King and especially Wizard in the Glass ( I think that is what is was called) It can be read on it own and tells how the gunslinger (main character in the series) came about. Another of the greats was Dune. But if your interested in military non-fiction
a couple of good ones are "the Village" by Bing West "War Story' by Jim Morris both of those are Vietnam storyies and another that I really like was called "The Forgetten Soldier" by Guy Sajer. It gives another side to WWII as Guy was a German soldier swept up in the german propaganda machine. He fights on the eastern front and the story sticks to what it is to be a honorable soldier doing ones duty without question. It is about the men in frontline combat and doesnt get into the Nazis or concentration camp stuff.

**Rincewind** · 02-06-2006, 05:32 PM

I'm involved in, or have read a lot of the series listed here. (Jordan, Eddings, Rowling, King, etc.) I told you guys

I spent two years without a computer and TV as a pubescent teenager. I read a lot of stuff those two years. I mean, boxes and boxes.

A lot of good suggestions for people who havn't, though.

I mean to pick up ...Dark Materials... I remember reading about it and thinking I should pick it up, but never doing so.

In line with the kidlit, check out Diana Wynne Jones. Howls Moving Castle is an EXCELLENT short read! No excuse not to pick it up. I would also recommend her Dark Lord of Derkholm as well. It's more young adult though, but just as fun as Howls Castle (think our earth dimension taking tours through a fantasy world).

I've read LeGuin. I've even read Always Coming Home which is a fantastic book. Female fantasy/sci-fi authors usually don't disappoint me

I'll check out Carol Berg for sure. Sounds good. Another femal fantasy author I liked was Melanie Rawn and her Sun Runner series. Although, it turned into YALDOFS and I stopped reading it. The first trilogy is great. (Ditto for Robert Jordan in this regard -- although, I'm still hanging in with the GRR Martin series)

I've read all of Card's extended Ender's novels. They're a good read.

I've read the Dan Brown stuff. Good books

All his books seem to start or end with sex. Which I can't knock.

I need to start back up on my "golden age" sci-fi. Although, I covered a lot of that taking two semesters of science fiction and fantasy literature as an undergrad. I did miss some though

Keep the suggestions coming. I'm making an Amazon wish list from these

**CingularDuality** · 02-07-2006, 05:14 AM

You ever read any Dean R. Koontz? Not exactly fine literature, but it's easy to immerse yourself in his novels. All are scary, some are sci-fi-ish, some are paranormalish, some are tin foil hat-ish. Easy reads.

ScratchMonkey · 02-07-2006, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TG_Mateo

I've been reading F.Pauil Wilson's Repairman Jack Series. Good stuff.

http://www.repairmanjack.com/

I LOVE Wilson. For me he's second only to Vernor Vinge.

Check out Eric Flint's "1632" and sequels. It's not a "series" so much as a shared universe. You can read the first book online to see if you like it before buying the hardcopy. There's an active online forum at Baen Books.

http://www.baen.com/library/0671319728/0671319728.htm

The story starts with a cosmic accident moving a West Virginia mining town (and the sphere containing it) into Germany in the middle of the 30 Year War. The Americans decide to recreate the US in the past. Different authors are brought in for short stories and sequels to look at different aspects of the period and how modern technology must adapt to a suddenly tiny supporting population and the politics of the period.

BaneII · 02-07-2006, 09:45 AM

Fantasy:
Dragonlance: Chronicles
Dragonlance: Legends
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Best fantasy series ever in my opinion. Ignore all the other spinoffs because it went downhill. However if you have read those series, they have done other series together like Death Gate Cycle (fantasy), Darksword (fantasy), Starshield (sf), and Rose of the Prophet (fantasy). Weis also has some other great series like Star of the Guardians (sf) and Mag Force 7 (sf).

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant 1-3 (fantasy)
The Gap Series (sf)
Stephen R Donaldson
Great writer who makes awesome characters.

SF and fantasy books by John Ringo who creates some awesome adventure.

Tour of the Merrimack (sf)
R.M. Meluch
This is only the first book of a series. I dont know when it first came out since I got it out of the library.

The Wreck of the River of Stars (sf)
Michael Flynn
You wont come close to figuring how the book ends. Great character development and unorthodox plots but refreshing writhing.

Explorer series (sf)
James Alan Gardner
The first book Expendable is a not as good as the rest of the series but bear with it as he gets his style . Humor and strong female lead characters define the series.

Otherworld series (sf)
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series(fantasy)
Tad Williams
For when you want 500+ page books for those long trips.

Honor Universe (sf)
Bolo series (sf)
David Weber
The Honor Universe has a lot of books so you wont catch up anytime soon. Also writes some fantasy and other sf.

ScratchMonkey · 02-07-2006, 10:19 AM

I second the John Ringo recommendation. I particularly like his A Hymn Before Battle.

http://www.baen.com/author_catalog.asp?author=jringo
http://www.johnringo.com/
http://www.baen.com/series_list.asp#GF

aculle01 · 02-07-2006, 11:32 AM

I have to recommend Bernard Cornwell's Arthur series. 3 books Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur. Not exactly fantasy as it places Arthur and his Knights within the historical setting of the early dark ages and the fight over England between the saxons and the britons but certainly a great read.

ScratchMonkey · 02-07-2006, 12:04 PM

I love Warren Murphy, and his Forever King trilogy is a good read:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031...lance&n=283155

Spartan25 · 02-07-2006, 01:29 PM

Alan Dean Foster has some good books to his name. He writes sci-fi mostly and he does an excellent job of creating believable alien races. He's also done quite a few short stories and novels. I also second John Ringo, Eric Flint, and David Weber for very good military style sci-fi.

R.A. Salvatore is one of my favorite fantasy authors recently. Writes mostly in the "forgotten realms" fantasyverse.

**CingularDuality** · 02-07-2006, 01:46 PM

You've probably already read them, but I highly suggest The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson.

**Rincewind** · 02-07-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CingularDuality

You've probably already read them, but I highly suggest The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson.

I'll give it a shot.

Wintermute · 02-07-2006, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrunkenSoul

You can't go wrong with Angels and Demons or Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

As long as you want a pulpy supermarket book to read on the beach on your holiday without having to engage your brain then yeah, you can't go wrong.

Otherwise "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco and "The Illuminatus! Trillogy" (actually one book) by Shea and Wilson are both on EXACTLY the same subject as the Da Vinci Code but miles better. The former includes tons of history and red herrings in the search for the grail, the second includes a giant dose of psycadelia and more plots twists than you can shake a conspiracy at. Absolutely no paper thin characters, Hollywood cliches or ninja monks, guaranteed.

**Rincewind** · 02-07-2006, 04:36 PM

Are you suggesting that people here have not already read the Illuminatus Trilogy?

**RGM-79N_GM_CUstom** · 02-07-2006, 04:44 PM

I am not sure how much of an anime fan you are but there is the Mobile Suit Gundam novel trilogy.

02-06-2006, 02:24 PM	#16 (permalink)
CingularDuality Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas, USA Age: 33 Posts: 16,806	Re: Book Recommendations? Lots of good recommendations. I know that you said you don't want to get into another series, but I must recommend David Eddings series' The Belgariad and The Malloreon, along with the books about Belgarath and Polgara. I haven't read his other two series, the Elenium and the Tamuli, but I'm sure they're good, too. If you've already read those, or really don't want to get sucked into another series like that, then I can suggest a good little trilogy (5 books is a trilogy, right?) called the Sword Dancer trilogy by Jennifer Roberson. OK, OK, single books? Reread the masters: Ensure that you've read every single novel that Heinlein has put out. That's vital. Then do Asimov, Card, Clark, Bradbury, Vonnegut, Dick. Philip K. Dick, have you read any of his stuff? Scary stuff, there. Brust's Jhereg series. Anthony's Xanth, Adept, Incarnations, and Tarot series. Ooh, Piers Anthony's novel Pornucopia is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it... OK, I'll stop with that... ;-) __________________ Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market! Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage." TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

02-06-2006, 02:48 PM	#17 (permalink)
Pooper Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 112	Re: Book Recommendations? Yea I loved the Dark Tower series from King and especially Wizard in the Glass ( I think that is what is was called) It can be read on it own and tells how the gunslinger (main character in the series) came about. Another of the greats was Dune. But if your interested in military non-fiction a couple of good ones are "the Village" by Bing West "War Story' by Jim Morris both of those are Vietnam storyies and another that I really like was called "The Forgetten Soldier" by Guy Sajer. It gives another side to WWII as Guy was a German soldier swept up in the german propaganda machine. He fights on the eastern front and the story sticks to what it is to be a honorable soldier doing ones duty without question. It is about the men in frontline combat and doesnt get into the Nazis or concentration camp stuff.

02-06-2006, 05:32 PM	#18 (permalink)
Rincewind Join Date: May 2005 Location: Casting useless spells in Oklahoma. Age: 27 Posts: 2,799	Re: Book Recommendations? I'm involved in, or have read a lot of the series listed here. (Jordan, Eddings, Rowling, King, etc.) I told you guys I spent two years without a computer and TV as a pubescent teenager. I read a lot of stuff those two years. I mean, boxes and boxes. A lot of good suggestions for people who havn't, though. I mean to pick up ...Dark Materials... I remember reading about it and thinking I should pick it up, but never doing so. In line with the kidlit, check out Diana Wynne Jones. Howls Moving Castle is an EXCELLENT short read! No excuse not to pick it up. I would also recommend her Dark Lord of Derkholm as well. It's more young adult though, but just as fun as Howls Castle (think our earth dimension taking tours through a fantasy world). I've read LeGuin. I've even read Always Coming Home which is a fantastic book. Female fantasy/sci-fi authors usually don't disappoint me I'll check out Carol Berg for sure. Sounds good. Another femal fantasy author I liked was Melanie Rawn and her Sun Runner series. Although, it turned into YALDOFS and I stopped reading it. The first trilogy is great. (Ditto for Robert Jordan in this regard -- although, I'm still hanging in with the GRR Martin series) I've read all of Card's extended Ender's novels. They're a good read. I've read the Dan Brown stuff. Good books All his books seem to start or end with sex. Which I can't knock. I need to start back up on my "golden age" sci-fi. Although, I covered a lot of that taking two semesters of science fiction and fantasy literature as an undergrad. I did miss some though Keep the suggestions coming. I'm making an Amazon wish list from these __________________ ~~ Veritas simplex oratio est ~~ No matter how far a wizard goes, he will always come back for his hat. --T. Pratchett <---- You know you're getting old when you rely on your forum meta-data to remind you how old you are. Required Reading for all TG sandboxers

02-07-2006, 05:14 AM	#19 (permalink)
CingularDuality Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas, USA Age: 33 Posts: 16,806	Re: Book Recommendations? You ever read any Dean R. Koontz? Not exactly fine literature, but it's easy to immerse yourself in his novels. All are scary, some are sci-fi-ish, some are paranormalish, some are tin foil hat-ish. Easy reads. __________________ Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market! Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage." TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

02-07-2006, 09:45 AM	#21 (permalink)
BaneII Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 2,424	Re: Book Recommendations? Fantasy: Dragonlance: Chronicles Dragonlance: Legends Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Best fantasy series ever in my opinion. Ignore all the other spinoffs because it went downhill. However if you have read those series, they have done other series together like Death Gate Cycle (fantasy), Darksword (fantasy), Starshield (sf), and Rose of the Prophet (fantasy). Weis also has some other great series like Star of the Guardians (sf) and Mag Force 7 (sf). The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant 1-3 (fantasy) The Gap Series (sf) Stephen R Donaldson Great writer who makes awesome characters. SF and fantasy books by John Ringo who creates some awesome adventure. Tour of the Merrimack (sf) R.M. Meluch This is only the first book of a series. I dont know when it first came out since I got it out of the library. The Wreck of the River of Stars (sf) Michael Flynn You wont come close to figuring how the book ends. Great character development and unorthodox plots but refreshing writhing. Explorer series (sf) James Alan Gardner The first book Expendable is a not as good as the rest of the series but bear with it as he gets his style . Humor and strong female lead characters define the series. Otherworld series (sf) Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series(fantasy) Tad Williams For when you want 500+ page books for those long trips. Honor Universe (sf) Bolo series (sf) David Weber The Honor Universe has a lot of books so you wont catch up anytime soon. Also writes some fantasy and other sf.

02-07-2006, 10:19 AM	#22 (permalink)
ScratchMonkey Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Pablo, California Posts: 4,240	Re: Book Recommendations? I second the John Ringo recommendation. I particularly like his A Hymn Before Battle. http://www.baen.com/author_catalog.asp?author=jringo http://www.johnringo.com/ http://www.baen.com/series_list.asp#GF __________________

02-07-2006, 11:32 AM	#23 (permalink)
aculle01 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Monterey, CA Age: 25 Posts: 1,398	Re: Book Recommendations? I have to recommend Bernard Cornwell's Arthur series. 3 books Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur. Not exactly fantasy as it places Arthur and his Knights within the historical setting of the early dark ages and the fight over England between the saxons and the britons but certainly a great read. __________________ "I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored."

02-07-2006, 12:04 PM	#24 (permalink)
ScratchMonkey Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Pablo, California Posts: 4,240	Re: Book Recommendations? I love Warren Murphy, and his Forever King trilogy is a good read: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031...lance&n=283155 __________________

02-07-2006, 01:29 PM	#25 (permalink)
Spartan25 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 135	Re: Book Recommendations? Alan Dean Foster has some good books to his name. He writes sci-fi mostly and he does an excellent job of creating believable alien races. He's also done quite a few short stories and novels. I also second John Ringo, Eric Flint, and David Weber for very good military style sci-fi. R.A. Salvatore is one of my favorite fantasy authors recently. Writes mostly in the "forgotten realms" fantasyverse.

02-07-2006, 01:46 PM	#26 (permalink)
CingularDuality Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas, USA Age: 33 Posts: 16,806	Re: Book Recommendations? You've probably already read them, but I highly suggest The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson. __________________ Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market! Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage." TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

02-07-2006, 04:36 PM	#29 (permalink)
Rincewind Join Date: May 2005 Location: Casting useless spells in Oklahoma. Age: 27 Posts: 2,799	Re: Book Recommendations? Are you suggesting that people here have not already read the Illuminatus Trilogy? __________________ ~~ Veritas simplex oratio est ~~ No matter how far a wizard goes, he will always come back for his hat. --T. Pratchett <---- You know you're getting old when you rely on your forum meta-data to remind you how old you are. Required Reading for all TG sandboxers

02-07-2006, 04:44 PM	#30 (permalink)
RGM-79N_GM_CUstom Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Paterson, New Jersey Age: 22 Posts: 2,160	Re: Book Recommendations? I am not sure how much of an anime fan you are but there is the Mobile Suit Gundam novel trilogy. __________________ RX-78-2 Gundam EFSF Protoype Close Combat Mobile Suit Armor: Luna Titanium Armament: 2x Beam Sabers, 2x 60mm Head vulcan guns 380mm Hyper bazooka, Beam Rifle, Beam Javelin, Hyper Hammer, Gundam Hammer, shield TG Natural Selection admin. Need anything PM me. 7th Infantry FTW!!!!! "Snob? Nah...I consider myself more of a PC Evangelist...converting the heathens to The Way." Prophaniti "Windows is like Pokemon you gotta catch'em all." kenshinsama1

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