[Mefustae]

*Ahem* Back to the topic at hand.

What do you think of Zombies? Because regardless, I highly recommend World War Z by Max Brooks. It's presented as an oral history of a Zombie pandemic that very nearly wipes humanity clean off the globe. It covers both military and civilian perspectives, characters from all around the world: From a Chinese Admiral who used a stolen Boomer submarine to escape the zombie hordes, to an Australian astronaut who spent the duration of the war on the International Space Station.

Nicely written and an original take on an otherwise well-trodden genre. It ain't got mechs, but it's a damned good read nonetheless.

[Ransom]

Hey. Hey, guy.

Gradisil, by Adam Roberts. It is fantastic. I'm going to keep mentioning this in Recommended Reading threads until everyone on this forum has read it.

Clive Barker's Imajica is the best stand-alone fantasy novel I've ever read.

And have you read George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series? Some excellent high fantasy there. It's got a lot of politics in it without being tiresome, and the world's more medieval than most of the mainstream nonsense. The way Martin handles magic is also pretty classy. First one's A Game of Thrones.

I'm not sure how you feel about Stephen King, but his Dark Tower series might be worth looking into. I've only read the first and it doesn't stand on its own terribly well, but the writing style is fun if a little contrived and the story seems pretty unique. First one's called The Gunslinger.

[karajorma]

I'll second the recommendation to read some Larry Niven. Ringworld is probably the most famous thing he wrote but I'd probably suggest starting a little further back in the chronology with Protector first or perhaps a short story book like N-Space which features what I feel are his best two short stories (Inconstant Moon and Convergent Series).

I'd also recommend some Harry Harrison. The West of Eden trilogy are a damn good read and if you fancy something lighter try any of the Stainless Steel Rat books or even Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers if you want to go for parody.

You might want to try some Greg Bear too. I quite liked Forge of God and it's sequel Anvil of Stars and I know quite a few people who really liked Eon and Eternity although I myself only thought them okay.

[Shade]

Mefustae: Everyone likes zombies, including me I'll check it out.

Ransom: I think you can stop mentioning Gradisil in any future book threads by me, at least. That looks like a must-read, as does Imajica. Song of Ice and Fire also looks good, so thanks for several good suggestions. As for Stephen King, I do like his writing, but it's not what I'm looking for right now.

Karajorma: Ringworld I've read (how could I not?), but I will look into the rest. Thanks.

I think I'm about there now... the suggestions so far should last me a good while. That doesn't mean stop posting good books, of course, it just means it's not particularly urgent. Suggestions about good books are always welcome I'd still like to hear from anyone who has read any of the Uplift series or the Boos of the Swords though, but the truth is that if I don't get any comments on them, I'll probably just buy them - They look like my kind of thing.

[Wobble73]

Fantasy - Any David Eddings books
Sci-Fi - Julian Mays The Galactic Millieu Trilogy (Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask and Magnificat)

Oh and Ransom Arceihn mentioned Imajica by Clive Barker, I would like to add Weaveworld by the same author. Top stuff! 

[perihelion]

I too have been actively looking for new authors where I can.  I've found the best thing to try is grab a couple anthologies (there are occasionally some real gem's in the best of such-and-such-year books).  If a story strikes your fancy, try to see what else that author has written.  That's how I found Paul McAuley (try 400 Billion Stars if you can find it), Mary Rosenblum (Drylands), and Alex Irvine (The Narrows).  All three of them were relative unknowns at the time.  Paul McAuley has been quite prolific in recent years.  The others I rather doubt you've heard of.  Dig a bit.  They are worth finding.

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned the rather obvious Alastair Reynolds (I particularly enjoyed his recent Pushing Ice) or Dan Simmons.  I mean, really, Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion ought to be required reading whether you enjoy science fiction or not just for pure beauty of the writing.  The last two books in the series tanked hardcore, but the first two are my personal touchstones for "good writing."

[Herra Tohtori]

Fantasy - Any David Eddings books

Well... I guess Belgariad/Malloreon (along with the Belgarath) wasn't too bad (despite being somewhat clichéd and naivistic journey-of-a-neofyte-hero-and-his-merry-men), and neither was Elenium. Hell, I actually appreciated the Elenium more than Belgariad/Malloreon for the sole reason that when the hero kicks the bad guys' asses, it's because he's a badass warhero master knight and not some teenager with awakening hidden powers that amaze everyone... Sparhawk was IMHO a better champion character than Belgarion. But as a whole I liked the Belgariad a bit more. Don't ask why, perhaps it was because it was the first fantasy series I got into reading, about 9-10 years ago or so.

But Tamuli trilogy was sadly plagued with superman syndrome and plot devices, increasingly towards the ending, Polgara was kinda boring and felt like a rip-off re-telling of what we pretty much already knew, Riva's Chronicles even more so, I'm not going to even mention Regina's Song apart from it's name and Althalus was pretty much lame all the way through as soon as the bronze age ended, and the characters were just cheesy... I haven't gotten the Dreamer (elder gods'n soforth) stuff into my hands yet, but I'm not holding my breath on them.

Obviously, Terry Pratchett's Diskworld books are entertaining and they get funnier the more you read other, more conventional fantasy/sci-fi stuff, they are crammed with references to all kinds of clichés you can think of. Also, other books by Pratchett are worth reading IMHO.

I personally also like Jordan's Wheel of Time, despite the 3-4 rather tedious books in the middle of the series, I just hope he wraps it ups before dying on it... Some don't like the so-called over-descriptive way they are written, but I don't have trouble with it mainly because my reading speed is faster than average.

Other fantasy authors I would recommend with some reservations include (but are not excluded to:
-Robin Hobb (Assassins Inc.)
-Anne McCaffrey (Pern)
-Weis&Hickman (Dragonlance is worth reading, but I personally liked the Death Gate Cycle way more for some reason - apart from the final books in the series)
-Salvatore (Early Drizzt books and Icewind Dale are cool, later ones... not so much. Also, the The Woods Out Back was somewhat readable, but the later books in that series weren't that convincing)


On the Sci-Fi side...

-Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep and it's "prequel" A Deepness in the Sky were rather enjoyable reading... Especially because there were some not-so-conventional forms of intelligent life. I get bored with differently coloured humanoids all over the place.

-I'd recommend Hal Clement's books (If the rest are anything like Mission of Gravity, they are good stuff as well. I've only read that one due to lack of both  translations and English versions in nearby libraries...) but if you've read most scifi worth mentioning, I'd guess you're familiar with them.

-Simmons' Hyperion universe left a distinct "WTF" impression on me. I mean, what the hell was it all about? Apart from church schemes all around the place, weird religious themes, time traveling and wooden gifts and toys space ships? Some of the confusion might be attributed to Finnish translation, but still... And yea, Endumion was a Prick with capital P, Aenea was a poor man's messiah and there wasn't much to the books about them. Except more weird religious themes and church scheming. EDIT: The Shrike was a fundamentally Cool Concept, though. But IMHO it wasn't enough.


Can't really think of much more right now.

[jr2]

Anybody here ever heard of the Firebird Trilogy?  (Firebird | Fusion Fire | Crown of Fire)  I liked that one. 

http://www.amazon.com/Firebird-Trilogy-Tyers-Kathy/dp/0764229273

-for under $5, including shipping... well, maybe not.  I've lost my copy; I'm getting another.    But you should be able to get it for close to that amount.  eBay has it too, but more expensive.

EDIT: Oh, and if you like older sci-fi stuff, too (ala HG Wells), try getting CS Lewis' The Space Trilogy.  Amazon | eBay

[Polpolion]

You could try Brave New World. That was a decent book.

[watsisname]

The Descent novels by Peter Telep are incredibly good, especially if you're familiar with that series of games.  Peter has written a few other fantasy books, and though I haven't read them yet I'm sure they'd be enjoyable.

Also if you like some combination of sci-fi/suspense/thriller/mystery, then I'd give a recommendation for by Dean Koontz

[Thor]

Two Authors not mentioned but should be are Jack McDevitt and Robert J. Sawyer (go CanCON!)  I actually met Sawyer, was a pretty nice guy and his books deal with some very intriguing what if questions.

[lenard27]

Although Star Wars books were pretty much beaten to death earlier in the thread, I have to recommend the X-Wing Series, especially the ones by Michael Stackpole. Although, Aaron Allston's are excellent too. The New Jedi Order series is also good if you can keep track of a series that lasts approx. 22 books or so (I don't know the exact number). And you can't go wrong with anything by Timothy Zahn.

[spartan_0214]

I would definitely recommend the Thrawn trilogy. IMHO, there's nothing better in the Star Wars series (actually think they're better than the movie, but, apples and oranges). Second to none, Timothy Zahn writes not only one, but two compelling storylines, one in the Trilogy, the other in the Hand of Thrawn duology. No other Star Wars author writes as well as he does. The only story that comes close to his is Michael Stackpole's X-Wing series (not the fifth one, mind you, just the first five). That covers the New Republic's conquering Coruscant. Oh, on a sidenote, it was Timothy Zahn who came up with Coruscant. George Lucas was going to use Imperial City for the movies, but on recommendation, he used Coruscant. So, my recommendation: The Thrawn Trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn Duology, both by Timothy Zahn.

or, if you haven't read it, the Ender's Game series...

[lenard27]

Yep, both the trilogy and duology by Zahn are great. The only book I read that is from the Prequel Trilogy-era that was good was Outbound Flight, also by Zahn (of course). Actually, its excellent, but I've always had a little bit of a fetish for the Chiss. They're my favorite race in the expanded universe.

[Turey]

Kara already mentioned Harry Harrison, so I'll add in the other two authors in my SciFic/Fan Top Three: Alan Dean Foster and Robert Asprin. Anything by Foster is worth reading, but his Pip and Flinx/Humanx Commonwealth books are especially good. Asprin writes great comedies, both in Science Fiction (Check out Phule's Company and sequels) and in Fantasy ( check out the Myth series).

Also, Larry Niven has been mentioned, but the Grendel series co-authored by him hasn't.

[WMCoolmon]

Someone mentioned Baen Free Library. "Doc Sidhe" isn't bad, it's the first book I've gotten from there. It's written by Aaron Allston.

[Shade]

I'm having some trouble finding an online bookstore that has the Battletech and SW novels, since the UK amazon store doesn't have them in stock and apparently aren't planning to restock them either. Any suggestions for other EU-based stores that might sell them? If it comes to it, I could order them from the US, since amazon.com does have them, but that doubles the price for both delivery and the books themselves so I'd rather not if I can avoid it.

[Mefustae]

You might also want to check out The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clark. It's set in the near future when a man invents a way to create tiny wormholes as a means to transfer data instantaneously from one point to another. The plot thickens when they discover that light can pass through them, destroying all vestiges of privacy as you can now see anything, anywhere. They then manage to stretch wormholes through time, as well as space, allowing you to view anything, anywhere, anytime. Safe to say, the impact on society is pretty damn awesome, ranging from the loss of privacy to the destruction of historical and religious legends and myths as the harsh truth is viewed firsthand.

Check it out.

[Pathwarden]

(basically, if it's Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein, Gibson, Orwell or Card, and worth a damn, I've read it, as well as several major classics by other authors),

Umm... Timothy Zahn? Thrawn trilogy? 

Not so much a fan of star wars books myself, but the triolgy by timothy zhan is an awesome read, Thrawn is one of the more interesting villains if seen in awhile.

Dont read to much sci fi but you did say fantasy, heres a couple I loved when I was a kid. (Forgive me if these have been mentioned, havent read the entire thread)

*Margert Wies & Tracey Hickman books*

Dragonlance trilogy

Will of the wanderer series 

Darksword Trilogy

Deathgate cycle series


My fav sci fi book.. aside from timothy zhans work, would probably have to be enders game.. friend loaned it to me a couple of years ago, how I went so long w/o reading it I'll never know.

[Flipside]

Try some early Feist as well, Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon, later on he gets a bit silly, continually making the enemy bigger and bigger and, in general, making the series less enjoyable from my perspective at least, but the early stuff was thoroughly enjoyable Fantasy. Basically, once Prince Arutha died, the series went downhill.

Eddings is ok for the Belgariad/Mallorean, a good series of books, but, as has been said before, the Elenium/Tamuli  struck me as just the Belgariad with a different backdrop, mega-powerful gem, hero who is both a warrior and a mage, guided by a powerful mage, a mighty warrior, a Thief etc, and the exact opposite of the mega-powerful gem being the final confrontation.