Reading recommendations

[Aldus Vertten]

Ok, today i finished 2 books, The Sword of Dawn by Moorcock and the Hero of Ages from Sanderson... The first one i read in work breaks, and i have yet to read the fourth in the series, that probably will take me a couple of days...

So i need new things to read!!!

Working in a hotel i usually get a lot of books that people leave behind when they check out, so lately i reading all kind of things, aside from the ones i buy. Next by Chrichton, The Brethren by Grisham, Burn Notice The Fix (this i bought, i needed till january arrives!), Heroes In Training, the runestaff series, mistborn, elantris, discworld, the graveyard book....

I feel in the mood for some sci-fi, but i don't know where to begin. The last Scifi book i read that i really liked was Spin, and i loved it.

so, please, help me! or i will end reading twilight (which i will eventually, but not in the mood right now...

Al


PS: I went to foyles and checked a few books. unfortunately, all fantasy. Any opinion in them?

• The kingdom beyond the waves by stephen hunt
• books by karen miller
• the blade itslef, by abercrombie
• The years of rice and salt, by kim stanley robinson
• Snow crash and Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
• Lord of the light by zelazny
• Extraordinary Engines, a steampun collection of short stories

PS2 somebody left in the hotel Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong. I thing it's the second book in a series, with some CSI vibe mixed with magic. at first sight it reminded me of VoS. havent read it, tough, so i dont know for sure

[Sletchman]

I wouldn't exactly class Snow Crash, or Diamond Age by Stephenson as Fantasy, or at least not exclusively so.  I'd personally put them down as Scifi [thou maybe I've got the defination wrong?]  Either way, both good reads in my opinion.

Also, don't forget Gibson [if you don't already have his works] - most of his books are fairly quinessential scifi.

Interestingly - Diamond age is being made into a mini-series [and being directed by George Clooney, and written by Stephenson himself - woot!]

Also just a final thing - I got a set of Jul Verne books from my grandma for christmas and have just got stuck into those - so don't discount the classics either.

[Krensky]

Snow Crash and Diamond Age are definately sci-fi, and are actually the same world, seperated by a century or so if I remember the time right. Both worth reading.

Lord of Light is also science fiction and a great read and steeped in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism. It's one of my favorites.

I'd also recomend the Takashi Kovacs series (Altered Carbon, Fallen Angels, and Woken Furies) and the... Commonwealth(?) series (Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained).

[TheAuldGrump]

As an odd coincidence I just finished reading Accidental Sorcerer by K. E. Mills - Karen Miller's alter-ego. It actually has some small bearing on an espionage Fantasy Craft game, as at the endo of the book

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the main character is recruited as a 'janitor' by a very bland fellow indeed....

Unfortunately it is much lighter fantasy than I prefer, but folks tastes differ, and it may be more your cuppa than mine.

Extraordinary Engines sounds interesting.... I don't think that I have that one. (My tastes do tend toward the lighter side of steampunk - by nature I am not as nihilistic as the genres's darker side.)

The Auld Grump, perhaps a general book discussion thread might be a good idea?

[Agent 333]

Lesse, good scifi... I can't reccomend Caves of Steel by Asimov enough, if you haven't read it yet. Great book with a sci-fi mystery kinda swing to it. If you want something a little more actiony, Jurrasic Park is a great read (warning, may make you hate the movie  ), as is Timeline (if you somehow magically don't allready hate the movie, reading the book will make you hate how much it got butchered).
Ringworld by Larry Niven is worth a read. The Foundation Trilogy by Asimov is more like a set of short storys than a continuous narative, but definately a sci-fi cornerstone.

Hmm, I'm thinking I should pick up some Verne stuff myself. Been meaning to read some of it for a long while now, and having just recently seen the Journey to the Center of the Earth movie kinda reinstilled that curiosity.

[ThunderMonkey]

I've really enjoyed the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko so far. I've read the first two books and the wife got me the third one for Christmas. It's been too long since I've read the first two, so I'm going back to read them again. It still holds up pretty well on a second read.

If you seen the movies, you should read the books. The movies are like a re-interpretation of the books and there are a lot more details that are left out that makes the books worth the read.

Don't know if these are classified as hardcore sci-fi, but still worth a look see.

[Gentry]

Go old-school Heinlein.  Tunnel in the Sky, Starman Jones, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers.  Excellent stuff, that manages to avoid the modern trap of needing three novels to tell a single story. 

[Aldus Vertten]

ups... Yeah, the last three are not fantasy, i dont know why i writed that probably because after spending all the afternoon in a couple of bookstores i felt like that there'sonly fantasy books. They're everywhere, while scifi books are not so many around...

Caves of steel it's the last book i have read from asimov, a couple years ago. and i really liked it.

As an odd coincidence I just finished reading Accidental Sorcerer by K. E. Mills - Karen Miller's alter-ego. It actually has some small bearing on an espionage Fantasy Craft game, as at the endo of the book

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the main character is recruited as a 'janitor' by a very bland fellow indeed....

Unfortunately it is much lighter fantasy than I prefer, but folks tastes differ, and it may be more your cuppa than mine.

Extraordinary Engines sounds interesting.... I don't think that I have that one. (My tastes do tend toward the lighter side of steampunk - by nature I am not as nihilistic as the genres's darker side.)

The Auld Grump, perhaps a general book discussion thread might be a good idea?

Karen Miller caught my attention mostly because in every bookstore i went yesterday, they have them in a very visible place, so it seemed to be very popular lately. I have no reference about any book in specific.

For some strange reason, i tought about you when i saw Extraordinarie Engines... why could that be?

And yes, it would be a good idea to do a thread about books. We can use this one, even.


Right now i'm not so much looking for classics, but something modern, in approach and in language. the Runestaff is great, but you can see it's been a while since it was written... (and an aside note, reading both Runestaff and HoA at the same time got me confused a couple of times. I keep waiting for Hawkmoon to burn pewter...  )

the kingdom beyond the waves had a verne feeling, at least by the design of the book. And i've to check about the year of rice and salt, it really looked interesting...and checking takashi and common wealth...


And while i was writing...

I've really enjoyed the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko so far. I've read the first two books and the wife got me the third one for Christmas. It's been too long since I've read the first two, so I'm going back to read them again. It still holds up pretty well on a second read.

If you seen the movies, you should read the books. The movies are like a re-interpretation of the books and there are a lot more details that are left out that makes the books worth the read.

Don't know if these are classified as hardcore sci-fi, but still worth a look see.

I hate the first movie, worst experience ever in a movie for me. i was tempted to check the books, but everytim i get my hands close to them, flashes from the movie come to my mind, and make me run away... so until i forget about the movie... in a decade or two...

[MilitiaJim]

Snowcrash is great, and I believe is part of the beginings of cyber-punk.  It certainly is dystopian, even if it is a greatly entertaining story.

Starship Troopers might be my all time favorite book, and can honestly be dropped off on the poli-sci bookshelf.

If you like your sci-fi heavy on the military side then David Drake is the go to guy for his Hammer's Slammers series that is mostly short stories.  Joe Haldman's The Forever War and its sequel Forever Free are also great.

For more mythosy stuff, shoot, I can't remember the author, though he's a chill dude, but the first book is The Stench of Fresh Air.  His stuff is fun and has a semi-Crafty feel.  The main character is rather overpowered, but his teammates are great.

[ThunderMonkey]

And while i was writing...

I've really enjoyed the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko so far. I've read the first two books and the wife got me the third one for Christmas. It's been too long since I've read the first two, so I'm going back to read them again. It still holds up pretty well on a second read.

If you seen the movies, you should read the books. The movies are like a re-interpretation of the books and there are a lot more details that are left out that makes the books worth the read.

Don't know if these are classified as hardcore sci-fi, but still worth a look see.

I hate the first movie, worst experience ever in a movie for me. i was tempted to check the books, but everytim i get my hands close to them, flashes from the movie come to my mind, and make me run away... so until i forget about the movie... in a decade or two...

Really?.. I totally digged the movie. I didn't get to see it until it came it on video and I loved the whole effect they did with the subtitles. (Disclaimer: Being hard of hearing I have to watch movies and shows with subtitles). My only complaint is that there wasn't enough of Tiger Cub and no transformations for Bear.

The books gives more detail to the hierarchy of the Others. It was interesting to see vampires deregulated to the bottom of the totem pole.

[brazen_saint]

I am a big Zelazny fan, so if you like Lord of Light, definitely try out the Chronicles of Amber series.  I believe that all 5 are available now in one big volume. 

Other especially good Zelazny works include Roadmarks, and Creatures of Light and Darkness.

Another author I would heartily recommend is David Gerrold, especially the War against the Cthorr series, and the Space Wolf series.  Great hard-sf with well-written and deep characters.

[player4]

A lot of good sci-fi books mentioned.  I support the Forever War choice since it's a book that doesn't get mentioned half as much as it should.

I'll make a comment on one of your fantasy book questions.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.

If you enjoy good humor & a gritty feel to your fiction you want this book.  You just don't want to read this book you want this book.  The way a fat kid wants cake.

Trust me.

[Golden Dragon]

I am a big Zelazny fan, so if you like Lord of Light, definitely try out the Chronicles of Amber series.  I believe that all 5 are available now in one big volume. 

I think I have this in a volume with the next series of 5 books, so that I have all 10 Amber books in 1 volume.

[Crafty_Pat]

My favorite novel of all time is The List of 7 by Mark Frost. It's not sci-fi (it's more an occult Victorian murder mystery), but it's amazing.

[Gentry]

In the vein of "my favorite novel that's not exactly X", mine is Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield.  Rare is the book that actually moves me emotionally.  But this is the "300 Spartans" story I wish had made it to film.