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Good George R. R. Martin and Similar Books

InvisibleInvisible Registered User regular
edited April 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
So I'm looking for some of the other good works of George R. R. Martin and similar authors. Doesn't have to be fantasy, just good detailed storytelling.

Already have the Song of Ice and Fire Series and Dreamsongs Vol. 1 and 2.

Bonus points if I can get it on my Kindle.

Invisible on

Posts

  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Glen Cooks "Black Company" books.

    Steven Erikson's "Malazan" series.

    Esh on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Grid System on
  • Caramel GenocideCaramel Genocide Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    There's a book Martin wrote with someone else, Dreamhaven, and I mention it to make sure that it isn't anywhere on your priority list. It's well-written enough, however if you go into it expecting GEORGE R R MARTIN, then you will likely be disappointed.


    Guy Gavriel Kay is awesome x10000 for anything he writes. Well, his stories at least - I haven't yet read his poetry, though it is supposed to be exquisite.

    I'd start with Lions of Al-Rassan or The Sarantine Mosaic (two books, Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors). Do not read Ysabel until after you've read the Fionavar Tapestry (three books, sometimes sold as one big one).

    Caramel Genocide on
  • CalebrosCalebros a k a TimesNewPwnin Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    There's always the Dune series

    Calebros on
  • Reverend_ChaosReverend_Chaos Suit Up! Spokane WARegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Esh wrote: »
    Steven Erikson's "Malazan" series.

    Seconded!! I am about 5 books in, and it's great!

    I am a big fan of Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, The Liveship Traders series and then the Tawny Man series all in the same world. This has some of and a really great world once you get into it.
    http://www.sfsite.com/04a/ques30.htm

    If you like sci-fi I would reccomend the Seafort Saga by David Feintuch - one of the best sci-fi series I have ever read.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafort_Saga

    I shudder to even offer this, but I am sure that someone will. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I gave up after book 8 or 9 when the POV characters weren't the main characters anymore and I was completely lost. Then he died before completing the series, although it is being finished by another author. I am personally waiting to hear if fans like the way the new guy wraps it up before I finish the series. I would have to read the whole thing from start to finish. One thing that I still love about this series, is the geographical cultures. Jordan did a phenomenal job with that.

    Reverend_Chaos on
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  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.
    China Mieville's New Crobuzon novels (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council)

    Xagarath on
  • EWomEWom Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I enjoyed Thunderer, by Felix Gilman. It's not long though :\ Good for an in between book.

    Although it seems he has a new(ish?) book out called Gears of the City, I'll have to check it out, but I'm not sure if its related at all.

    Oh and its available on Kindle.

    EDIT: Looking on Amazon, Gears of the City is the sequel to Thunderer.

    EWom on
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  • DarksierDarksier Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora is a good read.

    Darksier on
  • Andrew_JayAndrew_Jay Registered User regular
    edited May 2021
    -

    Andrew_Jay on
  • clsCorwinclsCorwin Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    The Novel Windhaven by GRRM and Lisa Tuttle is different from ASoIaF, but is totally awesome.

    Check out The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

    clsCorwin on
  • November FifthNovember Fifth Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series is to the Crusades what a Song of Fire and Ice is to the War of the Roses.

    November Fifth on
  • SelnerSelner Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Esh wrote: »
    Steven Erikson's "Malazan" series.

    Seconded!! I am about 5 books in, and it's great!.


    Thirded! :)

    There are nine total books in the "main" series out now, with the 10th being the last (I believe).

    Erikson has a partner too, Ian C. Esslemont who has written a couple of additional books.
    And Erikson himself has written several "Bauchelain and Korbal Broach" books, that are tangential to the "main" series.

    So it is a large number of books.

    They are inconsistently on Kindle though, as there is some sort of wacky copyright thing keeping a couple of them from getting to the US (can get them in the UK though).

    Books 1-3, 6 and 7 are on Kindle.
    The "Bauchelain and Korbal Broach" trilogy is also on Kindle.
    The first Esslemont book ("Night of Knives") is on Kindle.

    Books 4, 5 and 8 all have Kindle versions, but are copyright restricted to the UK :( .
    Book 9 came on in January, and is not on Kindle yet.

    One thing to point out is that the books jump around alot. Books 1, 2 and 5 all start in "new" places.
    Book 3 is a direct sequal to book 1, and book 4 is a direct sequal to book 2. It can be a little confusing, and is almost better read one right after another.

    Selner on
  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Xagarath wrote: »
    Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.

    I'd recommend most of Gene Wolfe's work.

    I'll personally add K.J. Parker to the mix. Look for something like The Company or either the fencer or the scavenger trilogy. Not as good as either Wolfe or Martin but I like his style.

    Rook on
  • AsheAshe Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Just wanted to pipe up to support the recommendations of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and also Bakker's Prince of Nothing series. Quality stuff!

    Ashe on
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  • genejockygenejocky Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    If you like A Song of Ice and Fire, I would recommend The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss as well.

    genejocky on
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I read the first Malazan book by Steven Erikson because everyone says it is like GRRM's fantasy novels. Don't believe a word of it. The book was cryptic and boring. I have no idea what happened in it. A real snore-fest. Nothing at all like GRRM's epic and wonderful human dramas.

    I'd recomend "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves, a historical novel set in Roman times that really "feels" like ASOIAF, with lots of double-crossing nobles and decadence.

    CelestialBadger on
  • AsheAshe Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I read the first Malazan book by Steven Erikson because everyone says it is like GRRM's fantasy novels. Don't believe a word of it. The book was cryptic and boring. I have no idea what happened in it. A real snore-fest. Nothing at all like GRRM's epic and wonderful human dramas.

    Unfortunately the first book tries to throw too much information at the reader, due to the scope of the world and series as a whole. It is cryptic, yes, but an aspect of the series is its use of mystery and the unknown. I think most generally agree that the first book is the weakest of them all, which is a shame, as it can quite easily put people off, meaning they miss out on the huge improvements in the following books (in contrast, the 2nd and 3rd are widely regarded as highlights in the series). And for epic and wonderful human drama, look no further than the story-within-a-story, the Chain of Dogs, within the second book of the Malazan series. Powerful stuff.

    So, yeah, I agree with you on the first book - it ain't particularly special. However, sticking with the series brings real rewards.

    Ashe on
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  • SelnerSelner Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Ashe wrote: »
    I read the first Malazan book by Steven Erikson because everyone says it is like GRRM's fantasy novels. Don't believe a word of it. The book was cryptic and boring. I have no idea what happened in it. A real snore-fest. Nothing at all like GRRM's epic and wonderful human dramas.

    Unfortunately the first book tries to throw too much information at the reader, due to the scope of the world and series as a whole. It is cryptic, yes, but an aspect of the series is its use of mystery and the unknown. I think most generally agree that the first book is the weakest of them all, which is a shame, as it can quite easily put people off, meaning they miss out on the huge improvements in the following books (in contrast, the 2nd and 3rd are widely regarded as highlights in the series). And for epic and wonderful human drama, look no further than the story-within-a-story, the Chain of Dogs, within the second book of the Malazan series. Powerful stuff.

    So, yeah, I agree with you on the first book - it ain't particularly special. However, sticking with the series brings real rewards.

    Yeah, I think there is near universal agreement that Gardens of the Moon is the weakest of the series.

    I have read books 1-4 and can tell you that 2-4 are just great. Book 3 in particular is just awesome. I really enjoyed Book 2 as well.
    Book 4 starts off kind of slow, with a 200 page intro to a specific character, but it picks up after that.

    And yeah, the Chain of Dogs is really great stuff. And, the siege of Capustan (and the following battles) is mind-boggingly fantastic. It actually made me cry, for like the last 50 pages or so.

    Selner on
  • InvisibleInvisible Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Just wanted to say thanks for the suggestions.

    I've read "Dying of the Light" and rather enjoyed it.

    I also picked up the first book of Malazan (I tried starting it but it seems like the type of book I'll need more than a few breaks during work to get into) and some other suggestions.

    The main reason I necroposted was to recommend "Fevre Dream" by George R.R. Martin for others looking for similar books. I'm only a few chapters in, but it is vampires done right.

    Invisible on
  • GammarahGammarah Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Calebros wrote: »
    There's always the Dune series

    Yes. Reading Dune right after you read A Game of Thrones is the best. I highly recommend it.

    Gammarah on
  • Caramel GenocideCaramel Genocide Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Is there a cliffnotes version of the first Malazan book somewhere, so that I don't have to read it again before starting the second one? I really really disliked the first one (and it was ages ago that I read it), but I'm willing to give the series another shot since the second is supposedly awesome.

    Caramel Genocide on
  • Reverend_ChaosReverend_Chaos Suit Up! Spokane WARegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Is there a cliffnotes version of the first Malazan book somewhere, so that I don't have to read it again before starting the second one? I really really disliked the first one (and it was ages ago that I read it), but I'm willing to give the series another shot since the second is supposedly awesome.

    I don't think so - but Honestly I would tell you to just jump in - the Second book only has a couple of characters from the first. The whole novel takes place on a different continent with a whole new cast of characters.

    Reverend_Chaos on
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  • QuothQuoth the Raven Miami, FL FOR REALRegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
  • MyiagrosMyiagros Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I liked reading the Dunk and Egg stories after finishing Song. I only read the graphical version though, Hedge Knight and Sworn Sword. Apparently the short story versions are better as the graphical version left out a bunch of detail.

    There is also the Warriors book that was recently released. It is a bunch of short stories from various authors, one being Martin. He wrote another story with Dunk and Egg for it.

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  • khainkhain Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Is there a cliffnotes version of the first Malazan book somewhere, so that I don't have to read it again before starting the second one? I really really disliked the first one (and it was ages ago that I read it), but I'm willing to give the series another shot since the second is supposedly awesome.

    I don't think so - but Honestly I would tell you to just jump in - the Second book only has a couple of characters from the first. The whole novel takes place on a different continent with a whole new cast of characters.

    Wikipedia has a short plot summary.

    khain on
  • kedinikkedinik Captain of Industry Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    genejocky wrote: »
    If you like A Song of Ice and Fire, I would recommend The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss as well.

    I read this post and, like, 2 days later I saw The Name of the Wind lying around my house, and no one knows how it got there.

    Damn good book.

    kedinik on
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  • El FantasticoEl Fantastico Toronto, ONRegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I'd recommend the first trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

    The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and Last Arguement of Kings

    I haven't read the last book yet, but the first two are quite good. There's a fair bit of political intrigue and slight pockets of "magic" in a world that isn't completely immersed in it, similar to Westeros. One of the characters quite nicely develops into a Tyrion trope - gnarled and disfigured, but incredibly intelligent and savvy about internal government workings.

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  • LanlaornLanlaorn Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I don't understand the hate for the first Malazan book, it introduces so, so many badass characters. You don't know the backstory to every character right away, but that certainly doesn't make it cryptic.

    Why is it wrong to start off with just impressive feats and open ended questions, thinking, ok this character kicks an amazing amount of ass, but why is he just a squad mage or wow that character is badass I wonder how he got his soul devouring sword/why he can transform into a dragon/where did he get a flying pyramid fortress.

    IMO that just sets the stage for epic reveals in later books. I finished Book 1 thinking "Oh my God this is amazing, I must learn more about each of these characters" and then in other books not only does Erikson flesh them out, he adds more badasses. I simply cannot understand another interpretation, you don't get all the information you want right away but it certainly wasn't confusing.

    Lanlaorn on
  • Caramel GenocideCaramel Genocide Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    For my part, I didn't find the first Malazan book confusing, I just found it incredibly dull and rather poorly written (and as such am not willing to slog through it a second time to refresh my memory as to what happened). However, I'm going to give the series another shot since I hear rather a lot of "yeah the first book wasn't that great, but the second is awesome!" comments.

    Caramel Genocide on
  • EvylEvyl Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    The Guy Gavriel Kay recommendations were well given, but flawed - there were no mentions of Tigana. I would very easily describe it as a 'must read'.

    Evyl on
  • Caramel GenocideCaramel Genocide Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Every Kay book is a must read (Tigana is a favorite)! However a specific recommendation of the Sarantium books seemed more appropriate for a "I like Martin, what else should I read" thread.

    Caramel Genocide on
  • necroSYSnecroSYS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2010
    Myiagros wrote: »
    I liked reading the Dunk and Egg stories after finishing Song. I only read the graphical version though, Hedge Knight and Sworn Sword. Apparently the short story versions are better as the graphical version left out a bunch of detail.

    There is also the Warriors book that was recently released. It is a bunch of short stories from various authors, one being Martin. He wrote another story with Dunk and Egg for it.

    Absolutely. The Dunk and Egg stories are some of my favorites of his. It doesn't hurt that they're set in Westeros either.

    necroSYS on
  • wallakawallaka Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Tad Williams. Specifically, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy and War of the Flowers.

    Otherland is OK, but drags a bit.

    Most anything by Dan Simmons. They Hyperion/Endymion series and the Olympos duology are both detailed and plot-dense.

    wallaka on
  • DracilDracil Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I liked GRRM's Tuf Voyaging. It's sci-fi and just a collection of related short stories about one guy, but put together, there is some actual continuity to the stories.

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  • ParadisoParadiso Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    kedinik wrote: »
    I read this post and, like, 2 days later I saw The Name of the Wind lying around my house, and no one knows how it got there.

    Damn good book.

    I've been reading this lately, perhaps halfway through it, and I have to say it's a good thing that the world is so interesting because the protagonist is an annoying piece of shit. I'm reserving final judgment, but I'm amazed I can stay with it when I find the central character to be such a turn-off.

    Paradiso on
  • kedinikkedinik Captain of Industry Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Paradiso wrote: »
    kedinik wrote: »
    I read this post and, like, 2 days later I saw The Name of the Wind lying around my house, and no one knows how it got there.

    Damn good book.

    I've been reading this lately, perhaps halfway through it, and I have to say it's a good thing that the world is so interesting because the protagonist is an annoying piece of shit. I'm reserving final judgment, but I'm amazed I can stay with it when I find the central character to be such a turn-off.
    I like him alright, as a fictional hero in a medium-serious book.

    I laughed when Rothfuss described the story as "partially autobiographical" on his website.

    Which part, the murder of his entire family by demons? His unmatched musical and acting skills? Maybe the part where he was such a child prodigy that scholarships were invented solely for his sake.

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  • KhaczorKhaczor Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Everything by Brandon Sanderson. Start from Elantris and then work your way his Mistborn trilogy (probably one of my favorite series besides A Song of Ice and Fire)

    Khaczor on
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