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Sci-Fi (and maybe Fantasy) book recommendations
Tomanta
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So my job has a lot of downtime. Well, not as much at the moment as it did but suffice to say I ran through a LOT of books over the summer and am out of ideas. Currently interested in the science fiction side of sci-fi/fantasy but won't reject other genres.
The main requirement is they have to be "easy" to read, in that there are times I may only get to read two or three pages before having to put the book down for an hour, which has left me stumped.
To give an idea of what I've already gone through, I've read quite a bit of Star Wars and Eberron stuff over the summer, blew through all the Halo novels and just finished the first Mass Effect book. Currently re-reading my Neil Gaiman stuff, but almost done there.
What I am mainly looking for is stuff that doesn't belong to an established series like the ones I listed above (unless it is SPECTACULAR), as I'm wanting to broaden my horizons a little bit.
Note, I have nothing against harder reads [especially since they tend to be better/more rewarding!] and have several things in that category lying around/on my wish list
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The main requirement is they have to be "easy" to read, in that there are times I may only get to read two or three pages before having to put the book down for an hour, which has left me stumped.
To give an idea of what I've already gone through, I've read quite a bit of Star Wars and Eberron stuff over the summer, blew through all the Halo novels and just finished the first Mass Effect book. Currently re-reading my Neil Gaiman stuff, but almost done there.
What I am mainly looking for is stuff that doesn't belong to an established series like the ones I listed above (unless it is SPECTACULAR), as I'm wanting to broaden my horizons a little bit.
Note, I have nothing against harder reads [especially since they tend to be better/more rewarding!] and have several things in that category lying around/on my wish list
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i haven't read any of the Foundation series, but they're suppose to be good as well
standard Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind) and Bean series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant) by Orson Scott Card.
i'd recommend a lot of Heinlein to you, but i think you're looking for sci-fi as opposed to science fiction, the difference being that science fiction usually deals with serious aspects, so the subject matter is rooted in religion, society, humanity, philosophy, politics, etc.
Isaac Asimov, of course, is going to be in the science fiction side of things, but they're easy reads, and entertaining, even if you don't look for anything deeper.
most of all, most of all
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Acts of Caine: Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover
A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones, a Clash of kings, a storm of swords, and A feast for Crows by George RR Martin
Malaazan Books of the Fallen by Steve Erikson (theres a lot of these books)
Thats for fantasy
For sci-fi
Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan
Otherland by Ted Williams
John Varley's Red Thunder is a pretty great read.
Ill second the Ender series.
If you're reading Gaiman's stuff, then give Good Omens a try if you havent allready.
After that I would say try one of the Discworld books. Good Omens is by Gaiman and Terry Pratchet, and the Discworld series is Pratchet's claim to fame. Its a series, but it isnt really connected. There is a general time line and the characters are generally the same, but the order isnt really important.
Hmmm.... I think thats about all Ive got right now. But those are some of my favorites.
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
Hmm, I have a Phillip K. Dick short story collection lying around that I haven't read much of. May track that down to get me by until I can look into some of these suggestions (keep 'em coming!).
Wikipedia link What I'm talking about is that 2001 republishing of the first edition mentioned in the wiki.
Treason, by Orson Scott Card. Pretty awesome if: a) You like the idea of superpowers, b) you like Card talking about relationships between varying countries, and c) you like a crazy sci-fi background to put it all in perspective.
Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, both by Peter Hamilton. Hardcore space operas, ~1000 pages each, with a fuckton of detail about exactly how the future as presented in the books works. Good if you like really long stories that come to a singular event at the end and like the idea of wormholes/galactic expansion.
Probably my most favourite sci-fi author.
Check out the two books: A Fire in the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky.
You mentioned you want stuff to be read in short bursts. The Truth Machine and The First Immortal both by James Halperin are perfect for this. They're not great sci-fi by any stretch of the immagination, but they're entertaining fluff that can be read a few pages at a time.
He already read the Mass Effect book.
well maybee he should have said that then.
oh wait he did?
well maybee i should read then.
Stay away from the prequels, though. Truly awful books.
Tad Williams not Ted Williams. His fantasy series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is really good.
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Hitchikers and Dune I've already read as well... including a couple the prequels. And yes, they are awful, but one should expect no more from Kevin J. Anderson.
Are two of these Heroes Die and the Lies of Locke Lamora?
This is important dammit.
Lies of Locke Lamora, yes. Hastings didn't have Heroes Die that I could find. I like Stover's Star Wars books, though, so I'm definitely going to check that one out.
If you've read and enjoyed any cyberpunk or dystopian future SF, you'll really dig these. And if you haven't read any cyberpunk, go buy Neuromancer and the Bridge trilogy. NOW.
That said, Gene Wolfe is the best. Last night I was at a bookstore and read a short story of his out of one of those "Year's Best Fantasy & Horror" books, and--wow. It was one of the creepiest stories I've ever read.
Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion are just about the awesomest fantasy with bolts on books I've ever read, and the two books that complement the series (Endymion/Rise of Endymion) are okay, too.
Then there's Ilium/Olympos which is another 1500+ pages of totally sweet, epic without the whole having to stretch our talents to 12000 pages like Robert Jordan did before dying without bringing the whole thing to a conclusion.
Seriously, Dan Simmons, he's awesome.
It's all extremely silly stuff, but just serious enough that you care to see him make his way out of some horrifying jam.
Also, there is a book in the series that has coal-powered robots.