Favorite books

[Fafnir]

Ok, me and my bad taste, lotr are also good books. But guess if i like them they are bad, just ask Pathfinder....

 

[kharok]

Well, this thread has left me thinking I pull out those David Eddings books once more and see how Sparhawk is these days.

 

[- Pathfinder -]

Gah Tolkien isn't necessarily bad I simply CANNOT stand the Victorian style; I respect his works as true epics and the founders of modern fantasy, but I honestly prefer more... ah... "real" works

 

[Tenko]

Ahh Off Topic I know something about

Reading Fantasy novels is the only thing I spend more time doing than playing on the computer!

Goodkind starts off Ok but goes a little, well, "right-wing" in the later books. (I always felt Tom Clancy with magic )

Robert Jordan. Nice Keeps on going, and going, and going ....

Salvatore... Fun but only because Drizzt and Entreri are two of my fave chars ever.

Weis & Hickman. My most favourite char ever! (if i have to say who then you aint read the dragonlance books)

LoTR. (I never used the abbreviation before the film) Brilliant. Read it every year without fail.

Robin Hobb, Raymond E Feist, Anne McCaffery, David Gemmel. God I must have around 2-3 hundred fantasy/sci-fi novels just looking at the bookshelves around my PC!

My Fave?

Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn quartet is really good Sickofit, but my absolute favourite and I'd guess that anyone who plays this game would love it, is ... <Drum roll>

A Song of Ice and Fire:- by George R. R. Martin

More devious, well developed chars than I've ever found in the genre. Gigantic armies, raping, pilaging. Seige warfare, politics, DEATH (Only Gemmel seems to prefer killing main Characters more ). Growing evil, ancient history and more war!

I would recommend these books to everyone and really can't stress how very, very good they are.



ps: I'm not on commision from the author and am not connected to the publisher, (Voyager, Harper Collins. UK £7.99) in anyway

 

[Damini]

Why does nobody else love Simon Green?!?

I swear, when I become rich I'll make everybody read Blue Moon Rising and Blood and Honour. Has nobody else here even read these books? Someone? Anyone? Restore my faith in you all?

 

[- Pathfinder -]

R R Martin is a freak I lost count on the number of people he's killed off now, but the series is quite good. And if someone mentions/implies Raistlin again I'll go berserk

 

[old.dittytwo]

puts on flame gear

Lord of the Rings
The Belgriad and the Malorean D Eddings (very cool series though very similar to the one with the blue rose)
The discworld series T Pratchett death has to be the best char in the series


ok gets ready for the flames
i love the harry potter series (and will haev to wait till next year for the fith book )
why well they are very captivating books, the story lines are quit complex and intriguing although you can figure out who it was kind of thing or at least you expect that…

 

[Dook_Pug]

Anything by Raymond E Feist or Isaac Asimov.

I particularly enjoy reading 'The Serpentwar Saga' by Feist and my favorite book by Asimov would have to be 'The Robots of Dawn'.

 

[- Pathfinder -]

Feist used to be fairly good. Shame his latest books have all been complete poo

 

[ivan_tribbiani]

Anyone ever noticed how all chars in Fantasy books are flawless muppets ? I admit i loved the books with these perfect chars in them when i was 15 but with ageing i got soooo bored with this that it became possible to predict what another 'Farm boy ' is gonna become etc. And with me, personally, no surprises = loss of interest really fast.

Need better content , Battles that are lost <for once>, Heroes dying or getting crippled, or even having normal flaws in character which is rarther common among personalities .... well you get the picture. < and yes i know the meaning of the word 'Fantasy' ,ehem>

PS:not all the books of Fantasy genre are implied, but it cannot be denied that the trend is present is a lot of them. <to be honest seen some surprises and for once 'nonjolly good' scenario in one SciFi trilogy and a couple of Gemmels books.

PPS: 'Mon then , show us something new.

 

[- Pathfinder -]

As said, Eriksson writes good fantasy If you want a nasty setting, try Martin, God knows he kills and maims most characters

And most people over 14 grow weary of those characters; spare me more Eddings junk

 

[Tenko]

Hehe, another thing I like in the Martin books is trying to work out just WHO the badguys are as nobodies motives are purely evil.

Plus the fact that all the players are from the nobility, no rags to riches poobah here. Just power struggles between the ruling classes killing just about everyone who gets in the way

 

[- Pathfinder -]

There are no "bad" guys as such in Martins books - basically they're all normal humans, which may be unsettling for some readers. TBH I find myself liking Tyrion etc more than the others, though

 

[gengi]

Author Author

R.A.Heinlein, Tolkien, Feist, Phiilip K. Dick. Asimov, Eddings.
Just finished Tad Williams Otherland series brilliant.
All time favourite (at the minute ) Stranger in a Strange Land
later
Gengi

 

[old.Tohtori]

Hitchhikers guide to the Universe, all five books of the trilogy

 

[old.The McScrooges]

Peter Hamilton. Dead Dawn trilogy

And that bugger that writes under 2 names, just adds his middle initial if its a sci-fi. Gah can't remember.

Dragonlance trilogy!?! Have you read it recently!?! Oh my god. The emotions and love between the characters is dire and lacking. Re-reading Tanis and bint made me shudder.

However I have to agree on the Harry Potter, it's a study in writer development and book number 5 is going to be pure filth. Hormonal teenagers with magical powers AND a cloak of invisibilty.

 

[cadiva]

Ooohhh tough question

In no apparent order

Raymond Feist, David Eddings, Terry Pratchett, Marion Zimmer Bradley (Mists of Avalon series), Anne McCaffrey (Pern series), Robin Hobb (Assassin's Quest trilogy and the Liveship series), every single one of the DragonLance series (so ner ner de ner ner to you Pathfinder ), Forgotton Realms (most of it), Terry Brooks Shannara series, Janny Wurts (with Feist), Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon series.

Urm, loads more I can't think of right now.

 

[Col|]

Way too many to list, but authors of note of all the books I've read, Raymond E. Feist, Anne McCaffery (have got all her Pern and other stuff), Robin Hobb (really liked both her Assasin and Liveships trilogys), Ben Bova (has done some good scifi stuff, specially the Orion series), Robert Jordan (you cant say the Wheel of Time isnt an Epic re-reading it while I craft), Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth series is very good), Pratchett (nuff said really), Tad Williams (not finished either Otherland series or Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, but liked those I've read so far), George R.R. Martin (die main char die ).

But my fav author is a tie between Frank Herbert, not only for his Dune series, but for alot of his other books ( did you know he wrote about nuclear powered submarines before anyone thought about making them? ) and Lois McMaster Bujold, for her Vorkosigan saga, again scifi, they are very well written and move along and a decent pace and even have the odd chuckle thrown in for good measure, specially when you think that the main protaganist is a 4 foot 9 and has serious personality problems.

I've probabaly forgotten too many, but those stand out, can't think offhand how many books or short stories I've read (too many my dad would say). I'd agree with those who say that Harry Potter series is good, did enjoy reading them and finally of course, the grand daddy of them all, LotR and its associated books and yes I've read most of them(but not the ones to do with how the LotR was written).

On a side note, how many of you use Libraries as a source of things to read? I use them quite a bit and have found some good authors, most of them in the above.

 

[Tenko]

Originally posted by old.The McScrooges

And that bugger that writes under 2 names, just adds his middle initial if its a sci-fi. Gah can't remember.

.

Iain M Banks, Writer of marvelous fiction and creator of the Culture.

Bloody fantastic author and if I ever become emperor of the universe I'm gonna give all my starships culture like names like....

.... neh!

I'll save that for its own thread

 

[Belsameth]

Glen Cook's The Black Company serie

a truly awesome tale about a mercinary(sp?) outfit
it actually managed to be crowned "best ever read" and knocking LotR of it's throne

 

[gengi]

On A lighter Note

I really enjoy the Discworld Novels, Also Tom Holt, Douglas Adams,(anyone who can write a trilogy in 5 parts, brilliant) the two Dirk Gently novels were good aswell, Robert Aspirin can be funny, and topping off that list Robert Rankin. The Brentford Triangle, The Armageddon series, superb.
Now i have mentioned it how do you become a Brentford Resident ? How many posts that is now my wish from the other thread
Later
Gengee

 

[ivan_tribbiani]

I cant believe noone mentioned 'Playboy' ..... Playboy by various authors. Cars, Women, Guns and Jokes = pure males magazine

 

[Icecreamsheep]

Ok then,

Favourite books / authours.

Dune (all of them including the new prequel trilogy by frank herberts son).
the John Carter of Mars series (11 books) (sorry cant remember the authout).
Lyn Carters thongor series (Think thats the spelling).
Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit and the Silmarillion.
Good Omens (Terry pratchet and neil gaiman i think).
Any of the robot books by Issac Asimov (ok just about any book by IA actually).
Arthur C Clarke (the Rama series was excellent, the 2001, 2011, 2061 and 3001 books were great).
A lot of the Michael Moorcock books that he did regarding the multiverse.
the David Eddings books on Sparhawk (Both trilogies).

Erm, pretty much anything Science Fiction or Fantasy ill read.

Sheepy

 

[Damini]

Originally posted by old.The McScrooges


And that bugger that writes under 2 names, just adds his middle initial if its a sci-fi. Gah can't remember.

Simon Green does this too. Simon Green for fantasy books and Simon R. Green for sci fi.




SIMON GREEN!!!




You know you want to.

 

[gengi]

I have read a Simon Green series can I become a Brentford Resident now ?
Please
Oh well it was not bad anyway the mist/ghost/hellworld anthology
I hate book threads, I always remember more after I read the threads
Later
Gengee

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

I actually enjoy Gerald Astor's "Bloody Forest" - about the Huertgen campaign. Any other grognards out there?

Oh, and Gengi- love your signature

 

[Flimgoblin]

Originally posted by [Cerebus]
American Psycho - Probably the weirdest book ever written. You know you're normal and well adjusted if you skip chapters.

Macbeth - If you've never read it, go read it.

So true! That book is seriously ****ed up.
Macbeth rocks too.

Not sure if anyone's mentioned Tad Williams yet, "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" is really quite a superb series.

 

[Murcalumis]

George Orwell, anyone?

 

[Tenko]

but that was just my fave fantasy book!

My fave Sci-Fi book was probably Red Mars (and Green and Blue Mars) by Kim Stanley Robinson.

At least today it is...

 

[old.job]

The Ladybird guide to 'Being an utter fantasy geek' is a cracking read.