Recomended Reading Thread

OP asked about historical fiction as well, so I'll mention The Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Read it.

What would be a good fantasy series to start up?

So far i've read:

ASoIAF up to A Dance with Dragons (I don't want to start this until I know book 6 is coming soon-ish)
Kingkiller Chronicles Book 1&2

I've been considering Malazan, Wheel of Time, or perhaps Mistborn which i know nothing about other than the guy that continued WoT wrote them? lol.
Eventually i'll get to them all but i'm curious as to what people think would be the better series to start with~

edit: also entirely open to other suggestions.

Brandon Sanderson is god. Malazan and WoT both get weaker in the latter half of the series, but WoT starts out stronger. I haven't read Sanderson's ending to the series b/c I haven't read Jordan's last few contributions b/c they suck.

If you like near-future SciFi, you need to read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series.

antoine_sl said:

If you like near-future SciFi, you need to read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series.

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I'm honestly not huge on Sci-Fi, In terms of reading anyway :X

Agraza_sl said:

Brandon Sanderson is god. Malazan and WoT both get weaker in the latter half of the series, but WoT starts out stronger. I haven't read Sanderson's ending to the series b/c I haven't read Jordan's last few contributions b/c they suck.

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What about Mistborn?

I was pretty convinced on starting Malazan next but kind of unsure... 10 books of that size are pretty intimidating haha

Mistborn is solid. It's better than average, and the particular kink of "magic" might appeal to you.

Needless_sl said:

What would be a good fantasy series to start up?

So far i've read:

ASoIAF up to A Dance with Dragons (I don't want to start this until I know book 6 is coming soon-ish)
Kingkiller Chronicles Book 1&2

I've been considering Malazan, Wheel of Time, or perhaps Mistborn which i know nothing about other than the guy that continued WoT wrote them? lol.
Eventually i'll get to them all but i'm curious as to what people think would be the better series to start with~

edit: also entirely open to other suggestions.

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Obligatory Belgariad recommendation. It's packed full of clich?s and all the better for it.

Itzena_sl said:

Obligatory Belgariad recommendation. It's packed full of clich?s and all the better for it.

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Obligatory Belgariad disrecommendation. If all you have read is ASOIAF and Kingkiller, you do not want to immediately step in to the shallow waters that are David Eddings trilogies. And I am not a fantasy snob who says they have no value, but you've stepped in to the genre on a pretty high level. With epic anddeepfantasy. This will sound a little weird, but I'm going to say to work your waydownto things like David Eddings. You don't want to start drinking scotch with 18 year old Laphroaig and then jump right down to Johnnie Walker Red.

You read Kingkiller, so you are comfortable with an unfinished series. I'm going to say go with the Gentlemen Bastards(Scott Lynch) books. By the time you finish the second book the 3rd should be out. Then Mistborn, whether you add Alloy of Law(stand alone follow up) is up to you. It's pretty rad though. Then Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books(at least the first 5 or 6).

I feel like the first 2 Lynch books are some of the highest quality fantasy writing of the new wave, and they are fairly standalone so it being an unfinished series won't sting as much. Mistborn is maybe alittlelower quality writing, but still outstanding. Best magic system ever. Trilogy doesn't close super strong, but it's a great intro to Sanderson and the way he makes a world and a magic system really come to life in a unique way. Finally the Vlad Taltos books are a sort of middle ground between the two, mostly stand alone with strong main characters, but a unique and well realized world with unique magic.

My thinking is that between the more "realistic" and grimdark fantasy of ASoIaF and Kingkiller, and the somewhat lighter tones and progressively more magic-heavy worlds of the 3 series I suggested you will be primed for any fantasy that comes your way. Whether it's the fairly straightforward and traditional fantasy of David Eddings, or the raw and gritty fantasy of Joe Abercrombie.

But stay the fuck away from Terry Brooks.

Hahah i appreciate that, i'll check out these series. Thanks Grimmlokk.

Grimmlokk_sl said:

Finally the Vlad Taltos books are a sort of middle ground between the two, mostly stand alone with strong main characters, but a unique and well realized world with unique magic.

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Funniest thing about the Vlad Taltos is the sudden shift a few books in away from "Magic Mafia! Fuck Yeah!" to "Magic Mafia is actually full of monstrous, evil humans* and is not cool in any way, shape or form". Isn't it strange about how having a friend killed IRL by Honest and Legitimate Businessmensuddenlymakes one's opinions shift?

(*and/or similar beings)

Going to throw a few series I've read recently in here since it seems like it's become a general recommendation thread.

The Milkweed Triptych- Ian Tregillis

Alternative history with a sci-fi twist. Really excellent series with compelling characters and a lot of interesting concepts and great world building, highly recommend this one.

The Lays of Anuskaya- Bradley P Beaulieu

Fantasy series, I don't think I'd call it full on high fantasy but definitely has lots of magical elements. Interesting writing using primarily Russian / Eastern European terminology and social elements. This one is tough for me because while I enjoyed reading it I felt somewhat ambivalent in the end, I think it's one of those series that will resonate strongly with some and won't quite connect with others.

Cassandra Kresnov- Joel Shepard

Sci-fi, originally a trilogy but has a recently released fourth book (more planned I assume). Somewhat of a guilty pleasure series. It's got some of the better written individual/squad based action sequences that I've read in sci-fi but the story isn't mind blowing stuff. The fourth book starts to develop some interesting new angles and expand the world more but it suffers from some definite pacing issues at times.

Renault_sl said:

The Milkweed Triptych- Ian Tregillis

Alternative history with a sci-fi twist. Really excellent series with compelling characters and a lot of interesting concepts and great world building, highly recommend this one.

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Think I mentioned this in either the super hero or "what have you read" thread but I'll second this. At least through two books. Haven't read the newest one yet. Still, WW2, sorcery, and Nazi engineers super powered people? Fuck and Yes.

Richard Morgan: Kovac series, altered carbon, broken angels, and forget the other book
Dan Simmons Hyperion series, though endemion is slow. Illium and Olymopos are both excellent
Peter F Hamilton: The Commonwealth series, and Fallen Dragon are all very good.

Old SciFi classics Dune, Starship troopers, Stranger in a Strange land (should just call is Jesus complex). I also suggest Nivens Ringworld series, A Mote in Gods Eye, The Rama series are OK but slow. David Brin star diver are also very good but can be exceedingly slow in spots.

Will update later

The BOTM thread turned me on to this book, and having had it on my kindle for a while I finally started it last week. Holy shit, it's awesome. Definitely worth picking up:

Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) by Anthony Ryan - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

I know someone mentioned starting up a Goodread's account for RR. Did that ever happen? Or is anyone else a member? Just joined it myself recently. Still going through and rating books I have read and have found that several people I know have accounts. Seems like a great to spread out suggestions to each other.

Also, if nobody has mentioned the series yet, I highly recommend the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn.

Cormac MacArthy and Blood Meridian for horror.

Larry McMurtry and Lonesome Dove. There's a whole series based around the Lonesome Dove book. I know most here read SF or fantasy, but I think you'll like this as well. And it won the Pulitzer. For example, the US Army shows up and says they are taking his horses. He tells the army that they are not taking his horses. The army talks it over and leaves. The hero has balls so big things orbit them.

Just read Fledgling by Nicole Conway, fairly typical fantasy story but fairly well written; short at just under 300 pages but the Kindle edition is only a dollar so still worth it. Hopefully future books will be longer.