# Reccomend a Mystery, Fantasy, or Other Fiction Book for Me, Please! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2002, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386 "2002-09-14T03:01:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/1 "2002-09-14T03:01:36Z")
I need a book to read! Nothing at the library is jumping off the shelves at me, so I turn to you, the well-read and admirable people of the SDMB, to help me. I’ve never read a mystery (apart from some Poe), so if you have in mind a good “starter” mystery book to reccomend I’m all ears. I’m also in a Tolkienesque Fantasy/Swords & Wizards mood, so if you have something along those lines to reccomend, I’ll take note. Or any other fiction you might have in mind 😛 . I’d prefer to stay away from anything too deep, tedious or depressing. TIA ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/2 "2002-09-14T03:09:27Z")
I just finished _Empire Falls,_ by Ricard Russo. It gets a little deep and depressing, but Russo always keeps enough humor in his books to make it interesting. \*Straight Man, The Risk Pool \*and _Nobody’s Fool_ are also good, and considerably lighter. ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/3 "2002-09-14T03:11:34Z")
I’ll suggest **Tony Hillerman** for mysteries but my taste in mysteries runs from **Dorothy Sayers** to **Robert van Gulik**. This one can be found under both general fiction or sci/fi: _Bridge of Birds_ by **Barry Hughart**. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in about 2-3 years. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/4 "2002-09-14T03:32:59Z")
It’s not a mystery or a fantasy, but if you’re interested in an entertaining, quirky book, I recommend _The Planets_ by James Finney Boylan. It’s pretty much general fiction, and it’s funny, but it’s not a comedy book. I’ve never really read anything else quite like it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/5 "2002-09-14T12:54:57Z")
_Ingathering_ by **Zenna Henderson**. She started writing them in the 50’s. I read one small unattributed excerpt in the 70’s. I thought “WOW!” I didn’t see her work again until the 80’s. I got a copy the instant I learned her name. She’s so good, you never forget. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/6 "2002-09-14T12:58:06Z")
How about Iain Pears’ [An Instance of the Fingerpost](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425167720/104-7201573-1629559)? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/7 "2002-09-14T15:25:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > **I’m also in a Tolkienesque Fantasy/Swords & Wizards mood, so if you have something along those lines to reccomend, I’ll take note.** I hear Tolkien wrote some books… ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/8 "2002-09-14T15:50:39Z")
If you’ve already done CSL’s Narnia, I recommend his TILL WE HAVE FACES- a retelling of Eros & Psyche, deep & dark & sad. I think it was his last fiction work (written after the death of his wife Joy). RE Zenna Henderson- I recall a film often shown on TV in the early 1970’s (it may have been made for TV) called THE PEOPLE based on her stories (an isolated country community of psychically gifted people who are descendants of… never mind _G_). It’s worth making the effort to track down. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/9 "2002-09-14T16:46:31Z")
Look for the Farseer Trilogy by **Robin Hobb** If you haven’t read it, read the Dune Chronicles by **Frank Herbert** Or the Coldfire Trilogy by **C.S Friedman** ---
**Author:** ![New\_Improved\_Scott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f17d59/32.png) [@New\_Improved\_Scott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Improved_Scott)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/10 "2002-09-14T20:14:03Z")
I just finished “Shooter” by Greg Rucka, a mystery thriller. It was good, and I ripped through it in like, two days. ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/11 "2002-09-14T20:24:01Z")
Classic Sherlock Holmes is great mystery. So is Agatha Christe. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/12 "2002-09-14T20:37:20Z")
First, I applaud your proper use of the word ‘for’ with the word ‘Recommend’. (Sorry, it is a personaly pet peeve when I see a title “Recommend me a…”) OK, if you want mind candy, something light, I recently found Jim Butcher’s wizard series. The first one being Storm Front. Kinda a gumshoe/wizard in modern-day Chicago. For fantasy, I like Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry trilogy. The Summer Tree being the first. Very Tolkien-like. However, I can’t tell your gender from the screen name, so I will warn you that some of the women that I have given it to did not like it as well as the men. I also like David Gemmel and recommend Legend or Morningstar, but I like most of his stuff. Sherlock Holmes was fun for me sometimes. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/13 "2002-09-14T20:57:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FriarTed \* > \*\*RE Zenna Henderson- I recall a film often shown on TV in the early 1970’s (it may have been made for TV) called THE PEOPLE based on her stories (an isolated country community of psychically gifted people who are descendants of… never mind _G_). It’s worth making the effort to track down. \*\* {{{{FriarTed}}}}} I’m not the only person on the planet who remembers this film!! btw I have a collection (somewhere) of her short fiction on this theme, IIRC it’s called _The People: No Different Flesh_. **rastahomie** : Mystery : try Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novels. I would hope that you could get them from any library. They’re all IMO excellent. Fantasy : A personal fave is Sherri S. Tepper’s _The True Game_. Superlative fantasy that kind of turns into science fiction, but is still fantasy. Or her _Marianne_ trilogy. Word of caution - some of her books left me cold, so if you try another and don’t like it, try the ones I’ve just mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/14 "2002-09-14T21:40:10Z")
**Screw Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie.** The real deal in classic mystery is Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries. They’re about 200 pages apiece, easily readable, and always enjoyable. If your library has them, good starter novels for a new reader of Nero Wolfe mysteries are _The Golden Spiders_, _Some Buried Ceasar_, or _And Be a Villian_. Those shoud all be available, as they have been made popular recently by the A&E television series with Timothy Hutton. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/15 "2002-09-14T22:48:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Khadaji \* > \*\*First, I applaud your proper use of the word ‘for’ with the word ‘Recommend’. (Sorry, it is a personaly pet peeve when I see a title “Recommend me a…”) > > Enjoy! \*\* Finally. I was wondering when someone was going to say something. I saw this like 5 times in a week from different posters. “The Poet” by Michael Connelly is an excellent mystery/thriller. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/16 "2002-09-15T01:52:22Z")
I’ve been reading **The Runelords** which is (so far) a three book series by David Farland. They’re his only three books and it’s a great series. Everything you’re looking for too. Wizards, magic, a battle of good versus evil. The basic premise is that you can transfer your powers (stamina, eyesight, hearing, metabolism) from one person to another to make another person stronger in some way. The person who gives up the ability does so for as long as the other lives. It’s an interesting premise, but it’s really a tool for the story as a whole, not a dominating factor in it. I’m finishing up #3 tonight and I’ve been blown away by how good his writing is in this one. He’s really matured his craft since #2. Anyway, it gets a recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/17 "2002-09-15T01:57:48Z")
I’ll second **Rex Dart** on Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books. Excuse me a moment while I consult my bookshelves. . . . For science fantasy, I’d recommend Jennifer Roberson’s _Sword Dancer_ series, which have a nice amount of sword play and a certain amount of (grudging) magic. They’re a bit old, but you might also want to give Fritz Lieber’s _Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser_ series a look, or try Christopher Stasheff’s Wizard books. Mercedes Lackey is another good fantasy writer, or try Anne McCaffrey’s _Dragon Rider_ (Pern) series. Be careful when selecting one of her books – she has written some romance and, if you’re not careful, you could get burned. I also went from Tolkein to hard SF in the form of Asimov, then Heinlein, then Clarke and the rest of the Golden age writers. As far as mystery novels go, in addition to Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, and Arthur Conan Doyle, I think Asimov did a collection of sf mysteries, in addition to his stories about the Black Widows. Dick Francis is just plain easy to read, and I’ve got a weakness for mysteries with historical settings such as those by Ellis Peters, Peter Tremayne, Steven Saylor, P.C. Dougherty, and Edward Marston and others. You realize we’re quite prepared to give you more suggestions than you can handle, don’t you? **Enjoy!** CJ ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/18 "2002-09-15T02:04:08Z")
I’ll second **Rex Dart** on Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books. Excuse me a moment while I consult my bookshelves. . . . For science fantasy, I’d recommend Jennifer Roberson’s _Sword Dancer_ series, which have a nice amount of sword play and a certain amount of (grudging) magic. They’re a bit old, but you might also want to give Fritz Lieber’s _Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser_ series a look, or try Christopher Stasheff’s Wizard books. Mercedes Lackey is another good fantasy writer, or try Anne McCaffrey’s _Dragon Rider_ (Pern) series. Be careful when selecting one of her books – she has written some romance and, if you’re not careful, you could get burned. I also went from Tolkein to hard SF in the form of Asimov, then Heinlein, then Clarke and the rest of the Golden age writers. As far as mystery novels go, in addition to Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, and Arthur Conan Doyle, I think Asimov did a collection of sf mysteries, in addition to his stories about the Black Widows. Dick Francis is just plain easy to read, and I’ve got a weakness for mysteries with historical settings such as those by Ellis Peters, Peter Tremayne, Steven Saylor, P.C. Dougherty, and Edward Marston and others. You realize we’re quite prepared to give you more suggestions than you can handle, don’t you? **Enjoy!** CJ ---
**Author:** ![Aixelsyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Aixelsyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aixelsyd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/19 "2002-09-15T02:24:00Z")
For fantasy, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series is really good. There are four volumes in print and three more to come. I haven’t read many mystery authors, but I have read the entire Fletch series by Gregory McDonald (and an offshoot series about a detective named Flynn) and they were all very entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386/20 "2002-09-15T05:48:31Z")
I started a thread about a month or two back asking for some good fantasy recommendations that ended up going on for at least a couple of pages. There were a lot of good recommendations in there. I’m too lazy to look it up, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find - it’s probably the only thread I’ve ever started in CS. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-mystery-fantasy-or-other-fiction-book-for-me-please/128386.md?page=2)