# Recommendation's for good Sci-fi, Fantasy novels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326 "2008-11-05T19:02:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Super\_Van\_Uber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Super\_Van\_Uber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Van_Uber)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/1 "2008-11-05T19:02:53Z")
I’ve been looking for another good Sci-fi and/or Fantasy series to read, but kinda don’t know who to start with. I’m planning on switching libraries to the one in the city so my selection to choose from will be Much greater than our itty bitty one here in town. I had printed out a list of Hugo award winners and nominees, but I’d like to get some opinions of what everyone else’s favorites are. Anyhoo, these are the books and series that I’ve already read and loved, starting with my all-time favorites. The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. My favorite series, I’ve read it I don’t know how many times. I’ve also read other books of his set in the same world of Midkemia. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I can’t really decide if I love this book and others in the same series more than Feists. My copy of Ender’s Game is so tattered from re-reading it that it’s in four pieces… I’ve also pretty much read everything else by Card. The Alvin Maker series is another great one. All of the Harry Potter books, read em a million times over. The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. I just read this trilogy for the first time a few months ago and fell in love with it. The Belgariad by David Eddings and the other books set in the same world The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein Myrren’s Gift by Fiona McIntosh. I really liked this series except for the fact that it pissed me off. She killed off Every single character I fell in love with. Bah! I was thinking of giving this series to the local library so someone else could be angry… Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr by Christopher Paolini These aren’t exactly sci-fi or fantasy, but are other author’s I’ve really enjoyed: I’m from Maine, so I was pretty much required to read Stephen King. Good thing I liked him anyways. The River God series by Wilbur Smith I went to the local library today and got Dragon’s Gold by Piers Anthony and Robert E. Margroff. I’ve heard of Anthony before but have never ready anything by him before so I’d figured I’d give it a shot. So what are everyone else’s favorites? What sci-fi, fantasy books have you read to the point where they’re falling apart but refuse to buy another copy cause that one’s so obviously loved? Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/2 "2008-11-05T19:06:32Z")
I’m currently re-reading the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Excellent books (don’t be fooled by the movie of The Golden Compass). ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/3 "2008-11-05T19:06:52Z")
Heinlein’s _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ is held very high in esteem by dedicated Heinlein fans. It’s also wildly loathed by a few. Might be worth a try. _Red Thunder_ by John Varley is a really first-rate story; an old-school flying-to-Mars-in-a-tin-can style romp. Lots of fun, and I highly recommend it. Ursula LeGuin’s _The Left Hand of Darkness_ is a wonderful, thoughtful, beautiful book that belongs to that rare club of Hugo _and_ Nebula winners. It’s also a little slow. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/4 "2008-11-05T19:57:27Z")
Terry Pratchett, Iain M. Banks and China Miéville ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/5 "2008-11-05T20:12:57Z")
Ditto on _His Dark Materials_. They seem a bit too YA now, but when I started reading fantasy a few years ago I loved Robin Hobb’s Farseer and Liveship trilogies. More recently, I’ve enjoyed _The First Law_ trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. The first book is _The Blade Itself_. A few more: The _Song of Ice and Fire_ series by George R. R. Martin, starting with _A Game of Thrones_ – hugely popular _The Abhorsen_ trilogy by Garth Nix, starting with _Sabriel_ _The Prince of Nothing_ trilogy by R. Scott Bakker, starting with _The Darkness That Comes Before_ _Tigana_ by Guy Gavriel Kay _The Book of the New Sun_ (four books) by Gene Wolfe _The Hyperion_ books by Dan Simmons _Eifelheim_ by Michael Flynn _Cloud Atlas_ by David Mitchell ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/6 "2008-11-05T20:18:25Z")
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. There are three Hugo-winning novels in this series. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/7 "2008-11-05T20:28:23Z")
One author who doesn’t get a ton of press but who has written some amazing things is David Brin. Check out the Uplift Saga (Not to be confused with the later Uplift Trillogy, which is also good, but comes later in the timeline.) Numbered The Uplift Saga starts with [Sundiver](http://www.amazon.com/Sundiver-Uplift-Saga-Book-1/dp/0553269828/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c), but you can read the first three in any order. IIRC Sundiver was actually written after [Startide Rising](http://www.amazon.com/Startide-Rising-Uplift-Saga-Book/dp/055327418X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225916463&sr=1-3) and [The Uplift War](http://www.amazon.com/Uplift-War-Saga-Book/dp/0553279718/ref=pd_sim_b_2). But I could be wrong about that. Startide Rising is my favorite of the three. He also wrote [The Postman](http://www.amazon.com/Postman-Bantam-Classics-David-Brin/dp/0553278746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225916827&sr=1-1), which has nothing at all to do with the Kevin Costner movie, no matter what Mr. Costner might say. The book is actually quite good. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/8 "2008-11-05T20:28:52Z")
I kinda don’t know what to say. Other than Harry Potter, I’ve either disliked (_Ender’s Game_, _The Sword of Shannara_) or haven’t read the books in the OP. Soooo, take this with an _enormous_ grain of salt. The Chalion books by Lois McMaster Bujold The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix The Farseer books by Robin Hobb The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/9 "2008-11-05T20:42:10Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I kinda don’t know what to say. Other than Harry Potter, I’ve either disliked (_Ender’s Game_, _The Sword of Shannara_) or haven’t read the books in the OP. Soooo, take this with an _enormous_ grain of salt. > > The Chalion books by Lois McMaster Bujold > The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix > The Farseer books by Robin Hobb > The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams Funny how tastes differ. I loved \*The Dragonbone Chair \*as well as _Ender’s_ _Game_ and _The Sword of Shannara_. I recommend Tad Williams’ _Otherland_ series. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/10 "2008-11-05T20:52:48Z")
> [@jali](#): > > Funny how tastes differ. I loved \*The Dragonbone Chair \*as well as _Ender’s_ _Game_ and _The Sword of Shannara_. That’s why I went ahead and offered suggestions, since all of us differ and might like all sorts of combinations of things. Oh, and because I love making suggestions. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/11 "2008-11-05T21:24:25Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > IIRC Sundiver was actually written after [Startide Rising](http://www.amazon.com/Startide-Rising-Uplift-Saga-Book/dp/055327418X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225916463&sr=1-3) and [The Uplift War](http://www.amazon.com/Uplift-War-Saga-Book/dp/0553279718/ref=pd_sim_b_2). But I could be wrong about that. Startide Rising is my favorite of the three. I won’t say that is impossible but _Sundiver_ was published first and there was a fairly hefty gap between _Startide Rising_ and _The Uplift War_ that doesn’t make a lot of sense if the last book was finished a decade before and just waiting to be published. (Of the three of those _The Uplift War_ was the one I enjoyed the most since I couldn’t get into the dolphin characters of _Startide Rising_ and I found _Sundiver_ to be a bit rough, but millage varies widely with those books.) Looking over the OP’s tastes I’d have to recommend some light space opera and adventure stories. Lois McMaster Bujold’s works definitely fit the bill. I disliked her fantasy novels and strongly enjoyed her science fiction, but I think just about any of her books would work in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/12 "2008-11-05T21:32:25Z")
> [@Super\_Van\_Uber](#): > > The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. My favorite series, I’ve read it I don’t know how many times. I’ve also read other books of his set in the same world of Midkemia. Have you checked out his _Empire_ series, set on the other side of the Rift during the war? I actually liked them better than the original Riftwar novels, and while I’ve sort of outgrown most of Feist’s stuff, I still go back every now and then and re-read _Daughter of Empire_ and some selects bits from the other two. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/13 "2008-11-05T23:33:30Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > I won’t say that is impossible but _Sundiver_ was published first and there was a fairly hefty gap between _Startide Rising_ and _The Uplift War_ that doesn’t make a lot of sense if the last book was finished a decade before and just waiting to be published. I had a feeling that I would be wrong about that. I will need to go check out my hardback copy of the three together and see what it actually said that made me thing that. Anyway, my point is, you don’t need to read Sundiver first, and I might actually recommend reading it last. I also really liked jsgoddesses recommendation of the Farseer Trillogy. Good stuff there too. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Van\_Uber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Super\_Van\_Uber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Van_Uber)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/14 "2008-11-05T23:40:52Z")
Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, keep 'em coming! 🙂 I’m gonna print this out and spend some quality time meandering around the library. > [@NAF1138](#): > > One author who doesn’t get a ton of press but who has written some amazing things is David Brin. > > He also wrote [The Postman](http://www.amazon.com/Postman-Bantam-Classics-David-Brin/dp/0553278746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225916827&sr=1-1), which has nothing at all to do with the Kevin Costner movie, no matter what Mr. Costner might say. The book is actually quite good. I came across The Postman in the library a few months ago and had hoped it was better than the movie. And you’re right, it has nothing to do with the movie, lol. I enjoy post-apocalyptic books so that one was a good read. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Van\_Uber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Super\_Van\_Uber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Van_Uber)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/15 "2008-11-05T23:48:13Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Have you checked out his _Empire_ series, set on the other side of the Rift during the war? I actually liked them better than the original Riftwar novels, and while I’ve sort of outgrown most of Feist’s stuff, I still go back every now and then and re-read _Daughter of Empire_ and some selects bits from the other two. Thanks for jogging my memory on that one. I remember planning to read the Empire series, but had just gone through about six or seven of his other books set in Midkemia and needed a break, lol. I’ll have to go back and read those now. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/16 "2008-11-06T00:05:48Z")
Neal Stephenson. Start with _Snow Crash._ ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/17 "2008-11-06T00:59:11Z")
I’ll second George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. A Game of Thrones is the first book. If you want to read any books by authors similar to Stephen King, you could try Peter Straub. Ghost Story is really good, and has elements similar to Salem’s Lot. You could also give Michael Crichton a try. Sphere, The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World are all great. If you like Time Travel fiction, check out Replay by Ken Grimwood. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/18 "2008-11-06T01:09:40Z")
You might like the Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop. Starts off with _Daughter of the Blood_. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/19 "2008-11-06T01:20:40Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. There are three Hugo-winning novels in this series. Damn it, I\* just\* got in here to mention those. 😛 You’ve got the Hugo list, so that’s a good start–I particularly recommend _Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_ by Susanna Clarke, and its sequel, _The Ladies of Grace Adieu_. It’s not everyone’s taste, but I really liked it. Jasper Fforde’s _Thursday Next_ books (start with The Eyre Affair) are also fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326/20 "2008-11-06T02:18:18Z")
I don’t really like science fiction or fantasy, but I really enjoy Jack Vance, especially the Cudgel books. They are darkly funny and he is greatly unappreciated IMHO. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-good-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/471326.md?page=2)