Hilarious, badass anti-hero heros who are the law in a swords and hordes city of Haven. The street of the Gods is worth the price of the paperback alone. Actually several books linking to the Blue Moon series…with Return to the Blue Moon marking their return to the old haunts after leaving Haven…but not before settling a few debts (in one hell of a tear up). Great characters, engaging storylines, action, and a true love of making the husban-wife team the absolute coolest set of warriors this side of Conan
You may know Simon from his best selling DeathStalker series.
These are fantastic, but after nearly 30 years, he’s only written um…four(?) of the 7 or 8 books in the series. Be prepared for a looooooooong wait. (Don’t believe his website either. The next Cthorr book has been ‘coming out real soon now’ for about a year and a half.)
And let me second Heath Doolin’s Hawk and Fisher recommendations. Note to Narnia fans, there’s a special Narnian guest star who shows up in one of the Hawk and Fisher books. (I don’t remember which one at the moment.)
For SF, I really recommend Larry Niven’s Known Space books. I don’t have them at hand, or I’d give you a list in chronological order (it helps to read them that way, rather than by publication date). Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books are also good, and will keep you busy for quite a while. I can’t recommend the Chtorr books until he finishes the series–and even then, I’d be wary of springing them on the unprepared.
If you want a little fantasy, I’ll put in my usual plug for P.C. Hodgell–her first two, Godstalk and Dark of the Moon are now available as a compilation from Amazon, and Seeker’s Mask should be available soon. They’re complex and darkly amusing.
Loved Narnia as a kid. Haven’t read it in years, but loved it then. The later books were so sad, after the decline of the kingdom, the near extinction of intelligent animals, and the retreat of the mer-peoples.
Some of the best books I ever read were the Book of the Swords, and the Lost Book of the Swords, by Fred Saberhagen, about Swords forged by a God for other Gods, then lost, scattered, around the earth, and the son of a blacksmith who is on a quest to find and collect them. I think there were twelve swords, each book focused on three. Dad only had two of the books, so I guess it was a four part series.
I also loved these books by… I think… John Fitzgerald, or something… I think they were set in Oregon at the turn of the century. Written from a old man’s perspective, reflecting on his childhood, his older brother, and his orphaned, adopted, younger brother, and the stuff they did. Wonderously funny.
Have I heard of Peter David? Best Spiderman writer ever!
Have I heard of Dr. Who!? Never seen it, but man, I’ve heard a hell of alot about it.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Homer *
I also loved these books by… I think… John Fitzgerald, or something… I think they were set in Oregon at the turn of the century. Written from a old man’s perspective, reflecting on his childhood, his older brother, and his orphaned, adopted, younger brother, and the stuff they did. Wonderously funny.
[QUOTE]
The Great Brain series?
Another suggestiong, in the fantasy list, Hunter’s Oath and Hunter’s Death by Michelle West. Also, The Broken Crown, first book in The Sun Sword trilogy, set in the same world. I haven’t read the second and thirs books yet (I’m on page 570 of The Broken Crown) but I’ll go out on a limb and recommend them anyway: The Uncrowned King and The Shining Court.
Homer, your OP in the Very Vaguely Creepy Thread reminded me of The House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Even though it doesn’t really fit into your parameters, I think you’d dig it.
That would indeed be “The Great Brain” series, loosely based on Fitzgerald’s experiences growing up in a small town in Utah in the late 19th century. His family were the only Catholics in town, which results in some of the odd situations they found themselves in. His older brother, Tom, was the Great Brain. The other titles, all illustrated by the incomporable Marcer Mayer, were:
“More Adventures of the Great Brain”
“The Great Brain Does It Again”
“Great Brain at the Academy”
“Great Brain Reforms”
“The Great Brain is Back”
“Me and My Little Brain,” about John when Tom goes off to school in Salt Lake City.
Interestingly, Fitzgerald also wrote three non-fiction books about growing up in Utah: “Uncle Will and the Fitzgerald Curse,” “Papa Married a Mormon” and “Mama’s Boarding House.” I’m going to have to check those out.
The whole “uplift” trilogy, Sundiver, Startide Rising, The Uplift War, Brightness Reef, and finally Heaven’s Reach, by David Brin. Also by Brin, Earth and The Practice Effect. I think Brin is a bit egotistical and likes the sound of his own keyclicks sometimes. But his stuff is still worth reading.
The Foundation trilogy by Asimov.
Farenheight 451 by Bradbury, if you haven’t already read it.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers by Heinlein. And Stranger in a Strange Land if you haven’t read it already.
Gibson stuff, if that’s to your taste. I think I like Burning Chrome (short story collection - my favorite is “The Winter Market”), Neuromancer, and Mona Lisa Overdrive best. Didn’t think Count Zero was that great, and didn’t like Virtual Light and was nonplussed by Idoru. Didn’t even bother reading All Tomorrow’s Parties.
Oh - if you read no other book of his, read Zodiac by Neil Stephenson. I might even recommend it over Snow Crash, which is like in my top three favorite books. Snow Crash and Zodiac are definitely battling it out for Stephenson’s best book. Also by Stephenson - though the psuedonym on it is Stephen Bury - Interface. If you have time to kill, Stephenson’s latest, Cryptonomicon, is a decent read.
Lastly, The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. It’s non-fiction, but I have never found a more engrossing book on the subject of evolution. Maybe it’s just the computer angle and all, but if you ever wanted graphic proof that evolution certanly COULD work in theory, this book will
provide it in spades. No matter what side of the evolution debate you sit on, read this.
-Ben
Not a SF book, but I’ve just reread Christopher Buckley’s Thank You for Smoking for the third time and I fully recommend it. It’s a great satire about a political lobbyist whose job is to promote smoking.
I opened this thread for the sole purpose of suggesting this book. I just finished it. Fan-fricking-tastic. He’s speaking at Cody’s Books in Berkeley in a couple weeks and I’ll be there. Woooooohoo.
As Purd Wurfect and Baker have already recommended, Orson Scott Card is the best writer ever, in any genre. Just your luck that he’s mostly an SF writer! Start with the Ender series, read anything else by him you can find. You won’t regret it.
Also all the Heinlein recommended by ModernRonin2. Stranger is a classic, and is a rewarding read for me every time I pick it up again. All his early stuff is good.
Not to start a hijack here, but did anyone else find Snow Crash to be terribly predictable and strikingly unoriginal? Every single person I’ve talked to who has read it has nothing but raves to say about it, but for me it was just …blah. Am I in fact alone in the world on this issue?
I’m just finishing The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. It’s not science fiction or fantasy but it is an extraordinary erudite book. The main characters are a single mum and her profoundly gifted kid. It’s wonderful, just wonderful.
And tonight I went and saw Lemony Snicket. Wow. Even if you don’t read kids books, if you ever get the chance go and see this guy perform! He’s magic!
for absolutely great SF, read anything by Iain M. Banks. i recommend starting with “Consider Phlebas” and then continuing with the rest of the “Culture” novels.
great books, all of them. Banks creates a whole new complex reality, with often tortuous, but intriguing story lines.
I like Gordon Dickson, Particularly The Tactics Of Mistake and Way of the Pilgrim. I also would like to back up the recommendations of Connie Willis, David Brin and Steven Brust.
Some of James K. Schmidt’s stories have recently been back in print, and I loved his work. If you can find anything of theirs, Jack Vance and Eric Frank Russell are also good reads.
I too like Phillip K Dick but recently I have been reading the series from Lemony Snicket. This is a series of childrens books with a very adult (not dirty0 sense of humor. The series is called A Series of Unfortunate Events and very hysterical. Fun reads for anyone with a dark sense of humor.
