SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
Recommendations and Lost Books
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plz help me find a new book!
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Skye
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Oct 28, 2012 07:13PM
I love Scifi and fantasy but feel like I've read them all. I need some out of the way, unsung books I can't find myself. please help!
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What kind of stories are you looking for? I see some military sci-fi on your list and some epic Fantasy.Some recent Science Fiction books I think are really great:
Daemon and sequel Freedom(tm)
are brutally awesome stories.
Plague War. It has two sequels which are okay, but it does have military sci-fi overtones.
Into the Storm and its 6 sequels are great wide-screen fun about a dilapidated WWI destroyer that goes through a weird storm during WWII and ends up on an alternate Earth where dinosaurs never went extinct. Also some military stuff, naturally.New Fantasy I really like:
Ex-Heroes and its not-quite-as-good sequel has a nice twist on the zombie apocalypse: superheroes holding up on Paramount lot in Hollywood. Great stuff.
and the sequel
are truly inventive Fantasy with great character arcs and a world I've not seen before. I am eagerly anticipating the third book coming this winter.Also on the zombie front, any of the books by Joe McKinney are worth the read. The characters aren't the same from book to book (aside from brief mentions) but they all take place in the same world, so it's becoming quite an epic story. Also, the zombies are mutating.
Heroes Die by Matthew Stover, arguably a mix between scifi and fantasy, can't get enough of the lead character, gritty as hell.
Out of the way, unsung books you say?The Book of Knights by Yves Meynard. Reminds me of Earthsea and Harry Potter but is superior to either.
Have you read Stephen Lawhead? Just about everything of his is on my favorites list, and he's a little more obscure.Also, Sarah Ash's Lord of Snow and Shadows trilogy is pretty unique, and I've not met many who have heard of her.
Katharine Kerr's Deverry series is another set that's pretty good.
All I read is fantasy (well, not all... but mostly that's what I read) if you need any more suggestions, let me know!
Sean Williams and Shane Dix wrote a really cool space opera/hard sci fi trilogy starting with Echoes of Earth. Its an overlooked little gem of a series that merits some love.
George Alec Effinger's Marid Audran series starting with When Gravity Fails. It's a hard-boiled detective, cyberpunk, Middle-Eastern masterpiece. The 3 books are many-layered and wonderful.
This is a new book that was recommended to me and it grabbed me from the first chapter and couldn't put it down. Great action and dialog that carries a very politically relevant story. It is an indie book with a few flaws but the story and POV more than make up for it.
Hi Skye, i would recommend the below.The Warded Man
The Desert Spear
The Name of the Wind
The Wise Man's Fear
Skye, If you like a laugh, try Better than Life... and I think it's got my favourite ending of all time.
Some of my favourites -
There's a couple of YA ones there, and none of them are particularly new. Terry Pratchett is great fun (and has written heaps of books!) if you like his kind of fantasy.
The Blue Sword is short, but an absolute YA classic.
All of these have sequels/series.
Skye wrote: "I love Scifi and fantasy but feel like I've read them all. I need some out of the way, unsung books I can't find myself. please help!"Have you read Brandon Sanderson or Iain M. Banks?
If a dystopian future and the reasons for it are of an interest, try Walter M. Miller Jr's book, A Canticle for Leibowitz. It helps to have been raised Catholic, but it isn't a pre-requisite.
I can second Richard's recommendation for "Canticle for Leibowitz." It is a thrilling read, fraught with religous overtones, missionaries and post-apocalyptic vision. There is a sequel, which I hope to tackle as well: some day!
Come on Skye, let's hear which one of these wonderful recommendations you're going to read.
One More -- a must read for any student of spirit. Yann Martel's Life of Pi -- read it before the film comes out!
New to me and perhaps new to you:
by Jacqueline Carey. It's dystopian, science fiction, even magical realism, and enjoyable.
Tomw wrote: "I can second Richard's recommendation for "Canticle for Leibowitz." [. . .] There is a sequel, ..."Yes, there is a sequel, - the title is Saint Leibowitz and the wild Horse Woman. It was published two or three decades after Canticle and (sorry!) in my opinion is nowhere near as good. I won't say any more at the moment, I would like to read (at least try to read) it again before giving more details. Let's just say I was very disappointed.
I still retain quite a bit from Frank Herbert and his Dune series, despite the mostly terrible movies made from them (supposedly?) At it's heart, Dune is a scifi fantasy series like ASoI&F in space. Recommended for the more academic reader who likes to make lists. 
Here is an old series Dumarest of Terra, written by E.C.Tubb. There were 33 novels in the series. The author began them in the 1960s and wrote the last in mid 2000s. You can google the authors webpage. Amazon has some good buys on the early novels which are published as multi-set. Dumarest was and is a great character. I just read #32 after I found out he had written a final novel to the series.Here is a wikipedia entry Earl Dumarest, the protagonist of the series, is a galactic adventurer, sometime bodyguard, mercenary, gladiator, prospector, hunter, gambler and starship jack of all trades. Dumarest, as he is most often referred to in the books, is on a quest to return to the lost planet of his birth amongst the diverse and disparate worlds of the milky way galaxy. His home planet is Earth. In all of the books the notion of there being a planet called Earth is laughable to most sub characters and for those who have heard the name it is only as a myth from the deep past often referred to alongside gamblers paradises such as Jackpot, Bonanza and the mythical El Dorado.
My new epic fantasy novel, The Orb of Truth, was just released. Getting good reviews on Amazon.The Orb of Truth
“It’s a cross between Lord of the Rings and the Wizard of OZ where you will be swept away into a magical land of Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings.”
—Brae Wyckoff
I might be a bit late to this thread, but here are some thoughts.I notice Solaris is on your to-read shelf. All I can say about that book is weird stuff happens. I've also read The Memory of Earth, which I consider so-so but not one of Card's best.
I agree with Tomw that Iain Banks might be a good author to try if you haven't. His Culture books are about an interstellar military and espionage agency run by superintelligent anarchist spaceships. They sometimes had too much ultraviolence and not enough scientific plausibility for my taste, but are full of big ideas and big explosions.
Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke, is one I enjoyed. Sphere made me think of it because it's also about mysterious and powerful artifacts, though Rama is in space instead of the ocean and has a little more wonder and a little less terror. I really disliked the sequels, unfortunately.
Good books that aren't on your shelf by authors that are: The Lord of the Rings, World of Ptavvs, Protector. If you "feel like you've read them all," I imagine you've already read those, but just in case.
Just thought I'd add two of my favorites to the list:
I would suggest either the Black Company series or the Garret PI series by Glen Cook.
Here are a few of my absolute favorites published in the last 10 yearsGod's War - plus 2 sequels, I've read them and am now listening to the audio versions. Just fantastic.
Altered Carbon ignore the sequels
The Skinner and two more of the "Spatterjay" books
Gideon's Fall: When You Don't Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do - a one hit wonder
Some of my faves are Shadowmarch, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, The Looking Glass Wars, Tailchaser's Song, Search for Wondla, The Book of Lost Things, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Leviathan, A Song of Ice and Fire, Redwall, Dracula...I can't think of them all :)
Jed wrote: "Altered Carbon ignore t..."Well, that's a bummer - I just bought them because I liked Altered Carbon so much. Thought that was some fascinating world building.
Peggy wrote: "Jed wrote: "Altered Carbon ignore t..."Well, that's a bummer - I just bought them because I liked Altered Carbon so much. Thought that was some fascinating world building."
I wouldn't ignore the sequels...they weren't as good as Altered Carbon but I found them to be OK.
Just because I felt disappointed doesn't mean you will. Others loved them and reading tastes are very individual. I didn't like anything Morgan wrote after Altered Carbon until The Steel Remains which blew me away (and the sequel Cold Commands) as well.If you want to read a beautifully built world void of info-dumps and a lead female character tough like Takeshi, buy God's War
Infidel and Rapture next. I'm 100% certain you'll be astonished.
Peggy wrote: "Jed wrote: "Altered Carbon ignore t..."
Well, that's a bummer - I just bought them because I liked Altered Carbon so much. Thought that was some fascinating world building."
I'd plug my own book, but I don't know if that's allowed here; so I'll suggest a couple of my own favorites:Old Classics
Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Asimov's I, Robot
Anne McCaffery's The Ship Who Sang
Long Term Reading Project (15 Novels and counting)
David Weber's Honor Harrington Series, beginning with On Basilisk Station
Shorter Term Project (4 Novels)
David Weber / John Ringo collaboration on the "Prince Roger" series, beginning with March Upcountry
Hi, Skye. I skimmed your read and to-be-read lists as well as the excellent suggestions of the previous commentary. Adds to cosider - Kevin J. Anderson, Stephen Baxter, and (older, but still delightful) Edgar Rice Burroughs. Anderson's long collaboration has added increasingly intricate depth to the Dune universe. Anderson has also written things on his own - "Saga of (the) Seven Suns," "Terra Incognita," and "Ill Wind" - which are all in keeping with your interests and authors. Baxter is similar to Peter F. Hamilton, and his work has focused on hard sci-fi with an excellent alternative history in a sequel to H.G. Wells'"The Time Machine," titled "The Time Ships." Baxter also has several series to his credit as well - NASA, Destiny's Children, Manifold, and a sequence with both short and longer fiction called "The Xeelee Sequence." The movie "John Carter"spurred my interest in the Barsoom "series" or John Carter "series," depending on whose list you read. Still, his books have excellent plots and a lot of action. Hope that helps.
Interesting statistics on this thread. About 90% of recommendations are:- books by male writers, suggested by men
AND
- books by female writers, suggested by women
Only about 10% - books by writers of one gender suggested by the opposite gender readers.
What does it mean, I wonder? Do most of us prefer books written by writers of our own sex? Or is the stats in this thread faulty?
Try The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines fantasy/alternative fairy tale - a lot of fun I just readThe Honorverse by David Weber military science fiction - one of my 1st intros to science fiction and I was hooked but who doesn't love treecats?
Cordelia's Honor and Vorkosigan Saga (Chronological) by Lois McMaster Bujold space opera - love a crippled man hero written by a woman, these books have humor, space, action, and more
Olga wrote: "Interesting statistics on this thread. About 90% of recommendations are:- books by male writers, suggested by men
AND
- books by female writers, suggested by women
Only about 10% - books by wri..."
Generally stats show that women read book written by men & women and men tend to read books by men. In the SFF blogsphere over the last year there has been a lot of talk about women in SFF (authors, treatment in books, etc.). That might be leading women to think to recommend women authors more frequently as the topic is on our minds at the moment.
I'll say that I've always had much better luck with writers of my own species ;-). I've tried female authors, heck, I like your species a lot. But magic rarely happens. I recently discovered Kameron Hurley but she's a rare one who channeled her inner guy.It seems to make sense.
Olga wrote: "Interesting statistics on this thread. About 90% of recommendations are:
- books by male writers, suggested by men
AND
- books by female writers, suggested by women
Only about 10% - books by wri..."
Jed wrote: "I'll say that I've always had much better luck with writers of my own species ;-). I've tried female authors, heck, I like your species a lot. But magic rarely happens. I recently discovered Kamero..."Jed have you read James Tiptree Jr. or Ursula K. Le Guin or C.J. Cherryh?
Yes. I tried. I've actually met Ursula Le Guinn and Jean Auel. I bought their books because of this. I just couldn't finish them. I was bored by them.
Having had the honor of meeting them, I surely gave it my best try. But I can't enjoy what I can't enjoy. There are many famous books that I didn't like by male authors. Certainly it isn't prejudice :-)
I'll tell you how far back I go with SF. My first real job (as in pay taxes) was clerking for John W. Campbell at Analog magazine. I read Heinlein when I was still very young (I tried re-reading him as an adult and couldn't get into it). Plus I'm for whatever reason fascinated by gender-bending so I wanted to love Tiptree because I knew her secrets early on.
So, it seems to be hardwired. Except for Hurley, who I'm crazy about despite her plot weaknesses. Since there are so many books in print and now a flood of Kindle books both new or recoveries of out of print, I have no purpose in forcing myself to do anything that doesn't come naturally.
So it goes.......
Tasha wrote: "Jed wrote: "I'll say that I've always had much better luck with writers of my own species ;-). I've tried female authors, heck, I like your species a lot. But magic rarely happens. I recently disco..."
Jed wrote: "Yes. I tried. I've actually met Ursula Le Guinn and Jean Auel. I bought their books because of this. I just couldn't finish them. I was bored by them.
Having had the honor of meeting them, I su..."
I see you like the hunger games. So that's 2 female authors. LOL
I'm finding it harder and harder to find good books period as I feel like we are going backwards in time on how we treat women in books written by men and women. So I can relate to the problem of finding books I can really love.
If you haven't read The Caves of Steel yet, I'd say read that. The group is reading it this month, I believe.
Richard wrote: "If you haven't read The Caves of Steel yet, I'd say read that. The group is reading it this month, I believe."My husband is trying to find our copy or get it from the library so I can join in.
Tasha wrote: "Richard wrote: "If you haven't read The Caves of Steel yet, I'd say read that. The group is reading it this month, I believe."My husband is trying to find our copy or get it from the library so I..."
Copies shouldn't be too hard to find. I bought one on Amazon, but Barnes and Nobles should have one as well, I presume. Asimov was a very popular writer.
Olga wrote: "Interesting statistics on this thread. About 90% of recommendations are:- books by male writers, suggested by men
AND
- books by female writers, suggested by women
Only about 10% - books by writers of one gender suggested by the opposite gender readers."
Actually, that's an inaccurate observation.
At the time of your comment, eighteen men had recommended 45 male authors or male-authored books and four female-authored books (none of them recommended a female author's entire oeuvre, as some of them did with male authors). That means that, broadly speaking, they recommended 92% male authors and 8% female authors. (Not too far off from your 90/10 split, though it's worth noting that their recommendations were even less egalitarian than that. Also worth noting, one of the recommendations for a male-authored book was self-promotion.)
Six women had recommended fifteen male-authored books or male authors (there was one rec for a male author's entire oeuvre) and seven female-authored books. That means that they recommended 68% male authors and 32% female authors. (Again, one of the recommendations for a female-authored book was self-promotion.)
The reason I point this out is not to cast blame on any of the people recommending books (with the possible exception of the two self-promoting authors; sorry, but I've got no patience for that sort of thing) or to try to embarrass you, Olga, but to emphasize how pervasive sexism can be. This pattern of recommendations and your subsequent comment demonstrate that:
1) As Tasha pointed out, women are more likely to read both male and female authors, while men almost exclusively read male authors.
2) In situations where women comprise more than [insert number here; I've heard anywhere from 25% to 35%] of a group, they're generally perceived to be "dominating" that group. Although women recommended only 32% female authors, you nevertheless perceived them as recommending 90% female authors.
(Explanation of how I arrived at those particular numbers: I counted each discrete book recommendation or author recommendation by a member once. If a member indicated that there were additional books in the series but didn't recommend them by name, I didn't count them. If a recommended book sparked further discussion and/or a "second" from another member, I didn't count it a second time. If a member recommended a previously recommended book or author without engaging the previous recommender in any way, I did count the book/author a second time. Also, I determined members' genders by a combination of prior knowledge, viewing their profiles, and guessing based on their user names. If I misgendered anyone accidentally, I apologize.)
Have you gone back and tried to read any of the classics of sci-fi? There are some fascinating ones out there, like A Case of Conscience by Blish, and The Stars My Destination or The Demolished Man by Bester. How about The Sparrow by Russell, the Vorkosigan Saga by Bujold starting with Shards of Honour, anything by Robert J. Sawyer, the California books by Kim Stanley Robinson, starting with The Wild Shore. If you can locate a copy (they are rare), I recommend Emergence by Palmer. Also Rite of Passage by Panshin. You have read some Vernor Vinge, how about Rainbows End? I also love Zodiac and Snow Crash by Stephenson. Oryx and Crake by Atwood. Lord Foul's Bane by Donaldson. There are so many!!!
Mistborn: The Final Empire (brilliant trilogy, truly original Fantasy)The Way of Kings (one of my favorite Epic Fantasy, and possibly the best Brandon Sanderson novel so far)
The Rithmatist (another very original Fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson, really enjoyable)
Legion (I thought it was brilliant, even though it's a short story)
The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time is epic and one of my favorite series, but you won't enjoy it unless you're a fan of Epic Fantasy and long books)
The Black Company (Dark fantasy at its best)
The Gunslinger (this series offers both Sci-fi and Fantasy, not to mention a good deal of Horror)
Storm Front (The Dresden Files is Urban Fantasy, a lot of fun to read and really quite addictive)
The Warded Man (great Dark Fantasy with a tiny bit of Sci-fi in it)
The Name of the Wind (beautifully written)
Theft of Swords (fun series that starts small but gets progressively bigger and better with each book)
The Lord of the Rings (the classic choice)
Richard wrote: "Copies shouldn't be too hard to find. I bought one on Amazon, but Barnes and Nobles should have one as well, I presume. Asimov was a very popular writer. "We have over 5k in hard copy/paperbacks in our house so if we can avoid buying books given we have no place to put the books we have we do. I have built a library room that houses the majority of our hardback books. paperbacks are found on bookshelves, floor space, and boxes in 5 other rooms in my house. The only rooms without many books are the kitchen which usually only has a small pile of cookbooks in use over the last 1-2 weeks and a bathroom that has no shelving and the only floor space is directly under a pedestal sink (ouch water damage) so no books are in that room. Even my hallway has bookshelves and piles of books.
Rant: I won't buy ebooks that cost over $5 that do NOT have lending enabled so I can share the book with my husband or a friend. The Caves of Steel is $7.99 lending NOT enabled. I refuse to spend the money. I find it absurd to not allow me a one-time ever lend to a single person for 14 days - one person only ever. So 90%+ of my ebook purchases are indie authors who get that the 1 person might buy the book because they didn't finish it during the loaned time & might review and/or recommend it. The other 10% of my purchases are major sales of a trad published book at 1.99 or 2.99. /end rant
Tasha wrote: I see you like the hunger games. So that's 2 female authors. LOL"
Yes, I loved THG and I'm sure there must be another couple in my library. But I never read anything else by Collins, I read one by Libby Bray and probably more. Only Hurley would I buy a book automatically though.
I'm not proud of my position. That's just how it has worked out.
Jain wrote: "Olga wrote: "Interesting statistics on this thread. About 90% of recommendations are:- books by male writers, suggested by men
AND
- books by female writers, suggested by women
Only about 10% -..."
Jain thank you so much for doing the figures. It is enlightening and often surprising to find out what the real picture is. I think your analysis also correlates with the analysis done by feminists who assessed how many women writers get reviewed.
I believe the disparity is even greater given that in overall terms there are more women who write books than men.
For what it is worth I would suggest Wool by Hugh Howey, the Mad Ships trilogy by Robin Hobb and the Night Rider series by Lyn Flewelling.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Caves of Steel (other topics)The Eye of the World (other topics)
Mistborn: The Final Empire (other topics)
Legion (other topics)
The Rithmatist (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
James Tiptree Jr. (other topics)Ursula K. Le Guin (other topics)
C.J. Cherryh (other topics)
Kameron Hurley (other topics)
David Weber (other topics)
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