The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
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What recommendations for fantasy and/or scifi do you have for a new reader?
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You have your profile set to private. If you open it up and let us see what types of books you like and dislike, we can steer you in certain directions.Since SF and Fantasy cover HUGE styles of literature (all of them, in fact), you also have to be specific in what you like. If you say, "Well, I like it when the hero gets the girl in the end," or "I like stories that are scary," that's too vague to really offer a suggestion about.
I'll give you an exact analogy - these songs all run at 100 beats per minute:
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Clair de lune by Claude Debussy
Hips Don't Lie by Shakira
Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
Superstition by Stevie Wonder
Beautiful Lasers by Lupe Fiasco
Dancing Queen by ABBA
Fly by Sugar Ray
Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
Let's Go Crazy by Prince
This by Darius Rucker
Drumming Machine by Florence and the Machine
Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift
Hate It or Love It by 50 Cent
Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae
Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield
Runnin' with the Devil by Van Halen
You are so Beautiful by Joe Cocker
Free Your Mind by En Vogue
Happy Trails by Roy Rogers
Maybe you like all of those songs. Maybe there are some you like better than others. But as you can see from that small sample, if you say, "Oh, I like 100 bpm," it's too vague.
I thought it was public. I'll fix that.
Try Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Dart is the first book in the trilogy. Also Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee. Those are based on your shelf.
Please don't go based off my shelf alone, especially if you're going based off of my 'own' shelf. I own those but I haven't read them at least 2-3 years if not more.Most recently I bought the Dragonlance novels, Dragon of a Fallen Sun and Dragons of a Lost Star (i'm saving up for 'Of a Vanished Moon' ) but I want to read more than just books inspired by a game you know?
I've tried Lord of the Rings and couldn't stand it. I own a copy of the LOTR and the Hobbit but I never picked them back up.
And I've never read any scifi.
Robin Hobb. The Fits and Fool books might be something you'd like. Start with: Assassin's Apprentice
Lilith's Brood: Dawn / Adulthood Rites / Imago by Octavia Butler. For something a little sex-oriented and excellent, highly recommend Butler's Wild Seed, which is like an epic X-Men book written by an artist.The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin is probably up your alley, as well.
Also try The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley, or any of his "Eight Worlds" novels like Steel Beach. Any collection of short stories by him is well worth it.
If you like Dragonlance then you could do worse than trying "Magician" by Raymond Feist - different plots but the writing style is similar.
Scott wrote: "If you like Dragonlance then you could do worse than trying "Magician" by Raymond Feist - different plots but the writing style is similar."Now let's hope the library has it!
All of the recommendations look amazing.
What non-SF&F books do you like? What movies do you like?
non-SF&F I like romances with werewolves and vampires and magic (my favorite authors are Michele Hauf, Vivi Anna, and Stephanie Draven). I like non-fiction about writing stories and novels and I like non-fiction occult things.Movies..hmm..that one's tougher. I did like the LOTR movies. I also like DC and Marvel movies.
Clive Barker has a few fantasy works that may be of interest. Check out Imajica, Weaveworld and his young adult series Abarat.
If you like occult, the books of Charles Williams migth be of interest. All Hallows' Eve may be his best. They are older books and may not be in smaller libraries.
I bought two books today my local library.The Scions of Shannara (Book one of the Heritage of Shannara) by Terry Brooks
I wish they would have had even book 1 of the The Sword of Shannara series so I could start at the true beginning.
and
Orphanage by Robert Buettner.
They were only .50 so I figured I'd buy one of each.
Thank you for the suggestions everyone, I made sure to save them all :D
Well obviously the easiest and most accessible place to start for a new reader is The Shadow of the Torturer.What? No? Okay then.
Try The Privilege of the Sword instead.
Lou wrote: "I bought two books today my local library."That's actually a pretty good way to start. I think random reading choices were how I got into SF&F to begin with. (I was a kid, so I can't be certain.)
Sandi wrote: "Lou wrote: "I bought two books today my local library."That's actually a pretty good way to start. I think random reading choices were how I got into SF&F to begin with. (I was a kid, so I can'..."
hehe. yeah. I saw Lord of the Rings, wanted to buy it but it turns out it was part three of Return of the King. I was like "who wants the last part of the last book" ? So looked around. I saw
Orphanage by Robert Buettner and then The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks and figured why not. Too opposite end of the spectrum books.
So far I'm liking Brooks. I'd like Buettner better if he didn't write in first person.
For SF, basically anything by Philip K. Dick is worth a go. For Fantasy, try Three Hearts and Three Lions. It's fun, short, a classic, and a standalone story.
I always recommend something that is sci fi but set in our current world for newbies to the genre. That way it doesn't scare them off. Its also got to be an easy read. Say Jurasic Park by Michael Crichton or something like that.
double
Rik wrote: "I always recommend something that is sci fi but set in our current world for newbies to the genre. That way it doesn't scare them off. Its also got to be an easy read. Say Jurasic Park by Michael..."Yeah, see I made the mistake of seeing the movie when I was 10 (i was 10 when it came out) and reading the book when I was 13.
That's why the late bloom into these genres.
I wanted to open this up again...but would any of you reccomend the Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson?I've got $5.23 to spend on my google play account and I thought I'd pick up a book. I can't add anymore to it yet, but I had hoped to pick up the Lord of the Rings Trilogy but that's too much
so then a friend suggested Mistborn but I wanted to get the opinion of the Sword and Laser fans.
Is definitely recommend Mistborn. It's got good pacing and is better quality writing than Elantris but isn't as long as Way of Kings. I think it makes a great entry vehicle to the genre. :)
Mod
Yes, Mistborn is great. It's fun, has an interesting world and plot, and is simple enough to work as a gateway book. It also works reasonably well as a stand alone book, so you don't *have* to read the sequels. (Though I do recommend those too.)
The SF and fantasy genres are incredibly broad - it is important to work out what you want, do you want action, epic battles, suspense, a sense of the weird, world building, political comment, humor, adventure etc.Do you like books that are stand alone, epic series' or stand alone books set in the same world (like a comfortable pair of slippers)
Do you want literary fiction, pulp SF style prose or what?
Do you want something bursting with original ideas, something that refines existing ideas of what...?
Within Fantasy is there a certain type of world or protagonist you are drawn more to than others?
For instance Titus Groan, Some Kind Of Fairy Tale, Alif the Unseen SilverlockGuards! Guards!CoralineWatership Down The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One NightsThe City and the City and The Drowning Girl and Conan of Cimmeria
are all great in there own way but all so very different that few readers would be equally drawn to or enjoy them all.
Anthologies can be a good way to find out which writers you like and if you like mainstream, popular fantasy then Unfettered is a very good way to get a sample of lots of the most popular fantasy writers working today.
Old S&L picks are also a good place to start...
Ohh with regards to Sanderson - He made one of his books (Warbreaker) free on his website so I would check that out if money is tight and see whether or not you like his writing before spending money on him.There is actually loads of really good SF available for free, often in short form, legally on the internet from author sites, internet magazines (beneath ceaseless skies, Clarkesworld etc) and other sources (SF Signal does daily posts of what free fiction is available where) so even with a limited budget there is loads of superb stuff to check out.
http://www.freesfonline.de/ this is a good site if you know what author you want to read fiction by and it will show you what stories are legally available for them for free online. It is well worth checking out.
Cory Doctorow makes all his books available digitally for free - just download them from his site. Little Brother is a superb near future YA SF novel.
I agree that it's worth checking out what some of the authors have allowed to be free on their sites (and I really enjoyed Little Brother), but I'm not sure I'd start with Warbreaker for Sanderson. If you like Mistborn, them give it a go. :)
If paranormal romance is your thing, it's just a short hop if a hop at all, into urban fantasy. There are loads of lists here on goodreads and other places that I am not even going to try and give a worthwhile list here.
I just read Firstborn (his free story from TOR) and i really liked it.
Ben wrote: "Do you like books that are stand alone, epic series' or stand alone books set in the same world (like a comfortable pair of slippers)Do you want literary fiction, pulp SF style prose or what?
Do you want something bursting with original ideas, something that refines existing ideas of what...?
Within Fantasy is there a certain type of world or protagonist you are drawn more to than others?"
I don't mind mind series or standalone. Series are more fun to me, but can be bothersome to try to buy. Books that work standalone but are a part of a large series are awesome because it's like a trilogy set of movies--one movie is good to watch but then you get more.
I don't know! Questions like this one--literary fiction or pulp style confuse me. Let me put it this way, the Lord of the Rings excited me, so did Dragonlance. People like Heinlein did not, but I suppose that's more the fact that work was older.
I like either or. Original ideas are fun but pulling from existing trope/style can be fun too.
May I say one thing, as an aside? saying "or what?" at the end of a question..doesn't help.
I want to say I like fantasy more than I like science fiction. Scifi coems across as cold to me where as fantasy is full of life and fun.
[quote]"It is said that science fiction and fantasy are two different things. Science fiction is the improbable made possible, and fantasy is the impossible made probable."[/quote]
---Rod Serling.
I like the idea of the impossible made probable. I like wood elves and magic, archery and sorcery, grand adventure, romance and fun.
so I guess I'm more a fantasy enthusiast than a scifi fan..
btw, I bought Mistborn. Cost me $7.59 so I've still got the 5.23 (late birthday presents FTW :D ) so anything 5.20 and lower in price is best :P
Try some of the old pulp stuff, Lou. I've read a bunch of it and enjoyed it all immensely. It might take you a bit of effort to adapt to an older style of prose, but it's worth it in my opinion. The original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, the Fafhrd And The Grey Mouser stuff by Fritz Leiber, Jirel Of Joiry by C.L. Moore, and Jurgen by James Branch Cabell are all worth reading. Due to their age, you might even find some of these for free at Project Guttenberg.
Bryan wrote: "Try some of the old pulp stuff, Lou. I've read a bunch of it and enjoyed it all immensely. It might take you a bit of effort to adapt to an older style of prose, but it's worth it in my opinion. ..."I'll give them a second glance at least.
I'm reading Mistborn and Terry Brooks and I'm loving them both so far!
I use Project Gutenberg and eBooks@Adelaide lots. The Jirel Of Joiry by C.L. Moore are not available. they are very fun, so if you find them in a second-hand bookshop give them a try.
Howard's Red Nails is available. A great story in the pulp barbarian genre.
James Branch Cabell is probably available. He was a literary author, full of irony. Not my cup of tea. If you like it there are probably plenty of his stories available for free download.
I don't think Fafhrd And The Grey Mouser stuff by Fritz Leiber are freely available. They are fun, light-hearted romps. I'm not a fan of stories that poke fun at the genre, but these are an exception. Again, if you see them second-hand give them a look. Some of his other work is available, and may give you a taste of his style.
Some other pulp writers are available for free download. Abraham Merritt's stuff for instance.
Things written before 1923 are generally available since they tend to be copyright free. Things written after that may be under copyright. here in the U.S. an author had to renew copyright every so often. If they neglected to do that the work went into the commons. More recently, copyright has been expanded to last 75 years after the author's death for works published during their life. Posthumerous works have different rules.
Howard's Red Nails is available. A great story in the pulp barbarian genre.
James Branch Cabell is probably available. He was a literary author, full of irony. Not my cup of tea. If you like it there are probably plenty of his stories available for free download.
I don't think Fafhrd And The Grey Mouser stuff by Fritz Leiber are freely available. They are fun, light-hearted romps. I'm not a fan of stories that poke fun at the genre, but these are an exception. Again, if you see them second-hand give them a look. Some of his other work is available, and may give you a taste of his style.
Some other pulp writers are available for free download. Abraham Merritt's stuff for instance.
Things written before 1923 are generally available since they tend to be copyright free. Things written after that may be under copyright. here in the U.S. an author had to renew copyright every so often. If they neglected to do that the work went into the commons. More recently, copyright has been expanded to last 75 years after the author's death for works published during their life. Posthumerous works have different rules.
Project Gutenberg Australia has much bigger selection of Howard's works.
That's because in some respects at least Australia has much more reasonable copyright laws then does the U.S.
Christopher wrote: "That's because in some respects at least Australia has much more reasonable copyright laws then does the U.S."This by a thousand.
Well, I can say that I am thoroughly Mistborn. I also bought the first book, In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord and am enjoying it. I also have The Scions of Shannara.And a friend just sent me the Hobbit, and the 3 LOTR books. I'm looking to buy the The Silmarillion now.
So I thank you all for your recs. Keep it up! :D
Lou wrote: "And a friend just sent me the Hobbit, and the 3 LOTR books. I'm looking to buy the The Silmarillion now."Lou, if you had trouble with LOTR the first time round, I would hold off on reading The Silmarillion for a little bit. It is one of the most difficult books that I have ever read. Very rewarding, but incredibly dry and difficult.
I second Mistborn as a good entry point. It's nice to have a self contained trilogy that won't take ages to get through. Even though I love Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time(The Eye of the World) and it's one of my favorite series of all time. It is 14 books long and that can be intimidating.
On a side note, congrats on digging into the genre and it heartens me to see others get excited to read fantasy. Best of luck and may your read excellent works!
Scott wrote: Lou, if you had trouble with LOTR the first time round"to be fair, Scott, I was 14-15 when I tried to read Fellowship of the Ring.
Now? I'm half way through the Hobbit and can't wait to read it.
I'm reading Peter v Brett trilogy. Loving it. I really recommend reading them. Demons in the night!
Gail carriger's Parasol Protectorate series!
Lou, coming from the Romance genre, you might like The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It's fantasy with a love story, with gorgeous imagery throughout.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
The Night Circus (other topics)The Eye of the World (other topics)
In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord (other topics)
The Silmarillion (other topics)
The Scions of Shannara (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Erin Morgenstern (other topics)Charles Williams (other topics)
I am new to Sword and Laser. I am also knew to the scifi and fantasy genres (hence the and/or in the title) having come from the romance genre.
So I am asking you, the fans of S&L, what would you recommend to someone who is new to these genres that is easily accessible from the library (I have no money :( ) ?
I look forward to your suggestions and I love S&L!