only read 2 books need help picking 3rd

[Todd]

im new to reading.. read only 2 books first Dune thought it was good love the characters but thought the authors take on the future was off.. also read garden of moons the malazan book but felt there was way to many characters to enjoy it. can any 1 recommend a book for a newcomer. thanks

[Paul]

Hi Todd!


Perhaps for fantasy you might enjoy Joe Abercrombie's First Law books, starting with The Blade Itself. I'd also recommend K.J. Parker, especially the Scavenger trilogy.


For SF, I always point people toward the great Iain M. Banks. Any of his culture books, but my favourites are Look to Windward, Surface Detail or Use of Weapons.


Enjoy whatever you go with! Welcome to the adventure :)

[Don]

Gardens of the Moon is overwhelming, but i implore you to read the second book Deadhouse gates. It had a new cast of characters, and they are way more developed. It has nothing to do with Gardens.

Bridgeburners take a back seat to a Continent wide rebellion. Instead of WhiskeyJack's fuckery, you get the Wickans led by Coltane fighting a war if attrition against unspeakable odds. And the entire story revolves around this rebellion, seen from all sides.

I liked Gardens more, but even I admit Deadhouse was much much much better.

[Juan]

I would recommend Hyperion and the fall of Hyperion. I really enjoy it and I think that any new commerc would appreciate it.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hey Todd,

Tough call! I think it depends what you're looking to get out of the books and what you liked or didn't about those two you mentioned.

I think all of these are great suggestions, but if you're really just hoping to branch out, I think I might recommend the group reads! The group reads four books a month, so you can pick however many sound interesting to you and have a group to discuss them with! Then, when we can start figuring out your preferences, we can make better recommendations :-)

Selfishly, I just like seeing more thoughts in the group reads, too, and would love to hear your opinion on what we're reading!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Oh! And the Tor monthly book club! If you go to http://ebookclub.tor.com/ (the next book should be up soon) you'll get the first book in an alternating fantasy or sci-fi series that tends to have been fairly well received for free. That's an excellent way to try out new things.

[Chris]

Allison wrote: "I think I might recommend the group reads! The group reads four books a month, so you can pick however many sound interesting to you and have a group to discuss them with! "

I agree with Allison. With so little data to go on, we are just shooting in the dark with recommendations. Todd, just dive in and read from the group's bookshelf. In addition to the two current books-of-the-month, we read two more books from past years of this group, for those who missed the original reading or want a reread. See 2017 Group Bookshelf Challenge Reading Calendar for the schedule.

[AndrewP]

As both of the books you have read seem to be doorstops I will recommend something of a similar size. For fantasy, Sanderson's The Way of Kings or Rothfuss The Name of the Wind.
For SF I agree with Paul in that you can't go far wrong with anything from Iain M. Banks. Also worth checking out are Alistair Reynolds or Peter F. Hamilton.

[Trike]

Come on guys -- Todd has only read two SFF books and his profile pic is of Darth Maul: stop throwing giant-sized novels that require intense familiarity with SFF tropes at him. You're essentially telling someone that their first books should be War and Peace and Finnegans Wake.

You have to crawl before you can build a spaceship to fly to the moon.

I would recommend Star Wars novels. Try the newest ones, and read Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

Then give Old Man's War a try. If you like that one, Scalzi has more in that vein.

Read Sten, a terrific action story. If you like that, there are more books in that series.

For something a bit more science-y, check out The Martian.

For Fantasy along similar lines, check out McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern, which has the first three (and best) books.

Well-written lighter fare would include Theft of Swords, the first two Riyria books. Fun action, cool characters, nice dialogue, tidy twists.

The Blade Itself is likewise well done, but it's a little grimmer. It's a good starting point, though.

[Todd]

thanks for the replys im going to some investigating into the books that you guys mentioned.. im a slow reader so lets hope i pick a ripper.

[John]

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings is a good first book in a series to read if you're new to the genre. Easy reads and one of my favorite series. He has a followup to this series that's good as well.

[Ilona]

I will second Pawn of Prophecy. It is a funny and light fantasy.

I would recommend The Final Empire because it is a fast-paced fantasy book with an interesting magic system. And it isn't overcomplicate. And if you like it, it belongs to a finished serie.

For SF, Scalzi is a good choice since his books are usually short, fun, entertaining with some interesting ideas likeFuzzy Nation or Old Man's War.

[Faith]

Paul wrote: "Hi Todd! I'd also recommend K.J. Parker, espec..."

I read K.J. Parker's Scavenger Trilogy and thought all three novels were so diluted that they could have been a single book (about Poldarn's travels and all that metalworking). K.J. Parker is in fact Tom Holt, not a lot of people know that. The Tom Holt historical fantasies are much better than the Scavenger Trilogy - try Goatsong.