Looking for fantasy/sci-fi universes written by multiple authors

[EchoBaz(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader)]

I'm looking for fantasy series where there's a TON of books written in the same universe by multiple authors. Stuff like Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance Shadowrun, and Pathfinder.

Please suggest both the series, and where to start within them.

[Trike]

Wild Cards, the shared superhero universe created by George R.R. Martin, Melinda Snodgrass and friends. Tons of books, with fresh reprints adding more material, and it's currently being developed into a TV series. They've been quite influential, too; books like iZombie, Vol. 1: Dead to the World, which was turned into a TV show, have taken ideas straight from this series.

The Man-Kzin Wars set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. The more recent books have taken an unfortunate ultra-conservative turn, but the first 9-10 are mostly free of that junk. The first two or three have some of the coolest short stories I've ever read.

Thieves' World is one of the earlier ones, debuting back in the '70s, and some additions more recently. I don't even know how many anthologies and novels are in that series. Maybe thirty.

[EchoBaz(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader)]

first of all, sorry about this. my replay was much better before, but the site ate my post.

Wild Cards sounds fun, i'll look it up when I wanna read a comic.

Mazn Kzin sounds interesting, but I'm not into military.

Looked into Thieve's World, seems cool, but its age intimidates me.

[Trike]

Regarding Man-Kzin Wars, it isn't a military sci-fi series, strictly speaking. Although there are stories about battles, it's concerned with all aspects of conflict, from R&D to the homefront to the politics, and so on.

Have you ever seen Casablanca? That movie isn't a "war movie" because it doesn't concern combat, but it takes place during WWII and the main bad guys are Nazis. The conflict is there *because* of the war, but it's not *about* the war. There is a story that riffs off of Casablanca.

Then there's Dean Ing's "Briar Patch", which is essentially a Robinson Crusoe tale. (It's also my favorite of the early stories.) Like Casablanca, the main character is in that predicament because of the war, but it's not about the war. It's about inventively using your wits and your will to survive. Like Casablanca, it's also funny. He dubs the place he's in "Newduvai Gorge", and anyone who thinks that isn't humorous doesn't know science or history. Or appreciate puns.

Speaking of funny:

MorteTorment(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader) wrote: "Also, please don't take this too seriously, I'm mostly just attempting to riff some nostalgia of mine with my patented hit or miss humor."

If these posts are an example, I'm going with "mostly miss."

As an adult (I'm assuming), you shouldn't need to be told this, but shitting all over entertainment that millions of people enjoy and you clearly don't understand isn't clever. It's douchey.

Don't be a douchenozzle.

Now that I see you've spammed all these other groups with this identical post, it may be too late for you, but I'm telling you straight up: you're being an asshole.

[Jennifer]

I just picked up a copy of Sanctuary. I read it, a long time ago...but something stuck with me.

[Chris]

Trike wrote: "As an adult (I'm assuming), you shouldn't need to be told this, but shitting all over entertainment that millions of people enjoy and you clearly don't understand isn't clever. It's douchey."

I don't take it so personally. However, I do think that someone who is such a special snowflake isn't going to benefit from anyone's recommendations. Such a guy will have to find his own way because that's just who he is.

[Doc]

The myth and Phule series by Robert Aspirin are lite reading

[Sarah]

Trike and Chris, "douchenozzle" and "special snowflake" are inappropriate verbal attacks. Behave, gentlemen.

However, this entire thread is inappropriate. Turning a thread into a blog is going to fall under the "no self-promotion" rule. It's not promoting a book sale but I'm lumping it in with that because if all 17,000+ members did the same we would have chaos. This group is to discuss our reading experiences rather than being a platform for one individual opinion.

This thread will stay open for book suggestions regarding universes written by multiple authors but that will be the extent of the discussion allowed.

[Julia]

Welcome to Bordertown edited by Holly Black is an anthology of short stories about what happens in the present when the human world and the Fairy world come in close contact. It's not 30 books in the series, but maybe five.

Borderland edited by Terri Windling is another, so is The Essential Bordertown and Bordertown. Finder by Emma Bull and Never Never by Will Shetterly are two novels in the universe.

[EchoBaz(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader)]

Trike wrote: "Regarding Man-Kzin Wars, it isn't a military sci-fi series, strictly speaking. Although there are stories about battles, it's concerned with all aspects of conflict, from R&D to the homefront to th..."

First of all, as I've said in several other topics: You're right, I am being a hipster dickhead, and I'm sorry. It was an attempt of what the Cinema Snob does, where he mostly mocks what he enjoys, or or at least enjoyed at once point of his life.

I would however really like to skim through a lot of books in series like forgotten realms and provide commentary on them. Any suggestions?

Anyways, I do in fact like hearing about things like the civillians issues dealing with war, and thanks for explaining that. I'm adding it to my list.

[EchoBaz(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader)]

Sarah Anne wrote: "Trike and Chris, "douchenozzle" and "special snowflake" are inappropriate verbal attacks. Behave, gentlemen.

However, this entire thread is inappropriate. Turning a thread into a blog is going to ..."

I can respect that. I've also deleted the sneak preview of what I had in mind for this topic.