English SF/F basics

[Sergi]

Hi! As an Spanish reader I just began to read SF/F. It would be great if you can recommend me some "easy" and essential books to start. Which authors should I avoid? Which are easier?

Thank you!

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

Try avoiding Ray Bradbury, because his style of writing is very abstract and a little confusing sometimes. Even in English, it's a little difficult. Also, try avoiding Tolkien (a classic fantasy author), at least at the beginning, because he uses many uncommon words.

Any Young Adult fiction is good to start, really. The Percy Jackson books, for example, are easy to understand and have simple writing. If you want more classic fantasy, you can try the Chronicles of Narnia. He wrote them for younger audiences, but they're good for adults too. Maybe The Hobbit, but I'm not sure. It's also a kid's book, but it's a little tough at times.

[Andrea]

There's of course several middle grade and young adult series that I like as an adult and should use simpler language

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
So You Want to Be a Wizard
Charmed Life
A Wrinkle in Time

I definitely give an additional vote to Narnia and the Percy Jackson series

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (usually found in adult section but I found it was pretty light though it's a big series of 13 books total)

To avoid for now...maybe Tolkien (I know English speakers who give up on it because they get so bogged down, I love it though), Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Gene Wolfe, Jack Vance? Maybe a general rule is the older the book the more complex the language usually is, of course with exceptions both ways.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

I second The Belgariad, at least the original five. It's very light reading, but very fantasy.

[Cat]

I also rate Harry Potter highly - but that's partially because I'm trying to teach myself French using it.

I particularly like Brandon Sanderson's writing - perhaps start with his sci-fi books like Steelheart

I adore Terry Pratchett books but I'm not sure how well the humour will come across. Perhaps Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch which was co-written with Neil Gaiman, another legendary author.

Otherwise, you could try and look up some young adult lists and see what you like :)

[Hillary]

Good recs from the group; I'd add A Wizard of Earthsea & Ursula K. LeGuin's first three Earthsea books

[Rosemary]

If you are into technology, try Off to Be the Wizard. It's a pretty decent fantasy story, and if you like it, there are more in the series.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

Also, look up the books by Brandon Mull. He writes young adult fantasy, but it's enjoyable even for adults.

Another book of the same type is the Septimus Heap series. There are 7 books, but they're an easy read.

[Dean]

Brandon Sanderson's The Final Empire (Mistborn series), If you like sword&sorcery, Moorcock's Elric, Hawkmoon and Corum series, Robert E. Howards Conan short stories. For S-F, Isaac Asimof's The Foundation Trilogy is easy and certainly a classic. Also, Jack Williamson's The Legion of Space is an old-school space adventure I love.

[Andrea]

Conan might have a bit more archaic terminology though. Lots of "girdles" and "thews" and other words people don't commonly use nowadays so someone new to English might have to looks those up as they go. The older stuff tends to be a bit more literary, even when it's pulp and the plots are straightforward and easy.

[Dean]

Andrea wrote: "Conan might have a bit more archaic terminology though. Lots of "girdles" and "thews" and other words people don't commonly use nowadays so someone new to English might have to looks those up as th..."

Oops! Missed that, you're probably right--but then again, when I was younger (English is my second language) I enjoyed looking up words, especially if they were obscure (e.g. inTolkien, C.A.Smith, H.P. Lovecraft). In the end you're probably right--but even if you don't understand everything, you can get the gist of the story and maybe expand your vocabulary.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

I second the recommendation of Conan. However, I recommend only the original works, since those are much better than the other stories written by other authors.

The language is a little archaic, since it's 100 years old, but there's much to the stories that is relatively easy to follow and understand.

[nx74defiant]

Conan - I had big problems with the treatment of women in the last one I read. I couldn't tell you the title, its been to long.

Isaac Asimov's style is pretty straight forward. He wrote that he had been told he had no style.

[[deleted user]]

nx74defiant wrote: "Conan - I had big problems with the treatment of women in the last one I read. I couldn't tell you the title, its been to long...."

A couple of month's ago we had a group discussion of some of the early Conan stories, and I think it's safe to say everyone had a problem with Howard's treatment of women.

[Jim]

Times have changed in regards to the behavior of men toward women, so it's not surprising that Conan's behavior is dated. I don't think most people realize how much nor how recently the changes came about, though. It's one thing to read about the >'rule of thumb' & dismiss it as an old, barbaric law akin to Biblical law which allows men to beat their women, kids, slaves, & servants practically to death. (Some still follow it. Read my review of To Train Up A Child by the Pearls.)

But a man spanking a woman was a staple of films until sometime in the 1960s. If you see an old John Wayne movie today, those scenes are edited, sometimes completely gone, but they didn't disappear until quite recently. Here's an article about it:
http://pictorial.jezebel.com/i-dont-k...

Anyway, this is one more aspect of REH's stories that hasn't aged well like the racism found in his stories. If it bothers you too much, avoid Tarzan & other ERB stories. He was far worse.

[Andrea]

G33z3r wrote: "A couple of month's ago we had a group discussion of some of the early Conan stories, and I think it's safe to say everyone had a problem with Howard's treatment of women."

Although there were a couple strong women which surprised me. There's that pirate queen in one and a swordswoman in another. Plus...those stories weren't intended for female audiences. Even as recently has my high school years I felt I had to keep secret my interest in SF and F since that was more for "boys". Glad that has changed with the explosion of SF&F YA and middle grade books!

When something was written always colours the opinions in it. James Bond was mainly up against the bad guy Russian. In both the Powder Mage and Shadow Campaign series the bad guys are desert dwelling religious fanatics (Belgariad too). And then I saw someone complaining that because the blacks were the good guys and the whites the bad guys in Earthsea that it was simply being politically correct, which apparently was just as bad as being racist...so an author can't really win even if they try to shake things up :)

[Noor]

Another vote for Harry Potter from me. The great thing about Harry Potter is that you can get access to it in a whole bunch of languages, so you can read it in English and Spanish alongside each other or one after the other.

I read them in French and knowing the story from when I read them in English helped me understand the French version and learn some more French!

[Jim]

Andrea wrote: "Although there were a couple strong women which surprised me. There's that pirate queen in one and a swordswoman in another...."

Howard had several strong women in his other stories, too. Sword Woman is a set of stories about Dark Agnes de Chastillon, a peasant girl who refuses to stay downtrodden in the Middle Ages. The last story in The Sowers of the Thunder features Sonya of Rogatino who has lousy taste in men (OK, von Kalmbach isn't a bad guy, just an emotionally stunted drunkard.) but is a tough warrior & a really bad enemy. Her wedding present says it all.

[Sergi]

Is the Princess Bride from William Goldman quite straightforward?

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

It has a lot of deviations from the main story that, in my opinion, make it distracting. I'm not sure if the language is very simple, but you can give it a try. It's said to be a classic of fantasy.

[Mary]

Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (yes, this says it's the fourth book. Don't believe it. The other three are prequels and it's best to read this one first.)

Down to the children's books which are classics --

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Court of Stone Children by Eleanor Cameron
The 13 Clocks by James Thurber

also
Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon even if it's not old enough to be classic