Fantasy /Sci-Fi / Horror for the Beginer

[Kaylani]

So. I have read little fantasy, sci fi, and horror. I have loved what I have read.

What would you put in your 'Fantasy beginers basket'

What would you put in your 'Horror Beginers Basket'

And... What would you put in your 'Science Fiction beginers basket'

Thanks!

(Also sorry for the spelling / typing errors. Computer was stolen. I am on my phone most of the time)

[M Todd]

This is a great topic, and sorry about your computer. I'm going to have to give this some thought.

Also, while we do have a loose policy in Recommendations to try and keep it to small-press and Indie books, for the purposes of this discussion, we will have to include traditionally published works, as that's where we all came from when cutting our teeth on this genre thing.

[Mia]

Here are my recommendations. The Fantasy have probably already been suggested to you, but I'll stick with them unless you indicate otherwise.

Fantasy: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Belgariad/The Mallorean (David Eddings), The Chronicles of Narnia

Horror: HP Lovecraft, specifically his shorts. Neil Gaiman has some good shorts, too, but I'll have to get you the specific titles later.

SciFi: Have Spacesuit, Will Travel - Robert Heinlein
The Pern Books - Anne McCaffrey
Ringworld - Larry Niven
To Your Scattered Bodies Go (book 1 Ringworld Series) - Philip Jose Farmer

For some lighter SciFi you can try The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

[Christopher]

On horror: Lovecraft can be a bit daunting for the modern reader. His prose is sometimes so painfully stilted, so pusillanimously punctuated, that it can leave the reader feeling as though they're banging their head against a brick wall. If you can get through it, there are some real gems of stories there (in among the horrible racism that Lovecraft was so inclined to) but I don't necessarily recommend it for a beginner.

For the same reason, I don't tend to recommend Tolkien as an intro to fantasy. It took me years upon years to actually read the Lord of the Rings, because every time I tried, the Old Forest swallowed the narrative to such an extent that I was bored enough to put the book down. (It improves greatly if, like the films, you struggle through the beginning in Hobbiton and then skip straight to the Barrow-Downs and/or Bree).

My recommendations would be:

Fantasy: Harry Potter. Doesn't get much easier to get a taste of magic and wonder than these seven books. They get longer toward the end, but the prose is never prohibitive, and they are genuinely good stories (even if a bit hackneyed toward the beginning, but a new fantasy reader will hardly notice!)

Sci-Fi: This is harder, because it depends on the "type" of stories you prefer to read. If you're more socially-inclined, I highly recommend Lois M. Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga (starting with Cordelia's Honor). Science fiction without getting too bogged down in science, as much of the far-future stuff to which I'm partial tends toward. If you prefer to be confounded while riding along a great story toward the end, Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks is an initially-confusing but ultimately rewarding science fiction tale.

Sadly, science fiction can be a bit daunting for the new reader, unless you have an interest in either science or war.

As for horror, the most common recommendation would probably be Stephen King, but I've never been overly fond of his work myself. He is certainly an author that many people adore, however, so there might be something there for others.

[Robert]

Horror and Sci-fi aren't really my scene, but I'm happy to chime in on fantasy.

I definitely second the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. As Christopher mentioned, the Tolkien stuff can be a bit daunting if you're used to modern prose, so if you want a lighter read, Harry Potter is a better place to start.

An additional recommendation is to try Martin's A Game of Thrones. You'll find more people excited to discuss it since it's been made into a hit HBO show, and the book (and subsequent series) are amazing.

Jordan's The Eye of the World and Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule are solid choices as well.

[M.D.]

I'd say Belgeriad is not a bad start for Fantasy either. I know alot of people that that was an early or first fantasy series for them.

[Voss]

Horror: Edgar Allen Poe. Seriously. It's not really spec-fic horror, but it's a good start. Or, for something more modern, The Regulators by Richard Bachman(a.k.a. Stephen King, whoever he is). It's a bit graphic, but it's an okay starter in my opinion. The first 'horror' I read. Also, The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin.

Sci-Fi: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and This Perfect Day by Ira Levin. They're both palatable to most people. If you're used to modern writing, I would recommend staying away from the Pern series. Those books can be a bit of a slog. And maybe even try out The Hunger Games trilogy. Timothy Zahn also has a lot of good beginning sci-fi.

Fantasy: I third (or fourth or what have you) Harry Potter. I'd also recommend The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, especially if you liked Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass, and The Pendragon Adventures by D.J. Machale (although they could be classified as fantasy, as well).

And, if you're not afraid of the stigma, try Twilight. Whether you like it or not, there will be people out there happy to recommend books for you once you have an opinion on the books.

[Terri-Lea]

For Science Fiction, Philip K. Dick's books will provide a great starting point. Most of his novels and short stories have since been made into films and prove to be a foretelling of what our world is becoming.

For horror, Stephen King for an American setting, and James Herbert for a British one.

For fantasy, I'll have to agree with the mentions above, I've recently completed the Game of Thrones books, which provided a rich and entertaining journey.

[Carl]

For horror, the man to start with is Stephen King's early works. Just about any of them are awesome, but The Stand and It are really spectacular. For fantasy, I would suggest Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannarra and continue on with the series.
Carl Alves

[Debbie]

For fantasy, I'd strongly recommend Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series.

While I'd agree that The Hobbit is good for a beginner, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is deeply involved and complex, more than a beginner might want to tackle. I've known many people who loved The Hobbit and found Lord of the Rings horrendously verbose boring, never finishing them.

For Science Fiction, my favorites are Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein. I also love Ann McCaffrey's (and now Todd McCaffrey) Pern books, though I would not class them as science fiction, more fantasy, but wherever you class them, they are great for the beginner. I've just started reading the whole batch and looking forward to picking up those new ones I've missed.

For horror, the closest I can get is Dean Koontz because I've too, too vivid an imagination. King scares the behoolies out of me and someone just mentioning Clive Barker sends shivers up and down my spine. Oooooo! There it goes. For sheer magic of words, I'd recommend What the Night Knows (Koontz) my favorites are Watchers and the two extant volumes of the Moonlight Bay series (Fear Nothing and Seize the Night). Rumor has it the third of the trilogy is in progress.