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Okay, so we have a make list of 20 books we would like to read, and we have to include reviews. I don't really know what to look for, but if you know any sci-fi/fantasy books besides Lord of the Rings and Orwell and can link to a review on Amazon that'd be nice. I already have some books but I need some help with the rest.
Enders game/shadow and the sequels.
I didn't like Ender's Game, but we only have to read 4 of these and I can fill up a lot of room with that so why not.
Revelation Space and its sequels
The Dread Empire's Fall series
Saga of the Seven Suns
They each vary in the degree of sci-fi ness if that's even a word, with the Saga having more of a fantasy streak than a hard sci-fi feel. I've linked to the first book in each series, but if you want the others, they're usually amongst the Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought listing :p
Read A Confederacy of Dunces. It's hillarious.
nik, I've read about half of that book. Maybe I just didn't get it, but I thought Ignatius was pretty annoying, so I was annoyed.
Rengori, my horror lit instructor taught a sci-fi class last semester, so I'd be happy to ask him for some suggestions. But for your list, can you pick any books you want or are you supposed to stick with certain genres?
Read Timeline by Michael Crichton. One of my favourite books of all time.
I'm too lazy to link
But:
American Gods
Neil Gaiman
Given recent events I will recommend the Wheel of Time series.
"Brave New World"? Aldous Huxley.
Fantasy-wise, you could try a book from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (one of the first two! or else you'll be there doing the whole 11 books rigmarole :p), Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy (which would be great to write about), Terry Goodkind's "Wizard's First Rule", which is fat, but brilliant.
OR you could do a good old Terry Pratchett :D "Mort" is one I'd recommend
edit: maxx :shifty: psychism
Mists of Avalon and Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Artefact of Power (4 books) series by Maggie Furey
Nightrunner series (3 books to date) and Tamir Trilogy (3 books) by Lynn Flewelling
Hitchhikker's Guide to the Galaxy (4 or 5 books, depends if you read Mostly Harmless or not) by Douglas Adams
SMURF YES.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Summoner of Leviathan
Though, unless you finish SLATFATF and find you need another hit of Adams, don't read Mostly Harmless. To me at least, it just seemed tacked-on.
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
Harry Potter Series - J.K Rowling
Norse Mythologies
Seems a bit of a shame to leave War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells) out. I'd also like to throw in the Earthsea books by Ursula Le Guin (I think there's five or six actual novels).
I'd suggest A Game of Thrones by george r. r. martin but it's kinda weighty.
I second wheel of time, best books ever written.
A Game of Thrones is awesome but like rubah said, it's kinda sketchy some times... Still incredibly good, and much faster paced than Wheel of Time has become (first 6 wheel of time books were incredible, and the rest are a little too slow, still awesome though).
You can close this now since I turned it in earlier today.
i would say with enthusiasm to read every two-bit fantasy novel you can find. also, any insanely popular book/series is usually a good bet...even if you don't like it, you can gripe with other people who read it and hated it....anne rice books, life of pi, da vinci code are a good cross-section of those kinds of books....'least i think so.
american gods was the only book i've read more than once
for the fantasy:
george rr martin books rule
wheel of time rules
forgotten realms/dragonlance/greyhawk/even *cough* eberron are worth a look
anne mccaffrey (sp?) pern books are ok
conan books
LOTR of course
year's best collections are sometimes worth a look for a couple of their shorties.
whoops that's what i get for not reading the last post...
THE DARK TOWER BY STEPHEN KING
Singlehandedly the best book series ever written. Seven books create one long book that ends up at about 3500 pages. It tells the story of Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger (like a knight) in a world that has moved on. The story begins when he is pursuing The Man In Black across the Mohaine Desert to gain information on The Dark Tower.
If you like fantasy, science fiction, horror, adventure, action these are the books for you. Unforgettable characters, best damn plot I've ever read and memories you won't forget then you have to read The Dark Tower.
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, book one of seven was published in the mid-70's and the final book, 'The Dark Tower' was published in August 2004. This book makes Lord of the Rings look like preschool. Fantastic, incredible book. I've never met a single person who has read them that hasn't liked them. In fact, the books are almost addicting. I started reading them in may of 2002 and have already read the entire series three times. It's that damn good.
Now depending on the Sci-fi to fantasy ratio you're after you may or may not find searching for the following useful:
The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (already suggested but awesome series) [fantasy]
The Dragonmaster Trilogy - Chris Bunch [fantasy]
A Song Of Fire and Ice - George R. R. Martin [fantasy]
The Horus Heresy (series of novels, many authors...published by The Black Library, look for the first book: Horus Rising by Dan Abnett. warhammer 40k novels) [sci-fi]
The Liveship Traders trilogy - Robin Hobb [fantasy]
Saga Of The Seven Suns - Kevin J Anderson (awesome series) [sci-fi]
Gaunts Ghosts - Dan Abnett (more 40k) [sci-fi]
Dune legacy - Frank Herbert [sci-fi]
Prelude to Dune series - Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson [sci-fi]
Prelude to Dune The Butlerian Jihad series - Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson [sci-fi]
The Dragonlance books - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman [fantasy]
The Darksword trilogy - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman [fantasy]
The Word and The Void series - Terry Brooks [sci-fi/fantasy]
The Age of Misrule trilogy - Mark Chadbourn [sci-fi/fantasy]
The Dark Age Trilogy - Mark Chadbourn [sci-fi/fantasy]
The Hunters Blades triliogy - R. A. Salvatore [fantasy]
The Dark Elf trilogy - R. A. Salvatore [fantasy]
The Icewind Dale trilogy - R. A. Salvatore [fantasy]
The Corsair trilogy - Chris Bunch [sci-fi]
like I said that might or might not prove useful it's just a list of books from the top of my head (I hope you accept I'm not amazon hunting this entire list :P) The ones marked as [sci-fi/fantasy] is because I can't decide where they belong, they're all set in a modern day world but involve quite heavily magic so should be fantasy but they're debatable.
Flowers for Algernon. Midget little read, by gold on every page. So, even though it's only 20-odd pages long, it weighs a bloody ton!
And for fantasy, any one of the Dresden Files'. (so far) 9 of the best books I've ever read.
How about the Otherland series?
4 books, but so much to work from. I mean, one passage and you have a potential for a review right there!
Srsly... that book was AMAZING. The movie was horrid 305 days old dog crap compared.Quote:
Originally Posted by o_O
Also of course The Chronicles of Narnia ( Iwish these books were longer!)
Also the Magic Kingdom forsale series is amazing! I want to say it's bt Terry Brooks. I'm too lazy to go to the book shelf :p
The Keys To The Kingdom series by Garth Nix is an enjoyable read
Mr Monday - first in the series
That was a good series, long too but good. Tad Williams is <3.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent, Thunder God
Oddly enough my sentiments are reversed, I preferred the movie over the book, which is odd since I tend to prefer the novel over the movie in every other case I can think of. I found the book way too slow and not engaging at all. Then again, it was 6 or 7 years ago since I had tried to read the book (never finished it because I could not get into it).Quote:
Originally Posted by BertSrsly... that book was AMAZING. The movie was horrid 305 days old dog crap compared.Quote:
Originally Posted by o_O
Anything, everything by Kurt Vonnegut. My favorite Vonnegut book is The Sirens of Titan.
If you like Orwell, you might like The Handmaid's Tale. It follows along the dystopian themes of 1984 and Brave New World. I thought it was fascinating and haunting.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Sphere by Michael Crichton
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Dahmer... just kidding Jeffrey Deaver
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
I'd suggest A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows despite the weightiness. They're that good. I can't read other fantasy novels without comparing them to the sheer awesomeness that is George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.Quote:
Originally Posted by rubah
I've always wanted to read those but I never do.
Good God, that is a brilliant book. Incredibly depressing but at the same time terribly heart warming in places.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harle-Quin
Edit: I take if you're referring to the novella. I don't know which one I read, as the copy I read was one that my Dad had copied word for word from a library book decades ago and was in a notepad. And we're talking upwards of seven years since I read it.