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Yeah, this is easy :p -
-The Deptford Trilogy Yes it is critically acclaimed, but few people I know have bothered to read it.
-The Giver this is underrated by all my fellow students because it was (and likely still is) required reading in high school, but despite being overly simplified it's very good
I think the Dragonlance series is underrated, and also the most awesomest.
Marilyn Manson's "The Long Hard Road out of Hell"
Easily one of the best books that I have ever read.
=OQuote:
Originally Posted by ShlupQuack
Ooh. I've read two Dragonlance books, and I liked them. I "bought" one when I paid a local library for losing it and found it a few months later.
Only two?! They come in trilogies for the most part. You can't just read two!
The third volume was checked out when I returned the second volume, and I was too lazy to go back!
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - Stephen King. When a site full of Stephen King fans hate it who else would like it :(
The Soldier's Son trilogy, by Robin Hobb.
Hobb is generally a critically acclaimed writer, but fans would have nothing to do with her stepping out of her box and doing something different. It was a really great trilogy. Despite being a little bit below her usual par, it was still ten times better than most of the other books filling shelves in the fantasy section.
"The Drifters"; James A. Michener. I have no idea why this book isn't on everybody's list as one of the most brilliant things ever written, but it remains (as far as I know, anyways! :p) pretty unknown. Which is wtf.
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being"; this book is fairly well-known, but not nearly enough. It's brilliant. And more people seem to have watched the bloody movie :grumble:
The Xanth Stories from Piers Anthony. Great Books, though a lot of people seem to think they are sub par and mediocre. Curse them all.
And I'll say the Shannara books from Terry Brooks. Pretty popular, but they still deserve mentioned due to their sheer Awesome.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston (sp?)
Had to read it in 10th grade. It's kind of a classic, but everyone at my high school who I talked to or overheard hated it. I thought it was wonderful :jess:
I'm not sure what I'd class as underrated to be honest. I think that Day of the Triffids doesn't get as much praise as it deserves though.
The Culture novels, especially The Player Of Games, Use of Weapons, and Excession.
Sure, Banks gets a ton of praise, but I know exactly one person besides myself who has actually read his sci-fi. And his sci-fi is ridiculously good.
World War Z. Many people have read it, but it doesn't get the critical praise it should, mainly on the basis that it's about zombies and not some destitute kid from Newcastle/gay man in Iran/etc. Regardless of subject this is, without question, one of the most engaging books I have ever read.
One would argue that they're pulp fiction and/or marketing of an unrelated intellectual property (D&D), but the thing is, books classified as either generally are only panned for those very reasons.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshall banana=OQuote:
Originally Posted by ShlupQuack
Ooh. I've read two Dragonlance books, and I liked them. I "bought" one when I paid a local library for losing it and found it a few months later.
I have found a lot of supposed pulp fiction (Tarzan series - pulp fiction at the time but now classic, and the Pellucidar series also by Rice Burroughs, the Gor series) very enjoyable, and I've enjoyed a few Star Wars or Star Trek tie-in novels for light, fast reading.
I find that Steven King can be a bit hit-and-miss, but I can't comment on that one because I haven't read it. I really enjoyed his Dark Tower series, Misery, and despite a ridiculously slow start, the Tommyknockers. After about 250 pages, it really starts becoming very suspenseful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Thompson
I do enjoy fantasy (both reading it and writing it) but I find that often the writers fall into repetitive patterns, rip off each other, and have wooden, cardboard-cutout characters. If you feel that Hobb is above par, I'll definitely have to try out that trilogy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Germ Hamee
I really enjoy Michener in general - Hawaii really was a tour de force, though at first it was a tad long even for me. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Resha
I haven't heard of the latter but I'll add it to my literally endless list of books I want to read. :) Whether I'll ever get to it in another matter. :rolleyes2
I've heard that Xanth started out well but became too "punny." Still, as I enjoy humourous writing I'll keep it in mind. Any individual suggestions? What's the best one to try?Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
As for the Shannara series, I really enjoy it a lot.
I always enjoy a good classic. I haven't had it as recommended reading yet - if I never do I'll keep it in mind to try anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Disco Potato
I really liked the Chrysalids by the same author, though I found the beginning and end a bit rushed, while the middle was slightly overlong. I'll keep that in mind too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heath
Never heard of either, but I'll keep them in mind too.Quote:
Originally Posted by I'm my own MILF
Why do there have to be so many books and so little time to read them? If there is a Heaven, hopefully you can access all books ever published there. :lol:
Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Most of works are pretty well received, but it seemed that this stand alone has not shone as much as it should. It is very much similar to the Avalon series in spirit.
Anything by Lynn Flewelling. She is simply phenomenal. I pick up one of her books and I cannot put it down. What is great about Flewelling is that she deals with a variety of issues related to sexuality. In her Nightrunner series the two lead characters (both male) are bisexual, though romantically involved. In her Tamir trilogy she deals with the issue of gender identity and the consequences of it such an issue.
The Fifth Ring series by Mitchell Graham. At first appearance it may seem like a futuristic, LotR rip-off but it is not. Sure there are magically rings and orcs in it, but that is basically their only common ground.
Artifacts of Power series by Maggie Furey. It has been ages since I read it, but it was one of my first fantasy series ever. I simply love it. She takes the old four elements model and makes something interesting out of it. The weakness of the series is that it ends with some loose ends, so there is the feeling that there should be more to the series.
EDIT: A new author that I seems like she'll be pretty good is Gail Z. Martin and her The Chronicles of the Necromancer series. So far only one novel has been published, The Summoner, but it seems to b a good premise for a series. She takes an interesting look at necromancy as a type of magic, looking at it away from the stereotypical model of it being purely evil. Rather she presents both good and the bad sides of it and the difficulties of being a Spirit Mage (a.k.a. a necromancer).
I think that a lot of the classics are underrated, and so my addition to this topic is Anna Karenina
Vincent, if you're interested in Xanth, some of the Best ones are Man From Mundania, Demons Don't Dream, The Source of Magic, and NightMare.
Another great one is "The Color of her panties".
And it Became to punny? It was rediculously punny to begin with. The world of Xanth is built on Puns.
All of the Dresden Files.
I have yet to meet anyone who has heard of them.
Since I like most sci-fi and fantasy I'll keep these in mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Summoner of Leviathan
I find that complex translated books are sometimes difficult to follow, given the limitations of truly showing what the author intended in another language. Especially Russian-English translations. I was annoyed by both Doctor Zhivago and the Brothers Karamazov, and never finished either.Quote:
Originally Posted by rubah
I'll keep those in mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Neither have I. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Harle-Quin
We have the books. I haven't read them yet, but my mother and stepdad have and absolutely love them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harle-Quin