I need a book recommendation (Renamed : Recom'd me a book)

[Under A Pale Grey Sky]

If I remember correctly, Name of the Wind has an extremely well fleshed out and creative magic system. The book as a whole, especially with regards to the main character, struck me as being somewhat folktale-ish in a good way, is remarkably well written, well thought-out, unique, imaginative, and extremely entertaining. It's Patrick Rothfuss's first, and thus far only, novel, is set up to be the first in a series, is 662 pages long, and was published in 2007 (as if that matters). It had me hooked from the first chapter, and is one of those books that I really, really didn't want to put down until I had read it from cover to cover.

Anyway, it's very, very good. And Savarin agrees with me on that point. And I just found a page of reviews which indicates that Robin Hobb, Terry Brooks, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Tad Williams are also rather approving of it. So you should totally read it, mmkay?

Hobbs and Williams, eh? Well, I might go and get myself a copy... If my 17 year old self can be bothered to scrounge up the money for it.

[Mo6eB]

Hello. I'm looking for books in German for reading practice. I'd like something in the Sci-Fi or Fantasy genre and natively German, i.e. not translated. Some authors I like in no particular order: Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Agatha Christie, Douglas Adams, Peter Hamilton. I'd like something that doesn't have overly difficult language.

[atriumsynesthesia]

Hi, could someone please recommend me something to read?

I'm looking for something that delves into one of the following horribly broad concepts:

exploration of (the) relationship(s) (not necessarily romantically, in fact hopefully not so) between people

exploration of self/mind/spirit in relation to the world or self

I suppose this one is more of a codicil to the above two, but something that has some fleeting glimpses of existentialism? less in the questions of existence, and more with the significance of existence in relation to the above two

I don't really mean for the above to necessarily be the focus of the book that's constantly forced upon you (while I loved certain aspects of Ayn Rand's books, this irked me constantly, for example), but considering the fact that I'm asking about existentialism, hopefully the themes are touched on due to the nature of the fact of what existentialism actually is... if that makes any sense.

I want to say I've read most of the "classics", but if one comes to mind please mention it just in case.

I can't decide if that was far too specific or not nearly specific enough... I hope someone has something.

[vector]

Hi, could someone please recommend me something to read?

exploration of (the) relationship(s) (not necessarily romantically, in fact hopefully not so) between people

exploration of self/mind/spirit in relation to the world or self

I suppose this one is more of a codicil to the above two, but something that has some fleeting glimpses of existentialism? less in the questions of existence, and more with the significance of existence in relation to the above two

I'd try Les Jeux Sont Faits or Huis Clos (No Exit) by Sartre, La Peste (The Plague) by Camus, or The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner. If you've already read all of those, let me know. The French ones are existentialist works with heavy focus on human relationships and exploration of personal responsibility. I threw in the Faulkner because I'm fond of it.

Unfortunately, I don't know the translated name of Les Jeux Sont Faits, or even if it has been translated... but with luck, you will be able to find it.

Hope that helps.

[CombustibleLemons]

hello can some one recommend me a sci-fi war book.

[kapojinha]

The most obvious recommendation would be War of the Worlds.. and, yeah, that's all I can think of. I'm not really into sci-fi.

[JayDee]

Starship Troopers would be another obvious recommendation (and probably The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and other Heinlein books I haven't read.)

In an entirely different class, I'd imagine that the vast majority of Warhammer 40K novels are about war. Probably a fair chunk of Star Wars EU novels, too.

[BoomFrog]

I'd second Starship Troopers if you haven't read it. Also The Forever War was an interesting look at interstellar war without FTL technology.

[natepod42]

So I need a little help from someone who has read more fantasy/sci-fi than me. I'm looking to start a new series, and I'm trying to decide which to pick up first. My choices are mostly from what I've read in this thread.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Marthin
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan or
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I just read The Name of the Winde by Patrick Rothfuss and really enjoyed it. So has anyone read some/all of these to help point me in the right direction?

[dbsmith]

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Marthin

- Yes, by all means start it, it is really really good, but of course, the series is not finished and will not be for another 3 years or so.

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan or

- Uhhh, for me it had a heap of potential in the first few books, but got worse and worse. But still actually worth trying I reckon. Just don't buy em.

Also try
Assassin's Trilology - Robin Hobb
The Blade Itself Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie (I highly recommend this)

[JayDee]

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan or

- Uhhh, for me it had a heap of potential in the first few books, but got worse and worse. But still actually worth trying I reckon. Just don't buy em.

WoT is also unfinished. A new author (Sanderson) is writing the ending, but the last book has become three books (Tor weren't willing to wait to publish one 12,000 word final book) the first of which is only just out (or about to come out, maybe.)

[PAstrychef]

hello can some one recommend me a sci-fi war book.

Almost anything by David Webber or John Ringo will count as military SF. Harry Turtledove has written some good stuff as well, and Haldeman's Forever War is a great anti-war SF piece.

[PAstrychef]

So I need a little help from someone who has read more fantasy/sci-fi than me. I'm looking to start a new series, and I'm trying to decide which to pick up first. My choices are mostly from what I've read in this thread.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Marthin
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan or
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I just read The Name of the Winde by Patrick Rothfuss and really enjoyed it. So has anyone read some/all of these to help point me in the right direction?

Well, Kat Elliott has a nice long series going.
I ended up loathing WOT, so I can't recommend it to anyone for any reason.
Tad Williams also writes nice long fantasy stories.

[harpyblues]

Looking for a book rec. I'm 16, female (if that has any influence on this at all). I'm looking at trying to get more into sci fi and fantasy (steampunk?), but not sure where to branch out to next. I haven't read the WoT series, because it's a bit intimidating, especially with the author existance failure bit. What do you guys think of that?

To get a better idea, I've liked:
Pratchett, Gaiman, Pullman, Lovecraft, Naomi Novik, Mckinley, Michael Swanwick, early Anne Mccaffrey, and Ekaterina Sedia

I'm on the fence with (through lack of reading/hearsay):
Neal Stephenson, China Mieville (didn't like his protag or ending for Perdido Street Station, but liked his world building even if he was bs-ing on some stuff a bit), and Orson Scott Card (haven't read his early books, which everyone says are good, tried reading his later ones and hated them because he got onto a pedestal about religion), Jasper Fforde, and House of Leaves (which everyone seems to be on about)

I didn't like (because of author theme/outright hating series):
Ringo (because he's kind of a sexist asshole), Paolini, Meyer, Mercedes Lackey (depending on series), Maria v Snyder, any horrifically wishy washy romantic fantasy series, especially ones with vampires (though there are exceptions because the writing is good- like Sunshine by Mckinley)

I like sympathetic villains/villain perspective without the whole 'oooh, you should consider him uber evil' part, and I want to try steampunk more. What's a good argument for me to try up Orson Scott Card again, because I need some kind of reassurance that I'm not crazy about hating his later books? Ditto goes for most high fantasy, like Goodkind and Salvatore. I'm not really gone on black-white morality stuff that the genre goes into.

[Zohar]

Some light fantasy series I really enjoyed lately is The Otori Tales, by Lean Hearn. It's set in a world based on feudal Japan but with some fantasy elements. Lots of political intrigue. I liked it a lot.

The classical sci-fi writers are classic for a reason. You could try Asimov (Foundation) if you don't want like hard sci-fi, or Arthur C. Clarke (particular 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: Odyssey Two) if you want something a bit more technical. Or Heinlein if you just want weird fucked up concepts.

If you feel you want some really hardcore sci-fi, you could try Greg Egan's stuff. But I warn you - they usually come with a technical dictionary at the end.

Back to fantasy, I really love an author called Jonathan Carrol. He reminds me a bit of Gaiman. Another very good author you should definitely try is Kurt Vonnegut.

[JayDee]

I haven't read the WoT series, because it's a bit intimidating, especially with the author existance failure bit. What do you guys think of that?

I didn't like (because of author theme/outright hating series):
Ringo (because he's kind of a sexist asshole)

Wheel of Time is intimidating, yeah, and kinda mixed. Some things about it to love, some to hate. In particular the gender relations are so terrible that I find it hilarious - your mileage might vary. So bad, and so obviously so, that I thought they were bad as a completely oblivious fifteen year old boy.

[harpyblues]

I haven't read the WoT series, because it's a bit intimidating, especially with the author existance failure bit. What do you guys think of that?

I didn't like (because of author theme/outright hating series):
Ringo (because he's kind of a sexist asshole)

Wheel of Time is intimidating, yeah, and kinda mixed. Some things about it to love, some to hate. In particular the gender relations are so terrible that I find it hilarious - your mileage might vary. So bad, and so obviously so, that I thought they were bad as a completely oblivious fifteen year old boy.

I'd been kind of hoping the crazy sexist stuff about WoT wasn't true and just fan wank, but urg. I might still try it out though and see.

I've read the Otori tales, which were good, but the final book in the series was pretty wtf inducing, because it was co completely out of character for the series. I'll look up Carrol and maybe Greg Egan. I ended up being kind of meh ish with Clarke, but I've liked Asimov a bit.

[PAstrychef]

If you haven't yet, do read Le Guin. She wrote lots of stuff that has nothing to do with Earthsea. If you read he Earthsea books when younger, her adult writing is better. The Dispossessed is some of the best SF ever written. Mary Gentle has a great series, Lost Burgundy and also the nifty Golden Withcbreed.
Ringo is an asshole, but some of his writing is ok. There will be Dragons and it's followers are fun.
Card has been writing more directly to his Mormon audience for a while now-I gave up on him years ago.
You could also try John Crowley, especially Little Big and Engine Summer. Charles DeLint, Guy Gavriel Kay and Matthew Stover are also great reads.

[JayDee]

The Dispossessed is some of the best SF ever written.

The Left Hand of Darkness is also very good (fascinating exploration of a culture that has very different genders) and I'm quite fond of The Lathe Of Heaven in spite of thoroughly disliking it on a number of levels. Le Guin writes SF very well.

[DerVorleser]

Can someone recommend me a book as batshit crazy as Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon?

[rnbguru]

Looking for a book rec. I'm 16, female (if that has any influence on this at all). I'm looking at trying to get more into sci fi and fantasy (steampunk?), but not sure where to branch out to next. I haven't read the WoT series, because it's a bit intimidating, especially with the author existance failure bit. What do you guys think of that?

To get a better idea, I've liked:
Pratchett, Gaiman, Pullman, Lovecraft, Naomi Novik, Mckinley, Michael Swanwick, early Anne Mccaffrey, and Ekaterina Sedia

I'm on the fence with (through lack of reading/hearsay):
Neal Stephenson, China Mieville (didn't like his protag or ending for Perdido Street Station, but liked his world building even if he was bs-ing on some stuff a bit), and Orson Scott Card (haven't read his early books, which everyone says are good, tried reading his later ones and hated them because he got onto a pedestal about religion), Jasper Fforde, and House of Leaves (which everyone seems to be on about)

I didn't like (because of author theme/outright hating series):
Ringo (because he's kind of a sexist asshole), Paolini, Meyer, Mercedes Lackey (depending on series), Maria v Snyder, any horrifically wishy washy romantic fantasy series, especially ones with vampires (though there are exceptions because the writing is good- like Sunshine by Mckinley)

I like sympathetic villains/villain perspective without the whole 'oooh, you should consider him uber evil' part, and I want to try steampunk more. What's a good argument for me to try up Orson Scott Card again, because I need some kind of reassurance that I'm not crazy about hating his later books? Ditto goes for most high fantasy, like Goodkind and Salvatore. I'm not really gone on black-white morality stuff that the genre goes into.

Orson Scott Card is tough. While I loved Ender's Game and the shadow series, a lot of his books are almost too preachy... they're enjoyable light reads, but just get me a little worked up.

I've moved away from sci fi a lot lately but if you're interested in pursuing post apocalyptic stuff, The Postman, Earth Abides and Swan Song are all pretty solid. For more subtle fantasy, Wizard of the Pigeons by megan lindholm is a very solid ambiguous fantasy in the modern world, and if you like time travel, Ken Grimood's Replay is an awesome book that basically asks "what if you could relive your life again?" a la groundhog's day. All of those, I def recommend fully.


To the OP looking for witty books, I always found John Irving's writing to be smart, yet at the same time, very light and witty.

[zeekgenateer]

I would suggest Makers by Cory Doctorow for anyone who loved Cryptonomicon or Snow Crash. A great thing about this book is that it is free to download from his site. He actually has quite a nice spiel about how ebook publishers are "anti-copyright activists" which I totally agree with. The book can be found here and was featured at hackaday.

The beginning of the book is very good, I really loved it. The beginning of part 3 is a little slow but picks up towards the end. A great read that kept me interested.

EDIT/UPDATE:
Been reading more of his stuff his book Little Brother, about a near future of what anti-terrorism and big brother would bring to America. Really deep stuff even though its written for YA. It's scary to think about, but after 9/11 with DHS would could've become a police state, we had become a police state. Buy his books after reading them for free, ask for them for Christmas, this stuff's worth it.

[Rippy]

I've been rather curious of military strategy recently. Does anyone know of any good books on the subject? (er, I promise I'm not planning anything...)

[scibob]

I think for a book that you can read for a month, Nights dawn is good. For both military and gender relation aspects, the honorverse is good, and it is free on the web

[DoctorSubmarine]

I LOVED 7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins. Thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi thriller.

[emceng]

I've been rather curious of military strategy recently. Does anyone know of any good books on the subject? (er, I promise I'm not planning anything...)

That depends on what you mean by military strategy. The conventional wisdom is that if you read one book about war, you read Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". If you read two, you read Clausewitz's "On War".

Both are old, and do not cover modern military tactics. Like I said, it depends on what you are actually looking for.

[Whispering]

I'm looking for another urban fantasy series. I've read the whole Newford series by Charles de Lint and loved it. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Zohar]

How about stuff by Jonathan Carrol, or Kurt Vonnegut?

[JayDee]

I'm looking for another urban fantasy series. I've read the whole Newford series by Charles de Lint and loved it. Anyone have any suggestions?

There is / was a thread about Urban Fantasy, which is probably full of recommendations.

Personally, I've read the first of Mike Carey's Felix Castor books now (The Devil You Know), and I can recommend that. Noir Detective stories (his genre type writing was probably the weakest part of the book, but it was a little cliche rather than actually bad) staring an exorcist, in a London where the dead have started coming back. As well as the Noir, it does that thing of trying to have something of an explanation for all the supernatural (it all comes down to a single sort of thing, pretty much. Well, that and demons, maybe.)

[aro3n]

Hi,
For school I am taking a course that stresses alternatives to the traditional "classics" of english literature. I have to find foreign books (in english or translated to english) that could add to the curricula of the school; for this quarter, specifically, I must find a foreign book that challenges the American taboo about sex. Simply put, I need to find a sexy foreign book.

Any suggestions?


(Foreign, according to this class, is defined as not an American or a male Canadian author)

[vector]

Simply put, I need to find a sexy foreign book.

Any suggestions?

Any French novel ever. More seriously, read Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert--or there's also a wonderful short story, Sarrasine, by Honore de Balzac.

[Lycur]

Hi,
For school I am taking a course that stresses alternatives to the traditional "classics" of english literature. I have to find foreign books (in english or translated to english) that could add to the curricula of the school; for this quarter, specifically, I must find a foreign book that challenges the American taboo about sex. Simply put, I need to find a sexy foreign book.

Any suggestions?


(Foreign, according to this class, is defined as not an American or a male Canadian author)

Lolita is an obvious candidate; quite possibly too obvious though.

[emceng]

Should read Lolita anyway. Nabokov is a grand master at the use of language. Even more amazing is his ability to write mind blowing prose in three languages.

[CorruptUser]

hello can some one recommend me a sci-fi war book.

You should try Dan Simmons Hyperion series. While not that much of the book deals with the wars, what it does have does make more sense than most; he mocks our movies for having spaceship battles mere kilometers apart, when you have things like hyperspacing torpedoes.

Also, I agree with Starship Troopers. It has nothing to do with the horrid movie.

I would recommend George Martin, but the jerk was supposed to come out with the next book four years ago.

[CorruptUser]

Simply put, I need to find a sexy foreign book.

Any suggestions?

Any French novel ever. More seriously, read Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert--or there's also a wonderful short story, Sarrasine, by Honore de Balzac.

Le Petit Prince was sexy?

[gbagcn2]

Recommend me some non fiction science or technology books.

[Dave_Wise]

to the OP: I'd love to help, but the filters on these forums make it difficult to know what you're actually asking for. But try 'The skinner' by Neal Asher. I've just finished it and it was pretty good.

[PAstrychef]

Recommend me some non fiction science or technology books.

Chaos by James Glieck
Basin and Range by John McPhee
Longitude, by Dava Sobel

[Anarra]

So I'm into fantasy books like the Trudi Canavan books, I also dig the dresdon files books but I'm all out of ideas of what to read next, recommendations please

[GoodRudeFun]

I'm looking for books, particularly of the cyberpunk verity, that completely mess with the readers head. I'm thinking very much tad williams otherland series, and of a book called vurt.

Pretty much, I'm looking for what can only be described as a mind fuck.


Gotta go.