Looking for some new Sci/Fi or Fantasy novels.

[zebrainz]

Tacuazin | 12 comments Books like GRRM's saga? That, my friend, is the question we all want answered.

Some time ago, I gathered some recommendations from other groups. I've read some, but not all, so I cannot give my opinion about the entire list.

* Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy and Tawny Man trilogy. I am in the middle of the Farseer one, and so far I like it. It is no SoIaF, but it's not bad either.

* Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. This one I've read, and I loved every bit of it.

* R.Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy. It is in my to-read list.

* Steven Erikson's Malazan books. I've been struggling with the first book, and so far I've been defeated. But many others love it, so I personally will give the guy another chance. Sometime in the future.

* Wheel of time has been mentioned before. I have no idea because I've not read even 1 page of it.

* Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince. No idea either.

* Lord of the Isles by David Drake.

Never read any of them so I really don't know, but that was gleamed from a forum that had a thread asking if anything was as good as aSoIaF, and sadly the resounding answer was no.

message 6: by Tacuazin (new)

Feb 01, 2011 12:57am

I've read the bold ones.

Robin Hobb's Farseer/Tawny Man was pretty good. Overly focused on the intricacies of court sometimes, but good for all of that. I read most of these between book 3 ('99) and book 4 ('05) of asoiaf. Wasn't disappointed.

Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy +2 stand alones. Well written multi-perspective novels. Major perspectives: A pompous ass and future king, a pure Conan type, a royal torturer, an escaped slave, many additional minor ones. Oh, and there are mage wars brewing. Read these this year, not bad. Entertaining and different.

Steven Erikson's Malazan series. Extremely complicated, sometimes too difficult to understand, utterly dark and chaotic. I struggled mightily to finish the first half of the first book, after that it took off. Tip: don't worry about spoilers, refer to the cast of characters listed early and often. Books 3 and 4 are some of the best fantasy I've ever read. It was occasionally a struggle to get there.

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. First book was really good. It seemed to slowly decline after that. I quit after book 4 or 5 because the series became too repetitive for me.

I read some of David Drake's science fiction back in the late 80s-early 90s. It was okay, but simplistic. Some writers get better with age, others not so much. I need to check out Lord of the Isles.

(not mentioned in the quoted portion)

Sherwood Smith's Inda trilogy. Land based martial theme, court intrigue, some really good pirate sequences. Picked it up as filler between novels I'm currently waiting for and it was surprisingly good.

Out of the above, I would recommend Abercrombie's First Law to try first. If you can deal with his writing style, Erikson is really good, but not for everybody.

I would recommend Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller series (The Name of the Wind, A Wise Man's Fear) before any of the aforementioned. He has a little GRRM in him though. There is extended downtime between publishing books.

Edited May 11, 2011 by bryonez

[wesley17]

i ordered the walking dead compendium also. i think its the first 46 comics in a paperback book. not bad for $35

[wesley17]

thanks for the feedback i'll add the kingkiller series to my wish list. i've read good reviews on it

[mmmbeans]

been reading Transmetropolitan.

Vertigo comic. F*cking fantastic.

Also, a buddy gave me a copy of Game of Thrones, haven't watched the show but the book is great. Sorry I didn't read it sooner.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

been reading Transmetropolitan.

Vertigo comic. F*cking fantastic.

Also, a buddy gave me a copy of Game of Thrones, haven't watched the show but the book is great. Sorry I didn't read it sooner.

The first book actually doesn't hold up to the 2nd and 3rd...especially the 3rd. I'd put the first on par with the fourth.

[mmmbeans]

cool. something to look forward to. thanks for the recommendation. i know you've been carrying the torch for a while.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Heh, I've been burning the Riverlands with it.

[Razzy]

I just started re-reading one of my favorites.

[mmmbeans]

that's a f*cking great book right there.

[The Link]

Started reading the first book of The Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World. This book is a task to get through. He delves so far into detail that it becomes difficult to follow at times.

It starts to pick up towards the end.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Robert Jordan was one of the greatest authors I've ever read, often to the detriment of the pacing and story.

I don't need to know what every servant in the White Tower is wearing, or what's on the tray they're fuging taking to whatever Aes Sedai. Or the color of the bowls on the tray even. It was novel in the first 3 books. Wore thin after that, and beyond the 6th book that's basically all that's left. Flowery descriptions. He's damn good at them.

Not necessarily saying its a good thing, but the authorship is near perfect. Story though...fug it after book 6.

[Darth Biscuit]

I just finished 'The Coming' by Halderman... meh. Decent but didn't care for the ending... kind of anti-climactic.

Probably going to start 'Forever Peace' tonight.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Sounds like Steven King's style, he drives me crazy with that poo. Speaking of King though, he last work, "Under the Dome" was spectacular. I guess it could be considered sci-fi, and IMO, it is his best work in the past 30 years.

Stephen King is hack.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

He's never been able to finish a book properly. Good at setups, environments, early structuring, but he can't close the deal for poo.

stephen king:

early on its like 'huh this mite b gud'

then after finishing u liek 'wtf did i read that'

stephen king is the drunken pickup from the bar that you try to sneak out on or call a cab for in the morning but she's liek 'hey wat u wanna do 2day?'

Edited May 23, 2011 by Porn Shop Clerk