Looking for some new Sci/Fi or Fantasy novels.

[DirtyMagic97]

I've combed the thread, and didn't see where anyone said this? :confused:

I think he meant like if you go into a book store, it's always Sci-Fi/Fantasty. Instead of its own section.

I just ordered Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion from BN.com yesterday. Hope they turn out to be solid reads.

[Delhomeboy]

Bingo!

It's more meant as good natured ribbing from one nerd to another than any kind of real bitching.

Ah. Lol.

But this lends itself to another literary question: should they have separate sections? Because by all accounts, they are the same thing, at least according to classification. Or, for accuracy's sake, Science Fiction is the most popular and widely read sub-genre of Fantasy; but it would still be considered Fantasy.

[wesley17]

looking to buy a new book today. so should i go with the forever war or a game of throwns? or both?

[zebrainz]

Originally posted in the thread that got lost back in Feb. Some stuff not already mentioned. (if it was, I missed it)

Sci-Fi:

-Gordon R Dickson's Dorsai series, bibliography here.

-Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series, bibliography here. <-pure sci-fi, he later wrote some fantasy books, but I never liked them as much as his sci-fi. If you think he's ripping sombebody off, read the copyright dates.

Some others - Roger Zelazny, David Niven edit, meant Larry Niven, not the actor David

Fantasy:

-Steven Erikson's Malazan series, bibliography here. Aquired taste, but worth the struggle. Very chaotic, very dark.

-Patrick Rothfuss's Name of the Wind. This is book 1, book 2 is due soon. Best fantasy book I've read in a long, long time.

-Gail Z. Martin's Necromancer series, bibliography here. Teaches at UNCC btw.

-Misty Massey's Mad Kestrel. This is a bit of pulp novel, but good reading nonetheless. I read it in two sittings. Good storytelling, also a local (NC) girl.

-Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, hard to find, bibliography here

Some others - Robin Hobb (first 6 books only, after that, it's like she forgot how to write), Eric van Lustbader (Sunset Warrior, Dai-San, etc.), Tad Williams' Green Tower.

Of all those, I'm eagerly awaiting the next books from Erikson, Rothfuss and Martin. Started reading Gail Z. by accident. The wife picked it up in error, thinking it was George R. R.

Edited June 14, 2010 by bryonez

[Porn Shop Clerk]

The only thing I can say about A Game of Thrones is the first 1/3rd is really boring, but important. Once you get over that hump, its all pure awesome. Not much magic though.

EDIT: Here's a small teaser for the HBO series that doesn't do a whole lot except provide some slick production, but its the first release for the show, which debuts next March: http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/?autoplay=true&vid=1100909&filter=game-of-thrones&view=null

Edited June 14, 2010 by Porn Shop Clerk

[Darth Biscuit]

Glad Inmicus bumped this... I finished Fall of Hyperion about two weeks ago. Great book, couldn't put it down, but was a bit disappointed with the end of the story. I can't decide if I like the change in format between the two books. I think I liked Fall better... but mainly because it had an ending whereas Hyperion was just stopped, almost mid-sentence...

Conceptually it was pretty deep. It's funny to me how much of the imagery (the All Thing and comlogs, etc.) mimics todays tech, most of which Simmons had no clue of, like cell phones and the internet.

I am going to try and get Endymion and keep reading just to see what Simmons saw as the end to all of it... overall I'm glad I read it.

Finally got Endymion and Rise of Endymion read... I enjoyed Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, but these last two were in my top five all-time books, seriously...

Some of the stuff in the books is... profound. That's the only word I can come up with to describe it. I didn't always like Simmons style of writing, but his concepts and the story was off the charts good.

I would recommend these four books to anyone... I literally couldn't put the two Endymion books down, they consumed my life for the last week and a half.

[mmmbeans]

That's interesting, I always liked Hyperion and Fall better than the Endymion books.

They're all great though. And I agree about the concepts, that's the thing with sci-fi for me, if it's not challenging you philosophically, it's really not doing its job.

[BlackCatFan]

So far I have read.

The entire Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

The Night Angel series by Brent Weeks

Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson

Enders Game

Some John Ringo

Even the some Karen Miller.

Helps!

Enders Game was nice.

[markimus_prime]

You should try "Age of Zeus" by James Lovegrove. Here's a little write-up about it:

"The Olympians appeared a decade ago, living incarnations of the Ancient Greek gods on a mission to bring permanent order and stability to the world. Resistance has proved futile, and now humankind is under the jackboot of divine oppression. Then former London police officer Sam Akehurst receives an invitation too tempting to turn down, the chance to join a small band of geurilla rebels armed with high-tech weapons and battlesuits. Calling themselves the Titans, they square off against the Olympians and their ferocious mythological monsters in a war of attrition which not all of them will survive!"

[Vampi]

For a quick but fun read I like the Tales of the Nightside series by Simon Green. Scrum has read them too.

[Woodie]

Terry Brooks - Shannara series is really good

Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga also is excellent

Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is very good (first book is The Dragonbone Chair); also the Otherland series is great

Edited August 5, 2010 by Woodie

[Vampi]

Terry Brooks - Shannara series is really good

Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga also is excellent

Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is very good (first book is The Dragonbone Chair); also the Otherland series is great

Love Raymond Feist and Tad Williams.

[Darth Biscuit]

Enders Game was nice.

OK, so I just finished Ender's Game... it was a good read. Not really what I was expecting honestly and the end seemed a little anti-climactic to me, but whatever... are the follow on books worth the time?

[Razzy]

OK, so I just finished Ender's Game... it was a good read. Not really what I was expecting honestly and the end seemed a little anti-climactic to me, but whatever... are the follow on books worth the time?

Ender's Shadow is a decent read, it's from Bean's point of view. Idk about the others. I also thought the ending was anticlimactic, but appropriate.

I haven't been reading much sci-fi lately, but I recently read Starship Troopers. It's a decent read and a short one. The futuristic fascist society in the book and the moral philosophy discussed is interesting enough to keep the pages turning.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Razzy