Recommend me sci-fi/fantasy books

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by Sikander
Check out the Amber series next. It's fascinating and maddeningly uneven in quality. The first two books are fantastic (there are 10 total iirc) and after that they vary a lot in quality.

Like Moorcock, its stuff I havent in a long time. I remember them as being quite good though.

[rah]

Originally posted by Mordoch
One fantasy series I'd recommend is L.E. Modesitt's Recluce series. The best point to start off with is probably the "The Magic of Recluce. " While its not chronological, its probably the easiest point to start from, and it was the first of the books written.

Just finished this series myself. A fine read that I recommend. Even though the heros and themes are similar throughout there is enough difference to keep it entertaining. I would also recommend reading them in the order published instead of the true cronilogical order. He weaves a good consistent universe. And with 12 or so books written, it will keep you busy for quite awhile and 10 of the are avail in paperback so it's not expensive.

The best thing about the work as a whole, is that there is no generic good and evil. It's usually a gray area that must be treated personally.

[Jon Miller]

I read the first few..

maybe I will try it again (Depends ont eh time I have on hand)

Jon Miller

[rah]

With the exception of one of the middle books, the later books are better than the earlier ones. Especially when he deals with the White tower and the ealier histories.

[Zoid]

I re-read Asimovs "Foundation" trilogy and realized how mind-numbingly boring it really is. It was far better 20 years ago...

[Zkribbler]

True. I struggled through the first book. Started the second, but I don't remember finishing it...I don't think I did.

[Fve Crathva]

The Hyperion books after the first are more traditional narratives, and easier to read than the first. Also, Ilium (and certainly its upcoming sequel, Olympos) are very similar to Hyperion but with more interesting source material (the Odyssey instead of Keats' Hyperion).

And definitely check out A Deepness in the Sky if you haven't read it. I like it more than A Fire Upon the Deep. I named my computer after one of the characters.

SP

[Jon Miller]

the first is the best of the Hyperion books though

I would also like to say that Vinge is great..

M

[hexagonian]

Julian May
Pliocene Saga
Great characters...

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Jaguar
This is clearly an impostor.

Now you know how I felt when Oncle Boris showed up.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Lancer
Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars...

I'm rereading those now, in fact.

[Nostromo]

I read some classics recently: "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "The Strange case of doctor Jekyll and mister Hyde". They're all excellent and, best of all, dirt cheap. Btw, Frankenstein is very different from the movie version, at least the one that I remember.

[Wraith]

--"I dislike short stories most of the time."

As mentioned elsewhere, they did novels as well.

--"Fritz Leiber: These might be ok, though again I can't see what sets them apart from most fantasy."

He did a fair bit towards setting some of the tropes, along with Howard's Conan. Leiber captured this wonderful, dark yet humorous tone that made his two heroes stand out. At the least, read "The Bazaar of the Bizzare" for a sample.

--"THE DEED OF PAKSENARRION:"

That was pretty decent. Unfortunately, she uses essentially the same theme in the next two fantasy series she wrote, which are set in the same universe. Made me think she was trying to become the female David Eddings.

--"i was reading the posts and was surprised no one had mentioned HEINLEIN yet."

Don't know how I missed that one.

--"the first 3 books of George R. Martin's Wild Cards series are wonderful."

Quick warning, but Wild Cards is a shared-world series. The stories vary widely in quality. There are some really good ones, and interesting characters (like Sleeper and Yeoman), so it's definitely worth trying. Just don't expect it to be uniformly brilliant.
In the same vein, you might want to check out the Thieves' World, a fantasy shared-world series edited by Robert Lynn Asprin.

--"Michael Moorcock was one of the first fantasy writers whose work I couldnt get enough of when I started reading the genre."

I was going to mention his Elric series today, but I guess you saved me the bother ^_^

--"Btw, Frankenstein is very different from the movie version, at least the one that I remember."

This is very often the case ^_^

Wraith
You can't judge a book by its movie.

[Velociryx]

My picks would be:

Zelazny (especially the first five, but once you're hooked, the second five are tolerable too!)

Clark's Rama series (if you play or played SMAC you will recognize a LOT of the material here)

Alan Dean Foster's "The D@mned" series...good stuff, and a bit of a different treatment of the humans...

-=Vel=-

[Whoha]

Does Damned make it past the censors?
edit: yes it does.