Reading Suggestions?

[our_man]

I'm looking for some interestig books this summer for my holidays. If anyone has any recommendations in the following categories, let me know.

History (19th - 20th century)
Alternative History (anyone but Turtledove - I'd like to try someone new)
Fantasy (just finished reading some George RR Martin - any similar authors out there?)
Science-Fiction (hard sci-fi, space opera)

[Stuie]

Read Bernard Cornwell's "Warlord Chronicles" if you haven't already. That helped my George RR Martin withdraw.

The Winter King
Enemy of God
Excalibur

Excellent stuff!

[snoopy369]

SF: John Barnes - particularly his Million Open Doors series (Thousand Cultures I think is the name of the series proper)
Alistair Reynolds- because you need a scots SF writer if you haven't read him already
Iain M. Banks - best space-opera-with-meaning writer ... ever ...
Charles Stross - SF/Fantasy, both, and all well written

[Lorizael]

I just got Pushing Ice, a new one from Alistair Reynolds. I've heard of him, but never actually read him before.

Charles Stross... I very much enjoy the ideas he presents in his stories, but I find his characters lack depth.

[DarkCloud]

Hmm... 19th-20th century history->

if you're into biographies I strongly recommend:

"The Amazing deception- the story of Chung-ling-soo"
(I may have the title slightly wrong) it's a GREAT biography of an amazing con-man 'oriental-like' performer that details magic, mystery, and mayhem!

and if you're interested in Azerbaijan and Turkey I suggest- "The Orientalist" which is about a one "Levi Nussimbaum." an Azeri Jew who converted to islam and went by the nom de plume of Kurban Said and was a bestselling author in Nazi Germany!

Another excellent bit for late 20th century is the "Ballad of the Whiskey Robber" which is about a Hungarian professional hockey player and bank bandit who immigrated from Romania by sneaking across the border under a train.

--
Fantasy- I just love to push Lawrence Watt-Evans. He writes like NO ONE ELSE in the genre. Read his Ethshar novels. They may not be like RR Martin... but I love Martin and I love Watt-Evans... both of them construct very believable worlds and have very unique voices.

Watt-Evans however, makes a big point about magic- his entire tales are about how a magic system can function rationally in a fantastic world.

[Jon Miller]

be an accountant

JM

[CrONoS]

Sci-Fi:
Solaris: Stanislaw Lem

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156027607/qid=1152286848/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9946620-9579354?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Isaac Asimov: The Foundation

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553803719/qid=1152286917/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9946620-9579354?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[Theseus]

There is SO much good stuff out there.

For history and fiction together, I cannot recommend Collen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series highly enough.

For something a touch more fictional/alternative, Jack Whyte's "Camulod Chronicle." Try the first book and see how you like it.

For hard SF, either Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" series, Stephen Donaldson's "Gap" series, or Steven Baxter's "Space" trilogy.

[Stuie]

Originally posted by Theseus
For history and fiction together, I cannot recommend Collen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series highly enough.

I'll second that! I'm on the fourth book and thoroughly enjoying it.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Theseus
There is SO much good stuff out there.

For history and fiction together, I cannot recommend Collen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series highly enough.

For something a touch more fictional/alternative, Jack Whyte's "Camulod Chronicle." Try the first book and see how you like it.

For hard SF, either Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" series, Stephen Donaldson's "Gap" series, or Steven Baxter's "Space" trilogy.

You call Gap Hard Sci Fi?

Better than Gap, and same hardness, go with Bujold or Cherryh (or Renolds or Banks)

Jon Miller

[Theseus]

Oops, you're right. I should have put it under "twisted space opera".

Oh, and one more series I forgot, one of the few in recent years I;ve really liked: Richard Morgan's "Takeshi Kovacs" novels. If you like a little violence with your SF, that is.

And, in a nod to Canadians everywhere, you can't go wrong with Robert Sawyer.

[Jon Miller]

I don't generally like hard SciFi, I didn't like Red Mars (Didn't finish it).

I have read stuff by Baxter, I don't know if I read Space.

I liked the GAP series, just didn't think that it is near as good as others (Cherryh is my favorite).

Jon Miller

[Lancer]

Patrick O'Brian (RIP) Series starts with 'Master and Commander'.

Novels with a historical basis set during the Napoleonic era from the side of the English. The characters are fictional though I feel I know em all while the ship to ship action is acurately depicted from history. Though the characters weren't actually there you couldn't tell it.

Best written books ever.

Patrick O'Brian

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Stuie
Read Bernard Cornwell's "Warlord Chronicles" . . .

The Winter King
Enemy of God
Excalibur

Excellent stuff!

Zounds! That was my first thought!

[Zkribbler]

Re: Reading Suggestions?

Originally posted by our_man
History (19th - 20th century)

Can you back that up a few years? The first 6-8 books in Dewey Lambin's Alan Lurie [sp?] series (starting with King's Coat and The French Admiral) is wonderful! Alan's a horny, conniving, toadying, unprincipled rackhell forced from his life of drinking, debauchering and gambling into the navy in the late 1700's.

The series slows down about halfway through when Alan gets married, becomes a captain and starts acting responsonsibly but until then, they're wonderful!