Favorite Novels

[Ayre el KaBeer]

So what are your favorite novels and their genres?

My favorite Novel of all time is Magician by Raymond E. Feist, it's genre (with a title like that ::rolleyes ...) Fantasy. This book got me heavily into reading, after it my library of 15 novels (most being required reading for highschool) expanded to just over 200 in a year.

I don't think I have a favorite Sci-Fi novel but I like everything I've read by Micheal A. Stackpole (his fantasy stuff's good too), and though sometimes alittle tedius Ian M. Banks.

Never read a Romance and don't think I ever will.

Modern Fantasy, Faery Tale, also by Raymond E. Feist. This book spun me out and is highly recomended!

Never enjoyed a Modern Thriller (crime or horror).

Hystorical, I didn't mind Mutany on the Bounty.

Classic Adventure, Treasure Island.

Classic Folklore, Beowulf. The book that proved to my english teacher that I didn't belong in the remedial english group after I finished it the day it was given to me! (very short book) They thought being nervous while reading aloud in class was a sure sign of a lack of education or dislexia... My english teacher was a tool!

[Nullifier]

Hm... That's a difficult question to answer. I don't know if I can really pick a favorite, but I'll list a few of the better stand-alone novels and series I've read.

Let's start with Sci-fi: David Brin's Earth, and his Uplift War Trilogy are excellent, as is the Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. Then there's Snow Crash and Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, Ender's game and The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card, and Dan Simmon's Hyperion Cantos... That's pretty much my best-of list for this genre.

Fantasy: I like the Belgariad and Mallorean series by David Eddings, Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil Gaiman(sp?)... There are more, but I can't remember 'em off the top of my head, and my library's in storage...

I haven't really read anything that wasn't sci-fi or fantasy that I really liked.. ::rolleyes

[knave]

I have a lot of trouble picking favourites. Probably cause I have trouble remembering what I've actually read till I get reminded. doh.

LotR is great and a classic, but something like Magician is in the same sort of spirit but more engaging (please note, I am NOT saying that Magician is better - just an easier read).

However, I've recently read the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Eriksson which blows Feist out of the water and then some. It has the best and most complex fantasy world bar none. Ok - no-one can match tolkien for details, but this is addictive reading. Or possibly just fun because mortals tend to get annoyed and go off and kick the various gods in the gonads. Plus several of the characters just ooze cool.

The Zelazny Amber books are also class.

Favourite SciFi - probably still Enders Game, though I love the ideas that come through in Iain M Bank's Culture books and Ken MacLeod's Cassini Divison and Engines of Light books. Also David Brin's Uplift books have very cool very alien aliens.

Also I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommed ONLY FORWARD by Michael Marshall Smith. It's SciFi/Comedy and Funny as all hell ::devilangel ::smokin ::thumbsup by one of the most talented writers ever.

Favourite Comedy: Good Omens - great for a lift when you're feeling down.

Favourite Modern / Historical: Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. - Someone who understands computer geeks very well. ::tongue

[Nullifier]

Brin's Uplift books have very cool very alien aliens.

They've the best truly alien perpectives I've ever seen. Brin really did a great job of getting inside the heads of the various aliens. By the way, my favorite aliens were the Accepter and the Rejecter, even though they played only minor parts in one of the books...

[Asbjørn]

Hyperion! Hyperion! Hyperion!

Best goddamn mythic sci-fi ever written. Simmons is a genius. Some of his other books are not all that, but that series is one of my all time favorites. And call me oldfashioned if you will, but I still like William Gibson. When it comes to scifi, you just can't ignore the father of CyberPunk.

The author that occupies the biggest part of my bookshelf, however, is Terry Pratchett. His stories from the Discworld are without a doubt the funniest, most thrilling fantasy parody and social commentary I have ever read. Hilarious.

[Gideon]

Hmmm,

I would recommend Astro-City by Kurt Busiek (I dare anyone to say its not literature) and the Elric series by Michael Morccock for good mythos settings.

Low Fantasy/Political/Mystery - the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. Thats the Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. An excellent series, that delves into the ramifications of power, magic and human interraction. A fun read.

I must agree with above recommendation of any of Nel Stephenson's work, esspecially the Cryptonomicon. I will never play solitaure the same.... ::wink

Terry Pratchet's Disc World is a life saver in any air terminal...I've read more of his novels while waiting for a plane (or riding a plane)

And the Amber series is excellent, though I have not decided if the new author is worthy of such praise yet... ::unsure

[knave]

Low Fantasy/Political/Mystery - the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb.  Thats the Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest.  An excellent series, that delves into the ramifications of power, magic and human interraction.  A fun read.

And the Amber series is excellent, though I have not decided if the new author is worthy of such praise yet... ::unsure

Arrrg. I loath the farseer trilogy. It winds back and forth without any purpose, much like Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. Ontop of which it has no new ideas, and I keep wanting to bitchslap the protagonists. Just my opinion obviously but still ewww. ::crazy

btw - Last Call, Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers are great modern myth / ritual magic type books. Highly recommended ::biggrin

Oh yeah - and the amber books... definitely stick with the ones by Roger Zelazny, the original author.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

(please note, I am NOT saying that Magician is better - just an easier read).

I am! ::biggrin God damn Talkien loves to talk! ::wacko

However, I've recently read the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Eriksson which blows Feist out of the water and then some.

This I gotta see! (I'm off to find a copy today) Granted Fiests latest aren't great but his earlier stuff is brilliant.

Favourite Comedy: Good Omens - great for a lift when you're feeling down.

Ditto. Pratchets best novel by far!

Fantasy: I like the Belgariad and Mallorean series by David Eddings, Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil Gaiman(sp?)... There are more, but I can't remember 'em off the top of my head, and my library's in storage...

I like Eddings' books (I think it's his dialogue more than anything else), but in my gamming group he's known as Mr. Repetitive! The others are The Elenium (pretty good rehash of the Belgariad) and The Tamuli (God awful!). There's also Balgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. He has more but I haven't read them yet.

Terry Goodkind would be a damned good author if his (twisted) sexual fantasies wouldn't keep popping up. I recomend Wizard First Rule, the next few books have a few good ideas but overall are sub-standard. He does get much better and seems to lay off overdoing the freaky behaviour in his lastest 3.

Arrrg. I loath the farseer trilogy.

Same again, I know heaps of people who love Hobb's work, I'm one of the few who can't stand it. Still deffinately prefferable to Sara Douglas ::shudders.

[Gideon]

Knave: I'm actually surprised to hear you don't like Robin Hobb's Farseerer trilogy. I felt that its plot was no more wandering than the Ender's Game (which I should say, I really enjoyed, though I was a little disappointed by the last book).

Ayre Al Kabeer: I might like Robin Hobb, but I can't get through a page of Sara Douglas' prose...hmmm and I should also mention that I have only the three books of the Farseerer trilogy, and no other works by Robin Hobb.

although, I must also confess that I actually stuck through the first 8 novels of the Wheel of Time, before giving up, so perhaps I am a tad more patient) Speaking of Tads, I only liked the Dragon Bone chair and its sequal, of Mr. Williams' novels. I think it was his attempt at prophecy, and an immortal fey race, that kept me engaged. In the end I was again disappointed by his ending with the use of a "living" prophecy... I seem to get disappointed a lot... ::dontgetit Otherwise I have not been able to buy into any other novels of his.

A book I forgot to mention last time is a Zelazny book called Shadowjack. It is a science-fantasy story that tells the tale of the two sides of the earth (dark side and day side). I reread it often... ::wink

[knave]

I felt that its plot was no more wandering than the Ender's Game (which I should say, I really enjoyed, though I was a little disappointed by the last book).

I was 15 when I picked up Enders game for the first time. I started reading it at 7, skipped dinner and finished at 2am. I think it's written that well. As for the rest of Card's work, Speaker for the Dead has nice ideas, but isn't a patch on the original. Xenocide onward really don't float my boat.

I put Enders Game firmly in the classic Sci-Fi cabinet along with Dune and some of the Philip K Dick, Kurt Vonnegut etc stuff.

btw, don't worry that I don't like Farseer. My taste isn't everyone's - for example I also think Asimov was a hack with verbal diarrhea who really needed to get over his robot fixation or move to Japan.

although, I must also confess that I actually stuck through the first 8 novels of the Wheel of Time, before giving up, so perhaps I am a tad more patient)

Actually I've read all of them. I'm not entirely sure why. I suspect I may be trying to prove a point about bloody mindedness, but it all started so many books ago that I've forgotten.

This I gotta see! (I'm off to find a copy today) Granted Fiests latest aren't great but his earlier stuff is brilliant.

I found Magician (the rewrite) and A Darkness at Sethanon to be great. Of the ones that have come since only A King's Buccaneer has really shone a bit.

Ditto. Pratchets best novel by far!

It's the Gaiman influence. That man has talent. Pratchett has a formula. It's a darn good formula, but it's there.

I like Eddings' books (I think it's his dialogue more than anything else), but in my gamming group he's known as Mr. Repetitive!

Oh, "Be nice!" to Mr and Mrs (yawn) Eddings - when you've read one set of five, you've read all the sets of five ::tongue Kinda formulaic. Like lots of scifi authors. David Gemmel for eg - the man with the 'Hero of 99 kills bad guys by going for the throat or groin every couple of pages.

I recomend Wizard First Rule, the next few books have a few good ideas but overall are sub-standard

I agree completely. This is an author who can't let go and move on.

Also great mythic fantasy: Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay and Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock - excellent.

-Knave

[ezekiel]

I mentioned Cryptonomicon last time this topic came up, really great book.

Terry Brooks' Scions of Shannara series is very good.

I also liked E.M Nathanson's dirty dozen...

Dune is a classic, excellent, excellent book.

Endurance, a book on Shackleton's expedition in the Antartic is also an amazing recounting of the expedition. If you're ever sailing across an ocean I definitely recommend reading it on the boat, it puts things in perspective (you're freezing your A$$ off doesn't seem so bad anymore...)

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) is also an excellent book. Made me want to lead the bedouin life which I'll get around to eventually.

btw, don't worry that I don't like Farseer. My taste isn't everyone's - for example I also think Asimov was a hack with verbal diarrhea who really needed to get over his robot fixation or move to Japan.

*gasp*

The creator of the three robot laws! How dare ye you Philistine!

Seriously though, if anybody ever revolutionized the world of sci-fi its Asimov. Read "Foundation" and tell yourself it was written in 1941 (published in 1951).) I think Asimov is one of the few sci-fi writers out there who wasn't a hack. In addition to his sci-fi books, he wrote several non-fiction books on Biology, chemistry, bio-chemistry, astronomy, maths and physics. Anyway, to each his own I guess.

[knave]

Terry Brooks' Scions of Shannara series is very good.

Yup - very good, but formulaic if you keep going long enough. I also somehow get the feeling that the characters are more or less constrained to do what they do and are more or less there to suffer when someone needs to suffer. Eg. Most of their magic doesn't work unless its Needs to work Now, because now is the time face the big bad wozzname.

Seriously though, if anybody ever revolutionized the world of sci-fi its Asimov. Read "Foundation" and tell yourself it was written in 1941 (published in 1951).)

Foundation is great. The ideas are great. The writing isn't brilliant, the first couple of books read like someone asked him for the salient points of the last thousand years in 100 words or less (Admittedly they were serialized in a magazine so its vaguely forgiveable) so there isn't much/any actual character development.

And then he has to revisit the series twenty years later by throwing Robots into the mix, which is pretty much what he does to everything. He should have left it well enough alone.

[phoenix]

My favorite books of all time: the Dark Tower series, by Stephen King. I'm in the middle of the Wolves of the Calla, which just came out a few weeks ago, and it's as good as the rest in the series.

My favorite science fiction books of all time are now the Gap series, by Stephen A. Donaldson. They're really fascinating, not because the writing is good - it's not, it's really rather mediocre - but because the plot and the characters are so incredibly brilliant.

As for Tolkien, I worked my way through the first two books and 2/3 of the way through the third, and just gave up. The writing was that boring, that I could bring myself to give up after getting that far.

I haven't read any Asimov.. what do people think about Arthur C. Clarke? I liked Rendezvous With Rama, at least, though not any of the sequels, and the White Hart is awe-inspiring.

[Nullifier]

I forgot one author last time, even though she's one of my favorites. So, se gets this post all to herself: Julian May. The Saga of Pliocene Exile, Intervention, and The Galactic Milieu Trilogy. Read 'em, they're great. ::biggrin

[Finbar]

Gee, I guess I need a Top Thirteen list...Unfortunately, there's a number of antholgy series ::crazy

13) The Art of War: If you're a strategist, and you haven't read this, then you're not really a strategist, then, are ya?

12) The Hitchhiker's Guide: Just beacause it looks at sci-fi in all the wrong ways...

11) I, Robot: Asimov is inarguably not a hack, and his ability to look at three simple rules in this many different ways is definitely a great exercise in logic, and it's a fun read besides (I mean, how do the Three Laws apply to assassin-bots, and robots that need to keep their secrets for the good of mankind?)

10) The Sanctuary Series: Arguable "Dark Fantasy", but when it's fun, it's fun. Especially the various Limner and Lithande stories....

9) Wildcards: Although it got a bit...interesting at points, it's definitely interesting.

8) The Sword and Sorceress: Okay, so I like anthologies; and this is as good as gets!

7) Magician (by Feist): Arguably the book that got me into RPG's in the first place.

6) Monkey (Journey into the West): If you only read one non-English book in your life, it'd best be this one!

5) The Books of Magic: If you read these, and still think of magic as just the spells, then you need some serious help...

4) The Watchmen/The Dark Knight Returns: If you think comic books are just for kids...

3) Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men: Why I want to be a comic book writer at some point...If you think comic books need to "adult" to be adult, or that four-color comics are just for kids, then this mini-series should prove you wrong. Clue: It's why Doom is scary...

2) The Hobbit/Lord of The Rings: Okay, Tolkien may be a bit talky, but it can be a fun read...Definitely started my Red Sonja kick (thanks Elowyn ::devilangel !). The scariest part is that I finished it before I started the sixth grade....

1) Tom Sawyer: Go figure...even though a certain Yankee comes close....

For those trying to figure out my brain....

FR

[Heritage]

Cool thread!

Thanks Finbar for mentioning the Wildcards series, which explored what it means to be abnormal better than just about anything else. A must read for all Aberrant players, assuming they have lots of time on their hands, since they did 16+ books ::biggrin And if by 'interesting' you mean 'kinky', you bet! One of the things I like about 'em ::tongue

I love Tolkien, but my favorite fantasy writer is Jack Vance. If he only wrote the Lyonesse trilogy ('Lyonesse: Suldrun's Garden', 'The Green Pearl', and 'Madouc'), he'd still be my favorite. The way he blends high and dark fantasy with genuine emotions is breathtaking, and he makes political intrigue as exciting and interesting as prison escapes, curses and pitched battles. His SF is great, too, especially the Demon Princes novels, about one man vowing to destroy the men who killed his family, one novel at a time.

Glen Cook's Annals of the Black Company is LotR as Vietnam, with the heroes finding out they work for the bad guys, but the good guys ain't all that good either. Excellent examples of how a combat mage can make or break a battle.

Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy is amazingly whacked out and cool, but a tough read at times.

I love William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy ('Neuromancer', 'Count Zero', and 'Mona Lisa Overdrive') but everything else he's done just seems like a pale retread.

Richard Grant wrote two great novels ('Through the Heart' and 'Rumors of Spring') and the hardest novel I've ever read, 'Views from the Oldest House', which I finally conquered, despite the fact that the narration shifts tenses and subjects within the same paragraph to maddening effect. There was much to like, but the cost was too high. I found 'Tex and Molly in the Afterlife' unreadable, but I might try it again someday.

Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber are great pulp fantasy writers, quick reads and lots of adventure = much fun!

When I was a kid in high school, I loved Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos novels, but when I read them later they didn't hold up so well. However 'To Reign in Hell' is still great, basically retelling the Biblical Revolt of the Angels as a fantasy novel, with an amazingly manipulative character (not Satan, surprisingly) who pits the various angels and archangels against each other for personal gain. Lilith, Mephistopheles and Lucifer are my favorite characters. It was out of print for a while, but I just found out it was reprinted in 2000; if you read only one novel from this post, read this one!

And finally, L. Frank Baum's Oz books are great reading at any age - I especially recommend 'The Land of Oz' and 'The Tin Woodman of Oz.'

Happy reading, one and all!

[madcat82]

Well this is my small contribution:

George Martins A song of Ice and Fire. The best fantasy series I have ever read (I read The Lord of the Ring, it was kind of good in my opinion and I have read the dragon reborn by Jordan, it kind of sucked IMHO (I just put this here so that you would know my taste, cheers)), only problem: He takes to bloody long to write the sequals. ::biggrin

[Grizzly]

Some quite interesting suggestions for reading material.

Here are my two cents (maybe somewhat more ::tongue )

Classic stuff, mostly mentioned beforehand:

RR Tolkien

Asimov

Terry Pratchett (of course)

David Brin

Frank Herbert: Dune incredible books, so far the best description for precog and such, unfortunately nearly impossible to transform into a good movie (but that had been said about LOTR as well ::tongue )

And now my favorite authors and suggested readings:

Allan Dean Foster: The whole Humanx Universe (about a dozen books, some as mini-series, the rest loosly related) His SPELLSINGER serie is as funny and ironic as those books from Terry Pratchett

Anne McCaffrey: The DRAGONRIDER OF PERN serie

TO RIDE PEGASUS (early beginings of Psi Powers and the resulting problems with "Baselines") and the sequel ROWAN an more (powerful `Porters and Tels)

She wrote a lot more that is good to read, so go ahead ::smile

David Weber: Honor Harrington serie

A very interesting SF story based on C.S.Forester´s Hornblower books (who wrote about a british Navy Officer during the Napoleonic War) The books are a little repetitive but have some very intersting technical descriptions and space combat tactics are very "unusual" due to the technics involved

C.J.Cherryh: especially CUCKOOO´S EGG, the CHANUR serie and the three books THE FADED SUN: KESRITH/SHON´JIR/KUTATH

Cherryh is very difficult to read but has some very alien ways to see humanity or other races. ::sly

Poul Anderson: those books around Dominic Flandry are intersting, showing the workings of an sectret agent (ala James Bond) in a rotten human imperium, surounded by many hostile races. ::smokin

Timothy Zahn: Starwars novels

His BLACKCOLLARS and COBRA books are intersting. DEADMAN SWITCH has a quite morbide taste, WARHORSE and SPINNERET areequally intersting stuff to read

Someone mentioned Sun Tzu THE ART OF WAR. Very usefull book for every combat related situation in roleplaying. Most people forget that this book was written more than two thousand years ago and, you can see it as you whish, it is still up to date. Additionally, I would recomend Myiamoto Musashi THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS for those who like the japanese swordfighting style.

Enough of ranting, go ahead and read them.

[knave]

George RR Martin is great, but Erik Stevenson's Malazan Books of the Fallen kicks its butt.

[malkboy]

Well trying not to repeat much that's been mentioned here already... Some of the stuff I like and have been reading...

Dan Brown's, "Digital Fortress": A really entertaining read that I picked up and didn't put down until it was finished (A good 420 or so pages) and then put it on my bookshelf to read again in a few weeks to pick up other small intricate details I might have missed. The research this guy must do for his books astounds me, as this is the second book of his that floored me.

L. Ron Hubbard's, "Battlefield Earth": I have to say I thought the movie was horrible in comparison to the book. The book is 1050 pages long however so if you start reading it, expect to be reading it for awhile (took me 3 days.. and I read rather fast) but it has a fairly nicely woven together plot and twists in just the right places.

Max Barry's, "Jennifer Government": OMG, I loved this book when I read it. I'll be the first to admit it's not going to be for everyone, but if you want to see capitalism run abound this is your book... Just add in a dash of humor, toss in some crazy (in the good sense) characters, privitize the government and police.. and viola.. A wicked good book...

Eh.. that's it for now..

[SnakeEyes]

Terry Pratchett, every time... 'specially 'The Truth' "Should I hit 'im over the -ing head with the -ing oar again Mr Pin?" ::smiley1

Tom Holt- Open Sesame -Ali Baba now works as a dentist, and the computer's upset for all that hot chocolate that was spilt on it. and doors don't appreciate being told to "shut up and just bloody open".

Justina Robson- Natural History- All about manufactured 'humans' (though they look far from it- often used as living ships etc) called 'The Forged' and the discovery of alien technology.

Mervyn Peak- The Gormenghast Trilogy- Kind of difficult to explain... set in the fantasy city of Gormenghast. You'd have to read it (or watch it- BBC turned it into a brilliant short series a few years back- look for the albino crow!) to understand why it's so great...

Tolkien's the obvious one... I've been reading 'Unfinished Tales' compiled by his son. It really helps explain 'The Silmarillion'.

Jack Higgins- Thunder Point- One of the best introduction chapters I've ever read.

Phillip Pullman- His Dark Materials trilogy- classed as 'young adult', but brilliantly written, great for all ages... kinda like harry potter in that aspect (but that only).

And the list goes on... I'll stop there before I start blathering. ::ninja