# Looking for a good sci fi book and/or fantasy book



## SwitchBack (Jan 21, 2015)

Looking for a good sci fi book (or fantasy). Nothing specific. 

Just give me a title & a breakdown. 


I'm pretty open.


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## Morkonan (Jan 22, 2015)

I just finished "The Red Knight" (Book 1 of the "Traitor Son" Cycle) by Miles Cameron. It's excellent. Outstanding, even. It's one of the better fantasy books I've read in the past year. Cameron's previous experience with historical fiction and his knowledge of medieval culture, weapons, and military organization truly brings a great deal of depth to this work. He has a somewhat unusual style in that he's frequently switching perspectives, sometimes multiple times on the same page. But, unlike other perspective-switching works, he never allows the Reader to get bored or impatient. When it's time to find out what a different character is up to, Cameron switches to them, immediately. It's a _fantastic_ use of multiple perspectives. I do not say that lightly.

Another fantasy book I finished a few months ago, but one that I really enjoyed, was "Half a King" by Joe Abercrombie, one of the best fantasy writers out there, in my opinion. It's not a long book, but it's filled with fast-paced action and adventure. It never lets up on you. And, at the end, I'm upset that there's nothing more for me to read... But, the sequel is supposed to be out fairly soon. A fun read with lots in it to satisfy fantasy fans.

I'm a gigantic fan of C.J. Cherryh. (I'm not gigantic, I just really love her work.  ) "Peacemaker" is the latest in her "Foreigner" science-fiction series. If you haven't read that series, I highly suggest that you run out and get it as soon as possible. Fifteen books and a number of reprints and anniversary printings... It's a very popular science-fiction series and it's all worth reading. I'd also recommend her five volume "Chanur" series.

I would recommend you sample anything by Neal Stephenson. One of my favorites is "Reamde." It's not exactly science-fiction, but it's a hell of a ride, nonetheless, with some science-fiction components. (Online gaming, MMOs, etc.)

"Wool," by Hugh Howey, is an excellent science-fiction read in a post-apocalyptic setting. Though he has written others, I consider this to be his "breakout novel." You can also find an interview he did with Writingforums.com on our forums: WF: Writer Interviews - Hugh Howey. The book is a really refreshing science-fiction offering, somewhat mimicking some of the best of "old school" science-fiction.


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## Bloggsworth (Jan 22, 2015)

Recommend a piece of fruit...

As open ended questions go, this is about the size of the entrance to the Sahara desert. There are as many strands of SciFi as fruits. You could start with Asimov, Arthur C Clarke; or Ray Bradbury, who encompasses more than one genre. I enjoyed The Black Cloud written by astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle (even if he didn't believe in the Big Bang). I stopped regularly reading SciFi about 50 years ago, but would consider these authors as the Dickens, Hardy and HG Wells of the genre and a good place to begin.


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## Boofy (Jan 22, 2015)

Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun is a fantastic read. 

It's a tetralogy in the first person of the travellings of a young torturer named Severian, cast out from his order for the crime of mercy. It takes place on an Earth well into the future after a golden age of space travel where the sun is dying. The planet is populated by genetically altered and alien creatures and antiquated guilds make their homes in the abandoned shells of rockets. The series is famous for the authenticity of it's alien future, clever use of archaic and complex language, it's lack of handholding and intricate puzzles, the depth and dishonesty of the narrator Severian and the clever blending of fantasy and sci-fi. It's been praised by no less than Ursula K. le Guin, Neil Gaiman, GRRM and won a raft of awards and accolades. It's a lot of fun and warrants multiple careful readings, figuring it out is half the joy of it. ^^


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## shinyford (Jan 22, 2015)

The Many-Colored Land series by Julian May - humans go back in time to the paleolithic where they discover alien fairies and trolls. (Better than it sounds from this description.)

Hyperion/Endymion sequence by Dan Simmons - Canterbury Tales in space with teeth. Brilliant.

Marrow by Robert Reed
A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (although he's rabidly homophobic on a personal level, so maybe shouldn't be supported)


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## Bishop (Jan 22, 2015)

Harry Harrison's Planet of the Damned and Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers remain my favorite works of all time, both sci-fi.

PotD is about a war between two planets, where one is about to obliterate the other and massacre millions. One man goes down to said planet to try and uncover the secret as to why the ruling class of that society is arming themselves for war, and how he can stop it.

Starship Troopers is an epic telling the tale of the future of humanity where one soldier enlists on the whims of a pretty girl and ends up knee deep in war and forced maturity and responsibility in an autocratic human society. Not an action tale, like the film is, this book is rather dense and is more about political structure and civil obligation than about shooting aliens. Though, there's some of that as well.


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## Caragula (Jan 23, 2015)

Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood


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## aj47 (Jan 24, 2015)

I just finished _Libriomancer_ by Jim C. Hines.  It's the first of a trilogy, the last book of which came out the 6th of this month.  Very good and I didn't see some of the plot twists coming.  It is about a librarian who is also a libriomancer--he does book magic.  He can reach into books and pull out items (if they fit through the open book).  Worth it, I already bought book two.   

For classic humor, I recommend Robert Asprin's _Another Fine Myth._  (Just finished that last week.  I originally read it when it first came out, >mumble< years ago.)  

That's fantasy, humorous fantasy, and now for something hard SF.  If you're not familiar with Bujold, fix it. If you're an action junkie, start with _The Warrior's Apprentice_. If you're more into well-painted characters, _Shards of Honor_

.


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## Morkonan (Jan 24, 2015)

Just a headsup:

I read it awhile ago, but the SyFy channel just announced that they will have a mini-series based on it, so I have to jump in here and recommend it. (Even if the SyFy channel makes a hash of it all...)

"The Expanse" series, by James S. A. Corey, the pen  name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Abraham is one of my favorite fantasy authors and I was thrilled to see he had stepped out with a modern Science-Fiction novel, so I dove into it. It's an awesome series, definitely a page-turner! I am excited, but apprehensive, concerning SyFy's upcoming mini-series based on it. But, they haven't completely ruined everything, yet, so there may be hope!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_Wakes (First novel in the series)

http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse



			
				astroannie said:
			
		

> ..For classic humor, I recommend Robert Asprin's _Another Fine Myth._  (Just finished that last week.  I originally read it when it first came out, >mumble< years ago.)..



I loved that series. I was a big fan of "Thieve's World", so when I saw Asprin's first "Myth" book on the shelf, I snapped it up. I kept reading them for awhile, but I lost a little bit of interest later on. There are plenty of books in that series I haven't read. (I think I stopped somewhere around "Myth-nomers..." , can't remember. So darn long ago...  )


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## EliCruze (Feb 1, 2015)

I'm currently reading Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I have only read a couple chapters on my iPad because I bought new books at Barnes and Noble, but I swear I like it so far! He's this powerful wizard that has apparently killed a king and is in hiding as an innkeeper. Some else who has read it fully could probably explain it better though.


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## Carlton (Jul 12, 2015)

You can't go wrong with Stephen King's masterwork *The Dark Tower* and/or Edger Rice Burroughs' *John Carter of Mars*. Both series are tremendous! 




(Can you tell that I am Old School?)

 :read:
_


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## bunnybun (Jul 15, 2015)

The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. Powder Mage series by Brian Mcclellan. Dune by Frank Herbert.


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## TKent (Jul 17, 2015)

Just started reading The Martian by Andy Weir. So far it is GREAT. But really, any book that starts with the line, "I'm pretty much fucked," is probably going to be one I enjoy


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## RJ_Parnell (Jul 19, 2015)

I think Stephen King's Dark Tower series is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of sic-fi and fantasy.  If you're a fan of King in general, you'll notice a lot of ties to his other novels.  Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is decent for fantasy readers, although he tends to drone on at times, but it's a great story.  You'd need a lot of time on your hands to get into that one.  The Road is a really quick, post-apocalyptic read that I enjoyed from Comac McCarthy.


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