Recreational Literary Endeavors
- Thread starter Luthorne
- Start date
I enjoy most any genre as long as it is well written with good pacing and characterization. I do, however, request that no historical fantasy, classical literature, classical mythology, political satire or romance novels be recommended. Every thing else is fair game.
I also prefer not to have to follow multiple branching stories told in different points of view in the same book. The WoT series and the Song of Ice and Fire really tested my tolerance to these type. I have and enjoyed stories that do have this feature, but it's quite a bother having to keep track of huge amounts of characters, especially if I hate some of them.
I have already read that series.
Edit: The Princess Bride was nothing like what I expected. It is a quick fun read.
I also prefer not to have to follow multiple branching stories told in different points of view in the same book. The WoT series and the Song of Ice and Fire really tested my tolerance to these type. I have and enjoyed stories that do have this feature, but it's quite a bother having to keep track of huge amounts of characters, especially if I hate some of them.
I have already read that series.
Edit: The Princess Bride was nothing like what I expected. It is a quick fun read.
@shiki All right here is a list of things to try out.
1. Gil's All Fright Diner - A. Lee Martinez
After running low on gas, Duke, a werewolf, and Earl, a vampire, come upon an all-night diner. It is here that they discover strange occurrences, such as zombie attacks, hauntings and occult activity, all centered around the diner.
This is one of my favorite books its a comedy but has some action bits in it as well. I also recommend other books by this author as well.
2. Anything by Terry Pratchett is good as well.
3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
the story of Kvothe, the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. It doesn't seem like much from the description but it really has great writing.
4. The Painted man (The Warded Man US title) by Peter V. Brett
The novel follows three characters in their passage from childhood to maturity. They are inhabitants of a world plagued by the attacks of demons known as "corelings", which rise from the planet's core each night to feast upon humans.The only defense against the corelings are magical runes or "wards" that can be drawn, painted, or inscribed to form protective barriers around human settlements. These are, however, fragile and prone to failure.
Now i know you said not to have multiple view points, but this story doesn't have as many characters as wheel of time, and its just the main 3 so its not that big of an issue. Now if you like this story the sequel also just game out The Desert Spear.
Well thats all i can think of off the top of my head. Synopsis are just copied from wiki or amazon.
1. Gil's All Fright Diner - A. Lee Martinez
After running low on gas, Duke, a werewolf, and Earl, a vampire, come upon an all-night diner. It is here that they discover strange occurrences, such as zombie attacks, hauntings and occult activity, all centered around the diner.
This is one of my favorite books its a comedy but has some action bits in it as well. I also recommend other books by this author as well.
2. Anything by Terry Pratchett is good as well.
3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
the story of Kvothe, the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. It doesn't seem like much from the description but it really has great writing.
4. The Painted man (The Warded Man US title) by Peter V. Brett
The novel follows three characters in their passage from childhood to maturity. They are inhabitants of a world plagued by the attacks of demons known as "corelings", which rise from the planet's core each night to feast upon humans.The only defense against the corelings are magical runes or "wards" that can be drawn, painted, or inscribed to form protective barriers around human settlements. These are, however, fragile and prone to failure.
Now i know you said not to have multiple view points, but this story doesn't have as many characters as wheel of time, and its just the main 3 so its not that big of an issue. Now if you like this story the sequel also just game out The Desert Spear.
Well thats all i can think of off the top of my head. Synopsis are just copied from wiki or amazon.
TRYING to read 'How to train your Dragon' after watching the movie, as I enjoyed the movie.
I found it on google books, but there are big white box's cut off the page's that block out about 10% of the words, and 99% of the doodle pictures, because the pictures are copyrighted.
No, I have no idea how that works.
Trying to find a non fucked with version to read.
I found it on google books, but there are big white box's cut off the page's that block out about 10% of the words, and 99% of the doodle pictures, because the pictures are copyrighted.
No, I have no idea how that works.
Trying to find a non fucked with version to read.
Just finished Absolution Gap by Alastair Reynolds. The space-saga of the Human-Inhibitor War ends with basically a stale-mate. There were competing Deus ex Machinas in about four different places. In fact, god-like machines with conflicting agendas pretty much drove the plot.
I dunno. Reynolds really likes to pull stuff that would seem like it was coming out of left field if you haven't read some of his short stories, novellas, other novels, etc.
Anyway, in AG, there is a device called Greenfly. It's a terraforming technology, but only in the loosest sense of the word. It's a self-replicating machine that infests a solar system, smashes all of the planets to rubble, and transforms them into bubble-asteroid habitats. It's a runaway process, so it's a galaxy-consuming gray goo scenario.
That said, smashing all the non-solar mass of a solar system to make an asteroid cloud of habitats around a star was first proposed by Asimov in, let's see, 1963. Yeah, his speculative science essay collection, View from a Height. I only know this because I also just read that one.
I dunno. Reynolds really likes to pull stuff that would seem like it was coming out of left field if you haven't read some of his short stories, novellas, other novels, etc.
Anyway, in AG, there is a device called Greenfly. It's a terraforming technology, but only in the loosest sense of the word. It's a self-replicating machine that infests a solar system, smashes all of the planets to rubble, and transforms them into bubble-asteroid habitats. It's a runaway process, so it's a galaxy-consuming gray goo scenario.
That said, smashing all the non-solar mass of a solar system to make an asteroid cloud of habitats around a star was first proposed by Asimov in, let's see, 1963. Yeah, his speculative science essay collection, View from a Height. I only know this because I also just read that one.
Read the Red Wolf Conspiracy by Redick. It's a story about Basil who is a tarboy on a ship. He has some interesting gifts. One of the most original wizards stories I have ever read, and I love the lack of romance in the plot as well. It really makes it easy to just stay focus on what is important. The audio book is well done if you can get a copy from ISO hunt or demonoid.
Want to read something that is socially forbidden, hard core, and is an extremely blatant attempt trying to turn you racist? This book is 4 18 years only and up due to the fact that if you are under 18 you are more likely to fall to the *cough* *snicker* *chortle* AHEM. "Brain Washing" attempts in the book. >_>
Turner Diaries
Reader Beware....
Turner Diaries
Reader Beware....
Rereading the Tetrarch by Alex Comfort.
A guy and his girlfriend buy an interestingly decorated door. One night, while they are in a playful mood, they walk through the door into another world. She becomes a slave while he becomes a soldier.
Basically think of it as a mix of late Heinlein with an adult Narnia.
Unfortunately out of print. I picked mine up some 20 years ago in a bargain bin at a bookstore, and the book's rather worn.
A guy and his girlfriend buy an interestingly decorated door. One night, while they are in a playful mood, they walk through the door into another world. She becomes a slave while he becomes a soldier.
Basically think of it as a mix of late Heinlein with an adult Narnia.
Unfortunately out of print. I picked mine up some 20 years ago in a bargain bin at a bookstore, and the book's rather worn.
I've got a few things in my unread list, like Mortal Coils by Eric Nylund, the Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert Redick, and Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. All seem good, but finding time is just a bitch.
As for things I've actually read that were good lately, there was Magic Bleeds, the newest edition of the Kate Daniels series by Illona Andrews. I find the whole series a nice take on Urban Fantasy crossed with Post-Apocalyptia. Plus, it's nice to have a heroine in an Urban Fantasy novel that doesn't derive her powers from screwing everything that moves.
Also, Wizard Squared recently came out, the newest book in the Rouge Agent series by K.E. Mills. This one was a complete departure from the other two books in tone, becoming far more serious and kinda scary, as we got to see what would have happened to the main character if he had made a different choice in the first novel.
Finally, From Hell With Love by Simon R. Green came out a little bit ago. It was very good, showing the enemies of magic's first family of secret agents. But Green pulled a Dresden at the end. Can't say anymore without spoilers.
As for things I've actually read that were good lately, there was Magic Bleeds, the newest edition of the Kate Daniels series by Illona Andrews. I find the whole series a nice take on Urban Fantasy crossed with Post-Apocalyptia. Plus, it's nice to have a heroine in an Urban Fantasy novel that doesn't derive her powers from screwing everything that moves.
Also, Wizard Squared recently came out, the newest book in the Rouge Agent series by K.E. Mills. This one was a complete departure from the other two books in tone, becoming far more serious and kinda scary, as we got to see what would have happened to the main character if he had made a different choice in the first novel.
Finally, From Hell With Love by Simon R. Green came out a little bit ago. It was very good, showing the enemies of magic's first family of secret agents. But Green pulled a Dresden at the end. Can't say anymore without spoilers.
Currently on John Ringo's Posleen War alien invasion series.
Apparently even aliens taste just like chicken.
You can read basically any of John Ringo's works for free online (odd, he sells millions of books so I doubt he needs the publicity). Links available on Wikipedia.
EDIT: Update to this recommendation. Stick to the original "trilogy" (which is actually 4 books -- the last book got split into two). Most of the books that come after are touted as being written by John Ringo and ____ (insert friend of Ringo here). And TBH, I haven't been very happy with them.
Tried to get into Cally's War, but it turns Cally's character into a generic post-cyberpunk over-sexed femme fatale. Kind of ruins her. Tried to get into Watch on the Rhein, but damn. It takes an interesting idea (rejuvenating and reactivating Hitler's SS in order to fight aliens) and proceeds to go into "go go fascism" mode. Okay, in the original "trilogy" by Ringo, there were signs of the Darhel manipulating liberal fears, but on the whole liberals were neither gutless nor stupid (less prepared and more susceptible to Darhel influences, yeah). When push came to shove people fought. Hard. In WotR, the SS are all heroes, smarter and braver than anyone else, and the liberals are so stupid they still don't believe that the Posleen exist even though Earth has been invaded three times. lolwut? On top of that, there are some grating inconsistencies with the original "trilogy" in terms of technology (really, these Tiger III tanks make you wonder why the Americans spent so much effort making the SheVa, which is more than a hundred times as massive and seems to do worse individually at killing Posleen landers) and in terms of behavior of the Posleen are inconsistent and on the whole less terrifying. A God-King thinking that he should have spared some humans to use as hostages to bargain for escape with? A God-King wondering "what sin" he has committed that he is about to die? Whatever happened to the Blue and Orange Morality the Posleen had that it made it so startling when they started understanding us and frightening when they tried to mimic our tactics?
Sigh. Made even more frustrating by the fact that there were pieces in place that could have been used to reveal not only the good, but the bad and the ugly parts of going to such measures. What we got was a ham-fisted politically commentary every bit as bad as Avatar.
What I learned is that John Ringo has strange friends. Not surprising when you consider what someone who writes a series like Paladin of Shadows (the "Oh John Ringo No" series) must be like.
Phew. Getting that rant off my chest makes me feel better.
Apparently even aliens taste just like chicken.
You can read basically any of John Ringo's works for free online (odd, he sells millions of books so I doubt he needs the publicity). Links available on Wikipedia.
EDIT: Update to this recommendation. Stick to the original "trilogy" (which is actually 4 books -- the last book got split into two). Most of the books that come after are touted as being written by John Ringo and ____ (insert friend of Ringo here). And TBH, I haven't been very happy with them.
Tried to get into Cally's War, but it turns Cally's character into a generic post-cyberpunk over-sexed femme fatale. Kind of ruins her. Tried to get into Watch on the Rhein, but damn. It takes an interesting idea (rejuvenating and reactivating Hitler's SS in order to fight aliens) and proceeds to go into "go go fascism" mode. Okay, in the original "trilogy" by Ringo, there were signs of the Darhel manipulating liberal fears, but on the whole liberals were neither gutless nor stupid (less prepared and more susceptible to Darhel influences, yeah). When push came to shove people fought. Hard. In WotR, the SS are all heroes, smarter and braver than anyone else, and the liberals are so stupid they still don't believe that the Posleen exist even though Earth has been invaded three times. lolwut? On top of that, there are some grating inconsistencies with the original "trilogy" in terms of technology (really, these Tiger III tanks make you wonder why the Americans spent so much effort making the SheVa, which is more than a hundred times as massive and seems to do worse individually at killing Posleen landers) and in terms of behavior of the Posleen are inconsistent and on the whole less terrifying. A God-King thinking that he should have spared some humans to use as hostages to bargain for escape with? A God-King wondering "what sin" he has committed that he is about to die? Whatever happened to the Blue and Orange Morality the Posleen had that it made it so startling when they started understanding us and frightening when they tried to mimic our tactics?
Sigh. Made even more frustrating by the fact that there were pieces in place that could have been used to reveal not only the good, but the bad and the ugly parts of going to such measures. What we got was a ham-fisted politically commentary every bit as bad as Avatar.
What I learned is that John Ringo has strange friends. Not surprising when you consider what someone who writes a series like Paladin of Shadows (the "Oh John Ringo No" series) must be like.
Phew. Getting that rant off my chest makes me feel better.
I'm not sure what you're asking. If you mean this as, "Psssh, why would I want to read his work?" then fine, don't. Nobody said you have to read what someone else recommends. If you mean that as, "I wouldn't want to read a book online, I'd rather support the author," then I'd like to point out that his own publisher maintains them online, there's nothing illegal about reading it and if you like his work you can buy it. If you mean, "Reading a novel off the computer is hard on the eyes," well, this is a website dedicated to online fanfiction...