Ok as the topic says I'm looking for some good sci-fi/fantasy novels since when I'm not reading manga, watching anime, or playing videogames I like to curl up and read a good book.

Right now I've got several good books to read, Judas Unchained and Outlaws of the Marsh/Suikoden, but I'm looking for some that I could read after I finish those. Also since I'm asking for recommendations I'll also deal out some recommendations of my own. So here goes, author's name in underlines, book's title in italics and underline.

Dan Simmons (Must point out that there is mature content in most of this guys' novels)

Hyperion- I really don't know how to explain it other than it's really good so I'll let the amazon editorial explain for me:
Also must point out that the book is not written in a typical fashion. Basically the book is the pilgrims telling one another their back stories, while interspersed(sp?) between these is little bits of their journey.

Fall of Hyperion- I know the majority of people have either seen or read The Melaoncholy of Suzumiya Haruhi so you might be familiar with this book's title since it's the book that Yuki gives Kyon that contains the bookmark telling him to meet her at a specific time . This book deals with the end journey of the pilgrims from the first book from the perspective of the Cybrid (kinda like a cyborg I guess) of John Keats.

The other two books, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, make up what is considered the Hyperion Cantos, and are told as memoirs of the title character since when you first meet him he is imprisioned if I recall correctly. I would write something about those two but to understand them you need to familiarize yourself with the first two book.

Whew that was a big block of text for me however I know of several other good sci-fi books but I don't want to make anyone read too much text. Anyway I hope that some of people here can point me in the direction of some good sci-fi/fantasy books that I can read with out thinking too much about.

My only hope is that I get at least a few book titles since it appears that any thread I make is destined to die an early death .

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Erm, I dunno if you will like it, but

The Sword of Shannara Trilogy was great. Its by Terry Brooks.

My favorite personally was the first one, but the other two are alright.
I read all of them right around a year ago, so I don't remember it very well, sadly. Although, I remember liking one particular character, I can't remember his name, but he was very wise, and knew people had to find things out for themselves.

Lets see, I don't think I thought about this one essesivly, but I did think about it a little. It intrigued me a little too much for me not to, but each their own. I Hope you like it anyway, even if you do have to think.
Its just a suggestion. Hope you like it, even if you don't read it.

EDIT-
Also on a side note, If you like Claymore and 666 Satan, I suggest you also read Ares. Its really good. ( Its a manga, just in case you don't know.)

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These are my recomendations and since I stink at summaries, I'll just link their Amazon pages.

March Upcountry by David Weber and John Ringo (Military Sci-Fi)
-More books in the series are: March to the Sea, March to the Stars & We Few

This one rocks and I NEVER read military sci-fi. I'm not too proud to admit that I only bought it because of the teaser page and the shiny cover. I do so love shiny objects. But really, give it a try.
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Alien Taste by Wen Spencer (Sci-Fi)
-More books in the series are: Tainted Trail, Bitter Waters & Dog Warrior

Another really great series that--at least to me--was not predictible in the least. It's Mowgli meets The Borg meets hmm... I dunno... a criminal biker gang.

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Nightlife by Rob Thurman (Fantasy)
-And the second book is: Moonshine

It's in first person, but don't let that throw you off. There's nothing like a half-monster, half-gypsy protecting the world from his father's (the monster) people. And if you're not into angsty half-monsters, there's always his full-human, sword-swingin', don't-mess-with-my-brother-or-I'll-chop-your-nuts-of f, brother Niko.

I hope this something on this little list peaks your interest.

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The Mists of Avalon, if you're into King Arthur stuff. It's beautiful, and an amazing, unique story.

I have read the first Hyperion book and I thought it was pretty good. I have been meaning to read the rest of them, but since I read the first one when I was like 11 I don't remember much about it. I would recommend the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, the first book of which is A Game of Thrones.

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Wow, I gave up on this thread since I thought it died very early on, and thanks for the recommendations. I might have to pick several of these up the next time I hit up Borders, especially March Upcountry since I'm a sucker for Military Sci-fi (Starship Troopers made me a fan).


I tried Ares but couldn't get into it.

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I will give you some awarded, classic titles:
fantasy:
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (6 books) - Stephen Donaldson
Memory, Sorrow, Thorn (trilogy)- Tad Williams
The las unicorn - Peter S. Beagle
Silverlock - John Myers
Deryni - Katherine Kurtz
anything by David Eddings
sc-fi:
anything by Borys&Arkadij Strugacki
almost anything by Robert Heinlein
Planet of the Apes - Pierre Boulle
Otherworld (tetralogy) - Tad Williams (futuristic mix of fantasy and sc-fi)
anything by Isaac Asimov
I wouldn't recommend that to you, it's a so called retelling, and as some writer said: "written by a woman, about women and for women"
Yep, It was a bestseller, you could try it. They even made a game based on it (played once...got awfully beaten by some RPG geeks )
I hope you like those novels. If not, I will think about something else - if you wish, of course. I was a reviewer of fantasy books for some time and I kinda miss my job...

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Still the bad cop.

I agree there.

And I'll add Steven Erikson to the fantasy authors list, the only books (non manga) I've read in years are his.

Make sure you dont jump in halfway through a series xD

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is quite good, and I am enjoying the Dhampir series (vampire-hunting-ness). I would suggest Patricia Brigg's Mercedes series (starts with Moon Called), but I don't know if you'd enjoy it given the fact that it seems more female-oriented.

As for sci-fi, it depends on what you mean by it. I really enjoyed Relic by Douglass Preston and Lincoln Child, but it's not the kind of sci-fi with aliens or incredible technology. The same can be said for Natural Selection, which is basically about the discovery of a new deep-sea predator that is evolving at an astonishing rate. I guess the only series that I'd have to say fits the sci-fi genre to a "t" would be Idlewild by Nick Sagan, which is EXTREMELY good and rather Matrix-like. (It has two more books in its trilogy, but they're not as good as Idlewild, and they don't stick to the sci-fi genre in the same way.)

But if I run across any that are particularly good in the near-future, I'll be sure to let you know.

Last edited by xObscurexOmenx at 12:50 pm, Sep 12 2007

Ah! I was going to recommend this! The first three books are incredible. It starts to drag by the fourth book, but you absolutely MUST read the first three!



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avatar by Asami-chan

YUS awesome series! Long (which I like) but even if you arent into long series it is still excellent
(hoping the next book comes out soon!!)

Lets see... another good author is martin middleton... a little more obscure but still very nice

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